Removing Yellow Bleach stain from laminate counter I had a blue stain on my white laminate vanity.
picked up some bleach based bathroom cleaning liquid, for a few things.

Thought I would give it a try on the stain on the counter.
I left it for a few hours.
It took the blue stain right off.
However left a much larger yellow one.

Obviously I won't make that mistake again.
However now I am left with the problem of the yellow stain.

So far I have been removing it with repeated application of vinegar and baking soda.
It is working, but very slowly (as in I expect to be doing this for many days).

I have read that Silver Jewlery Cleaner works to solve it, does anyone have any experience with using this?

My other option I have been considering is wet-and-dry sand paper.
I have some very fine stuff, but even so I'm not to happy with the idea.

It took the blue stain right off. However left a much larger yellow one.

So the bleach yellowed the counter. Bleach is an oxidixer, so you'll need a reducing agent to reverse its effect. Dithionite is a good choice, and is sold in stores as "Iron out" or "Super Iron Out". Lacking that, anything that smells vaguely like sulfur, or ammonia-like even is worth a try. Ordinary surfactant based cleaning agents aren't likely to help you here.


Should I replace a water heater preemptively? I have a conventional gas-fired 40-gallon hot-water heater in my basement. It currently works fine, and there is no visible rust on it or pipes near it, but it turned 20 years old a few months ago.

I was thinking of having it replaced because I assume it will fail within the next few years given its age. Is this reasonable, or would I be throwing money away to replace something that still works fine?

For context: The water tank sits on top of an old hardwood floor in my unfinished basement (yes, for whatever reason someone installed hardwood flooring directly over the dirt floor in my basement, even though the space is just used for storage), and I'm 75 percent sure I will stay in my house for at least the next 5-10 years.

The average life of a water heater is about ten years. Newer models are a lot more energy efficient as well. Given the age of your water heater, it has more than done it's duty. You don't have to replace it, but if it's in your budget I would recommend replacing it. You don't want to get in an emergency situation. I would also consider adding a concrete pad  or at the very least, a drain pan underneath your new one. That flooring situation is definitely not ideal.

Inspect your water heater:

Flush the water to remove any sediment.
Have a certified plumber take a look at the igniter and burner to make certain everything is safe.
Check for signs of rust around the bottom of the tank and at all of the fittings. If you spot rust around the water inlet or pressure relief valve on the heater, it’s likely that rust is also inside the tank.

You can find out the exact age of your water heater by looking at the serial number on the  manufacturers sticker:


fissures in joist: natural or insect damge I have noticed that one of the joists in our crawl space has a small crack in it, and near to it are some small (1-2 inch long) fissures. I didn't notice it at the time, but in the photos (see below) the small fissures appear to have some yellowish liquid inside.

I would like to know if this is a natural feature, or a sign of insect damage. I couldn't see any other signs of termite damage (e.g. mud tubes) and the rest of the  joist looks fine. I tried to stick a screwdriver into the joist but it seems to be solid on both sides, and the bottom, near to these features.

I would be grateful for any suggestions on what this might be.

Many thanks.

The grooves in the second picture appear to be pitch pockets which are fairly common in softwoods and construction lumber.

The fact that the pockets contain a noticeable amount of resin may indicate that the lumber was not thoroughly dried (as is with most construction lumber). Fast or uneven drying is also likely to cause splits or cracks as wood shrinks and expands significantly depending on its moisture content. The possibility of these cracks, however, is usually accounted for in designs and most splits stop at the center of the beam. See here for details.


Basement shower drain need replacement? Just curious, was looking at the current state of our shower drain pipe and noticed it looks terrible (corroded).

Is this any need of concern? We were thinking about renovating in a few years or so.

If it should be replaced, would this be a large job?

Thanks!

That's pretty much what old galvanized pipes look like. I wouldn't do anything unless you have a leak. It's more likely that you'll experience a clog, though, from accumulated corrosion and deposits inside the pipe. Rarely do pipes rust all the way through.

I would plan on replacing as much metal drain pipe as possible when/if you do renovate, though. In my home I cut channels in the slab and replaced most of my galvanized and cast iron with PVC after it started backing up from the kitchen. One two-inch line was down to a finger-sized trickle due to rock hard deposits in the pipe under the floor.


Used circle cutter in wrong place in drywall, best repair method? I'm mounting a TV and used a circle cutter attachment on my drill in the wrong location.

I cut through 2 1/2" sheets of drywall and still have the discs of drywall.

What is the best method to repair the hole? The bracket will be covering the hole anyways so I am not sure it is necessary to repair but it maybe nicer if I ever move out etc.

Cut some short strips of plywood or even paneling (long enough to overlap both sides of the hole by a couple of inches). Don't cut your fingers off.

Put the plywood strip(s) in the hole and position the strip so it is extending out beyond both edges of the hole, behind the sheetrock.

Hold the strip tightly by pulling outward on the back of strip with your fingers, and drive  screws through the sheetrock and through the plywood strips.

Now, put the sheetrock cut-out back in place, and screw it to the plywood strip(s).

Patch the sheetrock.


Mesh or waterproof sandbox cover? I'm building a sandbox from playground border. It will have landscape screen on the bottom so it drains. Is it better to have a mesh cover just to keep out debris and critters or a waterproof cover? My worry with a waterproof cover is mildew/mold on the cover itself and making a dark cozy place for insects to take up residence and lay eggs (I'm ok with bugs, but I don't want to put up a welcome sign). My worry with a mesh cover is the sandbox becoming a lake when it rains and never fully drying.

If you are able to construct a waterproof cover which overlaps the edges of the sandbox, consider it to be of the same structure as a roof with eaves. Build into the design a bit of tenting or pitch. The underside of the waterproof cover would have a mesh material stretched over the surface when flipped upside down, an umbrella of sorts with a drum-head type of configuration.

When the cover is placed on the sandbox, the mesh would provide for airflow while the waterproof portion keeps the box dry.

A quick and dirty sort of design would be a child's wading pool, the hard plastic type. Window screen or landscape screen stretched around the perimeter provides the airflow, while the hard plastic gives the waterproofing. Of course, the pool would have to be a larger diameter than the sandbox and the rim may collect water unless that aspect is mitigated.

Every photo is improved with the inclusion of a cat or dog.

UPDATE for economy version options:

Create a frame of lumber slightly larger than the sand box. I'd aim for at least six inches air gap all around, plus the width of the lumber used. If the frame has legs at each corner and perhaps one or two in the middle, they would keep the main frame at the same level of the sandbox edges, perhaps an inch lower to cause the screen to remain in contact with the sandbox.

The screen material would be stretched across that frame, tightened appropriately when fastened. The waterproof portion can be as simple as a plastic tarp, large enough to cover the entire frame, plus a bit more, enabling the construction of a tent-like structure.

Triangles are going to be the lightest and strongest method to support the "tent" over such a large area. 8' x 12' feet is not a square (says Mr. Obvious) which means that you'll have a center spine or ridge, with an angled structure at each corner and maybe one each on the long sides.

You would not need great elevation, only enough to shed water, keeping material costs to a minimum.

If you used plastic sheeting in place of the heavier tarp, you could get away with using inexpensive 1" x 2" lumber, making the structure that much lighter as well. Stand the 1x2s on edge to get the stronger dimension in line with the greater forces. It would not hold up well to being tilted or stood on edge in this configuration and would require two people to remove and replace if constructed of this light lumber.

My apologies for the drawing below. Not the best program for the job, but too much work to use the sophisticated stuff!

The left part of the image is the top view, while the right side is a butchered view or one end. The side view would be a parallelogram and is left as an exercise to the reader.


What specifications should I look at when choosing an exterior door? I'm considering replacing the front door, and I'd like to know what to look for to get the most insulation.  When shopping for doors, I'm not sure what I should be looking at to determine which doors will provide adequate insulation.  I live in New York, so the winters can be quite cold.

What should I be looking at, to figure out if a door has adequate insulation?

All doors will come with a rated R-value or U-factor (sometimes called U-value).  The higher the R-value the better the insulation.  The lower the U-factor the better the insulation.  Even doors that qualify for Energy Star certification come in a wide range of insulative capacity.  I would simply go to your local lumber yard and speak there to a window/door salesperson.  He or she will be willing to work with you to find a door or doors that fit your budget, aesthetic sensibilities, and desire for better insulated doors.

One thing to note - it doesn't matter how good the R-value of the slab if the door isn't installed properly with effective weatherstripping.  Also note that at some point there will always be a compromise between the tightness of the fit and operability.

Here's a website that explains more about doors and insulation: http://www.green3dhome.com/YourHouse/Exterior/Doors.aspx


Electrical circuit with too many lights and receptacles on it Recently during a storm a circuit breaker switched off half of our home's lights and sockets. Thinking it was due to moisture we waited for the house to dry and then reset the breaker. It would stay on for a while but then flip back off. Finally it would no longer switch on. We called an electrician who said there was a short but it would require troubleshooting to identify the exact location. He offered us two options:

Troubleshoot the short only ($350)
Split the circuit ($1200)

We counted all the lights and receptacles on the circuit and found 24. The 15A breaker should only support a load of 1400W (15A * 120V = 1800W * 80% max load). So it definitely seems there are too many junctions on the one circuit.

Is it possible to split the circuit without running additional wire through the house? The electrician seemed to indicate it was but I wasn't clear on his explanation. He mentioned using pigtails but I'm unsure if he meant pigtail connections or AFCI breakers.

I don't mind spending more money but I'd like to get the root problem solved. Would splitting the circuit and using two 20A breakers be sufficient? If so, what changes to the wiring are necessary?

EDIT:

This is the breaker box:

This is the circuit breaker in question (OFF is the shorted circuit):

You will need at least 1 new circuit, and to break the circuit and install that new 15amp circuit (I am guessing the wiring is 14 awg). You can get things to work by removing some of the load but you probably have figured that out.

If you have room adding a breaker is not that hard but you will need to do some reading and ask more questions.

You cannot use 20 amp breakers on 14awg wire--you have to stay with 15 amp breakers unless the wiring is 12awg.

I doubt you have a short just a simple overload, so you will need to run a new circuit.

To prove it’s not shorted, turn the lights off, unplug things, then reset the breaker. Now turn each room on then off and start plugging things in. If a single device like a electric heater is on the circuit, just leave that unplugged and everything else will probably work.


Grounding sheds and garages I have a detached garage whose wiring is fed by just two conductors running back to the main panel. There's no ground wire in the feeder and no separate ground rod at the garage. The feeder has only one black and one white conductor. Can I add a ground rod at the garage and rewire to update the wiring to support a bare ground wire in the new wiring? The garage subpanel is modern, replacing old glass screw-in fuses with circuit breakers. That subpanel also feeds a separate shed. In both buildings a circuit tester shows a missing ground, I assume that is because there's no ground rod at the garage and no bare ground wire running back to the main panel. Basically, is it OK to have each building equipped with separate ground rods used just for the bare ground wires in those buildings?

The distance between the main panel and the garage is about 160 ft. It is underground, probably without a conduit, as none of the other wiring uses a conduit and the feeder wire just appears out of the concrete floor of the garage. Most of the construction was done in the 1960s by a non-professonal. No 240v is involved. There's a single 30 amp breaker on the feed to the garage. I don't need more than 15 amps on any of the feeds going from the garage subpanel. I realize that feeds off that garage subpanel could add up to higher than 30 and trip the breaker back at the main panel.

I have looked at the previous, similar questions but see conflicting answers. Some folks say that you cannot have too many grounds. A satellite tech recently put in a new antenna on the distant shed. He grounded that to some rebar about two feet long. After he got done that particular circuit no longer showed a missing ground with a tester. Another circuit in the same building shows open ground. I realize that two feet of rebar is not much but don't see how that could be a hazard when used just for the bare wire. I just wanted to expand on that solution.

Nope, the grounding rod is not a substitute for a ground wire back to the main service.  It simply will not do what you desperately need it to do.

In fact, any electrical fault when the grounding system should be helping you, instead the entire grounding system gets lit up at mains voltage!  Now every light switch cover screw, every bit of conduit, the service panel itself is electrified.

The two grounds have different jobs.  Remember, current travels in loops, and it wants to return to source.

The grounding rod returns natural electricity (lightning, ESD) to its source, which is the earth.
The ground wire returns human-made electricity back to its source, which is the neutral lug on the transformer on the pole.  It's supposed to do that via the neutral wire, but the ground wire is there on the hopes that some faults can return via the safety ground to the main panel's bonding wire, instead of via a poor human and some convoluted path back to source.

They are not interchangeable because dirt is a poor conductor of electricity.

Now the best way to safe this thing is to put a GFCI breaker on the breaker in the main panel.  GFCIs do a pretty good job of rendering human electricity safe.

Once the GFCI is on board, having an isolated ground via your ground rod scheme would actually help the GFCI work.   A ground fault in any of your equipment will still light up your grounding system with lethal voltage, but the GFCI should intervene before enough current flows to actually hurt you.

Of course this isolated ground would do a fine job of returning natural electricity to source.


Should I use hammer mode or the clutch for a garden auger drill attachment? I recently made this post related to using a Dewalt drill with a gardening auger. We have very rocky ground that is pretty hard to cut into, even with this auger.
I just purchased a Dewalt DCD996B hammer drill, thinking it might be a better choice for driving the auger. But now I am wondering whether or not a hammer drill with clutch engaged (drive mode) is any different than a normal drill? Obviously the hammer mode would be most effective, but it is also the most risky, since if the auger hits a root, my hands and arms are going to get pulled hard. Any thoughts on the best configuration here? I'm thinking: use the hammer drill with low speed, high torque, and high clutch setting (so it only slips for the strongest resistance).

A hammer drill just adds vibration (up and down) to the rotation, which for concrete drills that have a hardened tungsten tip, makes them drill effectively through concrete (and stone for that matter). It would do nothing for an auger.


4 light switches powered by 1 hot wire In my master bathroom are 4 light switches:

1 dimmer for dimmable overhead LEDS
1 toggle for mirror LEDs
1 toggle for runner LEDs
1 timer switch for light/fan exhaust for shower

I recently replaced these switches. Unlike every other circuit in my house (which have 1 hot per light switch), this 4 gang had the following:

1 hot wire
6 return / pole wires
6 neutrals
6 grounds

I wired it all up and it's working (daisy chained the grounds, split the hot into 4, and tied together 3 of the returns with a wire nut (which is how it was done by electrician before I replaced it).

I did wire the hot differently than the electrician however. The electrician daisy-chained the hot across the 4 lights; I instead used a wire nut to split the 1 hot into 4 hots which I ran to each of the 4 light switches. All the rest of the circuit is fine (neutrals are tied off and unused).

Is this safe and/or OK? Any issues to look out for aside of loose wires? All wire nuts are located in the 4 gang box, and other than the grounds which I daisy chained, there are never 2 wires on a single fastener screw.

Yes, using a wirenut to connect the hot to 4 pigtails is perfectly fine. Wirenuts are designed to carry the full current of the connected wires. Just make sure all of the wires are nice and snug.


Excessive spa bath foam when cleaning We've recently renovated this bathroom, and since our Spa Bath hasn't been used in quite some time we decided to give it a clean out. We used this liquid cleaner and followed the instructions precisely.

Our bath doesn't allow us to shut the air off completely however we do turn it to minimum, along with the pump intensity.

So I turned the bath on, went downstairs to make some food. I was gone for ~2-5 minutes however that was time enough, I came back up and before I entered the room I saw my room had been taken over by bubbles.  They were cascading over the edge of the bath and were now stacking up on the floor! In this time they had already become knee deep, coming up to the same height of the toilet. They were not easy to neutralize, in the end we had to pick them up and move them away.

I read that this cleaner can cause some foaming, however i do honestly believe this is excessive. (Attached is an image of the second run which I left on for 10 seconds after cleaning the mess up)

How can I prevent this massive amount of froth from occurring and is there any good method for neutralizing it fast when it does?

Use powdered dishwasher soap its all it really is from the store.


Exhaust fan dripping? Just finished my basement. Went to take a shower in my new shower for the first time, and was shocked to see the exhaust fan dripping here and there while showering. I installed everything on my own - per code. It's a 6x8 bathroom with a 110cfm fan and a straight 15' run put the wall with an insulated duct. The fan is getting good suction as it holds a piece of paper up no problem and the airflow from the outside vent is strong enough to hold up the flapper. Any ideas? Could it just be related to the first use? I'm stumped.

In my state bathroom exhaust fans are required to stay on 15 minutes after the lights go off for this reason.
Actually the time allows the excess humidity in the bath to be removed and the dry air blowing over the fan and duct help to dry it out also.
We don’t hear about it often on this site but prior to the 15 minute requirement new homes we built did have some of the same issues.
Increasing the home ventilation or make up air and the 15 minute times really has eliminated this issue I haven’t received a call back for this in years.
Add a fan timer to your switch and it will probably eliminate the issue since it sounds like you have good air flow.


What could cause this rhythmic clicking/drumming sound in my bathroom sink pipe? Why is my bathroom sink making a rhythmic drumming/clicking sound after I used a small plunger to help make water flow more quickly down the drain?

Most bathroom sinks have a pop-up stopper, which works well for stopping the drain when you want. Unfortunately, it's also great at collecting hair and other debris that goes down the drain.

These stoppers should be removed and cleaned from time to time, to make sure the drain is flowing properly.
Clean the Stopper
Cleaning the stopper is the first step in troubleshooting a slow drain. There are many types of sinks, drains, and stoppers.  I will cover cleaning one of the more common stoppers.
Removing the stopper
If you look under the sink, you'll notice a pipe coming out the bottom. On the back side of this pipe, you'll notice a rod sticking out.  Where the rod enters the pipe, there should be a nut.  If you remove the nut, you'll be able to slide the rod out.  Once the rod is removed, you'll be able to pull the stopper up and out of the drain.
Clean the gunk
Once the stopper is removed, clean and rinse it.  DO NOT rinse the stopper in the sink you removed it from.
Install the stopper.
Place the clean stopper back in the drain, and align it so that the rod will fit in to the hole at the bottom of the stopper. Go back under the sink, and reinsert the rod. Actuate the rod, to ensure the rod is properly inserted into the stopper (the rod should move the stopper up and down). Tighten the nut back down. Actuate the stopper a few times, to make sure the nut is not too tight or too loose.  If it's too tight the stopper will not move, or will be difficult to move. If it's too lose the stopper may not stay in the full raised position.
Clean the Trap
The next step in troubleshooting a slow drain, is to clean the trap. Again drains may vary, I'll only be covering a trap with hand-tightened compression fittings.
Remove the trap
Since there will be water in the trap, you'll want to have a bucket under the trap before disassembling it. While holding the trap in place, remove the compression fittings at both ends.

Once the trap is free, carefully pull it free from the other pipes and dump it in the bucket.
Clean the trap
Clean the trap using paper towels and hot water.
Install the trap
Once the trap is clean, installation is the opposite of removal.

If after you've cleaned the stopper and trap, you don't notice an improvement in the drainage, or you're still having trouble. It might be time to contact a plumber, and have the line snaked out.


Existing power from light to other sources We're added an addition on to the house my uncle wants to run the existing power from light to light so that his power is coming off the lights to multiple lights and switches so how does he need to wire it to jump from one light to another?

As it was pointed out your question lacks a little detail, but I will tell you this. You need to think of running a lighting circuit from switch to switch not light to light.

First the new NEC requires you to have a neutral in every switch box.

Second if you start your circuit at the switch box you can now run it to either one light or multiple lights on one switch or even multiple switching points. If you are running directly to light without switching them then consider the fixture a switching point.

Third if you are extending from an existing light circuit, be sure and do a load calculation to make sure you don't overload a circuit.

Good Luck


Water flowing through tank even though cold water valve is shut off I was trying to replace a water heater that only runs hot for about 10-15 minutes before getting cold. I shut off the cold water valve and tried to drain the water heater. It had a large flow and ran for about 6 hours. I got home from work to notice the water was still flowing quickly. I shut off the city valve and it quit flowing. Why would the city valve make a difference if the cold side was shut off on the water heater? Is there something causing the cold to run through the hot side to keep filling the tank?

There could be several reasons for the water to keep running after you shut down the cold water inlet and opened the drain on the tank. If your water heater is in the basement or otherwise below the domestic hot water system as your water drains the hot water that is in the system will continue to drain down toward the hot water heater - simple gravity. However, that should only be for a few minutes. Opening the upstairs hot water faucets will speed it along. It will never take hours.
Your problem is the cold water valve is apparently not shutting down completely. If it's a gate valve it's not uncommon for them to get stuck in a partially open position even after the handle is fully in the closed position. If that's the case you should replace it with a quarter turn ball valve. They are much more reliable and easy to turn off in an emergency.


Simple remote outdoor light switch that fits in a receptical box Upfront warning - I am pretty sure I am lacking the nomenclature to ask this succinctly.

I am installing an outdoor lamp with a store bought motion detector on a post about 30ft from the house. In addition to the motion sensor, I would like to be able to turn the lamp on from the house remotely. Everything will be wired inside a standard outdoor receptacle box with just a faceplate and some weather sealing.

I am pretty sure I know how to wire it in concept, but what is the best 'thing' to use for something like this?

It would be something that would:

powered inline with standard home electricity wiring
Have a remote that can reach 30ft through a wall
Perform a simple open/closed circuit operation
Fit inside a single gang outdoor receptacle box

I have been fighting trying to google for this but I think I just don't have the correct language to find what I want.

You could run 3-conductor wire (plus ground) from the house to the pole.  It will have black and red hots.  You could switch the red hot in the house, and run the black hot to the pole where the motion detector can switch it.  Then at the light, connect the red from the house, and the output of the motion detector to the light.

However, you're better off using a home-automation capable light with motion detector and remote.  Some of those will even let you add a chime later if you want to know when there's motion.


Switching bulbs? PAR20 halogen to PAR20 LED, is this a problem? I have recessed lights that were sold as 'PAR20 halogen' use.  I see that there are PAR20 LED lights around, which would save some energy and last much longer than a halogen, and I was wondering if this was an ok thing to do?

When going back to the question/answer on the big orange website, the question had been asked and answered with an unequivocal no.

If you have the appropriate dimmer which is compatible with the bulb, what would be wrong with it?  Can't seem to find a good not to or any danger in it...

Yes, you definitely should if you are able to line up an LED light and dimmer that play well together.  Incandescent is like neon: There is no earthly reason to invest in it for anything, unless you are doing something really specialty and cool.

As always, the big-box stores are an endless fount of bad advice.


Thermopile reading very low in my gas fireplace My gas fireplace failed to light this year, although the pilot was fine. I put my multimeter on the terminals and got about 150 mV. This was obviously too low, so I cleaned it and got maybe 160.

So I bought a new one and installed it. It give me 180 mV.

The pilot flame is right on the thermo, and by wiggling it and poking a bit I got a clearer flame and it went up to 200.

To make sure the thermo worked I put my BBQ lighter on it and it shot right up to 380. But it goes back down again as soon as I take it off.

Can anyone offer a suggestion on what I might do to get the values up?

So the problem was actually the gas pipe, not the thermo. I guess it was corroded inside or had some dirt, but basically it was nothing more than not enough gas coming out. I put in a new line and presto, everything's perfect.


How to clean wood stain drippings from rough spackle wall I just finished painting an outdoor wooden fence with Tambout Varnit. Despite my best efforts, there were some drippings onto the wall underneath, which seems to be covered with some sort of very hard rough spackle and painted off-white. This happened in a few places on the wall (here is one of them):

I am looking for the best way to clean these up. Here is what I have come up from so far:

Paint: Try to match the current paint exactly. But this will be very difficult to do, and even if I can match it in one place, as the paint has been on the wall for over 10 years and has weathered and gotten small stains differently in different places. Nervous that this will change a small touch-up project into a very large "paint the entire wall" (30-40 meters long, 1.5 tall) project.
Sand it: Get a coarse grit sandpaper, and try to just touch up the spots with the paint droppings. Nervous that this will either be very ineffective, or will leave spots that are too visible and obvious.
Scrape it: Get some coarse attachment for a multi-tool or angle grinder, and try to lightly grind away on the spots. Nervous that this will leave some very obvious marks (wounds?) in the wall.

Thoughts on the best way to clean this up?

You might get the stains off by power washing, but that may knock some of the stucco texture off as well. If you're willing to give it a try, use (rent?*) a power washer with an adjustable power setting and start with the lowest setting available.
So long as it's not causing damage, and since it's probably not getting the stain off, go ahead and wash the entire wall in preparation for repainting. That's probably going to be your best bet in this situation anyway - all the concerns about your clean up methods are very legitimate and are likely going to happen.
Repainting the entire wall has the added advantages of ensuring longer life for the wall by renewing its protective coat of paint, covering all the staining_ so it looks better all around, and after 10 years, the last coat of paint is likely nearing the end of its life anyway.
ProTip™: Before power washing and painting, get some heavy plastic (6 mil or so) and tape it up to the wooden fencing at the top of the wall. Run it up the wall at least 12" if not more. Tape it very securely at the bottom, then leave it a bit loose before thoroughly taping up the top. This way you're not coming back in a few weeks asking how to restain a portion of your fence where you power washed through the surface and/or how to get paint off your freshly stained wooden fence.
Oh, also, use some of that heavy plastic to wrap up the bushes, then some string/rope/tape to hold the plastic in place. You don't want the power washer tearing up your plants, and you probably don't want to be painting them, either. The solution for paint on the plants is much easier though: trim off the painted bits. ;) Also, the plastic will hold in heat and moisture, so don't leave the plants wrapped up for too long or you might kill them.

*Before assuming a power washer is too expensive to purchase, look around and compare purchase prices vs rentals. We ended up purchasing an electric powered one for about the same cost as renting for a day. No, it's not the highest quality piece of equipment ever built, but we got the same day's use out of it and if when we need to use it again, it will now be cheaper than two rentals.


Water leaking when we are away for a few days our water system at home works perfectly when we are at home, but when we leave for more than a couple of days the bathroom starts leaking water that goes dripping right on the kitchen that is downstairs.

If we close the mains valve when we leave for few days the drip obviously doesn't occur.

Above the spot where we get the drip there's both the WC and the bathtub, both work fine when we are at home, but as soon as we don't use the water system for a few days, the leak comes back. (it's also quite a big leak, with many drops per minute)

The pipes have been assembled by the previous owner of the house, and he wasn't an expert. He used copper pipes, with plastic connectors similar to this: http://www.diy.com/departments/jg-speedfit-plastic-elbow-dia15-mm/34372_BQ.prd

Someone suggested me that it could be that the connectors are not sufficient for the pressure that we get from the mains, and the pressure gradually increases if we don't open the faucets when we are away, so eventually one of the connectors will start leaking.

Others say that the pressure from the mains is constant and this is not the case, but are actually unable to offer an alternative explanation.

Does anyone have any experience with similar problems?

Thanks,

(Not going to be as helpful as I'd hoped, but maybe helps you think of something you hadn't thought of)

Since you mentioned the kitchen is right below, I'm going to assume finished walls/ceilings and that you can't easily trace the pipes(or maybe you're lucky and it's a drop-tile ceiling?).

I've heard of a few ways to find a leak, but they almost all involve being able to reach the pipes - either to spray something like dish soap on them and watch for bubbles or put an improvised stethoscope(flat-head screwdriver, usually) to them so you can listen for the leak.

I've had both tub/toilet gasket go and not be obvious for a few days (wood subfloor wicked the water to about 4ft away in both cases), so that might be something to consider too.

Either way, there's a pretty good list of steps to try here:
https://www.plumbingsupply.com/how-to-check-for-leaks.html
Most of it depends on having access to the piping though.

Having said that, unless the local plumber has a camera s/he can fit down the copper pipe (?), they're going to have to make holes too...


How can I brace a freestanding downspout? My front downspout is not long enough and currently all the water just comes back and rests between my sloped sidewalk and the graded edge of my house.

I'm thinking I can move the downspout so that it goes over my sloped sidewalk and I can walk under it like so.

I'm thinking I'll get some sort of L shaped bracer for the part coming off the house but I'm not sure how I would add supports for the part that comes down on the yard. How would I brace a freestanding downspout?

I'm currently planning on having the house dug up in the spring and having it wrapped to reduce water seepage so I'm not looking at fixing the sidewalk or implementing the underground stuff at the moment as I'll just have to do it again later.

My other option is just making my downspout really long but I would like to use the sidewalk. Perhaps there is another option I may be missing.

This isn't a downspout problem, this is a grading problem. The ground has either eroded over time or was never properly graded in the first place. Probably a combination. Either way, the end result is that water collects in the low places and only dissipates by absorbing into the ground (not good; that can cause foundation problems like liquefaction of the soil underneath a slab or P&B foundation, or weeping and frost heaves against a basement wall) or evaporating.

You're not going to fix this by extending the downspout; you may reduce the amount of water collecting, but rain will still fall naturally into this valley next to your house, or fall against the side of your house and then run down into it. You're going to have to solve the problem by creating a continuously-downhill path for this water, directing it away from your house.

This sidewalk; is it sloped in a V with the lowest point at its center? If so, it was probably built as much to direct runoff as to be a walking path, and you should investigate where the sidewalk should be sending the water (probably around to the front of the house and down the driveway) and make adjustments accordingly. If not, why does it slope? It is really old and sloping due to erosion underneath it, or did the contractor who put it in just not have his level with him that day?

Can we get some real pictures of the side of your house and this valley, with indications of where the water currently pools?


Is it okay to build a fire pit with concrete? I want to put a small fire pit (3ft x 3ft) into backyard. I checked the stone options at home depot & lowes and just the material will cost around $250.

I was thinking about building a mold and pouring concrete into it instead of using stone. Cost would be less than $50 in this case.

Is it ok to use concrete instead stone in terms of high heat and fire? Should I put some sort of heat shield inside of the fire pit to protect the concrete?

Update-1

After the suggestions made by @BobOClockand, and @Ecnerwal I decided to go with blocks (got from Lowe's and they are fire resistant) to the bottom I put lava rocks. I checked the outside surface of the blocks for temperature after a while and they were relatively cold, so I will cover the outside with natural stone for better looking.

Update-2

I put lots of wood into fire pit for one last final test kept it burning for 4-5 hours. The heat was very intense and when I checked the next day, almost all the blocks were cracked.

Conclusion: Even fire resistant blocks need fire insulation with firebrick. I will replace the blocks and add firebricks inside.

You should line it with firebrick or (since you like molding and casting things) castable refractory. Edit: on second thought, stick to hard firebrick - most castable does not like to get wet. Regular concrete is prone to spalling & cracking in direct fire exposure.

Depending on the shape of the "pit" a 2" layer of sand can work, if it will stay put (ie, if the "pit" is rather shallow)


What is this part near the entry point to my irrigation system Here is the overall view of the valve access box:  The valve is turned off because the pipe directly after the valve has come loose from the valve. I'd like to repair this, but I'm not sure what the grey/brown piece just below the valve is:  Here are a few more shots of the side and the cap on the part that sticks down:

That is a strainer wye. There is a metal mesh filter in there to trap sediment/debris; it can be removed and cleaned as necessary.


How to remove moisture from kitchen air? Our new home has a kitchen in a corner without a vent-out channel.

As far as I understand, standard kitchen hoods can't condensate and collect water from the air they process.

What can be an alternative to dry the air during cooking?

How about using a small kitchen dehumidifier?


What are the proper materials and method to hang heavy-duty shelves in a garage for storage? I am hoping this isn't too wide of a topic since garage storage can vary greatly from person to person depending on what's being stored.  In my case, I will be storing power tools like my circular saw, reciprocating saw, heavy toolbox full of misc hand tools, boxes of screws, paint cans, cases of water, 50-lb bags of kitty litter, etc.

Update 12/21/2012

After much consideration, I decided against the wall-mounted 16x18 shelf brackets that I had already hung per Amanda's suggestion and went with free-standing shelves as recommended by alx9r.  He provided a logical argument against supporting large amounts of weight on a residential wall frame and it honestly made sense.  Plus, the cross bar on those brackets just takes away from your available storage space.  I will say, though, that these Everbilt brackets were super sturdy when fastened with heavy duty #10 screws.  I could jump up and down on those shelves and they'd stay put.  Here's a pic of the shelves I installed using the brackets:

And here are the adjustable shelves by Sandusky that I bought from Sam's Club:

The only think I don't like about these is that the shelves need more support.  Being that they're 6' wide, they bow pretty badly if you set a heavy load right in the center.  However, I am sure that there's a way to reinforce them, but I will worry about that later down the road.  For now, each shelf supports 600 lbs, more than adequate for my needs.  The vertical rods also support caster wheels, although I will need heavy duty threaded stem casters not available at any of the big box stores around here for a reasonable price.

Anyway, I hope this update helped.

Edit 12/3/2012

I bought a bunch of the brackets suggested in Amanda's answer and have since installed one shelf.  It is very sturdy.  The downside to these brackets, though, is how the diagonal support bar takes up a large amount of space.  If you've mounted the brackets every 16", this keeps you from storing large objects wider/longer than 16" on the shelf below.  The solution to that is to skip every other stud and mount the brackets every 32", but then you have the issue of sagging.  Originally, I bought 18"x96"x0.75" lengths of MDF, but this will not work for 36" support spacing, so I will need to get stronger wood like plywood.  However, there will still be some sagging involved at 32", so it appears that BrianK's suggestion to put a 1x2 along the edge will give it more support.  Is there a technical term for such a strip?  The term "shelf edging strip" seems to come up in Google searches, but I don't see a lot of products designed for this.  I'd like to see some sort of c-shaped metal strip on the market that fits snug along the edge of a board rather than having to glue/screw a 1x2 onto the edge of the shelf.

The other option is to use use vertical shelf tracks and then mount adjustable shelf brackets onto them.  This would allow 16" bracket spacing with no cumbersome support bar to get in the way.  The problem is that I cannot find any heavy duty, adjustable brackets that work with plywood that support in the neighborhood of 300 lbs per bracket.

So, in summary, what I like about Amanda's brackets are their 650-lb weight capacity and ability to support a 16"-deep shelf.  The downside is that support bar.  The adjustable shelves, on the other hand, don't have such a support bar.  Unfortunately, they can only hold around 100 lbs per bracket.  Is there a way to get the best of both worlds here or am I going to have to build shelving from scratch?  I definitely do not want to do that.

Since you are contemplating shelving, I am going to assume that

you want to store more stuff in a given square footage than you can without shelving, and
that you want to be able to access that stuff randomly, that is, without removing items piled upon the item that you want.

What is the Maximum Weight I will be Storing?

I've got a shelving unit in a storage area that can fit at absolute maximum volume capacity about 24 of these 10 gallon storage bins:

With all 24 on the shelves, I physically cannot add any more weight to the shelves because all of the volume is already consumed.

I estimate the maximum weight that I put in each of those bins is about 50 pounds of stuff.  From moving them around and comparing them to the dumbbells at the gym, it's way more that 20 pounds and definitely less than 100 pounds.  As a reference, filling the tub with water would weigh 81 lbs, filling with lead is about 946 pounds.

So, based on my estimate, I will be storing up to about 1200 pounds (24 tubs x 50 pounds each) of stuff on that shelving unit.  More than 1200 pounds is unlikely because the shelf will reach its volume capacity first.

In this case I dare not use a shelving unit that will collapse under less weight than 1200 pounds because there will be nothing preventing an unsuspecting family member from exceeding that weight by adding another item to the shelf.

The shelving unit in the example above is 4'x2'x8' (WxDxH) or 64 cubic feet.  Given the 1200 pound capacity, the density of stuff I am storing works out to 18.75 pounds per cubic foot.  When I design shelving for my home, I use the round number of 40 pounds per cubic foot for a 2x safety factor.

For your example of 1.5'x8' shelves, assuming they extend to an 8' ceiling, you should design for an astounding 3840 pounds of load (1.5'x8'x8'x40 pounds per cubic foot) to be safe.  This is not an exaggeration.  Good shelving allows you to store a remarkable amount of weight in an extremely small volume, that is its whole purpose after all.

Why Wall-Mounted Shelving is the Wrong Approach for High Density Heavy Storage

The stuff you are storing on wall mounted shelving is an overhung load.  The wall mount shelving supports this overhung load by applying a torque to the wall to which it is mounted.  Walls in residential construction are not designed to support a significant amount of overhung load.

To make matters worse, the torque on the wall increases with the square of the depth of the shelving because you are increasing both the weight and the lever arm of the overhung load. So, the torque from an 18" deep shelf is nine times the torque from a 6" deep shelf.  Because of the squared relationship with torque, I never use wall-mount shelves deeper than 10".

On top of all this, even if your wall is able to withstand the torques involved, there are two additional worrisome aspects to consider:

The wall is now supporting an additional several hundred or thousands of pounds of weight vertically -- something that it was surely never designed for.
There are extremely high multiplied forces where the horizontal shelf brackets meet the wall as a consequence of leverage -- anywhere you find high forces like this, you should also expect catastrophic failure.

A real risk is this scenario: A child climbs a wall mount shelf loaded with hundreds of pounds of stuff.  The weight and motion of a child causes the multiplied forces in the bracket to exceed the failure strength of the bracket.  This causes a catastrophic failure of the shelf's ability to support the load, and the child and load falls to the floor, crushing the child.

Use Free-Standing Modular Shelving Instead

All of the problems that results from multiplying forces, the squared relationship of torque with shelf depth, and a wall that can't support weight are alleviated by using free-standing shelving.

I recommend using a properly engineered system like EZ Rect Type 1.  It looks like this:

As I understand it, the EZ Rect system's patent has long expired, and there are now many manufacturers of that system.  I've been using a generic version of that system for all my high-density household storage for almost 10 years.

Here are the benefits of EZ Rect Type 1 shelving solution as I see it:

each "bay" is usually specified to support in the range of 7000 lbs, so there is very little risk of overloading your shelf with household items (remember you'll hit the volume limit first)
the only real risk of catastrophic collapse is by racking or toppling, both of which can be mitigated by fastening the shelf to a wall
there are multiple manufacturers and distributors of the same compatible system which means you can buy compatible pieces as you go (you may want to confirm compatibility before investing heavily)
you can add and remove shelves and adjust shelf spacing after the shelf has been erected
there are no diagonal supports that interfere with access or limit storage
the "shelf" part of the system can be bought and cut from the most cost-effective sheathing available at your Home Depot/Lowes/etc
the dimensions of the "shelf" part are a round number of inches, which makes it easy to get someone to cut the shelving using a panel saws at the store
the dimensions of the "shelf" usually can be evenly cut from a 4'x8' sheet
the "post connectors" and "frame connectors" can be mix and matched to achieve your desired combination of width and depth
the "posts" come in different heights and can be custom cut to length with a hack saw
if you don't need the shelf anymore, it collapses to a very compact size
erection and dismantling requires only a hammer and is quite quick
you take the shelving with you when you move, and it is easy to move when dismantled

Whatever system you end up with, you should expect the above benefits to be standard -- if it's not, keep looking.

Here is a picture from my last moving day.  Shown is 7 "bays" of dismantled shelving capable of safely storing about 24 tons (42,000 lbs) in about 600 cubic feet of space.

Examples of Collapses

I've encountered an amount of skepticism about whether catastrophic failure of shelving is, in fact, something to be concerned about.  Here are two examples of catastrophic failure.

Worker Dies in Mezzanine Collapse

A worker died in this workplace accident in 2012 when an overloaded shelving system collapsed.

This is an extreme case of what can happen.  I think it is instructive of the dangers nonetheless.

Jon Skeet's Cookbook Shelf

The great Jon Skeet tweeted this photo of what seems to be catastrophic failure of a wall-mount Cookbook Shelf:


Would a bad limit switch cut power to the thermostat? My Nest thermostat is not working and it says the red wire is not getting power. The gas company man poked around the furnace and thinks it is a bad limit switch.
Can a bad limit switch stop power from reaching the thermostat? If not, then can a bad pressure switch do the same thing? It would be easy to remove the pressure switch but the limit switch is inside a metal box.

It's possible depending on how your furnace controls are wired. Sometimes the limit switch will cut the 120V power supply to the 24V transformer that powers the thermostat, sometimes it's wired to cut the 24V power from the transformer to the thermostat, but you'd need to look at the schematic for your furnace and verify that the actual wiring follows the schematic. It's possible that it's been modified.
If the limit switch was tested bad, not just guessed bad, you are going to have to bite the bullet and replace it. It may be easier to test the limit switch than to trace out all the controls.


How to remove a light cover I have a light cover that's covering at least 1 fluorescent light. The light just died and I moved into this apartment recently so I haven't had to replace this light yet.

I'm having trouble removing the plastic cover on this light. Does anyone see how I could remove it?

Thanks!

Lens' for fluorescent lights usually can be removed without disassembling the fixture. Try pressing you thumbs against the top of the lens while gently pulling down with the rest of your hand. It should snap out and down. Then push the lens either left or right and see if it will clear the edge ridge on one side or the other. Then just work it out.

If you do have to remove a side plate, you need to get a tamper proof screw drive the fits the 2-hole head.

Personal opinion: Looking at you pictures I wouldn't waste time repairing it. I would get an inexpensive fixture and replace it. In fact if you have to replace the ballast and lamps, the price of the material may be about the same of an inexpensive replacement.

Good luck and stay safe make sure the circuit is dead while working on it.


What is involved in sizing and designing ducts and ductwork? I have a one-story house, and it looks like it would be easy to run new ducts myself in the attic. What should I know before trying to design a duct system myself?

I have seen ductwork that's metal rectangular with a main supply trunk that has branches coming off, I've seen it made from ductboard, I've seen pre-insulated circular ducts routed all over the place with plenum connections, etc. Which of these should be considered for a house such as mine?

You need to know how to calculate the required CFM - cubic feet per minute - that your ductwork will allow.  On a room per room basis you need to determine how much air flow is needed, how large the vent needs to be, and thus how large of a duct you require.  Then you need to determine how large of a trunk you require and at what points you need to reduce it after branching off legs from the trunk.

Finally you need to also know where to position the return air and how large it needs to be, in order to support the output from your HVAC.

I don't know how to calculate those things - I just know that's what you need to know.


20A & 30A dual feed into subpanel Okay so this is my first shot at this question, but not my first time trying to research the subject. I am in the process of designing a tiny house and have started thinking electrical. NOTE : I will be hiring a professional electrician to carry out the work but for now I'm looking for a better understanding of how this will all work.

Pretty much what I'm looking for is a sub-panel that will have two feeds powering it. One 20 amp regular heavy duty extension and one 30amp RV extension. Is it possible to have two feeds into a sub-panel like this? and have two separate circuits inside? My reasoning is for future purposes, either a small solar setup and even a generator during blackouts on the smaller 20amp circuit while keeping the 30amp on grid for our larger draw uses.

What kind of panel would i be looking for here?
Or which direction should i be starting?
Everything is 120V.

Again this is solely for my understanding as the builder and owner of the home but an electrician will be hired to do the work.

So are split sub panels with dual feeds a thing? thats my question

Running solely off a 30 amp service would be really really tight given what we need to run. Mostly propane for the larger pulls but no need for a 50amp 240 nor do we have that set up like we already do with an existing 30amp rv hookup on site. So it got me thinking the 30 amp taking some of the load off of that and putting it on a separate 20 amp feed and having both the 20 and 30 in the house at the same time yet separately...? if this makes any sense.

Abosolutely not. There is no way to combine two feeders in one panel.

Look, I do this myself -- providing multiple services to a vehicle. In one case I have 23 x 120V@5A heaters, and I have a 50A/240V inlet driving 14 of  them, six on a 240V/20A connection, and 3 on a 120V/20A connection. You can drive as many as you can plug in.

But they have to be completely firewalled. No connections.

Feeding a 240V split-phase panel, one leg with the 30A and the other leg with the 20A, is illegal and dangerous, not least, it will burn your house down. Not the tiny house, the big house.  So that's right out.

Do it this way instead.

First, for the 20A circuit, you fit a 20A inlet on the underside of your building. Cable a single circuit from that inlet to red-colored receptacles in multiple locations around the tiny house.  This system does not connect to the other system in any way, shape or form.  Not at all.  I would even get a red magic marker and red-stripe both side of the Romex involved so you know it's a different service. The yellow-red or gray-red Romex will be distinctive.

Second, have the normal service panel as you intend. This is powered by only the 30A/120V TT30 circuit.  The various branch circuits come off it, etc. etc.

If the red socket situation doesn't appeal, you can have a red "second subpanel", but once again, they are effectively two services, and the hot and neutral wires cannot contact each other or interact in any way.  I'm not a fan of this one because it's just asking for confusion.

Cool hack: Allow feeding the red circuit from the 30A

To do this, fit a common receptacle quite close to that 20A inlet.  Power this recep from a dedicated 15A or 20A breaker in the service panel.  Now, if 20A power is not available separately, simply install a 1' long extension cord from the outlet to the inlet. Voila!

Further cool hack: Be 120/240V ready

A main "breaker" is already mandatory.  It is only there to be a disconnect, so its amperage doesn't matter.  Go at least 50A (really, go 225A so you have enough breaker spaces, but I digress).  Cable from a 50A/240V NEMA 14-50 inlet or short cable to the main breaker.   To connect to a 30A/240V supply, use an adapter.  To connect to a 30A/120V supply, use an adapter.   These are readily available in the RV community.  Any RV shop like RV World probably has them in stock. Or, you can build your own from a couple feet of proper cordage from the electrical supply house, and the appropriate plugs and sockets.

If you don't want to do that now, then buy the correct panel, and 6/3 cable if it'll be buried, and fit the TT30 as you planned. Then you can always upgrade later for just a few bucks, since you haven't painted yourself into a corner.

It is illegal to serve multiple circuits of the same voltage to a building.

You cannot, for instance, run two 120V lines out to a shed, of any amperage.  You are expected to bring out one circuit of that voltage and split it with a subpanel.  However, it's allowed if the second line is switched, on a solar/powerwall/generator and the other is not, or some other utilization issue like that.

To be clear, it's not allowed to a shed, barn, pumphouse, pool, spa, workshed, office, storage unit, gazebo, tennis court or garage.  Fortunately, a tiny house on wheels is a vehicle.


How do I connect a new Lutron sensing switch? I'm changing a light switch to motion sensor switch. I have 2 black wires coming from power source (only 1 is hot), and 1 black wire is going to light.
The whites (neutrals) are tied in together bypassing switch.  I know to leave these alone.

How do I tie these in to a Lutron sensing switch?
The switch has 2 black wires,
1 green (ground)  I understand these
1 blue labeled as traveler.
1 extra wire that is alone and appears to be a connector if needed.

Allow me to label the black wires at the junction box.
A. is black HOT
B. is black (not hot) also coming into the box from the bottom separate from hot.
C. is black going to lights.

I think I've installed the switch you are talking about before.

Blue wire (traveler) is for 3-way applications, just cap it off
Green wire (ground) ties in to the exposed copper wire of your Romex, or into the box if you have BX cable
Black wires: because you are using AC current, the switch doesn't really care which side of the circuit is truly 'hot'.  You just need to tie in one of them to a hot wire (A), and the other to the light(C).


Clean heavily rusted structural steel I'm hoping to use some scrap structural steel pipes and plates to build a large BBQ/Smoker, but they're all pretty heavily rusted. I've seen people in tutorials use both wire wheels and preparation discs to do this, but none have explained their choice.

They all seem similarly priced and all have the same description of their function! Ideally I'd like to select the one which least marks the underlying steel.

I'm currently choosing between just about everything in this category:
http://www.screwfix.com/c/tools/cleaning-preparation/cat5990034

None of the above?

It's structural steel, you can just leave it rusty (if it happens to be corten, the rust actually keeps it from rusting further...) This may lack Wife Approval Factor for your backyard BBQ, however.

Least marking (and least direct effort, dust, noise) electrolytic rust removal - submerge it in a tub of water, outside, with sodium carbonate (washing soda) mixed in. Connect a low-voltage DC supply to the thing you want the rust off of, and a sacraficial electrode. Polarity is - to the thing you are derusting, + to the thing you are sacrificing. Both should be in the tub, but they should not touch. Turn on the power, let it bubble (that's hydrogen, which is why you do this OUTSIDE, only, not inside.)

For mechanical rust removal when looking for effectiveness/speed rather than "least marking" I use a knotted wire brush in an angle grinder. Conditioning disks will probably mark a bit less and definitely work slower, IME.


What can I put over drywall on a garage firewall? I want to add a wall covering on top of my 5/8" type-x drywall in my attached garage in Minnesota.  What limitations do I have other than not to use flammable/vinyl/plastic material?

What materials would anyone recommend?

The Code does not restrict material installed on top of “Fire wall” materials. (Btw, the 5/8” type-x gypsum board is only required on the garage side. It’s not required on the “living space” side.)

Also, you can have “holes” in the gypsum board, including electrical outlets, electrical switches, a door if it’s fire rated, etc.

Also, the garage cannot have a door opening directly into a sleeping space.

UPDATE:

Oops...actually the Code does restrict what can be installed on walls and ceilings. They can’t have a “Flame Spread Rating” greater than 200, unless it’s less than 1/28” thick and cemented to the surface and has a flame spread rating less than paper. (See ICC R302.9). Also, they can’t have a “Smoke Development Index” greater than 450. (See ICC R302.10)


How to fix this leaky sink drain? New to the forum. This I am thinking is a fairly straight forward job, but I don't have any plumbing experience so a little ify on how to go about it. Essentially I have a leaky sink drain. Little droplets coaliest as water drains. Maybe it's the gasket? or caulking? not sure. I hope the pictures are clear to show the potential issues.

Any and all help are greatly appreciated.

Thank you

That is commonly called a kitchen sink strainer or basket strainer.

You should start by soaking the parts that you can see in the picture with a penetrating spray lube, the kind that says "helps loosen rusted parts".

You will need to disconnect the plumbing from the strainer by removing both the metal and the plastic slip-joint nuts. Then remove the strainer by unscrewing the large metal ring nut with the little "nubs" all around the outside. This will likely be difficult. I usually use a large long-handled screwdriver and a hammer to try to back the nut off. If this does not work, you may have to actually destroy the ring nut to remove it (not uncommon).

Take all the parts down to the local mom and pop plumbing or hardware store and they will hook you up (don't even bother with a "big box" hardware store).
You will need:

new basket strainer
1 lb. plumber's putty
at least (1) 1 1/2" SJ washer

The rest of what you need should come with the strainer.

NOTE: this leaked because the plumbers putty seal between the sink and the strainer's upper flange failed. Caulking plays NO part in this assembly.


How can I temporarily soundproof my bedroom window? I live on the second floor of a noisy NYC apartment building, and my bedroom window is unfortunately right above a busy street. I've been sleeping with earplugs for a while, but I still get woken up. Is there any way to temporarily soundproof my window? Preferably it would be cheap and easy to install/remove.

If you have single pane glass, which transmits a lot of sound, and heavy curtains (as suggested by BMitch) don't do enough, you could try making a panel from 2" sheathing foam (it comes in 2"x2'x8' pieces for about $17/piece; it may be pink or blue depending on brand).   Cut it to fill the inside of the window frame (you can use a sharp utility knife and a straightedge; make several cuts of increasing depth).    Paint with latex paint to go with your decor and to protect the outward-facing side from UV.   This would be light weight enough to easily put into place and could be slid under a sofa or bed when you don't need it in the window.

If your window is more than 2' wide, it's a bit more of a project; you'd need to get foam-safe construction glue (it will specifically mention that it's safe for foam) and glue the tounge and groove sides together, and add some thin strips of wood cross-ways (ideally on both sides) to stiffen it.


Is a divided wireway or auxiliary gutter considered one wireway/gutter or two for derate purposes? A common accessory with auxiliary gutters or wireways is a divider that extends the length of the gutter/wireway and creates two wiring compartments instead of one.  This is more commonly used to separate service conductors from branch/feeder conductors or low voltage conductors from line voltage conductors, but can be used between two sets of branch/feeder conductors as well.

When a divider is used between two sets of branch/feeder conductors though, does the 30 conductor limit on the 310.15(B)(3)(a) derate exception (376.22(B), 366.22(A)) apply to each subdivided compartment within the wireway/gutter, or to the wireway/gutter as a whole?

CMP-8 says it's all one wireway, or at least they rejected changing the Code to say otherwise

Well, making it so the 30 conductor limit applies to each compartment of a partitioned wireway was proposed as a Code change for the 2014 cycle and roundly rejected by CMP-8, so I think that's a definitive "one wireway" answer to my question, or at least the closest I'll get so far (quoting modulo markdown limitations from this NFPA doc):

  8-134 Log #798 NEC-P08

  Final Action: Reject

  (376.22)

  Submitter: Paul E. Guidry, Fluor Enterprises, Inc. / Rep. Associated Builders and Contractors

  Recommendation: This is an updated proposal to one previously sent. Part of the text was left out. Please reject the previous proposal.

  Add new text to read:

  376.22 Number of Conductors and Ampacity. The number of conductors and their ampacity shall comply with
  376.22(A) and (B).

  (A) Cross-Sectional Areas of Wireway. The sum of the cross-sectional areas of all contained conductors at any cross
  section of a wireway shall not exceed 20 percent of the interior cross-sectional area of the wireway.

  (B) Adjustment Factors. The adjustment factors in 310.15(B)(3)(a) shall be applied only where the number of
  current-carrying conductors, including neutral conductors classified as current-carrying under the provisions of
  310.15(B)(5), exceeds 30. Conductors for signaling circuits or controller conductors between a motor and its starter and
  used only for starting duty shall not be considered as current-carrying conductors.

  For the purposes of this Section, wireways with metallic dividers installed constitutes separate wireways.

  Substantiation: Wireways are often being used with dividers that are a listed part of the equipment. Often these divided
  sections contain up to 30 current-carrying conductors in each divided section. Where dividers are used, this proposal
  would allow each divided section of the wireway to be counted as individual wireways and allow up to 30
  current-carrying conductors and 20% fill without derating of ampacities.

  Panel Meeting Action: Reject

  Panel Statement: CMP-8 acknowledges that the use of internal barriers in wireway is not prohibited. The submitter
  has not provided adequate technical substantiation to permit increasing the number of conductors in a divided metal
  wireway above 30 without applying the provisions of Section 310.15(B)(5).


Can I use mortar to transition a height difference between cement board and drywall? A family member helped me install some cement board in my shower, but the cement board and drywall aren’t level. It already has two coats of red guard and is basically ready to tile. Can I use thin set to level this out, let it dry, and then tile as normal on top of it?

Pictures attached. I am reallyyyy trying to prevent having to rip it all out.

Any solutions would be unbelievably appreciated. Gotta get this done by next Tuesday.

Thank you in advance!!

In some cases I have wanted the tile base lower than the sheetrock. This way there is not a large ledge for water to collect on. You can float some thin set to the surface but make sure it is completely dry prior to tiling and make a large taper or it will be noticeable.


Can I use my old radiator valves when replacing the radiator itself? One of my Stelrad K1 radiators has died (corroded enough that there is a hole into it, and it's full of sludge and rust) so I'm going to replace it. It's a standard model, so should be a straight swap in, however:

The new one doesn't come with the pair of radiator valves - I can order them separately (once I have figured out what is meant by 15mm manual angled radiator valves and 8/10mm manual angled valves)

But can I just use the old ones?

From my experience, those valves usually have a shorter lifespan than the radiators they are connected to. I would recommend you replace the valve as many times old valves like leaking once you start messing with it.


Brass screws stripping and snapping, what am I doing wrong? I am hanging a new door and was told to use brass screws to attach the hinges.

When I drive the screw with a mechanical driver, the brass screws sometimes snap (head snaps off the shank), or strip. The frame is 70-year old redwood, and is quite hard.

What am I doing wrong? Are brass screws inherently brittle? Did I buy cheap brass screws?

Brass screws are soft. You can easily twist the heads right off. This means you MUST be careful.

Pre-drill pilot holes for the screws.
Lubricate the screws. I use a stick of beeswax that I keep on hand. Just draw the threads across the stick to get a bit on them. You will be ASTOUNDED how easily a lubed screw drives. Some use soap on screws, which is probably ok for brass. It is bad for steel screws as it can cause them to rust.
Use a drill-driver that will allow you to limit the torque applied to the screw.


How do I tell the difference between a small spring under a neighbor's slab and a leak from drain pipe? I have a French drain between my neighbor and our house. Water is always seeping out of the drain into the street. Upon inspection the water seems to be coming from the corner of the neighbors bathroom because the ground is always wet. I think it is a broken drain pipe under the slab foundation, but they think it is a possibly a natural spring or water seepage from further up the hill in our neighborhood. How do we tell the difference and what damage will this cause the slab?

If you think it could be a drain leak (and your neighbor is agreeable to it), you could get some water leak dye and put it in your neighbor's bathroom drains and see if it comes out into the wet ground or not.


New Breaker, Receptacle, and Plug for New Appliance I'm wanting to use a 220v, 50Hz, 6000w Infrared Flash Dryer but don't have a way to power it currently... Additionally, the appliance comes without a plug... just 3 wires ready to be connected to a plug.

I've done some research and figured out that I should be using a 30amp breaker with #8 wire (it'll be more than 25ft from the box).

How do I know what receptacle and plug to use? I read that NEMA 10 is typically used for clothes dryers and stuff and that I should be looking at NEMA 14, but it has 4 prongs and the appliance only has 3 wires...

If you suggest NEMA 10, would it hurt to go with NEMA 14? If I were to use NEMA 14, would I ignore the ground or the neutral when adding the plug onto the appliance?

Can't speak to if the frequency will be a problem, but 240V plus ground is a NEMA 6. Do not use a NEMA 10, it is two hots and a neutral.

I don't believe a flash dryer operates at full current for 3+ hours, #10 and a 30A breaker should be fine, if it operates more than 3 hours at full current then #8 copper wire and a 40A breaker would be needed.

Edit: After good night's sleep and a cup of coffee I realized my answer at very least violated NEC 210.21 which limits cord connected loads on a 30A circuits to 24A, you would need to use #8 copper, a 40A breaker, and a NEMA 6-50 (or a NEMA 14-50 which would probably not satisfy a strict interpretation of (UL) Listing requirements of the cord cap to only install as the instructions describe and as tested by the testing agency, but (UL) is probably thrown out the window using a 50Hz appliance that has 50Hz sensors, timers or relays on 60Hz).


How can I stop the dripping from a concrete ceiling? My uncle built a concrete bunker in the side of a hill over 50 years ago.  The shelter seemed to be free of any leaks until just recently in which there is a steady drip in a few spots in the ceiling.  With no rain for several months, the water must be coming from a spring in the hillside.  Is there a sealer that could be applied to the concrete to eliminate the water from seeping through the concrete?  If so, would the entire ceiling need to sealed or just in the area of the water stains?

I don't know how well it works but there are companies that will drill holes through the concrete and then inject a waterproofing agent under high pressure. This is normally done for walls but I'd guess could work for a ceiling. It might even work better as for a ceiling as it won't sink down the wall outside.
If you search for "concrete waterproofing injection" you will find lots of companies selling the service and some reviews (good and bad). I've never done it. I looked into it a while back when I had a basement leak but I solved it another way.


What is this thing next to my sink? Possible Duplicate:
  What is this component that connects to the garbage disposal?

As I mentioned in a previous post, I recently moved to a new place and I'm still trying to figure out what things do. There are still a few things that are particularly puzzling, like what this thing next to the sink is.

If the top item is near your kitchen sink then this probably an air gap for your dish washer drain system. The purpose of the air gap is to prevent back flow siphoning from the sink drain back into the dish washer.

The lower item is definitely a timer unit. The dark colored thing under the timer dial appears to be a switch that has positions of OFF, FULL ON and TIMER MODE. You should be able to use this switch to determine just what things this timer turns on and off. A common use for a timer like this is to turn certain lights in your dwelling on and off according to a fixed schedule. If it connects to internal lights then the purpose it to make it look like people are home whilst you are away on vacation. It may also be tied into exterior lights such as an entry way light, lights on the front of your garage and/or sidewalk lights. In this case the purpose would be to automatically turn these lights on of a few hours in the early evening and then turn them off automatically when you have gone to bed.

More commonly it is used to control heating or other high-load electricity/gas-powered systems as many tariffs offer cheaper power overnight.


Plumbing/venting outside of studs Getting ready to start plumbing on new house. Just wondered if I could plumb/vent outside of existing wall and build another wall in front of it. It would eliminate drilling through studs and alot of aggravation.

Yes indeedy - it's called a plumbing chase, and quite common. Toss in some conduits as well as the pipes and it will also help with your network/cable wiring.


LED light with built-in switch; installing auto-timer between switch & outlet, LED aquarium light (a bar with many small bulbs) with manual switch built into cord; Customer requested automatic timer. Placed automatic timer between LED's plug & wall outlet. Functioned well for 2 months. Now, when the timer clicks to ON, the LED won't light fully: one end of the LED light's bar glows, but the rest is dark.    BUT...

If I switch the built-into-cord switch off & on, the LED lights up! ??

If I remove the timer, the in-line switch & light function normally.

I plugged an incandescent light into the timer and the timer functions normally.

Any ideas?

Into the trash it goes

The timer is almost certainly malfunctioning and not providing "clean" voltage & current to the lighting.

This surely has something to do with "leakage current" as we often see with devices working fine with incandescent and then choking on LED.  However there's no reason for a timer to be built that way.  Further, the fact that it started doing this now proves it's some sort of electronic degradation.

Look at the timer; if "CE" (Chinese Excrement) is the most prominent listing agency mark, then waste no further time on it.  Amazon Marketplace, eBay or Aliwhatever are not reliable sources for quality parts.


Should I replace this cracked bathroom wall tile? Just had someone install ceramic tiles for bathroom. But to my surprise one tile on the shower walls, appears to have a hairline crack. I asked him about it and he said it was a manufacturing cosmetic defect and it's not a real crack more like a harmless scratch. I don't know, but I know replacing it is not easy. The pipes out of the tiles are for the fauce, so there are two holes for them in the same tile already.

The tile has 4 horizontal squares and two vertical, the two important holes are in the center:

I had posted this as a comment but believe it should be an answer.
Wow to me from that photo this is a full blown broken tile not a hair line crack that you would see in a natural stone. This porcelain tile should have no broken tiles. I hope you have not made the final payment and if you have contact your local contractors board this is unacceptable in my opinion and not a hairline crack. It looks like they used snipers and not a saw to make that crappy cut out. Just my opinion but it looks like a DIY job for a first time tile person to me.


How to paint a copper sink I have a black colored copper sink and thanks to lye that I poured to fix a slow drain, there has been a discoloration .

How do I paint it back again?

Your sink probably isn't painted. Copper goes through several stages of oxidation (roughly the equivalent of iron rust). The final patina is the dark, durable finish you see there. Painting it would've completely defeated the point of building it with copper in the first place.

Over time copper will naturally change colors – transforming from a shiny brown color to darker browns, then blues and finally greens after a number of years.  When exposed to the natural elements such as wind and rain, copper develops this “patina” which actually protects and preserves the metal underneath.
https://www.crescentcitycopper.com/why-does-copper-turn-green.htm

Your sink probably doesn't ever get to the green that article mentions due to the regular wear of use and cleaning. You'll want to just give it time to re-oxidize. There may be chemical methods of accelerating the process, but you risk doing more harm than good.


What should I do to prevent mold from flooding? Thanks to old plumbing, my upstairs toilet has flooded the bathroom -- and it's dripped all the way down to the downstairs bedroom, where it's soaked into the carpet there as well. I've got buckets and towels; however, I'm highly allergic to mold and mildew. What can I do to prevent the growth of mold?

Note: This is a rental situation, so anything involving ripping up the floor to get at insulation will require the landlord's approval and thus will take a few days at least, so non-invasive methods are preferred.

What you describe requires major plumbing work and can cause devastating damage to your home.  Your landlord should be responsible for fixing this because with moisture leaking behind the walls like this then it can quickly create major property damage to his rental unit and unhealthy mold.

Your landlords refusal to fix this on his own is creating a health hazard for you, and in many countries and states there are laws that protect tenants and give them certain rights in a landlord-tenant relationship.  One of these rights is the right to a safe and hazard free home, which means you can and should be able to bring suit against the landlord in the event where he refuses to fix a situation with the property that is creating a signficant health hazard for you and your family.

To get rid of the mildew, talk to your landlord and tell him to fix the leak immediately.


My Goodman a/c motor fails due to high voltage I have got a brand new goodman unit. The motor kept stopping after few hours an the tech replaced the motor. It still had same issues.. I was told that the voltage coming into the unit is too high.. The voltage was around 246-249v. The unit itself says it supports a max range of 253 volts. however the motor on the unit supports only 230 volts.. The hvac guy disappeared for 2 days and it is not working out. He suggested me using a step down transformer. Is that the only way out of this? Shouldn't goodman be providing a capable motor that runs in the max range supported by the unit?

thanks for all the answer guys.. finally resolved the problem. It was due to incorrect wiring.. Explanation from the guy who fixed it.. Instead of plugging in 220 v to the fan, they plugged one end of the hot via the capacitor.. So it was able to run only for sometime till the capacitor drains.. Once it reaches 120 v it is not able to keep up and the fan stops.. I can try to get more details if needed..


Can I safely chain lower rated receptacles from higher ones? I have a NEMA 10-50 receptacle wired properly.
I have a device with a NEMA 6-15 plug.

I think that I cannot chain a new NEMA 6-15 outlet from the existing 50amp service.

Is a plug adapter the appropriate choice here?

I was just looking into a related question and am on the NEC Article that does not allow you to chain a lower rated amperage receptacle from a higher rated one. NEC Table 210.21(B)(3) and its corresponding Article. States that if you have a 50A circuit then the device must also be rated 50A. In theory from a Code standpoint you could install a NEMA 6-15 on your circuit if you could find one that was rated to withstand 50A.

Good luck with that one.


Can I use a 220V 80W fan with an 220V to 110V 50W adaptor to make it work slower? In my country we have 220V system. I have a fan that is rated 220V 80W with 3 speeds, but even the lower speed is too fast and noisy. Since a fan is basically a simple AC motor I figured I could reduce the voltage in order to make it slower.

So I connected an old 220-110V 50W adaptor and so far (30 minutes) it works and at max speed it runs very silently and efficiently. The adaptor which I'm monitoring very closely is running at ambient temperature.

My question is: am I doing it wrong? is there any danger? Thanks.

There are a few different types of voltage adapters, some of which are probably safe, and others will destroy the fan because the output contains a DC component. Check which type you are using.

Transformer: Transformers produce a pure sine-wave (other than esoteric Sola- type constant voltage transformers) AC output which is unlikely to damage the fan unless the fan stalls and overheats due to lack of air circulation. Since the rating of your adapter is 50 W, it is probably a transformer. Check also that the fan does not draw more than 2 A maximum, or it would exceed the capability of the transformer.
Diode: For resistive devices such as clothes irons, some adapters contain just a silicon diode. The output is pulsating DC, which is likely to destroy the fan or even cause a fire.
Thyristor: Triac and SCR devices do not really reduce voltage but slice the AC waveform into smaller pieces. Some are designed specifically for use with small shaded pole motors, as used in most ceiling fans. A danger with some controls not intended for use with motors is that the "chopped" waveform may not be equally balanced and have a DC component, with possibility of slow overheating, not immediately apparent, so perhaps a greater danger.
Series inductor: It is possible to use a simple inductor or "choke" to slow a fan, which should be safe, but the value of the inductor would depend on the current draw of the fan.


Which whole house generators put out a good sine wave? Some postings on DIY caution about using square waves and dirty sine waves to power some electronic equipment.

Which whole house generators generally put out clean sine waves?   (I looked on the official Briggs and Stratton website and found nothing on this topic.)

As others have said, this will vary considerably from one device to another.

One way to measure the quality of electricity is "Total Harmonic Distortion" (THD), which is a measure of how much distortion from a true sine wave there is. A perfect sine wave is 0%, and a square wave (very poor) is 48%. Anything under 5% is generally considered "perfect" for household usage, and a good generator should be around that. But a cheaper generator could be 20-30% +. You may have to do some digging to find the specs for a model since not all manufacturers advertise it prominently.

Frankly, it's hard to tell whether your home devices will be troubled by high THD or not. It's not nearly as simple as "electronics"... most electric devices today have a DC converter to supply the device with low-voltage DC power, and actually are pretty isolated from the mains power. I think most DC power adapters are pretty tolerant of poor power, wide voltage ranges, wide frequency ranges, etc.

Note that there are other factors that may vary, like AC frequency (in the US that should be 60 Hz with very little variation), voltage (in the US should be between 110V and 130V for single-phase or 220V-260V for split-phase).


Can the overflow pipe on the water heater be screwed off to replace it with a longer one? Can you screw off a water flow pipe and replace it with a longer one that terminates closer to the floor.

Assuming you are talking about the temperature & pressure relief valve discharge pipe, yes, and that is generally a good idea to do. The closer to the floor the discharge pipe terminates, the less chance there is for scalding should it ever be used. In fact, it should terminate no more than 6 inches above the floor. InterNACHI (the International Association for Certified Home Inspectors) has a page on this for items for home inspectors to check, of which a few are notable here:

  discharge to a floor drain, to an indirect waste receptor, or to the outdoors.

  not terminate more than 6 inches (152 mm) above the floor or waste receptor.
  discharge in a manner that could not cause scalding.

Note, the discharge pipe should sit right above a floor drain; if you don't have a floor drain, you may want to consider installing one or discharging the T&P relief system elsewhere (e.g., outdoors, if your climate permits it).


Help me remove kitchen sink cabinet plumbing I am removing a sink cabinet temporarily to demolish the tile floor under it. The cabinet is going away in about a month when new kitchen cabinets arrive, so after demolishing the floor, I need to put it back temporarily to have a functioning kitchen sink.
The hot and cold water pipes are 1/2" copper with sweated Ts for the taps for dishwasher and icemaker. The hole at the bottom of the cabinet is hard to get to due to cover but looks 1.5" in diameter. The drain pipe is cemented as shown.
What is the typical procedure for removing these fixtures to swap out the cabinets? I don't mind hacking up the back of this cabinet just so that I can easily remove and put back the existing sink but when the new cabinets arrive, I'm thinking I could heating up the reducing coupling (circled in red), cutting it across (shown in green) and peeling it from the drain pipe. Then I could remove the compression fittings on the copper Ts, Pull cabinet forward a bit to clear the drain, and lift the cabinet up, hoping the Ts will clear 1.5" hole. This would avoid me doing unsweating of those T's. Anyone has better suggestions? I have done some limited sweating (actually I added a pressure regulator to my water main and other minor jobs), so I have some experience. Should I just do that? Or since I need to put it back temporarily, should I just cut at the tees and go with Sharkbite fittings that I can remove and pit back at will?
Thanks, David

You don't mention what type of floor you're demoing, but if you don't care about the cabinet and don't mind wrecking it, why not just take a Sawzall or a jig saw and cut the whole bottom out? Of course, you'll still need to deal with the plumbing eventually when you're ready to remove it permanently. But this way you get access to the flooring now, and when you're ready to replace the cabinet you don't need to worry about trying to keep the whole setup working. Then it's just a matter of turning off the water, cutting what ever is in the way, pulling the old one, installing the new, and reconnecting the plumbing.


How to repair this kitchen drawer front panel? We have a magnetic child lock attached to the inside of the front panel on a kitchen drawer.  Over time, due to tugging on the drawer a bunch without successfully unlatching the magnetic latch, we've managed to pull the front panel right off the drawer, and I'm curious what I should do to fix it.

Here's the opening where the drawer normally resides:

the drawer resting on a countertop (minus the front panel):

and the front panel:

The front panel looks fine from the outside, so I'm not opposed to a kludgy fix on the inside to avoid a costly bill to replace the drawer altogether.  All the sides of the drawer appear to be made of dense particle board, and this includes the piece that attached to the front panel and connected to the other sides via staples, so I'm not surprised this cheap construction eventually gave way.

Here are some more photos of what happened, starting with the backside of the front piece (the child lock is the white piece towards the left, which in hindsight, I should have mounted closer to the handle):

and close-ups of the way it attached to the sides:

My initial thought was to pull out the staples still embedded in the sides of the drawer, carefully re-attach the front panel to the sides using wood glue, and then use metal corner braces to reinforce the inside corners of the drawer.  Would that be a bad idea?

Metal corner braces will work to some degree, but will be hideous. I recently rebuilt one in my home that had been repaired that way. You'll see them every time you open the drawer, along with the torn-out face of the panels.

I would cut a new board (solid wood, plywood, particle board) exactly the size of the inner dimensions of the drawer, and mount it to the back side of the drawer front using countersunk flathead screws and glue. This will then slide into the drawer when the front is put in place, giving you solid mounting and covering the damaged surfaces.

Carefully pilot and countersink flathead screws from the sides and bottom of the drawer to attach the drawer front via this new board. Glue would be a good idea here, too.

Plan view:

 |  |                 |  |
 |  |                 |  |
 |  |     new block   |  |
 |  |        |        |  |
 |  | ________________|  |
 |__||_______________||__|
|_________________________|
             |
             |
        drawer front


Mitsubishi Hyper Heat Models Capacity Weirdness Why do some of the h2i models not have 100% capacity at 5 degrees like advertised.
These models, in fact, don't even list a 5 degree sizing, but drop off at their 17 degree like traditional heat pumps.

I'm concerned that the performance might also suffer at the lower temperatures if the capacity is.  I'm in NH and hoping to use it as primary with supplemental wood heat, but I was hoping to do a pair of units to make line runs shorter and it seems like only the larger units match the promises of the brochure.

Source Data:
Marketing Brochure
Spec sheet

The fact is that all heat pumps loose efficiency as it gets colder. I think if you check that they can still heat down to 5 but the efficiency is not there because the heat differential is outside the heating range. If memory serves for an inside there some that go to -10f I remember this number from a training class a year or 2 ago but not the brand or model.  We were lucky our heat pump was mounted outside our chimney (with a wood stove insert this kept the bricks warm so our unit would work in the -f range even though it was only rated for 20f) as you can see from the curves when it gets below the teens that max heat starts to drop off, to say it another way you might need 110 f coil temp to get 78f inside the home so when the coil is down to 78f now you’re down to 52 or cold for inside temps. Things that will help keep snow off of and away from the outside unit, if you have high winds a wind break can also help as this will allow the heat radiating from the house to increase the efficiency, hope this helps but depending on the unit it may heat but just not efficiently.

Added to address op comment: I have installed old classic heat pumps with fixed orifices and TXV (temperature controlled throttle valves), there is no real comparison in efficiency of this older single speed system compared to inverter driven or variable speed systems, the old orifice type topped out about 12 or 13 seer where the inverter driven units are in the low to mid 20’s for the most part and improving about every 3 years, the additional improvement is with modern split systems each room is independently heated Or cooled, so you save by not running as hard, minis vary there speed so there is not much starting and stopping and this also saves no ductwork to heat or cool is another plus. a system running at 40% for an hour compared to a old fashioned system starting and stopping at least 3 times, then running at full speed prior to shutdown is less efficient because on startup compressors draw 3-5x there normal running power, in the long run running at a variable speed is easier on the equipment and more energy efficient. We have used this technology in industrial plants for close to 30 years to save $ but it wasn’t until about 10 years ago the smaller inverters actually were robust enough for home use (I used to say they were a waste for anything under 20hp) but a few years Back they started coming out with tiny modules that were lasting as long as the big units, I finally installed one in my home not long ago (not saying the brand but mine and several others now have 10 year warranty’s) where not that long ago it was 1,3 or 5 years on the systems I saw. So it comes down to the type of system and the type of drive controllers and the over all seer rating (the higher the better). With split systems they can be even more energy efficient because you don’t need to heat or cool each room for example, summer during the day keep the kitchen and living room nice and cool, but let the bedrooms be 20 degrees warmer, an night adjust so the kitchen and living rooms are warmer but the bedrooms are just right.
Not  cooling the entire house works plus, as the rooms reach the set point the fans slow to a whisper , the compressor slows to just keep up with demand so it is quieter all saving $ and extending system life.  This is what I have seen and some of the reasons some can work to lower temps, the type of Freon, the seer of the combined components and how they are set up all make a difference. Hope that helped without being two long winded.


How does MDF fare as cabinet front insets? My cabinet maker is using MDF for the inset panel on the shaker style doors. How will this fare in durability and longevity. Should I have him change it to wood insets instead?

As long as MDF is not exposed directly to moisture it is more stable than solid wood which will expand and contract with seasonal changes much more so than MDF or plywood, cheaper too.

I pretty much do not like MDF at all, except for this type of application. It also finishes out very smooth, some solid wood and plywood will show the grain of the wood through the paint finish.


lennox AC condenser Fan running backwards I have been trying to figure this out for a little while and about to check into the nutty house!! The Condenser fan went bad in my AC Unit. It was a 3 wire motor. I got a Universal replacment motor and installed it. The orginal Motor was a emerson 1/10 HP 1 Phase. The AC unit has a 35+5 Capacitor with a Extra Start Capacitor. The replacement motor is a mars 10468 multi-HP 2 speed reversible. Here is the noodle cooker. I have the white wire hooked to line. The black and red wires from the fan determine the speed of the fan, red for LOW and black for HIGH. I am only using the black because i need the motor to run on high to match the RPM of the original motor. I have the brown wire connected to the fan side of the duel CAP, with the brown\white strip wire unhooked and wire nutted. When I manually start the unit by pushing the contactor down, everything starts and the fan runs in the correct direction. when I turn the thermostat to cool and it kicks on, the fan runs backwards. HELP!!!!!

Your capacitor is too small.  The new motor you list requires a 10 MFD capacitor to run at 240 VAC.  Since the OEM capacitor in the unit is only 5 MFD, the new motor will randomly run backward and it will run with far less than its rated HP.

Also, you should connect the new motor to run on LOW (red wire).  These universal replacement condenser fan motors are not really multi-speed motors.  They are actually multi-horsepower motors.  At the low setting, your new motor is 1/5 HP.  The OEM motor was 1/10 HP, and the fan blades for your condenser are sized for the 1/10 HP motor.  When you install the correct new capacitor for your new motor, I think you will find that your condenser fan runs faster with the new motor on LOW than it did with the OEM motor.