How much "slack" should I account for when doping a long run of electrical wire? I'm finally getting around to updating the service in our detached garage. I've decided on 6-3 NMWU, running inside 1-1/2" Schedule 40 Conduit for the underground run.
I remember seeing utility linesmen being careful to give themselves a few loops of slack when running new wires, to account for expansion/contraction, mistakes, etc. and leaving that nice neat loop on the telephone pole.
Do I need to add slack for household electrical? If so, how much? Do I trim it after to a precise fit, or leave a loop in the wall? 6-3 seems awfully thick to try and make loops!
The conduit run itself I've estimated at 55ft end-to-end. From the main panel <--> sub-panel is about a 60ft total run.

Wire expansion/contraction in conduit is quite minimal.  I’ve never left more than the few inches you normally get when you don’t straightline through a junction box.
Part of the reason 6/3 is so stiff is it’s not intended to be run in conduit. It’s intended for direct underground burial. And it’s stiff because it’s four wires bundled together.  It’s not illegal to run in conduit, just a lot of work.
Here, get 4 chopsticks and bind them in a spiral with tape, the whole length.  Notice how stiff they are as a package?  Notice how bending them makes the tape wrinkle, as they try to slide past each other?  Much stiffer than 1 chopstick, or even 4 chopsticks able to freely slide.  That’s what’s happening.
When you see linemen do that, they are working with individual wires.
The preferable way to work in conduit is to run the conduit all the way from panel to panel, and then, use individual wires.  They bend easier because they are able to slide past each other.  And that makes them easier to pull.
With individual wires, it’s easy to give yourself a couple feet of slack simply by having the wires “take the scenic route” from conduit entrance to the lugs they’re meant for.  This doesn’t even need to make the box messy.  That’s harder (but not impossible) to do with cable, because the sheath must extend into the service panel, so if you pull some out later, it’d need to still be sheathed.
Also, given your length, and the large size of your conduit, if you go individual wires you might want to think about switching up to #4 aluminum (with a #6 insulated aluminum ground, or a #8 copper bare or insulated). When used as feeder, aluminum wire’s safety is fully proven.  And you might as well - the subpanel’s lugs are probably aluminum. (Aluminum lugs play well with both Al and Cu as far as thermal expansion goes).  It’s less money, and it’s a bit less stiff (and lighter).
Lastly, I hope you’ve seen our strong recommendations to wildly oversize any subpanel you install.  Spaces are dirt-cheap when you are buying a panel, but running out of spaces is an expensive problem. And the old cheat of using cheater/tandem/double-stuff breakers is fading fast, as AFCI/GFCI is being required on more and more circuits.  Don’t hesitate to take a panel you already bought back in favor of one with 2-3x as many spaces. It’s OK for the busing (or even main breaker) in a panel to be larger than the feed breaker.  In fact, it’s a good thing.


Bubble of air out of toilet when flushed When I flush the toilet in the basement there is a big air bubble that comes up the toilet and it then drains slow; if anything else is running it almost overflows.
   The basement toilet was working fine for 30yrs; now all of the sudden this is happening.  Could there be a clog in the drain?????
  The basement toilet has a vent pipe in the wall.

If there was a clog in the main drain line going out to the street, you would likely see everything in the house, or at least the basement and ground floor, being backed up or draining slow. More likely is that some animal has set up shop in the vent pipe that serves the toilet. A nest or similar made of twigs and leaves can end up being a pretty effective stopper and prevent air from entering as it's supposed to.


Removed wainscoting - Will I need to sand the entire wall? First time DIY'er here and I decided it was time to update my office by removing the wainscoting and giving it a fresh coat of paint.  However, before I get there, I was hoping for a little feedback...

I have removed the wood paneling and to my surprise, it actually had a texture that matches the top half ... Also, I have had no problems sanding down the panel adhesive that was left behind.  Might be difficult to tell by the pictures, but the wall feels really smooth in those blemish areas on the bottom half.  And then of course I will go over all of those with joint compound and another round of sanding to make sure the wall is nice and smooth.

So that being said, when all is said and one, my goal is that the wall should have one consistent texture from top to bottom.  I plan on adding texture to the wall using a textured roller during priming/painting.

My Question ... Given what I described above and based on the photo, will I need to sand down the top half of the wall before I start priming/painting in order for the texture to remain consistent?  Or, would that be overkill and I can achieve my goal simply by using the roller over both halves.

Note, I'm asking this because as much as the general texture of the bottom half matches the top half, there are quite a few smoothed out blemishes and I just don't know if all those blemishes will be obvious unless I sort of smooth out the top half as well (sort of like starting from scratch if that makes sense).

Sorry for the long post, thanks for any advice.

It looks like a sanded finish, mix a little paint with some fine sand and dab it on the smooth spots with your fingertip, it won't be a perfect match since the original has a number of coats of paint on it but it will break up the smooth. No need to sand the whole wall, Wipe the spots you touched up with spackle with a damp sponge to remove the excess spackle leaving only the smooth area before you apply the sand/paint mix.

Don't concern yourself with textured rollers or anything like that. What isherwood says about the rollers will work very well. You will need about a 1/2 cup of you wall paint and maybe a tablespoon or two of fine sand, that much is ON the floor of the big box stores where the play sand is kept, make sure it is like table salt, not rock salt or even coarse salt and mix it in the 1/2 cup of paint. Like I said, it will not be a match for the texture completely, but it will help blend in the patch to the surrounding area. Again, hard to reproduce what years of paint will do to a surface.

I need to stress that this is only for the areas where the small blemishes are, not for general painting of an area. Painting of texture over texture will give the results you would expect. If and areas have been sanded, which I think the band that is painted white looks as though it was sanded or scraped pretty hard, this may show up differently. If an area that big is painted with the sand mixture, it will look worse than what it does now, if I see it right. If it has not been sanded or scraped, great, just touch up the small blemishes you already filled. (I am thinking nail holes and such.

Again to stress the treatment of the blemishes. Spackle always covers a larger area than needed. It is just the way it goes. After I do a wall repair on a textured wall, I wipe/wash the repair so the spackle (I use joint compound) so all the excess is gone from the surface of the texture, well maybe a little stays... and that will leave only the immediate area of the repair to re-texture. Brushes or rollers are too big to do this type of touch up and will get the new texture on the original and make the repairs more detectable. "Touching it on" with you finger will or should give you complete control how big or how thick or how much you apply on the small blemishes.


Layering another type of paint on cabinet/how to fix I am redoing a cabinet for an entertainment center. I sanded, 2 coats primer (1-2-3) and 2 coats paint. I am using BM advance untinted satin finish. The cabinets are pictured below. The issue is that I got great coverage on the flat parts of the doors with a foam roller. But on the smaller detailed parts I had to use a brush and the coverage is no bueno. I haven’t been thrilled at all with the BM advance to be honest. It’s been about 6 days since the last coat of BM. I’m wondering if I should sand w/220 or 400 and add one more coat of paint to the door fronts, and if so what paint should I use. Is there another BM paint that would provide better coverage? Since this cabinet is not in my kitchen or bath I don’t need crazy durability. I also don’t want to mess with the cure or hardening of what’s on there now. I’m not going for perfection but not sure how to meet my fairly low standards.  The cabinet housing looks good because it’s all flat parts that were rolled. Help!

Yes, that is normal with brushing that kind of trim.  I had a door in a Victorian that drove me bananas for days.  Just add a 3rd or 4th coat and don't give it any more thought.  And be glad you're not painting lavender over deep purple lol!

You could sand it gently, but I'd be VERY careful around edges and corners; it's easy to blow through all the layers and expose bare wood, and then you have to prime all over again.

Also, I see where you hot-dog-rollered it and called it good on the flats.  That leaves a texture that is different brush vs roller.  To avert this, I use a technique called roll and tip, where I hastily spam down paint with a roller and immediately swish over it with a brush.

This provides brush stipple instead of roller stipple, which is consistent across the piece; however it also creates a bit of a "hybrid" for coverage, more even than pure brushing but not as even as pure rolling.  It also lets me use the end of the hotdog to lay paint in the grooves, which is a big timesaver since I need to dip the brush far, far less, essentially only at the start of the tip-out.


How can I air-condition a garage without modifying it? So my apartment has an attached garage and I love having it, but I also live in Las Vegas where, today, it was over 100F outside. I have been considering air conditioning the garage, or even just a corner of it for a workshop with a cool breeze, but I have a little problem - since it's an apartment I can't modify the garage in any way to vent hot air outside.

I've considered portable evaporative coolers, and while I've got one and it works, it only works for a little while - since the garage is so enclosed the evaporative cooler eventually humidifies the air to the point where it stops working. This also creates problems with condensation and since my hobby space in the garage is to be used for electronics, radio and various other electricity-friendly pursuits, condensing water droplets is a very bad thing.

What can I do? Is there any way to lower the temperature of the garage air without somehow venting hot air back to the outside world? Would combining an evaporative cooler and a dehumidifier work? If so, how should I arrange them for optimal cooling?

Unless you can insulate, it will cost a ton of money.  I get that it's a rental, but maybe the landlord won't mind if you insulate the garage.  Having done that, get one of these AC units that only require you to make a 6" hole through the wall:

Talk to your landlord, they may not mind these slight mods, especially if you pay for the insulation.

However, if you really can't modify anything, another option is to build a smaller insulated shack in the garage, and AC that.  Or, build a temporary wall to isolate part of the garage as an insulated and AC'ed space.


$400 electric bill traced to heater - what could be wrong with it? Back in December/January, we got a real shocker; a $400+ electric bill. I thought there must be a billing error, so I went out to the meter, and found that not only was the number probably right, we'd used another 1000kW/h since the reading (which was about a week and a half prior). This is for a modest 1600 sqft 1.5-story house; WAY outta line. My next thought was a leech; someone hooking to our service unbeknownst to us. We turned off all the lights, computers, etc etc, leaving the service panel on, and... wait, now it's down to a crawl. OK, so it's something in the house. My wife and I were talking by cell phone, when suddenly I see the dial start its whizzing again. I asked what turned on, and she said, "well, the HVAC started a few seconds ago". Bingo. It's an all-electric home, so we have an electric heater, and when it's running the full system (not just the vent fan), it's really drawing some juice.

The heater is not original to the house (at least, it's a Lennox with logos and branding far newer than the Sears-Kenmore HWH which IS original). I can't tell you it's exact age at this moment. We replaced the filter; no change in electrical use. We REMOVED the filter; no change. We also noticed that despite the massive power draw, the system was not producing very warm air (though it is blowing pretty well). It seemed fine in October/November, but then, we had a relatively mild winter until mid-December. Whatever this is, it is NOT normal; we've had 1000+ sqft apartments and townhomes that we could heat very comfortably in the winter with $150 bills. An extra 500 sqft of house should NOT be costing $300 more to heat. As a reference, through the summer months in this home (including the hottest monthly average for August, ever), which generally produce much bigger bills than winter, we kept this same house around 75* and paid about $220/mo.

We have a home warranty agreement that would cover a fault in the HVAC unit itself, and MAY also cover wiring slipups. We picked a name of an HVAC company out of a city publication for new home owners, so we're not sure just how good they'll be. Knowing what I know right now, what would I expect to hear these guys say? My primary expectation is a short in the heating element or in the switching circuitry within the unit. If they say it's normal I'll be telling them to shove their normal up their [censored]; we've had the HVAC system off since we found the problem, using our fireplace instead, and after living in a house averaging 60*, our latest bill (including the week after the prior billing cycle) was still $250. Whatever it is, it is NOT normal.

EDIT FROM COMMENTS: It is a simple forced-air system with an electric heating element. The breaker marked for the heater is 220V 70A. That means that the max available wattage is 15.4kW. Running 24/7 at its max rated power for 30 days, the system would cost $1020... So maybe, just maybe, there's nothing wrong with it.

EDIT 2: The warranty repair guy showed up yesterday. When my wife showed him the heater unit we had, he knew exactly what she was going to say next; apparently this particular unit is infamous for its inefficiency. Nevertheless, he did a check of the system, and found that one of the 3 heating elements was disconnected. That was putting more voltage onto the other two coils, and decreased the effectiveness of the whole system, meaning we were using the same amount of power to do less work for a longer period of time. After reattaching the element, the house heated up to the thermostat setting quickly and we're noticing it's not running nearly as much. However, we should still be expecting $250-$300 bills for months that hover around freezing.

From the DFW comment, I'm guessing you implied Dallas/Fort Worth. If that's the case, then you'll have AC already installed, and a lot of winter days that are above freezing. For that climate, a heat pump would be much more efficient. The emergency heat setting on a heat pump is the same as what you already have and you'll want to use that when it drops below freezing. But all other times the heat pump will be more efficient.


Attaching metal studwork to a drywall (not the other way around!) So I'm about to put a metal stud partition wall into my utility room which is a converted garage itself.
The existing walls are plasterboard (I think this is called drywall in the states..) the South facing wall has vertical wooden battens every 530mm, behind these battens is a brick wall, with a cavity that is approx 170-200mm deep.
Battens run across the ceiling following on from the ones in the wall.
On the North side there are battens again, but in line with the ones from the opposing wall.
None of these battens are in a suitable place for the partition (on the North wall is the main fuse box for the house, which can't be moved).
My question is - can I fix a metal C-stud directly to the plasterboard using snap toggles or screw toggles? I've discovered these are incredibly strong fixings and for the ideal position would be maybe 30mm from the wooden stud. Or, do I have attach the C-stud directly to something more solid? If so, why? Maybe there are forces put on to the fixing that I hadn't though of.

I have used anchors in drywall /plasterboard for a wall on several occasions it really doesn’t take much with the bottom channel nailed down and the top attached to the ceiling joists.
If running parallel between 2 Joyce’s add nailers every 16” or so ( nailer a 2x4 horizontally between two Joyce’s 4” wide side down so you have a big target to screw into.
The wall joint is not really carrying any load but a couple anchors in the middle and a foot or 16” up and down would provide all the stability you would need.
If running electrical through the metal studs don’t forget to put grommets in if the cut out if it is not rolled. Recently had to open a wall because Romex (nmb) was used without grommets in a cold storage room the evaporator (cooling coil) fans vibrated enough to cut through the sheath and the insulation of the cable.
The 50 amp circuit was for the outside compressor, 50 amps of 120v made one heck of a mess on that stud and because they reset the breaker quite a few times it burned through the second hot the last time and welded #6 wire to the stud then they could no longer reset it and called me. (Very expensive repair).


How can I figure out why my Sears Craftsman garage door opener will not work? I have tried troubleshooting my Craftsman door opener (model 139.53325SRT), because it will not close.

It will not close when pressing the wall switch: the opener light just blinks if I do that. Only the right side green light will glow, while the left sensor light will not come on.  Nothing has improved over two days of troubleshooting.

I have installed new door sensors.

If both sensor lights are not on, the door opener will not close and the light will blink because the opener thinks there is something in the door path. This is a safety measure. One light being off is usually due to either the two sensors getting out of alignment, a faulty connection, or a faulty sensor.  You say that you have installed new door sensors.  If both lights are still not on, you have to troubleshoot that first. Check all connections and then try to align the 2 sensors. If both green lights are on, and the opener will still not open, then the fault is probably elsewhere.


Attic ventilation, do I have enough? I currently have blown-in insulation, that reaches the top of the attic floor. I was told by several insulation companies that I need a R value of at least 49, meaning, I need to add a good 12-18" more of blown-in material.

I want to perform the work myself. The first thing I did was lay down some 2'x4' pieces of plywood across the attic floor so I have a surface to walk on when I blow in extra material.

The other thing I noticed, was I only have soffit vents spaced approximately 36-48" apart around the house. I can see light appearing in the attic where they are.

I also have a fan on the roof that I can turn on with a light switch, however, no matter how long I leave it running, I feel no difference in air temperature.

I have a few questions regarding the project I'm about to take on.

1) Should I install soffit venting along the entire edge of the lower roof line? Or is what I have enough?

2) Should I see vents on the roof on the upper part of my roof exactly where the vents are on the lower section? If I don't, should vents be added?

3) Do baffles need to be installed between each rafter if the vents are spaced every 36-48" apart? Or just install where the vents are? Do they need to go all the way up the roof or just a single 48" length is sufficient?

4) Anything else I should be aware of?

5) Is ventilation not even necessary anymore? I've been reading a lot of material that ventilation doesn't even help and what was previously done was wrong.

Your research is pointing you in the right direction: the need for attic ventilation is overblown (pardon the pun). The attic fan is useless; don't use it, because it will cost you more money than it will ever save you. The air inlets are the soffit vents. What are the outlets? Gable vents? a ridge vent? Turtle vents? Whatever they are, they're probably fine. If the only outlet is the fan, just turn it off or remove it and let the air naturally escape from the hole.

You do indeed need to put baffles in the rafter bays to keep the insulation out of the soffit vents. Other than that, you're pretty much good.

Finally, let me mention that one of the best things you can do BEFORE adding all this new insulation is to air-seal your attic floor. Anything that makes a hole in the drywall needs to be sealed up. This includes electrical boxes, holes for wires, can lights, etc. For much more information on this subject, see http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/air-sealing-attic


Can I run wire from my meter to a shed for a subpanel? I want to wire my shed for 100amp. My breaker box in house has no more space. Can i run wire from my outdoor meter on the side of the house under ground to 100 amp breaker box in the shed

No, the cabling run from service to shed needs to have overcurrent protection.   Your local authority might allow it under the tap rules, given a pretty good reason... But "out of space in my panel" definitely won't qualify.

It sounds like you should start with a subpanel in your home to move the smaller loads out of your main panel.  This is a big job like the Platte river is wide (but not very deep).  And it's very DIYable at sane cost. It will set you back a panel (some of which come with free breakers), a big double breaker, and some breakers if your new panel uses a different type (which may be a good idea if your current panel is a builder-grade cheapie, or if GFCI and AFCI breakers are unduly expensive for your panel.)  And of course wire and the odd junction box or bit of conduit.

If your existing cables are too short to reach the new subpanel, install new junction boxes to where they can reach.  Splice them there onto some more cable to the new box. Bonus points if you can make the box-to-panel run in conduit; but only 4 circuits are allowed per conduit.

Get the biggest panel you can fit; a few extra spaces are cheap, and often even come with more free breakers.  60 spaces is not too large.

Leave your main panel feeding only large loads and subpanels.


Large drywall patch: how to avoid bulging seams? I'm about to install a 24" x 60" section of 1/2" drywall, to patch an area I cut away for access to make repairs. The bottom (long) and one side (short) edges of the patch will be hidden, but the top and left joints will be made mid-wall, and I'm worried that they'll be visible as bulges.

The patch has the usual tapered edge on one of the long sides, so I could install that edge up or down. The edges of the hole cut in the existing wall are of course not tapered.

Should I try to taper the existing drywall before doing the joints? Or should I just bite the bullet and do a whole lot of feathering?

Edit: the short seam is on top of a stud, while the long seam spans several 16" stud bays.

While the usual trick for super-flat butt joints is to set the gap between studs (see the first answer in Should drywall be hung horizontally or vertically? for an excellent description), it doesn't seem like your situation would work for this.

Sadly, the best advice is to get a 10 or 12" taping knife and feather, feather, feather. (I personally wouldn't try to taper the existing drywall, as the paper is an integral part of the structure, and shaving some of that off would undermine it.)

This is personal preference, but I'd use mesh tape that's advertised as "ultra thin", such as FibaTape Perfect Finish. (Some say that paper tape is thinner, but if you compare rolls in the store, I think you'll find that this stuff is actually thinner than paper.)

When I started, I'd put way too much compound on, then have to sand a bunch of it off, then repeat. I'd now suggest lots of thin coats to avoid the curse of sanding and having drywall dust floating everywhere in your living space.


How do I build a Gambrel roof? We would like to put a Gambrel Roof on a 32 x 32 log cabin we're building but I don't know the formula or how to build the Gambrel roof. Please help

We're building this cabin ourselves and love the gambrel roof style.  How do we build the roof exactly?  What angles, how do we lay it out.  I have 6 x 6 rough lumber, 16 foot long.

You can use a program to calculate the angles for your desired gambrel shape.  Here is one such example:

http://www.easyrafters.com/gambrel.htm

As @Skaperen says, a basic gambrel is nothing more than 1/2 of an octagon.

  Gambrel Types  Easy Rafters groups gambrel roofs into two categories,
  regular gambrels and custom gambrels.

  A regular gambrel is one that fits inside a circumscribed semi-circle
  as shown below (the shape of the roof is essentially one half of a
  regular octagon). The slopes for a regular gambrel roof are fixed at
  28 31/32 over 12 for the lower rafters and 4 31/32 over 12 for the
  upper rafters (these slopes are rounded to 29/12 and 5/12 for display)
  and the length of each side or face will always be equal. Whenever the
  lower span dimension is changed the other dimensions are automatically
  recalculated to maintain the same regular proportions.

  Custom gambrels on the other hand allow complete flexibilty of design
  without the constraints of the regular gambrel option.

  Regular Gambrels

  A regular gambrel fits inside a circumscribed semi-circle.

  Custom Gambrels


How can I attach wooden shelf ledgers to concrete foundation walls? I am installing some garage shelves for my friend. She wants it strong so she can climb up them, and load it with heavy boxes. It’s no problem for me except that these walls, which will go floor to garage door open height, have concrete foundation walls til about half way up (52”). My design for shelves is like most with ledger boards going horizontal. But how will I attach my ledger boards to the concrete retaining wall? I see lots of information online for brick walls, just not concrete.

It’s a newer house probably built in 2015 so the concrete should be good quality. I do have access to a hammer drill as well. I will be using lag bolts on the section that’s in the wood studs, just wondering about the bottom concrete half.

There are many types of concrete anchors available. Have you looked into them? Which you choose partly depends on the tools you have available. However, I'd consider freestanding shelves attached to the framing above.

Since your plan is to use lag screws already, why not use anchors designed to accommodate them? This way you can use the same screws throughout.

Lag Shield

Expanding Anchor

Concrete Screws


Electric Load Box - No Main Breaker? So I purchased a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom condo in Arizona not too long ago. It was built in 1984. I recently took a good look at my load center and I see there is no main breaker installed. The label on the door of the box says it is a 125amp service. Wouldn't a main breaker be required or is that a local building code issue?

Only if it's being used as the first means of disconnect. Try and find your meter and see if there isn't a Main Fuse or Breaker beside it.


Identify/troubleshoot this millivolt furnace valve I have an old millivolt gas furnace that's stopped working. The pilot stays lit fine and the thermopile generates about 360 millivolts, and there's no problem at the thermostat (checked voltage and shorting past it), but the main valve no longer opens. I'm looking for help identifying what model it actually is (so I can search for information specific to it) or ideas on what might be wrong. Here are a couple pictures of the valve:

Since this question was asked 1 year ago, I have to assume you have solved the problem. If you have not I will give some ideas. first the 360 millivolts  you show should have been 750 to 800 millivolts since this is a pilot generator. You can test the rest of the system by temporarily replacing the generator with a 1.5 volt standard flashlight battery. The condition of the wiring is also suspect; loose connections, old oxidized control contacts, an old thermostat, are all potential problems. I would recommend replacing all the wiring and controls and the pilot generator. As for the gas valve it is probably a "general controls" valve but any 800 millivolt gas valve can be used as a replacement. I recommend you call a heating expert. For the battery test above only connect the battery for a second or two just to see if the gas valve works.


Weird LED light bulb issue I'm looking for a good answer for an issue I'm having with some new LED light bulbs I got today. When I plug both 17w (150w equivelent) bulbs into the sockets in my garage they don't turn on at all. When I unplug one of the LED bulbs and turn on the other it won't light up either. However when I put one LED bulb in one socket and one incandescent bulb in the other socket both turn on the LED is perfect but the incandescent bulb only turns the coil in the bulb to a glowing orange.

The sockets are wired in series.  For all I know, they always have been.

You can get away with it with incandescents, at a bit over 1/4 the light from each bulb, so a 150 looks like a 40.

With one incandescent and one LED, the LED limits current to about 130ma, which is not enough for a 150W incandescent to get up to power.  As such, the incandescent doesn't see much current, and so can't drop much voltage.   Therefore the LED sees near full voltage, and is able to function properly.

If you want to test the "series" theory, try installing a 150W incandescent in one socket, and a 25W incandescent in the other.  If the 25 is much brighter than the 150, that confirms it.

Series is not a proper way to wire lights.  The person who wired it doesn't know what they're doing.  Have someone competent fix this and check all their other work.


How can I finish a hole in the wall? Considering a home theater "upgrade" for the house. When I was thinking about placement for the projector, I realized that the back wall of my living room is actually the wall to the Kitchen Pantry. Wife would not mind having a small rack for a projector in the pantry, and so I wanted to ask how you might go about having a hole in the wall with a glass optic to shine the projector through to the other room.

Through avsforums, I found that Edmunds non reflective glass would run me about $30-$40. However I'm concerned how I would finish up the hole, so that I don't end up having a literal hole in my wall!

Are there any ready to use items I could use to fashion a hole grommet/housing for the optic? (I was thinking a 3-4" diameter hole would be more than OK).

Considering this hole is going in the living room, it can't look too weird too. I welcome your suggestions!

UPDATE: In addition to the answers below, I found this product which is probably made for finishing a "hole": http://www.amazon.com/FastCap-Dually-Double-Sided-Plastic-Grommet/dp/B007CI3XL6

Also, cord grommets will work: http://www.amazon.com/Black-Desk-Grommet-Pack/dp/B000MM7PXG

This seems to be a design and/or shopping question, that is completely dependent on personal preference. You could trim the hole out with wood, some type of metal or plastic flange, some type of port hole from a ship (if you're going for a nautical theme), etc.

The options are only limited by your imagination.


Is it cost effective to close some heating vents? I have a central natural gas forced-air furnace in a small (1500 sq. ft.) home. I have an unfinished main room downstairs and a room for storage upstairs that's not being used as a bedroom.

Is it cost effective to close the heating vents in these rooms? I'm fairly confident about the unfinished basement room, but not so much the upstairs room. The reason being that there's a return air vent in the storage room: the door stays closed and the return air vent isn't getting anything to return.

Edit:

Upstairs there are a total of six rooms: kitchen, living room, bathroom, and three bedrooms. Each of these rooms has a vent. Each bedroom and the hallway connecting them have return-air vents. The thermostat is located in the hallway.

Given that the return air vent in the storage room is the only one, I'm fairly confident that closing vents and doors to unused areas will reduce the cost to maintain the used areas at a comfortable temperature.


Ethernet jack near power cable I have an un-shielded Cat5E cable that I'm pulling down a wall along a stud.  Near the bottom of said wall there is a 120v line running parallel to the floor.

1) Is it OK to terminate the ethernet in a single-gang junction box, nearly on-top of if the power line?

2) Would it be better to use a metal box?

It is presumed that your question is aimed at minimizing Electromagnetic Interference (EMI).  The answer is VERY difficult to be precise for your case.  EMI depends on many factors, however, for your case the variables you should be interested in are:  the separation between the cables and for how long the two cables run together.  Separation is inversely-proportional (not linearly though) to EMI, and distance run together is proportional (ibid on linearity) to EMI.

It also depends on what you connect to the power outlet!  If you running a washer or a vacuum cleaner, I would expect to see more re-transmissions in your Ethernet cable as a result than if you were to plug in your computer to the power outlet.

Unfortunately, the metal box won't buy you much. (However, if you do, make sure it is grounded to the same ground as the power cable.) The damage is really done in the UTP running parallel to the power cable vice where it is terminated.  In many shipboard design applications (where there are a lot more confined spaces), for 120V power it typically only requires 1 inch of separation between 120V power and Ethernet cable.  So, I would advise you to skip the metal box and try to provide that one inch of separation I mentioned above.  You might also consider rerouting the cable if you are still concerned.


Can I use these brackets to make wall mounted bookshelves? I have a fairly small home office and I also have several hundred books that I'd like to keep in my office. Because of the limited floor space I want to avoid any type of shelving that sits on the floor. I'd like to hang 4 or 5 6' shelves starting at around 4 feet up the wall.

I plan on spanning the 6' with construction grade 2x10s and for brackets I'd like to use these 7" Black Heavy-Duty Shelf Brackets.

Each pair of these brackets can hold up to 1000 pounds, and I plan on using three per shelf, anchored to the studs.

Each bracket is only 7" deep, is it acceptable to use 2x10s with these brackets? Each shelf would be cantilevered about 2.25".

2x10s will be fine with those brackets. The sagulator calculates about an 1/8" sag over the 6' span with a 500lb load and 2 brackets (anchored at sides), which is plenty acceptable - and 500lb is probably an overestimation for a single shelf. Shelving brackets are not intended to span the entire depth of the shelf either, but make sure the brackets are secured to the underside of the shelf properly


Furnace filter inserted backwards, will this cause permanent damage? Just found out that my wife changed the last furnace filter and inserted it backwards.  This was noticed after the ac was not cooling the house very well.  I went outside and noticed that the coil itself was frozen over.  I shut it down and waiting for it to unfreeze currenlty.  My  main worry is that this could cause permanent damage.  Thoughts on this?  Is it probable that this would cause permanent damage?

If liquid refrigerant gets in the compressor, it can indeed cause damage.  The compressor is designed to compress gas, trying to compress liquid can burn out the motor.
Let the system defrost. Fix the filter.  Then turn it back on. If the system still isn't cooling, you'll have to troubleshoot it yourself, or contact a professional to do it.  Make sure you give the system plenty of time to defrost. If the condensing unit was iced up, the evaporator is likely a solid block of ice.
Don't worry too much yet, everything could be just fine. Burning out a compressor isn't very common. You'll likely be okay, as long as you didn't run the system like this for a long time. Which I'm guessing you didn't since it won't work well, and you'd probably notice it wasn't working fairly quickly.
The backwards filter may not be the only problem, but may have been just enough to expose other problems.
Make sure all the registers and returns are open, and free from obstructions.
Closed/obstructed registers and returns, cause lower air flow through the system.
Check the evaporator coil (or have a pro do it), to make sure it's clean.
A dirty coil reduces the air flow, and reduces the transfer of heat.
Check the blower motor (or have a pro do it), to make sure it's running at the proper speed.
A slower motor moves less air over the coils, which reduces the amount of heat transferred to the refrigerant.
Check (or have a pro check) the refrigerant level.
A system that doesn't have the proper amount of refrigerant, will not function properly.

More information
The backwards filter caused reduced air flow through the evaporator, which reduced the amount of heat transferred to the refrigerant. Because of this, the refrigerant was likely not boiling off as soon as it should have. This caused the coils at the beginning of the evaporator to be very cold, which caused the normal condensation that is on the coils to begin to freeze. As the coils freeze up, the air flow is reduced even more. As the air flow reduces, less heat is transferred to the refrigerant. This causes a snowball effect, which carries on down the line.
Eventually the entire evaporator coil is in a solid block of ice, and the suction line (larger diameter pipe) is also frozen. At which point, liquid refrigerant will be making its way all the way back to the compressor. The compressor will now be trying to compress a gas liquid mixture. Since it cannot compress the liquid, the compression rate will drop. This causes the temperature of the compressed gas to be lower than it should be. At the same time the liquid in the mix will start to boil in the condensing coil, which will drop the temperature of the coils. As the condensing coil temperature drops below freezing, any moisture in the air around the coils will start to freeze.
If the system is allowed to run like this, the refrigerant in the compressor will be more liquid than gas. Since the liquid cannot be compressed, the compressor will struggle to operate. Eventually, the overworked compressor will give up.


Need to run Romex down along support beam into new wall below beam This view is looking up from beneath the support beam between unfinished space (to the right, where the duct is) and what will soon be finished space (left).  There will be no face on the right side, only drywall faced to the left.
Ignore the cat6 for now.  The yellow Romex is coming from the breaker panel and I need it to feed receptacles that will be in that wall (which will be below the top plate, which is now incorrectly stamped 'STUD').  The darker, older wood is the center support beam of our house.
So I think I just have to go completely around the support beam and run down inside the new wall.  Is the way I'm doing this okay, assuming the wire is stapled to the ceiling, beam, top plate, and wall stud?
There are other locations in the house where wiring is routed through drilled vertical holes in the beam.  I like my house, so I will not be doing that.
If this is not okay, what other options do I have?  Drilling diagonally (where and how?)  Metal clad?  What's the requirement in this situation?  I can't really find anything online that matches this.

You need to protect the wire when it comes out of the stud bay.
What I would do would be to drill a hole straight up in the center of the 2x4 go up and over to the joist bay.
Other options would be to notch the top plate and add a nail plate or sleeve the section with conduit.
To me going up through the 2x4 plate of that wall would be the easiest and look the most professional in the long run.  Since we can’t see the beam I may suggest drilling centered and up 1-1/2” into the beam (1-1/2 past the 2x4) then out to the side this will keep the wire out of the nail zone, it looks like you have more room on the left, that or notch the 2x4 and put a nail plate over the wire.


When wiring a wall plug is the common wire white or black? Switch says common wire. Is that white or black wire?

Black (hot) wire, brass screw (small blade)

White (neutral) wire, silver screw (wide blade).

Ground (bare or green) wire, green screw. (U blade)


Can I darken my grout? We have just tiled our bathroom and the grout is not as dark as I wanted it.  I love it when it is wet and is the color that I wanted it to be but lightens up when dry. Do you recommend getting the grout stain/paint? Or is there something else I could do.  Could I get it wet and before it dries put a sealer on it?

Grout stain is certainly the easiest option I have tried. The one I used came in a pen form and I just coloured in all the grout one afternoon when the bathroom was dry. I wouldn't try it with damp grout as the absorption might be unpredictable.


How should I ground two switches in a handy box that were previously ungrounded? I am replacing two light switches in my bathroom.  One controls the light above the sink and the other controls the fan in the ceiling.  When I took the old switches out, I saw that the three neutrals were connected together. The three grounds were connected together.  One black was connected to a switch, the other black was connected to the other switch, and the third was pigtailed to both switches.  My question is on the grounding wires coming from the supply that are connected together.  How should I ground the switches themselves?  The box is a plastic box.

All the ground wires in a box should be connected together, so add a pigtail from each switch to the ground wire nut, and connect them all together.  If this gets to be a lot of wires (sounds like 3 cables and 2 switches, so 5 total) it may be easier to use a push-in connector instead:

or for 6 conductors:


Rubbermaid garden cart tires I know you've seen these things. It's an indestructible black fiber-plastic cart body and a pair of 20 x 2.125 inch wheels with plastic spokes.

Does anyone know if I can replace the tires with the same size bicycle tires with tubes on the original wheels? Hate to throw out the wheels which also are shaping up to be indestructible (but not the tires).

I have 2 of these on my farm, we used mountain bike tires on the one that broke. We thought the wider and heavier rims would be needed even though we only carry sawdust for bedding stalls I think they have been on for 3-4 years and we did change the tubes that came with the rim & tire to the thorn resistant after a couple of flats.


Would a drain line being too low cause a problem for the washing machine pump to run dry and damage the machine? The drain line is the standard height, and is the height of the original one when the house was built. Is there a regulation stating it has to be a certain height? If so what is it.

I'm assuming this is a warranty issue with the company blaming you for an installation error.

Your best source of information to fight this will be the install manual that came with the washer (if you don't have it, look it up online).  In there they will list min/max height for drain.


Should I install an exhaust fan in a new garage? I'm having a new garage built in my home and I'm wondering if it's a good idea to have some sort of ventilation/exhaust/fan system installed while they're at it? I'm thinking of doing some spray painting in there so I figured having a vent in there would be a good idea.  I mean if I had to install one in an existing garage, I probably wouldn't bother but since it's being built from the ground up, I figure it shouldn't take much effort to install it?

The builder said it won't do much of anything/pointless and that I shouldn't bother.  Any opinions on what I should do?

I would completely disagree with your builder. Since it is a new garage, I do see merit in the "build it in" approach. There are two important considerations:

how many CFM do you need and what kind of noise level is tolerable? Are you using anything flammable? Water based paints should not be a problem but solvent based paints require special attention. This will drive your fan selection. Of course you want to make sure that the way the fan is turned on is convenient to you. Would you want to have more than one switch? Perhaps a motion detector controller would be even better? Now is the time to choose.
you must have a supply of "make up air".

How will new fresh air come in to replace the air you vent? Venting will be most effective if you can arrange a cross flow through your work area instead of a short circuit or whatever might happen without a proper design.

It may be worth it to run a duct just to force the air to flow across. If you wish to get fancy, you could incorporate some degreee of filtering as well.

This is outside the scope of your question but I always like to make sure a work area is well lighted with plenty of lumens and as little glare as possible. Since you are painting, a good (high) CRI is probably important also.


What actually happens if I vary proportions of cement and sand in mortar? When preparing cement mortar proportions of sand and cement can AFAIK be varied. I've always been using the "default recommended" 1-to-3 (one volume of cement for every three volumes of sand) proportion.

What actually happens if I alter the proportion - how will it affect mortar and why would I want that?

Codes and other guides provide nominal mix combinations that perform fairly in general conditions.

In general, a 1:2 mix will give better strength than a 1:3 mix. But it is quite possible that a 1:0.5 mix might perform worse. Strength comes from inter-particle force transfer between sand grains and also from shear resistance provided by cement acting as adhesive. Thus codes provide known balanced combinations that are satisfactory.

To gain complete control over the properties of a mortar/concrete mix, you must consider the following criteria:

Cement Amount: As a thumb rule, increasing the cement increases the strength. Beyond a certain point, it also acts negatively. Since major force transfer in a concrete/mortar matrix is from sand-sand interaction, excess cement will turn the mortar very brittle since cement particles cannot transfer normal contact force - they are good at providing shear strength. Since cement is expensive, in low-strength applications like roads the amount of cement is less to optimize on the cost.
Water Amount: Generally water content ranging from 20% - 35% (w/w cement) is considering a safe operable range. Lower water content gives low strength and less manoeuvrable mix for flat conditions like road laying. Higher water content is generally used in specific conditions like laying out pile using tremie - where the free flowing nature of mix is necessary. Although high-water also leads to lower strength, there are other workarounds (mentioned ahead).
Sand Amount: A very high amount of sand will make your mix very brittle and weak against all kinds of forces. For M20, M25 etc, general proportion is 1:3. However, for High-strength mix (M35+) its better to go with 1:2 and somewhere about that.
Aggregate Amount: Aggregates have two reasons to be there - economy and strength. They are cheap and provide as a good filler. Very high and very low amounts of aggregate give poor strength but a varied economic solution. A moderate amount is good enough.
Aggregate shape: Generally, increasing crookedness of the aggregate particle gives increasing strength as it gives a higher contact area and better inter-lock capabilities.
Air Entrainment: A high air-content in the mix leads to lower strength. That's why high-strength concrete is vibrated before laying to expel the small air-pockets. A low air content gives low manoeuvrability, so sometimes, 'air-entrainers' (chemical additives) are used to give the desired flowing nature without compromising on changing the water content and consequently the strength.
Additives: Physical additives like 'fine-silica-powder', 'fly-ash' allow cement reduction and provide economy. fine-silica is ... very fine so it goes into the smallest of voids and provides good contact strength by reducing the air content. Fly-ash comes as a general replacement for cement. It is a by-product from thermal power stations and is very cheap. Upto 15% cement can be replaced by fine-silica and upto ~40% by fly-ash. Chemical additives like super-plasticizers do provide a effective workability increase, or even a water reduction at similar workability - thus giving a higher strength mix.


What types of tubing can I use with Push-to-Connect fittings? I'm running a hydrogen gas system that's below 15 psi. All of my fittings are Push-to-Connect fittings of either 3/16", 1/4", or 5/16" OD from SMC. What sort of tubing can I use with this?

Would everyday hardware store vinyl tubing work fine? Nylon tubing? ATP Vinyl-Flex PVC? I can't find any literature about this on the SMC website.

You need to use tubing that is rated for hydrogen gas. McMaster-Carr may have some. Likely you'll have to use stainless steel or an exotic plastic like teflon. Normal hardware-store tubing will react, possibly violently, when used with such fluids/gasses in them. If you're cracking water into hydrogen / oxygen, that line will need to also be customized for carrying mostly pure oxygen.


Repair sealing inside toilet tank that leads to bowl I have a Kohler Santa Rosa toilet circa 2013. Water only fills the tank about 20% of the way - to the bottom of the center tube. I lifted up the center tube and noticed a red, possibly rubber, ring dangling off the bottom. I suppose this is the sealing between the tank and the bowl. Since there is no longer a tight seal, the water constantly leaks from tank to bowl.

I tried to remove the whole center tube to attempt to reattach the sealing, but I was prevented from completely removing the tube due to it being stopped by this disk thing. This "disk thing" is usually connected to the white tube, but I disconnected the tube during this repair. What are my options to repair the sealing if I can't get good vision of it and can not comfortably maneuver my hands around it?

I have done this. The cylinder thing is called the canister. The red seal should stay attached to the part below, that the canister rests on. Mine was squishy and I was able to temporarily reshape it until I got a replacement.

The entire tower part rotates about 1/4 turn counterclockwise, then lifts off easily. It seems fragile, as if it might break, but mine didn't. There are probably instructions on Kohler's website.

I know of no other option than to pay the overpriced $7 or so for an official replacement seal at HD or Lowes. The new ones are yellow and supposedly last longer.

Btw, if you ever replace the Fluidmaster fill valve that came with the Koehler, be careful that the new fill tube (white in the original) is not of a narrower OD, or else it will eventually come loose and spray sideways, which ends up on the floor somewhat. I fixed mine by wrapping with tape to make it have a greater diameter.


Adding an outlet to a hall closet I'd like to add an outlet to a 1st floor hall closet where I store tools.  The water meter for the house is in this closet, but nothing else (e.g. no water heater, furnace, etc.).  The closet is roughly 8'x 4'. The outlet will be used to charge batteries for drills, vacuums, etc. -- so very low amperage.  I'd like to wire the outlet into a dedicated 20A circuit I have for a sump pump. I don't have a sump pump and don't anticipate getting one, so the outlet is going unused.  The sump pump outlet is close to the closet, so tapping into it would be very convenient.  I plan on making the new outlet 20A and running 12/2 cable to be consistent.  Any concerns with this approach?

The only issue I would anticipate is that the sump pump outlet is probably not arc fault protected.  Depending on your local code requirements, you are probably required to have arc fault protection on a circuit supplying receptacles in a closet.


How to anchor floating toilet flange I have a cast iron toilet flange that sits about .4 inch above a 3/4" plywood subfloor. It feels very solid, but it is not anchored to anything. There are two empty holes in the flange for attaching to the floor, at 11 o'clock and 4 o'clock positions. The plywood underneath the flange is water damaged and brittle but still fairly strong. I plan to install 1/4" cement board and tile. Should I bring the cement board under the flange and screw down my two holes all the way to the brittle plywood? There's not enough room to get the tile under there too. Could I use the Superior Tool super ring replacement flange, or the Oatey galvanized wood floor support? Thanks!

If your subfloor is questionable, you should tear up the section surrounding the flange, between the joists, then block between the joists on either side (or front and back, depending on orientation) of the flange, and replace the subfloor material.  Then you can screw the flange to the new subfloor, with a spacer or shims.
You don't need the CBU or tile to fit under the flange.


VT1001 talking thermostat has started saying “two sixty four” I have a energy star rated VT1001 talking thermostat installed sometime in the early to mid 2000s.  This morning it began to periodicall speak the words “two sixty four” (264). I cannot find anything to explain to me what this means.  I have located and obtained a user manual for a smilar thermostat from the same manufacturer but this gives no explanation.

When this occurs then the light button no longer iluminates the lcd display.  However, pressing the report button does illuminate the display and immediately produces the phrase 264 as discribed above.

Can anyone here tell me what this message means?

Replace the unit.   I inferred that the spoken numbers were likely the firmware version and conveyed no additional information.  There are newer units on the market which are trivial to install and which have the same or better features that cost (2018) in the range of $50-$75CAD ($35-$55USD).


How easy is it to cut down a timber external door frame for use in a small door? I have a small, weird side door with a rotten frame that needs replacing.  The rough openening is around 680 x 1830mm.  The wall is brick.  The door opens into a garage with a concrete floor.
I was hoping to get a pre-made frame that could be cut down to size.  Here in the UK, this seems to be feasible for internal door frames, but for external frames it is much less clear how much work would be involved.  Here are a couple that are available in my area:

This would seemingly require new recesses to be chiseled out at the top and bottom.

It is not clear to me how this joins together at the bottom although it says that it doesn't come assembled.  The upper joint looks easier to recreate than for the previous frame.
Are there compelling reasons not to use an internal frame instead?  I will likely need to pour a new concrete step under the frame, so I could ensure that there is a gradient similar to the included foot plate to keep water out.
Or would I be better off starting from scratch?

Wow, those are pretty spiffy! You get bridal joints at the header and mortise & tenons at the threshold. Here in the US, we just get simple butt joints, often just stapled together.
If you're willing to put some elbow grease into it, making a new mortise for the tenons isn't too difficult. There are a ton of videos on the tube of you (Paul Sellers is a widely recognized, highly rated guy, also check out Mattias Wandell) on how to make a mortise & tenon joint. Since you'll already have the tenon, you'll only need to remake a mortise.
The simplest way to do it with some hand tools is:

Very carefully mark out the location for the new mortise. Use the tenon from the side of the frame and mark on the threshold where it should go. This is, generally, more accurate than trying to measure.
Using a drill bit the same width as the mortise needs to be, drill a series of holes for the mortise, removing most of the material.
Using a chisel, remove the remaining material left in the mortise and square up the corners & edges

You'll want to purchase just one chisel, preferably exactly the width of the smaller dimension of your mortise. If it's narrower than that dimension, it's fine, but wider will not work at all. This can be a cheap, off-brand chisel if you don't expect to do much more work like this in the future. There are chisels that are hundreds of <currency units> per chisel, you'll do just fine with one that's ten or less.
See also Paul's videos on how to sharpen - some cash spent on a single tile & some sandpaper and some time spent sharpening (yes, even a brand new chisel is too dull to use easily) will more than pay for itself in reduced working time & frustration.
Make sure that you do NOT oversize the mortise. You want it to be a snug fit. A loose tenon isn't your friend here. Though, since the jamb will be nailed/screwed into the door opening, it's probably not as critical as it would be if the M&T joint were holding up your kitchen table.
You're better off starting out ever so slightly small then enlarging the mortise just enough to let the tenon slide in with some force. That's much easier than adding wood back in to a mortise that's already too big.

Follow the original assembly instructions to assemble your new, narrower door jamb.

Spend some time watching some videos to get the details and watch how it's done, this was intended to be an overview. I believe these instructions are complete enough to get you through the task, but, if you're not a woodworker, there are probably some gaping holes.
You probably don't want to use a door jamb set designed for interior use. The exterior jambs are either made of wood that is naturally rot resistant and/or are treated for rot resistance. The interior jambs won't be treated, and only the more expensive (i.e. "custom grade" or similar) ones will be made of an exterior appropriate wood.


Honeywell thermostat oozing yellow and programing not working I installed a Honeywell thermostat last year for our boiler and it worked perfectly. This year we were having issues with it not following the program schedule. The thermostat should be sleeping and then will turn on. I took the faceplate off and there is yellow goo inside on the components. Is this just a faulty thermostat or is something else going on? Honeywell has been no help when I have tried to contact them. Thanks!

That appears to be dielectric grease. It keeps the pins from corroding. I wouldn't have expected to see it on an interior thermostat, but it's not a concern. (It was probably there when you installed the thermostat.)

You can wipe some of it up, but try to leave a thin film on each pin.


Rekeying a Schlage Connect smart lock So my wife finally gave me permission to go ahead and buy a smart lock to add to the rest of our growing smart home gadgets. I'm looking at the Schlage Connect. We currently have a separate deadbolt and doorknob, both with locks that use the same key. They have "Dexter by Schlage" branding on them.

My question is- if I replace the deadbolt with the Schlage Connect and the doorknob itself with a non-locking options (else you could lock yourself out if that one gets locked and you depend upon the keypad to get in!), can I replace the pins in the Schlage Connect with those from the previous deadbolt so I can continue to use the same key?

The short answer is yes.

You may even be able to save yourself some trouble by just swapping the deadbolt core (the small tube that holds the pins). When I first bought my house, I went around and re-keyed all the locks to the same key. I believe as long as the lock is the same brand, it's possible to re-key.

Here is a video showing the removal of the core and re-keying it. If you need to rekey a lock and you don't have the pins for some reason, you can buy a Schlage re-keying set.


Using radiant barrier to keep a room warm I have been told (including in comments by awesome user Unslander Monica) that a foil sheet placed on the interior side of an air-sealed window can help prevent radiative heat loss through that window. I have a few questions about this:

Does it matter what kind of foil I use? Is anything better than the "normal" foil used for food storage?
Does it matter whether the cavity between the foil and the window is not completely sealed? (I already have plastic film that should be blocking outside air from getting in through the window)
Does foil work significantly better than any white opaque surface?
Are there common conditions that I might not think of where this would not work?
Can foil also prevent radiative heat loss if I use it to cover a wall/ceiling? If so, is is partially effective if the wall/ceiling is only partially covered?
If the answer to #5 is "yes," then I am guessing that I will need to make sure that any pipes running through the covered walls do not require heat from my living space to prevent freezing. Right?
If the answer to #5 is "yes," are there any special precautions I should take in a room heated by baseboard heat?
Can I also use foil on my walls/ceiling to increase solar heat gain when condition are appropriate? If so, is there something better I could use?
Catch-all question: Is this a giant waste of time? I don't intend to work on this until I have upgraded/insulated windows/doors/attic, sealed small cracks, and improved my personal habits. But I am renting so I have limited ability/desire to tear open walls or buy major appliances.

Does it matter what kind of foil I use? Is anything better than the "normal" foil used for food storage?

Foil reflects heat by reflecting light that would normally be absorbed by the surface (or what's behind the surface, in the case of glass). By bouncing that light back into the room the energy is retained. Obviously this means that the more reflective (shiny) the surface, the more effective it will be.

Does it matter whether the cavity between the foil and the window is not completely sealed?

Not with respect to radiant heat reflection. Obviously it would help with insulation and heat loss in general.

Does foil work significantly better than any white opaque surface?

Yes. It better reflects all of the light spectrum (visible and not). A very glossy white surface could come close, I suppose.

Are there common conditions that I might not think of where this would not work?

Not really, assuming typical household circumstances. All matter emits heat energy, so the more heat and light in the room the more there is to contain through reflection.

Can foil also prevent radiative heat loss if I use it to cover a wall/ceiling? If so, is is partially effective if the wall/ceiling is only partially covered?

Sure. This is why foil-faced insulation panels exist. It's not usually practical for an interior surface, though, for reasons of aesthetics and durability.

Will I need to make sure that any pipes running through the covered walls do not require heat from my living space to prevent freezing?

That is a concern which varies with climate, existing insulation, etc.

Are there any special precautions I should take in a room heated by baseboard heat?

Not really. You'll still need to maintain safe clearance to combustibles, of course.

Can I also use foil on my walls/ceiling to increase solar heat gain when condition are appropriate?

This would probably be counter-productive. You want your interior surfaces to absorb light and heat in winter, not reflect it.

Is this a giant waste of time?

The benefits are unlikely to outweigh the detriments (cost, effort, loss of visibility and natural light) unless you're facing a severe energy crisis. For that reason it's rarely done. There are films that reflect some heat while maintaining partial visibility, but they would obviously cost more than basic foil.


Outlet Change with 4 Hot Wires I was swapping a standard outlet in my kitchen out for one with USB ports in it.  When I cracked it open, I noticed the existing outlet had 4 hot wires on it (2 black connected to the upper hot terminal and 2 red conncect to the lower hot terminal), with one white and a ground (See Photo) I opened the other outlets around my kitchen and it appeared they were all wired this way in series.

The new USB outlet only has one hot terminal. Initially I pigtailed all four of the hot wires together and attached to the new hot terminal. I flipped the breaker on and it overloaded.

Next I removed the two red wires from the pigtail and twisted them off together without connecting them to the new outlet. Then I connected only the two black in pigtail to the hot and everything seems to work fine now.

Does this seem OK? Any advice? Thanks for the help]1

Critical issues here :

Side tab cut, not broken off. That is not safe as the 240V between them could easily arc, illegal per NEC 110.3 as the receptacle's instructions say to break off the tab entirely, not cut it. This defeats the safety testing done by UL since UL did not test it that way.
Backstabs are not compatible with 12AWG wire, the wire size now required in kitchens.
Bending the wires onto the screws is very shabbily done (poor conductivity, and NEC 110.12).
Backstabs and screws both in use (I believe that's not allowed).
Two separate circuits feeding the same yoke, but they are not handle-tied for common maintenance shut-off. (Alternatively, a 2-pole breaker can be used to accomplish the handle-tie, but never a double-stuff/duplex/2-in-1-space type.)
Neutral must be pigtailed - correct. This is so a receptacle can be removed without severing neutral for the other circuit.

The fix is what you did: pigtail the hots and use screws only.  Do that on the other receptacles... or, switch to the $3 Leviton screw-to-clamp type, which support 2 wires under each screw. And break the tabs off properly, they have break lines, a few flexes should do it.

When you are able, put the 2 circuits on a 2-pole breaker or handle-tie them.


Ceiling Light Flickers I have an electrical issue. My home was built in 1984. I have one room with no electricity. A heater pulling too much electricity was plugged in, then I plugged in the vacuum cleaner and blew out the electricity in the whole room/hall. I replaced the outlet I plugged vacuum in, and this didn't fix the problem...but once or twice the light came on, then off again...now it's off. This was bedroom 1. Now, bedroom 2...when I bump into the wall...the ceiling light flickers. I finally got the light to come/stay on this morning but I have an issue that must be fixed. Should I replace all the outlets? I'm caretaker of my special needs sister and must have light! Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.

I am guessing that you have copper wires, right? Not aluminum, right?

Replacing receptacles is almost certainly not necessary. If your receptacles are connected with push-in, "back wire" connections with spring connections not screws, then an over-current event may have burned and loosened the connections. If your wiring is done that way, then changing the wires to the side screws would be strongly advised.

The fact that you can affect the light by banging on the wall indicates that the problem is in a wall receptacle (most likely or in a wall switch box (less likely but still possible).

You would need to check all the receptacles on the circuit. If you are providing care for a person with special needs, it might be best to call an electrician to fully check out the circuit. Electrical work can be dangerous and if you were to be injured you might not be able to perform the essential work you are now doing.


Wiring from Oven to Switch At the moment under the oven switch the cable is plastered over (without capping) till it reaches under the counter; there it pops out of the raw plaster and is draped across the back of the units to the double-oven housing where its just wired into the back of the oven.

My sparky suggested channeling out the wall (light blue line) down and across, then capping it. But I was wondering if it was better, or if theres any reason not to channel straight down to the floor boards, then tac the cable to the joist across the width of  the kitchen before coming up (channeling again) to the cooker connection point (as in the purple line).

The blue line would be 70cm high; total length of cable travel 150cm
And this is in the UK.

In some places it is illegal to run hidden power cables horizontally across walls unless they are within a specific short distance from floor or ceiling.

For example, in the UK I believe all power cables to/from a mid-wall switch must run vertically to or until near the floor/ceiling.

So, the answer may depend where you live.

Reference: IET cables in walls


Catching/Stopping the Mice from getting into house I have a mouse hole and the mice that it brought. Traps outside caught two so far, but I still hear mouse activity in the room inside this wall.
I am trying to understand the next steps.
(A) wait X days until traps don't catch more?
(B) put poison in the hole
(C) patch the hole up, whatever mice are inside will die.
Am I missing something? What would be the best approach?

Patch up the hole to stop more mice from getting in.
Put traps (or a cat - personally, I'd prefer traps) in the house to catch the ones that are there.
So long as they can find food (and mice are really good at finding food), it's likely that the ones that are already inside will reproduce, thus rendering the "wait until they all die" option somewhat ineffective. Of course, if you happen to have all males or all females inside, that combination cannot reproduce, but it's probably not worth taking the chance.


Bathroom fan intake location I have a log home with no bathroom fans.  In a low humidity climate this is not a mildew problem, but it would be a nice to vent the other unwanted gas.  The easiest place to install one is in the tub skirt and duct thru the floor joists.  I think having the blower near the tub is probably a bad idea, so I am thinking of having an in-line fan somewhere in the crawlspace.  Are there any issues with this setup?  Is it a bad idea to have the intake down low?  Is it bad to have negative pressure in the vent ducts?

Only caution would be if it's actually in the floor, in which case you might want to consider precautions from liquid water going into it. Down low it won't vent moisture as well, but since that's not a concern for you it should not matter much - right behind the toilet bowl would appear to be your ideal intake position. Negative pressure is fine in ducts unless you are using a jet engine rather than an inline vent fan.


Why isn't water coming out of a radiator in my freshly pressurized system? I live in an old Victorian with three stories, plus a basement and an attic. I tried to bleed the radiators in preparation for turning the heat on, but was unable to get any water out of the radiators on the third floor. I raised the water pressure on the boiler, which is in the basement, to 22 psi and got a ton of air and (very dirty) water out of eight of the ten radiators on the third floor.

The other two, however, did not release any water OR air. ??? Other internet forums suggest that they might have blocked valves? Something about sludge? I don't know what that means or how to fix it, and all the information I found was about radiator systems in Europe, and I suspect they might be different.

I came across weird things on two other radiators, too. One on the first floor spurted water out of the bleed valve as well as the spout it's supposed to come out of. The resident of that room reported the radiator was cold all last winter, but I got water out of it right away.

One on the second floor doesn't appear to have a bleed valve at all? There's a metal thing sticking out where the bleed valve should be, and it looks sort of like a longer version of the piece that actually gets loosened and tightened in the valves on the other radiators. I couldn't budge it, however, with a key or a pliers.

Any ideas on what could be wrong with these four radiators? How can I diagnose and fix the problems?

I think you have a air lock.

Turn off all but one of the none working radiators, this will force the water to go do that radiator.  Then bleed the radiator and move onto the next one.  Do with with the pump running, but the boilder turned off (or turned down so it does not heat the water).

If that does not work, you will need to get someone in to flush the system. Don't overlook the option of just replacing all the pipework and radiators if you have a lot of sludge adn the system is old - then you will only have one trades person that is responible for all problems.


Can I stack new beam to the top of old beam to extend span? I have appropriately sized an LVL to extend a span by 3ft as well as assured the column support to the foundation at the new column.

EDIT: The existing 12 ft span is carried by a 4x10, the new span is 15 ft and would be carried with the appropriate full-length LVL

The existing simple span is a 4x10 beam with 2x8 ceiling joists.
It had been my intention to build the temporary support walls, remove the existing beam, place the new LVL beam and re-hang the joists.

A competent framer told me that I could save work by setting the new LVL on top of the old beam then connect them with metal fasteners. In this way, I would only need to hang a few additional rafters from the new beam and would not need to build temporary walls or remove the existing beam.

The LVL is oversized so the additional weight of the 4x10 is negligible.

This method stands to reason in my mind and I would likely add some timber to keep the beam from yaw/roll anyhow.

Is this a common/acceptable practice? It seems perfectly plausible to me but I had never heard of doing this before.

There is no problem flush framing the LVL in the ceiling as you suggest, provided it physically fits in the space available. If the LVL is placed directly over the 4x10, the ceiling joists will need to be cut to make room for the LVL. If this cutting keeps them from bearing on the 4x10, they need to be shored up until the LVL and hangers can be fitted. A temporary ledger on the 4x10 will suffice. Since LVLs can be narrower than sawn timbers, shoring/ledger may not be needed.

You might consider removing the 4x10 beam to open up the new opening so it is taller. Once you remove the supporting walls, it will more or less fall down anyway, unless it is well attached to the new LVL, essentially hanging it beneath the LVL. Why leave it there? It's not doing anything but getting in the way. Unless it's hiding the end of a soffited area, the taller opening would be an added benefit of flush framing the new LVL.


Who makes this shower faucet handle (logo identification)? Who makes this shower faucet handle?

It's slightly broken, I'd like to get a replacement part, but I have no idea what company this is. Does anyone recognize this logo, or know how I might go about finding the answer myself?

I've done image searches, I've asked a few relatively knowledgeable vendors (who are searching on my behalf but haven't found it yet), and I can't find any more concrete information on either handle (although I may yet dig further behind the faceplate to look for more branding information).

A very helpful support contact at Moen managed to put me in touch with someone at Amati Canada, who suggests that it is an "American Sole" unit. I can't find any information that suggests that's a manufacturer, or a line of products or anything -- so I can't corroborate, but at least I may be on the path to finding out who makes it.

Incidentally, in the meantime, I managed to find a workaround for repairing the part that was broken (I found a small plastic bit that sits firmly in the recess and can be screwed on, acting as a sort of bridge between the screw and the cap, so that when you turn the cap, it turns the handle again). It's not a perfect fix, but it's more than adequate for my needs. If I can get the part replaced, I may still, but it's nice to have options.


What is sealing the edges of this footpath? I want to fill the cracks in between the foundation and stone pathway adjacent to it.

In this first picture, you can see the void between the foundation and the stones.

But if you were to turn 180°, you'd see a less weathered (although hardly doing a complete job) seal. (grout?)

I wonder - can anyone identify the sealing material in picture? If so, what is it, can I buy and apply more of it very easily? Bonus: will it have any material effect on insects that may be going under and around the door to get inside the house?

Looks like (just dirt actually) asphalt concrete expansion joint material. But it doesn't really matter what it is if it didn't come out a caulking gun. To insert an expansion joint you'd probably have to pull the first row of bricks up.

Google vulkem caulk if you want a way to easily do it and have something that will remain flexible for upwards of 20 years. Read the warning labels. This stuff works really well, which means it's very bad for you.


What is the life expectancy of a ratchet strap? During my house move I used ratchet straps to secure a book-shelf on a roof of my car. That was well secured and worked out perfect. But the second time I have tried using the same straps, they did not want to release. After examination it turned out that the release mechanism got very tight and I could not rotate the drum backwards with hands. (I could on the new ones).

Also I spoke to my friend who works in Oil and Gas industry, offshore. He said that they discard the tie-downs after one use.

Surely I should not throw away ratchet strap tested for 800kg-load after securing with it a 20kg-book shelf for 10-minute journey on a car.

So the question is: should I just apply some WD-40 to the strap mechanism, try taking it apart and fix it. Or these things are really intended to be used once?

Don't spray it with WD-40. It might lube it up enough to get it moving, but the oils in it will attract dirt and debris which will eventually lead to binding. If you want to try giving it a shot of lube, use a dry type silicone spray.

Ratchet straps are not typically a disposable item, but cheaply made straps can be easily broken. If you're handy, you might want to give fixing it a shot.  Look for things that look out of place, bent, broken, or bound up.  Sometimes the ratchet can become bound up with the strap itself, and can be fixed with a bit of yanking and cranking. Without knowing the exact type of strap you're using, it's difficult to give more accurate repair instructions.  So you'll just have to mess with it until you've fixed it, or given up.

If you decide the strap is beyond repair, and you need to purchase a new one. Buying a higher quality strap, should insure a longer more useful product life. Just remember, higher price does not always equal higher quality.  Handle and inspect the strap in the store as much as you can. Try operating the ratchet, releasing the ratchet, tugging at the straps, etc. to try and gauge the quality.

Note:
Most ratchet straps do have the ability to destroy themselves, over tightening the ratchet can permanently damage it.


Which is better - epoxy or polyurethane to fix the hairline cracks on the basement wall that is leaking? Which is better - epoxy or polyurethane to fix the hairline cracks on the basement wall that is leaking? Thank you for your help in advance.

Ok here it is. My opinion neither will fix a leaking wall from the inside, once that spot is fixed a new location will start leaking. The only real way is to eliminate the water through drainage and possibly sealing from the outside.


How do I properly lay a tongue and groove plywood subfloor in a remodel? When laying T&G plywood subfloors, do all of the edges need to be supported around the perimeter of the room? If so, I may need to add some sort of blocking in my project and I'm not sure of the best approach since the walls are sitting over the joists and therefore there is nothing for the edges of the plywood to sit on.

Do I need to run board parallel to the joist with the wall on it so the entire edge of the plywood sits on top of it? I've heard that I should use "blocking" and also that it should be "continuous" but these are contradictory terms to me at the moment.

From what I've gathered, blocking would be boards inserted perpendicular to the joists and to the edge of the plywood that needs support and therefore not be "continuous". The other option would basically be sistering the joist with the wall on it which could prove difficult since there are pipes and wires in the way.

Could someone please clarify what needs to be done?

You defiantly need to support the subfloor around the perimeter.
Let's say this is your floor without plywood.

You want to put plywood down, but the edge of the sheet has nothing under it for support.

If you don't support the plywood, you'll end up with a "soft" spot around the perimeter.  Stepping, or adding weight to this area will cause the plywood to flex. This flexing will cause the area to feel spongy, and could damage the flooring (depending on the type of flooring). To solve this problem, you have a couple options.
Blocking.
Installing blocking perpendicular to the joists will support the edge of the sheet.

The size and spacing of the blocking will be determined by local codes, so consult your local government for these requirements.
Additional Joist
Another option, is to install an additional joist to support the edge of the sheet.

This extra joist may not have to span the entire length, and may be able to be supported by blocking between the existing joists. Again, check with local building codes to determine what is required.


Freezer is cold but not freezing at all After throwing a thermometer in my freezer, it is around 15-20 degrees Fahrenheit. Things that have been in there and frozen are staying frozen, but anything new that needs to freeze is not.

For example, 24 hours ago I put some of those "colored ice pops" in there and maybe 3 or 4 froze, the rest are just cold.

It is a Freezer/Refrigerator combo with the freezer on top.

What could be causing this and how would I go about fixing it?
EDIT

It looks like the back panel of my freezer is popping off for some reason. I think that this what causes it to not stay cold. Is it possible to pop it back on?

EDIT TWO
The fridge is still warm, even though it is dialed to the max. The freezer is running heavy and is around 15 degrees.

15-20 degrees isn't cold enough, believe it or not :)  There needs to be a significant temperature difference to rapidly draw the heat out of the items you want to freeze.

For example, current Whirlpool refrigerator/freezer units come preset to 0-degrees (F, not C) for the freezer and 37-degrees (F) for the fridge.  According to this document, the freezer range is from -5 to 5 (F), and the fridge can be set from 33 to 41 (F).

Make it colder, and save your fish :)


Why did my leaking pool light trip the circuit breaker, but not the GFCI? This is, I am sure, an extremely naive question.   I hope that's okay (and I hope it can be answered at a level I'll understand).

The background: My swimming pool has underwater light fixtures, on GFCI circuits.  I recently replaced the bulb in one of these fixtures, reassembled the fixture incorrectly, and re-installed it.  About 48 hours  later the circuit breaker (the one inside the house, in the breaker box, not the GFCI) tripped.  I removed the fixture, which was full of water, realized my mistake, reassembled it correctly, re-installed it, and it's now been fine for several weeks.

Question 1:  In my naivete, I'd have thought that the water in the fixture would trip the GFCI immediately, so that the circuit breaker in the house would never have tripped.  But the circuit breaker in the house did trip.    So was my expectation wrong, or does this mean my GFCI is not  working?

Question 2:  After I re-installed the fixture and flipped the breaker back on, the lights worked, even though I never reset the GFCI.  Is that evidence that the GFCI is not working?

Question 3:  In pondering Questions 1 and 2, I was led to wonder how I would ever know if my GFCI is not working.   Removing the underwater fixtures once a month to hit the test button is not terribly practical.  Is there another way to test this?

An underwater GFCI doesn't matter

That is to say, it doesn't perform any useful function underwater. It does nothing to prevent the water from being electrified, which is its one job.   Here's how a GFCI is laid out.

As you can see, if water can get to the "Line" side of the device, then it electrifies the water.  And the GFCI cannot do a thing about it.

So this is a lost cause. I really don't care whether your friend thought he saw a GFCI down there; if it exists it is useless.

Besides, having a "test" button in such an inaccessible location is a blatant code violation. It simply makes no sense, unless it's a holdout from the early days of GFCI requirements - maybe it's something the light manufacturer put in there to CYA.  Regardless: treat it as if it doesn't exist.

GFCI and overcurrent are different things

A breaker trips on overcurrent, when the total current flow exceeds the breaker limit by a wide enough margin or a long enough time. (breaker trip curves are pretty generous).

A GFCI actively looks for current differential on the two conductors. When it detects a small amount (8ma) of unequal current, that means current is seeking a third path, and it trips.

While they both relate to current, that is the end of the similarities.

That said, if the breaker is a combo GFCI+breaker device, it may seem like an overcurrent trip.  You have to pay close attention to its indications to see whether you are dealing with a GFCI or overcurrent trip. If it is a GFCI breaker, it will have a TEST button.

Otherwise if the breaker tripped, it's because either a massive amount of current flowed, or the circuit was mildly overloaded for awhile. This could simply be from too many appliances plugged into the circuit.

GFCI protection is required for pool circuits

As said, the GFCI units underwater don't count.  Every circuit within 6 feet of the water (length of a common appliance cord) needs GFCI protection.  Fortunately any GFCI device can confer GFCI protection to devices down-circuit of it.  At extremes, a GFCI+breaker protects the whole circuit.

So the right way to protect the circuit with the pool lights is find a point along that circuit before it nears the pool, and fit an appropriate GFCI device there.  E.G.

a receptacle not likely to be splashed with water,
inline in GFCI-only (deadfront) devices,
part of a GFCI+receptacle+switch combo device
a GFCI breaker to replace the regular breaker.

Alternately, make the pool lights low-voltage DC

12 volt DC power is incapable of shocking swimmers. Old incandescents draw too much current for that to work with existing wiring, but LED is so efficient that it works fine at 12V on existing wiring.  So why have special devices which require constant testing to protect swimmers from shock, when you can moot the entire point by switching to 12 volts DC?

I recommend fitting a 12VDC power supply at least 6' from the pool and running all the pool lighting on that, using LED.  This also means you never need to change another bulb.  It's even possible to do it using existing fixtures, since they make Edison base LED replacements that are 12 volts DC.


Intermittent Water Pressure on a Well Bought a house 6 months ago. It has a well, the water pressure was never amazing but it was fine. Last week it started to get bad so I checked the well pressure. The switch was designed for 40/60 but it was cutting on/off about 35/50. So I drained the tank reset it to 40/60 and pre charged it to 38psi. The pressure seemed to be working great... sometimes and on some faucets.

The pressure on the 2nd floor shower is pretty good along with the faucets  up there. But the 1st floor kitchen sink has poor pressure. Theres also a faucet on the first floor that has no cold water coming out of it all but a faucet in the room 3 feet away has fine pressure.

The above is the average condition, but when the tank is low, around 45psi, the water pressure everywhere drops, many go to zero and you can hear air in the pipes.

I did notice that the well tank, when at 60 psi, is only about 1/5 full of water. And I have seen the if I have a few larger faucets on, like a tub and 2 showers, the pressure goes down even when the well pump is on. I wonder if theres a problem with the pump and or my water level dropped but I can't f ind anything online with a similar problem. I've tried clearing air out of the pipes by running everything but when I do that the pressure drops to basically nothing.

Have you checked the faucet shut-off valves? Aerator screens? Is there an in-line water filter? Do any of your fixtures have low-flow inserts? I would first check these things. Inconsistent pressure throughout the house at a given time makes me think you have problems beyond the pressurization system.

Pressure gauges and pressure switches both are mechanical devices prone to failure. If you notice an inconsistency between the pressure you see at an outlet and what the gauge says, you have a suspect gauge. If you have a secondary pump (one that pressurizes the tank from outside the well) then it's easy to see if the pump comes on at a consistent pressure on the gauge, but also consistent at a faucet. If not consistent, then the pressure switch is suspect. If the pump won't keep up with normal demand then the pump or motor is suspect. If your tank is pressurized from a submersible pump suspended in your well, it becomes more difficult to diagnose and much more expensive. Lastly, don't be afraid to contact a well company.


How can I figure out why my breakers are tripping? A few years ago, I installed a solid wood "pocket" sliding door for my workshop. It's on an exterior wall, so I had to add some thick sealing strips that keep the cold air from Wisconsin winters outside. As a result of the heavy material and tight-fitting strips, the door can be a bit of a bear to open – especially with one hand.

Last summer, just when I was about to remove the stripping, I spotted a garage door opener at the flea market and had an idea. A few days and a couple gears later, and I had a door that would slide open and closed very quickly through a foot pedal (requiring zero hands) or an outdoor  keypad.

Just recently, however, I've been having a few obnoxious electrical issues. About halfway through the door opening, a breaker will trip… losing all power. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal to diagnose, but the wiring is a bit weird.

I have two electrical mains (the garage requires a separate electrical company account being on a separate property), but the previous owner wired the house, garage, and workshop together so that you could turn outside and garage lights on/off from various switches.

Sometimes a breaker in the house will trip, and sometimes a breaker in the garage will trip. The workshop is supposed to be wired to the house's electrical line, but the house will trip about 30% of the time instead.

It's not a big deal to flip the breaker, but I'd like to figure out where my problem is so that I can use my sliding door like I have been.

First, breakers are designed for avoiding draw over the rated current - old fuses did this by melting when the line in the fuse got too hot and melted.  They are not designed as switches for operating a circuit, so your statement "It's not a big deal to flip the breaker" is only in reference to the amount of inconvenience you suffer.  The breakers should not be flipping constantly.

The reason most breakers flip is when you run a motor that pulls more current than the breaker is rated for, so the simple fix if things were wired correctly would be to use a lower amperage motor or a higher amperage breaker.  The risk with the higher amperage breaker is that the wiring in the wall is of insufficient gauge and will generate enough heat due to resistance to melt the insulation and cause a short.

The fact that the motor is apparently on more than one branch circuit is the primary cause for concern.  This is a wiring issue, and can be solved by isolating the motor on its own new branch circuit.  That will not solve the underlying issue of having (probably) multiple instances of poor wiring.

As far as diagnosing the specific problem goes I would recommend hiring an electrician to trace the branch circuits involved (you could do the same with a continuity tester and a few long leads) and write up a proposal to fix the wiring issues.


How to wire C wire to the transformer of HVAC? How are you all doing?

I tried to connect the digital thermostat (Ecobee3) instead of my old honeywell thermostat.
The original wiring is below (figure 1)

HVAC is located on the ceiling of bathroom and looks like these. FYI, there is no board or control center for it. The blue wire in this picture is the free wire I would like to use for C wire (figure 2). It is not connected to any wire or transformer. The end of wire is just free.

It might seem like there are separate transformers for AC and heater.
The Y wire is from one wire bundle (Figure 3).

R wire which was hooked up at Rc in my old thermostat, G wire and W wire all are connected to a part which seems like a transformer (figure 4 and 5)

I did 2 different connections.

a. I connected free blue wire to the blue wire which is stretched out from transformer (in figure 5 at the bottom). The thermostat was not turned on and just blinking.

b. I connected free blue wire to the black (or brown) wire at the same point depicted in figure 2. Thermostat was successfully turned on but when I tried to turn the AC on, there was a burning (because I smelled something burning) and I shut the power off. I don't know where the burning was.

I have no idea how I can connect free blue colored wire to which part of transformer to supply 24V to thermostat.

I am absolutely new to this electrical thing so please kindly suggest or recommend me a good solution. If you need more detailed pictures I will provide them ASAP.

oh, the ecobee wires connection is below (figure 6)

If we read your manual correctly it states to install the PEK.

https://www.ecobee.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/ecobee3_InstallationGuide.pdf

You can also look here:
https://www.stevejenkins.com/blog/2014/09/how-to-install-an-ecobee3-smart-thermostat/

And a guide to the wire color codes is found here:

Why are the white and orange wires both connected to my thermostat's W terminal?

That said if you are looking to get around the PEK - of course I can understand that you see 'No Control Board' or Terminal Connections but simply a bunch of things wire nutted together, that maybe this is why you skipped that item.

In order to do this - you need 24VAC for that common wire and it should follow the color code for the common wire [BLACK] at least black tape both ends of your blue wire if you can't pull a black wire.. (as this tells people what circuit in the HVAC it is supposed to be) , of course that is only if you are interested in doing it right.

In Picture number 2 You have a Green , White, Red and Black wire coming down from top left.  Now since there is not a real drawing of what is where and how it is hooked up and your pictures are a bit difficult to trace the wires ..

I am guessing that the Black wire is the 24VAC common that you will need to connect to - it appears to be wire nutted in the back to a brown or purple wire - I am guessing that goes to the condenser unit. First check it for voltage with a volt meter on AC setting and measure between that wire and the frame screws of the unit. Do not hold the meter by the metal leads - hold the plastic of the leads and measure - do not touch any metal with your hands! You can get electrocuted or shocked.

After measuring and making sure it is 24 Volts AC - you can hookup your blue wire as long as you taped a black band around the end with black tape - to identify it as really being a black wire. Now you have the proper voltage and wire.

EXCEPT you already hooked up stuff previously and let the smoke out of something, so depending on how much smoke was let out.. your unit should be able to run.

All of this said : Your system should work if you did not burn up anything previously.


Bending brass sheets I would like to bend a long edge (about 500mm) of a brass sheet (either 0.5mm or 1mm) into a U-shape.

I understand that brass is best bent warm. Is this achievable at home (without large machines)? Is it possible to bend it in sections

_______ before bending
_—_—_—_ bending parts
——————— after bending

The instructions here

don't mention heating and don't easily adapt to larger edges (500mm), as the strength required is probably too large.

(I am using the sheet as a drawer and would prefer the bent edge over an edge protector, which would stop things from sliding out easily.)

Find a local metalshop, ask them to bend it for you. Should be cheap. Or you could spend a hundred bucks or so on a cheap bending brake. Or you can continue to wrestle with it.