What causes Voltage fluctuation in Panel I have a double pole 20 amp breaker in my main panel (no sub panels). and measuring the voltage it jumps between 118 and 121 on one side and 117 and 121 on the other.
I thought it should be at 120V. why is it fluctuating so? Is this ok?

It's fluctuating within spec, because your household (and neighborhood) electric system is real, not "ideal."

The "240V" feed to my building varies between 238 and 242 on a regular basis - this depends on what other loads the system is servicing and the resistance of real wires with resistance. Actually, it's pretty impressive that the variation is that small, when you consider the distances involved and the number of separate, uncoordinated loads the power company has to supply, as they turn on, or off, at random.

Within your house, you may see variation on the two (115-125V) legs due to more loads on one leg than the other (unbalanced) - but the overall voltage into the building also varies slightly.


Why does adding a C wire for a thermostat blow the fuse? I am adding a WiFi thermostat. I have R,W,G,Y wires. Plus 2 extra coming from upstairs that go between humidifier and humidistat. So I ran an extra wire for the C wire. When I attach it to the C terminal on circuit board, it blows the 5 amp onboard fuse. The white wire that is already attached to the C terminal and the red wire on the G terminal go to the outside A/C unit. Could those cause a short when adding the new wire? I have a tester but not sure what to check. It could be a bad thermostat. How do I test for a short on the thermostat terminals?

Here are some images without the new wire connected:

this turned out to be a bad thermostat. The manufacturer sent me a new one and it works great with the C wire attached.  One test they had me do was attach just the C and R wires. When I attached the old thermostat, the fuse blew.


How can I locate the leak in my roof? My concrete flat roof is 2 years old.  Above the roof I have fixed terracotta tiles.  During heavy rains I find water leakages (dropping) inside my house in several places.  Water drain is perfect.  No water stagnation after rain stops. I couldn't find any cracks, holes in my roof.  Kindly suggest me how to find out the exact leakage point.  I would be ever thankful for your valuable suggestion.  I want to get rid of this problem.

Go into the attic next time it rains. Look around for a leak above the places it leaks in the house. Additionally, sometimes leaks will "travel down" a rafter a bit before dripping down, so check your raters for water trails, and follow them!


Pull chain light sockets wired without pigtails I have a string of four ceramic pull chain light fixtures in my unfinished basement on a 20A circuit with 12awg wire. The chain/switch on one stopped working and when I started to removed the fixture to replace it I discovered that the hot is wired to the terminal not with a pigtails but with one continuous wired looped around and then departing the box to feed the other lights. (The neutral is pig tailed.)
See image (note: the red and one white go to a receptacle -- I think we can ignore those for this purpose).
This seemed unusual so I opened the next fixture down the line and both the hot and neutral are wired in this continuous loop way. (I'm assuming the other two lights are too.)
This certainly seems not ideal but is it dangerous/really bad? Or was this accepted practice at one time?
(I'm in the US. House was built in the 60s but not certain if this particular circuit is original or not.)

It's perfectly fine.  I don't do it because it takes too much work threading all that wire through all those holes/knockouts... but there's nothing wrong with the method.


Feasibility of replacing cracked AC condenser fan blades A few minutes ago the fan blade in my AC condenser split down the middle.

I'm assuming it's been cracked/split for a while now and it finally just gave up. It looks simple enough to replace... pull the top cover off, detach existing blade from motor, attach new blade to motor, reassemble, etc.

As far as I can tell everything else is otherwise still intact. The motor was working fine prior to this, and it was turned off within a minute or so of it starting to bang around inside.

My question is this: Is there a chance that it could have damaged something else, or is this somewhat common? It's pretty close to the coolant pipes and I have to think it did hit them as it was breaking apart. I don't see any damage aside from the blade, but I'm not sure I would know what to look for.

I don't mind calling someone in... I just need to know where to start.

This type of failure is fairly common, and usually doesn't cause too much collateral damage, if caught quickly.
If you want to attempt the work yourself, it is fairly straightforward as you describe. You'll likely have to source the replacement blade from a local HVAC company, or the internet. You'll also have to balance the blade, so that it doesn't destroy itself again.
Once you open the unit, you'll want to inspect it closely for damage. Specifically, look for deep cuts and dents in the coil. There may be  some superficial damage to the fins, which likely isn't too big of a deal. If there's  lots of damage to the fins, or damage severe enough to penetrate the refrigerant lines. You will need to repair or replace the coil.
Also look for damaged wiring, as that could require replacement of the motor.
When purchasing a replacement blade, make sure you get a blade designed to spin in the appropriate direction.
You shouldn't need any specialized tools, other than possibly a pair of retaining ring pliers.
If there are screw/bolts used to retain the blade. Depending on the rotation direction of the motor, you may encounter some left handed threads. So watch out for that.
If you get the unit running again, but notice it's not cooling.  First check that the blade is moving air through the unit in the proper direction, then call an HVAC tech to check the refrigerant charge.
WARNING:
Before beginning any work, make sure you remove power to the unit, and have verified that it's off. It's also recommended to discharge the capacitor(s) in a safe way, before poking around.


Prevent water to accumulate in the frame gap I recently replaced my garden door, and the new one has an outer frame.

The problem is that when it rains some water is held in the gap between the door and the frame, resulting in a "shower" when somebody opens the door or, worse, when it freezes, the door is ice-sealed to the frame. I am also concerned that over time this can damage the door, as the old one (frame less) was rotten due to the lack of proper protection and maintenance from the previous owner.

How can I prevent water to drip and remain there?

Consider a flashing installed above the frame that will deflect the water out and away from the doorway.


Are there any simple electronic door locks available? I have an office door I need to keep locked but allow easy access.
It doesn't have to be super secure, it has a proper deadlock for when we are closed, it just has to stop people casually walking in.
But everyone having to remember to lock it behind them with the key+deadlock is slow and inconvenient.

Any suggestions on a simple retrofit electronic lock? Low cost and easy to fit are priorities.

All the ones we looked at are built for Fort Knox. We just need something that moves a plunger out of the way for a few seconds with something like a garage door opener?

You don't necessarily need an electronic lock - you just need a lock that is always locked from the outside and yet allows exit from the inside.  Something commercial in nature is probably in order.  You probably won't find this at a home supply store, however.  You likely will need to consult a locksmith.

CORRECTION

Link to Home Depot collection of storeroom locks.

You can find them at Home Depot.

Thanks to RSMoser for the proper name!


Ceiling fan low speed (only) once on slows to a stop Ceiling fan low speed (only) within a minute or two slows to a stop, however, you can barely hear a hum until you turn it off or go to high speed or medium speed, which operate great.

I can think of a number issues that may be affecting the low speed.

Is your mains voltage a little low? A low voltage could keep the motor from generating enough torque to overcome the bearing friction.
Is this an old fan that has seen a lot of usage? It could be that the bearings are worn or need lubrication.
Is the fan fully balanced? Even a little imbalance could be causing an friction variation on each rotation in the bearings that is not overcome by momentum at low speed.
Is the fan hung in a way that it is not vertical (with the fan being off the  horizontal)? Seems like this could possibly impact things similar to item 3.
Is there dust, dirt, cob webs or other crud down inside the motor in the narrow gap between armature and stator that is adding extra friction making it harder than necessary to turn the motor?


how do i take the rain away from 2 sloping roofs meeting in the middle? i have an extension on the side of the house with a pitched roof with a gutter and downpipe to take the rain away. There is a carport to the front of this extension at the front of the house with the roof sloping back and sharing this gutter. I want to convert the carport into a room and open up the existing extension. Whats the best way to make rainproof the two meeting pitched roofs please

Use metal flashing to create a waterproof channel where the roofs join, making sure it is tilted enough to drain to the gutters at the edges. Apply roofing so it overlaps and directs water into that channel.


Coordinating a bathroom/bedroom update project...what's the order? I am trying to plan my bathroom/bedroom update. I will be doing the following:
New luxury vinyl plank for both rooms (they are connecting).
Painting in both rooms.
New trim and doors both rooms.
Shiplap on one bedroom wall.
New granite counter top in the bathroom.
New tile on the outside/step in of shower.
New faucets.
Paint pocket door, vanity, and floor to ceiling cabinet.
New ceiling fan in bedroom.

If this was my project, this order:
New tile on the outside/step in of shower. (Can shift a little, but before LVP flooring.)
New ceiling fan in bedroom. (Any time before paint, as trade availability. Earlier is better, as electrical can sometimes be invasive and messy.)
New luxury vinyl plank for both rooms. (Make sure subsequent trades protect the new flooring really well.)
New trim and doors both rooms.
Shiplap on one bedroom wall.
New granite counter top in the bathroom.
New faucets. (bathroom stuff can be earlier as trade availability dictates. If granite is being templated, get that started early.)
Dead last: Painting in both rooms. Paint pocket door, vanity, and floor to ceiling cabinet.


How do I connect outdoor security camera to a power source? IP Camera has an ethernet cable and a dc12 cable that came with power adapter that plugs into outlet. Where the camera is going to be placed, there is a lamp nearby and power cables going into it, how can I get power from it and into camera? My other choice is a nearby outlet, but don't know how either. The dc12 cable, how can it be joined into normal home electric wires?

Power cord method

Have an electrician install a power receptacle within cord's reach of the camera
Route cord from camera to receptacke
Plug cord into camera
Plug power block into receptacle

Extension power cord method

Get a 12VDC extension cable with the right ends on it.
Run the extension cable with the ethernet cable, follow rules for Class II low voltage wiring
At the hub/switch end of the ethernet run, plug factory power block cable into extension cable
Plug power block into wall

PoE method (Power on Ethernet)

Return these/sell on Craigslist and get PoE cameras, or, get PoE extractors for this camera.
Run just ethernet cable to your router/hub.
Install PoE switch/hub as extension of, or to replace, your router
Plug ethernet cable into PoE hub


Can EMT conduit have holes? The previous owner left eight 10' sections of 3/4" EMT, but he drilled holes through every one of them (a hole every 18-24" or so).  Can this still be used to route wire indoors?

Congratulations. You have a bunch of 18-24" chunks of 3/4" conduit. You do not have 10 foot chunks of conduit. Unless you have mechanical plans (I've seen folks do small greenhouses with conduit) might as well cut them at the holes.


Repairing water damage to ceiling drywall where ceiling meets wall I have a question for how best to repair interior water damage to ceiling drywall along a wide, thin section where the ceiling meets the wall.

We recently experienced slight water damage to our ceiling drywall due to water that entered through gaps that in the exterior roof flashing. Now that the roof flashing has been re-sealed by a professional, I would like to address the drywall water damage in my condo.

The water damage is limited to a 10 ft. x 4 in. section of the ceiling where the ceiling meets a wall in the bedroom - very long and skinny. I am thinking about two options:

1) Scrape off damaged sections and then spackle, sand, prime, and paint

OR

2) Cut out the damaged section (perhaps 10 ft by 6 in) and then look to replace with new drywall. Given the section is a) long and skinny and b) adjoining a wall, I am curious if there are any other considerations that I should be thinking about.

As you can (barely) see in the photo, a small crack has developed due to the water damage, so I'm not sure whether option 1 is realistic.

Thank you for the help

You'll want to remove a section for repair and inspection. Keep in mind, the hard part of wall finishing is the plastering. Also the worst part of the water damage is going to be in the least visible area, in behind the wall. Cut out a section of the damaged wall large enough to inspect behind. Mold is a concern but once it's dry it tends to die. Anti mold spray is available for exactly this purpose.

Mold spraywww.homedepot.com


How should I connect my light fixture? I'm installing a ceiling light to a fixture that was previously unused. However I'm having trouble because there are 2 groups of white wires. Which white wire should I connect with the white wire of my ceiling light? One group is a set of 3 wires and one group is a set of 2 wires.

Edit: I should also say that when I tried connecting the group with 2 white wires, turning off the switch for some reason short circuited the whole thing. I thought I might have done the grounding wire (the red one) wrong because I assumed I didn't connect the grounding wire. If my issue is not the white wires, can you please advise what else might be the issue?

For the switch turned off to short things, it must be a 3 or 4 way switch. The 2 white and 2 black could be travelers, the most likely connection then is lamp black to switched power red, lamp white to the 3 white, probably neutral. It's worth buying a non-contact circuit tester, they aren't all that expensive and can be a literal life saver. You can then quickly locate the proper switched power and deduce which is the neutral, because my guess at what to connect is only a guess. The circuit tester will tell you for sure.


Wiring a single pole switch next to a 3-way switch I am doing a kitchen remodel and I would like to wire a new single pole switch to an additional light.  See the attached diagram (the new single pole switch is labelled 2 way).  This is exactly what is going on in my kitchen.  I would like to know if I can get supply power from the 3-way switch at the end of the current circuit.

Thank You!

No, you cannot extend the circuit from that location. You could extend the circuit from the first switch location, or run additional wires to the second switch location.

The location you've highlight lacks  a grounded (neutral) conductor, and an unswitched ungrounded (hot) conductor.


Pre-emptive Water Heater Replacement An old ground-floor office has an old electric water heater.  The building was built in 1994, so the water heater's age could be ~25 years. The tank / office has been unused for the last 8 years.

What is the decision making process to determine if it makes sense to replace the water heater now or wait until it fails (leaks or stops producing hot water)?

Cost of replacing it now vs cost of replacing it later plus cost of cleaning up from its failure (anywhere from nothing to a whole lot). Throw in some kind of likelihood of it failing.

If it's a commercial property, just replace it now. If residential, a home inspector or plumber could probably take a look and give an estimate on likelihood of failure. Any corrosion, strange sounds, etc and I'd just replace it now.


What are good cleaners to use on pruning shears? I'm new to the realm of shrubbery trimming, though have gotten some good results already.

Now, however, I need to clean my pruning shears so they don't rust / get sticky.

What are good cleansers to use?

I use miracle fluid on mine.  I'm referring to WD-40, of course.  Protects from rust, lubricates, and cleans.


What will happen if I try to apply paint/stain to damp wood? I'm 1000 miles away from home working on a deck for a family member who recently suffered a stroke. He's recovering, but for the time being he's very unsteady on his feet. The deck in question had a lot of mold, and was very slick when wet. I've already pressure washed and cleaned the surface, so that the mold is gone and it's no longer slick. That was the main goal -- in his present state, the deck was outright dangerous; now it's much safer.

However, the deck wood now has no protection against rain and moisture... I just stripped it all away :) If I don't also do something to protect the wood, it'll be slick again in no time at all, not to mention start to rot. My problem is that I'm only here for another couple of days, and the weather is not cooperating with finishing the project. It's dry enough to get out and work without getting rained on, but not enough for wood to dry out. After the last scattered rain, there is no chance it will dry in time for me to do anything before I need to begin the journey home.

I have some Behr Deck Over, which I reckon is either something in between a paint and a stain or just a thick paint. The hope is that it will hold up better and protect against moisture like a stain, but cover the surface more like a paint -- and not show the few remaining bits of old paint, as I was time-constrained in the removal, as well. But still, the wood is kind of damp. At this point, given my time constraints, I'm considering applying it over the damp wood.

My questions are, what will happen if I try to apply this to damp wood? What are my alternatives? Is there anything I can do to improve the chances of a good application? I'm really looking to see if someone will talk me out of this before I do something dumb.

You won't have luck applying paint/stain to a soaking wet deck. If there are common walkway areas on the deck you could put down strips of grip tape along this route. This is tape that has a sandpaper texture to it and is meant for slippery decks and stairs. Maybe not ideal, but a solution until you can properly treat it.


Why doesn't our new apartment sink drain after the first day? We had a new sink installed. (The new sink is deeper than the old sink.) The sink worked fine for the first day, but then stopped draining entirely. Our building superintendent says that the apartments above and below ours have not reported any issues and insists it must be an installation issue. Our contractor, who has already been paid, is unresponsive and insists it is not an installation issue.

We tried plunging and using a drain cleaner (similar to Drano) to no effect. A plumber snaked the pipe for 25 feet to no effect. Finally, a second plumber used a kinetic water ram. After the second plumber, the sink started working again. We were able to use it last night, but this morning it no longer drains.

What could possibly cause the sink to drain for a day but then stop entirely? Just having a theory would be useful. Our contractor, superintendent, and the plumbers are all blaming someone else and refusing to help. I want to have an idea for why so I can take a next step.

It is possible that the plumber installed a "balloon" in the drain line, in order to perform pressure testing.  The plumber is supposed to remove the balloon after the pressure test is accepted.  On rare occasions, the plumber forgets to remove the balloon.

The plumbers hired by my homebuilder made this mistake.  It took days or weeks for the balloon in our drain line to cause the sink to stop working.  During this time, we had increasing amounts of gurgling, cross-talk between sinks, and slowing down of drain times.  A competent, third-party plumber we hired was unable to find the problem.  The builder failed to identify the problem on their first visit(s).  Both the builder and the third-party plumber guessed (incorrectly) that relocating and/or replacing a "Studor valve" might fix the symptoms.  Eventually, the builder's punch-list/final clean-up guy identified the real problem, but only because the balloon was located in a cleanout whose trim work was done improperly.

Studor is a brand of air-admittance valve, or AAV.  These valves are used in some jurisdictions when it would be inconvenient to vent a plumbing fixture through the building's common plumbing vent stack.


How to protect a lock against rusting For reasons, I'm going to put a D lock through the wall of my flat, and I want to protect it against sealing up with rust.

There are coincidentally a pair of perfect holes already in the wall (from old plumbing, I assume?) that I can poke the legs of the D-lock through and then lock from the other side of the wall.

The lock is my current Bike lock, which is used almost daily, is fairly old, and for which the 'teeth' (where the D enters the locking bar) are fairly rusty.

Every 6 months or so, the teeth (and the holes that the go into on the locking bar) get sufficiently rusty that it starts to be a moderate struggle to open the lock if I haven't used the bike for a day or two.
At that point I clean it throughly with WD-40 and kitchen towel, to get as much of the rust off as possible and just continue.

This has worked perfectly well for the past 2 years.

Now I want to put the lock through the wall, lock it and leave it in place for  years, ideally without ever touching it/having to regularly clean it. The Teeth and locking bar will be on the inside of the wall, the outside point is sheltered and I'll try to block up around the hole to keep rain for passing through, so there won't be any substantial water getting to it ... just general atmospheric humidity (London, UK)

Obviously I'm going to do a heavy-duty clean with WD-40, but I'm wondering whether I should be doing anything more than that to try to protect it?

Some sort of heavier oil, or similar?

Do I need to?
What should I be doing?
What products/product names should I be looking for?
Is there anything I should know about the technique of applying these things?

It sounds like you're not talking about the actual key lock itself or the pins & tumblers, and I think you only mean the steel D bar & latch, very similar to car door hinges & latches, so a similar solution should work.

The owner's manuals for cars I've had recommended using one of these two, re-applied every few months or whenever it seems harder to open:

Grease -  white lithium grease (often used on car door hinges & latches), or even any grease, wheel bearing/axle grease, even cooking grease for a short while, just about any type that won't wash away easily.
Oil - plain motor oil, or a 3-in-1 type

You could probably still use regular WD-40, it is very good at preventing rust, but it does go dry & a little sticky pretty quickly, so you'd have to re-apply it much more often, maybe every month or so.

Or, you could use a specialty corrosion inhibitor spray like:

WD-40 Specialist Long Term Corrosion Inhibitor Spray - The company website advertises a comparison against some other methods with this image
but Amazon might have some less biased reviews.

Or a firearms product like Birchwood Casey RIG Universal gun Grease that has reviews like "I have used this product since 1951... and never had any problems with rust."

I've also read that petroleum jelly or anything wax-like, even beeswax can be effective too. Probably anything that coats the metal and keeps water & air away should work, it just depends on what you've got handy & how often you want to re-apply it.


How can I add a second light to a circuit? I have recessed lights that are controlled by two switches. They used a black, red and white wire for each switch to a junction box then used a 14-2 wire to the recessed lights. My question is how do I add another recessed light to it and can I use a 12-2 wire or do I have to use 14-2.

You can hook another recessed light in parallel with the first light. You can either run another cable from the junction box to the new light, or from the first light to the new light.

There shouldn't be a problem using 12/2 if that's what you have on hand, but 14/2 is typically used and is cheaper.

Remember to turn the power off, and verify that it is indeed off before beginning work.  And as always, if you don't feel comfortable doing the work, don't have the proper tools, or are just unsure of what you're doing. Call an electrician.


How to keep Gazebo from tipping? What can I do to keep this Gazebo from tipping when wind comes? The sticks that come with it to dig into the ground is not strong enough to hold it in place.

If the steel legs are hollow, you could possibly drive some
steel rebar pieces vertically and get 4 people to help you set it down on the ground over the 4 exposed rebars.

Parts:
4 pieces of 6 foot long rebar's ( Home Depot /Lowe's sells 6ft length rebars.

Tools: Mini Sledge hammer

To do:
Drive  4ea 6 ft rebar's into the ground 3-4ft deep

Theory:
If this gazebo is sitting over 4 rebar's which are driven 3-4 ft. in the ground, and exposed 2-3 ft out of the ground, there's no way the wind is going to "knock it over.." And only you will know the secret.


What to do for unused shower drain? (Prevent sewer vapors and mosquito larvae.) I have a shower stall with a drain that is going unused. My first concern is that if the water evaporates out of the plumbing trap below, I could have sewer vapors coming up, so I pour in some water periodically. However my second concern is mosquito larvae growing down inside there since it's so infrequently disturbed i.e. flushed out. I've seen mosquitos in that bathroom, which makes me suspect this problem.

What's the best approach here to prevent both sewer vapors and mosquitos? I've thought about a one way valve for the drain, or maybe pouring oil or human-friendly insecticide down on the water in the trap.

How would you handle this?

Pour in some heavier liquid, like vegetable oil.
Or put a plastic container lid over it, with a little weight on it so it doesn't accidentally move.


I have a pool pump on a 30 amp circuit. Can I add a 20 amp GFCI outlet to that same 30 amp breaker. Pump is on 12 gauge wire I want to put a 20 amp GFCI receptacle on a 30 amp breaker.

Is this ok?

The 30 amp breaker is for a pool pump on 115v.

You don't have a 30 amp circuit.  Your wire is 12 gauge, so you have a 20 amp circuit with the wrong breaker.

Replace the breaker with 20A
Feel free to install your 15 or 20 amp GFCI since they are legal on 20A circuits
For that matter, you could just install a GFCI breaker. Price both ways.

Gadgets which run on 120V/30A are almost nonexistent.  Nobody builds devices that way.  If it needs that much power, they kick up to 240V/15A, which permits use of 14 gauge wire instead of 10 gauge.

If this pump really is 120V/30A, you are going to have to run new 10 gauge wire anyway.  Generally things that large are given their own circuit.   Might as well re-task the 20A circuit to the outlets.


How Do I Adjust the Depth of an Octagonal Junction Box? The junction box for a wall mounted light will be 1/4 in. shy of the finished drywall. The house is 50 yrs old. How do I adjust the depth of the octagonal junction box? Is there a safe way to shim or extend it? I've seen some octagonal box extenders online, but they didn't appear to be adjustable.

Per Tyson's comment;  You should be able to move the box on the threaded nipple (pipe) that seems to be holding it to the hanger bar.

Loosen the nut, in the box,  down to the desired height.  Then tighten the one outside the box above it.  Since you had the ceiling open (at least when this was OP) that shouldn't be to hard.  Worse case you may have to back the wires out, remove the box from the nipple, and stack a nut up at the desired height and reassemble.


How do I fix a sewer snake cable that has kinked inside the spooler cage? I had to snake out my sewer this weekend and rented a large sewer snake from the hardware store. When I hit the problem area the cutting tip on the end of the cable apparently got stuck and I didn't realize it in time. The snake model I rented has a foot switch and I kept my foot down, turning the spooler too long, trying to cut through the problem area. I have to admit I heard a couple of clanks inside the cage where the spooled cable is and that should have warned me, but being a newbie at this I thought it was just the sound of the cable vibrating from the work I was doing in the drain. Next thing I know I've got cable inside the cage all wrapped up around itself in several twisted loops. The cable wouldn't come out any further because it was blocking its own way.

My question is, how in the world do you get this unstuck? I went down to the hardware store, asked them. The know-it-all guy there said it would come unstuck, I just had to twist it back the opposite way. Well, I tried doing that, but that is spring steel cable we're talking about. The more you twist, it just wants to unwind all the harder. I stretched the exposed cable out straight, clamped some vice grips close up to where it exits the cage (which I blocked from turning with a screwdriver jammed in sideways) and tried twisting out the cable manually. That only worked to beat me up a bit when it got away from me and unwound my futile efforts. I tried running the machine in reverse and letting the vice grips brace themselves against a cinder block. The motor has enough torque to drive completely over the block, vice grips and me. I tried clamping one end of the cable in a bench vice, but this just made things worse by causing extra kinks in the cable outside the cage. All the while, my sewer is still backed up and we had a birthday party fastly approaching. I ended up calling in the real plumber and he got the drain flowing again. I still have to take the snake back in on Monday morning to avoid another $50 rental charge.

A related question would be, how do you get the kinks out of this type of cable, except I figured that one out by clamping the cable just below the middle of each kink in said bench vise and then wrestling the snake in the opposite direction of the bend. It straightened up pretty nice.

Sorry, my phone(camera) isn't working so I don't have pictures of this little "adventure" to share.

I found a solution in time to get the rental unit back to the store this morning. This whole ordeal was painful, but I think if I can share it in a way that helps someone down the road I'll feel better about it. So this is what worked for me: I took a crowbar and, after examining the loop and twists inside the cage more carefully, found a place to pry part of the loop out of a side opening in the spooler cage. It definitely wasn't easy, but from that point on it suddenly got really easy to untwist it and work the cable back in and then out the way it was supposed to exit.

Here's a similar machine like the one I used. From a websearch, I see some others out there that don't have the cage but a more or less solid spooler. My crowbar method probably wouldn't work on some of them.

When this type of cable kinks it creates an almost 90-degree bend in the inner core of the cable at the apex of the loop. This would not work very well as a drain cable anymore. So, when you finally get it untwisted the cable kinks themselves have to be straightened out. I used the method I mentioned in the question to straighten it out as I had the others. I clamped the cable in the bench vise just below the bend and then, using a lot of strength, forced the cable backward over the bend. I had to go beyond the straight mark so that it would spring back straight. I hope this answer helps anyone else that might find themselves in the same predicament.


How can I plug a hole cut in a window pane for a portable A/C unit? I just moved into a room where there is a portable A/C unit. To create a vent for the unit, a hole was cut in the glass of one of the window panes that spans about 13.5 cm. I was told that the unit came with a rubber plug to fill the hole in the window during the winter months but I haven't found it and my Googling efforts have not been successful. Any idea how I can plug this hole?

I highly suggest what I would call the 'board up method' I've seen in places, but executed classier of course. I would create two rounds (squares would also work) roughly an inch larger than the diameter of your hole. I would suggest some nice 1/4" plywood or similar. Then drill a hold in the center of both pieces and use a bolt and nylon locking nut of sufficient diameter to pass through the bits you've cut + the thickness of the glass.

Then with a little help from a friend or a particularly sticky piece of tape, have one round on the outside of the glass, one on the inside and both through the holes of the cut pieces and gently tighten the bolt.

Then you end up with not a plug so much as what I'd call a "cap". Pieces of felt, cloth or similar would help keep the pieces sealed to the window and prevent any scratching.

These rounds could then be painted to be less obvious and help prevent them from weathering in the even that they were rained on from the outside.


Is there a product for channeling water away from water appliances? Some appliances, such as water heaters, dish washers, and washing machines use water, and can leak and cause damage to a house. Is there any product or solution to catch and drain leaks outside the house?

Water heaters have pans. You place the pan under the water heater, then attach a hose to send the water someplace less damaging.

You can also get water sensors, which rest on the floor and sound an alarm if water is detected.

There's less stuff for dishwashers and washing machines, as they only contain water when in use, and there should be someone nearby when in use. Water heaters are commonly left alone for weeks on end, which gives more time for a small leak to turn into something damaging.


How to remove the tap head from this kind of tap? I couldn't find any screws at all on this tap.

How can I remove the head to replace the washer?

It looks like to me that you need to tap the inner ring indicated with screwdriver and hammer.


How to relocate 50 amp hot tub wires from PVC conduit into ceiling joists I have a house in Seattle WA with a hot tub that was wired when I bought the house. Some of the wiring is in grey rigid conduit (PVC?) attached to the garage ceiling. I want to reroute these through the ceiling joists to accommodate a new garage door and for a tidy appearance. The drywall ceiling has been removed.

In the panel, there are two 50 Amp circuit breakers. There are 4 wires total: 2 hot, 1 neutral, and 1 ground, all the same size, I think #6. These exit the panel via a short run of flex conduit which goes into a junction box. Exiting the junction box, the wires are routed along the ceiling in PVC conduit. This conduit runs down a concrete block wall and into a large switch box. Exiting the switch box is a third type of conduit, flexible liquid tight PVC.

I want to replace the PVC conduit run which is attached to the ceiling, and instead run wire through the ceiling joists. I will still need some conduit since the walls of the garage are concrete block. For aesthetic reasons, I would prefer to replace the PVC conduit on the garage wall with EMT. The outdoor portions are a small trip hazard but that is a problem for another day.

In the ceiling joists, I believe I want 6/3 NM-B. What I'm unsure about is how to make the transitions: from the panel into the ceiling, and out of the ceiling to the switch box. I haven't worked with  6/3 NM-B, but I suspect it will be too large to fit through the existing conduit runs. The wires might fit it I remove the sheathing from the 6/3 NM-B. But both cases, I'm unclear on the code. The conduit runs on either end are short, perhaps 3' from panel to ceiling and 4' from ceiling to the switch box.

I could use junction boxes to make the transitions, but it feels cleaner & simpler to have continuous wire runs. The 6/3 NM-B wire comes in a roll so I will have plenty to spare.

So my questions are:

1) Is 6/3 NM-B the right wire for running thought the ceiling joists?

2) Can this wire be run through conduit as-is?
  2a) If so what size flex and what size EMT?

3) Can this wire be run through conduit after removing the sheathing?
   3a) If so what size flex and what size EMT?

4) Most generally, can I do a continuous run with the new wire or do I need junction boxes?

Any clues appreciated !

6/3 NM-B is not wire, it is cable.  Cables contain multiple wires.  NM is fine for running through ceiling joists in dry areas where the cable will be protected.  If water is involved in any way, you need UF cable.

Cable can be run through conduit, but only if you are a masochist.  It will be a rather difficult pull.  You will need much larger conduit, because the conduit fill is calculated by looking at the widest dimension of the flat cable, and imagining a round wire that diameter.

There's an exception that allows this imaginary wire to fill most of the conduit if it is the only cable in the conduit. But that only makes it an even more difficult pull, and paints you into a corner as far as any future use of that conduit.

You cannot unsheath cable and use the individual wires.  That is because the individual wires do not have individual wire markings to disclose their type and grade of insulation, and generally their insulation is not tough enough to survive any type of use outside a junction box.  They are allowed as short pigtails entirely inside junction boxes.

If you find cable whose interior wires are marked as some sort of wire that is legal for use in that application, then have a field day.  This is rare but not unheard of, talk to your local electrical supply.

You cannot do a continuous run with new wire because you cannot use loose wires in through-joist wiring.  You need to either fit conduit in the joists, or use some sort of cable rated for such use.

If you run all metal conduit, that is one less wire you need to carry, as the metal conduit serves as the ground wire.

Before you decide on the romance of continuous wire runs, count your bends. More than 360 degrees of bend between access points is illegal. More than one makes pulling exponentially harder.

It is very easy to build a conduit route that is so difficult to pull that you end up needing to call a professional to do it.  Professionals don't like doing a small part of the work, and will want a big chunk of the total job.  Access points are the key to avoiding this, but of course, access points are the enemy of "a finished look" for some reason.  I don't know why, the Victorians had no trouble fitting adorable cabinets where utility access was needed.  It is a 20 minute job to change my tub faucet. Really.


Crusty stuff coming up between basement floor planks My son bought a 8-year old house, last August, that had some new "plastic" flooring put in the basement over concrete in preparation to putting it on the market by the previous owner. I'm guessing that was done within three months of him buying it.

Just yesterday, we went in the basement and we noticed there is a crusty thing that 'oozed' up between some of the planks. Not everywhere. Just three or four places as shown here.

That image shows it being flat but one of the others is humped over like it had bubbled up. I ran my finger over it and it's a dry crust that just crumbled in place.

I don't know if that could be an adhesive or fungus/mold or even dog pee (he swears it can't be dog pee).

Some vinyl planking, like mine, has a thin layer of corkboard on bottom to help padding.
This is why orange-brown crust is seeping up. Moisture from slab is pushing thru the cork layer and forcing it up. In my case, just in very heavily traveled area in front of bar.
Just scraped mine up with plastic dish scrubber and put some lemon oil on it after.
Lasted 3 months and had to do it again. Cheaper than getting new floor!


"Floor Flange" or something similar for 1/2 copper pipe I'm running a water line for a refrigerator ice maker. Currently it seems like the cleanest way to do this will be to tap into a cold water line in the crawlspace under where the fridge goes and come up through the floor behind the fridge.

I'd like to find a fitting to anchor the pipe where it comes through the floor. Is there such a thing as a solder floor flange, or another way of doing this with common (e.g., available at Home Depot or the like) parts?

This is an Drop Elbow (upside down for your use), most commonly used for wall penetrations...showerhead arms, tub faucets, washing machine supplies, etc. I don't know of any other types that you'd actually screw to the floor & haven't ever seen one.

Presuming your hole is tight to the wall or baseboard, you might be able to attach this to your wall or baseboard with either a direct connect flexible line or a single compression fitting. Anything more would likely get crushed by the fridge. But a screw in elbow fitting to convert to vertical may work for your situation. However, elevating the fridge's tube connection that's already set-out much may put it in threat of being crushed, so be careful & test it out gently.

-

Male solder-on or sweat-on. My preferred floor lock-in fitting. Threads are exposed for thread inspection, easy Teflon taping, more precise leak detection, female reducing adapters are more common & flexible lines come with direct attachment ends.

Female solder-on or sweat-on. Nothing really wrong with this. I just don't find much of a selection to accommodate it in the big stores.

All three would be first soldered onto the pipe you drop in the floor. It's ill-advised to feed a pipe up & then later solder on a fitting that's close to a wall, especially when so easily avoidable.

Your pipe or elbow beneath the floor would prevent or limit vertical movement & a hole drilled for the pipe diameter instead of for the fitting's shoulder would raise the fitting for easier future flexible line replacements & stop downward movement to avoid stressing of the piping beneath the floor.


How do I lay hardwood over a transition in a room that is not level? We are going to be laying hardwood in our entire upper floor. The subfloor between two of the rooms is on a bit of a slope.  What's the best way to lay the hardwood over this transition. We are going to be laying it longways through the transition since that is the direction perpendicular to the floor joists. Would it be best to run the hardwood up to the transition and put a board going across at the turning point and make a transition?  Fixing the subfloor isn't really an option at this point.

Rough Description: The transition is a doorway that is 36" wide in a hallway. The subfloor on both sides of it is pretty flat. So it'll be fine on both sides of the threshold, but the exact line where they meet will be the issue. In the picture you can see the different subfloor transition between the two rooms. It's made of mortar. There used to be a wall there when the addition was put on the house (in the 70s). It's about 8" wide and the level difference is about 7/16" over that 8"

Dave Welch may have answered this to a degree But I will put my spin on it.

Break out the mortar bed to expose the subfloor it covers, get either 1/2" plywood which is in reality, slightly less than 1/2" thick and lay it all over the lower floor level bringing it up to withing working distance of the other floor. If that will be too thick, OSB is 7/16" and use that. No need to get anything that is rated as underlayment that will go under a nail down floor. Underlayment is geared more towards vinyl and other thin flooring installs. Screw it down then add your paper and flooring. Re-secure the diagonal subfloor with screws before you add the flooring over the older subfloor.


Compressor size for HVLP gun? I have never used an HVLP gun before and am trying to figure out what compressor I need. I will be spraying small, metallic parts. The paint I am using recommends an HVLP gun with a 0.8mm tip running at no more than 25 PSI.

What size of air compressor (in terms of gallons and horsepower) should I be considering for this type of project?

All most any compressor should be able to handle an automotive sprayer, especially if it's only a few small metal parts. I doubt it'd even kick on half the time. If it does you just have to wait until it stops running (probably not even then).

The (very) important part is the regulator, set to 25psi max, above which the compressor's tank should have no trouble maintaining. If you're trying to paint a car, then you might want to look into a beefier compressor, because you'd want to avoid having to stop midway, to let it catch up.

More "gallons" means longer spans of not needing to run the compressor.

More "horsepower" means less time to catch back up.

Unless you're sand-blasting, really neither of these numbers concern you (at this time that is; go big if you're planing on buying stuff like nail guns in the future). A standard pancake compressor should suffice for just about any task except continuous sand-blasting.


What type of refrigeration is recommend in a cabin with sub-freezing temperatures? In the winter the indoor temperatures in our cabin often reach as low as 10° F (-12° C). We had an old refrigerator that worked just fine in these circumstances, but when we purchased a new refrigerator it failed even after multiple repairs. Upon reading the manual I discovered that it is only designed for operation in temperatures above 55° F (13° C).

Now we need to find a working refrigerator before winter. Preferably we would like one that maintains the correct temperature in the presence of extreme cold. Barring that, we would take something that just doesn't break when it gets too cold.

RepairClinic, among others, seems to indicate that refrigerators just won't work at this temperature because of premature compressor failure:

  ...if you live in a region in which the temperatures drop below 50
  degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius), this is not a good idea. Such
  temperatures could cause the oil in the compressor to thicken, leading
  to premature compressor failure or other issues. Also,
  refrigerator/freezer units often won’t keep food frozen when the
  temperature of the garage drops below 35 degrees Fahrenheit

Anecdotal experience seems to contradict this, saying that it will work in the winter:

  Unless you live someplace REALLY cold (and by REALLY cold, I mean
  close to the arctic circle cold, not "it sometimes snows here in
  february" cold), a fridge in an unheated garage is fine. Really. Me
  and everyone I know has a fridge in our garages, and nobody I know has
  every had a problem with things freezing.

The refrigerator before our most recently broken one worked just fine for several years, so that one is a point in favor of "they will just work." Meaning, the fridge didn't completely fail - even if it didn't maintain the right temperatures during the winter.

I have only been able to find one refrigerator that advertises the ability to work in cold temperatures: The Gladiator. My only concern is it appears 3 inches too tall for our cabin.

It seems that as long as the refrigerator won't fail, this device can solve the problem of the freezer not working in the 32-50° F range. But how can I make sure the refrigerator doesn't fail?

Has anybody else had to deal with this problem?

You may be able to use a propane or natural gas powered fridge.  They have no moving parts that would break; in the extreme cold, I'd imagine that only the pilot light would be on.

I've stayed in a cabin that had one of these that was regularly exposed to -25 F, and it lasted for 40+ years.

http://home.howstuffworks.com/refrigerator5.htm


how to remove mold on wall? I'm trying to paint this wall but as you can see, there are mold on it

What would be the best way to remove the mold on my walls?

Thanks

Soap and water with a rag or scrubby brush while wearing a mask.

I was at Home Depot yesterday and noticed a number of products for cleaning, killing, protecting from mold growth that I never saw before. I don't know if they're any better than soap and water and just keeping the area dry.


Should I fill 3/4-inch gaps along the wall before laying ceramic tile? We put down two layers of 3/8" plywood over planks (tar paper over planks).  Some of our expansion joints are up to 3/4" at the walls.  Should I fill them with something?

I wouldn't bother for two reasons. One, it's unlikely that there will ever be any load placed on the tile close enough to the wall to cause breakage. Two, you may be installing baseboard trim or base shoe, which will cover most of that gap anyway.

If you have reasons to disagree, fill the gap with mortar as you tile. Consider laying a row of fiberglass tape along the wall to help prevent cracking.


Mount Pull-up bar from wall to wall Walls are 7-feet apart. For the bar, I am using metal pipe about an inch two inches in diameter. What is the best way to mount an end of the bar to the face of the wall?

(PS: Very similar question here: DIY door frame pull-up bar but I am looking specifically to attach the ends of the bar to a brick or concrete wall.)

Note: I am not an engineer, and I haven't done any kind of load calculations on the recommendations below.  I did some somewhat related research on how to hang a 100LB heavy bag (punching bag) from a wall (just one wall).  Initially I was thinking about using pipe and a pipe floor flange, but I decided that a pipe attached to a wall was not going to be sufficient to deal with the forces exerted by a 100LB bag swinging. Most heavy bag hangers (aka wall mounts) use tube steel construction, with the tube fastened to the wall at multiple points, which is a lot stronger.

This question is a little different because you'll be able to support both ends of the pipe, so the pipe should be able to support more weight.

I think it would be helpful to break this down into parts:

A. Hardware/Mount to attach the pipe to

B. Fasteners for attaching the mount to the wall

A. Hardware / Mount

i) You could use different pipe fittings (like a 'pipe floor flange', google that to see what it looks like if you are not familiar) and threaded pipe to build a good, strong setup.

The problem with the flange is that the holes that they provide for fasteners/screws are pretty small.  More on this in part B because this is about fasteners

ii) You could just get a thick block of wood (e.g. 4x material, so 3.5" thick ), and drill 1.75" holes into it to accommodate the pipe, and then attach the block of wood to the wall with fasteners of some kind (see part B).  If you wanted to be able to remove the bar from the block, make one hole deeper than the other

iii) You could get 2x wood material, and create a channel for the pipe.  Imagine something in the shape of a U, so you would put the bar/pipe in from the top.  It wouldn't be secured but if you wanted it to be you could probably figure an easy way to secure the top of the U (e.g. a sliding block).  Similar to the above, you would make sure that the wood material is large enough that it gives you space to drill fasteners through it into the concrete/brick wall

B. Fasteners

For attaching things to concrete/brick, you can use things like:

i) Anchors
ii) Tapcon screws
iii) Threaded rods, bolts/nuts, epoxy, like the Simpson Adhesive Anchoring System:

http://www.strongtie.com/products/anchorsystems/adhesives/adhesive_anchoring_install.html

So I think the best thing to do is figure out:
a) how big a pipe you will use, making sure that they have a pipe floor flange in that size
b) how big the fasteners are that will fit in the pipe flange, and if you think they'll be strong enough
c) if you don't want to attach the flange directly to the concrete/brick wall, you could go with the wood mounting options, which would give you a lot more area to install whatever fastener you want

long answer, but hope it helps


How to make vinyl flooring stable in bathroom? In my bathroom I've put vinyl flooring on top of some sort of underlay but the vinyl is moving and creasing a lot:

Here's what is underneath, a blue underlay and then the wooden floor under that:

What's the quickest way to make this vinyl stable? What about stapling it? In this case, how many millimeters extra (beyond thickness of the vinyl itself) are required?

Normally vinyl is just glued down.  Robert's  adhesive can be bought at the big box.  Loctite makes glue for vinyl that can be bought in a caulking tube.  You just need to lay some heavy things on the floor after you glue and let it sit for a half day or so.


Greenhouse Water Tanks -- Deicing? I'm putting together a greenhouse that will have 2 X 1000L water tanks (IBC tanks). I've painted them black to absorb heat from the sun during the day. The goal is a 4-season greenhouse that won't freeze in winter.
However, in the winter, I am concerned that the tanks might freeze over. The greenhouse area is 10' X 13' and its height is 8'. The walls are polycarbonate (6mm thick), and assume that it is completely sealed without air-gaps.
The goal is to minimize electricity usage. Aquarium heaters unfortunately heat to 20C at minimum so this would be inefficient. I only need to prevent freezing (but can't add salt as the water will be used for plant irrigation).
Given my latitude of 43°N (Niagara region), will I need active heating, and what do you recommend (type and wattage)?
What I've looked at :

aquarium heaters (submersible type)
this type of heater : https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B000HHSI1E

Also, the 2 tanks are connected to each other on the bottom via hoses -- will the hoses need to be insulated?
+++ Addendum : the tanks are INSIDE the greenhouse.
Appreciate any advice! Hopefully not an overly-expensive solution.
Thanks,
Gene

Another option; use low wattage aquarium thermostat/heater like 25 watt ( maybe more for your location , my coldest weather is only about +20 F). Only turn on power when a few days of freezing weather is expected. If the power is left on a few days extra, the low power usage will not be high. The hoses need to be insulated as they will be the first things to freeze. The main concern is the surface of the water will freeze and build up pressure; For pools an inflatable bladder ( such as a tire inner-tube ) is anchored at the surface. Then the surface cannot make a pressure tight barrier permitting a pressure build up in the water.


What to look for when buying recessed lights? I'm finishing two rooms in my basement (13x10 bedroom, and a 19x8 living area), and I've come to the point where I want to install recessed lights.  When shopping for the lights what are the things I should look at to decide which lights to purchase?

At the moment the ceiling is open, so I'm looking at both new and old work fixtures. The main selling points I'm looking for are "green" (so they should accept low wattage bulbs), and cost (I don't want to blow the budget on lighting, so price is important).

I'm currently looking at a contractor pack of fixtures from Home Depot ($58.97), but I'm not sure if this is the best course of action.

What factors are important when comparing and purchasing recessed lights?

The fixtures you linked to are absolutely fine for new construction sheetrock ceilings.  If you are going to use suspended acoustical tile then you will need a different model fixture that mounts directly to the tiles, not the floor joists.

In either case, you can lamp them with CFL bulbs which will burn cooler, less electricity. The only disadvantage to standard CFL's is that they can not be dimmed with an inexpensive incandescent dimmer. Always be sure to match the dimmer and bulbs correctly.


Electrical circuits mixed in same conduit I've got an electrical wiring question.  I've got a 100 amp sub pannel close to the center of the house with an EXTERIOR 200 amp pannel of the west end near PSO FEED.  I  need to add a 30 amp recep  in garage on the east end of the house.  There isn't room in the sub pannel to add anything.  Question is..if I have to run full length of house to 200 amp EXTERIOR  main panel, can I run 10-2 w ground Romex in the same 10' of rigid conduit from the pannel to the attic, or do I have to add an additional conduit for this circuit....
Currently the only wiring in the exterior conduit is the feed to the sub panel.

It's a little tricky. You will get mixed interpretation about NM cable (including Romex brand) in a raceway, if you determine you can then you calculate the resulting percentage of conduit fill based of the size of the NM cable assembly as a single conductor, but bottom line just don't do it (unless you raceway is just a short protection sleeve), it's much easier to pull #10 stranded THWN wire than a large solid wire NM cable through a conduit that already has wire in it.

Then with 4-6 current carrying conductors get de-rate the ampacity of the wire to 80%, so your existing wire may become under-rated.

NEC 312.8(A) Restricts pulling conductors through a panelboard cabinet to a maximum 40% cross section fill for conductors, and 75% fill for conductors and splices. A label must be attached to indicate closest disconnecting means for through conductors.


Should I Let my PT Fence Dry Before Installing I'm installing 300+ LF of fence in the next month or so and am getting ready to start ordering my materials.
My main question is should I dry out my PT lumber before installing, posts rails and pickets? I was considering laying it out in my garage with 2x1" spacers. I live in South Florida and it rains pretty much daily right now. Of course worried about checking and warping, kinda expecting a <.25" gap between pickets.
Thanks for the help!

On the contrary, install when while wet to prevent splitting when you install fasteners, and allows fasteners to set easier. We actually soak pickets in a trashcan full of water before installation.

As far as the footing requirement, I'd tell Florida to suck it. Set your posts to adequate depth (general rule is depth = 1/3 length of height of post), leave the concrete at the home center. Hundreds of thousands of miles of unconcreted 50+ year old fencing across the US and other parts of the world are not wrong.


Can I use polyurethane sealant with Plexiglas? I have a below-grade basement window in a lightwell.  In heavy rain, the lightwell fills to the bottom of the window and then the water leaks into the basement.  I've been through a lot of options and my current plan (plan D) is to screw a clear plexiglass sheet to the window frame to physically block the water but still let light in.

Question: is it OK run a bead of polyurethane sealant (e.g., Sikaflex) along the edge of the sill before I screw the plastic to it, as a waterproof barrier between the wood and the acrylic plastic?  Another question in this forum said you should not use silicone because that contains xylene, which is bad for the plexiglass.  In net research, I've found any number of answers to my question, all different.  Mostly that it won't stick, or I need some special-order primer before using the sealant.  Considering that the screws will hold the plastic in place and against the wood, will just the polyurethane provide a reliable waterproof seal, especially between where the screws are?

In reply to comments questioning why I am attempting this: I've tried other things.
1) I thought the lightwell was filling from direct rain.  I built an awning for it that also made sure water wasn't wind-blown in from the sides.  Didn't work.
2) Turns out the light well consists of concrete walls around a mud floor. When it rains hard, the ground saturates, the water level outside is higher than inside, and the light well starts to fill.  The bottom of the windows is still several inches below ground level.  I looked into adding a concrete floor.  That ran into several problems including not being able to secure the concrete walls firmly to the existing foundation, and creating a "boat" that will want to rise up with the water level.
3) French drains won't work--remember we are below ground level, there is no place for the water to drain to.  The contractor who suggested one wanted $12k to put it in, and remained vague where the other end would be.
4) I could install a sump pump outside and pump the light well to some undisclosed location.  This is getting into a bigger project that I was hoping for.  I could pump it a long way across some landscaping and a driveway onto the lawn.  Or I could try to pump up into the kitchen line 15-20' away that flows into the sewer.

It only rains hard enough to spill into the basement half a dozen times a year.  As far as I can tell, the previous owner cleaned and painted the concrete in the basement, but this must have been going on for decades and the window frame hasn't rotted (yet).  Its only the bottom few inches of the frame we are talking about.  Solving the problem seems difficult and expensive--I was hoping the brute force hack would do the job, with annual vigilance.

Look into getting window well covers. They are purpose built for this type of situation.


Can I mount my hangboard on a wooden ceiling beam? My main worry is that I am 180 lbs and this would have to support my weight

Structural engineer here.

The beam is almost surely not stressed to it's limit. I'm not sure where you are at, that is, if you are in a snow area, but roofs are designed for loads that don't happen all the time such as snow, water, construction, etc.

Also, wood as a material has the ability to resist higher short term loads.

For a beam that size, I would have no problem with what you propose. Because, if that beam  needs to be that size due to loads then the additional 180 lb live load is relatively small. My main concern, as stated in another answer, is HOW you attach it.

Generally you'll be fine with a few screws say of the typical size #8 (length not important) anywhere. If you need larger, stay away from the lower 1/3 of the beam where it is in tension.


toe touch drain stopper won't come off I have a toe touch drain stopper that is causing a leak.  I'm trying to unscrew it, but to no avail it just keeps spinning.  I tried a lubricating oil and it still just spins.  Is there anyway to get it off without breaking the bolt?

thanks

Just to clarify, a Toe Touch Stopper is smooth topped & doesn't have a knob on top to just pop up & down with no turning to engage. Yours is probably a 2-piece pop-up where the decorative coin-thick cover that must unscrew first.

Plan A - You can push or hold the stopper down & try to just use finger or palm friction to unscrew the thin top cap off. If that doesn't do it, then you need either a screwdriver or Needle Nose Pliers, along with a Large Plier, Monkey Wrench or Channel Lock Plier.

Plan B - With the Screwdriver, you would just press the head of the screwdriver firmly against the internal shaft to provide some minor resistance to spinning & then unscrew the stopper's cap by hand or by dropping a cloth on the drain cap to protect its finish & use the Large Pliers to spin the cap off.

Plan C - With the Needle Nose Pliers you would hold the internal shaft stationary & then drop a cloth on the drain cap to protect its finish & use the Large Pliers to spin the cap off.

With the cap off, a large screw should be revealed. You can replace the sealing washer here & screw the cap back on. If you're replacing the entire stopper, then you'll unscrew this large screw with the screwdriver & remove the rest of the stopper.


Drain snake cable fell out of spinner I have a drain snake and the cable "fell out" of the container. I'm not sure if this means it is broken or if there is a way to reconnect it and push it back in.

It is not an electric one , just a simple plastic manual old drain snake

The snake is designed to be removable. Just insert the tail end into the opening and carefully push the snake back into the container. Use a twisting motion for the first foot or so to help the snake coil up in the container instead of wadding into a bunch.

You may need to remove the locking thumbscrew entirely to allow the tail end of the snake to slide past.


How can I cut a tree trunk into more manageable pieces? I live in the UK and I just had a tree surgeon round to cut down a tree. He cut the trunk up into 6" pieces and my grandad plans on using one of the cuts to make a table. However, the trunk, which is about 60cm in diameter, is too thick and heavy at the moment and I need it cut down into 1-2" thick pieces.
Because of the size we don't have any tools which will get through it neat enough.
Does anyone know of a company/tool which can provide this service/effect?
Shame to see all this good wood go to waste.

I don't know about the UK, but in the US I'd look in the phonebook or online for "portable lumbermill service". There are indeed devices which can be brought to a jobsite and set up to slice boards from a felled trunk. Definitely worth considering for hardwoods, if you have a place to store the resulting lumber until it dries (typically a year per inch of thickness for air-drying). Cost per board-foot is usually quite reasonable.

The tools can also be purchased, of course. Some are as simple as a guided chainsaw with a longer than usual cut and a chain ground specifically for ripping. Others are guided bandsaws. The guides can be as simple as rollers following the surface of the previous cut (using a 1x12 nailed to the log to guide the first cut), or can be full frames with built-in tracks for the saw and mechanisms to assist with rotating the log to obtain the best grain patterns.

Or, if the wood's at all interesting, you could see if any local sawmill would be interested in buying the logs, and ask them if they could cut the slabs you want as part of that deal.


Are insulation baffles necessary if the side attic has roof vents? I am doing some remodel work in my finished attic. I've removed some drywall and have temporary access to the side attics. I'm concerned about the insulation and would like to fix any problems now before I install new drywall. The below image illustrates the current insulation status. There are roof vents in both the side attics and the ceiling attic. The pink lines indicate where there is insulation. In the side attics the insulation was peeled back from underneath the roof vents, so they are not covered. There are NOT any insulation baffles in the rafters connecting the side attic and ceiling attic.

Question 1: Should there be insulation baffles, or is it okay to not have them since warm air can vent through the vents in the side attic.

Question 2: Would it be better to remove the insulation from the rafters in the side attic and add insulation to the knee walls? This would have the benefit that I could fully insulate the knee walls. Currently, the insulation in the side attic rafters is incomplete since it is pulled back to expose the roof vents. I've added a second illustration to show what I mean.

Current Insulation:

Proposed Insulation:

You are going the right way with you new idea. The box vents, the way they are originally, when the insulation was pulled down for the vents, it pretty much overrode what the insulation was supposed to do.  If you relocate the insulation to where you propose, then the whole cavity will exhaust the hot air, and keep the cold air where it is supposed to be. Hot air too for that matter.

Hopefully you plan to add more insulation everywhere you can, even on the walls held by wire mesh, staples and tie wire.

The baffles are needed when the insulation, whether it be blown in or batts, gets crammed into a tight spot, for example, where the roof meets the floor joists. In your drawing, the insulation is held back in those spaces, perhaps for clarity, perhaps because you plan on keeping it back that far so the air flows to the soffit vents, if you have them. If there are none, it would be better to have them, since the chimney effect will move the air better. Using baffles in those areas allow insulation to meet at those tight places, and still allow air flow to occur to the soffit vents. Of course the insulation thickness will still be limited on how much can really go in that tight of a space, but it is better than a gap in the insulation envelope.

Your section of roof that is angled with drywall on it should really be pulled down, add extra 2X to get more room for insulation, add baffles there before you replace any insulation. Usually this really reduces the amount of headroom the attic will have, so this is typically one place the insulation will suffer, or foam could go in its place. Keep it low so it creates it's own 2" airspace above the foam.

As a mention, the importance of the airspace above the angled area is minimized since above the angle and below the angle is vented already. Had the lower box vents never been installed, the airflow through that angled section would have been imperative.


Should I be concerned about my house settling? I bought my home about a year ago (September 2011).  It's a split-level ranch built in the mid-70s.

I have a couple of spots, especially on a wall going perpindicular through the center of the house (basically from the front door to the back of the house) that has a lot of drywall nails starting to pop out.  I also  have some taping in the corners near this wall that is visibly wrinkling up.

In line with this wall, there is a section of what looks like two pieces of drywall that have pushed together and buckled up some right above a doorframe.  There is a visible separation from that split up to the ceiling through my hallway.  The portion on the ceiling just looks like where a join has come untaped though.

I only have one doorway with an actual CRACK from the corner (crack is in the drywall), a different doorway that is oriented lengthwise (the frame runs front to back along the house) which sticks, and everything else seems OK.  I checked all visible portions of the foundation and nothing seems amiss.

Should I be worried about this?

I have watched it very closely since we moved in and haven't seen much change, though I do feel like the nails popping are more prominent now.

I'll post pictures tonight.

I'm not 100% clear as to whether you bought the house with the cracks and the popped out nails, or whether it has happened since you bought the place. If it has happened since you bought the place then I would be concerned and have it looked into. If it was like that when you bought it the damage could have been there for decades, there's no way to know for sure unless you can speak to the former owner.

I'm assuming you've done this or you have a slab foundation, but if you have access to the foundation like a crawlspace or a basement have a look to see if there's any evidence of settling. Try and mark off the cracks and the positions of the nails in ways you can later go back and check for movement. Use a ruler to draw a pencil line perpendicular to the cracks every inch or so, and use a grease pencil for the nails, or a permanent marker. Keep an eye on them every few weeks and see what happens.


What trim material can be used around a 6" circular permanent hole in drywall? I need to make a 6" circular hole in a wall that goes between a room and a walk-in closet for a portable air conditioning pipe.  It is in a basement and the pipe needs to be exposed spiral (like in a commercial application) because I don't have room for soffits (ceiling low + other space issues) and I want to be able to take it off for painting etc.  The framing is regular 2x4 studs.  So I would have a 6" hole on the room side sheet and one on the closet side.  I would prefer if it were not just a hole in drywall, however exactly cut, but if there was some sort of insert inside it that trims it nicely.

Any idea if there is a ready product like this or that can be ordered and, if not, how would I go about fabricating one?  Imagine a round window without the window glass part, just a hole trim.

You could use a 6" hole saw that can be used to cut holes for recessed light cans. These can be found at any big box hardware store. After that if you wanted to trim it up you could use a 6" recessed can trim and baffle. These can be bought for under 10$ at any big box store as well. These usually attach with springs but i would think you could screw it to the drywall or even use a construction adhesive.


Is my ground cable connected wrong? I just took down my light fixture in my bathroom. We have two fixtures for our dual vanity that run off of the same wall switch. When I pulled down the old fixture I noticed that there were two black wires capped with the single black fixture cable. Then there were two whites capped with the single white fixture cable. This made sense because the second cable runs the second fixture. My concern is that the 2 copper exposed wires were previously wired together with the white wires, not capped separately. Is this correct or should I separate the bundle of wires and cap white with white and exposed with exposed?

The breaker that this is connected to has tripped a few times over the years and I am wondering if this may be the reason?

The ground wires should not be with the white neutral, some folks see them on the same buss in the main panel and think it is ok to do it other places it is not.
I turn the power off and separate the grounds from the neutrals. Some fixtures do not have ground wires because they are made of plastic or nonconducting materials The grounds should be attached to the metal framework of the fixture or box.


Can I pull a new single conductor alongside an existing 14/2 wire for a fan+light install? In my bathroom, I have a 2-gang switch box. One switch controls the light bar above the sink, and one controls the fan. I have a new fan, which includes a light. I want to wire the light on the fan to be on the same switch as the light bar, and so this requires 2 switched hots in the fan box; I only have 1.

Do I need to pull a new 14/3 wire from the switch box to the fan box, or can I just pull a new single conductor and use it alongside the existing 14/2?

Located near Houston, TX, not sure what version of the NEC we have to follow.

You cannot pull a single conductor.  (Retrofitting grounds is another story, that's allowed now.)

However, there may be "smart devices" to help you solve that problem, such as Infineon modules which which sit up in the fan/light and listen to electronic signals from a matching light/fan switch.  They are most commonly used on tavern style slow spinning ceiling fans, but I believe they make them for bathroom fans also.   Some also work with wireless remotes, smartphone and home-automation systems.


Sealing metal siding against window j/c channel? We're going to use metal siding on our house. We're using a corrugated profile. Where the siding meets walls/corners/windows, it will run into a strip of C-channel (or J-channel).
Visually, that looks great, but doesn't seem to be much of an actual weatherproof seal. I've searched quite a bit and even asked our siding provider if that is sufficient but there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of info out there on installing metal siding horizontally like this--at least not at the residential level.
Is it OK just to have the siding run into the J-channel? Or should there be more of a seal between the two?
The only possible viable option I've found is expandable foam tape. The idea would be we'd run that along the inside of the C-channel, and then when the siding is inserted that'd create a bit more of a seal.
Any other thoughts/suggestions?
Here's a rendering of the issue. The orange(inside)/blue(outside) is the J channel along the side of the window. The corrugated siding then is inserted into the channel.

I'm not a professional but I've replaced a few siding panels. In all the houses I've lived in (US), there wasn't any insulation or seal in the J or C channel. The one thing I wonder about is the colors. All of them I've seen the color matched the siding making gaps even less noticeable, I don't know if your channel actually has an orange interior. If there were a seal to be concerned about, it would be between the channel and the wall.


In a low water pressure area, why would water from a shower take several seconds to flow after the shower is turned on? I have an unvended hot water cylinder; due to low water pressure where I live, I have a pump installed which assists the pressure when using my shower. When I first go to turn my shower on in the morning, it usually takes around 10 seconds from the time that the shower is turned on until any water is produced and the pump is kicked into action; however, if I then turn the shower off and back on, water begins to flow immediately. What would be the reason for this?

As requested:
Is this low pressure system for your shower part of a tub also? If the water is being diverted up to a shower head it may take that long to fill the pipe, turn the pressure off the pipe is still full so it flows when turned on. Other than that we would need to know more about the controls on the pump.


White smoke coming from motor I have a Black and Decker LST 136 grass trimmer. Its a 36 volt model and is apx. 4 years old.
While using to trim,i noticed that the power was not as it usually is. them the unit would would start to die and i would have to shake to keep it going. then it stopped and a little white smoke came from the motor , located on the unit assembly on top of the cutting head next to the ground. Replaced the battery with a new one , but no luck getting it going. I wondered if it is possible it could be the PCB board and not the motor or is it for sure the motor ?

When the magic smoke escaped from an electrical device, it's dead...

Seriously, smoke means something is dangerously overheating. To avoid doing further damage you should remove power from it and not attempt to use it until the problem has been found and fixed.


How to remove the set key from shower faucet? I'm trying to change the diverter valve in my bath/shower tap but I cannot get the key out to enable me to do so. Does anyone have any ideas on how to remove it? I'm also not sure what it's called, but it's the U shaped key that holds the valve in?
It is a Grohe Concetto (25109) tap, and the part I'm trying to replace is diverter valve (48035).
Thanks in advance!

Looking at the drawing and photo I'd have thought you just need to get a small screwdriver or awl in the gap you've shown there, and the one on the other side and gradually work it out, ensuring it stays straight.
If you work it out a bit at a time, alternating sides, make sure to support the side you've just moved, or it may simply pivot on the middle section.


What is the cause of the common impression that European electrical wiring is safer than (North) American? In this video, at time 11:35, (and in other places), there is a very vague claim about a common impression that European wiring is safer than (North) American, with an equally vague refutation of that claim. What are the details of this commonly expressed idea?

A few things that immediately strike me.

American plugs have no protection against people or items touching the live pin(s) if the plug is partially withdrawn from the socket. Most European plugs protect against this either through pain insulation or through having the socket at the bottom of the recessed cavity.
Until relatively recently the Americans used combined neutral and Earth connections in some domestic wiring (IIRC subpanels, ranges and clothes driers). If a combined Neutral and Earth conductor breaks you can easily develop dangerous voltages on exposed metalwork.
While the lower voltage does reduce the risks posed by electric shocks it also means increased currents which can lead to increase fire risks.
Lots more exposed metal inside enclosures, americans don't sleeve their earth wires and their sockets have exposed live screws, it seems the only thing stopping them touching is the neatness with which the wiring is inserted into the box. You can take the lid off a modern European DB and you would still have to go out of your way to touch live parts while the American breaker panels I have seen pictures of have lots of live metal exposed to direct touch.

Of course there are issues on the European side too.

Earthed plugs will often fit in non-earthed sockets or sockets using a different earthing system in such a way that the appliance receives live and Neutral connections but not an Earth connection.
Accessories are often designed in such a way that they are mounted to the plate, so you can't see what is happening to the wiring as you push it into the box.

A lot of other stuff depends on exactly where in Europe you are comparing to, for example here in the UK a socket without a proper earth would be considered virtually unthinkable, but from what I can gather in both mainland Europe and north America they are relatively common.


Is it ok to crimp Romex to create a longer run I know that I can join Romex in a junction box with wire nuts but can I crimp wire together with say SpliceLine Wire Connectors or some other device.

There are lots of devices besides wire nuts you can use to splice Romex in a junction box, but generally splices outside of a box are prohibited.  The Spliceline push in connectors, insulated crimp connectors, any of them - has to be in a box.

There is a device made for Romex repair that is used to splice Romex outside of a box, but it's in a gray area, it's listing is for use in manufactured homes.  So it's OK for use in mobile homes, modular homes, etc., but not for built in place homes.  Some disagree with that, and use these devices in any kind of building.


Garbage Disposal Rewiring and Switch to outlet transition I'm a new guy here.

So I'm in process of upgrading my sink and would like to install an air switch for my garbage disposal (GB).

As of right now, I have a regular flip switch that operates the GB. The problem is that the GB switch is towards the end of the kitchen counter (little too far), that's why I'm installing an air switch right next to the sink while I'm getting my kitchen sink upgraded. It would have been a piece of cake to wire up the air switch if I had an outlet under the sink. The three wires that are coming out of the cabinet are going straight into the GB. I'd like to install a 1 gang outlet underneath the sink to give power to the air switch. If I install an outlet using the GB wires, my family has to make sure that the main switch is always on so the outlet underneath the sink is always hot and that's why I'd like to remove the switch that operates GB completely out of the equation.

And the flip switch that operates GB right now, I'd like to convert it into an outlet so it's useful. Is this hard to do? I'm not completely new to electrical wiring but never done something like this before. I understand the community members may be uncomfortable in answering this question so they won't be held liable in any way but any answer would really help me.

Thank you in advance!

How easy it is depends on how the feed and switch is layout in the switch box.  IF all three wires from the feed, (black/wire/ground) comes into the switch box, this is an easy setup.  In that box, the switch is removed and an outlet is wired in.  The feed is then continue to a new outlet under the sink.  Both outlets are hot, the old switch and the new outlet under the sink.  The air switch is now plug into the under sink outlet, a new hole drilled into the counter top or use existing hole for the air switch.  You would also have to replace the hard wire out of the GB with a power plug.
Under some local code, the GB would have to on a dedicated circuit, so this would be in violation of that code.  In my house before I remodel the kitchen, my GB was on a circuit with other outlets.


Should I remove vinyl flooring to allow the floor underneath to dry out? We are renovating a 200+ year old house that had a dirt basement.  We poured a concrete floor and put vinyl flooring (snap-together, looks sort of like wood) over this.  The basement has gotten wet (no gutters yet, unfortunately) twice recently.  It does not look like the floor was glued down, so water has probably gotten under the vinyl.  My basic concern is mold--since I have four small children and plan to be in this house a long time, if necessary, we could remove the vinyl floor and just live with concrete floors in the basement.  My husband's office is in one room and he really objects to this idea (wants a nice office).  I go for safety over looks.  There is also dry-wall with wood shoe-molding.  We removed the molding to allow drying behind it.  I would appreciate any advice with respect to mold.

If you didn't put insulation and/or a poly vapor barrier over the bare dirt before you poured the basement slab, you made a mistake, and that mistake is causing moisture in the soil to wick into the concrete, keeping it saturated with water. That's very difficult to fix now, but vinyl will not mold, so you may be okay. If you're really worried about it, you might consider removing the vinyl flooring, sealing the concrete with a waterproofing agent like RedGard, and then installing new water-impervious flooring over it, like vinyl or tile--you can tile right over RedGard. Don't go with anything wood.

But there's more going on here than just that. The fact that your basement had a dirt floor and the house has no gutters leads me to believe that your basement was never designed to be finished; it was instead designed to harmlessly flood. Now that you've finished it, you need to fix the water management detailing of your house so that it doesn't flood anymore, because floods are no longer harmless. First, you need to add gutters. Then, you should build underground drainage channels for water so that it seeps into the ground a number of feet away from your house rather than right against the wall. The easiest way to do this is to insulate the walls of the basement as if you were building a shallow-frost protected foundation, which should also make the basement a bit more comfortable too. Trench down 1-2 feet all around the house, put rigid foam boards up against the exposed wall, and then place horizontal insulation sheets at the base of your trench, sloped away from the house. The result should look kind of like this:

Finally, drywall and wood moulding are bad choices for a basement that floods. Those are very moisture-sentisive materials. You need to implement my suggestions ASAP if you want to save them.


upgrade circulator pump in closed hot water heating system? boiler is Weil McLain Gold CGa.

current circ pump is Taco 007-F5, installed on return side, pumping water down, and into the boiler.

I'm pretty sure this pump is under-sized, as the specs list a max head of 10 feet, and this system is used for heating the second floor unit of a 2-unit apartment. vertical distance from boiler to 2nd floor is wall over 10 feet, more like 16 feet.  the apt has baseboard elements, but the temp in the unit never gets above 62-65. boiler temp is set at 220.

I'm looking to replace the 007-F5 with a Taco 009-F5, with a listed max head of 35ft. BUT, the 009 has a max flow of 10 GPM, compared to the 007's 23 GPM.  Does this "upgrade" make sense??

Thanks in advance.

.jim.

The Maximum head of the pump is not to push the water up to the radiators, it is to overcome the friction loss of the flow of the water in the system. The installed pump should be large enough for your heating system. The water in the system is held up to the highest radiator by the water pressure in the system (look at the pressure gauge mounted somewhere on the boiler) A rule of thumb is 12 psig for a 1 story house, 15 psig. for a 2 story house and 20 psig for a 3 story house. Turn the boiler system off, go to the highest rad and open the vent. If you get water out then the pressure on the boiler is okay.If you can't get the temperature high enough check for water in the rads or baseboard units, vent all the air that may be in the heating elements. If all this fails call a boiler co. to fix the problem. One more thing, if you screw up and install too large of a pump you will get noise in the piping or radiation.


How to trace corrugated drain pipe without digging up my whole yard? I have a 6” corrugated drain pipe that my gutters on the back of my house drain into, and then the drain pipe runs underground along the side of my house. I’m not 100% sure where it ends.
I’m looking to have some extra drainage built in my backyard, and it occurred to me that it might be possible to tap into the existing drain pipe and send the water that way, which would significantly reduce the amount of labor to build the drainage.
The problem is, again, I’m not sure where the drain pipe ends. And I need to know where my water will drain to. Is there a way to locate the pipe underground without digging up my whole lawn?
I have found part of the pipe on the side of my house so I know it goes at least 20’, but then there’s a pave walk in front of the house and I can’t predict where the pipe will go. If I start digging on the other side it would just be taking a guess of where it goes, it would be a crap shoot.
One potential solution that occurred to me would be to string electrical wire down the pipe and attach my tone tracer to the wire. Then if I can trace the wire (just like tracing it through the wall) I could locate the pipe location underground?

Any decent plumber with modern equipment can run a line-locating snake down from where the gutter drains into. The tip/head has an RF transmitter and the plumber walks around with a detector that tones at different pitch the closer he/she gets until they are right above it. Should cost no more than like $100 max. Save yourself some trouble and call someone in to do it.


Can I replace a single pole light switch with a GFCI switch combo? I have an older house that has a single pole light switch in the bathroom.

it powers a single bulb vanity light above the mirror.

I would to replace it with a switch and GFCI outlet

there is just a black and white wire currently on single pole switch.

Is this something that can be done by either me or an electrician without costing too much?

if you need more info about my current wiring please let me know.

No. With just what you have now it is 100% impossible.
Right now you have a switch loop which is just a constant hot and a switched hot. Even though one wire is white there is NO neutral in this box, both are being used as hots.

You could run a new cable to this box, but you best bet BY FAR is to have a circuit run to a new GFI receptacle and just leave the existing switch alone. This is almost certainly the only code legal way to go as well. Adding a new receptacle to an existing lighting circuit in a bathroom would not meet code and will almost certainly be inconvenient due to circuit overloading.


Wire Connector For Heated Blanket So for Christmas I got my wife a king size heated blanket.  She absolutely loved it.  Unfortunately a two weeks ago we also got a new dog and it started using the cord as a chew toy.  What would be the best way to repair this connection? Ideally I would like to cut all four wires and reconnect them but I am not sure what voltage they are carrying.  The wires appear to be 16-18 awg if that helps

I'd inline splice & solder it, then heatshrink.

Use some heat shrink tubing, spread the wire enough to hold the heat shrink.
inline wrap the wire to its mating side so that it stays flush in the lengthwise of the wire, then solder it.
Then heat shrink each over the repair.

This will reudce the likelyhood it pulls apart, keeps out moisture, and is electrically safe.

This is not 100% how I explained it, but google inline splice wire, and you will see numerous pictures to get the idea:
https://www.instructables.com/id/Soldering-Tutorial-Inline-Splicing/


How to determine the polarity of a lamp? I have a lamp that has a damaged plug.  I have a replacement plug, but I'm not sure which wire on the cord should be connected to hot plug and which wire to the neutral plug.  I know that the plug had a polarity (it had one large blade and one small blade), but I don't know which wire was the "hot" wire.  The cord doesn't have a ground wire.

Is there a way to know which wire should be connected to "hot" or neutral?

This is in the United States.

The shell of the bulb socket (i.e. the part with the threads on it) should be neutral. There are many ways it's possible for you to be on contact with the shell:

while handling a fixture, i.e. to keep it from falling or to steady it
while screwing in a bulb
using cheap LED bulbs with metallic heat sinks (many of them either bond the heat-sink to the screw-base shell, or the insulation is so thin it could easily breach there.)

All of this is for nought, if your lamp does not have a polarized plug: note the extra-wide blade on one side in this photo.  This keys it, to make it impossible to insert wrong in a NEMA 5-15, 5-20 or 1-15 socket.

If it doesn't, you should get a polarized plug or cord with plug.   On a cord with a pre-molded plug, there will usually be ribbing or marking, and that should be on the neutral side, which is the extra-wide blade.

The ribbing is meaningless on a user-attached plug, or non-polarized plug.

To be sure, either

measure with an ohmmeter (zero ohms from shell to the wide blade on the lamp's plug, infinity to tip in all switch positions)
measure with a voltmeter, with lamp plugged in, from the shell to holes on a nearby receptacle - near 0V to ground (that could also mean a bad connection) and 120V away from hot (sure, but more dangerous to measure).
dismantle the lamp and visually follow the wire, noting the rib/marking on the wire. Check the plug to make sure the rib/mark does indeed go to the wide blade.

Lamp cords with pre-molded plugs can be readily had from a proper electrical supply, McMaster-Carr, or by hacking an extension cord of appropriate gauge (typically 18 AWG unless it's one heck of a lamp). Use cords that are white, translucent yellow, brown or black - avoid obvious "I hacked an extension cord" colors like dark green.


Why are some of the outlets and lights on a breaker not working? House 15A breaker is not tripped but no power in line with 6 outlets and one ceiling light not working, EXCEPT for one light is working and it is closest to the breaker panel. I checked its wiring and it looks fine.

This circuit has no GFCI outlets in it and no grounds in line. House is 66 year old.  Nothing recently occurred in house to cause any change.  I am completely dumbfounded.

Since you checked the light and it looks fine, check the first receptacle that doesn't work. It may have gone "bad", or it may have a loose screw or a backstab connection (which should be moved to a screw connection).

If you are not sure of the sequence of the receptacles, check them all. When nothing has changed (e.g., no construction that could have cut through a wire inside a wall), the problem is at one of the receptacles or other devices in the circuit.