How can I remove the bolts holding down my utility sink? I have a utility sink that is sitting on 4 legs, the front two bolted to my cement floor and I want to remove it.

I'm not sure what kind of bolts these are. From looking at different kinds of bolts online they might be carriage or timber bolts.

How do I remove these? Is it as simple as having a pry bar and working it under to pull the bolt up out of the floor? That's what I briefly attempted to do, but I'm overly
 paranoid of doing damage and complicating things.

Those look like concrete nails to me. Might have been hand-hammered in, but if it's somewhat recent, it was probably driven in with a powder-actuated system.

You don't usually try to pull these out. My advice is to cut/grind away the head. You can do this with a Dremel tool and an abrasive disk; it will take a while, but it's simple to do and easy to control.

Or, you can use an angle grinder. That will take away the head much more quickly, but it's a little harder to control. Make sure to use the screw-in handled if you do this.

Once the head it gone, remove the sink, and then either cut off the protruding fastener or just grind it away.


Can anyone identify this mystery outlet? I found a mystery socket thing in my cupboard and I was wondering what it is. Here are some pictures of the front and inside the box.

That is an older style UK "unswitched cable outlet", also known as an "unswitched flex outlet". The current style have a cable exit point at the lower edge, not the middle of the faceplate. They are typically rated for 20A.

It is used for permanently-wired electrical-loads such as heating systems (boiler, immersion heater, etc). It is likely some device was removed from inside that cupboard and the cable disconnected. It might be a dedicated circuit with it's own circuit-breaker in your main panel ("consumer unit").


Can I remove this truss cross-bracing? I am in the process of adding some plywood decking to the floor of part of my attic, which is built from webbing-style trusses.   In the picture below, the cross-brace marked with yellow arrows is a real thorn in my side, impeding travel from one area to another.  How can I know if it is structurally required, or just a remnant of temporary bracing before the attic/roof was complete?  Those exact same trusses are cross-braced at least 4 other ways, not counting the roof sheathing, or the 1x4 furring strips I installed below my flooring.

I'm worried that the green splotches of spray-paint are in someway meaning 'permanent cross-brace is needed here'.  :(

(Please ignore the shoddily draped phone & cat5 wires, and the not-yet-nailed-down plywood flooring-- this is a work in progress.)

[EDITS: Added second picture for Bryce, and 3rd & 4th pictures for shirlock homes.]

Outside view of garage, showing roof-line, truss orientations, and brace orientation.
Note that all of the trusses in the house run in this same orientation, regardless of what the roof-line is doing.

View of garage ceiling, showing brace position relative to trusses.

Only the truss designer can say for sure whether they are required or not. A structural engineer might not be able to fully calculate the load transfers in the trusses, as they will only be able to estimate the joint strengths.

I'd hazard a guess that they are required or they'd not be there. From what I can tell from your photo (though it isn't quite clear), it looks like it could be one of the bracings that are required (in the UK at least) by the accepted standards for trusses (for an example, see here: NHBC pitched roof guide).

I'd be reluctant to remove it without first ensuring that you have sufficient equivalent bracing in place.


Outside sub panel between meter and breaker box On the front of the house I have a meter and below it is a sub panel. I open the cover and there is a single switch in the middle of the panel (looks like a giant light switch) and it is spring loaded. You cannot turn it off. Can you tell me what is the purpose and how to turn off?

From the description, not a sub-panel, but a main disconnect switch.

Unclear why you are having trouble switching it off - if having trouble switching it ON, you might have a problem causing it to trip (they are almost always circuit breakers, not "merely switches")

It probably will take considerable force to switch off, but you should not need (nor use) a prybar or hammer on it. ;-) A forceful and determined motion of the hand towards the "off" direction should suffice.


How do I connect or secure this 2.22 cm water filter pipe to my 2 cm faucet spigot? I live in Ontario, Canada, with Home Depot, Home Hardware, and Lowe's near me.

Before my family buys this water filter, I must verify that its pipe (photographed in 3 under) can be connected or joined to 1. How can I? The filter company suggested some adapter, but which? I know nothing about housework or home repair.

First off you will have to unscrew the end (#1 as you have labeled) it from the faucet riser pipe. This part that you are removing is commonly called the aerator. Then you will have exposed male threads on the faucet pipe. If you are extremely lucky you may find that your water filter with the female threads will screw right onto the end of the faucet pipe.

But be aware that there are a plethora of sizes faucet pipe threadings for aerator attachments. This type of size gauge (which you may find hanging on the faucet parts aisle of some hardware stores and home stores) can give you an idea of just how many common sizes there are available.

Note that you can indeed sometimes find special adapters that convert from one size of aerator thread to another. A specialty plumbing store may be able to help but I would suggest that you start with your water filter manufacturer or supplier first.


Will this isolating valve allow me to change a radiator valve without draining down? One of the valves on my radiator (circled in red) has seized and my attempts to open it have snapped off the flat part of the head, so it now needs replacing.
My plan is to turn the isolating valve next to it to the vertical position and the other radiator valve (pictured for completeness) to zero.
Will this allow me drain just the radiator so I can change the valve circled in red?

Yes, that will work.
Just take care draining the rad, as the "water" can come out black and it stains anything :)


No hot water, but exhaust blower running continuously This morning I went to take a shower and there was no hot water. I went to the basement to check on the water heater, and found the exhaust blower is running continuously but no hot water is being produced.

The exhaust blower has been running for over hours now, but still no hot water. Every minute or so the water heater makes a clicking noise.

I guess I will have to have a repair guy come in and take a look at it. But it there something obvious I should be looking into first?

Also, is it OK just to leave the blower running for hours and hours, or should I unplug the heater?

I'm guessing a high temperature switch has failed and needs to be replaced. I'd turn off the fuel source and power until it can be repaired to avoid wearing out the motor.


Retrofitting a remote opener into a garage-gate motor Our garage door is already powered, but to initiate the opening (and closing) of the gate, one must get inside the garage and push one of the three buttons:

Open
Close
Stop

How hard would it be to retrofit a remote there -- to either replace the existing three-button "console" or complement it? Ideally, the addition will be usable with one of the three remote buttons in our cars...

Are there ready-products or kits, that someone reasonably comfortable with wiring in general can install in a matter of hours?

Illustrations

The buttons panel:

With cover on:

With cover removed:

The actual motor (by Westinghouse):

The controlling unit next to the motor

With cover on (you can see the motor's side on the picture). The circular seal on the front claims membership in DORCMA, which, apparently, is now part of DASMA.

With cover removed -- no schematics inside, unfortunately:

The voltages between the photographed wires are thus:

Yellow and Red: 27.63V (AC) with the gate closed, 4.88V with the gate open
Yellow and White: 3.85V (AC) with the gate closed, 27.93V with the gate open
Yellow and Blue: 0 regardless of the gate's position

In honesty retrofitting a remote into a very old system is not always the best method.
Replacement of the gate opener system in whole provides for more options.  I would assume since it was not shown that you do not have as-built wiring diagrams of this current system.
With out diagrams it will require testing and and a new diagram made to retrofit a new control properly.  Once a wiring diagram exists then based on what is shown options from commercial sources to do-it-yourself controllers exist.
I am building a remote gate controller WIFI based with IPhone control Iphone control using an Arduino.  It is a simple remote control relay setup.
Another is a simple relay control working via web Web control that could act as switches in place of the buttons. and can be controlled by web page n a smart phone.
Several companies make commercial versions of smart phone controllers.  Some designed to work on the 433Mhz remote control type garage openers common in newer vehicles.  According to documentation HOMELINK is 310Mhz.

If the wiring in this image matches what you have installed, then three relays could be wired in parallel to the switches once the control voltage is determined.
These could be controlled then by older HOMELINK relay controller types, finding the best HOMELINK relay controller for three devices is the hard part.
I know the X10 system made a standalone relay driver control, single relay.
As well there are single relay receivers on the 315Mhz frequency but if they will react to the HOMELINK controls is not clear.

Another option is to make a bridge to a newer controller using some thing like X10 to INSTEON converter
This may offer ability to convert X10 to control a Insteon switch.  Three switches wired in parallel across you manual push buttons, if buttons need more current or higher voltage then a relay board is offered.  If they are AC 115 then a appliance control could be substituted.
Smartenit EZX10RF INSTEON / X10 RF Wireless Sensor Receiver
I/O Linc™ – INSTEON® Low Voltage/Contact Closure
Interface (1 In/1 Out)
Model: 2450


Cutting structural steel I have a few 8-9m lengths of 200x100 rectangular hollow section (5mm) and 150x150 equal angle (10mm) sitting outside. These are to be used to maintain the strength of a brick wall which is having openings cut in it. (The steel has been specified by an engineer and the engineer's design has been signed off by the local authority.)

I'd like to explore cutting this steel to length myself. I have a 100mm angle grinder and 80mm cut-off tool, both air powered, and a suitable compressor. I suspect both of these may be undersized for the steel I am working with.

I am willing to obtain tools and learn skills in order to do this, if it's reasonably practical.

What's the best way to cut 5mm and 10mm steel safely and in a reasonable period of time? Although the steel is currently sitting outside I am able to run an air line or electrical power to it easily.

Grinder is best tool for this job....maybe even you can use the one that you have just make sure you have several plates in order to complete the job. If your grinder isn't enough 115mm one is big enough for sure....When you cut it don't just go straight down like you are cutting a butter but once you cut through wall on one side rotate your beam (or column, whatever that might be) for 90 degrees and repeat this for all 4 sides. But be really careful grinder is really dangerous tool unless you are skillful. It can be heavy and can slip from the thing you are cutting which may lead to injury. Also be extra cautious about the sparks....they can set things on fire, so make sure that anything flammable isn't around.


Why is my new house making me sick? I just moved into a new house and my son and I have been experiencing tightness in the chest and asthma.  When we leave the house and are out and about; the symptoms are gone.  Our bathrooms have no windows and the exhaust fans are in the ceiling. I assume since the house was built in 2006 that the fans are vented through the attic roof, but I was wondering if it could be causing mold in the attic.  Our symptoms are of concern, since we know something in the house is making us feel sick. Do exhaust fans need to be cleaned regularly?

Exhaust fans are made out of metal and plastic.  Very very hard for mold to grow there.  Mold will pick out a more organic material - like drywall.  You should clean your exhaust for dust every year or at least check on it but not for mold.

I doubt if you have symptoms coming from your house that it is your exhaust or attic.  Now attic could have mold - I don't know - but it wouldn't have a great affect on you unless there was air blowing into your house from attic or the problem was absurdly bad.  But going up to the attic is 20 mins of your life - so just do it so you have peace of mind.

I would look at the shower area or ceiling and then check out other parts of the house.  I wouldn't discount it being something other than mold either.


Is it safe for my house's main carrying beam to be two separate beams? My house is 115 years old. The floors slope towards the center in every direction. I just discovered the main carrying beam is not continuous from the front of house to the back. The first is about 15' in length, the second is about 10' (I'm guessing). The 15' beam has a support column, then theres a second column that supports both beams where they meet.

There is a gap between the beams, about 1/2". Is this safe? Is this part of the cause of the sloping floors? Should it be replaced with one continuous beam?

We’ve learned a lot about construction in the last 115 years since your house was built.

We use to just worry about holding everything “up”. Now we design for vertical loads and horizontal loads (seismic and wind loads). We also worry about the performance of the structural systems over time...including shrinkage of materials.

Your beam (and gap between the two beams) is fine, but you should consider: 1) adding steel connectors to tie the beams to the posts, and 2) anchoring the posts to the foundation, and 3) jacking the beam up, if the floor is so far out of level that it’s noticeable.

1) It’s important to tie all structural members together so that during a seismic event or wind storm they all stay together. I’d use something like this for the center post (and an “L” shape for the end conditions):
https://www.strongtie.com/shapes_specialtystraps/tandl_productgroup_wcc/p/t-and-l

2) The posts need to be secured to the foundation too. I’d use something like a Simpson Retrofit Post Base, like this:

https://www.strongtie.com/resources/product-installers-guide/rpbz-installation

3) Jacking the floor system up runs the risk of cracking plaster, tweaking the doors so they don’t close properly, etc. If it’s not noticeable that the floors slope, I’d skip trying to make the floors perfectly level.

When the house was built, it was common to use “green” lumber. Your beam is large enough that over the years it shrunk significantly (I’d guess up to 1”) as the beam dried out. It’s now stabilized, so if it’s not a problem now, it won’t be in the future.


How can I mount a television with wiring in the wall behind? My husband and I are mounting a tv. The stud finder shows some type of electrical wires by the stud we need to drill into. How can we safely drill into this stud without nicking any wires? Or should we just avoid the area in general?

The only way to be absolutely sure is to cut an access hole and get a visual on it. If you hit a wire, it will need to be opened up anyway. If you have access to a small inspection camera, you could get away with drilling a much smaller hole.


Why would the electricity intermittently trip out when turning on a light switch? I live in the UK and recently had some building work done (replastering, new light fixtures, new switches, laminate flooring, etc).  During the work the builders discovered a lot of dodgy electrical stuff and fixed things as they went.  However, after the builders left we discovered a strange electrical problem.

Sometimes (but not every time) when we switch on the light in the kitchen it causes the power for the whole house to trip out. It doesn't happen every time but it does occur fairly often - I would say there is 50/50 chance.

The switch that causes the problem was not changed during the building work so I don't understand how it can affect it.

The builders have been back out and double checked the light switches and fixtures and say all looks ok.  They say they cannot do anything about it because it doesn't happen every time.  The only solution, they say, would be to re-wire everything all over again.

Here's a photo of my breaker:

It sounds to me like the most plausible thing is that the builders installed some nails, screws or other fasteners to the wall or ceiling and punctured through some electrical wire causing an intermittent short circuit.

If the switching on of the kitchen light switch is what sets it off then you have already isolated it to a particular area of your house. It has to be a rather heavy duty short to cause it to trip your whole house breaker!!

Another thing to consider is that a fault of this type could very well be pretty dangerous. If the short was one that caused there to be live power present on the metal parts of any appliances or light fixtures this could be a very serious shock hazard.

There are tools that professionals can use to try to help find where shorts are located. Due to the potential serious safety issue involved with this I would strongly suggest that you get a professional electrician out to look into this problem as soon as possible. One reason for the urgency is that the short, where ever it is, may not be enough to always trip your whole house breaker but on the times where the breaker has not tripped the short could very well be generating a very hot connection which could lead a fire or burned out wiring. Take care of that call today.


How do I handle an unused light fixture junction box in a bathroom? I am in the process of adding a 3/4 bathroom to the upper of my house. The plumber just finished the rough in and all framing is complete. I am now looking at the electrical and I have a issue.
There are two lights on a three way switch, but one of these lights falls inside my new bathroom in the wrong spot so I need to eliminate it. I plan on a new ceiling light but it needs to be in a different location.
Can I eliminate the light then do what I need to do to the wires (cap),
put the wires back in the box, and then put a cover over the box leaving it visible? I will not bury the box or hide it or conceal it. The bath will have its own separate circuit when I am done.

Since it sounds like you have a major remodel project in process you probably have all the walls open too. The very best bet for the discontinued light would be to remove the circuit and electrical boxes entirely. This way you do not need to keep an ugly do-nothing electrical box cover on your wall or ceiling.

Keeping an unused electrical box accessible can be an extra burden if you are trying to put tile on the wall or finish a ceiling. Remove it and eliminate those PITA points.


How would you repair this window leak? I recently bought my first home and a few months ago when it rained heavily I noticed water leaking inside from under the bottom window molding.
I tried to recreate what was causing the leak and it happens when water is getting onto the sill and not from the master frame connection to the brick.
How do you recommend this be fixed? I've contacted a few window companies and most say the window needs to be resealed but I'm worried the problem is with the window itself.

So if I understood correctly the water enters between the sill and the master frame. Why not seal it with silicone and this tool (don't know the word in English)?
Use plumbing silicone or other silicone used for moist environments. Place the silicone generously and detract it with the tool shown. This should seal it thoroughly.


Can I use a heavy gauge extension cord from the wall to a UPS? I have a 900VA/480Watt UPS/surge unit, and it doesn’t quite reach the wall where I need to plug it in. I'm using it to power an iMac. The unit has a 3x16 AWG cord. Is there any harm or difference, in using a heavy gauge extension cord that matches or exceeds the original cord on the unit itself? Say a 10,12,or 14 AWG cord to connect it to the wall? Or even a 16 AWG cord (like the actual gauge with the unit)?

It's a heavy load like an air conditioner, so use an air conditioner extension cord.

Manufacturers can be greedy/cheap about sizing extension cords, using the absolute minimum UL requires for safety.  Bumping to the next size could cost them 25 cents a unit wholesale, which on 100,000 units, is real money.

Using a same-gauge extension cord is not a good idea, then you would be substituting 6 feet of 16AWG for 12 feet of 16AWG, and that is worse.


Home built in 2000 - Is this wall load bearing? Would love some help determining if this wall is load bearing. Pics and blueprints attached.

The two partial height walls (to the right with an archway in the top photo, and to the right with two pictures in the bottom photo) are definitely not load bearing.  However the columns at the end of them might well be.  (They may just be there to stop the partial walls flopping around.)  It is much harder to tell with the full height wall to the kitchen.  We need to see the roof timbers to be sure.


How do I repair this patio wall? My HOA doesn't want to do it and I need to sell this condo. Not sure how to tell if it is stucco or concrete. I have lots of experience with drywall repair, but never done this on the outside. What materials would be used? I'm thinking of just caulking/painting the cracks and patching the bad spot with stucco repair?

It could be stucco or cement, cement's just a little stronger. Some people just peel off the big pieces and glue them back on with Masonry Adhesive to then caulk and paint everything...pretty much a requirement so repairs aren't obvious. Here are some examples of how quite easy it is https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=stucco+a+block+wall

Or, you can screw the popped and pulled away pieces back to flat to then caulk and paint. Otherwise, it's actually much more forgiving than doing deep joint compound, keep laying it on in one-application, in this case, until you're flush. But, no shame in blowing $200 for a mason to do it if you don't have the time or experience and don't want the mess.


Can I wire LED light fixtures in parallel? I have 4 120 V 20 watt LEDs. I want to put them over my desk. They are the Lusa Lighting Model #33000 (If you want to see the PDF). They come with plugs so you can plug them in separately. I want 1 plug for all 4 of the LEDs and I'm wondering if it is safe to wire them in parallel.

I read that wiring LEDs in parallel draws more current and since I'm plugging all 4 into the same socket I don't want to put stress on it. I live in the U.S so our outlets supply 15 A of current. If I did my math correctly each one would only draw (20W / 120V) = 166 mA with a total of 664 mA.

Please tell me if this is safe and if I did my math correctly.

Based on the Lusa Lighting Model #33000 which are sold under Hampton Bay brand #148652 (For the 3 Bulb White kit), these are not LED lights. They are straight Halogen Light Fixtures.

Each of the Light is a standard 120V Halogen Bulb in a fixture, wired with a standard 2-prong outlet plug. The kit comes with a basic 3 to 1 power strip.

If you have 4 lights, 80W / 120V = 0.667 Amps, you can just use your own power strip instead of the included one. If you have 4 kits of 3, you need up to 12 outlets. Even with 12 20W fixtures, that is still only 240W, or 240W / 120V = 2 Amps.

You could wire them in parallel, but a Power Strip already does this for you, and is safer than wiring it yourself if you are not experienced.

Otherwise see How to connect multiple light fixtures to one switch?


How would I go about wiring a new light fixture where there are more wires than expected? There was a cap in the middle of the ceiling in my living room that I had always assumed was hiding an old light fixture or something.  There is a also a light switch that doesn't do anything in the room.  The room has no other lights except a stand light my kids love to knock over so I looked under the cap to see if I could install a new light.

Here is what I found:

And a few more pics

Why are there three sets of wires?  I can guess one is from the light switch and one is from the breaker.  What is the other one?  And how would I go about wiring a new light fixture to this?  Or do i back away slowly and pretend I never removed the cap.

Personally, I would put the cap back on and back away slowly.
IMO your only option is to call an electrician to come and replace that old iron box and strip back on the cable to expose fresh insulation (not always a sure thing though).
Those old "boxes" give you no place to attach a modern fixture safely, and have absolutely no room for the wiring. They took into account that old fixtures had huge canopies that would contain the wiring.


How can I minimise damage to a moldy patch of plywood? I removed a waterproof camping bag in my student appartment today that's been filled with stuff to find that it has left a moldy spot on the untreated plywood it stood on. It's been parked up right next the door/window.

I guess the damage has already been done since I think the white stuff may be mold, but is there anything I can do to minimise any further harm?

(It's darker than it looks in the picture)

A dilute solution of bleach sprayed on it will kill and neutralize the mold. Then wire brush the damaged spot. If you want to prevent this later, seal the plywood with something, primer or polyurethane.

(While bleach contains chlorine which is not good for you, the chlorine is volatile and quickly evaporates. It is typically used by brewers to sterilize equipment for this reason.)


I cleaned a cast iron bath tub with a toilet bowl cleaner The toilet bowl cleaner cleaned it beautiful, but then it stated turning brown or rust colored and I want to know something to clean it with, that will clean it and the brown won't come back.

The bowl cleaner temporarily removed the tubs resurfacing rust; an increasingly browning film stain. But probably too well; also dissolving away some of the tub's enamel. You'll want to find a balance between removing just enough brown film stain routinely; while not dissolving too much enamel. I suggest a lesser strength acidic cleaner, and rinse it off sooner, and very thoroughly. Unlike your tub, toilet bowls don't have an under laying iron frame, so rust can't resurface... Good luck, take it easy, and think about a replacement tub sometime. Long term, I that's a better deal, than "painting it". I'd like to buy stainless tubs, sinks, and toilets.


Removing aluminum foil barrier/insulation backer in new hot roof My single-story ranch house was built in the 1950s, and the roof used to have insulation along the joists. In a fit of new homebuyer fever I switched to a hot roof with closed cell foam insulation all along the rafters.  The company removed most of the former insulation, but I still have a foil barrier, exactly like tin foil, stapled to the sides of the joists.

The foil isn't in the greatest of shape, as its soiled with 70 years of wear and tear: mouse leavings in some areas, spattered spray foam in others, and has holes, rips, and tears in various other places from fans, ducts, lights, and trips over the years.

There's even a part over a staircase where it hides a booby trap pitfall almost straight to the basement (!)

What was the purpose of this foil, and is it still doing its job now that the main insulation is in the rafters?  Can I remove it to further clean up after those pesky rodents?  Is it something that should be replaced and kept in good shape?

The purpose of the foil was as a radiate heat barrier and may have also held the original insulation in place. Now that you have insulated with close cell foam I do not see any problem with removing the foil. Like you mentioned you can get rid of the rodent leavings and reduce places where they can live and breed plus places where insects can also live. I would definitely fix the booby trap pitfall it sounds like a big safety concern.


How to prepare for a home service call from my DSL provider? My DSL internet connection has been very unreliable and slow recently.  I called my service provider this morning and they told me that they will be sending someone to my home this weekend to fix it.

They told me that he would be inspecting the hardware between my home and their office, and if no problem is found there, they said that he will be checking the wiring inside my house.  In the case that the problem is found in the home, I'm told that I'm looking at a minimum 85 USD charge.

I would like to know how to make the most of this service call.

Is there anything I should be checking in my home or researching prior to the service call?  Are there certain questions I should be asking or certain information I should provide to the technician to have the best chance of getting this fixed?

Let me provide some more details about the problem I'm trying to solve.

My home is a two-story house with a basement in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado, USA.  I've had no trouble with any of the utilities since moving in about 40 days ago.  I am paying for 20 Mbps service from Century Link.

A few weeks ago, I had a similar problem.  The technician told me that his computer indicated that my modem didn't have a good connection.  The problem seemed to be fixed when we tried connecting the modem to a different phone jack.  However, the problem came back today.  They said that they were going to do something on their end, but whatever they did actually made it worse!

Since all the telephone companies were deregulated, the practice is to have a demarcation point (which I'm really surprised no one else has mentioned yet). Most homes built within the last 20 years or so will have one, which will be a box or jack (often marked "DEMARC") marking the change in responsibility between their network and your in-house wiring.

Presumably, being a DIY site, you'd like to avoid being charged $85+ for something you can fix yourself, so there are really two steps to take:

Isolate the problem to either their equipment or something before the demarc, or your in-house wiring
If after demarc, isolate the problem to a particular jack

Connect your modem to the demarc

Best thing to do is disconnect all your house wiring from the demarc (usually it plugs in) and connect your modem to it, then run speed tests or whatever else. You may also want to try a different cable just to eliminate that.

Plug your PC/laptop directly into the modem if you can, to eliminate router/wireless, or at least plug your PC directly into to the router.

If you still have the problem, then it's either a problem with the wiring before the demarc, or your modem (both of which are the company's responsibility), or something on your PC/router (which they'll charge you for, and off-topic for this site).

If your Demarc is outside, you'll have to be a bit more creative, but at least you can just have one jack connected at a time (see the in-house wiring bit below).

Create a Demarc

If you have a wire that comes in and is directly hardwired to the house wiring, I'd suggest cutting it off and putting a demarc jack in (like the second picture).

Use a second jack to hardwire the rest of your house to, then a regular station cord to patch between the two. This also lets you disconnect the patch cable in order to do work on in-house wiring without worrying about shorting anything out or shocking yourself.

In-house wiring

If it's working at the demarc, the you've isolated the problem to the house. This could be much harder to diagnose.

If you have the same number of wires as jacks, then you have centralized wiring. If not, you probably have a harder-to-diagnose mess.

The new way: Star topology

If you're lucky, each jack will have its own cord coming back to a central location, where they'll probably all be connected together. Detach all but the one you're using (this may take some trial and error) and try the modem there. If it works, then there's a fault in another wire and you can isolate that one-by-one, or just leave it disconnected. Repeat for another jack or two in the house.

The old way: Branching/Daisy-chaining

Technically for phones to work, the ring and tip wires just need to be connected in parallel. Many times the jacks are all or partially daisy-chained, or even worse, there are junction points hidden in the walls, in whatever way works to make the shortest wiring possible. One of the problems with this is if there's a fault, it's extremely hard to find.

You pretty much have to follow the same steps -- trying to isolate lines -- but you'll have to disconnect wiring in the boxes around the house (and hope there are no hidden junctions).  It may be simpler to just run a new jack and new wiring from the demarc to the spot you need, and leave everything else disconnected.


Range tripped circuit now will not work Whilrpool electric Range, 6 years old.  While boiling pasta sauce and water on top of stove and heating oven, heard a pop and all power went dead.  Reset circuit but range will not power back up.  House is built in 1998.  Reset circuit several times, check all GFCI which are working properly.

Family of 6, range is used daily, this was very typical use.

Suggestions what to do?

Turn the breaker off, pull the range out, and unplug it.  Remove the access panel on the back (if there is one), and inspect the wiring where the cord attaches to the range. My guess is that you'll see one of the wires is disconnected, and/or one or more wires are charred/melted.

This is a fairly common problem, as I described in this answer. Depending on the amount of damage, the repair could range anywhere from simply replacing the cord, to replacing/rewiring the range.


How do I install a ceiling fan without creating holes in the ceiling? I wanted to install ceiling fans in my house but there there were no existing outlets in the ceiling so I got an electrician to do it. He created 2 holes in the ceiling and 2 in the wall to run the wire through. These holes look ugly and they need lot of work to cover them up. I dont want to do the same thing in my master bedroom.

Is there any other way I can install a ceiling fan without digging holes in the ceiling or wall and still get the wires run inside the walls?

Repairing the holes in your walls doesn't need to be such a daunting task.  Have a quick look at this video on how to patch your drywall:

This Old House - Drywall 101

It will look far better in the long run if you let the wiring be run within the walls and learn how to patch them.  All told the drywall (you can often get small 2x2 boards for patch work at Home Depot), cutting knife, spreaders, joint compound (premixed)and tape will run you around $50.  By contrast running electrical in conduit will cost you just that much for the conduit alone and look far less appealing.


How can I find an interior wall from the crawl space? I want to run some component cables from one room to another by fishing down the wall into crawlspace and then back up the other wall.  When I'm under the house there's no way to tell where the inside of the wall is.  I've read about the trick where you pull up the edge of carpet and drill a pilot hole but in my case I just have tile so that doesn't really work for my application.  Whats a good way to tell where to drill from my crawl space?

One way to locate the wall base location in the crawl space is to go ahead and make the cutout for your component cable wall box and cover plates. Such wall plate may look similar to this:

Then using a long flexy drill bit of this type:

You can then drill down through the wall base into the crawl space. Leave the drill bit in the hole so you can see it in the crawl space.


How to loosen nut without damaging toilet shutoff I replaced the fill valve on a toilet and the connection stem on the replacement sticks out much farther than the original.  The toilet was installed 12 years ago using a solid supply line, so I need to replace that to reconnect it.  The nut holding the supply line to the shutoff valve won't budge.  There's probably some minerals in there, but I suspect the original installer used some serious torque to ensure it wouldn't leak.

The metal shutoff valve connects to a PVC feed pipe.  I can't figure out a way to secure the valve and leverage against that to loosen the nut.  I'm worried about damaging the PVC connection to the valve.

Any suggestions for how to solidly grab the valve in a way that I can put torque on the nut in relation to the valve, without stressing the valve connection to the PVC pipe?

I considered heating the nut with a torch to expand it, but I'm worried about plastic internal parts.  I also couldn't figure out a way to get Liquid Wrench into the threads, so I assume brute force is the solution.  If there's a better way, ideas are welcome.

I usually use an adjustable spanner to hold the body of the valve when tightening, or loosening, any valve.

This saves so much hassle as the supply pipe does not get kinked or its joint disturbed.

A good tip from the OP in the comments is to remove the knob as this permits a better purchase.

I use the type of adjustable spanner with flat parallel jaws adjusted by a rotating screw:

Borrowed image from https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142846365301


How thick should plywood be when building a desk? I'd like to build a desk from a sheet of wood and four metal legs at each corner. Appearance is not critical; a rugged built-from-scratch look is quite fine. Dimensions will be 1200mm x 650mm (47" x 26").

If I build this from plywood, how can I calculate how thick the plywood must be to avoid the desk bending in the middle?

In a perfect world, the desk is super strong - enough that I could sit in the middle (at 75kg/165lb). In a realistic world, it needs to hold two large monitors and various computer accessories, totalling no more than 20kg/45lb.

I've found a place that offers hardwood plywood at 15mm (0.6"), 18mm (0.7") and 25mm (1") thickness. How do I determine which thickness is sufficient for my plans?

I've assumed hardwood plywood is a reasonable choice, but softwood plywood would be 25% cheaper if I can get away with it.

Close to what you need, here's a shelf sag calculator. if you imagine each end is supported, a 4' shelf of 0.6" thick ply will hold 30 lbs without issue.

If you spent a couple more bucks and added a 2x2 frame around the underside of the plywood, it would be dramatically stronger. Here's a pretty simple example video (larger but you get the idea).


what size trowel should I use? I have an arabesque ceramic mosaic mesh sheet to apply as a kitchen backsplash. It's 10.5 in width x 15.5 in length x 8 mm thick. I am a first time DYI and appreciate your advice.

Thank you,

Jaz

1/4 or 1/8th inch notched trowel.  Really it depends on how thick the tiles are.  If they are thick mosaic tiles I would go with 1/4th inch.  If on the thinner side you want 1/8th.

You want good coverage but this is just a backsplash.  So looks and getting too much thinset in the cracks trumps the other stuff.  If I had a perfectly flat wall I would almost always use 1/8th.  You can give yourself more wiggle room with 1/4th but this also may make your install take longer.


Can ground wire be downsized mid run? I'm planning on running some schedule 80 PVC conduit in my garage to add extra outlets.  At the same time I want to ground the 2 post rack I have in my garage.  A few related questions that appear unique enough because I couldn't find answers online.

Everything I looked up says I need #6 ground from rack to panel to be "doing it properly".  Is #6 really needed?  The run is about 15'.

I was going to just run the ground in the PVC conduit for the outlets and use it as the ground for those outlets and the rack, any issues here?

Assuming the answer to the first question is yes; since I only need the #6 sized ground for the panel can I step down the ground to #12 or #14 (depending on size of circuit) with pigtails on the outlets?  Also, for the last outlet or two past the rack?  I know stepping down the hot and neutral lines is prohibited but what about the ground wire?
And while I'm asking questions, are there any distance from the floor requirements (or good practice) for mounting PVC conduit on the wall.

Thanks in advance!

The answer is no if you're looking for a simple answer.

More complex answer - What everyone is trying to say in the comments is that you can size the wire according to Table 250.122 in the NEC. This table allows you to size the equipment grounding conductors according to the breaker size protecting the circuit. Example - If your breaker is a 50A then you're equipment ground should be a #8 from beginning to end and there is no downsizing. Keep in mind that the NEC has a complete Article 250 Grounding and Bonded and is one of the most complicated Articles in the NEC.

In answer to part 3 of your question. There is no distance to floor for running PVC other than it should be installed in a correct and workmanship manner. Also it should be protected from any unnecessary damage. A full description is in Article 352 Rigid Polyvinyl Chloride Conduit Type PVC.


What causes a partial blackout? Last night, my neighborhood had a blackout, but for some reason, only half of the electrical circuits in my house went out. I was under the impression that there was only one main electrical feed going into a house. Can someone please explain how this works?

Check out this post:  http://www.homekb.com/Uwe/Forum.aspx/repair/35373/Service-Entry-Cable-caused-partial-blackout-in-my-house

  Your house is fed with two legs at 120
  volts each.  If you look inside your
  breaker box, you see three big wires
  coming in, red, black, white.  The red
  and black are legs of 120V, the white
  is the neutral.  Half your circuits
  are on one leg, half on the other.  A
  220V is on both.   The power company
  lost one of the legs and so did you.

Looks like what happened to you.


How do I break a shower tray silicone seal with limited access? I have a leaking pipe joint under my shower tray and need to remove the shower tray to gain access.  The side of the tray is sealed to the wall with silicone.  The top of this joint is covered by the bottom edge of the showerwall panel.

I've heard of a pneumatic sleeve or air wedge being used for this but can't find one long enough - the tray is 800 x 1400 mm.  Does anyone know where I could buy one or have any other ideas please?

I use dental floss , it will cut through just about any silicone adhesive/ sealant. Slip it in the crack and pull back and forth. I do this to remove equipment plaques on machines when updates are needed.


Automatic timers for 4-way switch, or how to automatically turn off lights in a stairwell We have a stairwell which goes from the first to third floor of the house, with a landing on the second floor. It's a straight shot all the way up, with the landing in the middle. There are switches at the top, bottom and on the landing, (there is a door to the second floor on the landing).

It's currently set up with two 3-way and a 4-way switch so you can turn the lights on and off from any of the switches. The problem is that these lights end up always being left on.

Any ideas on how to either replace one or all of the switches such that if the light is on for more than 10 minutes, it turns off?

Without any actual wiring diagrams or a picture of the wiring itself I would suggest a light with a presence sensor that has a timer inside.
Almost all lamps of this type turn on when power is applied to them, even though they don't sense anyone.
Set the timer inside them to 10 minutes and when you switch the light on it will open. After 10 minutes of inactivity it will shutdown. If the lights are switched off and and the sensor does not 'see' you, simply switch the light twice. Once for power off then for power on.

If you post a picture with the wiring, we might come with a better solution.


Can I install a Sharkbite shut off valve with only a half of an inch of copper to connect to? Will a Sharkbite connector still work if I have only a half of an inch of copper that it will connect to instead of the recommended 1 inch?

No.  You will need about 1 inch.  It will hit the stop at about 1 inch and slightly (very slightly) pull out after it hits the stop.  This is something that you don't want to mess with because if you don't have the correct length the bite action won't take.  Good thing is unlike a bad solder job on copper you will notice that you didn't hit the stop right away.

Instructions here.


Fridge popping breaker when plugged into garage outlets I moved a fridge into my garage.  After about 2 mos, it started popping the breaker.  I tried the other outlet in the garage, same thing.  I ran a heavy-duty extension cord to a storage room off the garage and it is working fine.  Just as an FYI, the home was built in 1986 and the fridge is a side-by-side about 10-yr-old.  There were no problems with the breaker when the fridge was in the kitchen. Also, I can run my electric weed eater and leaf blower off the outlets in the garage with no problem.

If it's a GFCI breaker, then it's common for fridges and GFCIs to not get along so well.

If it's not a GFCI receptacle, you'll want to make sure the fridge is not overloading the circuit. If you've added anything new to the circuit, then that may be the case.

If neither of these are true, then it could be as simple as the breaker going bad. They are a mechanical device, and can go bad.


How to increase part of existing internal concrete slab by 300mm I have a property with a 150mm (6") thick concrete slab throughout. The slab has a step down of approx 300mm / 1 ft, running the width of the house. This means the front rooms are at a higher elevation than those at the rear.

I want to connect a 3m^2 room adjacent to a front room, without a step between them. This requires raising the level of the connected room by 300mm.

The finished buildup over both slabs will be: 150mm PIR rigid insulation, 50-60mm screed (with wet underfloor heating) then tiles.

An added complication is there is a timber stud wall parallel to the step, with the base plate on the lower part, thermally decoupled from the slab it sits on using thermoblock. It is decoupled from the higher slab by 50mm PIR sandwiched between the stud wall and the higher slab to a height level with the upper slab.

What is a recommended way to raise the lower rooms floor level?

A couple of options I have thought of:

On top of the PIR, add 300mm of concrete. This would mean the upper layer of concrete was inside the thermal envelope of the building. Seems like a lot of concrete? And will cause lagging effects on the heating / cooling of the space - this might be a benefit though?
bound the borders/flanks of the connected room by 50mm PIR to a height of 300mm, then fill with compacted aggregates / hard core / rubble, possibly cap off with some concrete blinding and then have the 150mm PIR over that, level with the rest of the PIR in the front room.

Without thinking too deeply about it and just basing it off of similar circumstances I would fill with about 8" of compacted crush, lay 2" insulation, lay radient pipes and pour 2" of gypsum concrete. It's not as strong as standard concrete so the compactness of the substrate is critical. It's thermal characteristics is far superior. It's not suitable for basement slabs or slab on grade applications because they require a structural component. Another great feature of gypcrete is that is pretty much self leveling.


20 Amp Circuit with 15 Amp outlets I added an outlet to a bathroom. When I pulled the outlet, which was a 15A, that I was going to tie into it was wired with a #12. I checked the circuit and it is a 20 AMP circuit. It was part of a bathroom that was part of a GFCI. I thought maybe since the was a ground fault that it was okay to have the 15A outlet on a 20A.

I did a little more looking around comparing the circuit to the outlets. It appears that the 20A circuits are all wired with 15A outlets.

Is this a code violation or safety hazard?

Thanks,

Dave

Folks, folks...

15A outlets are totally legal on 20A circuits.

Because the NEC makes an exception specifically for that (National Electrical Code):

The exception is by careful plan. It would be stupid for electricians to have to carry two types of receptacles on their truck.  So UL (the listing agency) requires all 15A receptacles to have internal circuit paths good for 20A. This allows the same receptacle to be used in both 15A and 20A circuits.  It also allows two appliances totaling 20A to be plugged in at once, even though each appliance is less than 15A.  The extra copper is trivial, they still manage to sell these things as cheap as 60 cents apiece.

If you want a quality receptacle, buy one.  You can buy quality NEMA 5-15 (Mr. Horrified) for $3 and up.  You don't need to buy a NEMA 5-20 (Mr. Winky) to get quality, but it assures quality since cheapie 5-20's are not commonly made.


14 day skipper not advancing on Intermatic sprinkler timer I am trying to troubleshoot my sprinkler timer. There is a 14-day skipper wheel that has silver pins that you pull out on the days you want to water or push down on the days that you do not want to water. However, it seems like the wheel that tracks the days is not advancing.

I found this troubleshooting guide and in bullet #1, it says:

  The 107T119 silver pin goes at 12 midnight on large yellow dial. This pin advances the 14-day skipper wheel each day. Check for
  silver pin and check that it advances the skipper wheel. If pin is worn down, or missing, then buy new 107T119 pin.

I have tried to research and find what exactly this pin looks like. Is it these brass pins here? If so, I have plenty of them and that's what I use to set the time. I do not see a silver pin on my dial other than the silver pointer that points to the time.

The brass pins have a particular tab positioned to trip the actual switch that controls current to the valves. The silver pin they refer to has a different tab to drive the skipper wheel. They are not interchangeable. If you are missing the silver one, you need to procure another one and install it as directed.

If you cannot procure one, it might be possible to fabricate one based on the brass pattern. The only difference is probably the tab position. You will have to deduce somehow what proper tab position and shape that it would take to drive the skipper wheel. There is likely some protrusion under the skipper wheel that engages this tab, much like how the switch engages the brass tabs, except at a different position relative to the clock wheel.


My concrete is brittle like the density of a cookie I've started making some small decorative concrete objects. Like trays, potters, table legs, etc.
But recently my pours all go straight to the garbage bin.
The problem (or the symptom) is that the poured concrete breaks by looking at it, it breaks like a cookie, that soft.
The concrete that I used is bought, about, 8 months ago. It's translated called extra strong concrete mix. It has a water/mix ratio of 1,8/2 Liters per 20 Kg Mix. But since I use small amounts I've scaled it down to 0,09/0,1L per 1Kg.
Here are some of my thoughts and more detail:

In most molds I use black pigments. Could I over do it with the ratio and make it brittle?
I've got 60Kg of ~8 months concrete mix. Could it be old? I do have to crush big chunks from the bag.
Since I don't use the entire bag, and I work my way down the bag, could it be the cement is in top and sand in the bottom? Resulting in not getting a good mix scooping it out of the bag?
I've tried bigger and smaller water ratios. (the ration mentioned on the bag was way too little. It made it a bit wetter than damp sand.

Any tips are more than welcome :)

It’s too old.
An obvious clue is you stating you have to break up large chunks.
You may find it better to buy the separate components and mix your own mix.
This would mean you can get the cement fresh per batch. The other components won’t « age » so much or at all - thinking of gravel sand etc but any moisture content needs accounting for.


How can I fish cable through a 90 degree turn? I am looking to fish some Cat 6 network cables from the basement to the attic.

Initially, I was going to attempt using my bedroom's cold air return vent, but it appears that it's not a straight shot to the basement. There is a 90 degree turn somewhere, and I don't know how to use my 100ft. fish tool (or any other type of tool, for that matter) through it.

That is what I'm referring to the cold air return vent:

How can I achieve this before I find another solution?

Your "intake vent" is better referred to as a "return air vent in the stud wall cavity". The reason there appears to be a 90 degree turn in it is because there is! Behind the drywall, at the base of the wall, there is a hole where the floor would be, this transitions into a metal duct which travels back to your HVAC unit, just like you see if you open up your floor registers; the air is just moving the other direction.

I would not drill a hole for your Cat6 cable in the attic OR the basement in this stud cavity for this reason. Rather, pick an interior wall stud cavity where you have basement access (try the utility room) and there aren't preexisting electrical runs. Drill a hole from the attic and basement (alignment doesn't need to be perfect, just hit the same cavity). Use a paperclip & string from the top, and magnet from the bottom, to fish a line between the two. Then use that line to pull your Cat6 cable through.


Proper machine tool for sanding metal frame I have now laid bare a metal frame by following advise in a previous answer. Now I want to remove its white paint coating. I've briefly tried manual sanding (with P180 sandpaper), but this promises only little progress. The sanding is in preparation for painting the frame with a new color. The frame is approx. 60 x 60 cm with its bars' diameters at approx. 3 cm.

What type of grinding machine (for home use) and what type of sandpaper would be best for this task? And how will I know when I'm done before the new painting?

You do not need to strip all the existing paint off, though you can fairly easily with a chemical paint stripper if you want to.

You need only to remove the shine from the existing paint; what I call de-glossing, to prepare it for a new paint coat. You should be able to use the 180 paper to accomplish this, but utilizing successively finer grit paper will incrementally improve the look (smoothness, shine) of the new paint.


Cracks between ceiling and walls I live on the coast of North Carolina. The house was build in the 1986. I had mold under the house and places inside. I had a crew to get rid the mold in the house and replace the insulation and plastic under the house. The crawl space was sealed and a dehumidifier was installed under the house. I now have cracks between the ceiling and the walls. The laminate flooring seems to be separating. What might be causing this?

The problem is probably caused by the change in humidity.  Now that the crawl space is dry everything is drying out, once things are good and dry for several months then would be the time to repair the drywall cracks.the laminate flooring may be more of a problem now that it is drying out and shrinking hopefully it won't get worse and I would expect it to settle down within a month or two.


How to Recharge Manlift? I got my hands on an old Top Horse manlift. It looks pretty much just like this one. I tried plugging it in and turning it on and nothing happened. I think the batteries are long dead.

My question is: Can I recharge the batteries (it looks like there are 3 of them next to each other) using my car battery and car charging cables?

If yes, what would be the safe steps to charge all 3 batteries.

If no, what else can I do to get the manlift working again?

Much obliged to those who gave answers and comments. They were all very useful.

I ended up getting the manlift to work just fine by recharging its battery (there was only 1, it turns out) as if it were a car battery. It ended up working just fine.

Thanks again for all your suggestions.


Is an electrical box fill classified by wires, cables or conductors? Is a 12-2 NM cable counted as "3" (THREE) wires/cables/conductors since it has 3 wires in it or "1" (ONE) wires/cables/conductors?

According to 370-16 with this 3 X 3.5 X 2 box, I can put "8" (EIGHT) wires in the box (actually it's stamped 20.3 in^3), whatever a wire is defined as.

But, as pictured below, I have 9 (as per NEC I'm not counting the pigtails as they never leave the box). The outlet adds "2" (TWO), and how many do I add for each twist-cap?

Seems to me even the biggest box I can buy won't accommodate a simple 3-NM connection.

The picture below is just something I slapped together in the shop so I could visualize, IT IS NOT INTENDED FOR ACTUAL INSTALLATION! As you can see, I stripped all of the NM.

Each current carrying conductor  (hot, neutral) that enters the box, counts as one (1) box fill unit. All the grounding conductors together, count as one (1) box fill unit.  Pigtails do not count. The device counts as two (2) box fill units.

Total all the box fill units, and multiply by the multiplier listed for the conductor size.

Three 12/2 with ground is seven (7) box fill units, plus two (2) box fill units for the device.  That's 20.25 cu.in.


Wiring a light switch that only has one cable when the new switch (with neon indicator) has live and neutral both in and out I am replacing a light switch with one including a neon indicator. There is only one cable to the switch but the new switch has live and neutral terminals for both 'in' and 'out'. Which terminals do I use?

you can use this kind of connection (called switch-finder) with neon light connected in parallel to the switch: neon is on when fixture is off, neon is off when fixture is on.


Does a homeowner need a permit for electrical work in Massachusetts? Does a homeowner need to obtain a permit from the town in order to do electrical work on his own house in Massachusetts?  The unofficial answers I can find online (e.g., this forum and the websites of various towns) are all over the place, and apparently the answers one gets when calling town wiring inspectors also varies, so I am looking for an authorative source.  There are examples of towns saying that only licensed electricians can do wiring work (e.g., Stoneham and Wayland), but also many towns that say the opposite and issue permits to homeowners (e.g., Greenfield, Carlisle, and Marion), so I don't consider town web pages authorative.

M.G.L. ch. 143 §3L says that “No person shall install for hire any electrical wiring or fixtures subject to this section without … giving notice to the inspector of wires … by mailing or delivering a permit application form …”.  This seems to indicate that electrical work that is not for hire does not need a permit, but I don't know if it's the whole story.

The final paragraph of the same section of the law says that “Any person installing for hire electrical wiring or fixtures subject to this section shall notify the inspector of wires in writing upon the completion of the work. The inspector of wires shall, within five days of such notification, give written notice of his approval or disapproval of said work.”  Again limited to work for hire.

(In order to avoid localizing this question further, let's ignore the fact that individual towns may have stricter rules.  And it's obviously dangerous for a homeowner to do electrical work he is not qualified for, so many of us should hire an electrician for everything except the simplest work.)

The best (and possibly only) way to know if you need a permit, is to contact your local building department. Most folks at the building department are happy to answer such questions for homeowners, and are often willing to provide details and documents to help homeowners complete home improvement projects safely.


Is it possible to seal an interior barn door to provide an acceptable level of insulation between a conditioned and an unconditioned space? I'm finishing a storage room in my house.  General layout, room is 12' x 12', door on one wall, window on opposite wall, roof peak ~12' above the axis between the door and the window.  Roof slopes down to either side, so the side walls of the room are about 6' tall, at which height they intersect the slope of the roof.

Now, there's about 4' of space between the side walls of the room and the exterior walls of the house.  I want to use this as accessible storage.  That means I need doors between the room I'm finishing and these unconditioned spaces.  Wall studs are on 24" spacing, and they hold up the roof trusses, so I'm not comfortable removing one.  That means the maximum dimensions of these doors are maybe 68" tall and 22" wide.  This is obviously not a standard door size.

I could build a custom hinged door, but I'm considering building a custom barn door instead, both for aesthetics and for looser tolerances in the build and install.  Thus my question: is it possible to seal an interior barn door to provide an acceptable level of insulation between a conditioned and an unconditioned space?

I'm sure it's possible but it sounds like a real mission. sliding doors tend to seal much worse than swing doors but if you're prepared to make a heroic effort and embrace tighter tolerances instead of looser something could probably be done.

For a swing door, 20" is a standard door width but you'd need to cut the height down and repair the cut end, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSLiWCgCATE

I clamp a straight-edge to the door because I'm not very good at cutting straight lines.


How do I open this flush mounted kitchen light fixture? Fluorescent light fixture--can't seem to get it open. It doesn't seem to want to unscrew at all, or squeeze in as if it had tabs that held it in. No visible screws on the metal either.

It might be that the entire fixture is supposed to rotate a little and unlock from a base plate, but someone was lazy when painting the ceiling last time and didn't remove the fixture first, they just painted around it and got paint in the joint. So now it is being prevented from turning by adhesion to the painted surface. I would run a razor blade /Exacto knife around the rim where it touches the ceiling paint to break that bond.


Is it okay to put a heat pump water heater in a crawl space? I have a pretty large crawl space. It is 80 inches wide and around 7 feet high. I am looking to replace the 50 gallon electric water heater with the new Geo Spring Water heater by GE This unit is wide = 7 feet  height = 5'5'' feet

As I understand, this Hybrid Water heater works by having a "reverse" A/C unit on top of it.

My Questions are:

Is it advisable to put this water heater in the crawl space? Will it create moisture in the crawl space?
Has any one used this water heater in their crawl space?

You may be able to:

Height - The website says the heat pump water heater (HPWH) is 60.5 inches tall. The hot and cold pipes enter at the top of the unit, but it sounds like 7 ft is enough vertical space.
Volume - I'm not sure what the overall volume of your crawlspace is, but the GeoSpring installation Guide says:

    With the installation of a louvered door, it can be installed in rooms smaller than 10' x 10' x 7' (700 cu.ft.). Louvers should be 240 square inches (0.15 m^2) or greater.

So, if your crawlspace is vented to the outside, or as HerrBag states, is conditioned, with air exchange to/from the house, it will be fine, but may operate at lower efficiency:

Temperature - Like you say, the water heater is a heat pump or "reverse AC", meaning it heats water by pumping heat from the air. In other words, it cools down the space it is in. If your crawlspace temperature gets below 45F because of the heat pump or just because it is cold outside, the unit will operate at a much lower efficiency. This study states that HPWHs take 10-15% efficiency penalty when installed in confined spaces.
Humidity - High humidity is not a problem. In fact, it will operate more efficiently at higher humidity. Freezing temperatures are an issue for efficiency, as stated above, as well as the obvious danger to your pipes. As HerrBag stated, a floor drain or pump/sump will be necessary.

What climate are you in? If you are in a hot climate, it is advantageous to put the heat pump water heater in your living space to take advantage of the free cooling.


What are these blinds and how do they work? I am renting an apartment in Milan, Italy, and my room has an attached terrace with it. The terrace has these blinds, which have not been opened for centuries (so they may be stuck) and they have accumulated a lot of dust and grime.

These blinds are very typical in Milan, I've seen them in nearly every apartment complex I've been to.

This is the blinds in a closed state

On both sides it has two plastic cords, which are anchored to the floor. This is the left anchor

The lower one is the right anchor, top one belongs to another one of these blinds.

There are also the two accompanying cords which I am accustomed to seeing with blinds.

I cannot get them to open. Can someone please tell me what are these blinds called? And how may I even begin to open them up? Is there supposed to be some sort of locking mechanism somewhere?

This blinds are called "Venetian blinds. If the blinds are very long they have guide cords at both ends. This is the case in your situation.

From the first picture you can see two sets of cords comming out of the frame.

The most left set of cords are used for tilting the blinds when they are down. There is a rotating mechanism inside the frame that can make the individual elements tilt in the direction required to block the sun.

The other set of cords is used to lower or pull up the complete set of elements.
If still working you can unlock the mechanism by pulling both cords to the right. Once free you can lower the elements by releasing the wires. Locking the elements at the required position works the same way as the release procedure.
It depends on the make if you have to pull the cords in the same or in the opposite direction to lock the system.


Is there a way to make toilet porcelain dirt and stain resistant? I'm sure this problem is present all around the world as toilet brushes are ubiquitous in every toilet I've ever been to. But this is the 21st century, there must be a better solution!

Is there a smart way to make porcelain non-sticky? How do I get rid of the toilet brush once and for good?

What you would need is a product that will apply a "hydrophobic" coating to your toilet. Hydrophobic means that it will repel water, and make it very difficult for anything to stick to the surface. This would reduce the amount of effort required to keep a toilet clean.

At this point, there are not many products on the market with these properties which are available to consumers. So far I have only been able to locate one of these products.

The following is not a product endorsement. I do not have any affiliation with the manufacturer, and am only listing an example. I have also not tried this product myself, but there are videos online of this in action, and it appears to be very effective at repelling water.

http://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/neverwet/neverwet-kit/


What is this component that connects to the garbage disposal? I am trying to install a new faucet with a soap dispenser. I removed my old facuet; however, where the soap dispenser is supposed to go, this is here:

It has pipes that go to the sink erator under the sink. What is this? Can I safely remove it and the pipes from it and put the soap dispenser there?

This is an air gap fitting for your dishwasher drain. You still need it. Its job is to ensure that waste water in your drain cannot backup into your dishwasher. Since the dishwasher isn't really water tight above a certain level, this eliminates the risk of raw sewage from ending up on your floor via the dishwasher. The air gap needs to be above the flood level of the sink and should be pointed into the sink in case the air gap clogs when the dishwasher is draining.

For your soap dispenser, you'll either need to move the air gap to another side of the sink or move the soap dispenser, but you can not get rid of the air gap or try to hide it under the sink.


Wiring bath lights that have two power sources I have a vanity light. Power comes into the light. A wire runs to the switch. I am planning on installing a bath fan that has fan/light/nightlight. The existing switch is mounted in a 1 gang box in beadboard. I would like to avoid cutting in a 2 gang box. I also have a 12-2wg romex unused running from the panel to the attic where the fan is going. I have a 1 gang stacked switch for fan/light/nightlight. I would like to just run a switch leg to the same box and switch both lights on this switch. Does the two power sources make this immpossible? Last resort, can I use the same swich with one light/the other light/ fan and eliminate the nightlight?

No to Q1, switching both lights, unless you get the same power that the existing light switches to be in parallel with the fan light.  That would mean running the same gauge 12 or 14 -2 (hot, neutral and ground ) to the fan light from the overhead light.

Combining circuits risks having 240 VAC across your fixtures.  It can be done, if neutrals and ungrounded (hots) are kept separate (from each other and not connected through a device section to another.

Maybe to question 2, if you mean using the one (original power source) to switch fan, light, fanlight together.  (this assumes the added device wattage doesn't exceed the wire capacity.

You would be better served by biting-the-bullet and put in a new switch box and use the separate power available and get all 3 functions separately   Am I guessing correctly that the bath outlet is on the same circuit as the light and they are 14 gauge??  One hairdryer-light-fan-fan light will likely overdraw a 15A breaker


How should I remove the texture from the ceiling *without* tearing it out? We want to get rid of the texture on our ceiling.  It's a very ugly stipple effect.

However, there's a foot and a half of insulation over this ceiling.  Knocking it down to install new drywall is not an option.

We also don't really want to slap another layer of drywall on top of it, because we don't want to give up any more height than we have to.

So we are torn between sanding it down with a very coarse paper on an orbital sander or just skim coating the entire thing (and yes I do know how much effort that is, I skim coated a whole wall once to eliminate the texture).

Is there another option, and if not, which one of the two above should I use?

Edit:  The stipple I mention is joint compound which, while wet, was pulled down upon with a wet sponge, creating lots of peaks.  It has subsequently been painted many times presumably over 72 years.  (House built in 1940)

I have the same thing.  We used two methods:  1st we used a sander to lower the high points of the texture,  this is something you want to use as last resort.  After the sanding was finished I did a skim coat, then had to sand again to smooth the skim coat.  Super labor intensive.
The next room I just put up 3/8 drywall, took half the time.  It seems more practical to just give up a little space and hang drywall.


Will an expansion tank and water pressure regulator work over periods of non-use? I have high water pressure coming into my house (~110psi) and a backflow preventer at the source. I do not currently have a pressure regulator or an expansion tank installed, though I'm considering doing this.

Currently my T&P valve is leaking via a slow drip (maybe 3-4 cups/day). I've taken a reading of the pressure and if I'm not using the hot water (i.e., overnight), the pressure gradually increases to 150psi when the T&P valve releases. My understanding is that as the water heater heats water in the house, pressure increases and has nowhere to go because of the backflow preventer. The T&P valve releases at 150psi, which is why my pressure spikes to this level overnight or when I'm not using the hot water.

I have purchased an expansion tank and a water pressure regulator, and plan to install them. My question:

  Will the water pressure regulator prevent the pressure from increasing over ~50-70psi (or whatever I set it to) during times that I'm not using water? If not, how can I prevent my hot water heater from leaking at the T&P valve during periods that I'm not home?

My fear is that because the system is closed the water heater will slowly build up pressure until the air bladder in the expansion tank reaches 150psi, and then the T&P valve will leak anyway. Perhaps it would increase the time before the leak begins, but if I leave for any period of time the leak will recur.

When you get your expansion tank installed this leakage at the P&T relief valve will stop. The pressure regulator will keep the pressure at your set point of 50 to 70 psi.

The pressure is currently building up in your system because as the water in the tank is heated (especially after a large drawdown) the VOLUME of the trapped water increases more than the volume of the tank as the water is heated in the tank. The volume does not increase indefinitely but stops when the water in the tank is heated to the set-point and the burner or heating element in the heater turns off.

You could prevent this increase right now by letting a cold tap drip until the heater turns off after large draw-down. Probably letting out as little as 3 or 4 cups out a cold tap would keep the pressure down. This would cause this same small volume of hot water to back up into the cold supply, but this is of no consequence.


Electrical socket is tripping off light I had a builder install some lights and also an electrical socket. He used a junction box to do this from the loft lights as it was easy access. However, the hoover and hair dryer is causing this now to trip. I was wondering what may cause this and if there is a better solution.

More than likely, your loft lights will be on a 5A ring, totally unsuitable for a socket. The hair-dryer & hoover are probably drawing too much and tripping it.

Get your money back from this cowboy and get a competent electrician to do the work.


Why aren't vent stacks usually equipped with hats? On just about every house I've seen here in the west (CA) the vent stacks are just a bare pipe sticking out of the roof. There is no hat on them. I understand that all the vent stack does is vent the house's sewage system so that water flows downward unimpeded by suction, and since it is directly attached to the sewage system, there is no obvious reason to place a hat on it; so what if rainwater falls into it?

This having been said, when wind blows over the top of a vent stack, good old Bernoulli creates somewhat of a vacuum, depending on the velocity of the wind. The stronger the wind, the stronger the vacuum. This vacuum can draw the water out of the bowl of a toilet, which in turn would allow sewer gasses to enter the home. On some extremely windy days, I've seen the toilet bowl almost empty of water, though it has never actually been drawn down to completely empty. I imagine it would take a pretty strong wind to completely empty the toilet bowl, but I wouldn't characterize that as being completely impossible.

I hat placed on top of a vent stack that shields the top from direct wind but leaves it otherwise open to the air would prevent the Bernoulli Effect. It would also prevent birds from setting up housekeeping on top of the vent stack. So, why aren't vent stack hats more common? (I'm assuming they are used in some places.)

You are right about the Bernoulli effect.  Additionally, I have had customers who have complained about odors in the front yard when the wind is just right.

As far as emptying the toilet bowl, the government may need to bear this responsibility.  Manufacturers, in their rush to meet the demands and constraints of an out of control national legislature, requiring ultra low flush commodes, weren't able to get all the bugs out in time.  They had to meet the requirement and still keep product on the shelves.  Some of the early models had this problem.  I think most of the later models have this problem under control. It has to do with how they flush the bowl and how they keep the bowel filled.

As to a fix, here is an idea that may work. It is an engineered concept and works in some situations.  Say your problem stack is a 3" ABS riser sticking through the roof.  Take a piece 5" diameter of the same material about 8" long.  Fix it to the top of this stack.  This sleeve will run parallel to the stack. Put equal sized spacers between the stack and the new sleeve to drive your support screws through.  The sleeve should not touch the stack.  Extend the sleeve above the top of the stack about 4". The sleeve will also hang below the top of the stack 4".  This sleeve will break-up the wind currents and take the pressure off the top of the stack. Good Luck.


Adding an outlet to a light switch, just want to make sure I have the right idea I am in the process of replacing a dual light switch with a smaller switch and an outlet. I have the switch wired and working properly, but I am worried about the next step. The way I understand it, I need to:

Add another wire to the two twisted white wires, and that will go to the white on the outlet.
The leftover ground wire, will go to the ground on the outlet.
Add one more wire and connect it to the existing black wire and that would go to the hot in the outlet.

The black wire is a little odd in my opinion. It's a single one that's connected to both "hots" on light switch. That's how the old one was wired as well.

Am I missing something? Also, what is the easiest and correct way to add those two additional wires? I have no desire to but a 100 foot spool for just a few inches.

All the bare safety ground wires in your box should connect together. It is not sufficient to take the ground from one romex and connect that to the switch and another one from another romex bundle to the outlet. It is best to tie them together at the back of the box with a good quality wire nut and have pigtails that come out to each unit.

The method to join into the existing white wires will be to use a short piece of white insulated wire that is stripped on each end (pig tail). One end will attach to the existing white wires with a wire nut and the other end to your outlet.

For the black wire remove one end of it from the switch. Then attach two pigtail lengths of black wires to it with a wire nut and push that to the back of the box. One pigtail goes to the switch and the other to your outlet.

To get the stray bits of wire for the pigtails you can either open up a length of surplus romex cable and pull out the individual wires from there OR you can visit a decent hardware store where they very often will sell individual wires by the foot.


What's this furniture component called? Metal dowel pin with hole? I have a set of mid-century modern dining chairs. The seat is supported in four corners by four metal dowel pins that insert into the legs, but have a hole in them for a screw to pull the seat down against the metal dowel pins. We're missing several of them and I'd like to repair each chair with similar parts if possible. They're about 8mm in diameter and maybe a few centimetres long.

I've added an image of the part, but I have no idea what it's called to search for replacements. I've tried searching for metal dowel pins, but none seem to have any holes in them through which a screw could pass. Is there a special name for this part? I'd love some links to a place where I could buy them online (in Canada if possible!).

If these chairs are from 50 years ago or so the metal pins may very well be 5/16 inch diameter. It turns out that 5/16" is 0.3125" and that is very close to 8mm which is 0.3149". If the peg is a nice fit an 8mm size would not fit into a 5/16" hole. If your pegs are indeed 5/16" in diameter you could try making your own pegs.

Go to the home store and find some 5/16" bolts that have a smooth shank that is of sufficient lentgth to yield the peg length. Such bolts would look like this:

You can cut them with a hack saw without too much effort. A vice to hold the parts can be very helpful. Then use a file to smooth the ends and taper the end corners a bit to get rid of sharp edges.

A center punch and a hammer can then be used to make a divot into the side of the rod to make a place to start the drill bit to make the cross hole. With a properly located center punched guide it should be relatively easy to drill the hole with an electric drill.

It is possible to also purchase an eye bolt that looks like the following that would also have a smooth shank. With this you would only need to make one cut per bolt and then use the eye for the screw to secure the seat. Since the hole is going to be larger it may be necessary to use a pah head screw and a small washer on the screw.


Is it ok if I pass through a RJ11 (Phone line) cable outside and leave it while it is raining? I'm stupid and paranoid  but just to make sure, is it safe to leave a phone lines (rj11 I think) outside while raining, the front and end BIT is inside the house (forgot what it's called, the bit where u plug it into somethin).

RJ11 is actually the name of the connector specification.

Wire/insulation and cable jacket materials vary for the specific purpose.  Phone wire may also need to be thicker (e.g., lower gauge than Cat 5e) for longer runs, to avoid excessive voltage drop, depending upon your system.

There are phone cables specifically intended for outdoor use, providing better sun and water protection.  It could then be wired to a properly protected RJ11 receptacle, also designed for outdoor use.  I would not recommend using unapproved electrical wiring outdoors - even for phones. The phone company typically puts somewhere between 50 to 150 volts AC down that wire to make the phone ring.


How to wire two separate switches off one main 4-way switch I have a room with 3 entryways (so 4-way circuit) but I would like to have the three entry switches activate two separate switched lights ...at the same time...but also individually addressable at those two switches.
E.g. Like a hotel room that has an “all-on” at the door but then the bedside lights can be turned off and on individually at each side of the bed without going to the door.
So five switches...three at the entries...two at the beds. Entries control both bed lights in tandem...bed switches control them individually and independently.
New construction, source can be at any junction, plenty of space for adequately sized boxes.
I know this can be done, but cannot visualize how.
Any help?
Edit: Yes, I’d like to be able to toggle the two bed switches on/off, independently, regardless of the state of the 3 wall switches.

This is just a guess (see H-RM's comment), but if your intent is that the 4-way switches control whether or not there's power to the light switches at the bed, then this is no different from running wiring from 4-way switches to hardwired lighting fixtures.  You just install light switches inline with each lighting fixture so that power is toggled at the input to each of these 2 switches when one of the 4-ways is toggled.
This means that the 'logic' diagram will require both the correct toggling of the 4-ways and that either 2-way local switch be in the "on" position for the respective light to be "on".  When the 4ways are toggled the other way, there's no power on the inputs to the local 2-way switches, so the lights would be off.
Warning: if you are not experienced in electrical wiring, get someone who is to help. It's important to know what is 'hot' and what isn't, and further to ensure the local 2-way switches (and their lights) are not in series.


Remove Outdoor Carpet Glue We have outdoor carpet on my covered patio that we want to remove. The problem is that the glue holding the carpet down is orange and very ugly.

ow can I remove this glue safely without injuring my animals (cats, dogs, desert tortoise).

I have a 2700 PSI pressure washer, will that do it? If not, what should I use to remove the glue so we can expose the concrete?

Simple floor scrapers like this one, pictured below have always done the job for me - they will take pretty much anything off a flat surface including splashed concrete.


How do I know what my water table is? Reference a question I asked about a French Drain, and it was mentioned the "Water Table" height.  How do I know what my water table is?

I would 1) ask your local Building Code office, or 2) ask your local public utilities office (particularly your plumbing inspector), or 3) ask your public works director, (i.e.: local Building project like a sewage treatment facility will have a Geotech report that will give you the water table...for the area where the facility is being built,) or 4) call local architects, or 5) call local CIVIL engineers, or 6) call DEQ office (especially if they issue drain field permits,) or 7) excavation contractors that specialize in the installation of underground utilities, or 8) hire a Geotech engineer.

A Geotech engineer is very expensive. I'd call all the above before I spent a bunch of money on their tests and report. (Where I live, it costs about $4000.)


Adding fence section on 45 degree angle I live in a condo development and our patios are next to each other. Our neighbor recently removed some bushes that helped with the privacy. There exists two 8 foot sections of fence between the patios but we would like to add a third section on a 45 degree angle where the bushes were removed.
The companies that I have spoken with so far   are telling me job is too small, or another post will need to be added and there will be a gap. Minimum labor of $600 plus material.
Question: Is there a way to cut into the  existing post and run the new section of fence at 45 degree angle?  (that is if i can find matching fence).

Hope this uploads and helps...where those small arbs are located my neighbor removed some larger shrubs that provided more privacy

The vinyl fence has proprietary hardware for attaching the panels. If you can determine the brand and source parts, I'm sure they'll have skewed connectors for you.
Otherwise, get your carpentry on. Rip the edge off a panel at a 45 degree angle using a table saw or a circular saw with a clamped board as a guide. Mount the uncut edge to the new post per the hardware manufacturer's instructions, and mount the cut edge to the existing post with countersunk corrosion-resistant screws. Optionally add vinyl screw caps to pan-head screws.
You've asked a broad question, so I'm only able to provide a general answer. If you like, revise your post with more detail and ask a more specific question.


Outlet side of my cast iron radiator is cold. What's wrong? Im in need of some immediate insight!!!! I have a 3 unit building with the old cast iron radiators which are fed by a circulatory pump which was just changed 2 weeks ago i drained the whole system replaced new bearings in the pump works fine, all radiators are working fine but one in the basement front room the inlet is hot to the touch but the radiator itself is cold as well as the outlet , what can be the problem? oh i did bleed the valves on these radiators.

Given "I drained the whole system" I'd suspect a trapped air bubble first and foremost. Try bleeding again. The bubble may be trapped in the pipe rather than the radiator itself - look for bleeders along the pipes. Alternatively there may be a valve you've missed, or an actual bit of debris plugging the radiator (a pretty distant third place, in my experience.)


How can I add a switch to separately control a light and fan? I have a single switch that turns on/off both a light and a fan.  How do I add a switch so that each is controlled by its own switch?

The easiest technique - ie one that won't require you to run a second line from the wall to the fan - is to install a remote control switch in place of the existing one.

The way that works is you disconnect the fan from the wiring, and insert a receiver unit which connects to light and fan separately, and then you replace the original switch with a control unit that talks to the receiver.  That gives you the control you desire without having to enlarge the switch box and run new wiring.  All the control elements are concealed behind the fan mounting and wall switch face plates, but still accessible.

These units can be purchased at pretty much any hardware store.

One such example.  This kind doesn't replace the existing switch but you mount the remote's base over the switch so it can't disable the fan/light.  Others actually replace the switch completely.


older home two wire receptacles We've bought an older home with 2 wire receptacles. We need a 3 wire (grounded) receptacle to use our new TV and satellite receiver.
Is there a safe way of using these items with out the cost of re-wiring?

If the receiver needs a real ground then going the GFI protection route is NOT adequate. It is code legal and safe, but does NOT provide a valid grounding path.

For this the only option is to provide a real ground, which in most cases simply means running a new circuit and receptacle to the location. You do not need to "re-wire" anything, just add new.


Is any of this plumbing work a code violation? I've repaired plenty of pre-existing plumbing, but don't know enough to put all new plumbing in a house, so I hired it out.  Some of it it is fine, but I'm unhappy with the rest of it, and since I'm not a plumber, I don't know exactly what may be a code violation.

1) PEX was routed outside the wall and can't be sheetrocked.

2) Plastic tees and elbows were used instead of brass.

3) The best way to run PEX is with the smallest number of failure points possible.  It would be great to have home-runs to each fixture, but I knew that wasn't going to be the case here.  However, there are some runs of PEX that have 4-6 splices in them that are totally unnecessary.

4) Underneath the house (unconditioned crawl) none of the PEX is insulated, and some of it is lying on the ground.

5) The water supply was brought up through an exterior wall, right up against the exterior of the stud and sheathing.  Aren't they supposed to go through the center of the stud and install nailing plates?

I'm not a plumber and don't know codes, which is why I hired this out instead of doing it myself. Are any of these code violations?

EDIT: I should have added that a permit was pulled for this work, and it passed a rough-in inspection.

All plumbing should be inside walls in finished space or it should be installed in a way that protects the joints and protects from punctures.
Who cares?  I never heard of plumbing failing because of elbows.
If you wanted this you should have been watching him during it.  Or another option is to just write it into the contract so you can set expectation.  As it stands you do not know which extra connections were actually needed or not.

4-5.  Have local inspector come out to OK it.  Don't pay plumber until it passes inspection.

And to answer your question 1, 4, and 5 sound like they are code violations but we don't understand enough to call these violations.   For instance I can run pex in a crawl space in Texas, I can run pex in a laundry room outside framing (still not good practice), and you can run plumbing in most places in exterior walls (not good practice and most inspectors would want to see a reasonable level of insulation).


Does bare drywall need to be primed before painting? Is it necessary to prime bare drywall before painting?  And do we need to prime existing textured, painted walls before we mud over them?

Yes, you need to use a drywall sealer on bare drywall.  Using a primer or a sealer would also help blend in the differences with the existing surface you want to cover.

http://www.ehow.com/about_6636020_drywall-sealer-vs_-primer.html


Can I repair this dent on a finished surface? I have a closet door that has a finished surface (melamine panel?). Unfortunately, I dented it with the bed and now there's a giant dent and some break in the wood.

Is there a way to fix this or is it to the point of unrepairable? If it is repairable, any suggestions or recommendations as to the best way to fix it?

I'm sure there is a way to repair the door but I don't see it being easy or very cost efficient.  I have a suggestion that might help you, have you considered flipping the door around so that the damage is on the inside. You will most probably have to reverse the hinges.  Hope this is helpful.


Can I fit a 16 amp fuse into a UK domestic 13 amp plug? As title, would like to know please?
Thanks.
Peter.

Whether or not it can be done, I cannot recommend it. By putting a 16A fuse in a UK domestic plug you are potentially overloading the cable (max for a UK domestic plug is 15A rated according to this pat testing website).

A spur off a ring main, using 2.0mm2 twin and earth cable is rated for 20A. Two 16A plugs into the sockets on that spur could hence significantly overload it, starting a fire in your walls.


How to tension toilet handle nut without handle sticking? I have to replace toilet handle assemblies frequently. However, the frustrating part is if you tension the nut at all, the toilet handle will not return to its original position.  I'm left leaving the nut barely hanging on and in fact it often later falls off.

Is there something I'm missing? A washer or spacer I should be putting on?

Buy the kind that look like this:

Notice the 'ears' that wont allow it to sink into the hole and the full length square body that would make it impossible to over tighten it (at least, not enough to inhibit functionality - you'll have broken it way before then).

If I had to guess, you're still using metal ones or you're dealing with offset (angled) toilets, the handles for which are also available in plastic.

There's lots of different kinds out there. I think you're getting the wrong replacement type for the kind of toilets you have.


Understanding my electrical panel I just purchased this breaker box from Home Depot.  I'll be installing it in my RV.  Current will be supplied by a 12VDC to 120VAC, 3000W inverter.  I'll be using Single-Pole Type BR breakers.

Here's a picture of the box:

My current understanding is that I must install a grounding bar to the box.  This is my current understanding of how to connect the breaker to the main supply.:

Here is my understanding of how I would wire in new circuits:

Does this look right?  I would really appreciate your help -- I've been beating myself over the head about this.

Do Not put BR breakers in a Murray/Siemens panel.

Breakers must match the panels.  Those will not fit properly.

You can either use Murray (Siemens) breakers in this panel...

... or take it back and get an Eaton BR 2-space panel of same type.

If you are married to this panel and have an Eaton gift card to use up, then get Eaton CL breakers, which are specifically made by Eaton for Siemens panels, and have been UL-listed (classified) for that purpose.

But you're on the right track

Just work it one step at a time. Your first drawing shows a correct hookup for a panel, with the accessory grounding bar you added, and with a special jumper between the two "poles" since you are using this as a 120V panel.

Now, there's one gotcha here.  As drawn, it has 2 wires on 1 lug.  That's not allowed.  Split the incoming hot onto two pigtails at a wire nut.

As for the branch circuits, you are connecting them correctly, in the manner which is "bog standard".

The neutral-ground bond

Now, this is a bit complicated.  Neutral and ground are separate.  Ground is only a safety shield, and neutral is the normal current return.   However, what stops neutral from floating at dozens or thousands of volts from ground?  The answer is a neutral-ground bond in exactly one place.  It must not be in 2 places, or it will destroy the grounding system's ability to protect you.

When you are on hotel power, (i.e. off a house), the one neutral-ground bond is in the house's main panel.

When you are on local power, the one neutral-ground bond needs to be somewhere.    Most consumer-tier sources of electricity, e.g. a portable generator or inverter, have a built-in neutral-ground bond.  Check it; if so that means your panel must have another.

Switching between inverter and hotel power

When you are docked, you want to be able to run on terrestrial utility power.  The "hard way" is with a transfer switch, and a service-panel/transfer switch combo is the cheapest way to do that, but still expensive because you need to switch neutral.  You can either use CDN$300 Canadian-style generator interlock panels, which have a 3-pole interlocked breaker that also switches neutral; or since your service is 120V, you can use a normal 2-pole panel with transfer switch kit, and make neutral one of the two poles. This makes the interlocked panel cheaper, but the breakers more expensive. For 2 circuits, an 8-space Square D "QO" panel will git-r-done in a compact package for about USA$130 - cheaper than the Canadian panels but still a lot.

However, the easiest way by far for a 30A supply is simply to use a loopback cord.

You bring the inverter's output to a junction box, and the panel's input to a junction box right next to it.  The inverter's output goes to a 120V/30A receptacle, either a NEMA L5-30, or a TT30.  The panel's input just has a 1 foot long cord coming out of it. Normally it's plugged into the inverter output.

For shore power, you unplug from that socket, and plug into an extension cord to the house.

The neutral switching gets magically handled by the plug/socket!