Why do my led bulbs state: not for use in totally enclosed luminaires? I recently bought some nice inexepensive LED bulbs but I noticed the warning states: (see image below)

  not for use in totally enclosed luminaires

I am guessing that it gets too hot but I find it interesting that it doesn't add that part to the warning text.  I was wondering if it has something to do with it not performing well if it doesn't have air or something.

Also, I wonder if that means I can't use it in overhead lighting like the following: (Again I'm assuming you should not.  It's totally enclosed, but I wasn't sure if it just meant small enclosed luminaires).

Yes, it is because of the heat buildup in enclosed fixtures, and no you should not use the bulb in that ceiling fixture you listed unless you are willing to accept shortened bulb life.

Your options are:

Use the bulb in that fixture anyway and accept that they may burn out or dim prematurely
Get LED bulbs that are approved for enclosed fixtures, e.g. many of the newer Cree and Philips bulbs. They will say on the packaging.
Replace the fixture entirely with a LED fixture that doesn't have bulbs at all. E.g. this similar fixture from Home Depot.
Use a CFL or old-fashioned incandescent bulb in that location and put the LEDs elsewhere.


Is there a through-the-wall A/C that works with external thermostats? Our two-story A-frame house only has duct-work downstairs in the crawl-space, with vents in the floor. It gets quite hot upstairs during the summer, but because the square footage of the upper floor is less than downstairs, we were thinking it might be more economical to go with a through-the-wall air conditioner upstairs. But I'm a big fan of the Nest thermostat, so I'm trying to find an A/C unit that would accept an external thermostat. Any ideas where to start? Google just arbitrarily decides whether to apply "wall-mount" to "thermostat" or "air conditioner" but not to both.

SOME models of the GE AJCMxx, AJCQxx, AJEMxx, or AJEQxx has the ability to wire in a standard 24 VAC "Class 2" thermostat.   It is explained in the manuals, which I believe you can download from GEAppliances.com.

I wish I'd thought of this myself when I bought my through-the-wall A/C - it's bound to be better than the internal gas-tube thermostat.


Loud noises coming from my sump pump We moved into our house a few years back, and just now the sump pump started to make loud rattling noise when running. It is as if someone is banging on the pipes with a large piece of metal.

I have not been able to watch it run and witness the issue because it takes forever to fill the sump with water. I tried probing the pump, the pipes and whatever is around it, but everything looked solid.

Has anybody of you had that issue? Is that something I could fix on my own or do I need to call a plumber? What could that be so I have something to explain to the plumber if it comes to calling one?

Most often, a rattling sound could be a piece of debris that is not getting fully lifted and ejected out with the water, like a small rock. Also, some pumps come with internal backwater valves that can become loose or broken and cause rattling.  And a third possible cause would be the bearings or stator giving out on the motor.
I recently replaced my third sump pump over seven years of using them (year 1, 4 and 7). I would estimate the life expectancy for a pump that I use to be about 3 years.


Why do my downstairs radiators run colder than upstairs? Our combi boiler in the loft (less than 3 years old Vaillant EcoTec) is heating the upstairs radiators nicely, but the downstairs ones are lukewarm to cold.

I have opened all the radiator valves fully downstairs, and reduced the upstairs ones to try to increase pressure to downstairs. This worked for a few weeks, but again downstairs have become cool. Opening the upstairs ones fully makes the downstairs ones dead cold.

The pressure on the boiler reads 1.7 bar. Increasing it to 1.9 doesn't help and I don't want to go any higher. The thermostat is now set to 23°C and downstairs radiators still don't get beyond lukewarm. All the radiators have been bled, there is no air trapped.

One thing to note, and I don't know how related it is, but when we turn on any hot water tap, all the radiators get hot, even if the heating is off, even the downstairs ones!

Had an engineer look at everything. The magnet filter was covered in thick black gunk. Took ages to clean. The verdict is all pipes and radiators are filled with this gunk and blocking flow very badly. The system will be power flushed and the pump replaced.


Can I tile over a plywood subfloor? I am going to tile a bathroom. I have removed the linoleum and all adhesive. There is a 1/4" plywood layer over the original subfloor. The floor is dry and clean. Do I need to remove the plywood subfloor before installing the backer board and tile?

If your plywood floor is in good condition, I would drive screws to securely attach it to your floor beams.  When I did my floor, I saw they were attached with nails which was not ideal even though I had no squeeky issue.


Can I add return air vents to improve air conditioning in some rooms? The return air system in my 46 yo home utilizes the stud space not a duct system.  My bedroom has a vent and maintains a temp  about 5 to 10 degrees lower than the other bedrooms.

My question:  Can I cut return air vents in these other bed rooms to lower the temperatures and make them more comfortable?

If you keep the doors to the other (warmer) bedrooms closed, try opening them. If this helps, then a return air duct, bypass vent around the door, or a door grille could help.

If opening the doors doesn't help the other rooms, you can try adjusting the vents (open more in the hot rooms, less in the cold rooms) to balance the air flow.

Also check the windows & blinds. If the warm rooms get more sun exposure, close their blinds or rotate them so hot air rises toward the glass. This can make several degrees difference during the day.


Safe to put nail into drywall when stud finder finds "live voltage"? I'm trying to hang a calendar on the drywall.
Tried 3M small Command hook, but it falls off after a few days.
Now I'm considering to use a nail or a drywall hook like this.

I used a stud finder with live voltage detection feature (like this), and I found that a pretty broad area near where I want to put calendar may have live AC voltage.

I did some Google search. Someone suggested to ignore it if a short nail or drywall hook is used, since it's very unlikely to damage the wire.

So my questions are:

Is it safe to put nail into the drywall in this case? Should I worry about the live voltage reported by the stud finder?
Any other recommendation for simply hanging a calendar? (I'll probably try a larger adhesive hook first)

Nail isn't exactly safe if you are directly nailing.   Chances of something happening are small (and really much greater chance to damage line than "shock" yourself) but it is there.   Also I doubt a nail would hang the calendar without eventually sagging.   Calendars are touched and moved and not ideal for just a nail - unless you can get that nail in framing.

Monkey hooks should be about as safe as it gets.   Don't hit them or press them in.   Screw them in slowly (I know there isn't threads) and once you pierce the drywall loosely move the main shaft up.  If you aren't applying pressure to it once it is in even if it hit a line it should not nick or pierce it.   I would go this route if you have to have the calendar in this exact location.   Monkey hooks are very strong and not invasive to your walls.

If you want to be extra safe with Monkey hooks you can bend the tip so it isn't sharp on the end once you get through the wall.


What is the recommended tire pressure for a sack barrow for different weight intervals? Is there a recommendation for tire pressure of sack barrows (with 200 kg max load)? The pressure can obviously not be maximal (e.g. the maximum of the tire) since that makes it hard to climb stairs. It can also not be too low because this would require increasing the presure if one plans to transport more weight; a recommendation for 2 or max. 3 intervals (e.g. 0 kg to 50 kg, 50 kg to 150 kg and 150 kg to 200 kg) would be appreciated as well.

Search engine results only reveal information without references or feedback whether the values were approved in usage.

Keep it inflated at or near maximum. Then if you have a task where the barrow needs less pressure you bleed the tire down to the point where it does that job while supporting the load.


Remove attic bracing for storage I want to run 4 horizontal 2x4s and add a plywood sheet to use as storage in my attic. The studs would run through the middle of the frame. The problem is that there are 1x4 braces where I want to put my 2x4 studs. They don't look as if they were meant to be permanent so I wanted to know if from a structural standpoint they are really needed. Here are the pictures of the 1x4s (horizontal and diagonal).

The bracing seems to be applied randomly. When we design lateral bracing, it is uniform throughout the structure, (or each section of a structure).

I doubt the bracing is "required". It was probably installed during construction to keep the components aligned.

Structural components are designed for "worse case scenarios". So, one way to test my assumptions that it's not required is to remove one diagonal brace and then stand in the attic and shift your weight from side to side. If the structure seems to "move" then it is required. (You should not be able to move the structure.) Then, remove one more brace and test again...

Another way of checking to see if the diagonal bracing is required (designed), is to check the nailing pattern from the bracing to the vertical studs. If it is the same, (say...2 nails into each stud,) then its more likely to be required. However, if it's random, (maybe 1 nail in some studs and 2 in others) then it's definitely temporary.

By the way, take a picture of each area before you start, in case you have to replace the braces.


2-3kg blinds into drywall/plasterboard I want to mount my 120cm long blinds into the face of the wall above my 110(ish) cm PVC window recess, but I don't feel like standard plugs would be sufficient. There are three brackets, each held with two screws, left and right and another centre. My idea was to glue a piece of timber about 18mm thick (due to availability at the local B&Q) to the wall and wood screw the brackets into that, with 18-20mm wood screws.

First of all, am I right in assuming regular plugs wouldn't hold the weight? And is my proposed solution sensible? I'm not particularly confident drilling into the mantel, but if this would be the best solution, can you provide a good tutorial on what to do?

So, from totality of info I assume drywall with no ability/intention to locate structural members. So use an expanding "molly" type anchor in one of the mounting holes and a small plastic plug in the other, for each bracket. Plenty strong.


Which cable straps / staples for 12/2 BX/AC90 I am currently in lock down and can only do curbside  so I can not browse the packaging of the staples and cable straps in store. I'm having a hard time finding out what I should be using to secure my armored cable.
I am running 12/2 BX/AC90 cable, and I would like to run it along both wood, and concrete. I am looking for recommendations for wood staples and cable straps to   secure to concrete.
Located in Ontario, Canada

If memory serves, you want CI-2 2 hole cable straps, but you should call the hardware store before you order to confirm.  If you get the right size strap you can bend it around the cable and run a single screw through both holes.  10 by 1" pan head wood screws with #2 Robertson heads work well.  You can use them on wood and also in concrete with 1/4" plastic inserts.  For a nice surface mount look it's important to get the right size strap.


What should I do on the sides of a deck ledger? I plan on hanging my ledger board similar to the picture described here.  I am going to be bending coil stock for the drip cap and the Z flashing.

The diagram though doesn't depict what should be done for the sides of the ledger against the J channel.  Is there no concern for water getting down behind the siding from here?  I was going to take the J channel as close as I could get and then hit it heavily with silicone but I am afraid that isn't good enough to ensure water wont get in there.

What should be done about the sides?

I describe my alternate approach at the bottom of this answer

In terms of the picture in the original post ...

For the drip cap, I'd cut it long, then fold it upwards and forward, snipping along its bends to make this possible, then caulk the outside and backside of the corner, and 12" along the top of ledger.  The drip cap can serve one or two purposes.  First - and essentially - it acts as feathering to prevent water from getting behind the ledger and possibly into the house.  Second - and optionally - if it projects out past the ledger (say 2" away from the house), it acts as a drip edge, keeping water from running down the outside face of the ledger.

For the upper undersill trim, I'd cut it long and bend it down over the j-channel.

For the z-flashing, I'd work it the same as the drip cap, and have the J-channel lap over it on the ledger side.  Also I'd have the house wrap lap over the front of the z-flashing ... but if this required cutting the existing house wrap along the length of the ledger, I'd leave the existing house wrap intact and put on 2nd layer, roughly 2x the width of the ledger, slipping the new sheet of house wrap up under the aluminum/vinyl siding as much as possible.

For the joists, I'd notch them on top near the ledger so that drip cap remains continuous, slanting each notch to the side, making sure the top of the notch was smooth.

For joist hanger nails, I'd make sure they were shorter than the thickness of the ledger so that they did not puncture the house wrap.

For the ledger bolts, after predrilling, I'd caulk around each hole on the backside of the ledger, then tilt the ledger up into place and secure with bolts.

For the ledger, I'd keep it 1/2" - 5/8" up off the z-flashing.  I'd also put a small chamfer on the back of the butt ends, then caulk that back corner.  I would not worry about the the front of that joint (between the butt end and the j-channel) being caulked.

For the deck board against the house, as @Jacob commented below (I think), I'd cut a 1.5" x 5/8" bevel on its underside along the edge that is next to the house so that it does not bear on the drip cap.  Alternatively, especially since you indicated in the original post that you will be custom bending the drip cap from coil stock, the top edge of the ledger can be beveled away from the house, contouring the drip cap accordingly. Either way, I'd leave a 1/4" space between the deck board and the drip cap.

If it is compatible with the house wrap, my choice for this type of caulking is butyl because it remains soft and flexible.  It's extremely messy, but not more than a roll of paper towels can handle.

Personally, though, I'd install the ledger in an entirely different manner. I'd gently remove the relevant courses of siding, keeping them intact.  I'd then fill-in their backsides with DIY shape-matching pressure-treated 'clapboards' cut from say 1x4 or 1x6 PT, then reinstall the bolstered siding.  At this point, the house will look just as it did before.  Then at each bolt/screw location I'd install 6" lengths of similar PT 'clapboards' upside down against the siding.  These 6" lengths will create a flat and vertical surface.  At each of these locations, I'd install a scab of pressure treated DIY cut to 1/4" to 3/8" thickness, 4-6" wide and length equal to the width of the ledger, installed with the grain running vertically.  The scabs will hold the ledger away from the siding to allow for drainage. The tops of the 6" lengths and the tops of scabs ought to be tapered left and right to promote runoff.


Can't drill into exterior walls for screw anchors. Why not? I'm trying to install an outdoor motion triggered light. I'm trying to drill holes for anchor inserts and I can drill through past about 1/2" in some places.

Please see the picture. You'll see a series of holes in a grid pattern. Some of it was from marking the mounting holes and some of them are discovery holes.
I was trying to see if there are other places that are easier to drill through.

Do I need special bits?  I'm using a generic drill bit. Ive had these forever and they've worked for all purposes until now.  I'm also using a battery powered drill.

What am I hitting? Am I drilling into metal? It seems like something super hard.  It is some sort of metal bracing?  Or am I just in a super reinforced area of the house? It's basically where in a corner of the house.
I didn't notice any concrete or bricks when I was exploring the attic. This house was built in 1939. Am I just hitting some really dense wood?

I also have at attic. See second picture. Maybe what I'm hitting is the "floor" of the attic?

I've also just tried to drill on the wall that is perpendicular to it. I've also moved up a foot or so (maybe clearing the attic floor) and also in 5 feet from the corner.

Hitting something super-hard means don't drill there.

Normally pipes and electrical cables are run far from the edge and close to the center of studs.   This is so you can safely drill 1-1/2" onto any wall's skin surface to install screws, anchors, etc.

When it is necessary to place electrical wires or pipes just under the skin surface, they are required to put steel plates there as guards, to prevent someone from drilling onto the pipe or electrical wire.

The idea is the person drilling will hit an unexpectedly hard surface, and think "this is probably one of those".


Is this normal and should I be concerned about square on my ceiling? Is this normal and should I be concerned about square on my ceiling? Should I worry about any leaks? I felt the spot and it’s cold to the touch but not soft, no wet. Although I am wondering why it feels cooler compared to the rest of the ceiling when felt by hand.
Here’s a picture

Somebody else worried about the leaks and this is the results of someone  fixing them in all probability. With limited access to the attic, you would have to cut an access area out to get to the problem and fix it. It looks like they used thicker drywall to repair the ceiling than what was there before. It's a shame they didn't do it right because the texture was done after the repair and it could have been unnoticeable. The cold feeling is probably due to the insulation not being replaced before adding the drywall.


Why do my LED strip lights only work if I reverse the connection polarity? Hi I have installed a small run of LEDs but they do not work at all unless I reverse the connection that goes directly on to the stip so that it's not lining up with 12v symbol. I tested everything before cutting the strip to length and it worked fine but now it will not switch on with remote. I have changed the controller and remote with different ones but still no go.
I would be very greatful for any help.
Thanks

I just received some LED tape from a supplier in the US  from ebay.  The polarity marked on the tape was incorrect and the factory ends had the red wire to the negative mark.   The markings on your strips may also be incorrect.


Running out of soft water and confused by softener settings Problem

I notice my water softener running at night occasionally, and the next day I have nice soft water. But, within a few days, it seems to run out -- soap barely lathers, and my skin feels very dry after showering. I've double-checked that the salt tank is at the right level, and that there is no salt bridge.

My system and situation

Autotrol 460i controller (manual here)
0.75 ft3 resin tank
Two adults in the house, average 3,300 gallons of soft water usage per month / 55 gallons per person per day.
Incoming supply hardness is 12 grains per gallon (~200 ppm / 17.1), based on home test (image below).

Settings on my water softener

Hardness setting: 26. Range: 1 to 99 grains per gallon. According to the manual, this should correspond to the "hardness of the incoming water supply."
Capacity setting: 26. Range: 1 to 99 kilograins. Manual says "refer to the suggested salt dial settings table," reproduced below.
Salt dial adjustment: 12. Range: 3 to 19 pounds of salt. Manual says: "controls the amount of salt used per regeneration."

Suggested salt dial settings table, for my system:

Capacity setting        Salt setting
 (kilograins)              (lbs)
------------------------------------
      16                    5.5
      20                    8.5
      24                   14.0

Question

How should adjust my settings to get to get the salt water supply correct? I understand that hardness is a function of my water supply and should be lowered, and it seems the salt setting is a function of capacity. But how do I determine which capacity setting is correct? Current setting does not match my salt setting. Should I raise the salt? Lower the capacity?

As suggested by Mattman944's comment, you may have a salt bridge. That's where the salt sticks together to form a crust near the top of the tank, but it's actually empty at the bottom, and therefore isn't creating the brine necessary to clean the resin tank. Poking at the top of the salt (be careful, you don't want to jab through the plastic of the tank and cause a crack and a leak) should break any salt bridges and allow you to properly fill the salt basin.

More importantly, how often is your softener set to cycle? If you have a manually set cycle, you may need to increase the frequency/reduce the days between cycles. If it's set to run every 5 days, reduce it to every 4 days to see if that fixes the problem. If you're still running out of soft water, reduce it to every 3 days. Lather, rinse, repeat until you're happy with your soft water supply.

If it cycles automatically when the water gets hard (ours does that - a lovely feature), it may be that the sensor mechanism is malfunctioning. Check your manual for troubleshooting tips and/or contact the manufacturer. If there is a failure, it may still be under warranty.


15A breaker tripping when Air Conditioning comes on We have a problem with a 15A breaker repeatedly tripping.  This circuit seems to be servicing the thermostat, and could possibly power the blower motor.  It will work fine for a few hours, maybe even a day or so, but then randomly the breaker will trip.  Last winter we had the glow plug replaced for the heater, and the service tech mentioned something to me about the blower motor making noise and possibly going out, like the bearings might be beginning to fail.  I haven't found any other power draw on that circuit that would cause an overload.

Could the motor failing be the cause of the overload?

What is the likelihood that both the blower and the thermostat are on the same circuit?

Could the motor failing be the cause of the overload?

Normally, there is an overload fuse or breaker on the air handler / evaporator that protects the motor at more like 3 amps. This is supposed trip if the motor is overloaded. The 15 amp breaker is supposed to protect the conductors to the air handler / evaporator.

  What is the likelihood that both the blower and the thermostat are on the same circuit?

Yes. The thermostat is actually 24volt on the secondary side of a 120volt to 24 volt transformer fed by the 15 amp circuit.

If the breaker keeps tripping that is telling you something is broke.

Call a reputable HVAC or electrical contractor to take a look at it.

Good luck!


New "Hardwood" Floor Layout Redoing a big a portion of the first floor in our 1984 home.
Need some advice on layout of floor planks.
I understand the material we end up choosing will affect layout pattern, but for now we are looking at either engineered hardwood, pergo, or allure planks...
Please reference the diagram and my thoughts for each possible layout. Which layout is best in your opinion?

OPTION 1:

I like this layout because it will make the hallway seem "long" and "large" since planks are going the length of the longest wall
Not sure I like how the expanded kitchen area could potentially look "smaller"

OPTION 2:

This option would not be cost effective, but has the potential to look unique and all around pleasant no matter which area you are in.
Not all floor materials will support this configuration because of plank ends and seams, etc.

OPTION 3:

This will make the expanded Kitchen look "long" and "large"
Could make the hallway leading into the kitchen seem cramped and narrow.

OPTION 4:

Compromise between Option 1 and Option 3.
Would require a transition piece at the end of the hallway leading into kitchen.

I'd vote #4 = fewest cuts, least amount of labor, least amount of waste. It's also see as the 'default' as most argue that floors look best when laid in the direction parallel to widest walls.

For real hardwood, the general rule of thumb is to lay it perpendicular to the floor joists. This is to add strength. It probably adds a little strength to laminate flooring, but not sure it's enough to worry about.

But, at the end of the day, it's a personal opinion thing. Go with what you like.

As for the transition piece, you may need it, but engineered laminates are pretty stable. They don't expand and contract a whole lot. You might be able to get by with merely leaving a 1/8" gap or so and caulk it with matching caulk.


Is this a Water Line? My husband and I recently purchased a fridge that has an icemaker.  We thought this thing sticking out of our floor was a water line, but the installers said it was not.  When we inquired as to what it is, they said they didn't know.  We were hoping someone could tell us what this might be?

Appears to be a water valve with a hose bib connection.  Did you try to open the valve?  I would first locate the house main water shut off valve before you attempt to open the valve just in case the valve fails and floods you kitchen.
Try opening the valve and see if water comes out.  If it does, then I would shut off the house main water valve and replace this old valve with a new one.
Lowes or Home Depot sells the ice maker hookup kits that will connect to this type of water gate valve with the hose bib connector.


How to stop air leak in exterior door aluminum sill? I found that one of my exterior doors are leaking cold air from beneath the door sill.

The product installed is Endura Z-Articulating Cap Sill™ and Sealing System

How can I seal it?
Can I use silicone around the aluminum sill?
Should I only seal from outside?

It looks like the subfloor is concrete. you can use a silicone, urethane, or acrylic caulk.
If silicone be sure to get one that's suited to concrete and aluminium.


Ceiling fan gets voltage but lights do not turn on I just connected a new ceiling fan with lights and the lights and fan won't turn on. I tried to hunt down the problem and used a non contact voltage detector and the voltage does flow to the wires on the light kit but the lights do not turn on. The switch should be fine, since it's brand new and was working with a different fixture before. Any suggestions?

There was a drop in voltage to the whole circuit (97v instead of 120v). After inspecting the wire run from load center to room wiring, I found that the hot and neutral wiring pig tails were loose and needed to be secured. After adjusting the wiring and testing with a multimeter, I wired the ceiling fan + lights and they started working.


Paint peeling off in thick sheets I'm having an issue with my living room paint peeling off in thick sheets down to the plaster. I was in the process of removing door trim and unfortunately lifted off some of the paint. I tried to scrape off whatever was loose but it ended up coming off like wall paper.  The paint comes off in big hard sheets consisting of multiple layers of paint.
Now one of the walls is pretty much stripped down to what looks like a primer painted onto plaster   but the primer is very powdery and leaves a white cast on your finger.
I was planning to repaint the living room anyway but wasn't sure how to go about priming and painting this area.

Remove any remaining paint so the wall is all the same surface.
If you are not going to texture the wall then you will need to use Spackle or drywall mud to fill all holes and voids and  sand smooth.
If you are going to texture then no need to worry about small anomalies as the texture will hide them, but big ones will need to be filled.
Next you will need to apply a good  drywall sealer/primer  before you are ready to paint. If you are not texturing then use a sandable primer so you can sand the wall smooth before painting. Smooth walls take a lot of time and prep.
FYI. Next time you need to remove trim take a utility knife and firmly cut along the trim where it meets the wall so you break the bond between the paint and the trim.
Interesting read: How to Seal Damaged Drywall


From metal roof to composite shingles, mold and water issues? So we had our roof replaced in 2007 from a ribbed metal roof to a comp roof. We also live in Washington State in a gambrel roofed home with no duct work and about a 4' by 12' attic.

During the tear off, the metal roofing and stringers were torn off. Then sheathing was layed down, followed by paper, ice dam and shingles. Beautiful roof right!

Fast forward six months later, I was fetching something out of our small attic and there was standing water and mold under the visqueen. It was horrid and I was less than thrilled. So I called the roofer and he sent a dude out and he yoked out the bad stuff, painted the entire attic with Kilz and replaced the insulation, A few weeks later a few of them came out and cut in a ridge vent. Cakes and rainbows right?

Now, there are dark areas showing up on the ceiling where the rafters are. The only thing I can think of is that the rafters are getting wet.

So my question is what are the chances that the rest of the insulation is in as bad of shape as what I saw in the attic? Am i looking at a huge mold problem?

Also, before the sheathing was put down, shouldn't the stringers have been replaced as well? Without the stringers, wouldn't it be a giant dead space with no circulation? Looking from the inside, the layers are drywall, visqueen, insulation, sheathing and roofing. I would assume there is no air circulation.

There are a few roof vents but I'm not sure how effective those are either.

Any suggestions? Should I call him up after six years? Is this an insurance thing? Should I track down a mold inspector?

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

R, Zac

Any moisture issues related to the standing water incident would have manifested itself long before now. Whatever the current issue is, it's unrelated to the previous issue. In that time, it is possible a new leak developed. It's also possible the dark areas are related to interior humidity and unrelated to the roof. In cold weather, the ceiling surface under rafters is measurably cooler than the nearby portion under insulation alone. This can cause condensation only under the rafters. As you know, condensation can lead to mold.

Can you tell if the darkening is due to actual mold? The damp surface can attract dirt that darkens the area even though no mold is growing. Even though the dirt can stain, attempting to clean an area with plain soap and water would yield a very different result than if mold is actively growing.

If mold is actively growing, it is time to consult with a mold professional. They will determine the cause, mitigate the mold, and suggest how to prevent it from happening again. If you want to investigate further before going that route, the only reliable way to determine if the rafters are getting wet is direct inspection.

Cut a small inspection hole where you think it's the worst. If it's wet up there, a lot more ceiling is coming off, so don't bother patching the hole. The roof is leaking. It needs to be repaired and all wet drywall and insulation needs to be replaced. If it's all dry, breathe a sigh of relief. The need to patch the hole is much less than it could have been. Be sure to adequately seal the damaged vapor barrier.

If the rafters are dry, the only thing you can do to reduce condensation on the ceiling is reduce the overall humidity of the house. First try selective ventilation and lifestyle adjustments. Consider bumping the thermostat up a bit. If that's not enough, look into continuous ventilation through an air to air heat exchanger.

A far as replacing stringers, that cannot be done with comp roofing unless a full cold roof is installed. It is normal practice for concealed structural spaces filled with insulation to not be ventilated. It sounds like the roofers followed conventional building practice.


heat pump condenser fan not running in winter it is -5 degrees outside. Our thermostat is set at 70 degrees and the house heat is 58 degrees. the fan blade on the unit outside is not moving. the hvac system inside has a sticker on the unit. the empty box says unit has electric resistance. the checked box says 'may install' electric resistance. I see no mention of auxillary heat on the thermostat. Last summer hvac man was here and he said our thermostat is the correct one for the system.
is everything ok and we just need an auxillary heat, or is something broken?

-5 (I assume °F) is a too low temperature for heat pump to work properly (usually those stops working at -15°C [+5°F]), so outer unit is simply 'locked due to excessive cold'. Auxiliary heat, in some units, is controlled directly by the HVAC controller and not by room T-STAT.
Anyway, check if auxiliary heat is connected BOTH on HVAC unit and Tstat, if it's connected only at unit side, connect it to the t-stat, if it's not connected, probably auxiliary heat is not present on your machine (if it was ECU controlled you won't have that cold in your house).
For now, you can just buy a couple of kerosene heaters and use those in case of emergency, look for 'zibro kamin' (I suggest a model that can work in case of power failure).


What is the correct wiring (including Ground) for two main load centers plus transfer switch? I will be building a new house and plan to have 400A electric utility service split into two 200A main load centers.  One of those load centers will be tied to a whole house generator via an automatic transfer switch.  (I will be feeding essential circuits into load center B which is backed up by generator, and then non-essential circuits into load center A which is not backed up.)  I have three questions on wiring:

I know that for a sub-panel, you do not bond the ground to the neutral, but you do for a main service panel.  Since I will have two main service panels, do I bond them both with the same wire to the same external ground (e.g. metal water pipe)?
Is this the correct wiring for a “whole house” automatic transfer switch?  I assume you run the utility (meter) to the transfer switch, and then from the switch to the load center.
It looks like the Generac generators are usually installed with floating neutral.  Is this the correct wiring?  Does Neutral and Ground get bonded in the transfer switch, or only in the main panel?

ORIGINAL VERSION

REVISED VERSION (per ThreePhaseEel's comments)

Problem #1: Main Service Panel A is overloaded(!!!!!)
Unless, for some reason, you want to try to run a tankless hot water heater, brute that it is, from your generator when the power's out, or faff with load shed boxes for that matter, your tankless water heaters alone are sufficient to overload Main Service Panel A based on the information you've given, as 112A + 75A + 30A = 217A, which is greater than the 200A those busbars can handle, and the "noncoincident load" provision in NEC 220.60 doesn't really apply to a trio of water heaters (imagine having the dishwasher and the clothes washer running while everyone takes showers), nor can we apply NEC 220.82 alternate calculation procedures to the situation as that specific panel is not feeding a whole dwelling unit by itself.
One could upgrade Panel A and the associated wiring to 225A, but that leaves you a mere 8A of spare ampacity on those busbars, which does not admit any of the other large loads you'd want to keep off generator power.  Furthermore, neither your generator nor the Generac SMMs used for load shedding are designed for the sheer amount of brute amperage a tankless water heater requires; moving your 30A heater to the standby panel would be more feasible, but still would leave precious little ampacity on the non-standby panel for other loads.  (The 7000 series SMMs are limited to 50A of resistive load apiece, trying to run multiple modules at the same priority setting is unsupported due to the excessive load transients it could impose on the generator, and partial load shedding/restoration of a tankless HWH would likely create issues as well.)
Problem #2: Where's the service entrance?
Your second problem is that in your current setup, you've tricked yourself.  Normally, for a separate-meter-socket, 2x200A panel setup on a Class 320 service, both panels are indeed service panels with their own service disconnects, neutral-to-ground bonds, and grounding electrode system connections. (These can either be separate grounding electrode conductors to the grounding electrodes themselves, or  taps run from a single master grounding electrode conductor to the main panels; NEC 250.64(D) permits both approaches.)  Furthermore, both panels are installed next to each other in order to group the service disconnects together as per NEC 230.72(A).
However, where you've chosen to put the transfer switch in your current plan throws a wrench into all of this.  Now, the B-side service disconnect, N-G bond, and grounding electrode system connection all move out of the B-side panel into the transfer switch.  This means that your transfer switch needs to be a service entrance rated transfer switch, which adds a bit of cost, and more importantly, forces Panel A to be placed next to the transfer switch in order to comply with NEC 230.72(A).  This can constrain where your service entrance hardware is located, depending on what enclosure type the transfer switch is available in.  (Mounting an outdoor-rated electrical enclosure indoors is legal, but not nice-looking in the context of a finished stud wall.)
This also means that Panel B must be wired as a subpanel of the transfer switch, unless you are using a transfer switch/panel combination for Panel B, that is.  In other words, since the B-side service disconnect is now in the transfer switch, it takes all the other service disconnect trappings with it to the transfer switch, leaving neither bonding screw nor grounding electrode conductor connection in Panel B.  This also means that the connection from the transfer switch to Panel B needs to be a 4-wire feeder with separate neutral and ground wires in it.
Sidebar: Bonding miscellany...
The good news in all of this is that permanently installed light-duty standby generators are nearly always installed with a floating neutral.  While this is mostly a constraint of available transfer hardware, as light-duty fixed-installation automatic transfer switches aren't available with a third switching pole, it does mean your guess as to how the generator is supposed to be bonded and grounded is correct.
The bad news, though, is that if you do use a separate meter socket, you'll have to use PVC conduits from the meter socket to the service disconnect enclosures. This is because using metal conduit at that point in the system would create a parallel path for neutral current between the bonded service disconnect enclosure and the bonded meter socket, violating the NEC 250.6(A) objectionable-grounding-current requirements.
Problem #3: This setup may no longer be Code
The final problem with your proposal is that the current NEC (2020) requires one-family dwellings to have an externally accessible shutoff means for all utility power to the house for use by first responders (this is 230.85 in the 2020 NEC).  Depending on how you were planning on setting up your hardware, your proposed setup may or may not comply with this new requirement, as it forces your transfer switch and Panel A outside, unless you wish to add a 400A non-fused enclosed switch to the equation to serve as your emergency disconnect.
Given all of this, there are better ways to get what you're after
Given all of these issues, there are a couple of alternate solutions to your underlying issues (wanting infinite hot water as well as generator backup, mostly) that let us get around the problems above; it may even be possible to shrink your service from 400A down to 200A, depending on which alternative you choose.  They also let us get rid of load-shed controls in some cases, and may also permit the generator itself to be downsized due to having better control over what loads are and are not backed up.
Circulating hot water for fun and profit
The first alternative to your current setup I propose is to ditch the tankless electric water heating and forced-air gas furnaces in favor of a hydronic solution, using hydronic coils in the air conditioning air handlers for central heat and what's known as a reverse indirect hot water heater for water heating with a condensing gas boiler powering it all.  This provides you with infinite hot water, just like your tankless heaters, but with several advantages over electric tankless.  First and foremost, you can manage capacity much more effectively with these systems, as the design of a reverse-indirect hot water heater provides thermal storage as well as highly efficient heat transfer, without having to worry about recovery ratings.  Reverse-indirect hot water heaters also provide the handy function of hydraulic separation, something that allows for a superbly flexible hydronic system to be developed that can accommodate multiple, heterogenous heat sources (boiler in winter, solar thermal and/or desuperheat in summer) and loads (hot water, central air handlers, radiant floors, you name it).
More heat, less juice
If burning gas to make hot water is an absolute non-option for some reason (even though you're fine with having two gas furnaces and a gas range), there are a couple of alternatives that will still get us out of this jam.  First and foremost on my list is the use of a split-system heat-pump water heater to supply your hot water needs.  An 83-gallon Sanden EcoCute, while perhaps twice the cost of your tankless trio, can keep up with quite extreme hot water loads with its 100+ gallon first hour recovery rating, while using 2/3rds of the peak power and even less energy than a typical tanked heater.  (It also has a stainless steel tank, so unless you have water high in chlorides, you won't need to change out a rusty, leaky tank, or deal with the descaling issues that are common with tankless heaters for that matter.)
With either the reverse-indirect or split-system heat-pump water heaters, you get an added benefit in that you may no longer need that 400A service any longer, which will save you quite a bit of money on service hardware.  Furthermore, both of these options let you have hot water while on generator power, something that can't be said for your current approach.  Even with this, though, you'll still want to consider putting the standby loads on a separate subpanel, as discussed below.
Service consolidation
The final option that may be available to you, depending on what your utility thinks of customer-provided meter mounting hardware, would be to use a single-disconnect, 400A meter-loadcenter combination to supply the service disconnect, emergency disconnect, and bonding/grounding electrode connection point.  We then connect the transfer switch to a feeder from the 400A meter-main, and feed a subpanel of standby loads from the load terminals on the transfer switch.  This lets us use a smaller generator and perhaps a smaller transfer switch as well, and also dispense with fancy load shedding hardware, since loads you don't want backed up can simply go in the meter-main's loadcenter, where they'll get inherently shed during transfer.
In your case, the subpanel and transfer switch can be sized for the standby load (100 or 200A, but with plenty of breaker spaces in the subpanel either way), while the breakers for the tankless heaters, clothes dryer, and perhaps the air conditioners can go in the meter-main, along with the feeder breaker for the standby feeder.  This also provides a single, exterior main disconnect, which meets the NEC 230.85 requirement mentioned above, and simplifies things considerably otherwise, getting rid of some of the trickiness with grounding electrode taps and having to run PVC instead of metal conduit between meter and service disconnect for bonding reasons.


How do you keep from dropping grout all over when tiling? Finished tiling a tub surround today.  Wife helped me clean up the grout...

My mix is like a creamy peanut butter.  I read the directions.  I use a float and drywall knife to apply.  I buy the good stuff...

So I am coming out right now.  I have more drops than a b-52.  Literally 10-20% of my grout hits the deck.

I am not a bad tiler.  My jobs look great and last.  But I think I am about as messy as can be.

What is the normal amount of grout to drop?

Do other people have this same problem?  (mention if you are a pro or DIYer)

How do you keep this from happening?  I want tips/technique/whatever you have.

Hold your hawk under the area you are applying the grout. It is normal to drop quite a bit, especially if it is something you don't do everyday, so let the hawk catch it before it hits the floor.


How can one whole group of outlets stop working, but the wires to one plug on one outlet are still hot? I have a bank — circuit? — of outlets in the kitchen that have stopped working. One of these outlets is a GFCI but it is not tripped. The breakers for all the kitchen outlets have not tripped but I tried resetting them anyway. I took the outlets apart and tested to see if the outlets themselves were bad or if they weren't getting power. One of the outlets, the GFCI, has two wires leading into it that show they have power. The other two wires show they have no power.

How can two of these wires have power and two of them not? How do I know what is broken and how to fix it? Should I simply call an electrician?

Updated details:

The GFCI outlet, I just discovered, was the victim of water leaking across it while we were recently on vacation for thanksgiving. I suspect that has something to do with it.

There are three total outlets. One on the outside of the counter (the snack bar part of the counter) and two on the kitchen side, flanking the sink. To the left of the sink is the GFCI, and it is "upstream" from the other two outlets. Both plugs on the other two outlets are dead. On the GFCI outlet, both plugs are dead but upon taking the outlet out of the wall there is one combination of black /white wire that will produce a light on the 110VAC indicator with my voltmeter. I did not keep close enough track when removing the wires unfortunately so I don't know if this "hot combination" were paired on a single outlet or if they were one wire from either outlet. I'm not 100% sure if it's always this way, but the back panel of my GFCI plug says that the black wires are hot wires and the white wires are simply "white".

Ground-fault circuit interruption (GFCI) receptacles, are not wired the same as regular duplex receptacles. In a standard duplex receptacle, both receptacles and all terminals are directly connected together (Unless modified). If one half of the receptacle is powered, then the other half is as well. With a GFCI receptacle there are LINE side terminals and LOAD side terminals, which are separated by an internal switching mechanism.

The wires feeding the circuit are connected to the LINE terminals, which supplies power to the device.  If everything is wired correctly, there are not ground-faults, and the device is not tripped, then electricity is allowed to flow to the receptacles on the device and to the LOAD terminals.  So if everything is functioning as it should, there should be be power at both the LINE and LOAD terminals. However, if the GFCI device is tripped, there will only be power at the LINE terminals.

Resetting the GFCI

If the GFCI has tripped, it can usually be reset simply by pressing the RESET button.  If you press the RESET button and don't feel/hear a click and/or the button doesn't stay in, it means there is a problem and the internal mechanism is not allowing the GFCI to be reset.  You can try pressing the TEST button, then pressing the RESET button again making sure you press the RESET button all the way in.  If the device still will not reset, you'll have to try and determine the reason.

Why won't a GFCI device reset?

There are three reasons a GFCI device will not reset.

Wiring is wrong

If the GFCI device is not wired properly (LINE and LOAD reversed, hot and neutral reversed, etc.), the device will not allow a reset.

There is a ground-fault

Obviously, if there is a ground fault, the device will trip as soon as you try to reset it.

There is a problem with the device

If the device has gone bad, it will (should) not reset.  Some devices will continue to hold, even if there is something wrong internally. However once they trip, they cannot be reset. Other devices will trip as soon as something internal dies, and will not reset.  This is why monthly testing is suggested. If you press the TEST button, and then are unable to reset the device. You'll be made aware of a problem sooner, and can have it repaired (hopefully) before any damage is done.

Rewiring a new device

Before you begin, turn off the power at the fuse/breaker box and make sure it's off.

Locate the supply wire pair

There should be an ungrounded (hot) and grounded (neutral) conductor pair (likely as part of a cable assembly), that supplies power to the circuit.  As it sounds like you've already located these, I won't go into detail as to how to locate them here (there are many other answers on the site that explain this procedure).

Terminate the supply wire pair

Connect the bare/green grounding conductor to the green grounding screw on the receptacle (and to the box if required), and to any other bare/green grounding conductors.
Connect the (white) grounded (neutral) conductor to the silver colored screw terminal labeled LINE on the device.
Connect the (black) ungrounded (hot) conductor to the brass colored screw terminal labeled LINE on the device.

Terminate load side wires

If there are devices downstream that require GFCI protection, you'll have to connect the wires feeding those devices to the LOAD side terminals on the device.

Connect the bare/green grounding conductor to the grounding conductors in the box.
Connect the (white) grounded (neutral) conductor to the silver screw terminal labeled LOAD on the device.
Connect the (black) ungrounded (hot) conductor to the brass screw terminal labeled LOAD on the device.

Set the device

Once all the wires are connected, install the device in the box using the mounting screws. Install the face plate, and turn the power back on.

Press the RESET button.

You should have power to both receptacles, and any downstream devices.

Press the TEST button.

You should no longer have power at the receptacles, or any downstream devices.

Press the RESET button again.

Power should be restored to the receptacles, and downstream devices.


1830 farm house - installing metal vertical siding over original clapboards The current siding consists of asbestos shingles over original clapboards.  I have removed a few with just a long armed transfer shovel.  I was curious to see what was under them. Yes I will dress properly to remove the rest ;-)

Questions:
1) Once the shingles are removed, can I put some sort of foam board over the clapboards and then wrap?  Will that be airtight "enough"?
2) I then install vertical furring then install the vertical metal siding.  Is that going to work?

What I want to prevent is having to remove the clapboards. But I will and then sheath in zip if need be if that's the best option.

I want to save money...

The way you are considering is quite standard. Rigid foam sometimes has a vapor barrier so you may not want a second one as it can trap the moisture and cause problems. With your asbestos shingles try not to break them and that will further reduce your risk of exposure to fibers when combined with proper PPE.


How do I cut a channel and plaster television cable work in a brick chimney? I am buying a new TV, which I intend to mount on the wall.

The wall is a brick chimney breast, early 1900's house. I have heard mentioned on a few sites the idea of cutting a channel, and plastering the cable work in within some sort of trunking.

What I want to know is:

Is this sensible?
What is required to do the job?
Is it something an average skilled layman can do, or strictly a pro job?
I am in the UK, what is the likely cost of the pro?
Any other tips or advice?

The brickwork on a chimney breast of a 1900s house will be solid brick (not veneer).

Cutting a channel, fitting trunking and replastering is eminently sensible if that's the only way to go. It's also a job you can do your self with a masonry drill and cold chisel. Using an SDS drill with a chisel attachment will be quicker if messier.

Make sure you take the cable vertically (if possible) never diagonally across the wall. This will make it safer for future owners of your house.


Outlet appears to be switched but switches don't work Hi all new to the Diy boards. If there's any more info I can post, I'm happy to.

I just purchased a house and have been replacing some outlets. A few of the existing ones had two red wires into the top outlet, two black wires into the bottom with a white neutral coming out of each. The tabs on the hot side are broken.  Based on some googling, this seems to mean they are half-switched.

I wired my new outlets exactly the same, including the broken tab. The outlets all work fine but don't seem to be attached to the switch. There are two switches that don't appear to do anything. These outlets could be attached to either, both, or neither. I am unable to tell. I did not think to confirm before starting that the switches worked. However my wiring is identical so I doubt they did.

Did I do something wrong in the wiring? I appreciate  any advice you can give.

If a single outlet tab is left intact on series of 1/2 switched outlets, it will prevent the switched outlets from working correctly.  (The switched half outlets will also be always on also.)


Why does dirty water come into my second sink when the garbage disposal is on? For a while I have been having problems with using the garbage disposal.  The large sink empties very slowly and sometimes I put the disposal on to get it going.  The only problem is that disgusting dirty water comes up the drain in the small sink.

Why is this and how do I fix the problem?

Sounds like the drain after the disposal and connection to the other sink is partially blocked. I'd start with a drain cleaner that's designed for a partial blockage. In the kitchen, it's likely a buildup from cooking oils and grease that got into the drain. If that doesn't work, then you can remove the trap under your sink and remove as much crud from it as you can get. Note that the trap will be full of dirty water, so have a bucket under it when you remove it. If it's still giving you trouble, snake the line after the trap.


four way swich setup to control 2 outlets from 3 locations I used an old book on running a four way switch circuit to run light from 3 locations, but in place of light I need two outlets.. book shows power to light first then to first switch. so I wired first outlet from panel then second outlet from it then to switch.  switches work properly on the second outlet but first one is always on

this is all new construction

novice here
thanks for any help

I don't know why you want to run power to the outlets first, but here's one way to do it:

Note that modern electrical codes usually require a neutral wire be available in all switch boxes, against the possible future installation of smart switches.

White wires that are not neutrals, such as the travelers in this diagram, must be marked with paint or a bit of colored tape.

EDIT: For future reference, here is a good way to wire this installation with power brought to the furthest switch box first:

I would prefer this way because it requires less material between all the boxes.


Why isn't my new toilet flushing system working as well as the old one? We just replaced the whole system in our toilet. It use to have a flushing ball valve and it worked great until it broke. It flushed everything down the first time no problem. Now with the new flushing system it's having a hard time just flushing down the TP. Did I not install it properly? I set it to the highest water fill line possible and made sure the chain is holding up the flapper long enough. Do I need a better system? If so what's the best flushing system to get?

I replaced the systems in all 3 toilets of my current house when I moved in, and I have had endless minor problems with them since. "They don't make 'em like they used to".  I get double flushes about have the time and keep tweaking the flapper settings.  I am about to start replacing them again with high-end adjustable flush systems.  Anyway, the height of the refill tube, and the height of the water is key to a good flush. Regardless of how much water you use per flush, you want the water to be as high as possible when you flush.  Some systems have shorter refill tubes than others.  And you want the water to come within about an inch of the top of the tube, but not higher than the water line from the valve, or it will siphon water continually.


Would insurance cover water damage due to an improperly installed deck? My house is an 80 year-old 3-story with a partially finished cinder block basement.  I've owned it for about 10 years, and it came with a pair of french doors that opened from the dining room onto a large backyard deck, neither of which was original to the house (there used to be just a window in the dining room).  Because they were old and sagging a little, I hired a contractor to replace the french doors with a glass slider.  When he removed the doors, what he found was nothing short of a nightmare.
Long story short, whoever installed this deck did not put any flashing material between the deck and the house, so water has been getting trapped in between and slowly rotting the foundation framing along the back wall for at least 20 years he said.  It was so bad that he had to remove about 4 feet of subfloor and replace 3 of the joists.
On the contractor's advice I demolished that deck, and sure enough, the water damage can clearly be seen all along the back wall of the house. There is a crack in the cinder block foundation that runs all the way down to the ground.  There's no way water hasn't been getting in there.
The amount of damage is clearly much older than my residence here, and was not picked up by the inspector when we bought the place. Shockingly, there have been no indicators that this was happening. The dining room floor was not spongy at all. He verified that the top floor has not shifted or sagged, and there are no mysterious cracks upstairs  As far as he could tell, the drywall in the basement looks and feels fine (although I shudder to think what I'll find if I remove it).  I haven't noticed any musty smells when it rains.  He said that if it were not for the sheer 1940's military grade over-engineering of this house, it would have collapsed.  He might have been exaggerating, but it was really bad.
The contractor advised me against notifying my insurance company to even explore the feasibility of a claim.  He says that they will likely deny it because it's an improper maintenance issue. They'll say the damage should have been noticed long ago and I failed to mitigate it.  He also said that foundation damage is a huge red flag that will be a permanent part of this house's record and would cause my rates to significantly increase and might possibly make it harder to sell in the future.  I tend to believe him, since he's done good work for me in the past and has always been straight with me.  And the amount of damage is probably beyond his scope of work anyway.
Is the contractor correct? Is this something insurance would cover?

My insurance agent neighbor tells me the rule of thumb is if it’s something that occurs instantly, then it’s covered. It it occurs over time, then it’s not covered.


Should I convert from a rooftop to a split HVAC system? We have a packaged HVAC on the roof and the AC needs to be replaced.  It's 23 years old and dying/dead.  We were considering buying just an AC and keeping the package unit running for heat.

We feel that the AC always dies first anyway so why buy another package unit when the gas furnace part of it is always still in good operation when the AC goes.  On top of that, split-system AC units are always rated for a higher efficiency and we live in the Vegas desert so that is very important to us.

Are we being crazy?  This means we'd have to split the ducting  somehow.  Also, when it's time to replace the furnace, where will it go?  Can it go on the roof or will we have to change the gas piping, and the ducting again, to place the unit somewhere inside?

Is this a heat pump with supplemental gas heat?

Sounds like the shuttle valve is stuck or something in the cycle reversing has failed, heatpumps do both AC and heating.

Why double the misery by having two systems to fail and not having the current one repaired/replaced?

As to new systems, you can get very efficient heat pumps with supplemental gas heat, we just installed such a system in our business. During low level heat needs, it runs in heat pump mode, when the temperature outside drops below a certain settable level, the gas portion runs in tandem. The gas section is the new high-efficiency type that extracts so much heat that they use a PVC stack and water drain for the condensate. You'd kill two birds with one stone, having AC and more efficient gas heat.


On understanding housing measures When we measure a room and say it's 4x4 this is to say it's 4' in length and 4' in width, right? What if the room isn't conventional and is say a polygon how is it then measured? The x between dimension sizes of rooms is saying multiplication right? like if you wanted to find the area or total measurement of all sides it would be 4x4=16' or would that be called the square footage? is this correct? would it be the same for other measurements like a piece of wood that is 1.6"x3" if it was a rectangle would that just be multiplying the two together to get the area? because it's giving the length and width?

I hope you don't have many rooms which are 4'x4'!:  That's worse than any college dorm room I ever saw.  :-)

The dimensions given for a room depend on the purpose of the measurement.  For example, for real estate advertising purposes each room is usually simplified into rectangles to the nearest foot.  Few would care that an "oval room" of 16' x 25' is exactly 314.15927 square feet, vs. a rectangular approximation of 15 x 20 which is 300 square feet.  However, measuring a room to install a carpet requires much greater precision, usually to the half inch (if not better).

For measuring a non-rectangular area, generally the best method is to break it into rectangles and add those together.

For example,

The area of this L-shaped room can be calculated in any of several ways:

Take the whole area and subtract the "hole":  22 x 24 - 12 x 14
Add the long top space and the little piece below it:  24 x 10 + 10 x 12
Add the tall space at left plus the piece at right:  10 x 22 + 10 x 14

These all evaluate to 360 square units.


Is this a thin window air conditioning unit? I'm trying to put air conditioning in my master bedroom. It has a loft and hence high ceiling with around 500 sq ft + 350 (loft). It is also on the third floor which is pretty high. As far as I can tell there are 3 options. split a/c, portable unit and window a/c. Split a/c is expensive and portable units probably not good enough/reliable etc. so I'm leaning towards window a/c. Anyway, this is just a background story to what I'm trying to ask.

I happen to see this on my neighbor's window which looks like a window a/c unit. It seems pretty thin but I'm unable to find anything like that anywhere. Could anyone tell me from the picture below if this is a window a/c unit and if so, what could it be? Its at the bottom of the right window that doesn't extend outside much, almost the same level as that of the window.

It's a vent for a portable air conditioning unit, and stop looking in my windows!

The other side of it would look like this:


Connected a new faucet, the pipes drip but only a little bit, is that a problem? I installed a new kitchen sink faucet into a kitchen with over 60 year old plumbing.  I tightened the connections at the point where the rigid piping meets the flexible risers, and there was some dripping, but only 10 to 20 drops per hour.  I tightened them as much as I dared; any more and I fear I would have risked damaging something.
I put cups under both connections.  The cold has stopped dripping (or maybe it now drips so infrequently that the water in the cup evaporates before I can look at it).  The cup under the hot has only 1 or 2 teaspoons of water in it after 3 days.
Need I be worried?  I live in an area with very hard water and I suppose lime deposits are flowing out and have blocked/will block the hole.  The hot pipe in particular had streaks of lime all over the pipe threads; I tried to clean it but didn't get very far.

It is a problem, and you should fix it because small leaks tend to become bigger leaks. You can't rely on hard water deposits to seal things, and drips can cause corrosion and damage to your kitchen. Even if it stays a slow drip you'll always have it at the back of your mind. This is a case where it pays to do it right at the beginning.
It sounds like you have crud on the threads, or maybe the threads are worn. If you want to use the existing threads then clean them off thoroughly, you can use an old toothbrush to start, and a wire brush if that doesn't work. Then use teflon plumbers tape or thread sealant.
If the threads are worn or damaged you're better off cutting the pipe a bit and then either re-threading them or using a push-on or compression fitting.


Can I safely run 595 watts of lights with a 600 watt dimmer switch? I have 7 85-watt lights (a total of 595 watts) that I want to control using a 600-watt dimmer switch.

Is that too close to be safe? What if I remove one of the lights?

This depends on the manufacturer's statements. Typically switch devices are rated for their expected normal device load. Wiring heat loss, etc. should be negligible enough to ignore.

Here's what one manufacturer said on their website:

  Electronic low-voltage transformers also dissipate some heat. These inefficiencies are small enough to be accounted for in the dimmer rating. A Lutron ELV dimmer UL listed for 600 W can be loaded with a full 600 W lamp load. If ganged with other dimmers, standard derating rules apply.

If you have a separate transformer from the lights, however, (such as a magnetic transformer as opposed to a number of CFL light bulbs) then you need to consider the load of the transformer too.


Combine multiple smaller wires to make bigger wire I need to place a water heater jumper cable. I understand that it requires 4AWG size wire.
Can I make 4AWG size by combining multiple 14AWGs?How many 14 AWG will be equivalent to 4 AWG?
Thanks

Generally, no. A break in one of the wires would compromise the current carrying capacity of the bond. This is less likely to happen in a wire that is manufactured at the appropriate size.


4 wires in single-pole switch I am trying to put a smart switch in place of a regular one and when I opened the box I see 4 wires instead of 3 and looks like one of the black wire actually feeds the remaining devices on the circuit. Whenever I am connecting the load and live with my smart which connection it is tripping the circuit breaker.
Any suggestion how handle this?

If you count the numbers of lights, fans and sockets in your home, and then count the number of circuit breakers assigned to those things, you’ll notice you have a lot more outlets than circuit breakers.
That’s because each circuit powers more than one outlet/lamp/etc.
How does that work?  Hot, neutral and ground go to an outlet point like a light switch.  And then, another hot, neutral and ground goes onward from there to another outlet.  That’s normal.  You walked right into the middle of that.
You were expecting to see 1 always-hot, 1 switched-hot and 1 ground going to your switch.  What you actually found was a supply always-hot; an onward always-hot; and a switched-hot.  And a ground.
The supply and onward always-hot wires should have been kept together.
I gather that since the light works, your loose, unaccounted for wire is the onward always-hot.  Where do we attach that?  With the supply always-hot.
If you have no idea which that is, it won’t hurt anything if you accidentally attached it to switched-hot - just at that point it will be switched.  Don’t leave it that way, the smart switch may not be strong enough to switch whatever it goes to.


Why is my light connected between two red wires on a circuit with two switches? I'm trying to wire up a new ceiling fan that has built in lights where my old light fixture used to be but am a little confused with the wiring. In the electrical box (pic below) there are two black wires connected together and two white wires connected together. Then the old light fixture was connected between two red wires. Any idea why it was connected like that and how should I connect my new fan/light to it?

The room had two switches to control the old light, one with a dimmer on it. Is that perhaps why there is this weird wiring? Should I just wire the new fan/light up to the 2 red wires like the old light was?

It looks like a standard "power on the end, lamp in the middle" 3-way arrangement.  However (for whatever reason) they chose to make the travelers black and white on both segments.

Travelers can be quite a dog's breakfast, I've seen 3-way circuits where the travelers change colors on every segment.  Choosing the same colors thru makes some sense -- however white should not be one of the chosen colors.  though the far, far better way is to pick a colored tape color such as yellow, and mark both travelers yellow (they are interchangeable, they can be the same color).

That's because white is special in Code rules.  Colored wires (hots) cannot be remarked to be neutral.  But white wires can be remarked to be a hot wire. The last guy should've made red and black the travelers and tagged white with colored tape in the segment where it served as switched-hot.  That would've been reasonable.


Can I add thin brick veneer directly to interior plaster I have an interior plaster over wood-lathe wall that I'd like to cover using thin brick veneer.  The plaster wall is generally in good shape (though some patching will need to be done for some substantial holes), and seems sturdy.  I've seen numerous resources that say it is fine to directly adhere thin brick over drywall, for example:

How should I apply brick to an interior wall?

Would there be any problem using the same method to apply brick veneer over plaster?  And alternatively, if one would not directly apply the brick to the plaster, is there any solution short of ripping out all the lathe and plaster down to the studs (such as attaching some other stablizing backing on top of the plaster).  Thanks!

The keys are the "key". When real plaster is applied over wood lath, the base coat oozes through the gaps in the lath and sags or expands a bit forming "keys" that, when dry, hold the plaster layer to the lath.

This is a strong structure unless a substantial amount of the keys have been broken (from temperature or humidity swings, structural shifting, physical damage). When this happens in a specific area, that section of plaster is basically unsupported and is prone to cracking and buckling inward.

If the plaster is generally sound, you should have no problem. While drywall is more flexible and less prone to pulling away from the framing, sound plaster should be strong enough to hold the weight of a thin veneer.

If, however, significant sections of the plaster are bulging outward, or if there is a large amount of the surface coat pulling away from the base coat (a sign that the plaster is in poor condition overall), this is not a good basis for a top coat beyond paint or paper. In that case, you may need a more significant redo.

If the weak areas are just a few and not too large, there are specialized plaster washers that are used to screw the weakened section to the lath to prevent further damage. That may be sufficient if the areas are few and far between.


Existing 50 amp breaker to 40 amp I have an existing cooktop with a 50 amp breaker and #6 wire
Replacing cooktop with a new induction top that requires a 40 amp circuit
Is it ok to leave the 50 amp breaker box or should I swap with 40 amp breaker?
Thank you

Breakers often are tasked with two missions; protecting the conductors is always #1, and sometimes they are there to protect the equipment itself. Going from a 50A breaker to a 40A breaker is no problem from the standpoint of the protecting the conductors; you can always go down in breaker size, just never up.

So that leaves the protection for the cooktop itself. In the installation instructions (assuming you have them) or possibly on a nameplate on the unit, there should be something telling you Minimum Circuit Ampacity (abbreviated as MCA) which is addressing the MINIMUM wire size as discussed above, and there might be another listing of Maximum Over Current Protection (abbreviated MOCP) that is dealing with the protective device (fuse or breaker) that might be required in it's listing. So we cannot answer this for you other than to say "RTFM" (Read The Factory Manual).


My GFCI/AFCI 20a kitchen socket warning lights are both flashing Hope someone can help. All my outlets in my kitchen work, but my two GFCI/AFCI 20A outlets occasionally and utterly randomly will flip and for the most part the AFCI light on the outlet will flash, once i reset it on the outlet its fine.
But recently now both the AFCI and the GFCI lights are flashing on the outlets at the same time, it only happens on one outlet at a time, both outlets do not flip at the same time. The main breaker at the panel never flips. If i reset the outlet its fine for days, then at some random point it will flip and start flashing again.
We dont leave any appliances plugged in, except a kettle, but this is not turned on.
The kitchen has two 20A circuits, all outlets are 20a outlets as well as the two GFCI/AFCI outlets. One for each circuit. They both go back to one 220v dual pole 20A breaker in the panel.
Could it be the breaker itself that is causing this?
Thanks

Stop throwing parts at it and actually troubleshoot
It would help to read through your GFCI/AFCI instructions and get clear on whether the device is indicating GFCI or AFCI fault.  In other words, treat the indication as if it is genuine, and not just gibberish from broken junk.
Let’s ditch the red herring: it ain’t the MWBC
We know it’s not the MWBC (Multi-Wire Branch Circuit).  First, there is nothing wrong with MWBCs in general, but they do require special handling for GFCI and AFCI.  The idea of an MWBC is to share a neutral, and that is incompatible with two 120V sub-circuits each having independent GFCI devices.  The neutrals in each GFCI’s protected zone must be kept separate from any other; and travel only with the protected partner hot.
It’s no problem to do this with MWBC wiring; the two sub-circuits simply must diverge and never share a neutral after the GFCI(s).
We know your kitchen is wired correctly because if it was wired wrong, it would instantly trip with ANY use on the shared GFCI downline, and that is not the symptom.  Also it was wired by a pro, who would know better.
So it’s not an MWBC problem.  MWBC is simply something you must be aware of while working on the circuit.
Whenever a GFCI trips, immediately check appliances
The first thing you must do is unplug everything on the downline of that GFCI.  See if the problem clears.
Meanwhile, take those appliances to a distant unrelated GFCI and see if they trip it there.  In this case you’ll also have to test for AFCI trip, so try it on an AFCI also.
Next, check the downline
Remember, we’ve already pulled all the appliances on the downline, so that’s not it.  It must be in the wiring.
If that does not clear the problem, we pull the GFCI out and remove the wires on the LOAD terminals.
If you can’t abide losing power to that downline, temporarily move it to LINE.  However make sure to put it back!
With LOAD terminals empty, and nothing plugged into the GFCI, it must hold and not trip.  If it trips, the GFCI is defective (not likely).
Since the GFCI did not trip, we are back to troubleshooting the downline wiring.  Follow it, then divide, and conquer.  Reconnect it to LOAD, split what remains of the circuit and see “which side” the problem is on.  Rinse wash repeat until you found it.
AFCI trouble
Since these GFCIs are also AFCI (what’s the point of that?) the AFCI will detect wiring faults in the downline, or even in the supply/upline to some point.   The usual suspect is “back stab” connections at receps: convert those to side screws.  Make sure the side screws are all “run down” (not sticking out, they come stuck out by default, and backstabbers ignore them because backstabbing is all about being in a hurry)... and aren’t hitting a metal box or a ground wire, e.g. as a plug is wrestled in/out.
Since AFCIs literally “listen” to the wire for the crinkle-crunch sound of electric arcing, it’s possible for them to hear that on the upline.  So an AFCI trip might result in wiring problems on the LINE side of the AFCI, back to the breaker and neutral bar connections, or even a loud arc fault on another circuit!
AFCIs are not required in kitchens, and if they were, AFCI receptacles are an unacceptable shortcut unless the wiring to the panel is in metal conduit.   So in all seriousness, getting rid of the AFCI function is an option.


In what situation could a fish tape potentially touch live wires? I want to invest in a high-quality fish tape and I’m doing some research on them. One of the biggest selling points of many fiberglass fish tapes is that they are non-conductive, for safety. But when would a fish tape bump into a bare live wire?

When fishing into an electrical panel

In most cases, there will be live terminals (at a minimum, the service connections on the main breaker) in a panel you are fishing wires into.  While new panels have what are known as IP20 terminal shields that make the service terminals finger-safe (i.e the live parts are no longer poke-able with a finger), these shields are not complete protection, and are only found on very recent panels anyway.  In addition, many times when you are fishing into a panel, branch circuits not proximate to the rest of the work are left live, for obvious nuisance reasons.


Leaky pvc ball valve handle cap and pvc joint I spent a long time fixing a broken irrigation pipe but now have small leaks in a couple of places. In the picture water flows downwards and the ball valve controls the flow from the main line to the irrigation line.
1. Highlighted in red is a leak on the cap of the handle of the slip in mueller ball valve. The leak happens only when the valve is open completely or in certain position.
2. Highlighted in green the joint at the elbow coupling and the horizontal pvc pipe is leaking. It only leaks at the botton and I verified it by checking that the top and side of the joint are dry.
I would hate to redo the work again as there is no give on the surrounding pipes and the only option would be replace the whole manifold. It can be done but I am looking for a spot fix for both from the experts on this forum.

I have been in this situation a few times.  For the elbow you may have luck turning off the water, draining the line, then brushing the connection elbow to pipe location and around the elbow itself with PVS cement.  If you can get a flow into the leak location it may likely seal.  It is a fair possibility that a hairline crack or cement gap occurred.  I have had about a 60% success doing this.

As for the valve leak I hate to say may need replaced.  One exception is if it has a handle that is held on by a screw.  Check the blue handle looking for the center disk to see if it has a gap to the main handle body.  If so see if it will pry off and has a screw to tighten handle to ball assembly.


Can engineered hardwood floors be refinished? I want to replace the floors in the lower floor of my home.  I'm estimating about $8000 worth of work, installed.  My wife has been looking into engineered floors.  I have never been a huge fan of engineered, because I am under the impression that long term durability is not there. We have big pets and children. The chances of needing the floor stripped and refinished in under a decade is extremely high.  Can you even refinish an engineered floor?

The answer is maybe. Some engineered flooring the hardwood top layer is so thin refinishing would cut through to the plywood. If you chose a brand with a thicker hardwood surface then sure it could be refinished but use caution and don't use a heavy sandpaper or you will have the problem a friend of mine did. He was thinking his oak flooring was solid and wanted to change the color. He started sanding and peeled the top layer off, he called me to get the bad news he ended up replacing the entire room and hallway. So if you may want to refinish get at least 1/8" the 1/16 inch stuff really is so thin it can be done but you risk breaking through.


how to add an overhead ceiling fixture to a switched outlet run I have a master bedroom that has three switched outlets (top outlet only on each) that is switched from two locations in the room.  I want to add a ceiling light (no fan- just a ceiling fixture with two 60 watt sockets.  I don't mind the switched outlets being switched if that makes it easier for install.  What do I need to look for and what is the easiest way to connect so that I can utilize both switches without having to open up walls and run lots of wiring.  I have access in the attic to install the light and run wire to the wall in which the the switch leading into the bedroom is located.  I figured I could drill a hole in the top plate and fish the wire down into either the switch box or one of the switched outlets that is located below the switch.  In the switch box there appears to be three blacks wired together and three whites wired together with a red going to the switch at the bottom.  I have not taking out the switch yet to look and see what other wires connect to the switch, nor have I pulled out the outlet to see what's going on in there.  Any help you can give me in hooking up the light would be appreciated.  Would like to get it installed as a Valentines Day present to spouse.

So  I guess my question is: Do I run the wire to the switch from the light or does it need to go to the switched outlet.  What wires do I need to connect so that the light is switched at both locations in the room and becomes part of the switched outlet run.  I'm assuming that everything I need is in the box for the switch leading into the room and that if I group the black and white with the combined ones that are already in the box that it's already set up with wires ponytailed off to switch. What is the best way to go about connecting the light to the switched outlet run. –

You could run a cable from the light fixture to a switched outlet and just put the ceiling light in parallel with the switched outlet and leave the outlet switched for a corded lamp, or you could disconnect the switched cable in the receptacle box so that the switch only operates the the new ceiling fixture.  You'd put in a new receptacle with the metal tab connections intact so the receptacle would be powered without being switchable. This would leave no abandoned wire in the wall. but it might be more difficult to fish a wire to a receptacle low on a wall than to fish into a switch box higher on the wall.

Alternatively, you could run a cable from the ceiling light fixture to a wall box with a switch and this might be easier than working lower on the wall. You would probably want to disconnect the old wire to the receptacle, but you could have the switch control both the overhead light and the receptacle.

The problem with either might be overfilling the box. If either of the boxes is the smaller size, you might have to replace it with a deeper box. Replacing the box will make fishing the wires much easier. I have seen experienced electricians in a team fish into an existing switch box in place, but I have never done it.


How much of a gap do I leave between the wall and the OSB I am putting down on the concrete for a subfloor? I am putting down a product similar to the plastic used on the DriCore 2x2 sheets on the concrete for a vapor barrier.  I have 3/4" tongue and groove Oriented strand board (OSB) I will be laying down on top of it.  We will be carpeting over this. I have drywall up that is 1/2 off the floor. How much of a gap should I leave, and should I anchor the wood into the concrete?

I should add that this is in my basement.  We moved in, the walls are up but they had carpet glued to the floor.  I pulled out the carpet and want to put in a subfloor (above) but am not sure if I should leave a gap or push the wood up tight against the wall.

I did the same thing in my last house, using DeltaFL and 4x8 sheets of OSB.

Spacing

I used spacers to leave a 1/4" gap around the outside, and then framed all interior walls on top of the subfloor.

I had laminate installed on some of it, and carpet on the rest. I can attest it's a great way to do a floor as it has the feel of an upstairs floor. I lived in that house for 4 years without any issues whatsoever.

Screws

I screwed it all down, and ended up using at least 24 tapcons per sheet. My floor was really quite level, but any minor variation meant when you walked on that spot you could hear the clicking of the plastic sheet, so for a couple weeks after I had it installed I was still finding 'clicking' spots and adding tapcons.

The downside: it's backbreaking work. I would definitely invest in a rotary hammer drill. I helped a friend do his the same way, and we had a rotary drill that time, and it could do 4 or 5 holes in the time a normal hammer drill can do one. Total install time was about 10 hours to do around 900 sqft (including everything) with 3 guys. I did mine mostly by myself working a couple hours every evening, about 350 sqft, and it took me a couple weeks.


Which primer to use on an old drywall? I have a dry wall in the kitchen that has some stains on it. I would just like to put a new coat of white primer on that dry wall so it doesn't look stained.

My questions are:

Should I sand the old primer off from the dry wall first? Or simply start putting new coat of primer on the dry wall?
What kind of primer should I use?

First you need to clean the wall thoroughly.  It's always a good idea to clean your walls prior to painting because they pick up grime over time which will prevent the new coat of paint from adhering properly.  In a kitchen, stains are more likely to be caused by splashes from food, so they could be greasy so it's even more important to clean first.  Use TSP (tri-sodium phosphate) soap if you can find it; if not, there are enzyme-based substitutes that you can use which are OK.

You should sand the old primer, but not enough to remove it from the wall.  You only want to roughen the surface so that the new primer has a better surface to hold onto.  Make sure to wear a dust mask while you're sanding.  Rub the wall lightly all over with sandpaper or a sanding sponge (which I use because they're washable and re-usable).  You should see light scratches on the paint.

After you sand, be sure to wipe down the walls with a damp cloth to remove any dust from the sanding.

Finally, look for "stain-blocking primer". Make sure that the primer you choose will work with the type of paint -- oil-based or water-based (aka latex paint) -- that you're going to put over it. I've used Kilz to good effect; other people on this site recommend Zinnser Bullseye 1-2-3


Can I replace 3 switches with one 3 toggle switch I have three switches by my kitchen sink. One for the dish washer, one for the sink disposal, and one for the light above the sink. Three separate circuits. I purchased a Leviton 3 toggle switch with one pole on one side and three poles on the other. The sales person said to tie all of the hot wires together to the single pole and the other three wires to the three pole side. When I tied two of the hots together and turned the breaker back on it was like the 4th of July !!!  I used a volt meter to isolate the hots from the nots. So I know I followed the advise. The instructions on the box show the hot side going to the single pole but don't mention multiple hot feeds to the single pole. Is the issue that you can't tie different circuit hot sides together ? Is this switch just made to feed three different devices from one circuit ?

Thanks to everyone that replied to my question. Yes.. in retrospect I created a 240v circuit by putting the two 120v circuits together. Should have known better, but the resident expert at my local big box home improvement store told me that was what I needed to do. I realized the switch was probably meant for one single circuit after the sparks. Just wanted verification. Thank you all for your advice.

Don't do it! If the devices are on separate circuits, you cannot "tie" them together.

If you're in the USA and use single phase service,  you've likely turned a 120 Volt circuit into a 240 Volt short-circuit. You've directly connected the two legs of the service, causing a short-circuit.

The switch is intended to control three branches of a single circuit.


Do I have a leak in my gas line? I have a gas insert fireplace. At the end of last winter, I shut off the pilot and closed the valve on the insert. I also closed the valve in the basement that feeds the lin going to the insert. The basement valve is about 30 linear feet away from the fireplace, and there are no other appliances between the basement valve and the fireplace.

This fall, I turned the valves back on, then tried to light the pilot on my fireplace again. I had to bleed air out of the line for about three minutes before the pilot on the fireplace would light.

Does this mean there is a leak in my gas line between the basement valve and the fireplace? The fact that I had to bleed the line for so long before gas came out again suggests that it had filled with air during the summer. If the valves on both ends of the line were closed, I don't see how this would have happened.

On the other hand, I don't fully understand how gas works. Could the gas that was left inside the line have "gone bad," or something like that, over the summer, causing me to have to bleed it all out until fresh gas reached my insert?

The line is CSST, by the way. There are no obvious leaks (I did the soap test on the joints), and I never smelled any gas in my basement over the summer (but I was not there every day).

3 minutes is really not that long the regulator had to fill the control after its valve and to the pilot if you had a leak 30' away it would have taken much longer, gas lines after the main gas regulator are only approx 3/4 of a psi, very small so it can take a little time to fill. The way gas lines are tested where I have installed them is by pressurizing the lines with the local shutoff at the stove, fireplace, furnace turned off and the line pressurized up to 30 psi, the inspector notes the pressure then inspects the work if the gauge drops you fail. We usually do this pressure test the day before inspection and make sure there is no drop overnight, not just the 15 -30 minutes the inspector is there.


Can I support the front of a microwave with only one of three bolts? Got a Kenmore OTR microwave to replace a GE OTR microwave.  Already removed the GE, but I just noticed that the Kenmore is quite a bit deeper.  That's no big deal, but my trouble is that the top cabinet mount bolts for the Kenmore line up with cam nuts that keeps the cabinet together.  I can get the middle bolt in though.  I have heard most of the weight is supported by the wall mount.  Do you think I would be ok to only mount the microwave with the wall plate and only 1 bolt on the top cabinet?

While most appliance mounts are deliberately over-engineered, leaving out two out of three support bolts seems to be a bit risky.

There might be another solution. If you have enough clearance over the stovetop, you might lower the mounting of the microwave overall, maybe 3/4 of an inch. Premount the front of the microwave to a strip of 3/4 inch plywood that has holes that line up with the hoods bolts. Have other bolts going upward from the strip to an area of the upper cabinet that is not in the way of the cabinet's hardware.

You would adjust the back mounting hardware the same distance downward, and you could fill the side gap and cover the front edge with appropriate molding.

If it is tight, even 1/2 inch plywood should be strong enough. Add large (fender) washers to spread the load.


Removing 2x4 strapping and still meeting Ontario building code I am finishing a basement ceiling in a new house. Currently there is a 2x4 used as strapping in the center of the area for the above floor joists. I want to remove it but dont want to create issues. I need ceiling height. I was going to put blocking in between joists to compensate. I have the house plans and the building code states that strapping is not required if furring strips or panel type ceiling fi Ian is attached directly to joists. Code also requires resilient channels for noise now. Will the channels meet this requirement and or will blocking be acceptable.

No, RC-1 channels are not replacements for strapping, bridging, etc., even though it will be installed across the face of the basement ceiling and the strapping, etc. is installed 6’-11” o.c. (Please note that the strapping MUST BE fastened to the sill or header at ends. This is so the joists won’t “parallelogram” over when fully loaded.)

Yes, SOLID blocking is an acceptable substitute for strapping, bridging, etc., (but very time consuming. )


Stop Gravel from Washing Away My problem is that we have a long area of gravel used for parking for myself and several neighbors. When it rains really hard, the gravel alongside the road washes away and becomes a real danger for tires and probably the road itself. After googling (ducking, actually) the best way to avoid gravel washing away, it seems a French drain is the best method to do this. Only part of the lengthy gravel area is affected.

I'm wondering if I can just install a partial French drain for the affected area and leave the unaffected as is or if the lower French drain would cause the upper area to become affected. I don't have to dig to install the French drain on the affected area because I can just fish the gravel out and lay the perforated pipe in so I could do this in a day. However, if I have to do the upper part it will take considerably more time and effort to call 811, dig through at least a foot of gravel and lay it throughout the graveled area.

Also, I have been just going to our local rock quarry and getting crusher run 47 by the 5 gallon bucket which typically only costs about $6 when I get 5, but I have to make multiple trips. This happens at least 3-5 times a year.

Thanks!

There is a low spot, probaby 8-10 inches right under the red car and about 5 feet behind the red car. The area by the back car that has the lip of the road is barely affected. I've only ever put gravel there once.

There are gravel driveway stabilizer products made to solve this kind of problem.

They typically take the form of a mesh/lattice of some sort - sometimes flexible/fabric

while others are a ridgid plastic


Compressor inside condenser switches off on extremely hot days, makes high pitched noise (video!) Our AC stops emitting cold air on very hot days (100+). It recovers after about 1h of not running. The condenser fan keeps running, but the compressor switches off. I only recently caught it as it was switching the compressor off while running, it makes a distinctive noise before apparently some overload switch stops the compressor entirely, I catured the noise on video.
I'm sure something around the compressor, coolant, compressor itself is broken but I have no idea what to expect; does anyone have any further ideas for triage?

To me it sounds like a over charge but this is really hard to detect, based on your description that it works correctly except on the hottest days.
Everything works great for a month then on a day that is a few degrees hotter a high pressure bypass kicks in (high squeal). if you shut it down and let it cool down it runs ok , or if you spray the outside coils with water it runs ok. (A possible trouble shooting test.)
I have only seen this a few times but the high pitch squeal on very hot days may be a safety (high pressure bypass possibly) .
If this is the cause the system starts and sounds normal but then the high pitch squeal kicks in and no cooling I have found this when the high pressure is over 400 psi.
Most recently when I found this I
Cooled the system down and it’s normal pressures were ~325. The only difference I could figure out was a few degrees higher ambient temp. Recovered a few ounces of refrigerant and the problem of low cooling went away but I found the problem by checking super heat and sub cooling pressure and temp checks something beyond DIY in many countries because of license requirements.
If the system sounds normal then the squeal, over charge may be the root cause based on your description and the short recording this would be my best guess with your description.