Acceptable to install whole-house evaporative cooler with only a single supply vent? My new house has a 20+ year old evaporative cooler on top of the roof. The cooler is ancient and rusted, difficult to service due to the location, and the forced air heating ductwork it feeds into is undersized for the volume of air it pushes. I would like to replace the unit with a (surprisingly inexpensive) new, highly efficient evaporative cooler mounted at ground level that blows air straight through a wall. The cooler would sit in the shade and have a short, straight duct going right through an exterior wall and into the main living/dining/kitchen area.

My hope is due to the direct installation, I could get a very low level of static pressure and choose a small, energy-efficient 1/3 horsepower motor. However, I worry about this installation being able to serviceably cool the entire house (≈ 1100 sf) with all of the air coming through only a single supply vent.

I think I would be able to get adequate airflow into the bedrooms by opening bedroom windows but NOT opening windows in the living/dining/kitchen area, thereby forcing the flow through the main living area, down the hall, and out through the bedrooms.

Does this sound like it would work? Is there some kind of chart or formula for determining the required CFM of the blower given a static pressure value, a square footage, and/or (pipe dream) a house layout? Should I just get a bigger cooler or motor for some wiggle room and be done with it? I would prefer the more efficient, better designed approach. ;-)

The optimal CFM is related more to the cooling capacity than house size, since you have low pressure (usually the other major factor). The cooling capacity is related to house size, climate, and many other factors, so there is some indirect relationship. I couldn't tell you what that is. Consider this a verbose comment and not an "answer".

For the bedrooms to be adequately cooled with that setup, the living area would need to be colder than normal, assuming the unit is adequately sized for the whole house. On the average, your house will be kept properly cool, but you will find the temperatures will vary noticeably from room to room. Neither extreme may be all that comfortable.


Garage door arm ripped out of door The other day I hit the button to open the door on my way out of the garage to grab something.  In my haste, I had forgotten that I had the door slide lock engaged still. As a result, before I could stop it, the opener trolley had ripped the bolts securing it's arm to the door straight out.

Is there any relatively simple way to fix this?  Some kind of plate I could put over and drive new holes through or something?  It's a metal door.

Update from comments:
It looks like it's metal over some kind of plastic/fiber.  I think @JACK's answer is still a good one.

The best way to fix this would be to drill the existing holes through the door out the front. Then get some bolts, washers and nuts. Put the bolts and washers from the outside in through the door. Mount the arm to the bolts, then washers and finish off with nuts. Tighten and you're good to go. Oh, and disable the sliding lock. Good luck and stay safe out there.


Flood Plain Craziness - Do I really have to listen to the county here? Question:

Preface - I am NOT building in the flood plain. Is the burden of proof on the county to prove i'm not complying with the rules? What is the worst to happen if I simply build a 100% flood plain compliant house and stop providing surveys and additional maps proving i'm not in the flood plain?

County Rules:

No permit to build county, no cert of occupancy etc., drain-field permit only (already have).  Permits required (by state) + engineering if inside the flood plain.

Details:

Below is a snapshot from the 1980s fema maps which shows the Base Flood Elevation Break-line in red at 3195 feet above sea level, running East-West. 1/3 mile to the south of that line, is a 3196 breakline (not pictured). The blue area is determination of the floodplain from 1980 air footage and said to be "on average 95% accurate". The red square is where I wish to build. The mobile home pictured is gone / I removed it. There is a functioning drainfield behind it which we have permission to use from the sanitarian (only permit actually required).

The flood plain administrator and building official in my county seem to be making up some rules or at least be over-cautious (or i'm just confused).

They requested I provide a detailed survey proving that FEMA is actually accurate "because 1980s photos at 30k ft aren't 100%". So, I provided a detailed survey (to the 1ft contour) which shows basically what you would expect below with some areas where I want to build all 100% between 3195 and 3196. Now they are claiming that's fine if I build above the 3195 break-line because that guarantees that 3195 contours, north of the 3195 break-line are above base flood elevation. The issue is, if I want to build south of the 3195 breakline (as pictured), the base flood elevation is likely 3195 + maybe an inch or two at most (based on the distance to the 3196 contour. They want a base flood determination done in this area even though my contour map shows it at or above 3195 and some of it even at 3196 and 97.

Since in commentary you've stated that you're already committed to genuine flood-resistant construction, now it's just a matter of documenting that to the satisfaction of insurance companies and the county.

My advice is to research the gold standards in flood-immune construction, and modulate your design so that it plainly conforms to that.  I don't think you need to go to the extreme of stilts; it just needs to meet whatever standard they will be satisfied with.

The new designs being used in the Gulf Coast are just basically stilts but in the form of continuous poured concrete walls.  Flood remediation is one of those scrub-brushes you attach a hose to, and down the drain/out the door it goes.

As far as insurance, just because you're cash-building this one, doesn't mean you can afford to cash-build its replacement (A flood may not ruin it, but fire would).  Also, insurability means resale value, and even if you don't see it, your heirs will.


How do I force glue into a hard to reach hollow? I have a group of wall tiles coming off the wall. They don't separate from each other, just come off together - when I knock with a finger I hear dull sound meaning there's already a hollow behind the tiles and I also see that the top row clearly comes off the wall.

Normally I would separate the tiles, clean them, reattach them to the wall and seal the seams, but that's more work than I'd like to do right now. I'd rather try to glue them onto the wall without separating. I picked holes in the seams and I plan to inject PVA glue behind the tiles and then press the whole group of tiles onto the wall (I'll put a wide board and insert a bar between the board and the opposite wall).

The question is how do I inject glue behind the tiles? The holes I picked are something like two millimeters in diameter. I thought of using a medical syringe, but I guess its needle has a too small hole and glue is not just flixible enough to be forced through such small holes. Any other ideas?

A syringe IS the best tool for such a job. Just make sure it has a nozzle/needle suitable to the adhesive used. They come in many different sizes. For large sizes you may want to locate veterinary supplies. Perhaps even talk to the local vet, who may be prepared to sell you a couple.

As for the PVA, it is generally not a good choice for tiles, especially if the tiles are in a wet area, although I can't think of anything more suitable for squeezing into such a small opening.


Can an electric dryer be vented into a garage? So, I have an unheated garage, but it is insulated. It maintains above freezing due to the contact with the house, but it still gets intolerably cold. I've considered routing my electric dryer out there to help keep it a bit warmer. It's not intentional heating, and would only coincide with the dryer, but I'd think that dumping some hot air into the garage would raise the temperature a bit.

Are there any major concerns with doing this? I'm still planning on getting a space heater out there for when I'm actually out there, but I'm thinking that it would be a slightly more productive use of the spent heat in my dryer than just dumping it out the side of my house.

Dryer air is hot, but more importantly, it is very moist.  The high humidity might not be a huge issue when it's cold outside, but when it warms up, it could lead to mold or other moisture related issues.  Also, even though your dryer does attempt to catch lint on its internal lint screen, some dust is present in the exhaust air which will eventually cause a mess in the garage.


water heater draining hot water continuously from an outlet (seems tp valve outlet to me) My gas water heater, continuously lets hot water out from the outlet (seems it is connected to tp valve, it goes through the wall to outside the home).

If I turn the water heater to low (much below the normal setting with the recommended arrow), it stops after a few minutes.

What could be the problem and I am worried if this is something dangerous, in addition to wastage of water and gas..?

Also, I noticed that my heater is making more noise than ever..It is a 3-4 years old heater..

The water pressure in the house may be too high. These valves usually can be bought with a discharge over pressure of 125 or 150. Check the pressure in your house.  However these valves only leak or blow off above a 210 degree water temp. You may need a domestic expansion tank and/or a whole house PRV. If in doubt or you do not feel safe checking this tank, I would call a licensed professional (plumber) for help.


Does "No more nails" grip strongly enough to hold soffit vents in place while it is setting? I need to fix some soffit vents to a UPVC soffit, due do the fitness of the UPVC soffit the vents tend to fall out.  Will “No more nails” grip strongly enough to keep them in place until it sets?

Both Liquid Nails and PL make fast set urethane adhesives in a caulking tube. I have used them for various repairs and setting crown moldings. They will hold a fair amount of weight after only 5 to 10 seconds of contact, so I'm sure they would work for your vents.


Three hot wires,1 neutral on a switch I am trying to replace an outlet, but am having trouble figuring out how to wire it properly. The top receptacle on the outlet is supposed to be connected to a switch. When the switch is turned on the 2 blacks test hot, as well as one of the neutrals. When the switch is off, the neutral and 1 black test hot. How do I wire this properly?

Where I am at:
I broke the tab between the poles on hot side of the outlet, just like the old outlet. I also see that the pigtailed black line goes to the lower receptacle, which is always on. I think the black line that is controlled by the switch goes on the upper hot side of the line. But is it okay to have the hot neutral on the other poles?

3W->4W 120V
1B->4W 120V
2B->4W 30V when the switch is in the off position, 120V when it's in the on position
3W->2B 60V

My multimeter may not be that good. It's new, but the voltages jump and I often feel like I am getting different readings.

1B & 3W are always carrying power, 4W is neutral, 2B is responsive to the switch.
There are 3 sets of wires entering the box.

Updated picture

1 is carrying power, 3 goes on to the remaining outlets, and 2 runs to the switch.

Based on your readings, the 1 side black, 2 side white(! retag this wire with black electrical tape!) and 3 side black should be nutted together and pigtailed, and the 1 side white should be pigtailed to the 3 side white apparently -- there looks to be some sort of load plugged into the outlets connected to the 3 wires, which'd explain why the 3 side white reads 120VAC with regard to the 1 side white.  From there, you can then connect the white pigtail to the silver screw, the black pigtail to the lower brass screw, the 2 side black to the upper brass screw, and the bare pigtail to the ground screw.

The funny voltage readings on 2B with the switch off are due to the high impedance of your meter seeing capacitive coupling of a small amount of energy into the switched-off wiring.


Drywall before or after vent installed? I have a large (14x20) wood louver with a frame that is going over a return vent. Should this be installed first and then have drywall put around it, or should I install the drywall first, then cut out a hole for the louver?

Put up drywall first - it is easier to get it parallel to close walls since you could install drywall 1-2% off.   If you are not attaching this to a run and it is an open return I would also suggest trying to get at least one side next to a stud.   Often the support holes for these are close to the opening so even with a good anchor these get flimsy.


How can I change this light fixture in my closet? I wanted to change the light fixture in my front closet.  Simple enough task.  I've done this sort of thing hundreds of times.

I turned off the circuit breaker.  I took the old fixture off.  However, I found that the wires were whole with only a small piece of the plastic/rubber covering peeled off from the center from each color.  One wire was white and the other yellow. There are no ends to you would typically find.  I thought it was odd but just went with it.  I wrapped the white wire from the new fixture to the white wire in the ceiling and the black wire from the fixture to the yellow in the ceiling.  Long story - short...When I turned on the electricity the circuit blew. Needless to say what i thought would work, didn't.

I hope all that makes sense. I have not idea how to resolve this, considering it should have been easy.

If the old fixture worked, Then you should be good if all is connected properly. When you say you "wrapped" the new wires onto the wire in the ceiling, I take it you mean just that, and perhaps taped them up (given the first picture) - I'm guessing they came untaped and shorted out when you put the fixture in place.

Cut and strip the wires in the ceiling, and use a correctly sized wirenut or other suitable wiring connector to connect them to the fixture wires.


Side edging for hexagonal stone pavers? Concrete ok? I have an idea for a walkway or driveway that would be surface with thick hexagonal pavers.

One of the challenges of this design is that the edge of the paving will be irregular, since each tile is hexagonal:

So, one thought I had is to use concrete. I would build a form around the edges of the paving and pour concrete to secure the sides and produce a straight edge to the road or walkway.

My concern is that the concrete might be incompatible with the stone in some way. For example, it might contract and expand at a different rate.

What are risks here? I want to avoid a situation where the edging is cracking and falling apart in 10 or 20 years.

Expansion isn't really a concern. Finishing the edge is. You can't just screed the slab to the pavers and expect a good outcome. You'd have to edge the slab along each angle of the pavers' shape to eliminate the sharp corner. You can imagine how tedious that would be.

Also, you'll have staining on the surface of your pavers unless you protect them somehow or acid wash it later.

Like JPhi1618 said, halving pavers to create a straight line is the usual approach. A 7" angle grinder with a serrated diamond blade works well, or rent a wet saw.


What are some pros, cons and recommendations for multicables? Currently saving to build a new home and I'm going over wiring options in my mind. My current home has too few sockets, cable connections and LAN ports (yes I still like wired LAN, wireless is good but wired is faster).

I'd like to solicit some recommendations for pros and cons of multicables (I.E. cables that have power, telephone, network, and TV cable all bundled into one). Has anyone used a multicable bundle and if so, what are the ups and downs of them?

I'd also like to get some good recommendations of a brand to use. Cables and wall plates if you have come across them before.

I would not recommend these.  I researched them a few years ago when building and opted to just do them all individually.  Coax (Quad shield RG6), cat 5e, cat 3, and speaker wire.  It was actually more cost effective to buy them all in 500-1000' spools individually, than to buy a lot of multicable.  Plus, the interference can be an issue.  You could combine the phone and network use cat 5/6 for the phones, but again, it was more cost effective to buy them separately.


How should I insulate a poured concrete exterior wall? I've recently had to remove existing drywall and insulation in my condo in Ontario. Now I need to finish the walls.

I was thinking of:

Gluing 2-inch Durafoam to the concrete
Putting in the proper framing
Adding 3.5-inch fiberglass batt
Adding a vapor barrier
Drywalling on top of all this

Am I out to lunch? Feel free to make fun of me if I am. Is my method off base? I've been reading stuff about double vapor barriers being bad because there is a cement wall etc.

I would glue durafoam to the concrete first like you said.Then like you said put up a wall using 2x4s for the 3 1/2" insulation. Then use unfaced insulation,then a vapor barrier then the sheetrock. If you want to use paperbacked insulation then do not use a vapor barrier afterwards before putting up the sheetrock. If you put up two vapor barriers there will be a strong possability of trapping moisture between the vapor barriers. And moisture means mold.


Making sense of wire colors and connections I am having trouble identifying which wires are in my box despite all the colors being quite clear.

The voltage drop between:
White-Ground= 123.5
Red-Ground= .3
Black-Ground= .3
Black-Red= 0
Black-White= 123.3
White-Red= 123.5

I would think if the white is actually the neutral wire, but then the voltage between the white and ground should be very small.  Is the white here the Load?

Related to this question, using this this picture:

What you have is a switch leg.  In the past it was a best practice to wire the white hot so it was not confused as a neutral the white was supposed to be marked with a different color than white or green with tape or paint marker,  but that step was not always done in the past by pro's and rarely by DIY folks, I usually carried a black marker and marked them but not always to tell the truth. With white being hot the power is being fed from the fixture on the white to the switch and then with the switch in the on position you will find it is also hot allowing the power to flow to the fixture.


Are portable electrical outlets permitted in a basement? I would like to install a portable outlet box near a work area in an unfinished basement. I have seen these installed in commercial buildings and educational laboratory type areas, always dropped from the ceiling with unarmored cable, hard-wired into a junction box. Would this be permitted in my specific case?

A few examples of the portable boxes:

http://pub.tmb.com/ProStringer/pdf/ProStringer-LTR-web.pdf

http://khindustries.com/category/power/portable-outlet-boxes/

You will need to have to provide proper strain relief of the flexible cord that drops down:

(from the NEC)

  *368.56(B) Cord and Cable Assemblies. Suitable cord and cable assemblies approved for extra-hard usage or hard usage and listed bus drop cable shall be permitted as branches from busways for the connection of portable equipment or the connection of stationary equipment to facilitate their interchange in accordance with 400.7 and 400.8 and the following conditions:
  (1) The cord or cable shall be attached to the building by an approved means.
  (2) The length of the cord or cable from a busway plug-in device to a suitable tension take-up support device shall not exceed 1.8 m (6 ft).
  (3) The cord and cable shall be installed as a vertical riser from the tension take-up support device to the equipment served.
  (4) Strain relief cable grips shall be provided for the cord or cable at the busway plug-in device and equipment terminations.

Strain relief solutions are generally in the form of a metal finger-trap cages that tightens when the cable is pulled. for example:


Can't get wifi thermostat to work with gas boiler I bought a Sensi WiFi thermostat and I have been trying to install it. I can't quite figure out how this wiring should work. Here is a link to pictures of the boiler and the current thermostat. The red wire from the thermostat is connected to Y on the boiler terminal and the black wire connected to G. The white wire wasn't connected to anything so I tried connecting it to the C terminal to be a common wire. When going through the sensi installation guide it says that having a Y and G isn't a valid configuration. I don't see what is wrong with the setup. Can anybody help me correct this and get my thermostat working please?

Thermostat:

Boiler plate:

You'll need a relay here

Your boiler, in addition to using nonstandard wire nomenclature, does not provide 24VAC power directly to the thermostat.  Instead, power to the thermostat circuit is supplied through the parallel combination of a control relay contact and the NC contact on the combustion pressure switch.  This means that when the thermostat stops calling for heat, 24VAC power to the 'stat is cut off until the pressure switch opens again.  This is fine for a mechanical thermostat like your current one, but a smart thermostat like the Sensi will get its brain turned to mush every time the boiler kills its power supply.

As a result of this infelicity of the HE Series III's control wiring scheme, you will need to fit a HVAC relay (often sold as a "fan relay" -- these will have a 24VAC coil and at least one NO contact on them) to your system to isolate the thermostat from the boiler's thermostat circuit.  The relay needs to be mounted in a suitable place in the boiler's wiring compartment, and is wired as follows, although you may need to crimp 1/4" female quick-connect/tab terminals onto the wires going to the relay to make the connections to it, depending on the relay you get of course:

One relay coil terminal to the white wire from the thermostat cable
The other relay coil terminal connected to a jumper nutted with the black wire from the thermostat cable and another jumper that goes off to the C terminal on your boiler
One relay contact terminal (the COM terminal) jumpered to the Y terminal on your boiler
The other relay contact terminal (the NO terminal) jumpered to the G terminal on your boiler
And the red wire from the thermostat cable connected through to the R terminal on your boiler

Once this is done, you can then wire the Sensi as follows:

White thermostat wire goes to W (to drive the relay coil with 24VAC on a call for heat)
Red thermostat wire goes to R (to power the thermostat, using the boiler's transformer)
Black thermostat wire goes to C (to provide the 24VAC return for thermostat power)

This way, the Sensi will operate the new relay on a call for heat, closing the thermostat circuit as a result, while having constant 24VAC power available to it, so it doesn't lose its brain every time it stops calling for heat.


Contradictory theory with vapour barrier - basement bathroom I know that it is necessary to have a continuous vapor barrier in basement exterior walls ( inside the walls, after the insulation). At the same time, it says that there should NOT be a vapour barrier in bathroom walls ( below the tiles), because there is another vapour barrier on top of the tile carrier board ( either backer board or cement board )to make the wall  water-proof.
Contradiction occurs when one of the bathroom wall in basement becomes exterior facing walls; should I install a vapour barrier in this case or should I "break" the "continuous" vapour barrier just across this bathroom wall ?

Thanks, NK.

It's complicated. Basically, there are three principles to understand: 1) vapor will move from warm space to cool space, 2) if and when vapor gets into the wall, and it will get in, then it needs the ability to get out, 3) we're not dealing with "moisture" from the exterior. (I'm assuming the building envelope does not leak), and 4) all this reverses for warm climates.

So, 1) is simple...sort of...just make sure you have a really good exhaust fan. Your bathroom (I'm assuming there's a tub/shower) will generate a lot of "vapor" and what does not get exhausted, will migrate into the wall...no matter how good your "vapor barrier" is or how good it is installed. When this occurs, it will turn to moisture at the dew point. Now it's a problem.

So, as 2) implies, when the vapor in the wall turns to moisture, then it needs to escape. If a "moisture barrier" (moisture barrier has a perm rating of 1.0 or better (less)) is installed on the inside face of the wall, it will inhibit the moisture from escaping. Therefore, I do not recommend installing a moisture barrier (polyethylene sheet, foil faced insulation or similar) on the inside face of the wall...vapor barrier (with a perm rating from 10.0 or worse (higher)) yes, that's ok.

3) and 4) are not discussed here, but important to understand. (Some people think no exterior "moisture barrier" should be used because in the summer this all COULD reverse. However, all siding manufacturers recommend a moisture barrier and I think too much moisture would be injected into the wall system without the moisture barrier.)

Whether you use batts or rigid insulation it does not change these concepts. If rigid is used, I'd use closed cell so vapor does not penetrate the rigid board and then get trapped.

Also, these principles are the same whether it's an interior wall or exterior wall. (I wouldn't use insulation in an interior wall, unless it's for sound control.) But I would use a "vapor barrier" on an interior wall.

Also, same principles for ceiling...use vapor barrier (no poly, etc.)

It's very confusing: Moisture Barrier = perm of 1.0 down to .01 and Vapor Barrier = 10 and up. (By the way, a really good paint system has a perm rating of 6.0-7.0)


Building a thick concrete pad Concrete newbie here.
I am building a concrete pad for an A/C unit in an already excavated area of the yard (new plant bed). The excavated area is around 8" deep. I want to build a 4'x4'x16" concrete block for the air conditioning unit.

Here's a visual :

I understand that these are the steps :

Excavate slab area by 8" and backfill ~6" with gravel.
Level & tamp gravel base.
Build forms and adjust pitch of about 1/4 inch for every 12 feet.
Mix the concrete and pour into the form.
Screed and level out concrete surface
Float & finish surface
Water cure for a week.

I have a few questions :

Is this the right approach to building a very thick concrete pad/block ?
Is the base for this pad sufficient ?
Should I use rebar mesh to reinforce the block ?

I would have considered building this using pre-cast concrete blocks , but my masonry skills are next to nothing and I felt that pouring a block is easier than laying courses of concrete blocks.

I think the better approach is to build a thicker gravel base, and use less concrete for the pad. Backfill with gravel, in layers, compacting between each 4"-6" layer.

I'm not sure you're aware of how much concrete you'll need for your proposed 12" thick pad. See this: http://www.calculator.net/concrete-calculator.html. Your 4'x4'x12" pad will use 27 bags of concrete, nearly a ton, if buying pre-mixed. I think building a thicker base, and then pouring a 4" or 6" concrete pad, with some rebar mesh, is a better/easier approach.

Your plan is solid, but I'd add several things to is:

Definitely use a rebar mesh.
Put a 6mil vapor barrier into the gravel, to prevent it sucking all the moisture out of your concrete pad.
Add a release agent to your form, it will be easier to remove it.
Make sure your pad is not connected to the house foundation, especially if the soil freezes in the winter in your area.


3/4" PEX fittings less than 3/4"? I have some plumbing that has been done in 3/4" PEX and the 90-degree brass elbow fittings that connect the lengths of tubing fit inside the tubing, so I don't see how these elbow fittings could possibly be 3/4" if they are inside 3/4" tubing. The elbows themselves look more like 1/2" pipes to me than 3/4" pipes.

What is the story here? Are PEX fittings smaller diameter than the tubing???

The inside diameter (ID) of PEX fittings is smaller than the ID of the pipe, and the ID of the PEX pipe is smaller than the same size copper pipe.  When the system was designed, the outside diameter was kept constant but the inside diameter shrank (compared to copper).

This sounds like PEX might have much lower flow rates, but the silver lining is that PEX is flexible so it has a lot fewer fittings.  The change in direction in fittings of copper pipe is a flow bottle-neck even if the fittings are larger than the pipe ID.  It's possible to have an entire run of PEX with no fittings at all until it comes out of the wall.

Now, even with that advantage PEX might have a lower flow rate, but it should still be much higher than any point of use calls for outside of a bathtub.  Also, new PEX installs use a manifold system so you don't have 2-3 points of use coming off of one 1/2" line.


Pine vs Cedar for patio furniture on screen porch I am building a patio furniture couch following this design, along with some patio furniture coushions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yKXtv3v8tg

I intend to put this on my screen porch which is mostly dry but gets some rain blowing in every now and then. I have a gallon of this stain which is already on other cedar furniture that I want this piece to match somewhat:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Olympic-Maximum-1-gal-Redwood-Semi-Transparent-Exterior-Stain-and-Sealant-in-One-79552A-01/305230164

I am having trouble finding good cedar lumber in my area though. Would this be an ok situation to use non pressure treated pine instead with the stain mentioned above since the area is mostly dry? Or will I be risking rot?

While cedar is certainly more rot-resistant, pine should be fine.

Should not even need to be pressure treated, since the area is mostly dry.


How can I locate an odor emanating from the kitchen/laundry area? I live in South Florida.  My home is a one level, 2400-sq ft, u-shaped with bedrooms on one side and kitchen/laundry on the other side.  I have a consistent odor but it's not constant.  It comes and goes and is isolated to the kitchen area.  My laundry room is adjacent to the kitchen, so my wife seems to think that the odor is more prevalent when she does laundry.  I haven't made that connection.  I have called in several plumbers for their thoughts and nothing was resolved.  One plumber found a small leaky pipe under the sink and repaired it, but that was not the solution.  Is there a specialist in "odor detection" who could diagnose the problem?

How can I locate an odor...?

Don't underestimate the detection abilities of your nose!  Get on your hands and knees, and stick your nose right into every nook and cranny.  Closing your eyes will help make your nose seem more sensitive.  Smell along edges, cracks, baseboards, pipe cutouts, switch plates, jambs, sills, light fixtures, drains, and anywhere there's a gap or mating of any kind.  Pull out the frig, dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, or remove their base plates and check underneath with a flashlight.  Check the washer drain hose and drain pipe.  Pull out all drawers in case something fell inside the cabinets.  Don't forget outside walls too.  Check any attic or basement or crawlspace.  Cover every inch, and sooner or later you'll zero in on where the smell is definitely strongest.  The source can't be far away.


Unhappy with my tile job I am unhappy with the job my tiler did recently. It's for a kitchen backsplash using mosaic tile.

He mentioned that it's the tile which was uneven on the mesh, however I would argue that if you are a professional tiler, you would either know enough to flag the issue before finishing it, or know enough how to adjust the tiles so they are even.

He's fixed some of the issues so I think it's looking better (was really bad before), but just wondering opinions if I shouldn't worry about the odd uneven tile here and there. To be honest the edges look sloppy, it just doesn't feel very professional. But I don't want to be melodramatic, if this is what I am to expect then fine. But I don't think it's great. It's the first time I've had tile work done so I don't know what to expect. The tile company said of course some will be uneven a professional tiler will know what they're doing and won't let that show.

Any opinions is appreciated. Thanks!

The photos clearly show a terrible tile job. Tiles that are set crooked, tiles that are missing on the edge near the wall, grout lines of all different widths.

If the tiles were that uneven on the mesh then i would not have purchased them. If i were the tile setter and they were that crooked i would have brought it to the attention of the home owner prior to setting and made it clear that extra time would be needed to deal with an inferior product.

If i had to set tile that were manufactured with such lack of uniformity and sloppiness ( and i am not sure i would even agree to ) I would have cut out the crooked ones and used spacers to insure straight tiles with even grout lines. If care and time were taken then they could have been set to look good but the installation cost would need to reflect the extra effort.

IF the tile was that poorly set on the mesh then It sounds like you got a sub par product and tile setter who did not care to make it right.


Replacing gfci and switch lost with wiring I am trying to replace a GFCI and a switch that share the same box, the old one had line and load opposite of the new and and I have now gotten lost.

I have 4 black wires 2 white and 1 ground, hot wire has the green tape and tested no other hot wires and I have paired off the other black and white wires with electrical tape.

I have the live wire connected to the common on the switch, no idea what to connect to what from here! Please help.

The breaker is off.

HD pic
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ryuuHutR5pc6QekX6

OK.  So the zoom-in and brightening makes clear what is happening. Imagine there is a physical partition between left and right sides of the box.

On the left side

Goes the GFCI.   Since you don't care about protecting any devices downline of here, this is super easy:  Leave the "For Wizards Only" warning tape on the LOAD terminals, and everything goes to LINE.  Almost all GFCI devices allow you to screw-to-clamp 2 wires under each screw.

On the right side

This is a simple 1-way (as the Brits call it) switch.  2 black wires and you're done.

You're welcome to use a 3-way switch, just make sure you put one of the wires on "common" (the black screw).


What's the name for this very thin metal sanding disk for use in a drill? I have a sanding disc that attaches to my drill, and i'm struggling to find a replacement.
Does anyone know what it's officially called?

I reckon it's about 180 grit.
It's about 127mm external diameter (but i'm not bothered as long as its approx the same size)
Its 14 mm internal diameter, which is more critical.

Sounds like it might be referred to as a "Tungsten carbide buffing disc".


Can I replace my face mount hinges with hidden ones? I've got face mount 3/8 In (10 Mm) inset hinges on my kitchen cabinets.  I'd like to replace them with hidden hinges.  Is it possible?

Yes it is possible. You would need Face Frame hinges similar to the one shown below. They come in many sizes depending on how much of an overlay your doors will have over the cabinet frame.

The drilling instructions differ with the type of hinge you will use so you'd want to figure that out first. Also, I would recommend borrowing, renting a drill press because each door will need two 35mm  blind holes drilled into it.  Good luck


Proper reinforcing of electrical box on drywall There is a 2-gang outlet/electrical box that holds plugs rather well (hair dryer, vacuum, etc). That is usually great, however when pulling the plug from the socket, the whole electrical box gets pulled and bends slightly. It always bends back after the plug is removed, though I worry that one day it will not!

Luckily, the other side of the wall is in a basement utility room, and thus exposed. It can be seen that the box is mounted with 1 screw and 1 nail, driven in to a block of wood that extends from the wall stud. Since the box is only mounted on one side, it bends on said side when pulled, especially when pulled from the GFCI outlet (right side of the last photo below, opposite of the screw+nail). I don't see how to secure it on the other side though.

How can the box be more properly secured?
Is a bit of bend typical? The box only has one mounting side, so I assume that the one side is usually enough. Still, the physics of it make me think there should be mounting options on both sides.

Since the box is so far off the stud, my suggestion is to take that existing box off and put an old work double gang in. It secures to the drywall and should fit easily since the stud is far away.

Trying to nail the box in further is pointless since the drywall is up.


Replacing hardwired fire alarms with 10 year sealed alarms My house was built in 2004 and came with fire alarms pre-installed and hardwired. The alarms also use a 9V battery backup, so we have to replace the batteries regularly (not an easy task with 9 ft ceilings, neither of us is exceptionally tall).

It's time to replace the alarms, and we were looking at the 10 year sealed lithium battery units (so we don't have to replace the batteries, we can test the alarms with a broom handle easily enough), but they don't seem to come in a hardwire variant.

Should we do something with the wires that are coming out of the ceiling? Would it be safe to not have them hooked up to anything? The circuit that feeds the alarms also powers the master bedroom (this house was built during the construction boom and it's terrible).

Would we loose any functionality by not using the hardwires?

Bad idea.  Since the hard wiring was a building code requirement, a change could readily give your insurance company an excuse not to pay in case of a fire.

In addition your detectors are interconnected, so they all go off together.  Wireless connected models are not available with ten year batteries ( I wrote on this topic at http://www.squidoo.com/you-have-three-minutes-to-escape-linking-home-smoke-alarms )

Instead consider pairing new detectors with ultra long life 9V or AA lithium batteries: such batteries cost more but last longer. And it's worth highlighting: smoke detector electronics generally come with a ten year rated lifespan (dating to 2004, as you note, yours are due for replacement).

Perhaps part of the problem was detectors that eat batteries?  The hardwire alarm batteries only come into play when power is out: a two or three year lifetime for each battery is the minimum you should expect, even from a conventional alkaline.


Receptacle outlet between garage doors? I want to install an outlet in between two garage doors. I  am wondering if there is something in NEC which either explicitly prohibits,  or forces to treat,  an outlet in this location  as an external location.
Reasoning - during heavy rain and windy conditions if doors are opened then some water might get inside.
Right now I'm planning to use Legrand Wiremold 700 series.

No  nothing special that is a normally dry location as identified by code.
All garage receptacles do require GFCI protection so either a GFCI breaker or GFCI receptacle is required.
I would consider a WR (weather resistant) rated receptacle as they last longer in garage locations.


How can I restore the color of my Trex deck after sanding? We have Trex Deck on a screened in porch. I resorted to sanding a couple of spots to get rid of stains, left when the cat upchucked his food. Now those spots are darker than the rest of the flooring and I can't find anything to bring it back to normal color. Stain and color pens just tend to darken it more.

If you haven't sanded through the color topcoat and into the base material, try one of those automotive "miracle" formulas that restore vinyl tops or the plastic bumper covers on late model vehicles, to like new condition, so they claim. I haven't tried them but it may be worth a shot.


3 way switch confusion I've got a couple of sets of 3 way switches in my house that aren't functioning properly.  Basically, one switch has to be in the "up" position for the other switch to control the light.  In the set pictured, the metal box is the existing/untouched switch 1, the blue is a new box and relocated switch 2.  If switch 1 is down, the light is dead and switch 2 has no effect.  If switch 1 is up, switch 2 can turn the light on an off.  Aside from the taped neutrals with no wire nut and overall sloppy install of switch 1, what is wrong with the wire placement?

Rather than melt your brain with white, black, red blah blah, let's call travelers yellow.    Here's how a 3-way circuit actually works.

Golly, that's simple. Align the two switches onto the same yellow wire, light lights.  Easy peasy.
But of course, they don't make cables in yellow-yellow-white.  They only make them in black-white-red; and; depending on the other needs of the circuit, the two travelers might be any combination of colors. That's what colored electrical tape is for.  $5 will get you a 5-pack of 5 colors.
Identify the travelers.  Travelers are

always in the same cable (so might the third wire, but it won't be that way on both ends).
On the brass switch screws if the circuit is wired correctly

Assuming your lower switch is untouched, black and red are your travelers in this circuit.  I would remark them with yellow on both ends.
Then, it's dog simple: yellow wires to brass screws, remaining wire to remaining screw and Bob's your uncle.
3-way switches don't take neutral wires, so the white wire in the blue box is definitely not a neutral.  It must be re-marked a color.  (any color but gray or green, but it's preferable to mark it for its function: black always-hot, red switched-hot).


What type of bulbs dim to lowest setting? I've got a Lutron "Plug-in lamp dimmer", Model PD-3PCL-WH, and tried several LED bulbs with it. They all said "fully dimmable" on the packaging.

It works, however seems like at most it dims to about 30-40% on lowest setting. A floor lamp in another room with regular incandescent bulbs and in-built dimmer goes down to "barely on" dimness.

Are all LED bulbs bad at dimming? Would other types of bulbs be better? Halogen? CFL? Good'ol incandescent?

Have you adjusted the low-end trim? There is a PDF which they class as "advanced" instructions that describes the procedure on Page 25.

Hold On button for 6 seconds, until LED (on dimmer) starts to flash.
Hold Down button until lamp turns off or starts to flash.
Tap Up button until lamp is not flashing and is stable (or is as bright
as you want the lowest dim to be.)
Hold Off button until the LED (on dimmer) stops flashing.


Can an 18 inch duct be replaced by 4 smaller ducts? We have a return air duct that is 18 inches in diameter that had to be soffited. Not a big deal except it is taking up closet space in what is otherwise a very small closet for a kids bedroom.

Can this 18" duct be "adapted" into 4 of those 8" oval ducts that fit inside a 2x4 wall and then tied into the main return air line to the furnace? How would I figure out if it would provide the same airflow/cfm requirements as the single 18" duct?

At the first level you need to compare cross sectional area of the 18" round duct with the cross sectional area of the four 8" oval ducts. There is a secondary effect of using the multiple smaller ducts because it exposes the air flow to more inside surface area which increases the pressure drop some but that can be compensated for by making the replacement duct area be larger than the original.

The cross sectional area of an 18" diameter duct is:

I do not know the shape of the 8" oval duct that you were considering but assuming that it is a standard ellipse shape like this:

We can see that the A dimension would be half of the 8" size and the B dimension would be half of the standard 2x4 wall stud width of 3.5"

If using four of the oval ducts the total area would be:

21.99 * 4 = 87.96 sq inches.

So to compare 254.45 from the large duct to the 87.96 from the four smaller ones you can see that only about a third of the required area is provided. So the answer would be no, this is not a suitable replacement.

Of course if the 8" oval duct has a slightly different shape this could affect the calculation some but I'd still say that it wouldn't be enough.

Here is a graphical comparison:

Update for Obround Ducting

The obround ducting available from one source is 3" by 8" in size (assuming the 8" specified by the original poster).

The cross sectional area of a duct this size:

So for the 3x8 size being considered it would take (254.45 / 22.06) = 11.53 ducts to be equivalent to the one 18" round duct!!!


Calculate box volume needed with light I think I know the calculation for this gang box, but I want to double check.  Specifically, does the light count as a "yoke"?  This is a 15A circuit.
Per my other question (Calculate electrical box volume needed) I see:

3 14/2 coming into the box (count: 6)
4 grounds (count: 1)
No clamps in the box

So that is 7 x 2in (14/2 awg) = 14.
But is the light a yoke?  If so, that is +2 which means 9x2in for 18 needed.
I measured the round box and it is 4" by 2 1/4" (2 1/8" is all I could see in the nec tables) so that would allow for 21.5.
https://images.homedepot-static.com/catalog/pdfImages/48/489b5f43-b7c6-4046-aac8-0f28e57df2d9.pdf
Sound about right?  I am splicing in an outlet off this circuit and it would save me from putting up another gang box before the light.

Yes, the light fixture counts as a device/yoke.
The rest of your box-fill math looks correct.


Did I damage this shower valve? I'm in the process of installing fixtures for a shower and realized yesterday that I had made a mistake and needed to expand the opening around the single control valve. It's a Moen with an insertable cartridge.

I removed some tile with a reciprocating saw and drill and am sure I didn't hit the valve at all.

However, now today I attempted to turn the water back on and—while in the off position—the valve now drips fairly steadily.

Did I likely damage the valve in the process of removing tile? Possibly through the vibrations of the saw/drill?
What steps can/should I take to repair this? The surrounding plumbing is in perfect condition, the valve is just leaky.

Thank you!

Is the leak at the faucet or the cartridge (handle)?
If the leak is at the faucet you may have shaken the seats loose or broke gunk in the pipe loose that got into the seats.
Both involve turning off the water and pulling the cartridge and looking for damage or debris.
If the leak is at the handle you may have cracked the plastic pivot / seal. With a new faucet they may replace it as long as there are no drill holes or gouges.


What's the purpose of a dual two-pole breaker? I have one of these breakers in my panel? What is its purpose (vs a pair of two-pole breakers)? There are other posts that deal with tandem breakers but not specifically dual tandem breakers.

It is a quad breaker. The outer two are linked and the inner two are linked so that both pairs have 240 V across the connections. They are used to provide two 2-pole breakers, where a pair of ordinary 2-pole breakers would not work because the adjacent half slots are on the same leg.

If the available slots are such that the first pair of half slots are on different legs, then this quad breaker would not be used and would not fit. In that situation one would use a pair of ordinary compact 2-pole breakers.


what is the size or model of an add-a-tee(similar stuff) can convert a toilet water outlet working both for a toilet water tank and a washing machine I bought a washing machine because I'm living in an apartment where no in-house washing machine for the pandemic period.
The toilet water supply outlet is 3/8``, it looks like the photo below:

Now I need to convert it into an extra outlet so it can works for both the toilet and my washing machine at the same time.
The washing machine hose is 3/4`` like the photo below:

So I guess the most convenient solution is to buy a 3-way Add-A-Tee 3/8`` inlet and 3/8`` outlet, 3/4`` outlet, it should look similar to this:

Unfortunately, I have been looking online for hours, but I couldn't find the correct one, I'm not sure if I didn't type the correct keywords or such size doesn't exist.
If someone is more familiar with this area, could you help me to find it out, it can be on Amazon, eBay, or any e-commerce(I'm living in Canada, but as long as I know this the model, I should be able to find a vendor deliverable to my home).
If this Add-A-Tee or adaptor doesn't exist, can someone know how to deal with such a problem?
Thank you so much.

Assuming this is a rental, I do not recommend this at all. If anything goes wrong, and things can go very wrong, you will have a flood on your hands and your landlord will not be happy.
If you own this apartment, I do not recommend this at all. The chances of things going wrong are relatively big, and even if everything works correctly, the flow rate will be very low because this connection is designed for a toilet and won't simply "scale up" to fill a washing machine.
Think about all the pieces needed, normally, for a washing machine:

Cold water in
Hot water in
Electricity
Waste water out

This is specifically for cold water in.
Does your washing machine need hot water as well? Or does it heat the water if a cycle calls for hot water?
Electricity is probably the easiest piece, at least for a washing machine. Most US/Canada washing machines use a standard 120V 15A receptacle. On the other hand, if you want to install a dryer then you typically need 240V and also figure out how to handle venting the hot air out.
What about waste water drainage? That may be more than you realize. A typical washing machine pushes out the water very quickly, possibly faster than your sink drain can take it.
What I suggest looking at is a "portable" washing machine. These typically get water using an adapter on a regular kitchen faucet. No permanent installation or changes to existing plumbing, which solves the landlord problem (the only effect on the landlord is higher water usage) and solves the "things can go wrong" problem, at least with respect to plumbing installation.


How can I figure out why half my house is cold? I just purchased my home a few months ago, and the AC was sub par during the summer.  Now that winter is here, the house is extremely uncomfortable (cold).

My furnace shoots hot air up to one main exit, then branches to the two sides of my home.

I discovered two hinges, one on each branch, one of which when I rotated it, provided air to one side of my home (as many may expect)

The other, no matter how much I rotate or which angle I rotate the lever, the other side of that ducts remains cold and no air is pushed to the other side of my home.

Is it possible/smart for me, as a new home owner, to try to dissemble the ductwork in the problem area to attempt to free the valve or any possible blockage?  One friend of mine told me to cut a hole in the side, use a coat hanger to try to open it, and seal it with duct tape.

EDIT

I noticed when looking at how I could take the duct off, there are no screws, just tabs.  Please see attached picture.

Any help is greatly appreciated by me and my cold family :)

EDIT 2

Things are still not working in our home.  I tried all different combinations of the two dampers open and close to no avail.  I also drilled a hole and used a rod to ensure the left (in the diagram) damper was open which it was.  There were no other obstructions in the way.

We are still hanging out in 65 degrees at max in cold, so please keep the suggestions coming.

Edit 3

Thanks to all that helped!  Unfortunately, even a pro could not identify the problem and we ended up replacing the whole furnace.  We are now a warm family again but after a hefty price tag.

If it is a manual damper, there is usually a wing nut that attaches the handle to the shaft of the damper. If this wing nut is loose, it might allow the handle to turn without actually turning the internal damper. I would verify that the nut us tight and when you turn the handle, you can actually see the shaft rotating at the same time. If the tube of the duct has somehow been compressed, then the damper would bind up and not work properly.


Samsung induction slide in oven makes whining and whistling noise My Samsung induction stove/oven that is only 1.5 years old started making a whining and whistling noise when on Bake. I think it's a fan, but this noise wasn't there before. What can it be and is it dangerous not to fix it right away and keep using it? Thank you!

You say when on Bake - is it a convection oven ?

I have a slide in Samsung Induction Stove / Oven.

So I want to be sure of what you are describing - only when the oven is operating or are you using the cook top at the same time ?

Depending on your answer I will give you a couple possibilities.

1: The induction cooktops can make a noise while cooking - you will
notice this when it gets hot you can hear a whine and a whir (like a
zzzzzrr) sound .

2: The Fan in the rear of the oven (its the circulation fan) the
bearings fail! I know I replaced mine after 1 year - many others
have also.

  Will it hurt anything is it dangerous not to fix it right away:

  Depends on if you like your cake and your foods thoroughly cooked or
  on the raw side. And also on How Long you want it to take to preheat
  to the right temperature.

How this oven works: During preheat all fans run to circulate the air, all elements are on to heat up quickly - upon reaching temperature the oven converts to the mode of operation you have selected whether that is bake or convection etc..

Now if the fan is failing - the oven will start to take longer and longer to get up to temperature - also opening the door the temperature will drop and not recover quickly.

One thing to do is use a manual oven thermometer and place it inside your oven - watch what temperature it gets to - it might claim it is hot enough in the beginning because the temp probe is right next to the Broiler Element up top. NICE - it measures the radiated heat from that burner, not the oven temp - so you get a claim it is at temp. Open the door and the temp will drop - since the broiler element does not come back on at that moment - well long time heating back up.

The Fan is simple to replace - get an after market one - my after market one has been in for 2 years now and so far the thing works - but we also do not run the self cleaning or broiler - high temperatures might damage the fan bearings or the lube in those bearings. Personally this oven is the worst I have ever owned. I love the induction stuff - but other manufacturers have more flexibility and are not as finnicky about the pans. We have Caphalon Stainless Steel. Not clad bottoms.


Should I replace the door hinge or add a new pin? I have a bi-fold door which uses door hinge that connects two doors of the bi-fold door. It has three hinges and two of them require some work as follows:

Hinge 1 - The pin is missing entirely.

Hinge 2 - The pin is loose.

It will be my first experience working with door hinge, but believe that it is doable work and not require a professional worker's involvement.

Is it a good idea to replace the entire hinge or just the pin?

If you can find the same style of hinges it may just be the easiest to replace the hinges with new ones. For the smaller bi-fold door hinges it is unlikely that you can find replacement parts and new hinges are not all that expensive.

The most likely reason the one hinge pin is loose is because the hinge itself has deformed and not due to wear of the pin itself. Once again suggesting replacement.

You may find that replacement hinges have the screw holes in different locations than the originals. This would not normally be a problem because you can easily drill new pilot holes for the screws at the new locations. However sometimes a new hole will be right next to one of the old holes. If this happens it is recommended to fill the old hole with a glued in plug carved to the right size from a piece of scrap pine board (some folks like to stuff the hole up with glue and toothpicks). Pound the plug in place and let dry overnight and then cut off flush with a sharp chisel.


What is Texas code for kitchen electrical outlet near sink and cooktop I would like to know the permitted height of an electrical outlet from the kitchen sink countertop or cooktop.

The NEC has you covered

This limit is set at 20" above the countertop by NEC 210.52(C)(5):

  (5) Receptacle Outlet Location. Receptacle outlets shall
  be located on or above, but not more than 500 mm (20 in.)
  above, the countertop. Receptacle outlet assemblies listed
  for the application shall be permitted to be installed in
  countertops. Receptacle outlets rendered not readily accessible by appliances fastened in place, appliance garages,
  sinks, or rangetops as covered in 210.52(C)(1), Exception,
  or appliances occupying dedicated space shall not be considered as these required outlets.


Interior wall installation over hardwood finished floor? I'm looking at moving my interior walls around. We are planning to keep our existing floor and replace open spaces with the same floor. We will be refinishing the floors when the wall moving is done.

Is it easier to cut out the flooring where the wall is going to be and attach wall to subfloor (same with finished drywall ceiling) or can I just build the wall into the existing finished areas. So attach the wall through the hardwood flooring into the subfloor at the base and through the drywall ceiling into the joists above?

I would suggest that you mark where you bottom plate is, adjust circular saw to hardwood depth and cut it out (might need a jigsaw or dremel in corners).

Not exactly sure what type of wood flooring you have but I would do this in all cases. If your wood is floating you MUST do it.

If you have nail down I would still do it because you are introducing different amounts of pressure on the floor which could lead to buckling/damage over time.  Keep the boards you cut out and they can be reinstalled.  Also your drywall and baseboards will overlap the cutout points so you don't have to worry about how the hardwood will look after cut - you will have almost an inch to play with on each side.


Connecting 240 volt generator to Main Panel I read previous posts that explained that the Sub Panel has a separate connection for ground and separate for neutral, while the Main Panel does not separate the ground & neutral - this is exactly how my panels are setup.  My Sub Panel has all of the house's breakers and the panel is completely full.  My Main Panel has the one Main Cut Off with areas to add breakers.  I'm wanting to add a double breaker to the Main Panel for a 240 volt generator.

I have two questions:

When I wire the generator inlet to the Main Panel, do I wire both the ground wire and neutral wire to the same connector as is done now with the ground & neutral at the Main Panel?
The generator's owner's manual states that it's "neutral floating".  I was intending to ground the generator (8' copper rod with 6 ga. solid copper).  Does the floating neutral on the generator change anything?

The floating neutral is good news, but you don't need a ground rod for this

The fact that your generator has a floating neutral is actually quite fortunate for you, as breaker-interlock-based transfer setups are largely incompatible with generators that have bonded neutrals (the more common case).  However, since you're plugging your generator into your house, which already has a grounding electrode system (ground rods, etc), you don't need to add a ground rod at the generator, as the house supplies both the grounding electrodes and the neutral-to-ground bond point.

As to the inlet, since it's your main panel, you can land both wires on the same bar

A common "shortcut" in main panels (esp. in residential work) is to slobber all the neutrals and grounds onto the same bar, since that's where neutral and ground meet.  Since most panels where this is done don't have separate ground bars fitted to begin with, you're left with little choice but to continue this practice, unless you wish to buy a ground bar kit for your specific make and model of panel and add a separate ground bar.


Do I need to replace skirting in these places? I've recently been clearing out damp, mold and insects behind some kitchen cabinets.  In the process we had to remove certain skirting boards which got damaged.

The skirting board in questions are shown substituted with red lines in the picture below.  The blue lines represent kitchen cabinets currently take apart.

As you can see these skirting boards have no appliances in front of them and have cabinets in front of them so the area is pretty  is unlikely to get hit except if you are trying to clean with a vacuum cleaner sticking the pipe in.

The area in the left of the picture is basically just empty and one might need to put a vacuum hose in or brush.

I'm wondering if I don't have to replace the skirting board since theres is no real activity in these areas.  I would say they don't need to be replaced but then it makes you wonder why someone put it there in the first place.  In worst case I imagine they may get hit by a vacuum hose when trying to reach down once month but then in the pic you can see where the skirting ends to the right and there is no skirting they obviously didn't think it needed to be there.

Do I need to replace them or not?

Thanks

Nope -- cross that task off your list!

Seriously, skirting boards (aka baseboard or baseboards to feed the search engine) are cosmetic. If you can't see them, you don't need them. They'll get in the way when you're trying to push the dishwasher back that last little bit.

(Some people think they keep creatures out... the simple fact is that if you have creatures and they want into your space, they'll find a way.)


Cost-effective way to have good lighting for color-blind users I live in a tropical area and the sunlight is generally 'hot' as opposed to what you'd see in the UK.

I'm also color-blind to some extent and I have a lot of trouble trying to get my indoor lighting in order.

Common CFL bulbs are killing - my eyes hurt a lot.
Tube lights have a simliarly irritating effect on my eyes.
I use 'warm white' CFLs mounted on the ceiling but the shades seem to create shadows.
I have to spend an average of 12 hours in this setting for work.
The tungstan bulbs are obviously expensive to use (running cost).
The best so far seem to be are the halogen lamps but they're costly and emit too much heat.

What solution is there to make cost-effective lighting that would be easy on my eyes and give out the effect of early-morning sunlight?

By the way, my walls and ceilings are white.

another solution that does not involve powered lighting could be to use 'Light Pipes' or 'Light Tubes' with 'Full' or 'Half' CTO (Colour Temperature Orange) filters clipped onto them inside the building.

Colour temperature orange filters are used in the TV and Film industries to transform the light source into a warmer more incandescent type of light in terms of its colour.  These gels can also withstand high temperatures.

Google 'CTO Gels'.  Wikipedia also has a clear article on 'Light Tubes'.

To dim the light you could then place 'Neutral Density' lighting gels over the CTO sheets.  Alternatively louvered shutters over the ends of the light pipes would allow you to fine tune the amount of light getting through.

The light pipe idea would mean free lighting after the install has been paid for and is a low tech but long term solution.


Connecting detached shop to home network via fiber i'm looking to connect my detached shop to the network in the house. goal is to have a fast (1 Gb+) and reliable connection in the shop, that can be connected to in the shop by wifi and ethernet.
existing network is what centurylink fiber setup:

mystery box on the outside of the house, i think the excess optical cable is simply spooled in here
i think this is an ONT - fiber in, ethernet and phone ports out
router they provided, apparently a c3000z

my plan is to dig a ~150' trench and run direct burial fiber from the house to shop, and connect it to the ONT. my assumption is that i need a media converter in the house, something similar to a TP-LINK MC220L and an SFP e.g. something like TL-SM311LM. what type of interface do i need on the other end in the shop, e.g. simply another SFP that can plug directly into another router/computer? what type of fiber cable should i get (single, dual etc)? does the type of equipment outlined here seem correct?
appreciate any feedback! i don't have much networking experience outside of plugging in a router.

Direct burial is a mistake, IMHO and IMProfessional, less H, O. Trenches are expensive, conduit is cheap, and things with teeth that burrow can and do find direct buried cables. Dig the trench once.
Fiber is far preferable to wire for electrical isolation alone, not to mention potential capacity, if ever needed.
In most cases (shopping is off-topic and I haven't shopped lately) a small switch (4-8 ports) with an SFP or SFP+ slot is less expensive than a "media converter" - unless you need a larger switch anyway, then get the size you need with SFP or SFP+ slot(s).
The usual constraint for home projects is termination - you either need conduit large enough to pass a pre-terminated cable, or you need to hire someone to come terminate the fiber, or you need to invest a good deal of money and time in becoming equipped to terminate the fiber yourself. I did the latter on a "non-home" project where it paid off to the tune of 10's of thousands of dollars, but that won't be the case for 2-4 terminations at your home.
My personal recommendation on fiber is to use single-mode (9um core) not multimode (50µm core, or severely outdated/slow 62.5µm core) - "used to be" the SFPs were far more expensive for single-mode. That price dropped a lot, and decent multi-mode cable costs MORE than single-mode cable. Singlemode has essentially no speed limit, while multimode has sharp speed limits.
Be sure to use cable rated for wet locations. An indoor-type patch cord may work for a while, but it will fail eventually in wet service. "Drop" cable may be particularly good for the purpose, as it's designed for "pole to house" service and somewhat more rugged than the average fiber cable to withstand handling. Be sure to get the fully non-conductive sort (no tracer wire, or removable tracer wire that you remove) if putting it in with the power wiring. "All Dielectric" is a term that means the same (Usually seen with ADSS - "All Dielectric Self-Supporting" which is commonly more expensive than drop cable, even though the drop cable is technically also self supporting and all dielectric...since you are putting it in conduit (or the ground) you don't need self-supporting at all.)
Get whatever works out best when you shop - you can do it on a single fiber with "bi-directional" SFPs that use different wavelengths, or the more normal 2-fiber method. But you may find 6 or 12 fibers costs no more, or even less.
RBR (reduced bend radius) fiber is typically available for almost no cost increase from a good cable supplier, and makes the fiber installation much less sensitive to how tightly it's bent (the sales-dudes like to wrap it around a pencil.) Don't be a sales dude on your install, but if you can get it without an absurd up-charge, it's better to have it than not.


No power to new GFCI I'm trying to figure out why an exterior GFCI does not have power at the supply lines. Last week, my friend let an extension cord that was plugged into it fall into the water in the pool. She was certainly lucky that no one was in it.
There is an outlet directly opposite this inside the house, as well as an exterior light just above it, presumably on the same breaker.

Could something have happened to the wire that I cannot see inside the house?

Thank you for your help.

This is EXACTLY what GFCI is for
GFCI was created to handle exactly these types of situations. A properly functioning GFCI cuts off power when there is a ground fault, such as contact between power conductors and water, fast enough to prevent injury or death.
That being said, you should always be careful with any electric devices around water. Sometimes, as many questions on this site have shown, GFCI and other protective devices are not installed properly or fail for other reasons.
Does it reset?
Every GFCI has Test & Reset buttons. Does it reset? If it doesn't reset then either it still thinks there is a fault, or it is damaged.
Check the wiring and look for ANOTHER GFCI
If the GFCI is the only one on the circuit, then every receptacle (except the one that is together with the GFCI) is either before or after the GFCI. Every receptacle after the GFCI has the same protection as the GFCI receptacle itself, but that means a ground fault on any of those receptacles (or any equipment attached to them) will prevent the GFCI from being reset.
So check any receptacles that are on the same circuit. Unplug everything plugged into them, even if you think they have nothing to do with the problem, and try to reset the GFCI again.
Also look for any additional GFCI units. Sometimes there is more than one on a circuit, even though that is not necessary if wired correctly. The circuit breaker in the panel may also have GFCI built in to it, which protects the entire circuit. When a fault occurs, any combination of GFCIs in the circuit between the panel and the location of the fault may trip - with no guarantee of sequence. You could have a breaker plus two receptacle GFCIs and have the breaker plus one receptacle trip...any combination is possible.
Other damage?
With "traditional" short circuits, so much current can flow so fast that wire connections, switches, etc. can burn up or weld together before the circuit breaker trips. That should not be the case with a GFCI ground fault trip, but anything is possible. So if you rule out additional GFCIs and other ground faults then you need to check every receptacle and wire connection in the circuit to look for burn damage, faulty back stab connections or other problems.


European Bulb E14 base 15w 110 volt dimmable bulb for Himalayan Salt Lamp The E14 base is European, as is the 110 voltage.  The bulb in question is a 15 watt bulb with dimmer control and is UL listed.

Is there any danger in using this rather than a bulb and dimmer specified for the US 120 volt?  Is the bulb in fact incandescent?

In addition, are there any known fire dangers?

Thanks in advance for your time and effort.

Kimisky Himalayan Salt Lamp New Designs Giraffe Family Salt Lamp Night Light, UL-Certified New Dimmer Switch, 15W, Himalayan Himalayan Pink Salt Rock Lamps, 3 Bulbs SP-147 (Giraffe)

This is definitely cheap Chinese.  The UL listing appears to be faked.

Feel free to buy the lamp for its aesthetic elements, but buy a boring old UL listed lamp for the actual light part.


What is the practical limit to the wand length for a pressure washer? The task involves pressure washing soffits that are 25-30 feet above ground level.  Is there a practical limit to the length of wand?  Any lessons-learned or pitfalls to avoid are appreciated.

The length is mostly limited by the width of the pipe in the wand.  So if you use a wand made for 6 feet and add 20 feet to it, you can expect the sheer weight of the wand to bend it.  Gravity works.


Replacement GFCI isn't working correctly I have a bathroom outlet where the GFCI is going bad and needs replacement.

There is one line and 2 cables coming in for 2 loads so there are 3 black wires, 3 white wires, and 3 ground wires coming into the box. One of the loads goes to the overhead light switch and the other goes to the light switch in another bathroom.

When I rewired the new one exactly as the old one it wouldn't work. The green light on the GFCI would come on for a brief second and then go off, and the circuit breaker seemed to be making a quick buzz sound as soon as it was thrown on.

I know I have it wired correctly in terms of the line and the load positions. From previous posts I read I'm wondering if the problem is with the multiple ground wires tripping things. The old GFCI had all 3 ground wires connected to the screw on the bottom.

If this is the problem what is the best way to wire this outlet?

I think I know the problem...

It's not necessary to put GFCI on a fan or light unless it is in the shower.

The LOAD terminals are not for onward power to other points-of-use. The LINE terminals are for that.  Any GFCI is capable of protecting onward points-of-use; when you actually want that, you put it on LOAD.

It sounds like the last guy put both this light and the other bathroom's light on GFCI either out of ignorance or "because it's saferer".

I do believe that "saferer" has paid off.  One of the lights or the wiring has a ground fault.

I gather this never occurred to you, but it all adds up.  The old GFCI didn't trip because it was bad; it was doing its actual job.  You replaced it, and the new one also tripped because it was doing its job.

How to test or replace a GFCI so that doesn't happen

First, if a GFCI refuses to not trip, you must remove everything from the LOAD wires before you can meaningfully test it.  Obviously if you remove a downline from the LOAD terminals and suddenly the GFCI behaves properly, the removed downline has a ground fault.

So that is one way to solve it: work the problem.

The other way is simply move the faulting load to the LINE wires and not worry about it... but that seems reckless. It's one thing to not bother to GFCI protect things that don't need it. But a whole 'nother thing to ignore a problem you know is there.  I mean if you did, and then a fire started there... you'd feel pretty dumb.


How can I hang a large but light poster on a concrete pillar? I have a large (est. 5'x7') sheet of plastic foam with a poster printed on it. It weighs maybe 3 lb and is reasonably stiff.

I'd like to hang it on a solid rectangular concrete pillar about 2' wide. The pillar is rough but flat and is covered with paint. Everything is indoors, in a large office building.

I'd avoid drilling concrete for such a light load.

One way would be using large amounts of 2-sided adhesive tape: 5'x2' contact area seems enough. Will such attachment last?

What are other options?

Actual solution

I used 10 Velcro-based adhesive 3M stripes (2 packs of 5 stripes, ~$10 total) which stuck to the concrete quite well, and made mounting/adjusting the poster rather easy. Multiple points of contact hopefully provide some redundancy for the case of any one strip unsticking.

Tape and concrete don't really mix that well.  It might initially hold, but it will eventually let go.

The best solution is to drill a hole and use a light concrete anchor or concrete nail.  Alternatively, you can use a special metal band that wraps the pole and has an attachment on it (sorry, I don't know the exact name of these) - they are often use for street signs like in the below image.

Image Source: http://isostainless.com


Expedient repair for water damaged drywall behind tile I set out to repair cracked grout at the top of a course of tiles on the wall immediately above my bathtub. After scraping out all the damaged grout I discovered that the only other thing holding the tiles in place was the caulking between them and the bathtub itself. I removed the tiles and found water-damaged drywall -- not cement board -- behind them. Each individual tile had been attached directly to the drywall with globs of a brown substance which I think is construction adhesive (it's definitely not mortar). The water damage caused the drywall paper to disintegrate, so the glue no longer had anything to hold them to.

Fig. 1 Bathtub with the lowest course of wall tiles removed, showing damaged drywall behind.

All of the rest of the grouting and caulking is in good condition, and the tiles one course up are still firmly attached to the wall; they don't wiggle at all when I push or pull on their bottom edge.  I think this means the water damage doesn't extend upward from the crack very much.

After removing all of the ruined drywall paper, allowing the gypsum itself to dry out for 12 hours with a dehumidifier running full blast right next to the wall, and then lightly scrubbing the surface with a dry brush, it looks like the gypsum itself isn't completely ruined.  It's cracked, chunks are missing at the bottom, and many of the nailheads are rusted out, but it seems to be fairly solid overall still.

Fig. 2 Close-up of damaged drywall immediately after removing tiles and most of the drywall paper.

Fig. 3 The same stretch of damaged drywall after drying for 12 hours and then cleaning the surface.

I would normally call a professional for this, but my area is under COVID-19 quarantine and I don't want to make someone come to my house unless it's absolutely necessary.  Also, I suspect a professional's idea of a proper fix would involve removing several more courses of tiles and possibly redoing the entire tub surround, which I cannot afford right now.

Online general advice for this sort of problem (e.g. this article) seems to be "cut out the damaged drywall, replace with cement board, tape and mud over the seam, re-set tiles with thinset and grout as normal."  The problem with that idea is, the seam ought to go somewhere underneath the second course of tiles from the bottom. But I don't want to remove even one more course of tiles myself if I can avoid it, because that would involve removing the soap tray (which is probably glued to the tiles with more construction adhesive) and I don't think I can manage that without breaking either it or the tiles or both.

So, my question is, what is the most expedient way to repair this damage without removing any more tiles?  I have two ideas myself, which I invite you to poke holes in:

Given that the drywall isn't completely wrecked, just build the surface back up with thinset mortar applied directly to the gypsum, to the point where the tiles will be flush with their neighbors.
Cut out the damaged drywall right at the bottom edge of the second course of tiles.  Install a strip of cement board, but don't tape and mud over the seam between that and the remaining drywall.  Do cover the exposed surface with mortar as thoroughly as possible.

I would prefer (1) because it doesn't involve going out and buying cement board (and having the store cut it for me, because I don't have the tools for that).

This only needs to be good for three to five years, because we're probably going to have the whole bathroom redone after that anyway.

The house was built in the 1930s; the bathroom was probably last redone in the 1970s.  I bring this up because I suspect whatever's behind the drywall is not standard balloon-frame studs.

EDIT: I am fully aware that a "proper" fix would involve replacing considerably more of the wall.  However, that is not an option under the circumstances.

Sorry, there is no shortcut here.  It's likely damaged well beyond what you can see and the only fix is to tear that all out, remove the drywall that is likely crumbling, replace/repair any studs, check the bottom plate and subfloor for damage, and then restore the entire thing.


Non-contact voltage tester can't find cause I am working in my unfinished, detached garage (North American wiring). It has two 110/120 volts, neutral, and ground coming into a mains breaker and then to breaker box for the garage.

I have two sets of ceiling lights, each set has two sockets for standard bulbs. I wanted to, and have removed the wiring from between the breaker box and one set, and had planned to join that set to the first set so I had 4 light sockets on a single breaker. The breaker is 20 amp and is currently connected with armored and rubber sheathed wire. I think 12/3 or 14/3 but only one of the hot wires is actually hot and the other one you can see, for all circuits is cut and coiled inside the breaker box when you take the breaker box panel off.

The problem I am having is that right now I have one set of lights, two ceiling sockets that are connected to each other. They are not connected to any circuit anymore or anything else. My chirper (non-contact voltage tester) is giving me chirping / lighting on the ground wire. This wire only connects two disconnected lights. I am getting the same alerts on rubber coated armored sheath of the 12/3 / 14/3. I am also getting this on  the studded metal plates that connect the wood joists. Ironically I'm getting this from wood itself. This aside from the armored wire, this seems contained to a 4'x 4' area of the ceiling joists. It also seems to be inconsistent in that sometimes it lights constantly but sometimes it doesn't.

I can't find the cause of this problem and I am concerned to work on these wires or outlets now. I have tried turning off different circuit breakers to find the cause but it seems like it's not any one circuit and circuits that are nowhere near that area still trigger it.

To sum this up, I have two light sockets that disconnected from everything but each other so there is no current and I am getting alerts on the ground, the junction box, the armored wire interconnecting them, the studded metal plates holding wood joists together and the from wood itself and I can't find the cause.

I have traced and tested everything in that area. I would bet there is no mystery wire I have missed and it's an unfinished ceiling so it's very easy to see all wires. I'm stumped.

Looking forward to replies.

A non-contact tester is wholly inadequate as a stand alone test instrument. In the right and skilled hands it can be of assistance and reduce the overall trouble shoot time.  In an amateur's hands it is useless. For an amateur it can tell you if voltage is present in a lamp cord of hot side of a receptacle, very little more.  It was never designed to do more.  A genuine VOA meter is a minimum to look for faulty wiring problems. Big Box stores is a good place to get one. P.


Move vanity location and far away from plumbing I am remodeling the bathroom and the old vanity was on the left side of the wall

The old vanity was only 24" wide so I want to make it longer by turning it side way to the back wall so I can fit a 60" vanity:

I have to put the sink far the right side because the left side is next to the toilet.

My questions are:

The drain is going to be far away. Is it OK to have the sink about 3-4 ft away from the drain like that?
The left side of the vanity will be drawers or cabinets. I think the door will hit the toilet. Is there a way (or idea) to work around that?

Thanks.

UPDATE 1

This is the old layout of my 7.5x9.5 bathroom

Old photos

Here is my proposed layout

The main changes are:

Move door to the right a bit to accommodate longer shower space
Curbless shower
Bigger vanity on the back wall instead

You need to have a clearance between vanity and toilet of 15" measured from the center of the toilet towards the side

You can relocate the plumbing toward the left side of the wall and install the vanity sink there. You can have the drawers on the opposite side to make possible to have them open


How do I remove this Schlage double-cylinder deadbolt with no visible screws? Does anyone know how to remove this dead bolt that has no screw heads to use a screw driver? Here's a picture below.

Those are just metal "caps" that push into the screw heads..

The screws are located under those metal "pins"
The metal pins are actually screws that have metal caps pushed into them so they look like you can't unscrew them.  Take a very sharp small screw driver and pry under those caps and they will pop off revealing the screw head.

See here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxtUFCHXBF0


How do I get this shower head holder off the wall? Please see images below. The whole unit is loose and needs tightening but I have no idea on how I remove it ? Can anyone help?
I’ve inserted a screw driver into the small hole and was advised that this should come off but nothing happens when I put the screwdriver in.
Thanks

These can definitely be challenging. Some manufacturers use a Philips screw, while others use an Allen screw. At least, these are the 2 most common types. Either way, remember they're used in an area that is damp and some corrosion may build up in the slots or hole, so you may need to use a little more upward or downward force, opposed to turning force, into the set screw than usual when turning.
So, if you only tried using a Philips screwdriver, try using a variety of metric and standard Allen wrenches.
Good luck!


Multiple motion sensors for multiple led strips wiring im trying to prepare a wiring schema for my home lighting:

Lobby sensor should control only lobby led strip.
Stairs upper sensor should control lobby and stairs led strips.
Stairs lower sensor should control only stairs led strip.

Can I achieve that only with wiring or I need extra relays and when yes then which ones?

You can do this with four diodes:

But you need to find out what size diode part you need to dissipate any heat generated by forward resistance. This will depend on the current used by the LED strips.
This circuit isolates the sensor outputs from each other. If the sensors are tolerant of back-feeding when switched off, you can replace the two diodes marked "*" with wires.
If you can't or won't use diodes, you can use a 12V DPDT relay -- a very commonly available part.

Here you can see that when the "stairs upper" sensor is off, the "lobby" sensor controls the "lobby" LED and the "stairs lower" sensor controls the "stairs" LED through the normally-closed (relaxed) relay contacts.
When the "stairs upper" sensor is on, the relay steals the LED feeds from their respective sensor outputs and connects them both to the "stairs upper" sensor output through the normally-open (energized) relay contacts.


How do I install a sink in a room that doesn't have a drain vent? I want to install a sink in my attached garage where there is no existing plumbing.  I will be running new water supply and drain pipes to mains behind a nearby wall.  I'm concerned I will need a drain vent to avoid a slow or gurgling drain.

What is a good design to avoid plumbing problems once installed?

Yours is a not uncommon problem, so a solution does exist. For example, how might one vent a sink in an island in the center of a kitchen? I looked online, and it seems there are two common solutions. You can use what is called a vacuum breaker, which lets air into the line to prevent slow/gurgly drain problems without allowing sewer gases into the area. The second option is an island loop vent. Both are described clearly in this link:

http://www.familyhandyman.com/DIY-Projects/Plumbing/Kitchen-Plumbing/how-to-plumb-an-island-sink


Acid Water Neutralizer - How To: AquaPure Neutralizer use and maintenance I recently purchased a new home and it appears to have come equipped with an Aqua-Pure Acid Water Neutralizer system, model APUN100 (not APUN100-LW as that seems to be the only thing I can find searching Google and appears to possibly be a newer version?).

The previous owner did not leave behind any literature regarding this system and I'm not familiar with the usage, maintenance, or even truly the purpose.

I'm looking for some information on how to actually make use of this system; do I need to fill it with something like you would a Water Softener system? Does this do the same thing as a Water Softener system? Is there specific maintenance that I should be preforming regularly or is this more of a hands off system?

Our property does draw its water from a well, and I have noticed that the water appears to have a high iron content. I haven't officially tested this yet, but we did have to clean green stains out of all the bathroom fixtures, and when we boil water on the stove, there's a rusty brown ring left behind in the pots(it actually left a brown residue on a lot of our baby bottles when we tried to sterilize by boiling). The water appears clear from faucets but is a little cloudy(white) when filling bowls or pots. Would this Acid Water Neutralizer help reduce the iron content if I were able to get it operational again or should I be looking into something else entirely?

"Clear water iron" would be a search term to help you understand that side of the problem. While it can be treated, an acid neutralizer is not going to treat it - it needs to be oxidized (aeration/spray or chlorine are typical approaches) and then filtered out.

An acid neutralizer (generally, no idea on your specific model) does pretty much what it says, often by using a bed of limestone chips (low tech and simple) or possibly a more soluble alkaline chemical. The probably closely related "APUN100-LM" manual does say "Media, calcium carbonate" which is fancy language for limestone; you'll just need an appropriate size (too coarse, not enough surface area - too fine, doesn't stay in the filter housing.) Actually, I think that -LM nomenclature simply means "less media" (it's shipped without any, you source it locally) so that probably IS your manual.

Since the green stains in the plumbing  are from your copper pipes corroding, it's probably a good idea to get that working again or functionally replaced - especially if your copper plumbing is old enough to have been assembled with tin/lead solder. Acid water dissolves copper and lead, which both poisons you and will eventually perforate your pipes.


Replacing standard light switch with dimmer I have a standard light switch (on/off) controlling my living room lights, that I would like to replace with a dimmer switch.

Pulling the old light switch off, I can see that it's connected like so.

Two live wires going into L1, and one live wire going into L2.

I took note of this and wired the dimmer switch in the same way.

However, when restoring power and trying the switch, it doesn't work at all, as if no power at all is making it to the light.

I've ensured that the connections are in properly and secure. I've since fitted the old light switch again and it's working, so I know I've not damaged anything while replacing it.

Any suggestions, or does this look like a duff switch that I'll need to return?

I'm in the UK, if that helps explain the wiring.

L2 isn't L2 any longer

L2 was clearly one of the outputs on your old dimmer -- it isn't on your new dimmer.  The output on your new dimmer is marked by the sine-wave-with-an-arrow-through-it (aka variable sine wave) symbol -- so put the wire from L2 into that port, and things should work.


NM wire melted in attic Installed 2 years ago, 12/2 NM on a 9 pack bank of high bay t5's at 216 watts each. Started tripping breaker (after it melted) and found wire melted in attic under 2 ft of insulation. (This was new construction) Between rafters, 2 ft from any other wire etc, it was three way switch and this wire was the switch leg. After looking around also found that traveler was burned but not shorted yet. Replaced all of this and turned on, my meter reads 18 amps which is a little higher then it should be but well in the realm of safety factor. This is the only thing on this circuit, 20 amp breaker. Can't believe it happened and also can't believe it didn't burn the place down. Any theories? Thanks.

They sell  "850 watt" power supplies for gaming PCs.  When you look at the power supply sticker (we're talking the responsibly built, UL listed ones), they indicate 10A / 1200VA.  How much power do you need to provision to such a machine? 1200VA, not 850VA.  The difference is conversion losses inside the power supply (which is why power supplies have fans), including power factor.

So I'm a little skeptical of where this "216 watt" figure came from.  It is precisely a multiple of both 6 and 4, and "36 watt" and "54 watt" are standard ratings for fluorescent tubes.  However, extrapolating from nominal tube spec totally disregards:

over-unity ballast factor (meaning the ballast drives the lamp harder than its nominal spec)
internal ballast inefficiencies and conversion losses
power factor of the ballast (VA vs watts; you must provision VA).

I also don't put a lot of weight on your 18A (2A per fixture?  Exactly?) number.  I would be happier if you obtained a Kill-a-Watt meter and plugged one of the fixtures into it, and see how it actually performs at operating temperature.  Look at amps, and VA.  (Watts is useless).

I think you will find you have significantly oversubscribed this circuit.

The cable being under a carpet of insulation isn't helping either, but I'm not an expert on Romex installation rules, so I leave that to others.

Continuous loads must be derated to 125%

Lighting is a continuous load.  So it must be derated: you must provision 125% of the VA that the lighting actually requires: NEC 215.2a1.

Another way of looking at this is, if all the loads on a circuit are continuous loads, a circuit can only support 80% of breaker rating.  So a 20A circuit is good for 16A only.  (16A * 125% = 20A).

Even with your perfect 216W number, your 9 lights would draw 16.2 amps (they don't) and that's a tick over limits.  In actuality I think you will find your lights are even more than 2.00 amps each, so over 18A requiring you provision over 22.5 amps of power to the circuit.   Upsizing to 10AWG wire would reduce your wire overheat, but you would not be allowed to upsize the breaker to 30A, because you are not allowed to put NEMA 5-15 or 5-20 receptacles on a 30A circuit (table 210.21B3).

Break it into 2 circuits

The most straightforward solution here is peel off 3-4 of these lights onto a separate circuit.  And, you know, if you want to be able to switch some of the lights separately from the others, this is a great time to do that.

Or... switch to 240V

Pull down a light and read the labeling carefully.  Given these T5 lights are super popular in Europe, and given trends in the lighting industry to make multi-voltage ballasts that work on 100, 120, 208, 240 and 277 volts, chances are these luminaires are already capable of running at 240V.

So convert the circuit to 240V. The switches won't care. The lamps won't care.

The plugs and sockets must be changed from NEMA 5-15 to NEMA 6-15 or 6-20.  (they look practically the same and use the same cover plates).
The lighting circuit must be punched down onto a 240V breaker
White wires in conduit must be replaced with colored wires.
White wires in cables must be taped black or any color at both ends.

What will this do to wire heating?  It will cut current in half, which will cut voltage drop in half, which will reduce wire heating by 3/4.   it's a very good deal that should solve your overheat problem.  As long as you don't add even more lighting or other loads.


Should I replace fallen gutters? This past winter a heavy snow fall ripped two sets of gutters off our house, and I haven't had a chance to re-hang them yet.  One is over our back door and it's really annoying having the running off hit you when you step out the back door, so they will be replaced as soon as I can.

The other set was over top of a flower bed at an inset corner (so there is a steady stream of water during a heavy rain formed where the two sections of the roof come together).  The only place the water seems to go is into the bed, about a foot from the base of the house. If I can avoid replacing them, I'd like to, but I don't want to risk a bigger issue down the road.

Do I need to replace this second set? Am I risking long-term damage to the foundation or some other issue I'm not thinking of?

You could be risking damage to the foundation. It depends if the bed is properly graded or not. If the bed is graded properly, the water will run away from the house and the foundation. If not, the water could run towards the house.

After a heavy rainfall, see if the foundation concrete close to the dirt looks wet. If it stays wet looking for long after the rest of the foundation has dried, it could mean that water is running towards the foundation.

If that's the case, you have 3 options:

Fix the gutter.
Regrade the bed.
Run the risk of your foundation possibly being affected.


Risks of blocking loft hatch? I am looking to have a built in wardrobe installed but having it where I want would mean blocking the loft hatch.

Are there any risks to not having access to the loft?

I think it's unwise to block access. There's a few reasons I can come up with, just off the top of my head.

if your roof is leaking, you need to get in there to see what the root of the leak is
electrical or plumbing upgrades frequently need attic access
if you get a creature problem, attic access is sometimes needed for trapping/mitigation
you might want to add insulation in the future
bath or kitchen fans might need replacement in the future

You can have a closet unit designed that allows access with a bit of disassembly.

If you don't want to go that route, a different hatch could be made, but there's carpentry and cost associated with that.