Ceiling fan install fail! I have 12 wires in 6 different colors. Please help! Ok so old fan was removed about a year ago.  Dad wired new few but never got it totally right.  The switch worked and ran the fan but the lights never worked at all.  No lights was driving me crazy so my husband decided to fix it.  Now we have 2 Gray, 3 white, 1 black, 1 red,  1 green, 1 bare sticking out of ceiling; 1 blue, 1 white, 1 black sticking outta fan, no power at all to bedroom and the bathroom and living room are also out and for good measure the furnace  seems to have joined the strike as well because we have no heat and it's well below freezing outside.  Please help!  To say there is no money for an electrician is an understatement!  I mean I could not call 1 if I wanted to cuz can't pay with what we Flat don't have.  I know my ignorance in this department makes me less than ideal pupil and it could be a risky handicap but please I usually can figure things out quickly and I'm aware the smart play is call someone but I can't so please does anyone have any advice for us?  I shut the power off at the breaker box already I will try to attach pics

The "dark gray"s are actually blacks.   Gray is also a color used in wiring, and it has a very different meaning from black.  Yours is not that.

Note that the wires aren't just random, they are grouped in cables entering the box.

Locate the cable with a red wire.  Note that it also has a white and black.   This is the run down to the switch.  Cap each of these wires individually with orange or yellow wire nuts, tape the nuts down so they don't easily fall off, and pull the wires out of the way.  You will not be using them today.

What remains should be 2 black and 2 white. One white/black pair comes from supply.  The other goes to your downline loads like the furnace.  Nut the black to the black, and white to the white.

Turn the power back on.  Everything else should work now.

Then call in a professional for the finish... or school up by getting a book on household electrical at the library, and reading most of it.  Not skimming or cherry picking.  Reading.


Escutcheon plate doesn't cover hole in tiled shower wall I just installed a new shower system and the new escutcheon plate is a little smaller than the old one, leaving a small gap at the bottom of the wall.
It's not terribly noticeable, so I'm not too concerned about it looking bad.
Any ideas on the easiest way to seal this up?

I have run into this several times, the least expensive method I have found is to remove the plate and use grout, epoxy grout in this case I can’t tell if there is backing but hot glue on a paint stir stick really works , any epoxy that is fast setting could also hold something in place. Then fill with the appropriate color (white in this case) grout. I like the epoxy grout for things like this because it seals better.
You might say the color will be off as new grout even from the same bag will look different but in a small area like that the fixture changes the look also. In a few months it will look about the same and is not noticed by most unless they do this type of work.


How can I seal a roof vent to resolve drafts in my home? I have a very drafty house and feel the cold air through my ac vents which are in my attic.
I looked up there and saw a lot of snow on the cellulose I have in the attic. The snow is right under the hole I have attached. Though there's a cover I can hear the wind outside and would explain the drafts and cold air I feel in the house.   What is the proper way to close this off?

You apparently haven't asked yourself why that's there in the first place. Attic ventilation is a critical component of a healthy home, and you should not block it without good reason. A bit of errant of snow is not a good reason, nor is flawed sealing of your home's livable space.

Your habitable space should be sealed completely from the outside world via your ceiling, not your roof. Find what's leaking in your ducts or the penetrations they require and deal with that to solve your problem. That may require moving insulation to foil-tape or caulk duct joints, and adding spray foam or other sealer around where they pass through the ceiling.

It's not uncommon for a fine dusting of snow to be blown in past attic vent screens on occasion, which isn't cause for alarm. It'll sublimate (evaporate) away over time. Now, if it's a half inch or more thick you probably want to upgrade the vent housing to a better or more suitable design.


Live wire running through entire apartment wall? I'm currently renting an apartment and my spouse and I want to hang a metal fixture above the wall where our bed is (in lieu of a headboard...for now at least). Where I want to hang it is 4 feet above the only electrical socket on that wall and I drew a line 5 feet width.

The stud detector is detecting live wires all throughout the line I drew, which seems a bit crazy to me. The socket does however control the light switch on the adjacent wall and the light fixture on the ceiling so maybe there is just a huge square of electrical wiring on the wall.

Should I be trusting the detector? I get mixed results depending on where I start the detector and if I start it in a certain position once it picks up the live wire it seems to keep the light on for feet, until I'm about a foot away from the line I drew, which would be about 4 feet from where the hole I marked is. Since the piece is metal it's a bit heavy (like 10 lbs at most) so I was going to use some heavy duty metal drywall anchors (just in case) that are also quite sharp, so I'm very leary on this.

Thanks for any responses.

Screw into studs, not drywall anchors, for something heavy that will be above your head while you sleep!

If you're worried about shorting the circuit with your screw, turn the breaker off first.

Measure voltage between hot, neutral and ground, and make sure its 0.  Then measure resistance, and write down what you find.

Then try to make sure with the stud finder that you're screwing directly into the middle of a stud.  It is then, very very unlikely you will hit the wire.  Especially 4-5 feet above the floor!

Once the screw is in, measure resistance again and compare to what you wrote.

If you see a significant change in resistance (>2%) then you might have hit the wire with your screw, and should take steps to repair from it.  You could disconnect the outlet in the overhead's junction box, or you could cut open drywall and replace the wire.

But more than likely you will measure no change in resistance, and can turn the breaker back on with confidence that you're OK.


Plumbing issue with Toilet ONLY The toilet in the Master Bath is NOT clogged but, there is a forceful air compression into the bowl from an exterior source. All other toilets, sinks and showers seem to be unaffected by this issue. What could be causing the air to explode back into the toilet bowl?

Sounds like the plumbing system is not vented properly.

The venting system is intended to equalize the changing pressures in the plumbing system and prevent situations like this.

Unless you feel pretty handy with plumbing you will probably have to hire a professional if you want this repaired.

Good luck!


Oil- or water-based polyurethane to refinish stair banister? I didn't know that water-based polyurethane was available as an alternative to oil-based until I saw it today at the store. I am refinishing a vintage stair banister and some surrounding trim. I wonder if I can expect equal (or better) outcomes if I use that or should go with the good old that has proven in the past in similar applications.

I've been prejudiced toward oil based polys for years, but having used water based polys on some projects that weren't all the important, I've been impressed.   Water based is much less toxic, easier to clean up, more environmentally friendly and actually does a pretty good job. Seems to dry quicker and more solidly than oil based.  It also seems to sand easily between coats.  Being water based, it does tend to raise the grain on the first coat, but that's easily sanded down with fine sandpaper.  I won't be using oil based poly anymore.


How do I fill a wide gap between tile and other flooring / sill plate? I recently installed 16" porcelain tile in a new laundry room addition.  As luck would have it, the room ended up being the same width as 4 tiles, so I had to do very little cutting to complete the job.  Everything came out about 1/2" from the wall which I covered with baseboard.

The trade off with going with this layout is that there are 2 locations where I now have about a 1/2" gap that need to filled that won't be covered by baseboard.  One is where the floor meets an aluminum sill plate for a garage entry door, and the other is where it joins an existing bamboo floor.

On the bamboo side, I can cut a thin strip (~3/8") of some leftover flooring which will leave me small enough gap to caulk.  However, I haven't figured out what route to take where it meets the sill plate.  I'm looking for suggestions on how to bridge that gap.  It's going to be almost completely hidden by an overhang from the aluminum sweep attached to the door, so the cosmetics are somewhat secondary.  I'd like to do something that will hold up well to the invariable expansion and contraction of the aluminum sill plate.

Would a sill extension work for filling the gap at the entry door?
Here's the first link I found:
http://www.thebuilderssupply.com/Sill-Extensions_c_351.html

And, since you mention that its appearance is secondary, I'll throw out that you might be OK just filling that 1/2" gap with grout.  On my first tile job I didn't notice that the edge of my fiberglass tub had a slight belly, and ended up with a gap that went from 1/4" at the middle of the tub (same as my grout spacing), to about 1/2" at the head and foot corners.  I filled the gap with grout and it looked surprisingly good.  When we moved after about 4 years there was no evidence of any cracking or separation between the tub and the grout; it looked pretty much the same as when I first installed it.

EDIT: Another possibility would be to fill the gap with a length of aluminum bar stock to match the threshold.  You could remove the threshold and fasten the bar to its tile-facing edge with countersunk flat head machine screws and nylon-insert locknuts so that the screw heads are hidden in between the tile and the bar.  Assuming the cement board is butted right up to the threshold, you'd probably need a 3/8" square bar mounted high on the threshold so it overlaps the cement board.


Saddle valve won't turn off Can you actually turn off a saddle valve to replace a refrigerator and then turn it back on?

Yes, unless the saddle valve is corroded. Then it won't turn off completely and afterwards possibly won't open back up.  If it's really corroded you might not even be able to turn it at all.


How can I recondition old rubber seals? I have some rubber window seals that with age have become a bit hard and shiny, which is reducing their effectiveness. I can't replace these seals, so I would like to know -

Is there anything I can apply to the seals, so that they might regain some of their 'rubberiness'?

A Google search for "recondition rubber" brings up quite a few hits. However, I'd be surprised if any worked for any significant time.

Once rubber gets old and and particularly if it becomes perished it loses its elasticity and flexibility. You might be out of luck here.


all power to one room not working outlets read hot We've lost all power in one room. We Replaced all the outlets in the room and the breaker for the room. all breakers and outlets read hot but no electrical is working in the affected room.

This is almost certainly a neutral problem. The trouble will be in the last working device or the first dead one. If everything on the circuit is out it could be a bad termination in the panel.


When I flip the switch to turn on the ceiling fan it works...for a while. Then the circuits in the room blow. Is the issue electrical or an old fan? I'll lead with saying I'm not a handy man. I'm not an eletrician. That said, light bulbs in our house do burn out in various places fairly fast. The issue at hand here though is the ceiling fan in my master bedroom. If I flip the light switch on the wall to turn the fan on, the turns on just fine. It may work for a few minutes or even a few hours. One thing is certain: before morning, the circuits will blow and it will smell like something is or was burning. I've put tape over the light switch since we don't know if the issue is the fan itself or something more extensive than that.

I'm not sure if it possible with this information, but would replacing the fan resolve the issue? Some folks I've talked to (not professionals...just family) think it may be the fan motor.

One last thing. The wall switch next to the one that controls the fan will turn the fan light on and off. This works fine and has caused no issues.

I can't say for sure what the issue was. I did go ahead and replace the fan with a new one based on the logic that the fan light can stay on for nearly ever, which made me think the issue was the fan motor itself.

I still don't have any answers on the light bulbs going out fast. I have a small hope that maybe the bad fan was causing some kind of imbalance in the house, but I have no idea if that makes sense or not from a technical perspective.

In either case, the new fan seems to be working quite well and so do the 2 outlet switches - one for the light, one for the fan.


What type of register and/or installation method to use for a inside duct mounting holes? I removed the original register cover from my vent, the screw mounts were inside the duct.
I'm not sure if the fact that this is on an external wall has anything to do with it, but there was no bite behind the plaster when I drilled that pilot hole. It's possible I was hitting the brick.
(The hole to the left of the duct is where I attempted to drill a pilot hole to install an updated 3 way register)
Typing this out I realize I could probably go down in the basement and confirm my suspicion that there's no stud there.
I'm curious

If these types of registers where the mounting holes are inside are still manufactured, and if so under what designation?

Alternatively how would someone go about installing a new grille in this setup?

You say "there was no bite behind the plaster when I drilled that pilot hole". I'm not sure if you mean that the screw didn't bite into something solid, or if, as your next sentence indicates, you were still drilling but hit something hard.
If you tried driving a screw into that and found that it wouldn't grip, that's not surprising for plaster. You'll want to use a molly/rawl plug/anchor that will go into an oversize hole in the plaster, then you drive the screw through the grill and into the molly. This will give your screw something to bite into, and the (usually) plastic molly is designed to hold in the plaster.
If you were still drilling and hit something solid, it may have been brick, or it could be a protective plate over a stud (though not likely that someone tried to run wiring that close to the vent, though it could be left over from a remodel). In that case, I'd still recommend some sort of wall anchor and a shorter screw to hold the grill in place so you don't have to drill any deeper.


Door bore hole too large for new door knob kits I've bought replacement door knobs that look like they need a small 1" bore, and screw directly onto the wood.  Unfortunately my door has the larger 2" bores and the door knobs screw into each other.

I've looked around online and it seems like everyone wants to make their small bore bigger - I want to do the opposite.  Is there any way to accomplish this or are the new replacement knobs I have useless unless you're drilling in a brand new piece of wood?

I just don't understand why this isn't all standardized.

I had a similar problem. I needed to go from a 2" hole to a 1" hole. I got a 2 1/4" hole saw and cut a hole through a piece of wood the same thickness as the door. I took the plug from the hole saw and glued it into the hole in the door. Sanded it, filled it in with a little wood putty and then drilled my 1" hole. Might be a little more work than you want to do but it did work.


Can I wire 3 switches to 3 devices through conduit with a single hot and ground? I have a bathroom fan/light/night light combo unit that allows for all 3 features to be switched separately (a connector for each). I want a timer for the fan, and separate switches for each light. I'm wondering the best way to wire that.

I could just add a 12/3 cable with two hot wires and a 12/2 cable to control all three features. Or 3 12/2 cables. But I was wondering, if one were starting from scratch would they run 3 separate cables from the switch to the fan combo? Or something else?

So my thought was, could I run conduit and put a ground, neutral, and 3 hots through it, between the switches and the fixture. I realize that would mean all 3 things going through the same neutral, but that would be the case anyway if I just ran 3 cables from the switches.

So is that a valid use of conduit? I also looked for existing cables with 1 neutral and 3 hots (grounded). I think they exist but I can't tell if they're for home wiring or to any sort of electrical code or anything.

I'm having a hard time finding the answer because I don't know how to ask. Being an amateur, I want to go with something I know is correct so I'm wary with this.

Conduit is a fine way to do it.  One of the luxuries of working in conduit is you can install any wires the circuit requires.  This is safer too, because it assures that hots and neutrals actually are together.  There's no problem with transitioning between cable and conduit of any kind, so long as you are in locations appropriate to both types.

It's also easier to wire, since you aren't stuck with red and black (or marking white or gray neutrals). You can use any color you please; brown, orange, yellow, blue, purple or pink. Even my local lumberyard sells several of those by the foot.  Of course green can never be anything but ground, even in a conduit.  (thanks gregmac for reminding me to specify what I assume you know, but the next reader might not.)

In metal conduit you must bond the conduit to ground, but you also can let the conduit be the ground, so one less wire to pull. To make a transition from wired ground to conduit ground, the boxes have a hole tapped for 10-32 for attaching the ground wire.  For convenience, they sell green screws 10 for a buck, and pre-made ground pigtails 10 for $3.


Improving TV Sound Quality: Must I go for higher RMS Power in external speakers than the TV speakers? I have a  Philips 32PFL4738 81 cm LED TV but the internal speakers don't give great sound.

I'm trying to select a good external speaker to correct this issue. Good in the sense of clarity & quality not raw thumping power.

Question: Must I restrict my selection to speakers with a higher power output than the TV's existing speaker-Wattage rating to get a reasonable chance of improvement?

i.e. The TV specs say that its internal speaker is "16 W RMS".

I see some compatible external speakers with fairly great reviews but the Power Rating of those speakers is (say) 12 W RMS.

Should I reject such speakers on grounds of power alone? i.e. 12 < 16.

Or is the speaker power irrelevant here. i.e. A good Creative or Bose or Sony dedicated speaker at 12 W might very well give better quality output than whatever 16 W speaker module / amp. they put into the TV itself.

A follow up question:

Even a 12 W 2.1 speaker seems physically much beefier (larger) than anything within my flat screen TV which claims that it is 16 W. Is size totally uncorrelated to anything?

No, the RMS rating determines how much wattage (volume) a speaker can handle before blowing out. Generally, this just means a more powerful magnet and a cone with a center sleeve which is longer and a more durable cone. In fact, in some scenarios, the speaker cone could be constructed out of materials which are more durable, but have less desirable sound properties.

In fact, this can be easily illustrated by the fact that no matter the RMS rating, you will still want to purchase tweeters and bass to produce the full range of sound. Were higher RMS directly correlated to sound quality, you would not need to buy these at the high end - but this just isn't the case.

If you don't need to simulate the volume of a jet plane at 5 feet from the engine and aren't planning to blow out your eardrums, lower RMS ratings are fine. You will probably want your peak volume to be about half to two thirds of the RMS rating. At the high end of the rating, speakers tend to resonate and generate bad sounds.

Speaker Quality

Instead, what you should look for are speakers made of quality construction and quality materials. For example, low end tweeters tend to be made of silk and high end tweeters made of titanium. Speaker cabinets (these are probably the most underrated aspect of sound quality) should be correctly ported, be made of quality materials and construction and have a mathematically correct resonance chamber to ensure that sound off of the back of a speak is properly delayed and the sound coming out has a good resonance.

Directivity

Good speakers will also have a high amount of directivity. This means that sounds should be heard while standing in the broadcast field for the speakers while not heard outside of the broadcast field. Speakers with a high amount of directivity will have a markedly pronounced volume difference when you move out of the broadcast field. The higher the differential, the better the directivity. This is generally achieved by setting tweeters back into a horn within the cabinet rather than being flush-mounted to the surface of the cabinet. This prevents sounds from bouncing off of surfaces which alter the sounds and deteriorate sound quality.

Speaker Size

There is also something to be said for speaker size. Generally, with mid-range speakers, I have found that larger speakers produce better sound. They have more surface area to generate a richer sound. This does not translate well to bass speakers however as 10-inch bass speakers produce a tighter hitting sound while 12-inch bass speakers produce a richer and deeper more resonating sound. If you listen to music with a lot of emphasis on drums, you will probably be happier with 10-inch bass speakers, while music with more bass guitar is better suited to 12-inch speakers. Or, you may with to simply get one of each.

Receiver/Amplifier

Similarly, your receiver can play a big part. You want to ensure that it does a good job of filtering the hertz ranges. Trying to play bass sounds out of your tweeter will shorten the life of your tweeter and sound terrible. The better a receiver can divide the spectrum and send it to the correct speaker, the better your sound system will sound.

(I sold home theater equipment on commission for about 2 years)


Little bumps appearing where the staple went in for the 1/2" manufactured hardwood floor I have little bumps appearing where the staple went in for the 1/2" manufactured hardwood floor.

Can't even tell they are there from the picture... Maybe I'm looking at it too closely.

These are my floors: http://www.johnsonhardwood.com/products/forevertuff-69/forevertuff-canadian-maple.html

They look great, but after a long day of install, I sat down and caught the light hitting the floor at an oblique angle and could see little bumps where the staples they recommended went in.  (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BKOD4AS/)

I tried hitting those spots with a rubber mallet and that has helped a great deal, but what am I doing wrong in the first place? My air compressor is set at the recommended 75PSI and I am aligning the flooring stapler correctly.

Well, it turns out, the answer is I'm an idiot. I misread the guidelines and used the wrong gauge of staples.

As the result, I got this textbook description from the manufacturer:

  IMPORTANT: Be sure not to over-drive the fastener past the nail slot, this can lead to a condition known as a
      telegraphing fastener. A telegraphing fastener is the visible effect of excessive pressure being placed on the
      wood fibers which causes the appearance of a bump to occur just above the fasteners. This condition becomes
      most apparent when natural or artificial light reflects across the surface of the floor causing the bump to
      become visible to the eye. This condition can sometimes be difficult to see, so make sure to thoroughly
      examine the first few rows of flooring to make certain telegraphing does not exist. Johnson Premium Hardwood
      does not warrant against this condition since telegraphing fasteners are not manufacturing related. If you
      should encounter this condition immediately stop the installation and contact Johnson’s Technical Department
      and or the manufacturer of the nailer for technical advice. It is essential that the flooring installer make sure that
      the nailer/stapler is properly adjusted for the particular floor that is being installed i.e. the fastener(s) MUST
      enter the nail slot at the correct angle and height, do not over-drive the fastener(s) so as not to cause damage
      to the board e.g. telegraphing fasteners, broken or split tongues, peaking, squeaking, or crackling noises to
      occur.

I'm redoing it -- 3 day - $600 lesson learned. Read more carefully....


If my new faucet hoses don't fit on the shutoff valve should I replace the valve or use an adapter? I'm replacing my kitchen faucet and the new faucet has 3/8" fittings on the hot/cold hoses, but the shutoff valves have 1/2" openings. Would it be better to replace the shutoff valves, or find an adapter like this?

In this case it would be a lot better to just replace the shut off valves, by adding an adapter you are just adding one more thing to break or go wrong and cause leaks!   -7 years plumbing experience and red seal certified (Canada)


Remove Fastener Nut for Kitchen Faucet (Rusted?) Trying to remove my Kitchen Faucet. It's around 10 years old.

The last set is to remove the Nut that holds a brass plate to fasten the faucet to the kitchen counter.

The problem is, i think the nut that is hold that brass plate has corroded. The other problem is I have very little room to work with under the sink. Only like a 3-4 inch gap to try to loosen the nut.

Here are the images.

You might find a monobloc tap wrench that fits. They are designed for reaching up behind a basin.

Or a conventional box-wrench set, though I'd guess they are usually not long enough. You can use a normal 1/2" drive socket set to extend one.

If you are replacing the tap, you could use a rotary tool (e.g. Dremel) or similar to cut off the bottom part of the threaded tube to gain access to the nut at the top without interference from the connector at the bottom.

  the nut that is hold that brass plate has corroded.

Clearly, water has been leaking through. You might just have limescale deposits that can be cleaned off with a limescale remover and perhaps with a wire brush (perhaps using a rotary tool again)


How much extra decking to order to allow for offcuts I'm ordering decking for my deck and I'm wondering how much extra I should order to allow for the variation in length of the supplied decking? For example my deck is 4100 x 4500 and the decking timber is 90mm wide. So if all lengths of the decking timber were exactly 4500 I would need 207 lineal metres. Should I add 10% to this or 15%? The timber is being milled for me so it's important I order enough.

Ordinarily, I'd get 10% extra for a job like you describe. Given the custom setup, I'd seriously consider 15%, and maybe maybe if it wasn't outrageously cost-prohibitive, going for 20%. Splits, knots, and if you live in my world, mis-cuts happen. It would break my heart to have to go back for one more stick...

Plus, if you get way too much, then you'll have the fun of figuring out a project on which to use the scrap. Bench seating? Table? Quadcopter? (Okay, maybe not the last...)


Can a dimmer switch be replaced by an electric outlet? Can a dimmer switch be replaced by an electric outlet?  Currently I have dimmer switches in 2 rooms that control 1/2 of every outlet in each room.  This is very inconvenient.  However 2 extra electric outlets would be most welcome.  Would like to try to correct this on my own.  Have replaced other electric outlets and switches when needed in the past.

An outlet should never be on a dimmmer. Someone could plug normal equipment like a vacuum into it and it won't work properly.

They should be replaced with single pole switches or the receptacles should be wired hot.

Good luck and stay safe!


How to leave low voltage wiring behind wall? I am having a new home built and I am putting in my own low voltage wiring.

In addition to standard network wiring, I am hoping to install CAT6 wiring for a few potential future tasks: surveillance cameras, security systems, etc.

However, I don't intend to actually wire these devices for quite some time -- I just want to put the wiring in the walls before the drywall is put up. When I put the equipment in later, I'll retrieve the wires behind the drywall.

My question is: What is the best way to do this? If I don't have a low voltage box that I'm running the wiring to, how do I keep a few feet of cable coiled up behind the wall that is:

a) easy to access later,

b) up to code, and

c) makes sense to other people working on the house why it's there.

The common practice for future expansion is to install the box and put a blank cover on it.

That eliminates the requirement of chopping into the drywall to find the wire. It also eliminates the need to create as-built documents and store them for future reference so you can find the wires later.

My recommendation is to install device boxes with ENT (referred to as "Smurf tube" since it is bright blue) connected to them from the basement or attic. Then when you decide to install a structured cabling system it can be the latest technology. Or, if you decide to update to fiber in the future you will have easy access to these boxes.

Communication / data is a dynamic field and planning for the future is difficult if you use a permanent wiring method stapled into the walls. In commercial buildings we normally install 4" square boxes with 3/4" conduit and single gang mud rings for the drywall. That way wiring can be easily replaced in the future.

Good luck!


What do you call the pieces that are put underneath carport post that are on a slab and where do you get them? I have a carport connected to my house.
There are little footing pieces under all the post to let water run underneath ( I am guessing ).

A post got hit and the little piece broke and now the post is on the ground. I would like to jack the carport back up and put another piece to match the other post and keep everything as level as it was.

I do not apparently know what the actual name for this piece is and when I go to hardware stores ( Home Depot, Lowes ), I get looks like I am speaking a foreign language when trying to describe it. I have even showed pictures.

Summary of key words: post base; Simpson; stand-off; embedded

They didn't know what it was, even after showing them the picture because Home Depot people are almost never experts and often not even that knowledgeable about construction.

What you are looking for is called a post base. In particular, it sounds like it's a stand-off type which means that there is a riser at the bottom. Also, that it is likely an embedded type, which means that it was cast into the concrete when the concrete was poured.

Since you can't place a cast-in into cured concrete, you'll need the type that uses bolts placed into holes pre-drilled into concrete.

Simpson brand hardware is the most common and there are other brands. They are lots of different options. To find knowledgeable people, I suggest going to your local lumberyard or building supply, not a home improvement box giant.


Is it ok to use a shower that just has the backerboard installed and not yet tiled? I'm trying to figure out the timing of redoing my shower. I'm looking at installing a new tub with a tile surround. I'd like to demo the current setup and install the tub and backerboard (and sealant) one weekend and then do the tiling the next weekend.

Since this is my only shower, can I use the shower after putting up the backerboard and sealing it without yet tiling and not mess up the backerboard?

Given that you have a pan that is finished and given that your walls have either a membrane or a painted on membrane that is waterproof you could very lightly use the shower.  I would never endorse this if I was doing the job but if you are doing it yourself, then go ahead.  Make the showers short/light and make sure that it is bone dry before tiling.  (This is all given you have a waterproof membrane installed - the answer is no if you will be showering right on the backerboard.)


Can I run NM wire through this type of flex legally This flex is sold along other types of NM wire molding, but I can't find anywhere where this product explicitly allows NM or not.

According to the 2015-16 UL White Book, this product is only allowed to contain the following:

Optical fiber cables (Types: OFNP,OFNR,OFN,OFNG,OFCP,OFCR,OFCR,OFC,OFCG).
Communications cable (Types: CMP,CMR,CM,CMG,Cross-connect wire).
Power-limited fire-alarm cable (Types: FPLP,FPLR,FPL).
Community antenna television cable (Types: CATVP, CATVR,CATV).
Low-power network-powered broadband communications cable (Types: BLP,BLR,BL).

Which means no NM cable, no lamp cords, no extension cords, nothing but the types of cable listed in the table above.

  2013 UL White Book

  Cable Routing Assemblies (QBAA)

  Use and Installation

  This category covers routing assemblies for installation of conductive
  and nonconductive optical fiber cable, communications cable/wire, powerlimited
  fire-alarm cable, community antenna television cable and lowpower
  network-powered broadband communications cable. Cable-routing
  assemblies are intended to be installed in accordance with ANSI/NFPA 70,
  "National Electrical Code" (NEC). Cable-routing assemblies are only suitable
  for the installation of cable/wire noted in the following information.
  Individual routing assembly systems differ in their construction and,
  therefore, their components are not interchangeable with other routing
  assemblies or fittings of other systems. This category includes pliable
  lengths, rigid straight sections, elbows, bends, and fittings such as expansion
  joints, female and male adapters, and couplings.
  These products may or may not incorporate end fixtures or covers.

NOTES:
- I had trouble finding UL marking on this product, so this information could be inaccurate. Check the product/packaging for an official UL mark and listing. Specifically look for the wording "General-use Cable Routing Assembly" and/or "ANSI/UL 2024"


GFI outlet and light switch Does a GFI outlet need it's own wall box, or can I have a GFI and a light switch, both with separate incoming lines and outgoing loads, in the same wall box?  Thanks.

You can have both circuits in the same box, as long as they're not from different systems, and there isn't more than a 300 volt difference between the circiuts. Even then, I think you just need a divider.

You'll also have to consider box fill, but that's typically not a problem.

Just make sure you keep the neutrals for each circuit separated.


Lamp socket question What are the endings at the end of the wires of this light bulb socket called? I can't seem to find any like this online.

Thank you

They are just called "push-on" single pin crimp-on connectors. There are different types of push-on connectors, these are referred to as "bullet" type. You can usually find them where they sell ring and fork tongue connectors.


How to drill a minute hole on a wooden pendant without a drill? I'm not a professional carpenter and I haven't worked much with wood before. I also lack proper tools.

I made a heart-shaped wooden pendant for my girlfriend with a paper knife and smoothed it out with some sandpaper. It's about 3.2cm long, 2.5cm wide and about 1cm tall, made with red sandalwood (which I believe is a type of hardwood). The base is flat with the edges smoothed off, but the top is more rounder as it goes to the sides. I now have planned to drill a small hole on the cleft and into the center of the pendant, into which I'm planning to screw in an eye bolt (something like this - http://goo.gl/UKjWUA). By doing that, the screw will be going against the grains.

Now my problem is, I don't have a drill. And I don't know how to make a hole in wood by other means on something as delicate as this. Plus I can't take chances, if you know what I mean.

I'd be very glad if anyone knows a solution to this, an alternate method to drill a wood in this pendant.

For drilling a tiny hole in a tiny object, you need to leave the world of home improvement and enter the world of hobby modeling. What you need is a pin vice. It's basically a tiny tiny hand drill:

This tool allows precise mechanical control and will drill extremely small holes.


What is the proper method for repairing insulation nicks in wiring? I've run across this a few times in the house where I've been doing repairs. Normally, I would just tape it up and call it good. I mean, the tape itself is rated at 600 volts. Someone told me recently tape is not listed for repair, only marking. I am a bit confused about UL listings. Where do you find them? And how do you know what something is listed for? And finally, what is the proper way to repair cracks or cuts in wiring insulation?

Electrical tape can insulate a splice all on its own, so this should be fine

UL-listed thermoplastic electrical tapes are intended to be the sole insulating means on a splice or joint (the White Book says as much), and are tested for their capacity as an insulating material, so using them to repair damaged wire insulation within a junction box should be fine in practice, even though neither the NEC nor the UL White Book speak directly to this use of the product.


Loose Neutral or Poor Ground? My house has a 200A main panel and receives power from a center tap transformer (240V split into 120V phases).  The house consumes more than 10KW of energy.  I have noticed in the past that outlets on one 120V phase will sit around 105V-110V and outlets on the other phase will be 120V-125V.  Recently the main water line was replaced in the house and the voltage difference on outlets between the two phases spread further while the work was being performed (90V on one phase and 140V on the other).  I found that the ground for the main panel runs about 75 feet from the main panel on the back of the house to where the main water line comes into the front of the house, and they had dug up and cut the pipe which was my ground, leaving only about 4 feet of grounded pipe buried.  Once the work on the main water line was done voltage differences returned to their original levels.

From what I have read, it seems like the voltage difference between the two phases would be caused by a poor return path back to neutral.  However, when the main water line work was being performed my ground was severely diminished which caused an even greater voltage imbalance which makes me wonder if I need a better ground.

I have inspected the connections I can see in the main panel by removing a cover below the meter cover (exposes the 3 main bar connections) and breaker cover (exposes breaker and ground-neutral bonded connections), and I do not see any corrosion or anything that looks like it isn't to code.

Questions:

1. I thought if you remove the ground from the system completely, the voltage should still be balanced (assuming normal conditions with nothing shorting to ground), so why did losing a good ground cause a larger voltage swing between the two phases?

2. It seems like my problem is in the main panel since loads on one phase of the house cause a voltage swing on the other phase of the house (across all circuits in the house).  How do I measure (like with a multimeter) to determine whether I have a grounding problem or a neutral problem?

EDIT

My uneducated guesses may have led me astray.  The important question ...

What is a good procedure to identify the source of the issue?

Answer: use a clamp-on amp meter to measure current through main neutral (I had a reading of 0A but an imablance of more than 20A between the two phases) and measure the current through the grounding electrode (I had 20A going through it).  This confirmed that I had a floating neutral which the power company had to come out and fix.

Contact your power company and report an outage.

Specifically, a lost neutral.   This is a serious problem that needs to be fixed lickety-split.

Your neutral is either gone or fading fast, and differential current is flowing through the neutral-ground bond, grounding electrode system, earth, to the transformer's ground and back to the transformer.  Dirt doesn't conduct electricity well enough to do that job, which is why the voltages are going out of balance.

I bet the workers servicing the grounding electrode system were getting "zappity zap zap" while they were working on it. There should never be current flowing on ground wires.


How can I deal with a short bottom step on a stairwell? I've got a interior stairwell with 20 steps of 7 1/2" rise on wood treads, except for the bottom step that's a concrete tread 6 1/2" up from a slab.  The top of the stairwell features a pocket door with more or less a 3/8" sill (so technically that top step is 7 7/8").  Despite the somewhat uneven stringer cadence, it has been fine for many years.

But now we want to add a basement subfloor (dricore venting style) which adds at the very least 7/8".  What can we do to even back up the stair treads?  How bad is a short bottom step (I know it's better than a tall bottom step)?  How thick a subfloor + carpet could be tolerated on the slab?

The current stair is carpeted, and we'll probably put back carpet. USA based California, home era 1920's.

The key is to eliminate any variation over about 1/8" to prevent tripping. You can change the rise gradually and most folks won't notice it.

Sounds like you'll have about a 2" discrepancy to deal with. I'd remove 6-10 treads and start adding wood strips to the stringers to bring the bottom rise to say 7", then add 1/8" to each subsequent rise until you're at 7-1/2". Be sure to account for finished flooring.

If you want to better handle the tall top rise, remove all treads and work up as I described to its height in 1/8" increments.

Use construction adhesive and small nails or screws for all strips, and glue and 3" screws for the treads to prevent noise.


Is a Replacing GFCI difficult I have a GFCI outlet in my powder room that needs to be replaced.  Is it significantly more difficult to replace a GFCI than an ordinary outlet?

No, but you do need to identify the "line" (supply) and "load" (additionally-protected portion of the circuit, i.e. downstream outlets) cables. If they're connected to the wrong terminals the downstream section of the circuit won't be protected.

With a standard outlet, connection location isn't important other than maintaining polarity.


Can I run just one wire to the sub-panel via schedule 40 separate from the others? I have a 25 year old recalled sub panel, three wire, converting to new Eaton 100A. Want to add a wire to meet code

Is it allowed by code to run just one wire to the sub panel via schedule 40 to the panel separate from the other three?  The original wires are in the ceiling over living space (mess to access.) 2 AWG.

In planning I wanted to run a hot, but as it turns out I can't make the existing neutral in main reach the neutral bus.  (I suppose since it should be bonded I could lug in to ground.)  But now I'm planning to run the black wire as neutral (mark with white on both ends) and keep the neutral as the second black as it would be in a 4 wire (mark it red).  How much trouble am I in?

Run a new feeder in metal conduit

If you're going to run a conduit from the main panel to the subpanel, I would simply run a 2" EMT and pull an entirely new 100A feeder (1AWG Al hot/hot/neutral with the EMT for a ground) through it in your situation.  This is because the existing feeder SE(?) cable seems to have been improperly installed to begin with (its jacket does not extend down into the strain-relief clamp on the cable entrance), and as a result should not be relied upon for continued service.

While you are at it, you should re-terminate the existing NM cables into junction boxes above the panel, then bring the circuits down from those boxes using NM "jumbo pigtails" into the panel that are properly strain-relieved.  This because the original installer screwed up the strain relief on the branch-circuit NM cables going out of the subpanel, as well.


Do I need to protect my new basement slab from freezing air temperatures? We are building a new house with an exposed basement. I had the floors poured a week ago while still warm in December. We have not framed the house up yet, meaning no deck, walls, roof, or HEAT. My concern is how cold does it have to get before I need to worry about damage to the concrete floor? We also have no power yet.

we had temps of 50-60 degrees for a week straight, lows in the mid to upper 30's. We live close to Moline Illinois and the next week is predicting highs in the 30's and the lowest I've seen is 14 degrees. We'll have the lid on the week of Jan 4th so I'll, with heaters can put some heat in the basement. Crossing my fingers. Mike

Since it has been a week you should have no problem, do not use a deicer on it, THAT will tear it up.... To be on the safe side rent some concrete blankets to hold what heat the curing concrete generates.
Straw and plastic has also been used as a blanket.


how can I safely attic insulation from kitchen counter storm  caused roof kitchen ceiling to collapse onto counter.  how do I safely clean this up the insulation that fell with it?

Most people are going to grab bags/boxes and just clean it up and throw it away. Is that the right approach, no.

First - what year was your house built? What kind(s) of debris is on the counter?

Second - By and alone itself, "a storm" shouldn't be enough to cause a ceiling to fall in. This implies you have a bad roof, or a window open, or other issues in the home where water is likely getting to places it does not belong. Not to mention, once you clean up the mess, if you have not repaired the hole in the ceiling, the "things" that fell from the ceiling that are concerning you are still present in the ceiling area and as air moves in the home, it is "taking flight" in the air. So ideally you need to cleanup and patch or seal off the hole.

So with this said, you should call a contractor and get them in there, as unless you are going to repair the ceiling, you need one anyways, and one to inspect what caused the damage.

Standard disclaimer as I do not know if you have asbestos in the home, and it is one of the reasons I ask the questions above and you decide you still want to address the issue without professional quote:

Wear gloves, and long sleeve shirt with sleeves tucked into the gloves, and long pants, everything tucked in.
Wear a face mask, Sure painter masks are better than nothing but a respirator is the right apparatus
Use thick plastic bag like a contractor bag and take care to not toss nails or sharp object in the bag tearing it
Take your time, to avoid creating more dust, place the items in the bag, to avoid creating more dust. Once all major debris and debris you picked up with your hands is taken care of, you can spray a paper towel with water/windex lightly, and begin wiping down surfaces, throwing the paper towels into the bag every few wipes. You're doing this to get fibers and smaller particles picked up.

I'm assuming you have fiberglass or cellulose based insulation, these aren't going to cause any significant issues from a one time exposure aside from skin irritation, yet you still do not want to breathe it in.

Definitely get a contractor in to inspect the cause of the damage and repair it. If you are at all concerned, I would close off the kitchen area until it is repaired.


Why won't my recessed lights illuminate when they have power? I recently installed 7 recessed can lights in my basement that are powered by 3 way light switches.  After I hooked up the power to the 2 switches the first light in the series will illuminate but the others will not.  I have tested each light fixture and they all have power coming into them.  I have tried to change out the LED lights I bought at Home Depot and they still will not work (I moved the same lights to another location and they work just fine). Any suggestions on why the other lights will not illuminate?  Thanks

Evidence would suggest there is a wiring error. Recheck the wiring and all the connections - something is not connected, or is connected incorrectly.

Since you claim to have tested that there is power to all the fixtures, one of two things is probably the case:

There is a high resistance connection which allows you to see voltage with a tester, but which causes the voltage to drop drastically as soon as a load is applied.
You have managed to get both hot and neutral hot, so voltage is present, but there's no voltage across the devices, as they are connected to hot on both sides.

As you might imagine, it's difficult to troubleshoot these things from afar. Doublecheck everything.


How to work out which wire goes where when replacing light fixture There are 2 neutral wires and 3 black ones and a ground. The ceiling light is on and hard wired in and I can't turn it off. The adjacent bedrooms are without power.

I know I scrambled the wires so how do I determine which goes where?

Familiarise yourself with typical ways of wiring lights in your country and locale. There are often one standard way of doing things but there are very often other ways of wiring things up that you need to be aware of in case you encounter them. Search related questions here for diagrams.
If you dont have a good tool go and spend $10 on something that might save your life and which will help you work this out.
Familiarise yourself with safe methods of working with electricity. You probably want someone else around to call an ambulance if you get electrocuted. Make sure anyone else in the house knows you are working on the circuit so that they don't do something silly like turning a breaker back on while you are working on a circuit. Make sure you know how to test your tester each time you perform a test.

To work out which wire goes where, apart from matching the wiring colours to known standards, I would

With the light on, verify that you can use your tester to identify at least one live/hot wire. If you can't do this, call an electrician.
Disconnect the circuit using the breaker in the main panel.
Test all the wires in the ceiling box are dead.
Identify the earth wires

bare uninsulated or with green or green/yellow insulation.
often connected to metal box/casing/etc in ceiling or elsewhere

Disconnect all the wire nuts except the ground/earth wires.
Draw a diagram of all the wires showing colours of insulation, presence of coloured tape or other markings on wires.
Make sure no wires are touching.
Switch the breaker back on.
Identify an earth/ground wire, use that for testing. If not present, pick a neutral wire (by insulation colour)
Test every other wire to see which ones are live with respect to your chosen reference wire (ground or neutral). repeat test with other reference wires. write down results carefully and clearly.
Repeat tests with light switch on other position.
Work out what must be the permanent live, what must be the switched live.
Use knowledge from 1 above and test results to deduce correct connections.
Turn off breaker
Check wires are all dead. Check tester still works on live wire elsewhere.
Make connections
Turn breaker on and check lights and outlets work as expected.
Call electrician if needed.

Diagrams

US example
US example

Ceiling wires

US example
US example
US example (horrible)
UK example 1 (old&new colours)
UK example 2 (old colours)
DE example
AU example

Switch wires

US example
UK example


What should I look for in a ladder? I am a new homeowner, and I am looking to buy a ladder so that I can clean my gutters.  There seems to be a wide price range and a lot of different features.

What should I look for in a ladder?  (Or, do you have any specific recommendations?)

EDIT:  If it helps, my roof is 13 feet from the ground, and the roof looks to be angled about 30 degrees.

With a roof line that low, I'd recommend a multi-position ladder because it can be used as either a step ladder or an extension ladder, making it useful for a lot of the projects that you'll probably be working on in the near future: getting on the roof, painting high up on the walls, getting up in the attic, etc.  If your roof line was much higher than that, I would go with a dedicated extension ladder.

Look for one that allows stabilizer bars to be attached when it's being used as an extension ladder (if you're like me, there's a temptation to reach just a little bit further to the side than you should).

Ladders come in a range of weight ratings so make sure that you get one that will work for your weight, and allow a margin for the weight of any tools and/or supplies you might be carrying.


my 220v circuit breakers show a voltage but dont seem to be able to drive a load. why? im racking my brain trying to get my 220v electric cooktop to work. ALL 4 burners do not operate. i read 220v at all the proper places on the switches etc but when i turn a burner on... the voltage drops to 0. the burner doesnt warm up.

the connections in the junction box (red and black wires in wall FROM panel connecting with wirenut to red and black wires that go to the cooktop) seem tight and clean.

i also used my own 'jumper cables' to connect from the red/black wires in the junction box directly to one of the burner elements (basically by passing all wiring harnesses, switches etc). no current flow. voltage drops from 220 to 0 when i put the burner element in the circuit

i have 2 40amp circuit breakers in the panel box that bring the 220v to this one junction box. i check the voltages at those breakers and measure 110v for each and 220v across the two.

what is happening here? thx

If you've bypassed all the controls in the stove itself, and the voltage still drops to zero when you apply a load, then there's either a bad connection somewhere in the wire run, or one of your breakers is bad.  (And breakers do go bad.)  I'd replace the breakers, (fairly quick and cheap) and if still no luck then replace the wiring run from the panel to the stove.


Wiring a plug. Non UK coloured wires I am trying to wire a plug into a 6" inline fan for our bathroom but I do not recognise the colours used for the wiring. I am based in the UK.

I've attached an image. Which one is neutral? And I am assuming I can leave off the earth as there's no conductive parts exposed.

Also, why is red and brown connected off like that? The connector is only 1 way.

UK wiring colours

        Live    Neutral
        ----    -------
 Old    Red     Black
 New    Brown   Blue

Appliance leads changed colours first, this was so that appliances across the EU all conform to the same colour code. Aiding trade etc.

Later on, in-wall fixed wiring colours were changed. I guess this was deemed less urgent because houses don't get moved from country to country.

Anyway that might explain why you have a mix of colours. The in-wall wiring uses the older colours. The appliance (fan) wiring uses new colours.

  I am trying to wire a plug into a 6" inline fan for our bathroom

The way you phrase this makes me unsure what exactly you are doing.

If this fan is inline in the sense of part-way along an air duct, it should be wired in permanently and not using any kind of plug (as in wall plug that plugs into a wall socket)

  why is red and brown connected off like that?

Live supply (red) to live load (brown). Probably.

It is unusual for that to be on a separate connector like that, which suggests something odd may be going on.

Normally there is the typical white-plastic screw-down connector block as shown at the bottom of your photo with all the supply connections on one side and all the appliance connections on the opposite side.

What you have is non-standard (but might still be OK and safe - its just hard to tell from the photo alone)

  Which one is neutral?

Should be blue (appliance side) and black (supply side).

  I am assuming I can leave off the earth

It isn't needed for double-insulated appliances (like your fan) but you should terminate it somewhere so that a future householder is able to safely connect a different type of fan that does require an earth.

  I do not recognise the colours used

Apart from the above explanation, you should refer to the manufacturers instructions. Many bathroom fans operate when the bathroom light is switched on and continue to run after the bathroom light is switched off. To be able to do this they need the following connections

neutral
permanent live
switched live
(earth unless double insulated)

The electricians who put wiring into walls often use standard cabling for the run to and from the light switch etc which can mean that a blue cable acts as a switched-live return from the switch. This should be marked with red tape (or really brown tape nowadays) to indicate it is a switched-live not a neutral.

If in doubt, you'll need a suitable Cat-II (or greater) rated voltage-test device and spend some time confirming what wires do what.

From your comments, what you have are

white sleeved cable

red insulated wire   (normally indicates live)
black insulated wire (normally indicates neutral)

black sleeved cable

brown insulated wire (normally indicates live)
blue insulated wire  (normally indicates neutral)
black insulated wire (not normally used in homes)

The last combination is used on three-phase industrial supplies that are rarely seen in UK homes. In that case brown is phase 1 and black is phase 2 (phase 3 would be light-gray). It is exceedingly unlikely that a domestic bathroom fan would use a multiple phase power supply.

If I didn't have instructions for the fan, I'd try to obtain some from the supplier or manufacturer (or intertubes). Failing that I'd break out the suitably rated test tools and try to work it out the hard way.


How do I remove a push-pull tub drain stopper? We have a bathtub that has a push pull drain stopper, and I need to clean out some gunk. The problem is that I can't get the stopper out of the drain. I (finally) got the top knob removed, and I read that there could be a screw to loosen. Unfortunately, there is no screw, and when I raise and lower the stopper, whatever the stopper is attached to also raises and lowers. The stopper raises only enough to barely slip a pair of needle-nose pliers underneath the stopper and feel the shaft in the middle, so I can't see what's underneath.

It seems that most of the videos I can find are for lift-and-turn stoppers, and the videos for a push-pull stopper have a screw to loosen under the knob. Any suggestions?

The hole has a diameter of approx. 1/4", and the depth from the top edge of the stopper to the center is about 3/8".

I had a drain in my tub very much like yours, never found a way to remove the stopper.  So I can't answer that portion of your question.

However, to remove the gunk/hair that continually clogged the drain, I found the plastic drain sticks to work really well.  I just snaked one around for a few minutes, pulling up some really nasty clumps of hair and other detritus.

The "good news" is that now that the tub is 20 years old, the mechanism rusted out and I can finally remove the stopper.


Problem with tile cutting I'm tiling my bathroom floor with some large ceramic tiles (33cm x 33cm aka 13" x 13") and I'm having difficulty cutting them. I'm using a simple glass cutter, because the tile cutter for such large tiles is too expensive, and an angle grinder with a diamond disk gave a pretty dismal result (not to mention an absurd amount of noise).

The glass cutter worked like a miracle - for the first tile that I tried to cut diagonally (corner to corner). After that, it's the same problem over and over again:

I've scratched a pretty deep line with the glass cutter (even faintly visible in the picture), and I've positioned the tile-to-be-cut on top of an already glued tile on the floor. The scratch line matches the tile edge. Then I hit the corner with my fist to break it. And the result is in the picture.

In the middle it breaks as it should, but closer to the edges it ignores the lines. This is still salvageable with tile nippers (I need the big piece), but it's annoying. What am I doing wrong?

$65 at Harbor Freight or other import discounter. You are wasting your time with a scoring cutter. If you had a lot to do I would recommend a quality domestic saw, but for a one time job this saw will work so well you will kick yourself for not biting the bullet and buying one before you even started the job.


With lever-style taps, why is cold water only added to the mix the further up the tap is pushed? I have several lever-style taps throughout my house - up/down controls the speed of the water flow, and left/right the temperature (left = hotter, right = colder). I have a hot water tank, and as a result these lever-style taps mix both hot and cold water - hot from my tank, and cold from the mains water supply.

When any of these taps are only slightly on (only lifted to the up position ever so slightly), I've noticed that the mix between hot/cold water isn't equal - only hot water flows from the tap, but the further up I push the tap the more cold enters the mix. This definitely isn't an issue with the tap; it happens to all of these lever-style taps throughout my property. Why can this behaviour be observed - is there any particular reason that these taps work in this way? Logically, my thinking would be that no matter how far up the tap is pushed, an equal amount of hot/cold water would be mixed together - but this doesn't appear to be the case!

It could be a pressure imbalance in the hot & cold lines, the valve cartridge being slightly off center, the design of the valve, or even thermal expansion or contraction within the valve. It's not uncommon for the hot/cold mix to be unbalanced at very low flow, just adjust the lever a little.


Can a tankless water heater outlet pressure be increased without a second heater? My father-in-law has a five-bedroomed house with three bathrooms, two of which are in use. The household is gravity-fed with a cold water tank on the roof, and a gas-fired tankless water heater on the uppermost of three floors.

It is only possible for one shower or tap (faucet) to be used at a time without reducing pressure. If the kitchen sink is used (hot) then the shower can reduce to a trickle.

I have read that a second heater, connected in parallel, would permit a higher outlet pressure at the temperature of a single heater, but my father-in-law is suggesting the installation of a pump at some point in the system to permit more than one hot water fixture to be used at the same time.

Is this possible, and can anyone with experience offer some advice on the general setup?

N.B. the house is in Mexico, so specific product recommendations may or may not be helpful.

sounds like you want more volume (gpm) of hot water ( thus,two tankless in parallel) because it takes energy (Btu) to make hot water. The heater will also limit its gpm output into the water pipe by the temperature you set.
Look up the volume to hot water temperature curves for your rated Btu tankless heater.  I think a big 200,000 Btu units can provide 6gpm of 115 F hot water and a smaller 60,000 Btu heater may only do 3gpm of 115 F hot water.
If the kitchen is asking for all 6gpm of hot 115 F water, then all the other valves located after the kitchen valve will have no hot water from the water line.
The 200 MBtu will make 7 gpm of warm water if the temperature is turned down (check the 90 F curve). Now, the kitchen gets 6gpm of 90 F water, and 1 gpm of 90 F water can go down the pipe for the next fixture.
System with multiple loops of heaters installed closer to the fixtures, will fire on independently with no pressure lost. Parallel heaters will use more Btu and water if the the last fixture and heaters are far apart.
These heater also have a minimal in coming water pressure to operate correctly, so a pump may help if placed before the heater.


What is the best way to remove a non load bearing wall? I have a wall that I want to knock out as part of a kitchen remodel.  The wall is non load bearing, so its fine to take out.  The question is, what's the best way to do it?

I imagine there's not a whole lot of finesse to it, but are there are some techniques to avoid wreaking the ceiling, floor and other connecting walls?

Also, the wall is lath-and-plaster and not the usual drywall.  Will that affect things?

The wall has 1 electrical outlet in the lower corner, and no other electrical or plumbing runs through it.

My guess is it would go something like is:

Cut power at breaker (duh)
Remove plaster (how?)
Remove electrical line.
Remove wall frame (sawzal + pry bar?)

Is this about right?

Removing plaster can make tremendous amounts of dust, isolate the area with plastic to cut down on the spread, and get yourself a dust mask and a helmet is a good idea. Cover any cold air returns and heating vents. Once you're prepared, taking plaster walls down is pretty easy, whack it with a hammer to bust a hole, then you can usually get a shovel or pitchfork behind the plaster and it will pull away from the lathe easily as you break the keyway that holds it in. Clean up all the plaster and dust, then go after the lathe with a crowbar and/or hammers; then start cutting the vertical studs with a sawzall.

Double, triple, quadruple check that it's not load-bearing, if the blade is binding when cutting through a stud, there's downward pressure, and even if it's not structurally load bearing, things could've shifted over time above, and taking it out might make things drop or sag.


How to fill 4" width gap between the walls and alcove bathtub door I'm trying to install a full width alcove bathtub sliding glass door. Problem is the width of pre-built tub doors, especially those at budget price level such as  this one, seemed to be standardized at  max 60" but the width of my bathtub and alcove is 64".

How to address the 4" shortage both cost-effectively and aesthetically? Presumably I am looking for a commodity product preferably available in local hardware stores to fill the gap. Example product link would be helpful. I have thought about using U-shaped aluminum channels but most channels are under 1" width. There are high-end or custom-built tub doors fitting 64" but they cost over $800, which is over my budget.

This isn't the only way to approach this, but since many shower doors have a U shaped channel that covers another U shaped channel (that's been attached to the wall), you could use box section aluminum -- 2"x1" (assuming that the 1" dimension meshes well with your chosen door) on both sides. Your local metal supplier probably won't have this in stock, but you could order from them or the internet generally.

Tip: drill a weep hole at the bottom of the 2x1 that drains to the tub so that you don't inadvertently get standing water in the tube.


Fix squeaking staircase I am in the process of adding more storage area underneath a straight staircase.  There was a single wall below the staircase that I removed to get more storage.
After removing the studs for the wall, it appears the staircase is squeaky.  I can also see the stringers flex/move under load.
I'm not sure if it squeaked before or if I'm just being hyper sensitive.  Nevertheless, this is a good opportunity to fix the squeak.  The squeak is the worst when I'm on the 4th step from the bottom, but it's present from steps 3-8.

If the stringers are compromised: Add a proper header or headers across the underside of your stringers to replace the support you had removed. Either that or replace the supporting wall. If it were just squeaking, there are other solutions, but obvious flexing is a safety problem that needs fixing.
If the stringers are not compromised, look for fasteners that aren't fully embedded. Start with the toenails at the top, I find they're usually the culprit. Remove and replace with a screw of the same diameter that is properly sunk.
When we talk about flex in a residential wood frame stair stringer, it is not out of the ordinary to see movement with the naked eye. However, if the flex is pronounced bowing, you have a problem. If it's the former case, simply a little movement, then you are likely getting worked up by a squeak that used to not be audible when the cavity below the stairs was walled off. Ripping the drywall off let the sound out. A key question is: are those stringers resting on top of the wall, or are they nailed to a rim board at the top (newer construction might have them hung in metal clips (hangers))?

If no hangers and you want to delete the wall, remove the wall and add hangers at the center two stingers where you can access both sides, and then lag the stringers at the walls to the wall studs. Put a little dab of subfloor glue in the bottom of the saddle before pushing it up tight and nailing it off.
If hangers are present and the stringers aren't flexing drastically, the wall is doing nothing and you are just hearing a loose fastener rubbing.
If the stringers are bowing dramatically, add additional header material. I can't tell you what would be adequate in your case because that depends on a lot more than you've detailed here, but start with two 2x8 nailed together to be installed vertically (narrow edge top and bottom, wide side vertical), ripped across their top edge at an angle matching the slope of the stringers. You can either support them with 2x4 studs each end, or you can lag them to the studs at each side of the staircase. Either way, you can nail through the face of the beveled edge into the bottom of the stringers to provide some bracing, that really is not needed. Bracing for a stringer resists roll, and with the tops of stringers being braced by the treads and possibly the riser board, you would have to put enough weight on those stairs to break the stringers before they would flex down enough to roll for a standard slope length as this staircase is. (Bracing in a floor system improves stiffness by transferring point loads, dispersing the load to adjacent joists, this does not come into play with stringers).
If a stringer is severed, and you still want to delete the remaining wall elements, you would sandwich the compromised stringer between new continuous full length 2x or simply cut a new stringer and sister it onto a damaged stringer.


Why is my electric hot water heater producing lukewarm/cold water? Yesterday after returning home from work I discovered my hot water is not working. When you turn on the faucet (any in the house) just a little warm water comes out and then it turns cold. I checked the fusebox. It was not tripped. I'm going to buy a multimeter today to test the fusebox. Please, any help or suggestions as to what I should do???

Sounds like the first bit of lukewarm water is just what is in the plumbing. It's warmed up by the air in your home as it sits there. The cold water after is what's sitting in the hot water heater.

With that in mind, it looks like your hot water heater is not working at all.


Why are baseboard miters not straight even after tuning saw? I'm installing baseboard for the first time and I keep noticing when doing 45° cuts the top is sticking out a fraction more than the bottom, see picture. I'm using a dewalt 716 miter saw and have used multiple tools to test and the saw in tuned in properly but still am having this issue.

Not every corner is perfect, and some adjustment is needed for every cut in some cases.

Either the cut is not square, and the saw is still not adjusted, or the wall is bumped out at the bottom. If that is the case the wall can be carved back behind the base or the base can be thinned down on the back to get the corner to come together.


How to wire a GFCI with 4 white and 4 black wires - see pictures I live in an old house and I am looking to replace a two prong outlet in the kitchen with a GFCI outlet . I already did this for two outlets in my garage. When I removed the outlet, I found 2 wires on each of the four poles for a total of 8 wires. I know that GFCI outlets will not work with shared neutrals. Is installing a GFCI outlet possible? I have pigtailed wires before but I'm not sure how to proceed. Thanks.

Connect the feeder wires to the LINE terminals on the GFCI. The feeder wires will be one set of black and white, which bring power to box.  If there are two sets of feeder wires, you'll have to install two GFCI devices. As GFCI receptacles cannot be used to replace a split receptacle (where the two receptacles are supplied by separate branch circuits).

Take all the load white wires, plus a short length (8" or so) of white wire. Using a twist-on wire connector,  bundle them together. Then do the same for the load side black wires.

Connect the load side pigtails to the LOAD terminals on the GFCI device.

Finally, connect all grounding conductors together, including one to the device, and one to the metal box.

Each binding screw terminal should have no more than ONE wire connected to it. Check the manufacturer's installation instructions for the device, to determine how to properly terminate the wires.

However, with that many wires in the box, it's almost certainly over filled. So while you're doing the work, you might want to consider replacing the box with a double gang box.  That would give you enough volume for the wires, and allow you to add an additional receptacle.


Can I install a rocket stove inside my house? After having build a this type of rocket stove(*), I was wondering if you are allowed to build a rocket stove mass heater into your house?

Are there any restriction?

(*) I don't think it's a rocket stove. That would need to re-burn the fumes.

I'm not affiliated to both websites whatsoever.

That will be up to the LAHJ - or Local Authority Having Jursidiction. Figure out who that is (if you need building permits, it's usually whoever issues and/or does inspections related to them) and ask.

Don't be overly shocked if the answer is no - I suspect most RMHs in dwellings are located in places with no or very minimal inspections/code enforcement, as the building code folks tend to be a bit conservative about fire and houses - not having people killed in house fires is a big part of why they exist. As such they can be very slow to accept non-traditional approaches to containing fires in houses. On the other hand, they may be able to suggest an approach that keeps them happy.


Hanging an over-the-range microwave without top cabinet I have an over-the-range microwave with wall bracket but no cabinets above.  It is safe to hang it solely by the wall bracket or is the top cabinet to bolt it to a requirement?

If it matters, this is the microwave in question

I have hung a few of this type of microwave, not this particular brand or model, all required the bolts through the upper cabinet. Understandably so, that is a lot of weight hanging off of a thin stamped metal plate.


Double gang box. One switched, three hot. Is a shared neutral OK? I want to install a double gang box with one outlet switched and the other three always hot.
The way I was thinking of doing it was like this.

-Both neutrals would be connected as normal
-One of the receptacles hot side bridge would be clipped.
-the hot feed connects to the bridged receptacle and one of the two on the "un-bridged" receptacle.
-The feed is ran to a switch box and returned where it is wired to the final receptacle.

My experience with shard neutrals is less than good so I am wary about using them. This doesn't seem like it should cause a problem but I'm worried about getting feedback voltage from the neutral line.

Will this work?

Sounds like you've got it.

Neutral feeder comes into the box, and pigtails out to each receptacle (silver colored screw) and a neutral to the switch (if required by 2014 code).
Hot feeder comes into the box, and pigtails to each receptacle (brass colored screw) and a hot to the switch.
Switched hot comes into the box, and connects to one of the receptacle terminals.
The bonding jumper on the receptacle with two hot feeds is broken.
All grounding conductors are properly connected.


Wiring a Junction Box: 1 source in, 2 sources out I have an existing junction box and currently 1 source from the basement going in, and one source coming out and that goes to a wall switch.

If I want to connect a second wire to come from that junction box, would I just attach all hot and all neutral wires together in the box? In my head it sounds like this wouldn't be a complete loop, but maybe I am just overthinking it.

So one source going into the box and then two wires coming out of it, each going to their own box in the walls below.

Anyone have a diagram for this? Thank you!

Yes, you would tie the hots together, the neutrals together, and the grounds together. Below is an image of the inside of the box for reference.

And here is a wiring diagram as requested. The main line from your breaker comes in at the top of the diagram and enters the box. It is then tied off and sent to the left to your always hot load or other switch and also to the right towards the existing switch and load. (Black is hot, gray is neutral, orange blobs are wire nuts, and grounds are not shown for simplicity)

I've also included a more clear cut version of the diagram so that you can see the flow of power.


Why does my fan increase speed when the light kit is switched on? Ceiling fan with light fixture installed. The fan is wired to one wall switch plate and the light to another.
When the fan is switched on by itself it runs at correct speed. However when light is turned on with fan running the fan speeds up and lights get brighter. Help!

The light and the fan are on different wall switches. If these are on different legs (180 deg out of phase), then the net current in a common neutral in the fan will be the difference in the currents in the two hots.

IIRC when the light kit is installed on the fan there is a wire nut splice of the neutral of the light to a common neutral (whites), and of course there is a splice to the hot of the light (blues).

Suppose the fan and light have a common neutral in the fan and there is significant resistance in the neutral wire or in the splices where the light and fan neutrals join the common neutral in the light fixture or where the common neutral in the fan shroud connects to the neutral of the house wiring. When both the light and the fan are on the voltage at the fan motor and the light sockets is higher than when only one is on.

Easiest way to test this explanation is to remove all the bulbs but one from the light fixture. With the light off turn on the fan and let it come to constant speed, then turn on the light. The fan should speed up much less when all the bulbs were in their sockets.

If you can reach both of the wall switches with voltmeter leads, test the voltage across the two.hots. Zero volts indicates that the two hots are on the same leg and this explanation is wrong. 240 V means they are on different legs and this explanation is possibly true.

The remedy would be to redo the splices where the neutral come together. If the neutral wire itself is at fault, then the wire is damaged or you are using higher power bulbs (high power incandescents) than the fixture is rated for.


Is home wired correctly? After looking at it more carefully:

So it looks like the 30 amp breaker with the 14 gauge wire is to the garbage disposal.
The AC is wired the a double pole 20 amp with 14 gauge wire.
The two single pole 15 amp on the bottom right (red and black) are spliced together (wire nuts) to two wires coming from the same metal conduit, two wires but are both black.
Ground and neutral wires are connected to the same bus bar in the same slot.
These things seem odd to me...

Updated with more pictures.

Easy.   For each wire, determine if it's 10 AWG, 12 AWG, or 14 AWG wire.   Then consider the following table:

14 AWG, 15 amp breaker
12 AWG, 20A breaker
10 AWG, 30A breaker

Don't upsize any breakers.  But if the breaker is bigger (in amps) than the wire in the above table, downsize the breaker.  BR breakers cost $5 for a single and $10 for a double.

Any wrong-type breakers (looking at  you Square D), replace them.

If any cables have 2 hots (e.g. red-black-white Romex) get a 2-pole breaker of appropriate amperage and land both hots on the 2-pole.  Note a 2-pole is not a duplex. A 2-pole is twice the size of a normal breaker.

That's it.  You're done.

After this, some loads may trip the breaker.  If that's the case you'll have to follow the usual troubleshooting - too many loads on one circuit, too small cable needed, etc.

If a breaker serves only one motor load, ask a new question with the motor specs and ask whether you can use (size of wire you have) with (size of breaker you used to have).


Is it OK to paint bedroom plain yellow? I have a 4 by 3 m room which I painted yellow. However it's only the first layer of paint, but when I'm in the room (in the daylight) my skin and my clothes reflects that yellow like there's a yellow lightbulb and if I stay a little bit in there I feel dizzy because it's too strong and sharp for the eyes.

So I have some really bugging questions now:

Is this because there's no furniture and all the color falls directly on the eyes? Will it be milder and less noticeable in the context with the furniture and stuff? Will everything have the color "on it's own" after I fill the room? This happens with every plain color or it's only the yellow?

I can't afford to change it now, the decision is already made. I can however, fade it out with white. Would this help?

I just painted my two youngest boys' room an intense goldenrod. It is a small room, and with only one window and slanted ceilings, it tends to be dark and closed in. I wanted to brighten the room, but I can understand that if that wasn't the desired effect the color can be overwhelming.

I personally find yellow to be a difficult color to tolerate for long periods of time; I believe that studies have shown that yellow can make people feel anxious. Here's a link http://www.colorpsychology.org/yellow/ that provides more insight.

If you already know that you don't love the color but can't afford to waste the paint, I would suggest you take it back to the paint store and ask them to tone it down for you, rather than just add white. Most paint stores or counters in big box stores will do this for free, however there is some skill involved and you might have better results at a store that exclusively specializes in paint.

To a certain extent, yes, adding furniture, paintings/photos, and curtains will break up the color and reduce the feeling of being inside an egg yolk, but, if it's enough to make you comfortable w/the color is questionable. The yellow may very well make some of the colors of other items look different; this may be good or bad.

You might try changing the lighting in the room. If there are windows, try diffusing the light with sheer curtains or shades. Light bulbs, both LED and incandescent, are available in "warm" or "cool" tones that might make the room feel totally different.

For some tips on how to decorate to "harmonize" the color, check out the Houzz app, which allows you to search through thousands of photos of homes. You can type in "yellow walls" and it'll show you what others have done, both professional interior decorators and regular folk, for inspiration and solutions.

If nothing helps, don't despair, I've made plenty of bad color choices in my day, and on a tight budget to boot, and I'm still sane (I think). I just wait a while and then repaint as soon as my budget and schedule allow it. That's the beauty of paint vs wallpaper-it's low commitment.


Does my kitchen sink trap have a removable cap? My condo in Toronto was built in 2013. Does my kitchen's trap have the "removable cap" mentioned in this post?

Full resolution image

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No it doesn't have a drain cap. You can remove the entire trap by loosening the trap union and the tailpiece adapter. You will probably spill stinky water. That's what the drain on traps is for. So clear out under sink and get wide short container to catch dirty water.


What grit sandpaper should I use to remove polyurethane from hardwood floors? I wanted to re-clear my hardwood floors in my home but I didn't know what grit sandpaper I needed to do so. What is the best sandpaper grit to use in removing the polyurethane coat on a hardwood floor?

Start with a rougher grit sandpaper and work your way down to a smooth paper.  Generally I use three different papers.  Rough to remove the majority of the varnish, medium to get the rest of the finish and smooth any larger wood issues, then a third run with a fine paper to make it all smooth.


Joist hangers "droop" when installed? Whenever I use hangers I end up with something that looks wrong.

Hangers have two sets of screws. One, the "flat" screws, drive into the wood your hanging onto. The others, the "diagonals" drive into the wood you're hanging. Does that make sense? Do these have official names?

I install them by holding everything with one hand and then driving in one of the "flat" screws with my free hand. Then I switch and drive one in on the other flat side, so now it's not going anywhere.

The "problem" is that when I drive in the diagonal screws, the hangers pull in toward the studs. As the hanger is slightly wider than the studs, this causes the bottom of the hanger to bow out slightly, so it is no longer in contact with the bottom of the piece being hung.

Am I doing this wrong?

If the joist hanger is slightly wider than the joist ( joist, not stud )  then do not push it in towards the joist.

Fasten it parallel with one side up against the joist and a gap on the other side. Then fasten the gap side to the ledger board parallel so it does not bow at the bottom, ( do not push it in to the joist )    Before you fasten the gap side  to the joist put a filler shim in the gap between the joist and the hanger. A piece of thin plywood could work or two shims turned so the thin edge's are facing each other so they create a flat surface. ( This allows you to adjust the thickness of them by sliding them together or apart.   you may have to trim their length )

The connection of the hanger with ledger board is important as it is what is carrying the weight of the joist and the connection of the hanger to the joist help to keep it from pulling away from the ledger board. Use a longer screw or nail to account for the thickness of the shim.


Mounting 2'x3' Glass whiteboard, drywall over concrete I am trying to mount a 2'x3' glass whiteboard that weighs ~14lbs to the wall in a new condo.  Best I can tell, there is a concrete barrier very close to the surface drywall, and it isn't giving me enough room to install drywall anchors.

I'm open to doing pretty much anything to get this thing mounted, but I don't know what my best bet would be here.  Should I look into drilling into the concrete?  Is there a better way?

I own the place and am completely OK with doing something irreversible to the wall.

Bonus points: I'm playing with the idea of adding a bike rack to the wall as well so any solution that would let me mount significantly more than 14lb (and I could use for the bike) would be awesome!

I'd drill into the concrete and use some sort of masonry anchors, wall plugs should be sufficient for the white board because it goes close to the wall.

For a bicycle something stronger is needed, because it's heavier and mounts further form the wall. I'd go with expanding bolts. 10mm seems a good size.

Or just drill into the wall an glue  steel bars in with a 2-part resin. (Chemset, builders filler etc), then put somethign over the bars to make them look nice.


Is it a good idea to spraypaint my axe head? I saw a YouTube video where someone restores an old axe. After removing the rust and piths, he spray paints the head with black primer. Is this advisable? While it protects the head from water and sap, don't I lose the ability to clean the axe head with paint thinner? Also, won't the oils I apply to the axe head damage the paint?

From my friend Kevin in a personal email:

You do not want to paint any striking or chopping part of an axe head.  Paint on the striking end will cause your axe to slip when hitting something.  Paint on the cutting end (from the edge all the way to the end of the wedge portion) will cause the axe to stick and bind into whatever you are cutting with every swing.


Should we glue above and below our rubber underlayment for wooden floors? We have received our delivery of 3/4 inch thick engineered wood planks.

They are 8 inches wide, random lengths, and the white oak layer on top is about 3/16 thick.  Subfloor is very good and solid and is 3/4 plywood.

We have decided to install a 1/4 inch thick rubber underlayment to reduce sound movement through the house.

The manufacturer of the flooring is happy with that (rubber) decision and has no issues, but they insist that we first glue the rubber to the subfloor and then glue the planks to the rubber.

Further, they have specifically recommended Bostik greenforce which is not only a glue, but a VAPOR BARRIER as well.

So, some very specific (glue both sides, use this very specific glue) recommendations from the manufacturer.

My question:

Isn't it ill-advised to install two vapor barriers (the two glue layers) with a gap between them ?  I thought we always wanted to avoid that situation, wherein vapor can get between the two glue layers and can never get out because they are vapor barriers.

I don't want to go against the manufacturers advice, but this was a red flag because I know, for instance, you don't want to stack two layers of densshield on top of one another because you create a vapor "sandwich" between the two barriers ...

Thanks.

You’re right...we avoid two layers of vapor barriers, but that is for walls, ceilings, etc. with material in between the vapor barriers that can have moisture in the lumber or trap moisture within the void space as heat transfer the walls, ceilings and reaches it Dew Point.

In this instance you are “sealing” the DRY rubber underlayment. (Emphasis on “dry”.) You’ll have minimal moisture movement downward into the rubber underlayment compared to air movement up into ceilings or sideways into walls. (Most of the moisture will come up from below.)

However, I’d contact customer service (in writing) and ask them to clarify...and keep a copy of their response.

There seems to be two conflicts 1) sealing the rubber underlayment to the plywood subfloor, and 2) sealing the rubber underlayment to the engineered flooring. I like the idea of sealing the rubber underlayment to the floor, but we generally allow the wood flooring to move, depending on seasonal humidity, etc.

I’d re-read the instructions to be certain and then I’d follow the manufacturer’s instructions...after they clarify...for your location.


How can I tell how my hardwood floor is attached to my joists below, if there is no subfloor and no visible nails? I need to replace a small non-load bearing joist under my hardwood floor (accessed via my basement ceiling) and I wanted to know before I try to remove it if it's glued or nailed on to my hardwood floor.
I don't see any nails from the top looking at the floor boards, and I don't see any clips from the bottom.
What's the normal way of installing hardwood floors directly on top of joists without a subfloor.  Should I be expecting some glue on the joist that I have to pry off or will it probably just be resting on the joist?

Generally, flooring is tongue & groove and nails are driven at an angle through the groove and into the subfloor/joist below. If the flooring is not T&G, then it would be face nailed. If you're not seeing nails from above, then the flooring is, most likely, T&G and nailed through the grooves.
It's possible that it was glued down, but from the age of the wood shown in your other question, this was probably put together before construction adhesive was a big item, so I'd consider it an unlikely option.
To remove the joist, I'd recommend a reciprocating saw (Sawzall™ is a brand name that's become generic for the type of tool I'm talking about), and run a combination/demolition blade (designed for cutting nail embedded wood) in the joint between the bottom of the flooring and the top of the joist. You'll end up cutting some of the joist and, unfortunately, some of the flooring, but the goal is simply to cut the nails connecting the two. Err toward cutting the joist since that's going into the garbage/fireplace. Once you've cut the joist away from the flooring above, one or two vertical cuts will allow you to remove the joist in a couple of pieces. If any nails remain protruding through the floor, attempt to pull them through or cut/grind them flush with the bottom of the flooring above.
Another option would be to use the Sawzall™ to cut the joist into short 4-12" lengths, then bang them sideways with a hammer to knock them loose from whatever is holding them to the floor above. Some of your pieces will just fall out/fly away when you hit them because there doesn't happen to be a nail into this particular piece, others will take several hits and/or some prying to get them off the nail above. The more termite eaten bits may just crumble and fall apart as you hit them. These will leave their nails intact and they'll need to be dealt with.
If the flooring was actually glued down, the wood (especially the more termite eaten bits) may split and break because the glue (whether construction adhesive or a modern PVA type glue) may well be stronger than the wood itself. If this is the case, break off whatever bits you can, then Sawzall™ as noted above or chisel/scrape the remaining bits away. If this is necessary, you'll want to scrape and sand all the old glue off so that you have a pretty flat, smooth surface on the bottom of the flooring so the new joist will seat nicely from below. Chunks left here will telegraph into uneven spots in the flooring above at worst, or make installing the new joist difficult and leave gaps that may lead to squeaking floors somewhere down the line.
When installing the new joist, I'd suggested "squeak fix" clips for screwing the flooring down to the joist from below so you're not messing up the finished surface above. You could use construction adhesive on the top of the joist to attach the flooring to it. "Glue & Screw" is a common recipe for squeak-free floor installation - generally between the joists and the plywood/OSB subfloor. While you don't have a subfloor, it would work here - just bear in mind that if you ever have to repair any of the flooring from above (and it appears that this area may be in an entryway so it's at a higher risk of long-term damage from water ingress/wet shoes), gluing down the finished floor will make it quite a nightmare to pull up any damaged sections of finished floor from above.


Proper thickness for concrete "flagstones" I've seen some videos showing how to make "flagstones" out of concrete. The general process is to create a moulding on the ground (usually the grass is dug out so the dirt is exposed), using some sort of flexible strip of plastic or vinyl. Then, concrete is poured into this mold. In most of the examples I've seen, the stones look to be no more than 2 inches thick, but they can be 2-3 feet across.
I've been thinking of doing this to make a patio (though I'd probably put a layer of gravel below the concrete), but I'm concerned that these stones might be too thin and crack after not much use. Also, we get freezing weather in the winter, and I'm concerned that thin stones might crack in the cold weather.
How thick should these concrete "flagstones" be to ensure they don't crack?
( one example of the technique I'm referring to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNaVzbwuATI )

Typical pre-cast pavers are about 2" thick, so that's a reasonable experiential datapoint. I've got a few of those in the 16" square size that have been through 11 winters without cracking in a pretty serious winter area.
You can get fibers to mix into your concrete to help reenforce it - 2" is too thin for using steel reenforcement. Ensuring that your mix is not too wet when placed and then kept quite wet for a month after it's set will help ensure you get all the strength your concrete is capable of giving.
You could also pour a 4" steel-reenforced slab on gravel base, and just do patterning/dying on the top surface for the flagstone "effect" - products are sold for this exact purpose (or crews to do so can be hired, preferably after reviewing jobs they have completed.)


Water leaking into house through sliding glass door, could missing flashing be the cause? Newly renovated house, after the last big rain here in Arizona, we noticed that our sliding glass door let water into the house.  It appeared to come into the tracks somehow, but I emptied 5 gallons of water on to the tracks outside and nothing came in.  I spoke to a door guy at Home Depot who just so happened to be hanging out and he said he was certain that the issue caused by not having a flashing installed under the sliding glass door.

Does this sound plausible?  How would flashing keep water out of the house?

I did notice that our patio got flooded when the water seeped in, but it didn't seem high enough to go up through the track and leak into the house.

Since you have poured water onto the tracks and no water leaked inside; check a few more things. I don't see a gutter above the door. Use a step ladder and run some water from a hose onto the roof, downward toward the door. The water could be lipping over at the edge, into your soffit, across the top of the door and then down the sides onto the floor. Remember, water takes the path of least resistance, so it could be leaking into the soffit from somewhere other than at the doorway. Also check both sides of the sliding section of the door for any cracks that a side wind could blow water through. I would also suggest caulking that large crack across the bottom of the door...