Why do all the window companies have terrible reviews? This question isn't actually about the reviews per se (so don't close it), but I didn't know what else to call it.

I need to get some basic windows (new construction) and am getting very frustrated because every time I find a brand of windows that I can get, when I look up the company, there's pages and pages of one star reviews with "won't honor warranty", "leaks", "rude terrible service", "got all foggy after a year", etc.

And this seems to be true of every brand of window that I've come across, high priced or low. Now I've never had problems with windows that came with a house that I've lived in, but from the reviews it would seem that there's a bad window epidemic in America. I'm not convinced that's the case. Some cases may be bad contractors that installed the windows incorrectly. But how much is bad product vs bad installation, is impossible to gauge.

So here's the real question: Since reviews seem to be useless at determining what brand of windows are good, what factors should I be using instead to judge the quality of a window or window company?

Clarification: I'm looking for new construction rather than replacement windows.

You're really asking two questions:  "why do window companies have terrible reviews?' and "what should I do?"

Why do window companies have terrible reviews?

There is no single "best" answer.   In the U.S., the "Window" industry has lots of companies, like these:

local fabricators ("We are the factory!"), who buy glass by the truckload as a commodity, cut the glass and put it into frames (usually vinyl, sometimes fiberglass), and have their own installers.  These guys often run "50% off" sales", "buy one get one free", and spend tons of money on advertising: billboards, radio, TV commercials.   You can probably guess that anything that's regularly sold as "50% off" or "BOGO" is over-priced to begin with, or corners have been cut on quality.
small-time contractors who will install anything.  You can luck out and find a good one, or you can find one that will disappoint you.
"Window replacement" divisions of the major national window manufacturers.  You should know that "replacement windows" are not exactly the same as windows designed for new construction, and because they have installer crews, the national Replacement Window companies (like the local guys) are "sales-focused" (meaning production and revenue).   They are also sometimes run as an "arm's length" division of the parent company, so they benefit from the parent's reputation, but they are more than just a manufacturing company that focuses on a quality product -- they also have to deal with the public (retail), hire installer crews, and compete with the local guys in an industry that's not known for a stellar reputation.  These are the companies that will come to your house for a "free in-home consultation", sit on your couch, ask you if your spouse is home, ask you to "sign up today", offer "this week's special pricing", etc.

It may be that you were unlucky and picked "bad ones" to investigate their reviews, but bear in mind, the "barriers to entry" are low. I agree with the comments that "the typical person will only post (reviews) if they are upset"(1).  Some people in the comments even say that the whole window-replacement industry is a racket.

What should I do?

If the "yellow pages" / online search method isn't working for you, here are two easier ways to go.

 1. Find an independent home store.

Find a lumber yard that sells windows, doors, home improvement items and the like that does business with both the general public and contractors.

If you're lucky, and there are more than one in your area, start with the one that's been in business the longest.  Go talk to them.  They likely have a few contractors that they refer business to, or an in-house installation department, where they "sub out" to local contractors.

A business with a physical store to maintain will likely have screened their contractors well, and you know exactly where to go if there is a problem.

You may pay a slight premium, but a local business with a good reputation is a very good place to start.   You generally won't feel any pressure to sign-up for an installation when you walk into such a place, because that's not their business model (they have folks walking in all the time).

Talk to them about the windows they carry.  If you're looking at brand-name windows (in the U.S., names like Marvin, Pella, Andersen, Jeld-Wen), ask them about the different grades (levels of quality, or 'series') and what the differences are.  Some of the bigger brands not only have different grades, they get down into the "builder-grade" using different brand-names (like "Silver Line by Andersen").

Tell them what's important to you.

Insulation R-value.
Ease of cleaning.
Whether the screens are on the inside or the outside.
Exterior and interior colors.
Whether you want the glass to be as flat and non-wavy as possible.
Price range you can afford.
Materials (wood, vinyl, fiberglass) -- if you don't know windows well, especially have a discussion about this.
How the windows operate.
Warranty.

You should be able to learn a lot about the product, and can come back to them multiple times until you're comfortable. Take their business card and let them know you'd like to come back with more questions.  There won't be any pressure to sign up now while a sales person is sitting on your couch.

Source: I've had positive experiences in multiple U.S. metro areas where I've lived going this route (for Windows and other items like bathroom renovations).

2. Go to a national home-improvement center.

I don't always recommend them, but if you are in the U.S. and have one of the national chains in your area (Lowe's and Home Depot), you can always go to the windows department, talk to their people, and sign up with their installation.

Their business model is similar to locally-owned stores -- they have local contractors that they "sub-contract out to" -- but you will be dealing with the store and scheduling through folks that work at the store.

You may not pay the absolute lowest rate, but in my experience you will get a good-quality installation and if there is any disappointment, they will be in a position to make it right.  The national names screen their contractors pretty carefully (they have to, they can't afford bad publicity) and require their contractors maintain minimum levels of satisfaction.

My personal preference is to support locally-owned businesses in my community when I can, but if #1 does not work for you, then #2 will give you a good-quality result at a fair price.

Source: Personal experience dealing with the inside-sales desk at both of the national chains.

There is no one best answer to this question, but this should get you moving on your project.


How can I fix this persistently leaky shower faucet? Several weeks ago water began slowly dripping from the shower head in our master bath. Also, the underside of the hot water faucet is wet long after the water has been turned off and the shower has dried (except a small area kept wet by the drip), so I assume it's the problem. I have tried

replacing the seats and springs (which seems to have slightly increased the leak)
putting a thin layer of vaseline around the seat and on the back of the stem unit assembly (no impact)
replacing the stem unit assembly (negligible improvement)

Here's a portion of the parts diagram for a similar faucet (from Delta's website) for reference.

I don't know what else to try. What else could be the problem?

You say you replaced the seats. The seat is where the usually rubber washer on the end of the stem seals against the back of the valve body. If you put your finger in the hole where the stem goes you should be able to feel the surface where sealing takes place. This surface can get scratched and allow leaks. In fact, the leak can make the scratch worse over time. Also, debris can become trapped in this space during repair and prevent sealing. So, make sure the seat is not scratched, it can usually be replaced if it is, and make sure no debris is left behind before closing up. Additionally, there is usually a washer made of paper fiber or hard plastic that sits between the valve body and the stem above the threads. If this washer is worn or missing leaking can occur at that point.

Finally, you say you replaced the seats and it got worse. It is possible the seats are not tight or are installed incorrectly, crooked, or cross threaded preventing the washer from seating. Check for that.

Good luck!


Floorheating: which material for the floor saves warmth at best? Is it some sort of wood? Or maybe tereacotta?

You’re looking for something with “thermal mass”.

I’d use tile, concrete or rock material. All can absorb heat and then release the stored heat later. Here’s a website that explains it:

https://greenpassivesolar.com/passive-solar/building-characteristics/thermal-mass/


How can I add wall panels to file cabinet drawers? So we bought an Erik filing cabinet from Ikea which was pretty easy to assemble for the most part. However, it was only after everything was said and done that we realized the drawers had no 'walls' on the sides and the back. Well technically they're filing cabinets so they don't really need those walls but it's something we'd like to have as we plan on using one of the drawers to store non-file stuff like little boxes etc which will fall out the back or the side in its current state.

Can anyone recommend an easy diy to accomplish this?
This is what the drawers of the Erik file cabinet look like...

And this is what we'd like it to be...

We live in an apartment so we can't really use a saw or anything to cut up wood

Ten years ago, I temporarily took some old corrugated cardboard from a cardboard box and cut it to fit with a fold over the top rail. It is still there doing the job.

different Ikea product, same problem

If you have access to a pair of scissors, an old cardboard box and maybe some adhesive tape (optional) - you too can be the envy of your neighbours and friends.


How to Stop Squeaking of a Lofted Bed The bed in question is a Viv Rae Nadia.

I assembled the bed, put the mattress on, and stored several things on the included shelves. Any sort of movement makes a squeaking noise through some parts of the frame. What can I do to dampen this noise?

First try tightening the hardware. If you can isolate the offending joint disassemble it. Rub some candlewax on both sides then reassemble it.


How to insulate metal roof on shed and avoid condensation? I’m fixing up an old uninsulated shed. The roof — built of metal sheeting on plywood, nailed to the 2-by-4 rafters — needs to be insulated. What is the best way to insulate the roof that avoids condensation, which might lead to mould or rot?
I can think of two options:

Install batten insulation between the rafters, and then cover this with a vapor barrier.
Skip the batten insulation and tack polyisocyanurate boards onto the underside of the rafters, leaving an airspace between the rafters.

Option 1 risks trapping condensation between the insulation and plywood. Option 2 doesn’t seem to offer very much insulation.
Are there other options to consider?

You need to prevent air from getting to the metal. If no air circulation there is no moisture will condense on the inside. Spray on insulation works well but is fairly expensive, Fiberglas works but needs to be in contact to prevent air movement. This is one area that I compress the insulation some to make sure it stays in contact. This looses some of the R value But eliminates the sweating. Those are the 2 methods I have used.


Can I drill extra holes in entrance panel I am replacing my entrance panel combo with a larger 200 amp service. The panel I am installing is a surface mount, the existing panel is a flush mount. I am using surface mount because I can't drill a 2 1/2 inch hole in my top plate and I want it surface mount to make installing grid tie solar easier. The panel has all the knockouts on the back bottom and bottom.  My wires enter the existing panel from the top so I need to either lengthen the wires or drill holes on the inside top area of the panel so they will reach. Is it ok to drill the extra holes I need and can I just drill one or two large holes and run all the wires through them using the romex clamps and bushings. Any thoughts appreciated.

It should not be a problem making a new hole for the service cable, but you should check you local codes. Where you make the hole depends on other factors, that a licensed electrician would know. This is done with a Knockout punch, not a hole saw. If you try to use a hole saw, you will only make a mess of it. A good set of KO punches are expensive. You can get cheaper sets, that will work a few times before they get dull such as this one or maybe you can borrow one. If you need to go from 3" to 2-1/2" then you may be able to use a doughnut (if code allows it!) reducing washer.

This is quite an ambitious job for a newbie! I suggest you hire an electrician. You can not just add a bigger panel to the service, the lines at the house drop need to be sized bigger and possibly the lines to the house from the utility. You will need to change the wires from the meter, and then you can go through the back of the panel and forget about the KO hole. There will undoubtedly be code upgrades like grounding, that need to be implemented as well. And then there is a final inspection, and yes you need it, if you want your insurance to pay off in the event of a disaster.

Putting all the Romex wiring through one hole is not acceptable. You can put as many as two through an approved (for two Romex cables) type connector. Also "bundling" of cable has restrictions as well, usually only 2' at a point. Romex must be stapled before entering the box (usually within 12"). Again, You need to find the NEC (US) code and local code requirements.

If you still are thinking of doing this yourself, I would apply to your town hall for an electrical pre-inspection. An inspector will come to your house and you can lay your plan out to him. He will tell you if things need to be done different. You as a homeowner can file to do electrical work on Your own home. After the work is done the inspector will return and hopefully give you an approval. Nice and legal, and your insurance co. will accept it!

EDIT:
Here is another cheap KO set with smaller sizes. Note that electrical hole sizes are not dimensional, such as a 1/2" electrical KO is actually a 7/8" hole, and takes a 3/8" Romex connector!

EDIT2:
It may be possible to use a junction box and a raceway to the new panel. A raceway can be say a 3" conduit connecting the two, or an approved raceway. The splices would be made inside the Jbox to single conductors going through the raceway into the new panel. You could ask for a pre-inspection meeting to see if your inspector will accept this. If not he may offer other solutions. It is hard to evaluate your situation without seeing the whole picture.


Supporting a glass floor panel as a part of a floating deck We have built a floating deck attached to the rear of a brick house with a below-grade basement. Now, we have some rear basement well windows that the deck framing is built around. In order to still have some natural daylight come through the windows, we are looking to place some glass panels on the floor of the deck, above the well windows.

Questions:

Is this stable? A glass calculator based on my dimensions of 38 inches X 20 inches X 1/2 inch thick states that the load can be > 600 lbs assuming supports are 3 ft. apart.
On 3 sides (of the deck), we have built a wood bracket intended to support the tempered glass panel that is about an inch thick - in addition to this, we are planning to add a 4th edge bolted to the brick side, on the house building. Is this 4th edge necessary or can 3 edges be good enough to support this? Assuming that a person of reasonable weight (<250 lb) will be able to stand on it.
If so, for the 4th edge, is there some kind of metal L-shaped bracket that can be bolted to the house building? I'm thinking of a bracket shaped like those used to support manhole covers, but my search for it hasn't yielded any results.

Here's a picture:

You can get angle iron at your local home improvement store. You would probably want to get some strip foam for padding. This can be as simple as strip closed cell foam for weather stripping around door frames, or it can be more of a rubberized material for better wear and less likely to compress. This can also be weather stripping for doors.

I'd go with at least 1" steel angle, which will deflect much less than 1/2". If you really want support, go for 1-1/2" steel angle or 1" steel square tube. The larger angle might not be as readily available, but the square tube can probably still be sourced at home improvement stores. I know Lowe's, Menards, Ace Hardware, and Home Depot generally carry the 1" angle and the 1" square tube.

It's mild steel, so paint it or it's likely to rust. Even though it's "mild" steel, it should still provide plenty of support for the glass.  Seeing as the glass shouldn't deflect at less than 600 lbs. anyway, this is more for looks and your own piece of mind, rather than structure.

Also, I'd support it from the deck, not the house. Even though the deck is attached, there can still be some movement between the two. You don't want the glass panel to become a tripping hazard when/if the deck sinks even 1/4". I'd also use lag bolts. In my experience nails have a tendency to work their way out. Deck screws might be enough, but they also might not be. With lag bolts, one on each end should be more than enough and aren't likely to ever come out.


How should I finish a basement with a pitched floor? I am building a room in the basement where the slab has a pitch. I have already installed had a foam and magnesium board subfloor and my intention is to have a carpet installed on top of that. The room is about 17 x 10 and the pitch is on the 17 foot length. It is roughly 2 to 2.5 inches lower on one side that the other end.

I didn't "fix" the pitch on purpose because it is there to allow any water leaks to flow towards the drain.

So what are my options when I finish the walls and install a basement and a carpet in this room. Will I need to live with the slopping floor (which I guess will be most pronounced in the baseboard) or is there a trick to fix this where it is unnoticeable? Is there a "carpet padding shim"?

I would stop and make your floor level before you proceed.

Home Depot/Lowes/etc stores in my area sell 2'x2' subfloor 'tiles' that is basically tongue & groove OSB with dimpled foundation membrane on the bottom side.  However, you can do this yourself using the foundation membrane and sheets of plywood or OSB.  The flooring looks like this:

As I see it, you have two choices:

Leave your subfloor as is, but install sleepers and plywood or OSB on top (will reduce ceiling height a bit).
Rip out the subfloor, and install something like the dimpled foundation membrane, then the sleepers and the plywood or OSB.  This is better, in my opinion, because it would allow any water to run downhill instead of being trapped through capillary action.


Existing 3-way circuit trips breaker I'm sleuthing out a mysterious short in a 3-way circuit and could use some advice.  I have an ordinary 15A breaker with a feed to our kitchen pendants, and some outlets in the room.  The lights are switched with a 3-way circuit that out of the blue has started to pop the breaker when it is turned on.  The circuit carries a load to both outlets and another light.  I have been able to determine that when the 3-way switch is turned on it creates a short buzz near one of the outlets and then the breaker trips.  I replaced the breaker, but that did not fix the issue.  I then isolated the problem down to the pendant lights feed and the 3-way circuit.  This appeared out of the blue today, and baffles me.

I pulled and examined both switches and they appear to be fine.  The only thing I felt needed to be done was to tighten down the terminal screws, as they were fully extended.  The wires are inserted into quick-wire slots.  I debated about replacing the switches, but that would be just another easter-egg hunt, and not at all certain they would be at fault.  Does anyone have a thought on what to check next?  I find it strange that the buzzing noise is not in the 3-way circuit - or at least I don't think so.

Grrr  hahaha grrr hahaha grrr
aaa
Solved - and I have a very red face.  Turns out that several years ago I replaced a light bulb in one of the pendants.  When it did not light up, I determined that the base of the bulb was not making contact with the pin in the seat of the socket.  To help it out I put a penny in the socket and presto - things worked (foolish me!).  Turns out that the penny moved to one side when a new bulb was installed and gradually made contact with the socket wall - not good!

So, after a breaker swap, two 3-way switches and a lot of bafflement, I have only myself to blame.  I'm lucky indeed that was all that happened, lesson learned as things could have turned out much worse.  Enjoy the laugh - it's on me!


How do I fix this leaking dishwasher drain pipe? There is a leaking hose connection to the pump in my dishwasher. I have tried silicone and a hose clamp but no no avail.

What can I do to fix this?
Picture before the silicone, the corrosion is from the leaking wastewater.

I would start by cleaning up the corrosion and debris. If possible remove the hose/boot and clean any debris from the inside sealing surface. Inspect the hose for any cracks or holes. Looking at the photo the bottom clamp appears to be installed correctly. The upper hose appears to be installed too low. The clamp is squeezing the hose but not the pipe. The clamp should be against the shoulder/flange of the hose.


Help! Drywall anchor doesn't go through metal I'm trying to install a heavy mirror and I've drilled through some thin metal...now I'm trying to put a plastic wall anchor through it and it won't go in.  I've done it properly for one side but that's because this side is purely drywall.

What should I do??  I don't want to damage my walls any further...

Normally I avoid them, but there's a "screw-in" drywall anchor (it's metal) that can work with studs. The one I have is called EZ-Ancor but I've seen others. You should be able to find a small pack of them and add one that will grip the stud. That might solve your problem because the screwing action of the anchor should fit in the hole you've drilled in the metal stud.


Screen door frame bulging Recently noticed our screen door wouldn't shut on its own. If we don't pull it shut behind us it sits open a bit.

I checked to see what the door is "catching" on and it appears to be this area:

There are also scrapes on this area from the door.

Was thinking of getting some construction adhesive, squirting some in that gap in the frame, then trying to put pressure on that area to get it to reattach but not sure if there's a better fix.  Somewhat unrelated, on the other side of the door the closer has been coming out of the frame for quite some time.  We've mostly ignored this and chosen to never prop the door open to minimize the damage to this area, but figured I'd include here in case someone thinks it's relevant.

That appears to be a fairly standard aluminum door and that the door frame has gotten a bit bent, and you do seem to have identified the area where it's catching.
I'd suggest that you bang the frame back into its proper shape. A hammer would be the proper tool for this, BUT it's hard to hit a small area like that precisely with a hammer, and a missed shot could do more damage than it fixes. To protect against that, hold a block of wood (any scrap big enough to hold and hit while not smashing your hand with the hammer will do) against the frame to spread the force and hit the block. You'll need to hold the block firmly against the frame so you're transmitting the pounding force through the wood and directly into the frame. With the house supporting the other side of the metal frame, so long as you don't miss the block, you can't really do any damage, so give it a few good, hard whacks. Check your progress regularly - there's no sense in continuing to hammer once it's flat. ;)
It's possible that the metal may have taken a bit of a set in the bent position and no amount of hammering on it will get it to bend back and stay in position. If this is the case, some adhesive behind the frame might do the trick, but it will be difficult to clamp the frame exactly where it needs to be while the adhesive sets. You could use another long piece of wood jammed in across the door from one jamb to the other as a "clamp" using the other side of the door to provide the pressure. The drawback, though, is that when it comes time to finally replace the door, you most likely won't be able to reuse the frame (most screen doors come with a frame that is pre-drilled for all the hardware) so you'll have to remove this one. The adhesive will be a royal pain to remove and might even take a chunk of the door jamb with it when you try to remove it.
You might be better off drilling a small hole through the aluminum door frame and holding it down with a small, flat head screw. You'll have to ensure that the head is completely flush, which means you'll have to dimple in the frame of the door a bit, or the door will catch on the screw head and you'll be right back in the same boat. Use a countersink bit to put a bevel on the inside of the hole you drill to give the screw head room to sit down into the metal. You'll want to use a very light touch with the countersink - too much and the hole in the metal will quickly become too big for the screw you've chosen. You'll want a standard wood screw with a flat head and a taper below like this:
Source: Lowes.com - no endorsement of this product or vendor intended or implied
A screw 1/2 - 3/4" long will probably do the trick just fine.
It also looks like the lip that the door seals against is a bit bent, too. Once you've got the frame back against the door jamb, check to see if this is still bent. If so, gently bang this back into shape with your hammer and block of wood. Since there's no wood backing this piece, you will need to have an assistant hold a larger piece of wood to make a backing to hammer against. You'll want a longer piece of wood to bridge from one part of the door where it's straight to another, then you use your block and hammer to flatten the bulge, sandwiching the door between the two pieces of wood. This will likely be a bit harder to do because you've got a person holding your backer board instead of the whole house. Take your time, be careful and hit much more gently than you did before - you don't want your piece of wood to fly out of your grip and hit your helper. If you do, he may bail on you, then you're stuck fixing it on your own!
To fix up the closer, pull the pin that holds the closer into the mounting bracket. Remove the bracket from the door and take it to a concrete sidewalk or driveway, or put it on a sturdy brick, cinder block or heavy (thick) piece of metal. Put your pounding block on that obviously bent piece (as shown in the last pic), and hammer that back flat. If the other side of the bracket mount is bent, hammer it flat too.
Remount the bracket to the door frame. I'd suggest using some longer screws (fatter ones would work, but they likely won't fit through the holes in the bracket, so longer it is) so that they'll bite into new wood. Once that's screwed back in place, put the closer back in place and drop the pin into it.


sliding door leaking air, is it installed correctly? I have 2 very newly installed ( < 1yr)  jeldwen sliding patio doors (aluminum clad) , and I found that they are leaking air on inside around the bottom and side edges of trim.  I am wondering whether this is a problem with the installation/product or if its something that I just have to caulk up myself from what visible?

The first one I had installed was leaking air (could feel it on cold windy days) in a gap where my hardwood floor met the frame of the patio door (see arrow 1 in picture) which I caulked up to stop.  Arrow 2 and 3 show the areas where I can feel the air on both doors.

How can i know if there was a problem with the installation or if this is just normal for patio doors?.  I know that this door is supposed to be very tight according to energy star label at least.  Should I just caulk the trim and areas on the inside where I can feel the air or is there something else I should be wary of (lacking expanding foam on installation or something?).

Thanks for any help.

0.1 CFM air leakage is not exactly what I would call "very tight," but it's not terrible for a sliding door. Regardless, this looks like a problem with the installation more so than the door. The trim is covering the gap/joint between the door and the rough opening; if that's open to the exterior or not perfectly sealed off from it, then the trim is doing the job of preventing air movement. Caulk the heck out of it! If you want to get really serious, you could remove the trim, spray foam the gap, and then reinstall the trim.


Is there a way to locate a receptacle closed behind drywall? I recently had my basement walls finished.  I am not sure about this at all, but I do have a slight suspicion that one of my electrical receptacles might have been closed up behind the drywall.  The room has an abundance of them, so that's not an issue, but I assume it's dangerous and illegal to have it closed up.  I don't really want to pull down the wall just to check for this, especially since I'm probably just being paranoid and there is no receptacle.  Is there any kind of tool or method for locating a receptacle behind drywall, just so I can be sure?

The code states that the outlets need to be no farther apart than 12' and within 6' of a door. If you had more than what code required, that makes it a little more difficult. If you find one at the door then go 12' from there, literally measuring the wall length you should find one at every 12'. If you have a space larger than that you may have a covered receptacle. Your building plan should reflect this, referring to my comment about code requirement. Or it should show how many you have, if it has more than code would require. I presume the electrician had something to go by to reflect your needs.

With that out of the way, and you have a spot you suspect there is a covered receptacle there, use a straight edge, or anything with a straight edge that is 4' or maybe longer. Run it at the level you suspect where the outlet is and if there is a covered outlet, there will be a noticeable hump in the wall. For the screws will draw the drywall pretty well to the neighboring studs but obviously not so where the covered outlet is. If you find one, the highest spot will be the outlet.


Reducing 1 1/2" conduit to 1/2" liquid tight I'm running multiple wires through the same PVC conduit pipe (1.5") that need to exit into flexible liquid tight that is (0.5").  I'm not seeing any reducers for doing something like this other than white plumbing connectors.

Here is the "T" I was planning on using:

Here is the liquid tight:

Can this be done up to code?  What are my alternatives if it cant?

I've only seen liquid tight with threaded connections, like this:

So basically you need to go from 1 1/2" to 1/2" threaded.

There are reducing bushings, like this:

Finding 1 1/2" to 1/2" seems to be difficult (that's a big drop) -- but they do exist (I can find them in catalogs, just can't find an actual picture).

If you can get a 1" or 3/4" to 1/2" (much more likely) then you just also need a reducing bushing (or two) to go from 1 1/2" to that size:

Another way to make the connection is to use a 1/2" female adapter on the end of a short piece of PVC pipe:

Again, you'd have to use bushings to get from the 1 1/2" box to the 1/2" PVC pipe.

Be sure to use PVC cement to make the connections and keep it water-tight.


How do I remove drip marks in flat paint on smooth interior walls? I recently had the walls and ceiling in my home office refinished with a smooth texture.  When I was painting the walls, in a couple of the corners, I bumped the roller against the adjacent wall.  I didn't notice this until after the paint dried so now I have circular drip marks in a couple of spots.  The paint is a flat interior latex.

How can I remove these marks without damaging the nice new texture (that I paid a not insignificant amount of money to get)?

Tools and supplies I have to hand include: full sheets of sandpaper in various grits, hand sander w/ also with various grits (I think 220 is the finest), Roto-Zip (but without any of the buffing/sanding/polishing accessories).  I can be convinced to get other tools or supplies within reason. :)

If the painting was recent (within say a month or so), and is still a bit rubbery, you can do a great job using a single-edge razor blade to slice off just the offending drip.  Hold the blade almost flat to the wall so it doesn't dig in to the surrounding paint.  Then you'll just have that little circle to touch up with a dab from the corner of your brush.

This also works for other similar blemishes like roller fuzz or small chunks of latex.


How to close this wall My house has a small "porch" near the main door. In many years I've been here, I never once used this area that is on the North side of the house as a porch. It tends to collect junk that I need to clear out every couple of years (guess how I spent the morning). Just behind that wall however, there is my master bathroom, that is the smallest a bathroom can practically be: 5x7 feet. I am seriously considering starting a project to enclose that space and expand the bathroom a little.

If I do this however, I plan to do it on my own, requesting all the necessary permits. It's the first time I'd do something like this.

My question is: how would one enclose that area? I guess under the stucco, that I suspect is 1/2 to one inch thick, there must be a lumber structure. Would I need to rip everything apart and simply rebuild it from scratch? Note from the pictures the area is already covered by the existing roof so I will not have to touch that, and it is for this reason I believe I'll be able to do this on my own. I will want to add a window.

This is fairly easy since you have that big header holding the roof up. You would remove the stucco on the header, at the bottom I would probably pull the trim exposing the frame of that short wall. Then I would build a wall with the opening for your window in the space and stucco the outside, once that is sealed up you could open the wall of the bathroom and remove the stucco then finish the floor to ceiling wall inside the porch area, since you are not modifying a load bearing wall you may not need a permit, that is one of the qualifications for getting a permit in my area. But this looks like it is a good idea to me. Check with your building codes department.


Sub flooring requirements for 2 X 1 rectangle tile I am about to take on a flooring project and I have never done this before.  The previous owner did a DIY flooring job and it's horrible.  Cracked tiles and chipping grout everywhere.  So as I have been told....easy to pull up.

The problem I face is the sub flooring or lack of any solid surface...hence the cracked tiles.

The original tile was laid straight on to the original 1968/1969 builder sub floor.  The best way to describe this floor is 1" thick / 2" wide diagonal wood with 1/4" gaps.  So if I pull and ceiling tile downstairs I get and face full of mortar that has crept through the gaps.  Like I said.....horrible.

So my question is do I lay 3/4" tongue and groove sub flooring followed by 1/4" back board?  3/4" sheets screwed to joists? or just every 6 inches in to my 1x2 planks?

If I do anything asked above I will have a 1 to 1-1/2" threshold difference from the old hardwood to new floor.  Kind of a toe stubbing nightmare lurking.

It doesn't have a noticeable bounce.   The area is a kitchen so maybe the cabinetry is helping?

Wow sure that floor would bounce. Rip up the old tile and use plywood decking. I can’t remember if you can get 3/4 in t&g but know you can get 1”. Since the strips are not t&g I would want to go thicker if possible. If not use a lot of construction adhesive and screw the plywood down.

Next step is your backer board. (I usually put thinset or mastic under my backer and screw it down.) The more solid your base is the better chance of a long life you have (for your tile). After that you are ready to tile.

The threshold will be angled but that is the only way to do it right. I have dropped a finishing hammer from the ceiling on a 4” tile.  I was sure I bullseyed the tile but it was ok. I got lucky but part of that luck came from the base the tile was on. I have repaired tile that a heavy cooking spoon fell from the counter and cracked the tile--it did not have a good base.

Don’t skimp, you should not have an observable flex in the flooring if you want it to last.


One wall parallel with joists My house is Colonial rectangle. I have opened up one load-bearing wall that runs about 2/5 of the length between the den and the living room. With help and excellent advise, I put in a 90" header for a 6'8" opening (after putting up temporary braces on both sides to support the joists above). I feel confident about its integrity. Now I want to remove a wall that runs parallel with the joists and is 90 degrees to this wall. From all of my research, I am thinking that it is not a load-bearing wall. The roof is symmetrically consistent with the rectangular design. Being a newbie here - I'm casting a line out for opinions.

House is about 36' long and 25' wide rectangular. The wall is approx 14' with a 6' opening. Hoping to double the opening to 12' with 2' walls on each side. The wall is parallel with 16" centered joists above and below. I have already opened up a detected load-bearing wall with a 6'8" opening between Living Room and Den perpendicular to this wall. I have attached jpg images and a pdf sketch.

I just saw this when I cut away a spot of the drywall. 2x8 header is above the current opening. Does this indicate load-bearing?

There are exceptions, but typically walls parallel with the joists are non bearing. The exception will be if it is carrying a load from above, transferred down by another wall above it, carrying the roof or corner of a roof, or something like that. Also a point load from above can be brought down through a non-bearing wall.


Theories for cause of tripped breaker when power use was low due to vacation Breaker tripped when I was away for the weekend.

breaker box

I live in the “basement” apartment of a three family home. I am below street level, but as the house is on a cliff going down to the river, it is not below ground. There is a second basement below it. The house was built in 1905.  Bought by current owner in 2004, and renovations on this unit were probably done sometime between 2005 and 2010.

I have lived here for close to three years and have had minimal electrical problems. This summer the utility company has been adding and transferring the electrical wires on the poles in front of the house, as they prepare to provide electric service to a house farther down the cliff, on the river.  As they have worked, I have lost power temporarily a few times. They deny that they did any work on the weekend in question.

My question is about a circuit breaker, which had flipped to the  “off” position when I returned from a weekend away. The refrigerator was drawing power, and the cable box, but all lights and other appliances were off. The voltage is 240. The 15 Amp breaker resisted being turned back on, it immediately snapped back to the off position again. There was some flashing with an attempt to turn the breaker back on. So far I have not had any believable explanation of how this could have happened.

This one 15 Amp breaker controls four rooms; the bathroom, the living room, one bedroom, and the kitchen.  The appliances included the TV, radio, a fan, refrigerator, stove with an electric pilot and overhead lights in the kitchen are on this breaker.  Anything not plugged into the wall directly was connected to a safety power strip.

The breaker box is in the unlocked laundry room, which is outside my apartment, and accessible to anyone who walks in there. When all items were unplugged, the breaker could then be turned back on. Plugging all items back in did not trip the circuit, and everything has been fine for two or three weeks now without any indication of a short or overcurrent.

The weekend I was away from Friday afternoon until Sunday at around 10PM. Things in the half-full freezer were defrosted, and I estimate the power was off for at least 12 to 24 hours.  My landlord told me that he was at the house and stayed in the apartment below mine the night before. He states that the lower apartment has its own circuit breaker box, totally separate from the one for my apartment.

I am curious to have some ideas on how it could happen that at a time when I was away, and electrical use was low, the circuit tripped.   Here are a few points I offer that may or may not play a role in this situation.

The landlord was in the apartment below that weekend, which is an unusual event.
Power company has been doing work on the wires  and poles both before and after this weekend.
The neighbor renovating his house and getting electricity has a history of conflict with my landlord.
Circuit breaker box is inside but easily accessed. It is in the laundry room, which has WD for one other tenant, and breaker boxes for tenants on 2 and 3rd floors. Other tenants denied any electrical problems over the weekend.
The screws were off on the breaker box, allowing the door and cover to removed, exposing the circuits and the wiring.
I was away for the whole weekend, and no one was authorized or suspected of entering my apartment.

The "four rooms on a breaker" and the re-trip with a flash, along with the routine shutoffs owing to rewiring the poles... together completes the picture.

Four rooms is an enormous load for any circuit, especially when one of them is a kitchen. And this is a smaller 15A circuit.  And there are "safety power strips"** and as such, I suspect there are also other loads which you did not mention or are unaware of.

In any case, this circuit is certainly maxed out.

It's also possible the fridge is getting old and tired, or even having a ground fault.

So here's what we know.  When you reclosed the breaker, you got a flash, "foof" and retrip.  And you did it again (bad move),  same result.

Certainly it's reasonable to assume that if you manually shut it off, and later turned it back on, it would trip again.  Ditto if you shut off the whole panel/house.  Ditto if there was a power outage, and not all outages have to do with scheduled work.  (This assumes the freezer has warmed up a bit and wants to cycle on: if the freezer is sanguine, it may not trip.)

This is an immediate, big-flash, magnetic mode trip, which only happens at 5 to 10 times a breaker's thermal mode current rating. What would cause that? Inrush current at startup - this is a characteristic of most motors, most lightbulbs, and most power supplies.  And this explains why you can power everything up if you start each one at a time.   The fridge's current draw is dramatically lower once its motor has spun up, so as long as you introduce each inrush current one at a time, you are OK.

Inrush current is why the breaker's magnetic trip rating is so much higher than its thermal trip rating. A great deal of it is tolerated.

On power restore, everything restarts at once and they are stacking to cause a magnetic trip. This shouldn't happen.  Either one appliance is defective and causing an extraordinary startup load, or you just have way too much stuff on this circuit.

Inrush current applies every time an appliance cycles on, e.g. A fridge will turn on and off intermittently as needed.  If two big appliances both happen to cycle at the same time, you will get a spurious, unexplained trip.

What you really need is a dedicated circuit for fridge and for freezer.  If the landlord is fond of removing the panel deadface, this shouldn't be too much of a challenge for him, I see 3 empty spaces.

Or it may be time to replace an old fridge, or at least its motor's start capacitor.

Figure out which loads are on which breakers, and how much each load realistically draws... and move things around so they are sane.  A Kill-a-Watt will tell you what any appliance or power strip draws.  Unfortunately I don't onow of a device like that which will tell you about inrush current.

** "safety power strips" are not a thing, by the way.  Strips are receptacle splitters, to give you 6 sockets where you had 2.  Used well, they can be safe, but all the loads on them together add to the demand on the circuit, so it is exactly the same as if they were plugged in directly.  So if the notion is "they let me plug more stuff in", that is only true if all their power draws add up to a sensible number.

As far as safety, they certainly add anything but that, and they are probably the cheapest and most shoddily made part of your entire wiring system (unless they're Tripp-Lite, then nevermind.) Perhaps they mean "as opposed to this other unsafe power strip".


How can I keep these hook mounting screws tight? I have four hooks from ikea and one periodically has the main hook part come off the screws that attach it to the mounting plate. Should I use adhesive to ensure the screws won’t come loose, or replace the screws?

The best thing you can use is threadlocker, which is a special glue designed to keep screws from coming out. A drop on the threads keeps them from slipping. There are different grades and colors, you'd probably want blue.
If you don't want to buy threadlocker you can try a drop of superglue. One of the comments say you can try nail polish, I haven't had much success with that trick but if you have it on hand you could give it a try.


How to fix over-tightened metal drywall anchor? I was installing a metal drywall anchor for the first time, and accidentally over tightened it. Now it isn't tight on the wall, and is unusable. I can not remove the screw from the wall, and am worried about damaging my wall. The screw itself is flush with the anchor, and it won't move no matter what direction I screw it. The anchor is similar to this:

How do I remove it from my wall so that I can try to install it again without damaging my wall?

If the anchor has been overtightened and is now loose in the wall, it cannot be salvaged. The plaster in the wall (or the drywall) has been pulverized and will not hold this anchor or any other.

You need to remove the anchor and the screw.

AMENDED ANSWER

Based on new information from the Original Poster, the anchor is a molly type that mushrooms behind the drywall.  The best way to remove these is to push them in rather than pull them out.

Insert an awl or a very narrow screwdriver alongside the anchor, pushing toward the hollow in the wall. Do this repeatedly around the circumference. You are basically crushing the little bit of plaster that is hold the collar of the anchor on the surface of the wall. You shoUld then be able to gently push the anchor into the wall hollow where it will drop into the bottom if the cavity.

If you have not damaged the area too much, you may be able to replace the drywall anchor with a strap toggle type anchor.

The legs on this anchor slide to move the crossbar parallel to them. The crossbar is slid into the hole and the legs are then adjusted so that the crossbar is now perpendicular (but parallel to the inside surface of the wall. The front plate on the toggle is then slid tight to the wall and the extra legs are snapped off. The hanging item is then secured by a bolt that goes through the crossbar.

If the hole from the original anchor is much bigger than the toggle diameter, you probably need to patch the hole and move to a different, sound section of the wall and start again.

This answer discusses a range of mounting methods.

In general, I try to avoid molly type anchors because they are prone to the very problem you experienced.

 The links and images are for illustration purposes only and are not endorsements


Wiring Z-wave Dimmer switch into 2-gang switch setup Novice here...

My 2 gang junction box had 2 switches, controlling a fan and its light.
I got this fan from HD (Fan) which needed only one hot and a neutral to operate. The remote controls the fan's light. The other switch was wired to 4 new can-lights. The electrician did everything good.

Now, I want to replace the Light switch with a Z-wave dimmer : Dimmer

When I opened the junction box, the existing wiring confused me. The right switch controls lights and left one controls the fan. The new Dimmer needs 4 wires - Line (Hot), Neutral, Ground and Load.

The dimmer switch I have has only 3

Link to Dimmer switch wiring : Dimmer Switch Wiring

Another view -

I was able to swap the fan switch with a modern one and it worked fine. However, the Z-wave dimmer I couldn't make it work.

Can someone guide in simple words, how do I wire the dimmer to make it work ?

P.S. The neutral wire hanging down is something I haven't used yet. The dimmer switch said it needed a neutral, so I pulled one from existing lot.

P.S.S. I don't know how the new fan and can lights are wired. I cannot open it either. Sorry!

Thanks!

I can clearly see in the picture provided your neutral ( the one with a pigtail on it ) is not wired to anything.

That's your "4th wire", if I understood your question correctly. Your old switches didn't need a neutral.. Your new ones will... Use "those" neutrals...


Metal gate in hot weather Is it possible that our metal gate could be expanding in the hot summer weather?  It has been well over 100 degrees daily on average for a month or so, and for some reason a metal gate we have had for years is not closing properly because it's just too big for it's gateway.

It is possible and should be relatively easy to estimate how much it is expanding based on the coefficient of thermal expansion, the size of the gate and how hot the gate gets.

One other issue you might to look at is movement of any posts supporting the gate. If you have had unusually dry weather for instance this may have caused the ground supporting any posts to move and that could cause a similar problem.


Does white vinegar over asphalt cause any harmful reaction? I previously asked a question about which glue is under my vinyl tiles and the answer said it was tar/asphalt.
Is this abestos glue/ do these tiles contain abestos, if so how can I safely remove/work around it?

Today I wanted to disinfect the area as there were a lot of dead maggots under there and I sprayed all the glue down with a concentrated amount of white vinegar.  I don't know why I always do this.

It could be my imagination or my medical issues as I'm sensitive but it made me feel very unwell.  The glue before the vinegar was making me unwell.

Maybe this is better suited to the chemistry site but does any reaction take place with white vinegar and these glues which lead to harmful toxins to be emitted?

Thanks

Without knowing the exact makeup of the glue, it would be difficult, impossible, to say with any degree of certainty, what toxins would be emitted. Most of the glues out there say to use in well ventilated areas so after years, if you spray them with an acidic compound that partially soften them up or dissolves them, they're going to be able to give off fumes. Breathing misted white vinegar can cause lung irritation especially if you have lung problems to begin with. There are also disinfectants on the market which are better than vinegar.


washing machine stops during cycle My whirlpool ultimate care ii washer stops with water in the tub. It WILL drain if I can get the timer to start again. I can usually get it to start again by moving the dial back around, and sometimes a bit past, the place it stopped. The timer makes inconsistent loud and soft/ fast and slow sounds.

Without any specific knowledge of this particular model:

Sounds like the timer may need to be replaced.


Suction hose in my watering system getting air. What can be the problem? I have a water deposit, with a pressure booster pump, very similar to this one:

Recently the pump stopped working properly. I don't get any water in the tap and, after inspection, I see that the suction hose has air.

I've solved the issue by filling the hose with water, but the problem happens again.

What might the problem be? What are the most common cases to get air into the suction hose?
What can I do to prevent the pump from eventually working dry (it didn't get to that point)?

Leak at a fitting.

Leak from cracks in the body of the hose - common for aged plastic hose exposed to sunlight, for instance. Or hose which has been chewed by animals.

Sucking water fast enough to either create a vortex (whirlpool) in the supply that brings air to the hose-end below the surface, or simply sucking the level of the supply down below the hose-end.


Plastic or metal pipes? what do you recommend? I need to install piping for hot and cold water, do you suggest plastic or metal pipes?

TLDR: copper pipe with compression fittings.

In the UK, your choices, in approximate order of decreasing compactness and decreasing skill required, include

Copper pipe with end-soldered connections.
Copper pipe with solder-ring connectors.
Copper pipe with compression fittings.
Copper pipe with push-fit connections.
Plastic pipe with push-fit speedfit connectors.
Plastic pipe with push-fit Hep2o connectors
Plastic pipe with push-fit Polyplumb connectors
Plastic pipe with push-fit Floplast connectors
Plastic pipe with other push-fit connectors.

However, if you already have copper pipe, I would use compression fittings and copper pipe (if you have space) to maintain earth continuity. You probably need to add equipotential bonding where the pipes join the taps.

Plastic pipe is easier but, in my experience, the couplings are more bulky than even compression fittings and this can make a significant difference to the end result (e.g. being able to fit joints within existing space).

Plastic pipe connectors usually have to match to plastic pipe type. Some plastic push-fit connectors (but not all) can be used to join copper pipe to plastic.

Plastic pipes can be bent, but I've had nearby push-fit joints leak, so it may be best not to rely on the flexibility too much.

The disadvantage of soldering is that you have to make sure the pipework is empty and dry, even a small amount of water several inches away can make it impossible to raise the temperature of the joint high enough for solder to flow.

So really it depends on how handy you are with a blowtorch.


Heat against laminate flooring causes condensation I bought a house a year ago which had laminate flooring installed across the entire house.
Sometimes I will sleep on the floor on a foam mattress topper. I noticed that there would be days where I'd fold up the mattress topper and the back side of it would be damp. I originally found this out after leaving the mattress topper on the floor for several days and would sleep on it nightly. When I finally picked it up to put it away, the backside actually had some mold / mildew growing.
Fast forward to today. My dog has a bed he sleeps on. I picked up the bed and notice it was wet underneath. I didn't think anything of it because I had just washed it a week ago and figured maybe I hadn't dried it completely, but as I thought more, it seemed similar to what I experienced with the mattress topper.
Either I just sweat a lot and the dog bed truly wasn't dry or there is some sort of condensation issue.
Any ideas?

I could imagine condensation forming on a cold floor but I would think less would form on top of your mat and dog bed.  They would not get as cold as the flooring and they would protect the floor beneath from collecting condensation.
I would think that if you were sweaty enough to soak your mat through you would notice that.  As re the pet bed - dogs don't sweat.
If moisture accumulates underneath things on the floor I think it is coming from beneath.  If there is not something on the floor it evaporates.  The bed or mat on top prevents it from evaporating into your house and it accumulates under there.
You could test this by taping a sheet of plastic wrap on the floor.  Tape around all 4 edges.  If moisture is coming up thru your floor the sheet will steam up.


Removing old cable that goes through external wall I need to remove an unused cable that goes through my external wall. Is there a method to do this or do I just pull it with force?
The old cable was connected to a TV satellite dish outside that was removed, but the cable was left there. I want to install a security camera outside my house and use this hole to run the cables through the wall (instead of drilling a new hole). Is there a good way to remove the old cable? Do I just pull it out with force? From inside or outside to minimize damage to the wall?
This is a standard Victorian house in United Kingdom, and the external wall is a solid brick wall around 20cm thick.
Thanks in advance.

I've removed several of these, but never from a brick wall. Typically the hole is a bit larger diameter than the wire and the gap is sealed on both sides with caulk or rubber grommets. If you remove the gap seal it should be trivial to pull it out. I would dig around the cable on the exterior side with a knife or pliers to free up the cable. On the interior side, you can see the rubber grommet so you can cut or pull that off.
You seem to have more cable on the interior so it would be easier to get a grip on that side, but if you'd rather pull from outside you can use vise grips to clamp the cable and a pry bar and a wood/brick fulcrum to pull a few centimeters until you have enough wire to get a good hand grip. Pulling the cable inside would be a shorter pull though, as it has just a few centimeters more than the 20cm wall thickness.


Installing short 18"- 24" threaded black pipe for lp gas line in wall Is it ok to run short 18"-24" threaded pieces of black gas pipe in the wall horizontally done by a licensed plumber so it goes through the 2x6 studs

Short threaded connections are generally acceptable, if your piping system passes required pressure testing. As @keshlam states, check with your local permitting authority.


Ideas for making a backyard fort moveable I'm in the planning stage of a backyard fort similar to this, standing on six 4x4 posts with the floor roughly three feet above grade with far more structure than the linked example.  Since this thing will need to be placed within a utility easement, one requirement will be that it can be moved.  I'm thinking of placing skids made of 4x4s under the posts, joining them to the posts with mortises/tenons, then fixing the skids to concrete pilings. Then I can unscrew the fasteners from the pilings and pull the fort out of the easement on demand on the skids. But will a truck pull this beast?  And will the fort be too top-heavy to be moved safely without tipping?  Should I skip the pilings and simply level the ground? Are there any other options for fort mobility that I've overlooked?

Make the base frame with locating points so you can fit axles underneath. Also make sure the frame will be limited in its flexing.
There are truck companies with special low trailers that may help, but will you like the price?
I would think around and design around the issue.


GFCI Protected Outlet Trips with GFCI Outlet Tester, but the outlet lost power I plugged my GFCI Outlet Tester into a GFCI protected Outlet. Pressing the test button, the outlet was tripped fine. But no matter how I pressed the reset button on the GFCI receptacle. The outlet showed no power. Could someone tell me why I cannot get power anymore from the outlet? Thank you.

Never mind. I thought the GFCI switch in the master bathroom was controlling the outlets in the same room. After some testings, however, I found out that the outlets were actually controlled by a GFCI switch in the guest bathroom. All the devices are working fine. Thank you all for your suggestions. Very much appreciated.


Soft close toilet seat issue I know this is an odd question, but we just bought new Kohler toilets & I hate them because every time i get up, the seat sticks to my bottom enough to lift the seat up and then crash back down.  I'm told it's because of the soft close seat, but what can I do to fix this.  I've never had this issue with any other toilet (maybe because they are heavier).

The Kohler Cimarron toilet comes with a Reveal Quiet-Close with Grip-Tight Bumpers Seat. You can swap that for any elongated seat, though obviously with a new toilet you wouldn't normally want to do that - except if it came with a regular seat and you wanted a soft-close seat, which this already is.

Supposedly, it has "Unique Grip-Tight bumpers hold the seat firmly in place and prevent shifting." That would seem to imply that it would do the exact opposite of what it is doing for you. Since it is brand new, I suggest contacting Kohler directly.


Building staircase from first floor to the attic with a Dorm window for headroom. Large 40 x 12 attic space. I want to add a staircase by taking space from the living room for the staircase then adding a large dorm window space to give headroom (gable roof) at the top of the stairs so that I can enter the main area of the attic.

I have a 16ft x 19ft living room in a one story house with a basement. House build in 1929 and has a large attic. Not counting the 6 ft down slope space on each side of the gable roof, I have 40ft x 12ft down the center of a gable roofed attic.

The 16ft sidewall on the right side will be the support wall where the stair railing will be mounted. I am remodeling queen.

How to I build the staircase?

Also, The dorm window space will be built in the 6ft deep down slope. I am estimated that I need about a 5 to 6ft wide window space. Your thoughts here?

Thanks
Monica

You really need to bring in an expert to evaluate the building structure to see if what you have in mind if even feasible. There is little chance that your short text about your intentions can provide the detail needed to determine feasibility. Also since the area is probably enclosed from below at the present time pictures would likely not help too much here either.

Some things to consider:

Adding a 5 or 6 foot wide dormer opening into an existing sloped roof will likely require some major re-work of the roof structure in that area.

Many houses with attics have minimally sized ceiling joists that may not come close to supporting a floor from above. It is likely that some new joists between supporting walls will be needed to make the space safe but that could reduce your existing headroom to too much.

There are a lot of old style constructions that had center support posts under the rafters in the attic. If  your space is like that you may not be able to legitimately remove them.


What is an Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter? What is an Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI) and where should they be used?

AFCI's detect patterns of current that usually indicate some sort of electrical problem. Unlike a GFCI which is making sure that current going out = current coming back, AFCI's try to look for electrical usage that would not trip a GFCI but might be something causing an electrical fire. Most code now requires them for bedroom circuits.

The one major drawback for them is that some stuff tricks them into tripping. Often times larger machines with motors, like a vacuum cleaner or power tool can trip them. They are still a good thing to have, just be aware of this limitation


Air deflectors on floor registers and cooling efficiency I was once told by an HVAC technician to avoid using air deflectors on floor registers during the summer.  The reason was that the last thing you want to do is to direct the heavier, colder air towards the floor.  Doing so prevents the fresh cold air from mixing with the stale warmer air before it inevitably sinks.

Makes sense, but i have since seen (and heard) a couple of counter arguments to this:

Most homes tend to leak air around the exterior walls and windows, which is where many floor registers are located.
Blowing cold air up a warm exterior wall is not desirable and tends to create hot/cold pockets, especially in large rooms.  Doing so could also cause undesirable condensation/moisture problems on the the exterior walls/windows.
Part of the cooling effect is our perception of it, and air deflectors help us feel cooler by making the air flow more directional towards the main living space.
Heavy curtains and other window treatments often impede or trap the cool air that blows straight up from a floor register.

For the experienced HVAC pro's and hobbyists here - what is the verdict on air deflectors?  Do they help or do they make your cooling less efficient?

The past home owner left these in my place.  Where the blowing air just gets caught behind the curtains, is under furniture or tropical plants, I divert it, and this just happens to be towards places where people sit.

Keep in mind in the winter, having the warm air low helps mix it.  But in all seasons, the vents are near windows and doors to counteract the cold/hot spots these create to give you a more even temperature in the home.

Also, if you have moisture problems in your windows, it's not because of these deflectors.  Well insulated windows (multiple panes and weather stripping) are the solution to that problem.


No C (Common) terminal on Furnace. I am trying to hook up a new wi-fi thermostat.     I currently have 4 wires running, but there are many unsued that are terminated in the jacket of the wire.   No issues there.       However, when I get up to my furnace, I don't see a connection for a C wire.    The furnace is old, however, I am faily confident there should be a way.        Any help would be awesome

Take the blue wire from the cable to the thermostat, nut it with the two blue wires in the foreground, done

The two blue wires in the foreground of your first two wiring shots are both C wires -- the thick is the C wire coming from the furnace, while the thin one is the C wire returning from the air conditioner compressor (it's the one that goes into the cable where the yellow wire was the only other wire used).  So, you can simply strip the end of the blue wire in the cable to the thermostat and include it in the junction with the two existing blue wires up front.


Can I convert a radiator to radiant floor heating in a room? I am purchasing a new home, and designing some renovations to several rooms.  The house has a gas boiler and radiators throughout the house.  For the kitchen and upstairs bathroom, I will be putting in tile flooring.  To save space, I am wondering if installing PEX tubing for radiant floor heating using the supply and return from the radiator is a possibility.  Can this be simply installed in place of a radiator, or does the entire radiant floor heating system (thermostats, control modules, etc.) need to be installed as well?

You may be able to use the existing radiator piping to some extent, but a number of other changes will be required:

Lower water temperature. Because the radiant heating runs under your entire floor, it is typically run at a temperature similar to a hot summer day (around 85 degrees Fahrenheit). Cast iron radiators are usually run at around 150 degrees F, which would be painfully hot to stand on. So if you are keeping any radiators, your system will need to support running at multiple temperatures. According to this piping schematic from hydronicpros.com the device that can both control your boiler and mix water for a lower-temperature section is called a "variable speed pump mixing control".
System balance. Changing the way a room is heated may take it out of balance with the rest of your home, leading it to get too hot or too cold. You'll want to get a professional to assess whether this will require additional thermostats / control modules, or whether there's a simpler way to balance things.
Under-floor access. For hot water radiant heat, you'll need to install PEX on the underside of the subfloor. I don't think you can do that without access from underneath. Probably not a problem for your kitchen but may add some work for the upstairs bath. Correction 2 Feb 2012: Actually, there are hydronic systems that can be installed above an original subfloor (inside a newly poured cement layer, under tile). These may cost more and would likely change the level of your floor, but are worth considering.

One alternative you may want to consider is electric radiant heating. Electric radiant is available in mats that are layered with thinset between the subfloor and tile. The mats can be custom made to the shape of your room, e.g. to flow around a kitchen island. The system will come with a temperature sensor and control that is typically mounted in a wall box next to the light switches for the room. In this case, you'd simply remove the radiators, and use electric heat for those rooms instead.


How do I mount my TV on my wall with poor stud location? My wall studs are in an inconvenient space, I had a spot on the wall where I envisioned the TV to go, but the location of the studs would not have this tv be in the center of it, and there is other furniture blocking if I put the tv up on the location of the studs.

My TV is only 45 lbs, although 55 inches, can this go into drywall? A lot of drywall only things I see recommend around 50-60lbs before things get questionable.

Additionally, I could get a wall mount that allows for more flexibility

any insight into a solution for this dilemma is appreciated

Depending on your budget, most TV mounts for large TVs have enough leeway to be installed even where the studs are not centered behind the TV. I installed a 65" TV on a wall where the studs were off center relative to the wall unit. The back plate was over 2 feet long, which allowed me to easily hit two of them. In my case I wanted a mount with articulating arms to make it easier to push the TV back into the wall unit so this made it easier as well...however either way it looks like it would have worked even in the "worst case" with a stud right in the center of where I wanted the TV. (My studs were 16" apart though, it would be more difficult if yours are further apart)


Should I run laminate continuously through rooms, or separate with T moulding? I am installing laminate flooring in an area that has two bedrooms and a living area.  The bedrooms are about 150 sq ft each and the living space is around 250 sq ft.

---------------        -----------------------------
|             |        |                           |
|             |        |                           |
|    Bd #1    | stairs |                           |
|             |        |                           |
|             |--------|      Living Space         |
|                                                  |
|-------------|                                    |
|                                                  |
|             |-  ----------  ---------------------|
|             |          |                         |
|    Bd #2    |  Bath    |      Utility Room       |
|             |          |                         |
|             |          |                         |
----------------------------------------------------

I know about the standard spacing that must be left between the flooring and the walls.  I also understand I should run flooring parallel with the longest wall.  I would like to know if I should just run the entire flooring from room to room, or if I should separate it based on the rooms and have T moulding to transition from the bedrooms to the living space.  I think this would help with the expansion of the flooring and be less likely to have bowing.  I think it would look better to have no spacing at all, so maybe I'm being paranoid about the spacing/bowing.  Is there a standard for this type of transition?  I think once you reach a certain square footage you need to insert a gap, but I'm not sure what that is.  Any advice is appreciated.

I think you should be more concerned with the expansion gap than other types of expansion.

In my opinion you should use some kind of separation between the living room and the bedrooms, because bigger rooms require bigger expansion gaps. And that difference in expansion could give some bowing.


What is type of screw is this? This cylinder-like screw is screwed into an opening on the inside of a table. It basically "locks" into the screw that is facing down from the top.

Kind of like this:

I'm trying to get them out, yet I can't find advice because I don't know the name of it.

These are usually a cam lock assembly. The insert needs to be turned about a half rotation to release it from the cam bolt.

Here is a picture of what one of these things look like.


How to connect to black underground sprinker pipe My backflow prevention device failed over the winter (nice large split, as you can see). I checked with the local city, and they won't let me replace like with like, so I'm going to install a Wilkins 720A pressure vacuum breaker instead; here's my proposed design (the unions are so that I can remove the PVB in the winter). Inflow is on the right-hand side, and the sprinkler system will be on the left. This is culinary water, but not connected to the house.

Here's my question; as you can see in the photograph, the underground input and output are on black PVC (I think) pipes, 1". Can I use a similar method of connection (Jubilee/hose clips) to connect to the 1" schedule 40 pipe, or is there something else I should use? If I do use the hose clips, can/should I lose the box and bury the pipes (for support)?

I have to get this inspected, and I want to do it correctly the first time, rather than get rejected for something silly like a pipe connection.

The black sprinkler pipe is probably HDPE and not PVC so you need a different connection method than with PVC.

Your best bet is to check with a local sprinkler supply company that can give you the right option for local requirements.  Around here they use hose barbs and hose clamps but other places may require different connectors when transitioning from HDPE to PVC.


How does this 50 year old shower valve work? I'm in a bind, with this valve taken out of the wall and the water supply turned off.

It looks like these pieces are all intact, nothing broken. The valve stem screws into what I would call the valve seat, but the valve seat doesn't have anything to keep it from spinning freely, so I am unable to see how the valve works reliably.

The stem is quite long, and its not easy to look inside the valve unit inside the wall. So I can't add anything to the description about that.

Underneath the upper end of the valve (the part that holds everything in place and is visible in the picture at the opposite end from the valve seat), there was a fiber washer. I was thinking it provided pressure on the valve seat to keep it from spinning, but the original washer wash not very elastic at all.

Update

I was able put the valve back together with some guess work by putting some stem packing as shown in the photo below:

This didn't assure me that I had it properly put together, but it removed the urgency, as I now have a working valve.

In th mean time, I learned that this valve is probably the American Standard Version II Tub Shower Stem of the Re-Nu style. I found this on a restoration plumbing website. These are described as from Art Deco fixtures from the 1930s to 1950s, which puts it in the right period.

The restoration site supplies reproductions with a modification at the end of what I have been calling the "seat". They call it the "barrel". The modified barrel has a rubber o-ring at the end (on the outside).

I am not sure about stem packing, but repair kits show a part that may be for stem packing. I think this would be necessary, and I'm guessing the original stem packing disintegrated over many years.

If anyone can explain more fully and correctly how this valve should be repaired, I'll accept the answer.

In one hole, and if the seat is open, out the other.
If it doesn't seal well even though you have replace the 'washer' at the end of the stem, a seat grinder will smooth the seat out.  Go find a 75 year old plumber, he will have one.
An alternative valve stem packing was a rope like material - the neoprene washers you added are a substantial upgrade.
I haven't re-seated and repacked one of these in at least 15 years but your assembly looks good.


does the NEC allow conduit attached to my house to an outbuilding or does it have to be buried? I have a shed im running electrical to, which is detached. the subpanel in the shed is being powered by a 40amp double pole from the main service with THHN/THWN 8 gauge wire.

I am going to attach PVC conduit along side of the house (about 30 feet) to bypass some digging because some cables are in the way in the ground.

when I am at the end of the house, thats when I will go into the ground and bring it back up in the shed.

so I am just trying to figure out if I am allowed to run conduit along my house to power up my shed or am I only allowed up to a certain feet?

Like, if im allowed to go straight conduit attached to the house to feed the shed vs burying it, am I alloweD?

Yes, it's permitted in Article 225. But...

If exposed to temperature extremes, you must provide "expansion fittings" per 300.7 and as a general rule, running it along the side of a building wall usually qualifies as exposure to temperature extremes.

Article 352 ALL pertains to using PVC conduit, but there are a couple of things to note:
A) 352.12 says that you can't use it where subject to physical damage, but...
B) 352.10 had just said that you CAN use it. The subtle and often missed detail is that 352.10 has a note explaining that SCHEDULE 80 PVC is allowed for use where physical damage is probable. If you are unsure of how your situation applies, just use Schedule 80.


Does water in the water heater drip pan mean my heater is bad? I recently noticed my drip pan had about a half-inch of water in it. I could find no water leaks around the fittings or valves.

The water is slowly evaporating--very dry climate area--and the water in the pan is almost gone.

The heater works well and we have plenty of hot water, could there be an intermittent leak?

My thermostat stopped working, my electric water heater got too hot, and water boiled out of the T&P valve. I just had to replace the thermostat. Have it looked at by a plumber.
So yes, this can be an intermittent thing.

And yes, there could be a slow leak somewhere else.

What type of WH is it? Gas, electric? Please add this answer to the bottom of your post.


How can I thoroughly blackout a bedroom window on a budget? I am renting a house that has beautiful wooden venetian blinds - that I can not remove or replace - but they are not very effective at blocking the ambient night light that is abundant on my street. This affects my sleep hygiene - it is strongly recommended to sleep in as dark environment as possible.

Now the challenge is:

I can not remove the existing blinds
I want to keep the room light during day so no sticker or dark foil
my budget is limited and I would like to avoid buying and installing heavy curtains

How do I darken the room on a budget? Any DIY tips are welcome.

sheet of cardboard (or similar) cut to fit inside


What is the best way to seal my deck? I Have an outside deck, it currently has a layer of varnish on it, I Think the wood type is Meranti.

The deck is exposed to lots of rain and also harsh sun, and the varnish has started to peel.

I Would like to re-seal or repair the finish

What would be the best type of product to use, (varnish, solvent based sealer, oil based sealer, water based sealer) etc...  And if so, how would that affect the current flaky varnish?

I would essentially like a semi-maintenance free application where the wood luster is maintained.

There are two different sets of recommendations depending on the type of decking:

For a pressure treated lumber deck:

To start with, you will want to remove the current flaking varnish, otherwise any treatment you give the wood will not apply consistently, and in any case will just sit on top of the varnish, so strip it all with a good paint stripper. An oxygen based one can brighten up the wood quite considerably as it gets rid of mildew.

Wash the wood - a power washer is pretty good for this.

You may also need to sand - this helps take the surface to a consistent level, and can remove splinters that may have been left after the paint stripping and washing.

Then use an oil based stain if you want to go for long term wood protection - this will get right into the pores in the wood. Ensure the deck is dry first - a couple of days of sunshine and no rain will help the uptake of stain. Make sure the stain is semi-transparent if you want the lustre of the wood to show through.

Varnish and paints should not be used - You have seen what UV rays do to varnish.

For a hardwood deck:

You will not want to use such active chemicals to strip the paint, and in fact you may wish to just use a sander to avoid chemical damage to the wood.

An oil based stain will not be as useful either, so you may want to go with a more resin based stain, or even just re-varnishing it.


Framing a non-load bearing basement wall - are plates required to be a single piece? Are either top or bottom plates required to be 1 continuous piece of lumber?  If it's not required, what is the best way to attach the separate sections; a lapping piece over the top of the joint?

Negative. Bottom plates rarely are in any case, since they're fully supported, though better carpenters tend to splice them on studs.

Simply fasten them to the floor with construction adhesive and/or mechanical fasteners as appropriate. No scab is necessary (though one could help keep things in alignment if not splicing under a stud).


New kitchen cabinets and floor, which first? I plan to rebuild the kitchen, installing new cabinets as well as a new floor (either wood or laminate).

Should I lay the floor first and then mount the cabinets on top? Or should I mount cabinets to the subfloor first, and then lay the new floor around them?

Since I also intend to remove one wall from the kitchen, the actual positions of the cabinets will change, so I intend to fully remove both cabinets and floor before I do anything. Also, I intend to do as much as possible by myself, without contracting out.

If you plan on doing both, I would suggest having the old cabinets replaced first, then having the flooring done.

This typically keeps the various contractors out of each other's way, and allows the project to progress smoothly, and should you decide to change your flooring down the line, you won't have to remove the cabinets.


30amp dryer on a 50amp breaker? After many pitfalls, I have gotten my new dryer working.  It's a Kenmore 81182 electric dryer. (Manual from sears; Sears website).  Very long story short, the neutral wire at the breaker box wasn't tight, at all, not in the least (how my previous dryer ran 10 years is a mystery).

Got that squared away, but I am wondering if the 30amp dryer should be on a dedicated 50amp breaker.  I had it off for two days and noticed all other appliances working in the house (fridge, washer, dishwasher, oven, stove, central heat/air).  The panel at the box is not labelled, but a nice little piece of cardboard inside the box labels the slot "dryer".

Shouldn't this appliance be a 30amp breaker? Or am I misreading "minimum circuit rating = 30amp"?  Hope this question falls to DIY.SE.

Your question is a bit convoluted, but the answer is very simple. The breaker size must match or be lower than the wire amp rating feeding the circuit, and appliances on that circuit should not exceed the max rating of the wire or breaker.  In a dedicated circuit for a dryer, for example, the normal size of the circuit would be 30 amps. 30 amps requires a minimum of #10 copper or #8 alu.  With this wire size, the breaker must not be larger than 30 amps.  Do not use a larger breaker then what the current rating of the wire is rated for.


No power after changing an outlet I just changed my heater and it caused the whole wall outlet to go wrong.
The heater was connected to the wall using strip connectors such as this one:

After turning the power off from my main panel, I unplugged these and plugged the new instead but it didn't work when I turned the power on again. So I plugged the old one back and it didn't work anymore either!
I plugged a simple outlet with a lamp and the lamp did not turn on, so I assume there is a problem with my wires. I tried to use Wago instead of the strip connectors with the same result.
Visually, the wires seem precisely the same as when I opened the outlet at first: 4 wires (neutral, live, ground, and pilot) with a section of 2.5mm². My apartment is 15 years old and in good condition, so I don't think there could be a problem inside the wall.
Here is a picture of my main panel (30mA differentials): https://i.stack.imgur.com/rbfdw.jpg. One switch is turned off because I don't know what it is controlling and the other is the switch of my heater so it is turned off while the outlet is left open. When I turn this latte on, nothing happens to the above-mentioned lamp.
I changed a lot of outlets with absolutely no problem before, in this apartment and elsewhere. This problem is absolutely beyond me.
Is there a way I could diagnose this problem without much material?
Disclaimer: I am not an electrician but quite tech-savvy and very cautious. I understand pretty well how electricity works even if I have no official formation. Doing small things like changing an outlet or a heater myself is totally legal here in France, although I would never even touch my main panel.
EDIT: pilot wire.
I just realize that other countries might not have this "pilot" wire in their walls. The pilot wire ("fil pilote") is an additional wire that pertains only to heater outlets. Depending on the frequency of the current in this wire, the heater, if positioned in "pilot" mode, will enter one of the 4 heating modes (off, no-freezing, eco, or comfort). They are usually connected to the main electrical panel so it can connect to a domotic server. In my case, the pilot wire is unplugged, although I plan to install a custom solution on it later.

After long hours of testing, it happened that the lunatics that made my installation actually switched the live wire and the pilot wire on the main panel's differential.
This is very misleading and seems utterly dangerous as this wire is shared among several outlets. Therefore, despite turning the power off on another outlet, my pilot wire was powered on and could have shocked me!
Healthy fear and respect indeed. Respect for the power of electricity, and fear for the incompetence of others.


What could this blue ring on my ceiling be and what are my options? Today I noticed that there was this brightish blue ring emanating from a crack from my ceiling. I hadn't noticed this before.

Earlier this week my cat broke a full glass of water directly above it. I hadn't noticed the broken glass until I went to bed that night, so the water could have been sitting on the ground for about 12 hours.

What could it be? Mold? Staining?

What are some of the options that I have to fix the crack / stain / mold ?

Looks like a water stain. Since you know the cause, just get matching ceiling paint and paint over it,  or repaint the whole ceiling if you can't get the color matched to your satisfaction. Or ignore it until you're ready to repaint.


Replacing old Electric Radiator Thermostat (220v) with a 4-wire Honeywell CT410B (Non-Programable) When removing and tagging the wires from the box to the old Thermostat, the two Neutral (White) were wired together with a wire nut, and a single White wire (pigged-tailed) was going into the Thermostat. One Black (Gray) into LOAD and One Black (Gray) into LINE were connected into the old thermostat.
The New Thermostat is a Honeywell CT410B that has 4 wires - L1 (Black/LINE)to connect Power Source/Breaker Circuit. Then L2 (Red/LINE) to connect Power Source/Breaker, The T1 (Black/LOAD), and T2 (Red/LINE) to connect to Radiator.
Question? Do I separate the two White to connect to new Thermostat (L2) separate (T2),
OR, Where can I connect the connected single White to what connection on the new Thermostat?

This is a common configuration, the thermostat shows terminal 2 as the line.
With 240v split phase heating it is very common to only open one of the hot conductors this makes for a cheaper thermostat.
(This leaves 120v to ground live even when the thermostat is in the off position.
I would see where the line connected to terminal 2 goes where it joins up with the white that should be the other hot.
The white should be reidentified with any color other than white, gray or green. Most commonly black is used if done at all. I use a black sharpie / Permanent marker often.


Clearing out blocked weeping tile My basement floods when it rains, because the weeping tile can't drain. I'm trying to figure out how to fix it without tearing up my finished basement.

The 1968 home has recently installed (2000?) weeping tile running around three sides of the house to form a large C. This is all the 4" corrugated plastic stuff. The installers connected it to the original drain, the old-school red tile pipe, which meets the new weeping tile at about the mid-point of the C. They didn't use a Y-connection, the drain just butts right into the weeping tile at 90 degrees.

The weeping tile was formerly connected to the downspouts, but the city made them remove that some time ago. That leaves nice access points outside. I've had a camera down them and we can see the connection point, but can't get inside it with either the camera or auger - they both just go right past it. But we could see the rest of the tile is clear of any obstructions, the problem is in that drain.

The drain pipe leads under my basement floor to a combination P-trap/floor drain. This is running freely and I can dump a big bucket of water down it and it clears immediately. The rest of the house's plumbing connects downstream of this point, and it's all working fine too. The "good news" is that when the basement does flood, it runs right back out the drain.

So there's a blockage somewhere in the 15 feet of drain pipe between the P-trap and the weeping tile outside the house.

The drain pipe connects to the P-trap from the side, about 6 inches below the level of the floor. I have a 15 foot sink snake, the one with the thin lead that's maybe 1/4 inch, that I was able to feed into it, and I can get it about 8 feet in before it hits something. But it's not clear if it's hitting a blockage, or just the joint between pipes. Turning it does nothing useful.

Now I'm stymied, no one rents inspection cameras around here and a full-scale power-router with the 1/2 inch lead is too inflexible to get into the hole. I don't think a full-scale inspection camera will make it either. I might be able to get one of those drill-attached ones into it, but I'm not sure that's more useful than my snake.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

My suggestion is to dig it up from outside and work through the pipe from there over under the basement floor. If it is a simple blockage you should be able to get it from there. It is a collapsed red clay time then you can measure accurately so you will know more accurately where you may have to cut into the basement floor. If the blockage is tree root growth into the drain the outside access will be much better for getting in a power chopper/rooter device.

Lastly when you do go to cover the dig back up consider adding an inline access to that part of the pipe for the future or re-access the TEE joint with some gradual turn joints.


Replacing Bath Spout Our bath spout has been dripping for quite some time so I’m wanting to replace it.

It unscrews and the picture is what I’m left with. I think I know which type to buy but it’s still dripping even when the spout is off. It drips from both the right and left side of the brass thing.

Do I need to replace that before replacing the spout.![enter image description

The answer to the question is: You do not need to replace the spout.

Water drips from the spout because the valve or valves are leaking.

Replacing the spout will not fix the leak.

The leaky valve will still allow water to drip from the new spout.

To stop the leak you must repair or replace the valve.


Figuring out electrical connections for THREE electric baseboard heaters with single pole thermostats I recently purchased a home (triplex) and in the basement unit, which is a one bedroom apartment, there are three baseboard heaters (bedroom, washroom, and living room).

The issue is that the living room heater has recently stopped working.

The previous owner of the house did all of the wiring by himself for this basement unit and I am now trying to figure out how it was wired and to ultimately get the living room heater circuit working again.

Below are pictures of the physical layout of the apartment as well as the wiring inside the electrical box for the living room thermostat.

Here are some of the details and findings during my troubleshooting:

I noticed that there are three double-pole circuit breakers associated with the heaters and they are all connected the same way (ie: red/black wires line up in the same physical orientation).
All circuit breakers measure 120V at each connection.
I unscrewed the thermostats for all three heaters and measured 240V, 240V, and 120V respectively for the bedroom, bathroom, and living room (non functional) between the thermostat (single pole) connections.
I noticed that all thermostats are connected to the red 12/2 wires. From what I've read and seen online, the standard is to connect to the black wires instead. So the wiring seems to be reversed (colour-wise), but at least it's this way for all of them so it should be OK to keep as is).
I removed the living room heater from the circuit and disconnected the living room thermostat to leave bundles of wires as shown in the second picture.
I measured 120V at the exposed living room heater wires. I re-measured the same 120V between the single red wire and bundle of black wires at the electrical box for the living room thermostat.

At this stage, because of too much destructive analysis, I am planning to install a brand new 240V heater. My question is how do I handle the connections inside the electrical box for the living room thermostat (refer to the picture)? Do I connect all the red wires together to obtain 240V? Or is there another underlying problem here?

Thanks!

Vlad

Red vs black wires don't matter, you only use red and black because those are the colors chosen when the cable is manufactured. When wiring in conduit, I would use black-black...  They are both hot wires, and they are interchangeable.

I have no idea why he ran /3 cable, heaters don't need neutral so you normally run /2 cable and remark the white to be black.

sequence of red vs black on the circuit breaker does not matter.c
both outputs on any given circuit breaker should measure 120V to safety ground, but 240V to each other.  A common mistake with these heaters is using a half-width duplex/twin/double-stuff breaker, which notably does not have the switches ganged, they are independent.  These will have 120V from each leg to ground, but 0V between them. This will not work.
if you measure between the thermostat contacts, you will see 240V when the thermostat is off.  When the thermostat is on, you will see near 0 volts.
Nobody cares what color the thermostat switches.
That is three cables' worth of wire. One cable is from supply, one goes onward to the heater. What is the third doing?  the additional wires go to?  On that subject, what's happening with the white (neutral) wires?


How to permanently remedy a patch of mold on a ceiling from a water leak above? I recently discovered that water was dripping from the ceiling light fixture in a first floor bathroom. It turned it was due to a toilet leak (faulty wax ring) in a bathroom directly above.

The toilet leak has been fixed, and in fact there was no evidence of water in the upstairs bathroom at all - it must have leaked directly through the floor around the toilet flange/pipe.

I removed the light fixture in the downstairs bathroom that the water was dripping through and discovered a patch of mold. It's only the size of the fixture (about a foot in diameter) and aside from the visible mold there doesn't appear to be significant or visible water damage. The sheetrock is relatively hard and dry, all things considered. This bathroom is otherwise dry and in good shape - I had no idea this mold was lurking behind the fixture.

Here's an image:

Cleaning off the mold on the surface of the ceiling should be pretty simple. But is there anything else I must do to protect myself and my home as a result of this leak?

What about the space between the ceiling and the second floor? What I'm afraid of is what I can't see on the other side of that sheetrock but I don't know if that's something to be concerned with or not. Is it sufficient to clean away the mold, ensure the ceiling is dry and call it done?

There will be the potential for the mould to reappear as (as you have correctly surmised) there might be still some water in the ceiling space.

If you can, lift the floorboards in the upstairs room. This will allow you to see the extent of any damage and also get the air into help dry the patch out. If the area affected is not too wet then leaving the boards up for a while will help. If it is really wet then you might have to cut away the damaged board and repair the ceiling.

There are other questions here on how to patch a hole in the ceiling.


Pipe insulation, pros and cons Someone told me that pipe insulation is not necessary, rather he said it could cause more problems.
I'm under impression that he's making an excuse because he forgot to put it back.
Any inputs, anyone?
If there is no issues I'd rather have them on hot pipes to keep hot water hot.

Pipe insulation does not keep the water in the pipe “hot” between uses.
However, it will help keep the water “hot” while in use. That is to say, as the water travels down the uninsulated pipe, the water will loose more temperature than an insulated pipe. This may help in the sizing of your water heater.