Can I cool my south facing wall by spraying it with water? I've been researching options for cooling a south facing exterior wall on my house. One thing I've been thinking about is what if I just spray the wall with water and let it evaporate?

The wall is wood siding, 1.5 stories.  I say 1.5 stories because the top story is a bonus room over a garage. On the bottom story is a 3 car garage (two garage doors).

The idea is not to use misters, because I'm not trying to cool the air, but to use something like drip micro sprinklers to wet the whole surface of my south facing wall (maybe mounted under the eaves pointing at an angle downwards).  The sprayers would turn on for x seconds, then turn off to allow time for the water to evaporate and cool the house. This would repeat on some interval (maybe based on the temperature of the wall).

Apart from the cost of the water, do you see any issues with this plan?  I've considered the mineral deposit problem, I'm hoping I can just put an extra calcium filter on there?

Update
After doing more research, apparently this is known as "Spray Cooling", and not "Evaporative Cooling", because what we are cooling is what we are spraying down, instead of cooling air through evaporation. I've found several published papers on the application of this in manufacturing, electronics, etc... Papers like this one, Spray Cooling Using Multiple Nozzles: Visualization
and Wall Heat Transfer Measurements, have some interesting charts showing the cooling curves based on temperature.

Then I came across someone with a slightly similar idea to me, 1977 Patent US4175703A, "Spray cooling system for gable roof".

From the patent:

  Periodically, the valve is operated whereupon water is forced through
  the pierced holes in the pipe and sprayed as a sheet of water in an
  overlapping pattern directly from the pipe onto the building roof.
  Thereupon solar heat evaporates the water upon the roof absorbing some
  8500 BTUs of heat in the process for each gallon of water employed.

  ....

  they have not met with any marketed degree of acceptance in the
  residential building market. Probably the foremost reason for lack of
  success here is attributed to the absence of system aesthetics.

:)

Update 2
I finally found a few DIY examples online. These are for roof cooling, which is what I'm starting to lean towards. I think that continually spraying down wood siding might not be the best option...  https://www.builditsolar.com/Experimental/RoofCooling.htm.

Evaporative cooling is less effective in places with high humidity. There are mathematic formulas for how much water will be needed to cool a specified surface area by some number of degrees and they are not simple. The wiki article on this has some good information. It would be good to get some idea how much water will be needed before heading down that road.

Before I went that direction I'd look into something that is a one time cost vs. a recurring cost:

Planting trees to create shade.
Awnings - there are a variety of types. Some have the ability to retract and deploy based on the time of day.
Reflective coatings on windows
Vertical trellis (linked as an example, not an endorsement)
Painting the wall white, or a very light color.
Build a porch with a roof

Or some combination of the above.


Furnace wont' ignite when turn on heat I have a Nordyne AC/Gas Furnace single stage unit. The model number is c7bam03036c-b. The AC works very well in summer time. Now it's getting cold. I turned to heat. There is no air blowing out. So I checked the unit the gas is not ignited. The fan is not running. I checked the wiring at the thermostat and in the unit it seems correct. I get 27V at R wire. All other wires has no reading. The status indicator in the unit is normal, green and red lights are on and not blinking. What else can I check?

You should be getting 24-volts +- back from the thermostat to the furnace on the white wire.  If you are not getting this, the thermostat in not really calling for heat. Jumper from the red wire on your furnace to the white wire at the furnace.  the furnace should start.  This is fairly technical stuff. You may want to consult a pro.


My stovetop is very hot - should I disable the pilot light? I've just moved into a new place, and the pilot light on my oven seems to be on overdrive.

The stovetop is very hot to the touch, enough to burn if you hold your hand on it. Besides that danger, it makes the kitchen quite a bit hotter than the other rooms, and I imagine it must be wasting a good deal of gas.

What can I do about this? Is it possible to disable the pilot light in a safe manner?

When living with stoves old enough to have pilot lights, I and my family have always had them turned off by the repairman to eliminate the fire hazard. The pilot lights were controlled by a small valve under the stovetop, in the small-diameter lines feeding the pilots.

The risk from turning them off that I know of is that the valve may not shut off completely, leading to a small leak of unburned gas (since the pilot flames are no longer burning the gas constantly).

After the pilot lights are turned off, I recommend using a handheld piezoelectric or flint lighter to light burners; these can be found in camping stores. (They are easier to use, safer, and simpler than the more widely available butane lighters which have their own flames, because they directly ignite the gas with just a spark. However, they cannot be used to light candles or other non-gaseous-fuel fires, and in our experience are not effective in lighting ovens, for which we used matches instead.)


Attractively anchor a wire cable into drywall I want to string a ‘high’ tension wire between two walls, for hanging light decorations on. The word ‘high’ is in quotes because it only needs to be tight enough to keep the wire looking level across a 7' span with a few glass ornaments hanging from it:

Unfortunately I don't think that there are any wood studs for me to anchor into. (The drywall is actually facing iron I-beams that are supporting a catwalk and upper hallway.) Even if there were wood studs, the placement of this wire needs to be rather exact (to match built-in furniture below), so I cannot assume the studs would be in the correct spot.

So, I have three questions:

How would you anchor into the drywall (or the underlying I-beam?!) in a way that will provide enough tensile anchor strength (away from the wall), as opposed to the typical shear strength (along the wall) used by picture hangers and shelves?

(I found this link testing hanging strength of various mechanisms; if anyone has a similar page for pull strength I would love it.)

How would you tension the wire, if you didn't want an ugly turnbuckle tensioner left on the wire?
What is the most visually minimal way you can think of to secure the wire? In my ideal world, I'd tear a hole in the drywall, anchor and tension the wire inside, and then patch and paint it so that the wire appears to come straight out of the wall. Assuming I'm anchoring into the exterior of the drywall, though, how can I avoid things like ugly wire clamps and thimbles?

Followup:

I originally stretched wire between two eyelets and hung the glass ornaments from that wire. The result was not aesthetically pleasing. (The wires were too thick and noticeable, even well-tensioned they bowed slightly under the weight, and it didn't look good to have horizontal wires in the middle of the space.)

In the end, I hung them straight from the ceiling by:

throwing together horribly dangerous scaffolding,
drilling 1/2" holes into the drywall,
pushing a 3/16" eyelet/toggle bolt up through the hole,
tying 30-pound test fishing line to the eyelet,
screwing in the eyelet bolt until it was past the surface of the drywall, and
filling in the holes with drywall putty, sand and paint.

Hole filled with putty, before sanding/painting.

Full pictures can be found here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/106711366581540292524/HangingGlassWithDuctTape
or perhaps here:
https://goo.gl/photos/QuhyZXAnFKMByUtA9

I'd find mounding hardware with a wide base, then use the 't-bolts' to anchor them (it's a bolt with spring-loaded 'wings' that expand inside the wall to grab the back-side of the sheetrock). The wider the base, the better, as it will distribute the load over a larger area of sheetrock.

As for tensioning, you really do want the turnbuckle, as the cable could stretch a bit over time.

Ikea has some decent systems we've used for curtains.

Oh, and just my own opinion, but I'd find a cable coming straight out of the sheetrock odd, visually. I'd embrace the mounting hardware as part of the look.


Damaged oven plug, possible unsafe installation I have an oven that was installed prior to moving into the property. It was connected to a regular UK plug socket via a regular plug. Recently power to the oven has been cutting out and it sounded like a dodgy connection within the socket (sounds of sparks while flipping the switch on and off). Today I have changed the socket but it took a great deal of effort to remove the oven plug, as I can see the N prong looks corroded, and the socket shows signs of melting in the corresponding position.

Is this likely to be a dodgy socket or is it possible that it's unsafe wiring? Is it safe to plug the oven into a regular wall socket? The power cable happens to be 4 wired even though only 3 are used, making me suspect a bodge job.

From the manual, the oven needs 220-240V 50Hz, power consumption 2.3 kW, fuse min 13 A. (Plug has 13 A and no fuses tripped anywhere at any time).

Thanks!

Replace your socket if my memory serves me right European wiring - Brown is your hot and blue is your neutral. Your socket looks heavily damaged and will cause you problems even with a new plug - it is a safety hazard. The resistance at that point is higher than it should be (think HEAT - melting eventual falling apart - loose hanging moving unshielded wires..).

I am not familiar enough with European codes to state whether you can plug it into a wall socket - the current carrying capacity of the wall socket wiring  might be lower than your dedicated oven socket. If that is the case you will burn your house wiring and possibly burn your house down.

Replace your socket - it is not that difficult - but by all means TURN OFF ANY CIRCUIT BREAKERS or REMOVE FUSES that supply power to that Circuit. Test with a volt meter first to verify no power. Even when power is removed: use the one hand rule and work on the circuit as if it is LIVE!


How do you wire a 3 switch box in a bathroom? I'm replacing an old outdated 3 switch unit with a newer one to match the rest of the bathroom. One switch controls a light, one controls the exhaust fan, and the third controls a heating element.  Here's what I know: There are 6 wires coming from the wall. 1 white which is hot, and 2 greys which are hot (but they are spliced together in the box, so really its 1 grey.) Then there are 3 black wires coming from the box as well that are not hot.  To make this even better, the switch is on 2 seperate breakers.  At this point I feel light I have myself a bit backward so any advice is welcome.

On the picture the common wires are wired into the left (1 white, 2 grey), and the 3 black wires are wired into the right.  On the new switch it only has 1 common hook up, then 3 other connectors on the otherside.

1 white which is hot, and 2 greys which are hot...the switch is on 2 seperate breakers.

This means that:

  new switch it only has 1 common hook up, then 3 other connectors on the otherside.

The new switch will NOT work here.

You cannot feed from "2 separate breakers" to "1 common hookup" - you need a different switch that more closely matches the old switches (which look to be 3 separate switches, each with its own connections.)


Toilet Connector Hose Removal I'm replacing the toilet connector hose because there's a leak from the bowl. I've tried to remove the old connector hose but the metal piece in the pic will not detach. It spins when I use a steel adjustable wrench but no movement otherwise.Any ideas on how to get it off?

In the "old days" there were a ton of stop valves installed that had the flex supply line integrated into the valve, i.e. all one piece. Thankfully, they started disappearing from the market. Now we are seeing Chivese stop valves with integrated flex supply; I suspect yours might be one of those.
I suspect that to replace your flex you will need to replace both the valve and the flex. However, you say there is "a leak from the bowl", which shouldn't have anything to do with the supply flex because the supply flex goes to the tank fill valve, not the bowl.


Best way to clean tiles (shower) What's the best way to clean tiles? Especially in the part between the tiles (which the glue I suppose)?
Is there any good trick/recipe?
Shower tiles in case it matters.

As commented, the material is grout, and the spaces are grout-lines.

There are "grout brushes" for sale with a particular focus on helping to clean that area by having narrow lines of bristles that will get in there effectively.


Have a new Samsung dishwasher that emits a sewage smell while running My new Samsung dishwasher emits a sewage odor (started with the 1st use) through the dishwasher air vent, but only while it's running.  I think its pulling air through the drain hose while its running.  It actually smells up all the surrounding cabinets too. The installer felt that running the drain hose up and over the cabinet wall to connect with garbage disposal would create a sufficient air trap. Shouldn't the drain hose have an actual 'loop' before connecting to the garbage disposal? I did not notice this odor with the old dishwasher. Thanks for any advice.

You need a loop (it should go above where the dishwasher enters the disposal) or an airgap to prevent the backflow of drainage water into the dishwasher. The smell could be coming from the inside of your garbage disposal.

The line should definitely be arranged like this photo, where a portion of the line curves above where it enters your disposal.


If my regular propane tank for the house runs out, can I use a BBQ tank as a temporary fix? If my regular propane tank for the house runs out can I use a BBQ tank as a temporary fix? What will I need to do this?

This generally won't work all that well. While both large and small tanks contain propane, the large tank can deliver more propane to appliances than the small one can.

Propane is supplied as a liquid under pressure. The pressure in a propane tank is pretty much an indication of its temperature, not the amount of propane in it. When propane is drawn off by an appliance, the propane in the tank boils to make more gas - and that boiling lowers the temperature of the tank. A small tank, especially a small tank in winter, can become so cold that it cannot effectively supply gas.

This PDF (which unfortunately lacks page numbers to refer to) lists vaporization rates for various sized containers (100 lbs being the smallest, 5 times your typical BBQ cylinder) at different temperatures on the 6th page - at 40F the 100 lb can deliver 61,500 BTU/hr, at 20 F 43,300, and at 0F 25,000  - A pound of propane is 21,600 BTU, a gallon is 91,000 BTU.


Where should the ground wire go at a light switch with no ground screw? I am going through some basic electrical stuff in a house that had some pro and some amateur work done. Some of the things I've been working on (e.g. light switches) have been wired correctly (breaking the hot wire only) but the ground wire was simply cut short at the romex and remained unused. I assume this was done because the switch had no ground screw.
However, it seems to me that the ground should remain intact--maybe wire-nutted to the other ground wire(s). Your thoughts? Thank you.

If you have a metal box then it should be grounded. That has been in the NEC forever. Since 2008 or 2011 (can't remember) light switches have been required to be grounded but if your house was built before that then you are not required to bring it up to code. It is grandfathered, otherwise all homeowners would have to make changes every time the code changes.

However, it is never a bad thing to bring things up to current code if you want. And yes if you have multiple ground wires in a box they should all be connected together.

Happy Day!


Outdoor disconnect for central air plus mini-split We are arranging with an HVAC pro to replace our central AC compressor and add a separate mini-split system. We will have two compressors in close proximity on the side of the house where we presently have one. I'm trying to sort out what the outdoor electrical supply should look like.
The new units list the following requirements:

Central Air: Rheem RA1642AJ1NB calls for 208-1-60 supply, 25.0A min amperage, 40A max protection (HACR breaker or fuse)
Mini-split: Fujitsu AOU12RLFW1. The docs online are a bit fuzzy. An installation manual for (almost) the same PN calls for 208-1-60 supply, 13.4A min amperage, 15A max protection (HACR breaker or fuse). However, my HVAC pro said to provide 20A fused disconnect)

Presently I have a 30A 240VAC fuseable pullout switch (Eaton DPF221R) fed by a 30A breaker in my service panel. My contractor quoted $250 to replace the outside disconnect. Separately, he requested a 240V 20A supply for the mini-split.
Based on answers so far I’m leaning towards a #6 home run on a 2-pole 50A breaker to the existing interior junction box. From there I would run in conduit to two outdoor disconnects: the existing 30A fused disconnect (with 20A fuses) for the mini split and a new 60A fused disconnect with gfci outlet (and 40A fuses) for the central air.
The existing disconnect is in good order but the exposed UF will need to be corrected.

Keeping what you have You will need 2 home runs because the smaller unit has 20 a max.
I might do it with a single home run and install a nema 3r load center, this is one of the cases where small is ok, I think a 6 position 75 amp panel will do what you need. Including a 120v receptacle I don’t see one in the photo.
I don’t know if you will get away with the exposed UF outside that should have been in conduit as it was exposed. Below 8’
Run the small load center and pay the 12$ for the lockout devices and that can be your disconnecting means (I did this at my home) and this load center will have enough room to feed the 120v outlet. Look for spa load centers this is the style I have used for this same type of job.
Note the lockout devices must be permanently mounted and you need GFCI breakers make sure you get one that the breakers are not as much as the panel.


How do I unstick a radiator valve? Having moved house, we find one particular radiator doesn't heat up, despite the pipes that lead to it getting hot. One of the valves must be stuck, and I've worked out which one by feeling the pipes either side.

But how to unstick it? I've whacked the end with a hammer, and repeatedly twisted it round and round as far as it will go each way (it does rotate a little) but not had any luck.

EDIT

Finally, I replaced all the valves. Looking at the old valve, it appeared to work fine, which puzzled me. Switching the boiler back on puzzled me even more - the radiator was as lukewarm as before!

Finally we realised all the hot water was flowing through the radiator immediately upstairs of the problem one - there must be some aspect of the pipework which means the water just can't be bothered to flow vertically downwards and back up for 7ft as well. If you turn the upstairs radiator valve right off, then the downstairs radiator will get almost as hot as the others. Almost.

Other downstairs radiators in the house have the same pipework coming down from the ceiling, and they get very hot. What could be different about the problem radiator?

I had a radiator in one of my old houses that didn't heat up.  I thought it was a valve, but it turned out that it just needed bleeding.  There was a lot of air in the radiator, and the water couldn't get into where it needed.  If you haven't already, bleed it.


What do I use to cap a kitchen sink sprayer hose? My kitchen sink has a sprayer. I want to remove it. I believe I would need a cap to seal off the connection after I take the sprayer hose off. I saw a few articles saying you need to get a "3/8-inch threaded brass flair cap". Is that correct? Picture below, was the best I could snap under there:

I want to go to a home supply store to get whatever cap I would need, but not sure what to ask them for.

The corrosion under there looks pretty gross.

Thanks

If 3/8" is the correct size, I believe you need a 3/8" FIP cap (FIP stands for Female Iron Pipe) also known as a 3/8" female NPT cap. If the size is actually 1/2", then obviously you'd need in the 1/2" size.

You would also need pipe dope or teflon pipe dealing tape The dope comes in a smaller size in a tube or larger size in a jar. IP does not mean you'd get it in iron or steel. You'd probably get it in brass.


When converting a pool to salt water, should the pool lights be replaced? We are planning to convert our pool to a salt water pool. We have 3 quotes.. All 3 suggested different systems...Hayward, Pentair and Jandy.  We want to know if the salt water filtration system will rust the pool lights? Should we replace them? Should we seal them?

The key to any pool regardless of sanitization or oxidation method used is to keep the water balanced.  This means keeping pH, total alkalinity, hardness and total dissolved solids in-check.  If the water is not balanced then you will overtime do damage to your pool and equipment regardless.  Well balanced water should not be corrosive.  There are lots of other metal parts in your pool other than your lights - ladders, heat exchanger (in a gas heater), etc.

Your lights should already be sealed, if they were not, you would be losing water through your lights.


What is the maximum current a 13Amp twin wall socket can handle? In my country (Ghana, West Africa; however we do follow the UK regulations) a domestic wall receptacle is rated for 13 Amps. If I had a twin wall receptacle rated 13 Amps does it mean that both outlets can handle 13 Amps or the combined amperage of the outlets add up to 13 Amps?

Assuming your country is the UK, this is a bit variable, they are all good for a total of more then 13A, but how much more....

Most common 13A double sockets are good to about 20A total across the pair, the exception being the MK stuff which is capable of the full 26A.

Check the datasheet for your chosen part to confirm, but IIRC only the MK ones (and possibly only the MK Metalcad ones at that) are specified to the full 26A.


Temporary patch for tile bathroom floor I recently opening up a bathroom wall to install framing and moving plumbing for a new hanging vanity. I unexpectedly discovered that the wall was actually many layers of walls on top of eachother. Because the bathroom is so narrow, I would like to reclaim as much of this new space as possible.

However, the current tile floor has larger gaps away from the wall at certain positions, like it was installed around or later cut away from some bathroom vanity that no longer exists. The gap is about 1/2" to 1" further from the wall than the uncut sections.

I'm looking for recommendations on how I can fill this gap that does not require placing tile. Most of these areas will be under the new vanity, or back behind a toilet, so it doesn't need to look perfect. Would something like a narrow strip of PVC board of the right thickness, with the joint filled with caulk be reasonable?

I would just mix some thinset or grout and fill the gap. This would keep moisture from getting into the wood below when moping or a splash or leak.


Small Wifi double switches/SSR's behind sockets ( Home automation - lights) i'd like to create a map of my house on which i can control the lights.
( Currently there are no extra cables etc to enable domotica in the house).

Meaning that behind each light switch button i'll need some IOT which connects to my "main" pannel which i'm thinking to go for a raspberry pi.

Currently i was thinking about putting up a relay with a ESP8266 Wifi-module + a transfo to convert 220v to 3v3v.

ex: Relay: https://www.reichelt.com/be/nl/ontwikkelaarsboard-relais-module-2-kanaals-5-v-debo-relais-2ch-p242810.html?&trstct=lsbght_sldr::239148

Wifi-Module: https://www.reichelt.com/be/nl/experimenteerbord-esp8266-wifi-module-soldeerbaar-debo-esp8266-12f-p236022.html?&trstct=pos_5
Ofcourse i want it to be as small as possible to be able to get it after the light switch.

ex. transfo: https://www.banggood.com/AC-DC-Isolated-AC-110V-220V-To-DC-3_3V-800mA-Constant-Voltage-Switch-Power-Supply-Converter-Module-p-1114202.html?rmmds=buy&cur_warehouse=CN

My main purpose is to program the whole project (MQTT protocol) and in time expand it to see costs of electricity etc. as this has no time limit i do not mind asking an electrician to help me out installing the electric components to be sure nothing goes wrong on the hardware side.

This will be tested with a external lamp/switch first of course.

As my knowledge is limited about the recommended hardware i'm not sure that above componnents are the best way to go?

I know best case scenario everything is controlled with PCL's but i do not think we have a neutral cable running to each switch ( i'll check this this evening and update this thread).

What you're proposing is to make using prefab electronic modules.

That's fine to play with in the lab.  But if you want to actually install that in a real house in the EU, you're going to need to take your assembled, finished equipment over to TUV and have them certify it as safe for use in houses.  Which ain't gonna happen with components from a place called "banggood" lol...

If you do not have your equipment certified, any malfunction which causes fire or injury will create severe personal liability.

Anyway, design questions go over to the Electronics Stack Exchange.  Our wheelhouse here is accomplishing your goals using pre-built technologies to homes. To that end...

First, you should not need to add wires to your home. Using low-voltage wires to control loads throws back to the GE RR7 system, which used 24VAC to operate relays.  Technology is, if anything, reducing wire count. For instance, if you have a 3-way circuit where the spur switch only has switched-hot and 2 travelers, and you want a power receptacle there on the existing wires, Smart switches are how you get that done.

Any reasonable solution will involve

powerline signaling, which itself harkens back to 1975 and the X10 system, a reasonably "open" standard. And/or
wireless communication, which no doubt started a week after WiFi chips were prototyped.

For instance, Insteon uses both adaptively.  Powerline signaling is not 100% reliable in the US because every home is fed from 2 transformer phases (opposed, so we dall them poles), so half your circuits have a transformer winding between the other half. Less of an issue in Europe.

You don't need to stick something behind the mechanical switch; not least, there isn't room.  The smart device should replace the switch and provide a reasonable human UI.

Switch loops (power fed into lamp, hot and switched-hot only to the switch) are a special case.  In that case, a module could be fit at the lamp, the swich loop converted to always-hot and neutral that powers the smart switch, which communicates with the module.

You won't have to design any of this. The marketplace is thick with appropriate products, and getting thicker.

Keep in mind also that such alterations will affect the resale value of the home. Commercially rated smart switches will be appreciated, homebrew jobs will need to be torn out and restored to legal standard before sale.


How is the service drop or service lateral of a residential electric service protected from overcurrent? In typical North American residences, a pole transformer supplies two leg 120 V electrical service to a home. My service is rated at 200 A. If I were to draw excess current from the triplex service cable running from the pole to the meter socket, what device protects the cable from overcurrent?

There isn't one

Just your main breaker. That's it.

The presumption is that the area prior to the main breaker is exceedingly simple, with nothing tapped there, so a problem there would be unlikely.

That's also why this is a bad idea.

Collecting data about electrical accidents is what the NFPA does for a living, so clearly, "unlikely" is proven out by statistical analysis.  If incidents were occurring at a rate of concern, they would be acting to deal with it, and their NEC codebook or UL standards would soon be updated to reflect it.

It wouldn't take a whole lot to add a fusible link to the input bussing of a meter, so that's an easy action UL can simply mandate.  If it were necessary.  The fact that they haven't says a thing or two.


How to remove dresser drawers I know there are several different types of drawer removal mechanisms. (Not sure on the names so feel free to edit)

Free rolling.
These open by simply rolling the drawer fully out and lifting the wheels on the back of the drawer up off the track and then pulling them out.
In track.
These drawers can be removed by rolling the drawer fully out and lifting the two levers on the inside of the track. A YouTube video clearly shows this.
In track, no levers.
No clue how to open this.

Please help!

Just figured it out. For cheaper drawers, there is a single screw on the inside of the drawer. Remove that screw from both sides to detach the drawer from the metal sliders on each side.


P-Trap into Wall Marvel Connector Leaking I discovered a leak under my bathroom sink.  There are two sinks in the bathroom with the same plumbing set up and only the one side is leaking.  The water is coming from the marvel connector on the pipe coming out of the wall.  The connector is 1-1/2 in.
There are just bare threads on this connector - no nut or anything... Is that even a viable setup or did someone cut corners when installing this? The red arrow shows where the water is leaking from.

Does this seem like an easy fix?  I've noticed a bad smell coming from the pipes once in a while and that's leading me to question the entire setup.  I'm wondering whether I can just slip a nut on there or if I'll need to replace the whole P trap.
Any tips or guidance would be much appreciated.
Thanks!

What is missing on this setup is the compression nut. It should fit over your 1 1/2 inch  drain pipe going into the wall stub. When you tighten it down the inner gasket will seal around the drain and prevent water and odor from escaping into the room.
This looks like a poor diy job. The problem may have been that the bend in the drain pipe before the Marvel connector prevents the nut from properly threading on the connector. Regardless, you need that compression nut on there. You can pick one up from any home supply or plumbing store. You may have to buy the entire connector. You're also going to have to play with the P trap to get it properly aligned so the nut will thread on. There is play in the pipes. As a last resort you may have to buy a longer 90 degree drain section coming out of the P trap and rotate the P trap 90 degrees toward the front of the sink to get a straight shot into the stub.


Should I fill in the spaces between pieces in a wood floor? I recently sanded down a wood floor, it already had some spaces between pieces but these got larger with sanding. I’m wondering if I should fill them in with wood filler or just leave it ?  Doesn’t really bother me but I imagine dirt and debris will find its way in them.

It's largely an aesthetic issue. Obviously the gaps will accumulate some dust and dirt, but once coated, cleaning shouldn't be that difficult as the finish will make very thin gaps disappear, and will reduce the roughness and volume of the large gaps. The solution to that is matching the wood with a filler, troweling or knifing it on, and lightly sanding the putty with a finer grit (a sanding pole helps) to smooth it and remove any excess material that gets onto the wood proper.

I recently did some puttying on a laminate floor that I had replaced sections on, and with the proper color, it can really make a difference visually, but it was a lot of work. With the laminate, it's not really possible to finish so, the putty definitely started to pick up fine dirt which actually helped blend it to the pattern on the laminate. With this floor, when you lay down the polyurethane you'll be protecting the filler so you won't have the same issue with discoloration. Honestly, I've seen a lot of old two-flats in Chicago with this and it often fits in with the general character of the home. But if this were new construction, and the walls, trim, and ceilings were flawless, it would certainly stand out.

I guess the decision you have to make is can you live looking at this every day? Is it going to be visible, or will you be throwing an area rug on it? Is it in a room that doesn't see visitors? Do you have old, brick walls, and does it fit the general character of the room? Are you OC enough to sit there working whatever square-footage you have?

SEE

Hardwood Floor Gaps & Cracks
How to Fix Hardwood Floor Gaps


Can 18psi water source run a 20" Big Blue Sediment filter without pump? My water pressure is 18psi from source. It is sufficient water even for bathing in second floor. What will happen if I'd put say 1, 2 or 3 pc. 20" Big Blue sediment filter in the water line? What will happen to my 18psi pressure? Will it turn it to 15psi or maybe 10psi?

It depends on which model and what rate of flow you are using at the time.  The manufacturer's spec sheet has the details:
Big Blue Filter Specs
See the section titled

SPECIFICATIONS AND PERFORMANCE

In the table there look at the right-hand column for INITIAL ∆P.  Also refer to the graph:  PRESSURE DROP VS FLOW RATE
EDIT:
In your comment you said:

My point is. Compared to with and without any filter. The flow rate
can change due to changing in pressure via the filter, right? This is
my original question not directly answeree

No, you asked about pressure not flow rate.  Specifically you asked:

What will happen to my 18psi pressure? Will it turn it to 15psi or
maybe 10psi?

This is answered by the specs from the filter manufacturer.  This does not address flow rate as that is NOT determined by the filter.
To specifically answer the questions you raised in your post as well as the question you asked in your comments:

The PRESSURE will drop because of the insertion of any filter.  How much depends on the filter, its condition, the flow rate, and other factors.
The FLOW is determined by the source (i.e. the pump or the municipal supply) and is not directly affected by the filter.

Check the specs on your pump (assuming you have a pump as you didn't say) and you will see graphs such as this one that show how the pump's flow is affected by the pressure (i.e. the "head").
Sample Flow vs. Head Graph
In other words, it depends.


Building flip up seat - correct hinge I'm looking to build a self-tipping seat such as what you'd find in a cinema or sports stadium. What kind of hinge system would it require? I can't seem to find anything online.

Thanks

This can be done with a torsion spring, or several other types of spring depending upon your design. Or it can be done with a counter-balance.

The counter balance only requires you to set the pivot point of the hinge forward a bit with a weight on the bottom close to the back of the chair bottom. You can practice with a few designs in cardboard to see how adding a weight to a beam and placing the hinge higher or lower and forward and back until you get a feel for how it will behave.

Drew K


How to attach cedar boards to a removable fence frame? So here is the fence. The purple things are J hinges which make the panel removable
The frame is installed flush with the 4x4 so that when I attach the planks to the frame the planks will be flush with the post fences.

Question: for attaching these horizontal planks to the fence I have two options

use screws from outside and the screw heads will be visible  (don't like this)
use screws from inside but they have to be sized properly to make sure they do not completely penetrate the horizontal planks.

The planks will be 1x2/3/4x8 and the frame is made by 2x4 cedar so I will have 3/4"+1.5" of wood to penetrate Since the screw must stay hidden that means I will have to have something like 2" screws that will penetrate the horizontal planks for 1/2". Will this hold?

Edit: The frame was put together using brakets like the one below because the hinges were too close to the corners and long screws would have reached the bolts used to attach the hinge to the frame

And here is the hinge

but we used this

I'd face-nail with a brad gun. 3-4 nails. Fast, easy, and likely stronger than the rear-facing screws.

As a PS note that you will likely want to have diagonal brace on that frame to prevent racking as you remove the gate from the hinges.


Should I grade my property or put dirt against chain link fence? I recently installed a chain link fence. It's a long story why, but our neighbor's property is about 6" lower in elevation in some spots where the chain link fence is. We installed the chain link fence on the lower elevation because the existing wood fence we were installing was at that elevation. Now we want to know if we should just fill in the gap between the fence and our property (high side), or should we grade our side of the property so that it meets the bottom of the chain link fence? We would rather just fill in the gaps, but I want to know if this could cause any problems.

I would shave down the high side (left side in picture) from a distance of 2 or ft and use that to fill under the fence. Assuming the fence is on the property line this would transfer some soil to your neighbor's property. You could assume he won't mind, but it would be best to discuss it with him first.

If this fence is designed to contain a dog who is or might be a digger, you might have to place cobbles or concrete "stone" blocks with decorative side toward the neighbor, under the fence and fill on the back side. Of course, it might look strange to have blocks only under some sections of the chain link fence.


What exactly is magnetic drilling equipment? What puzzles me is a term "magnetic" in the context of Magnetic Drilling Machines by Euroboor (for example).

More or less a question for mechanics and machinists and an easy one. If you've ever busted a head stud off on a Jaguar, you know of the evils needed to get the remainder out of the block. Lots of methods out there, but aside from electrostatic erosion, most methods involve using a drill.

This drilling machine is magnetic because the base is a very strong magnet allowing this unit to be a magnetically attached drill press or boring machine. Clean the engine block deck off till shiny and you have a perfectly flat surface which you need to get a perfectly straight drilling operation. Get alignment on the drill bit, engage the base so the magnetic field locks it down to the engine block and commence drilling out the stud so you can start messing with your chosen method of repairing the damage.

Another example from Milwaukee Tools


Is it possible that the kids are somehow misusing the shower faucet causing the cartridge to fail? About 2 months ago I replaced the single handled shower faucet cartridge. The faucet is leaking again. Is it possible that my kids are doing something when they shower that is damaging the cartridge? Does not turning off the shower at the tub faucet before turning off the water cause damage to the cartridge? The handle pulls out to turn on the water.  It turn left for hot and right for cold. If they were to slap the handle closed, would that damage the cartridge? we don't have hard water and When I replaced the cartridge, there wasn't any gunk in there. The cartridge was pre-lubricated.

I would be looking at the valve plates to see if there is scoring from the original failure. If some damage was on the plate then a new set of seals may work at first but fail as the scoring wears them down. In addition if you find rust scale fine rocks or lime build up in your airators on your faucets it could have been a chunk that was still in the valve when you replaced the last one, I usually try to flush out the plumbing when repairing a washerless for this reason. So could it be the kids sure but I doubt it.


Rheem PowerVent Hot Water Heater - Ignition Attempt Error Code Resolution? There is a Rheem PowerVent (Model No. 42VP40FW) 40 gallon natural gas hot water heater installed in my home. Currently it is displaying the error code for "Maximum amount of ignition attempts has been reached and the system is in lockout." (Error code: Vacation Light, A light, B light on a White Rodgers IntelliVent control unit).

The symptoms follow: The unit is turned on, the power vent fan begins to run, the hot surface ignitor glows, there is a click, gas is released and the unit fires properly and begins heating. After approximately 5 minutes there is another click and the gas supply is cut off (I assume) and the unit turns off. The unit begins to cycle as described above, however, after the hot surface ignitor glows there is no ignition. The unit then continues to cycle unit the error code displays.

The first repair attempt: Assuming that the flame sensor needed cleaning I carefully removed the burner unit and cleaned the flame sensor with steel wool. While inside the unit I also cleaned the combustion chamber and the burner itself. All parts were re-assembled and properly replaced. The symptoms described above continue.

The second repair attempt: Assuming that the flame sensor needed replacement I purchased the hot surface ignitor replacement kit for the hot water heater (new hot surface ignitor, new flame sensor, new wiring harnesses, new burner access door gasket, etc.). After installing the kit the symptoms described above continue.

Other checks: I have confirmed that the pressure switches on the power vent unit appear to be working correctly and there are no blockages in the small hose on the power vent. Everything is clean and the unit is installed in a dry, normal humidity level area (utility closet in a 4th floor condo).

At this point I believe the issue must be the  White Rodgers IntelliVent control unit, and if so, I will just purchase and install a new hot water heater. Before doing that I wanted to see if anyone else has guidance or suggestions for me to continue. Thank you all for reviewing my DIY question...

My educated guess is that the control module is indeed going bad.  As their integrity begins to decline their operation becomes erratic and less and less regular. P.


200 amp service entrance to 200 amp sub panel? I have a 200 amp service entrance outdoor breaker box. I want to install an indoor breaker box with 200 amp service about 5' away so I can access breakers from inside the house. The actual wire run will be about 12' or less. Can I add a 200 amp indoor box and send 200 amps to it? I did an online load calculation of my appliances and it appears I could pull up to 125 amps. I'm not sure if this included wall outlets, lights, ceiling fans, etc. The kicker to this is would also want to have 100 amp service in my shop which is about a 120' run. Any guidance would be much appreciated. (recommended conductor sizes too)
Thanks,
Scott

There are two approaches to your situation with powering the house:

The conventional approach is to use a feeder-breaker and subpanel setup.  This works, and is pretty much guaranteed to be accepted by your AHJ when done correctly, but has the disadvantage that it requires a big (200A) branch breaker in the outdoor panel, which can be problematic in some cases, such as yours.
The more streamlined albeit less conventional approach is to use subfeed lugs to feed the inside subpanel.  This has some advantages (it's cheaper in your case for one) but could cause an inspector not used to seeing a "daisy-chain" of panelboards (this sort of feed-through configuration is much more common in commercial work than it is in residential) to complain even though it's Code-compliant.

What you'll want to install for both cases

Either way you go, you'll need to run four wires in conduit between the two panels.  The hot and neutral wires will be 250kcmil aluminum, while the ground (if your conduit is plastic) will be a 6AWG bare copper wire (this saves on conduit fill).  The conduit will need to be 2" minimum with a 2.5" conduit preferred; EMT or rigid metal is recommended, but PVC can be used if you're willing to toss the ground wire in there. In the indoor panel, the hot conductors land on the main lugs or main breaker there, while the neutral lands on the neutral lug and the ground (if present/necessary) lands on the ground lug.  Outside, the neutral lands on an add-on neutral lug (a TNLK250) attached to the neutral bar and the ground (if necessary) lands on the ground bar.

Running this connection via the path that yields the shortest route with the fewest bends is wise, by the way.  I would route out the back of the outdoor panel using a suitably sized (no shorter than six times the diameter of the conduit used) LB (a Crouse-Hinds LBNEC7 works, for instance), then make a straight shot into the interior panel from the LB if at all possible.  Less wire, less pulling, less hassle.

The streamlined way

I'll start with the streamlined approach, since it's still going to be cheaper and easier most likely than the more typical approach in your case.

What you are trying to do is typically done in commercial applications using what are known as feed-through lugs in commercial panelboards to feed a second panelboard directly from the busbars of the first without any intervening switch, fuse, or breaker.  However, while loadcenters don't have true feed-through lugs available, a set of suitably rated subfeed lugs can be used instead.

As to actually putting it together, you would use a set of THLK2200 subfeed lugs in the outdoor panel and attach the hot wires to the subfeed lugs. This leaves the service equipment outside, and creates a lug-fed subpanel at the inside location, with the bonding screw/strap removed from the inside subpanel, of course.

The conventional approach

In the conventional approach, we use a 200A feeder breaker to create a separately switched feeder and subpanel system here.  The required breaker is a GE TQDL21200 (or equivalently a Midwest Electric CB2200B); however, they are relatively rare/hard-to-find. The wiring, of course, is the same as above, just with the breaker instead of the subfeed lug kit.

As to the shop feeder

Once you have the house out of the way, then we can talk about powering up the shop.  Over 120', 1/0 AWG aluminum can be used either in the form of individual wires in Schedule 80 PVC or a four-wire type SE cable rated for direct burial.  The ground wire in the feeder needs to be a minimum of 8AWG copper and a grounding electrode (ground rod) will need to be driven at the shop and connected to the shop subpanel by an 8AWG copper wire.

The outdoor panel will receive a THQL21100 feeder breaker and a TNLK20 neutral lug to accommodate this, while the shop will need its own subpanel with the bonding jumper pulled and the shop grounding electrode conductor landed on the ground bar in addition to the feeder ground.  The feeder neutral lands on the neutral bar, while the feeder hots land on the line-side terminals of whatever the disconnecting means in that subpanel is -- it could be a main breaker or a backfed disconnecting device fitted with a hold-down kit.  In the main panel, the shop feeder hots land on the lugs of the feeder breaker, while the shop feeder neutral lands on the added neutral lug, and the shop feeder ground lands on the ground bar as usual.


Different water temperature in different faucets I have my bathrooms remodeled and the temperature of the water is different in one bathroom than the other.

Even within the same bathroom, the bathtub is cooler than the water coming out of the sink.

Why could this be?

Thank you very much

Bathtub and shower valves have (and are required to have) anti-scald features which limit the temperature. Depending on the valve that may be somewhat adjustable - check the owners manual for it (look up on the web if you don't have one.)

I believe the reasoning is that a small child or invalid would not be able to get out of the tub, while it's assumed that they could pull their hands away from a sink. It is in response to actual burn incidents.


Can the internal part of a slip-on tub spout be removed to install it as a front-end threaded spout? I bought a Pfister pfirst modern shower trim kit as it's one of the few compatible with my 80's Pfister Avante valve.
I'm discovering now, however, that the included tub spout appears to be the "slip on" style, while the old spout I'd like to replace is the front-end threaded kind that screws on to the threaded pipe.
Looking into the new spot, it seems like the internal slip on component is itself threaded into the front end of the spout and could possibly be just as well unscrewed, however I've been unable to do so with light pressure and don't want to force and break it since it if doesn't work I'll likely return this.
I wanted to ask if anyone has had experience successfully doing this!  I guess my other option is to cut the pipe?

You could return it  for the correct one.

I guess my other option is to cut the pipe?

Clean off the pipe with emery cloth, cut the threaded male fitting off  and deburr  the end of the pipe so you do not damage the O ring in the spout.
Now you have pipe you can slip the spout onto.
I do not think trying to remove the threaded part of the spout is a good idea but if you can afford another one if it breaks then go for it.


How to avoid drywall bulge over nail plates Will applying drywall directly over nail plates create a noticeable bulge? I am not applying any texture to the wall. If so, what is the best way to avoid any bulge? How far should drywall screws be from the nail plates to prevent cracking the drywall?

Do you need those ? 1-1/4 from the face they are not required.
I usually will use a chisel and take the thickness of the plate off the 2x. As the plate will make a slight bulge some don’t do anything. But it is not often they are required.
definitely Not need on this side for the one on the left.


How do I attach a carpet runner down a staircase with a turn in it? I need to install a carpet runner down a staircase.  This is a typical installation with the brass bars in the corner between the tread and riser to hold it down.  The difficulty is that the staircase has a turn near the bottom where the steps are triangular in shape.

What is the best practice in such an installation?

In most cases the bars are cosmetic.Each tred/riser set is done individually and stapled or tack stripped in place.I believe this is done for liability,if a bar came loose the carpet would slide.


Can the A/C temperature through a vent be significantly lower than in the air handler? Can the A/C temperature coming out a vent be significantly lower than the temperature in the air handler above the evaporator coil?  If so, how does the air get colder as it comes out the vent?  Or how does the vent get cooled below the temperature of the air cooling it?

(Background:  I've had two A/C contractors out to my house.  One was a friend my family trusts, who said there were significant problems with the system.  One was an inspector from a company with no reviews who was paid by my home warranty company.  He said everything was normal, which I'm somewhat doubtful about.  He also measured the vent temperature as in the low 40's while the air handler temperature was 55, which made no sense to me whatsoever.)

Let me know if I should move this to physics SE.

Low R22 pressure (presumably suction pressure) combined with correct superheat typically means that there is too much compressor capacity for the airflow.   This can happen when there is a clogged air filter or weak blower motor, or less often an undersized interior fan coil mismatched with a larger capacity condenser.   I have seen systems where, unbeknownst to the owner, there were two filters installed inline, one was at the return air grill in the building and that one was being serviced; the other was at the air handler in the attic, and that one had never been serviced or removed and was completely obstructed.

The most likely cause I can think of for colder air at “the vent” than at the air handler is the temperature across the evaporator coil is very uneven, say 34 degrees on one side and 50 degrees on the other side.  In some ductwork situations air supplying one set of registers comes primarily through one side of the evaporator coil while air to other registers comes primarily from the other side of the coil.  A proper trunk and branch system with taps near the air handler discharge could do this, for example.  Typically, an evaporator will be much colder on one side than the other if the system is low on refrigerant charge, because the refrigerant prematurely boils off completely before it crosses the coil.  Low charge will also usually cause low system suction pressure, but the superheat will also be notably high (typically 30F or more at the compressor instead of 15F).

My take on your post:

Low 40s at a register is too cold for a properly sized system.  High 40s is the safe lower limit for AC.  Low to mid 50s is typical.  Your system has either too little airflow or too much compressor.  Look for airflow restrictions or an improper blower speed setting first.  If in doubt, have someone measure the airflow.  Your system should supply roughly 400 CFM per 12000 BTU of compressor capacity.  For example, the air handler for a 48000 BTU system needs to push about 1600 CFM.
You cannot have a temperature at your supply vent that is lower than the temperature leaving the air handler.   You are misreading the temperature at the air handler.   If you are reading the temp at the suction line exiting the air handler, for instance, then the refrigerant inlet side of your evaporator coil could be much colder.
If you measured the air temperature leaving the air handler and had a warmer reading than one of the supply registers, then there is possibly a large temperature spread across your evaporator coil (30s-50s), and your system may be low on charge in addition to the airflow being too low for the cooling capacity.  Superheat would also be high in this case.   Have someone else recheck the superheat.  If in doubt, crosscheck this with the subcooling at the condenser.  The subcooling should be around 8F-12F.  Less than 8F is very likely low on charge.  If the system is not low on charge, then this inconsistency is simply a case of the temperature at the air handler being read inaccurately.


Can I drill diagonally through the top of my beam? Remodeling our kitchen (and putting it on YouTube so want to make sure I'm right). I need to run 2 new circuits in our kitchen on a half wall so I can't run them down. Basement is open but the bottom plate of the half wall is resting on a beam that is supported by steel posts. Beam is 2 ply 2x10's.
Currently there is a wire going diagonally up through the beam into the half wall. I wanted to make sure that was to code before copying that twice. I have a permit and it will be inspected so want to make sure I won't be re-running this later.
Is drilling diagonally through a 2 ply beam acceptable?
I've tried googling but can't find people talking about it. All I could find was drilling through the side of a beam and don't drill straight down through the center.
Image 1: Current example of what I want to do if legal

Image 2: The bay I would be doing it in.

Image 3-4: Context shots of the beam, stairs, and joists it's holding

I’ll try to answer anyway. I’ll make some assumptions and you tell me if I’m wrong.
The contributing load on the beam is 40 pounds per square foot (psf) Live Load plus 15 psf Dead Load for a total load of 55 psf.
If the joists on one side of the beam (and supported by the beam) spans 9’. So, half the 9’ floor load is transferred to the beam and the other half is transferred to the next support. Therefore, the floor load is :
55 psf x 9’ / 2 = 248 per linear foot along the beam, plus:
The weight of the wall above is about 15 psf x 4’ high = 60 plf
Therefore, the total weight on the beam is 248 plf + 60 plf = 308 plf
(I don’t think the stair connection contributes to the beam because it occurs at (or very near) a post. )
If the steel posts are 10’ - 12’ apart, there should be no problem drilling a diagonal hole within 3’ of the end of the beam. (Each 2x10 will support about 160 plf depending on the species and grade. 160 x 2 = 320 plf which is slight more than the required 308 plf.)
If the steel posts are 14’ apart, the allowable load goes down to about 120 plf, depending on the species and grade. (120 x 2 = 240 plf which is less than the required 308 plf.)
Holes not drilled in the middle third of the span are acceptable up to a certain size...and you are not approaching that size. (Btw, don’t drill multiple holes along the beam, especially in the middle third of the span.)
Note: make sure your refrigerator is not resting along this beam in any way.


Is it beneficial to point a fan at the intake of a portable air conditioner? Unfortunately for the time being, my whole first floor is cooled by a single portable air conditioner and "cleverly" (if that word can even be used here...) placed fans to help move the cool air around the floor space.

I don't know the specifications of the air conditioner right now but I'm sure it's not meant for the square footage of the floor.

But that aside, I'm trying to keep the air conditioner centralized in the house by keeping it in my dining room.  Because the exhaust hose is short (about 4 ft), it's anchored close to my window and the AC doesn't have much wiggle room from the walls.  I also have my dining room table sitting right next to it which I'm sure doesn't help.

What I'd like to know is if I can place another fan about a foot behind the AC unit to help push warmer air into the fans intake.  Is this helpful?  Is it dangerous?  Will it even do a dang thing?  Any advice is appreciated...it's hot!  =(

In addition to Henry's sensible comments (what a clever little boy!), I would like to add for general public consumption that the accordion duct/hose is only 3-4 ft long for a very good reason. After running the AC for a few hours, put your hand on the exhaust hose and you will feel lots of HEAT. Stringing a longer hose extension in the room would be like rigging a hot stove pipe extension...You need to place your so-called 'portable' AC as close to the venting window as possible, never more than 3 ft between unit and window including angles (which should be as minimal as possible). The less the accordion unfolds, the less heat the hose will emit on its way to the window outlet.

Calling these units 'portable' is kind of deceptive; you can't really move them around the room at will once installed without disturbing the exhaust system, especially if you put insulation around the exhaust at the window end. They should really be called just 'floor' models as opposed to 'window' models...


How to build a concrete patio I am trying to build (extend maybe a better word) the back patio like this

where the red box is where I want to add a new slab of cement. Like shown in the picture, the dimension is 18ft by 5ft-5in. This extension will be connected to the existing porch as well as one side of the house. I have watched a couple of YouTube videos on how to add a patio, but every video seems to provide a different sets of instructions. So far, the general steps are seem to be as follow:

1) Dig out the existing ground by 6 inches deep.

2) Use stakes and 2x4's to make a frame.

3) Fill the area with gravel (some videos use sand and some just fill the area with mixed cement).

4) Since the new slab is right next to the house and an existing porch, I need to put in some joint, so that the new slab will not move in case of flooding.

5) Put in rebar grid

6) Mix cement and pour it in.

7) Use another 2x4 to smooth out the top

So, my first question is, for that big of an area, should I divide it up into smaller sections (may be 3 sections of 6ft by 5ft-5in) and add in each slab individually? Next, I know that my guide is probably incorrect and/or incomplete, so can someone provide me or point me to a better guide?

Thank you.

Okay so you're looking at 2 cubic yards of concrete (cement is a component of concrete). That is a hellovalotta concrete. If you have no experience with it, that is too big of a project to start with. Secure some experienced help for the pour. This is not optional seriously concrete is not hard to do, but you do not give it a try fingers crossed. Even if you have to pay a general laborer with some experience it will likely save you from having to rent a large breaker and a 10 yard bin.

Preparing it is a different story. Excavation of the work area is not too difficult, takes a bit of time and elbow grease and needs to be done fully before the truck arrives. They bill by time and material usually.

Also have your experienced ringer come an hour or two before the truck to ensure it's ready.

You will almost certainly not be able to match the finish or colour of the existing pad but if that's a problem, jewel stone or some other finish across both can correct that. An expansion joint is recommended. It's available at hardware stores and building suppliers. At the seam drilling rebar dowels into the side of the existing pad will help mitigate any uneven heaving. For a pad that size I'd recommend renting a power tamper and tamp the soil before laying a good 4" minimum of 3/4 run gravel. Then tamp the gravel. Your form will need to be nearly perfect and free of movement. Concrete is much heavier than water and the pressure 5-6" high concrete will make is enough to distort a poorly secured 2x4. Any defects in the wood will transfer to the finished product.

For the rebar grid you can use wire mesh, it's a 4x8' sheet with 6x6" squares. These need to be laid down on stand-offs so the mesh is approximately center of the slab. You can tie it together with zip ties if you can't find the hook loop wire ties that are made for tying rebar.

For the difference in price and the additional strength use 2x6's or even 2x8's you only need four 8' lengths be careful to get very straight pieces free of cupping and bowing.

Finishing with a 2x4 is difficult for a pro to do. You may want to look into a pole trowel.


De-coupling fan and lighting switches? Background on what I'm trying to do:

This question appears somewhat similar in concept to Can I control a bathroom extractor fan independently from the light? however, in my case, I believe the wiring was originally separate and was later retrofitted to be controlled together, so running new wires and installing double switch

A bathroom has a triple switch plate with two switches that are redundant...if either one or both are on (pointed up), BOTH the mirror lighting and the ventilation fan run. (The third switch controls a ceiling light). We'd like to control the fan and mirror lighting independently so we can install a dimmer for the lighting as well as have the option to run the fan without the lights during the daytime.

Although installing a dimmer switch in the other bathroom where the switches had not been paired together was straightforward, un-pairing the fan and mirror lighting switches correctly before installing a dimmer seems essential to prevent damaging the fan.

The real question:

How would the wiring for an existing bank of switches be modified to pair two of the switches? I'm hoping to see a wiring diagram for what a typical setup for a set of switches like this would be before coupling, and a diagram showing how the wiring is modified to couple the switches.

Edit:
here's a photo of the switches box:

and because it's really hard to see what's going on in there, here's a totally unprofessional diagram of the wires that are easy to trace/look relevant. The little boxes in the center of the switches on my diagram are the holes on the back of the switches, and the little boxes on the side of the switches are the screws. The yellow things are wirenuts and each has a ton of wires coming in and out and its hard to follow what goes where since everything is stuck together with paint. but it looks to me that the wire indicated in orange should go to the hole on the back of the middle switch and the wire indicated in red should be removed?

edit2: after loosening the screw terminal on the left switch it appears the orange and red wires in my diagram are actually a single wire that had an inch of the insulation stripped to wrap around the screw terminal. Would electrical tape adequate for replacing the missing insulation? Or does it need heat-shrink tubing or to be cut and covered with a wire-nut?

This is what the wiring should look like...

Notice the incoming ungrounded (hot) conductor is spliced, to supply power to each switch. The ungrounded (hot) conductors from the fixtures, are connected to the other side of the switches. The grounded (neutral) conductor is spliced with the grounded (neutral) conductors leading to the fixtures, and all the grounding conductors are tied together and to the box (if it's a metal box).


How should I fill in a missing strip of drywall that I uncovered after removing a piece of trim? I'm redoing my back landing area and pulled off a piece of trim off the wall and a piece of quarter round off the staircase because I want to sand and paint the wall and don't want random pieces of trim anymore.

Turns out there is nothing behind the trim. Do I need to cut a strip of drywall first or could I fill it in with some sort of plaster? If I need to cut a strip of drywall how would I screw it down then? The wood visible inside this strip of wall is the hardwood in the room next door, I don't really want to screw into there.

Thanks :)

If that's actually subfloor (softwood t&g) and finished floor we see in the photo, you really need to strip back some of the remaining drywall and mount a patch that spans the gap to solid framing. There's almost certainly a wall plate on top of the hardwood (odd, but explainable by past renovations), and a floor joist below.

I'd cut 3/4" from both the top and bottom of your channel to find those, and then install a strip of drywall to them. Tape both joints in a nice wide, tapered manner and you'll have a good result.


How do you protect solar panels for storage during house rebuild? I am in the process of preparing to demolish my house so I can rebuild. We are taking the solar panels off the roof and plan to put them back on to the new house. Does anyone know the best way to store them in the meantime? Would heavy duty bubble wrap and being stacked in a corner of a garage be appropriate?

Stacking the panels on top of each other should be fine, but I would not suggest stacking all off them on top of each other as the bottom one will have to bear tremendous weight and might warp it.

Try and place wooden battens (for air flow to stop moisture from being trapped and help displace weight evenly to the next panel using a soft surface) between panels on the same frame that they were mounted to the roof. The frame is load bearing and will handle weight on top of it and disperse weight downwards to the next panel.

You do not have to cover each one in bubble wrap. Just stack em using batons(bareing in mind weight) and then cover the entire stack in foil and possibly some polystyrene and or bubble wrap on the corners and top to prevent shock damage in case something hits or falls on it.. you never know.

Some panels you can stack ontop of each other with no problem as they have a robust frame that supports all the weight.

Exercise some common sense in how to stack them. Make sure they are level and aligned. check on them every now and again during storage phase in case the weight makes something give in.


Outlets/Lights out - Breaker on I’m looking for a little help.  I’m fairly handy but have run into some strange electrical issues.  My wife blew one kitchen outlet last week when plugging in air fryer.  I checked and no breakers were tripped.  We have what seems to be 3 outlets and 2 kitchen lights on the circuit; all not working.  All Gfci’s in house(kitchen, garage, bathrooms and outside) are good.  I went ahead and reset all of them just to be clear.  I have flipped the main panel off and flipped each individual breaker on/off 3 or 4 times now.  All breakers are showing 120 plus volts from my multi-meter but no power is showing at the outlets or lights.  I actually changed out 2 breakers that had a little corrosion around the wires but that didn’t help at all. There is no obvious damage to the outlets or lights or any loose wires. I’ve actually gone room to room and checked each and every outlet and they are all wired correctly. I am at a loss of where to go from here.  We never had issue with this outlet/a prior or the lights on the same circuit.  Please HELP!

There may be no damage to the outlets but there will be damage at a common location possibly even prior to the lighting circuit tap.
What is usually the problem with a large load added to other devices is there is a failure most commonly at a back stab (the push in connectors on receptacles and switches) the next most common place is a loose wire nut with a loose wire. A broken wire at one of the locations and least often a problem in the service panel.
Work backwards towards the service panel the problem is at the last working device (switch or receptacle) or the first non working device. The failure will be on the hot since the breaker shows good but no power at the receptacles.
Kitchen countertop circuits are normally 20 amp and the lighting is not normally  them. And backstabs are not for 20 amp circuits so it is probably a bad splice or broken wire, checking at the light switch connections and working to the service panel for the bad connection is the task. Most probably the hot.


How to fix toilet jets clogged with chlorine tablet chunks The flush on my toilet is weak.  It went from strong to weak overnight.  It flushes fine if I dump in extra water.  I watched and the flapper does stay open until the reservoir is adequately empty.  I researched and determined the jets must be clogged.  This model toilet does not have a large jet at the bottom, but it does have large jets under the lip at the front of the bowl.  I used a mirror and I can see the blockage.  It's a crumbled chlorine tablet that made it past the flapper.  I used a hanger, but can't pin the pieces well enough to crush them.  I assume it will continue to dissolve and someday eventually come out in a flush.  Any ideas on how to make it dissolve faster?

Bleach and chlorine can get nasty very fast if you try to put other chemicals in the tank to help the tablet dissolve.  I think the safest bet is to fill your tank with warm water and use that for several flushes.  Don't use water that is too hot because that could start to cause issues with the wax seal on the toilet if that gets too warm.  Just warm, touchable water should help dissolve it much faster than normal cold tank water.


Garbage Disposal Electrical Connection I'm swapping the old garbage disposal at my wife and I's first home.  I disconnected the electrical components, but I'm stuck on how to remove this power cord.  I doubt it any of these parts came with the old disposal. It's on there ridiculously tight and the only grip I can get on it is the bottom part, but I feel like the top part needs to be removed as well.  Any thoughts?  I don't have much slack, so this is the best vantage point I have.  I have some gut feelings, but I don't want to damage anything.  I feel like I'm stuck in a holding pattern at this point.

UPDATE: the internet is amazing! Thank you both, that was exactly the confirmation I needed!

The round hole/port where the conduit fitting is located is actually a threaded port.
If you unscrew the locking nut on the fitting, you will then be able to unscrew the threaded conduit fitting from the threaded port.

Threaded port:

Seal-tite conduit connector:


How crucial is a filter for your tankless water heater? A plumber gave me a quote recently and told me that the tankless heater needs a water filter. This will extend the life of the tankless.

How crucial is this? We do not have soft water here in Los Angeles.
Does this factor into the decision of whether or not to install a filter?

This will extend the life of the tankless.

It will indeed extend the life of the water heater, because the filter will capture and trap any debris or particles that would otherwise interfere with the operation of your tankless water heater.

  How crucial is this?

What it will not do is prevent or replace what is crucial, and that is the maintenance of the water heater.

An ongoing maintenance requirement is to make sure your heat exchange elements are free from scale buildup, usually lime scale. What looks like a light coating of scale buildup can have serious impacts on the efficiency of the system. If left unchecked, such buildup can cause longer burner cycles, leading to a strained system and a shorter lifespan.

  We do not have soft water here in Los Angeles. Does this factor into the decision of whether or not to install a filter?

I have a water well and the water is definitely hard and a water softener has been installed. If the water softener levels are off a little bit, the lime/scale and calcium build is much faster. Shower heads get clogged etc. This is the same thing taking place in the water heater. So again maintenance is important and do not solely rely on the filter by any means.

If you have the finances, I would strongly suggest the water softener.


Why would my garage have separate ceiling joists suspended below larger floor joists? I am in the middle of building a complex storage rack system in my garage. I ran 2x4 "sleepers" across the ceiling and tied into every floor joist. My shelving system is anchored to this.

Here is where it gets interesting. I did not think twice about this design because I assumed I was anchoring into 2x8 or 2x10 floor joists (room above garage) but when I cut a hole in the drywall to relocate a light fixture, I found I was tied into 2x4's. Basically I have 2 sets of joists. 2x10's above, then about 6 inches down, the 2x4's, 16" OC holding up the sheetrock.

The dimensions of the garage are about 20x20, but there is a beam in the middle shortening the span of said joists to 12ft. Has anyone ever seen/heard of this before? I can't understand what the reason for this design would be, other than the extra insulation that is in this space (im in Canada).

I am thinking of rather than ripping the shelves out and starting over, strengthening the 2x4's by tying into the 2x10's. Thoughts?

You ask, “Has anyone heard of this before?” Sure and it seems very logical to me. They are using the lumber where it’s needed most: the bigger joists to support the heavier snow loads and the smaller ceiling joists to support the lighter ceiling finish. Also, the deflection from the snow will not affect (crack) the ceiling finish because the structural systems operate independently of each other.

Now, you want to change that. You’re going to tie the two structural systems together AND add a superimposed load. Hmmm...


Can't put screw back in toggle switch I removed this screw from toggle switch and can't put back in. It just won't go back in. Is it possible to put it back or I was not supposed to take it out completely?

It was supposed to be captive. The safest thing is to replace the switch. They are typically $ 1 - $ 3, depending on quality and where you buy them.
If the new switch has "back stab" connections, as it appears your existing switch has, don't use them. Use the screws.


Instant water heater supply filter I have an instant tankless water heater, stibel-eltron dhc12, and want to protect the heating element from the high mineral content in my water.

A simple strainer may be good enough or a filter.  What can I simply install on the supply side, which is 1/2" braided line?

Your heater doesn't have a recommended limit on hard water, but I've seen others ranging from saying 7 to 12 gpg (grains per gallon) max. You need to find the hardness of your water before doing anything.

You can purchase hardness test strips, which are the easiest way to figure this out.

Water Hardness Scale

Grains Per Gallon   Milligrams Per Liter (mg/L)    Classification
                    or Parts Per Million (ppm)
-----------------   ----------------------------   -------------------
less than 1.0       less than 17.1                 Soft
1.0 - 3.5           17.1 - 60                      Slightly Hard
3.5 - 7.0           60 - 120                       Moderately Hard
7.0 - 10.5          120 - 180                      Hard
over 10.5           over 180                       Very Hard

Treatment

Hard water is mainly caused by calcium and magnesium carbonates.

The most common way to treat it is with a softener, where "hardness ions" are exchanged for sodium ions in an ion-exchange resin. Essentially, the hardness is swapped with salt.

Cleaning

Your manufacturer should also have some cleaning instructions, where you periodically clean the heater elements. This is probably every 1-5 years depending on water quality.


Need Tips for Mounting screw-in Slider electrical Boxes I know they've been around awhile but I'm still kind of new to them. I occasionally have to mount these Allied slider boxes in new and old work situations, and sometimes they go in perfectly with no problems. However, yesterday I couldn't get them straight to save my life. Yesterday was an especially difficult case because the upward angle of the screws and proximity with the countertop made mounting fairly awkward.
I just find it too easy to get one screw slightly off course, and then the slider twists the whole box. This causes the box to telescope forward at odd angles when you try to slide it out later. Once a screw sinks into wood, it really wants to find that same hole again even if I try to readjust away from it. Anyway, I'm  looking for tips from anyone who knows what I'm talking about.How do you get these things dead on, every time?

Use a small angle head drill and drill pilot holes - as you say the screw follows the existing hole.


How do you remove/replace a plumbing fitting that is threaded on both sides when they can’t rotate? I feel like a bit of an idiot for asking this question because it seems like there must be a simple answer to this, but I can’t quite figure out what it is.
Let’s say I have a check valve that is threaded on both ends.

And let’s say I’m using some copper press fittings to attach it to copper pipe.

So I screw those fittings onto the ends of the check valve, then press the fittings onto the pipes to finish the connections.
Check valves don’t last forever, though, and at some point it might break and need to be replaced. The fittings don’t rotate so you can’t unthread them from the check valve, and the check valve can’t rotate because loosening one end tightens the other end.
I could cut the pipes where they enter the fittings and toss it all out, but now I’ve lost pipe so a new check valve and fittings won’t be long enough to press back onto the pipe ends. So I guess now I need to cut the pipes back further and introduce more fittings and pipe to get the pipe back to the original length?
Is that the only way to replace a threaded part in this scenario? Or is there some other part/fitting or way of doing this that’s better?
Thanks!

You provide a union, or use fittings that can act as a union.
I'm not sure about those "press fittings", I've never used them, but PEX crimp fittings will turn without leaking after crimping, so they "act  as a union"- but the default answer for threaded fittings in general is a union, which is specifically designed to be loosened without anything (other than the union nut) needing to turn, so that you can disassemble things that do need to turn next to them.
Flanges are another option - common on heating system circulator pumps, rare in normal household water plumbing.
Third option with copper is to use a solder joint that can be removed non-destructively. I believe (but also don't use them myself) that SharkBites will both rotate, and can also be non-destructively disassembled.


Potential Causes of Electric Meter Showing more power consumed than alternative measurement device I have lived in a house for awhile that seemed to have an awfully high reported electric power usage. Like shockingly high, with nobody home in the winter (meaning no AC usage) we were seeing numbers like 100kWh per day. And over the summer that number jumps up to 140kWh. (this is a house in the northeast USA, so not too many days a year that the central AC even gets run)

This seemed to be the case regardless of upgrading all the appliances to high efficiency ones, changing out all light bulbs for CFLs then LEDs. Basically doing everything imaginable to reduce energy consumption, had almost no impact on the billed kWh usage.

So a few days ago I got a Sense home electric monitoring tool, and installed it on the split phase main right as they enter the house in my breaker box. The power it reports is exactly what I would expect to see. If I turn on 60W worth of light bulbs, the consumption jumps by 60W. Everything with this device seems to be pretty darn accurate.

Except that it is reporting less than 1/2 of the power consumption of the electric meter. Last night during a 12 hour period, the electric meter went from a reading of 88784 to 88832, or 48kWh being reported consumed, while the Sense device reported that 18kWh was consumed during the same period.

Other than a defective electric meter (which is possible, but I consider it to be a long shot) can anyone else think of any other way in which an additional 30kWh could be reported as consumed with no apparent restive heat source sitting there burning it away? I have considered reactive power somehow, but I don't have any large inductive loads that I could think might be phase shifting by that much.

The meter is at a barn which is about 700 feet of cable away from the house, but 700 feet of 4 aught cable wouldn't possibly burn any meaningful amount of power in a I^2*R fashion at 240V over that distance.

I've read a few places people talking about "deviations to ground" being a source of energy loss. Is it even possible that could be the case here with that much power? And if so, how would I even start trying to hunt such a thing down?

100 KiloWatt-Hours a day?  (a tick over 4 KiloWatts continuous, that's nine 400W sodium lights burning 24x7) with nobody home? Summer and winter?  That's murderously wrong and I would not put up with that for one minute let alone one month.

It would help to have a "second opinion" meter up at the meter.  It wouldn't work to put the Sense there, as it relies on listening to subtle signals that won't make it 700'.  The upshot of the 700' is that voltage drop becomes very, very important.  Pay close attention to your instantaneous voltage and current numbers coming off the Sense.  Any appreciable voltage drop indicates you're spending a lot of money making 700' of wire warm. 1400' of 4/0 cable is 0.1124 ohms.

It would help to get instantaneous kw (not kwh) readings from the meter.  Back in the day you'd look at the spinning disc with a stopwatch, but hopefully your smart meter has a way to read it.

700' is a lot of property to secure

I am puzzled at why the power company gave you power 700' away from the point of use, instead of traversing the 700' at 2400 or 9600 volt distribution voltage.  There must be a reason; that reason might have something to do with it.  I can't guess the whole story, but large properties often have complicated things going on.

Such a large spread (and cable run) is hard to secure, so illegal tapping is a possibility.  (marijuana grow, typically).  So it's very important whether there are any other structures near you where that would be possible. Criminals may have tapped anywhere along the 4/0.  100kw/day is 17 amps at 240V, interestingly at the limits of 12AWG wire (the criminals don't care about voltage drop since you're payin'.)  Under these conditions (12AWG/17A)voltage drop will be 6 volts per 100 feet, so the thief could be 500 or even 1000 feet away and still get usable power.  Modern ballasts and LEDs will run on any voltage 100-277V.

If you find a rogue cable, typically cheap Romex, go no further and call the sheriff or state police. They know what a rogue cable means, and they'll come in sufficient force.

You might also consider any legal use by other facilities on the property, especially ones where electric heat might be in use. (forgotten fallout shelter?  Sorry, just watched 10 Cloverfield Lane.)  In simplest terms, look at what cables are exiting the meter pan.  It should only be the supply and your 4/0.  Does your 4/0 make any other stops on the way to your house?

Chase it

Now it's go after it with the measuring devices (assuming you get an ammeter you can use up at the meter pan, e.g. the meter itself).

I would turn off the main at the house and go up and look at the meter.  If the meter stopped, it's a transmission (voltage drop) problem which I agree isn't likely if the cable is really 4/0.  I suspect you'll still see a ~4KW load... and then, you have to check other loads.

You will want to check current on every conductor, and also on every ground bond, including the one at the transformer.

If power is leaking from a hot to earth, it'll show up on one ground bond or another, likely all of them. There should never be current on that except during a lightning strike.
If you see equal current on both hots, that's a 240V tap, probably a bad guy.
If you see equal current on one hot and neutral, that's a 120V tap, 4kw is a lot for 120V so something funny is going on.
If you see imbalanced currents on hots and neutral but the lower hot + neutral equals the higher hot, that is a 120/240V tap, criminals wouldn't bother, that's more likely a proper load on your property.

If all else fails, have somebody come out with a FLIR camera at 5am and walk the cable route. 4KW is a lot of heat, like 3 burners on your stove going full tilt.  That will show up on a FLIR, and if it's leakage in the cable, there'll be a red spot on the ground above it.

You might have the power company pull the meter to allow you to unhook the 4/0 - and then reconnect the meter, and see what it does. Or perhaps your  generator interlock provides a way to do the same thing.

If you still have 4KW of load, then you need to chase other taps of that meter.
If disconnecting the 4/0 ends the load, and your house is the only load on the 4/0, then you have a tap of some kind, either one of yours you don't know about, or a crook.

Lastly I need to at least mention the generator and interlock; make sure all that is in good order.  Again, a 5am inspection with a FLIR will expose a ~4kw drain.


What tool should be used to mud the inside corners of a diagonal ceiling? We are preparing to tape and mud the 'inside corners' of a diagonal attic ceiling, where the short walls meet the ceiling.  What is the best way to achieve a straight line?  Is there a special tool we can use?  Free-handing is not working for us.  Our 90 degree trowel works fine for vertical inside corners, but of course the 'corners' we are trying to do are horizontal.

I've had decent luck not taping inside corners at all. Instead I've use a sanded caulk. The key is to have a nice sharp edge to work with where the two pieces of sheetrock meet.

But if you want to mud and tape, there are tools for that:

They come in various angles, but most can adjust the angle merely by angling the handle yourself.


Does sand help with drainage or marshy lawns around a house? We moved into our home nine months ago, and slowly the situation of runoff from other properties has led to a condition where the back yard is very marshy-like (your shoes would get muddy and it's a little stinky), up to 36-48 hours after the last rain. With rain every two to five days, I'm concerned with having great conditions for mosquito beds, not to mention damage to my homes foundation.

The marshy-like areas are directly against the house in the back that stretches half the foundation, along with the side of the house for a half the house, but isn't necessarily against the foundation. We had asked the drainage issue before taking ownership, but was told it wouldn't be an issue and it was designed to drain properly.

Anyway, this leads to my question. My home warranty/builder has told me they will do: "a light sanding of the area" and that "with the nearly daily rains the area is receiving patience is the key as we are unable to obtain the best results with the soggy conditions.  Once this is completed you will be responsible for any further maintenance and corrections in the future." Will this help fix the issue? How much sand should I expect to need to put down?

I would not expect that a layer of surface sand will help the problem, you will just have sandier mush.  If you're getting runoff from surrounding properties, more water is coming in than the ground can handle.

If your lot has some grade and the side away from your neighbors is lower, it might help to install a perimeter drain around the lot to capture runoff from your neighbors and redirect it so that it doesn't enter your yard.

Your comment on the question indicates that there is a lot of surface water that flows over the property, so that suggests that some combination of a perimeter drain and contouring the perimeter of the lot should help.

But there are limits to how effective this can be.  Some of your neighbors' runoff will soak into the ground on the way.  The area soil and grading can create a high water table and your lot, being lower, may be at the water table level when it is high.  I had this situation at a prior house.  If that's the case, a perimeter drain won't totally solve the issue because at least some of the problem water is already below any practical drain system you could install.

Another or supplemental approach is to plant one or more "wet soil" trees in the yard.  These are trees that thrive in very wet soil.  Weeping willow trees are often used for this purpose.  They can soak up water like a sponge and solve the problem of a marshy yard.  This link lists a variety of trees that thrive in wet soil and can be used for this purpose.

Given your description of the amount of surface water flowing over your lot, I would start with a perimeter treatment (contouring and/or drain) to divert the runoff.  See how far that goes in solving the problem.  If the soil is still too wet, consider adding the tree solution.


Expanding foam in anchor bolt area? I have a detached mother-in-law suite being finished. The exterior walls have three 2x6s stacked. I believe the bottom is the sill plate. The anchor bolts go through there. Then there is a second layer. Each anchor bolt has a ~3-inch gap around it in this level. Then a third layer on which the wall is built.
The gaps in the second layer with the anchor bolts go through to the exterior siding. This seems like a likely ingress for rodents, not to mention drafts.
Is there any issue with me filling these gaps with moderately expanding foam? There are also some gaps under the sill plate where it interfaces with the concrete. I assume I can fill this with steel wool or something else to keep mice out?

I'm really not sure why there are three bottom plates. Even if the treated board is a sill, doubled bottoms are not common, in my experience. However, I can't think of a reason why you couldn't insulate that as you describe.


Can I use foil duct for Kenmore 700 dryer? I pulled my dryer, and am reinstalling it. It had a semi-rigid metal transition duct, which was all bent out of shape, and looked like it had some holes forming (see pic). I did homework, and read a site talking about how the aluminum foil transition ducts are the only ones UL listed, and at least at Home Depot that was true, the semi-rigid were not UL listed (except for the expensive GE dryerflex one). So I installed the foil duct, and after taping the ends and getting everything set, I turn around and see a warning sign on my Kenmore dryer saying don’t use Metal Foil ducts to vent. Does this include the transition vent? If not, why couldn’t I use the foil vent? Is it something specific about this dryer? In general, the info out there on transition vents are all over the place in terms of rules and suggestions, looking for some concrete expertise. I probably wouldn’t thought much of it, but a neighbor just recently had a dryer fire in their home, so it’s on my mind, and I want to get this right. In our condo association, we are required every 2 years to have a professional dryer vent cleaning.

Gas driers must use metal vent. I prefer actual metal pipe. Aluminum flex reduces air flow significantly and even if not dangerous will lengthen the time it takes for cloths to dry. Gas driers have carbon monoxide flowing through the vent. Would you want your water heater or furnace vent using foil venting material?  Granted a clothes drier vent doesn’t get as hot but if it rips that would not be good.


How soon after laying is concrete drillable? I made a small concrete patch along the edge of a room that I would like to set a PT 2x4 base plate on for framing. I prefer drilling and screwing with a lead anchor over using power actuated nails.

How soon after setting is concrete ready to be drilled? Is it enough to just dry it (like 24 hrs) or does it need more?

If you drill too soon after pouring I've found that it tends to flake and crumble around the drill bit giving you a much larger hole than desired.

After 24 hours, which makes it fairly hard, you should have no trouble at all.


when freezers are not in use fr 2-3 weeks a month, should they be left plugged in? I work with a food pantry at my church. We receive food on the first Thursday on the month and distribute food to those in need on the following Tuesday. We have several chest freezers which we use to separate meats (poultry, beef, pork) and a stand up freezer for things like lunch meat, hot dogs, prepared meals, sausage, bacon, and extras. My question is, would it be better to leave them plugged in and on the lowest setting, or unplugged? How long does it usually take for the freezer to get back to optimal temp when unplugged? Because there times when he freezer may need to be used at last minutes notice. Also, all but one of these freezers have been donated to the church. They have some age on them. It is good to keep stopping and starting the motor? Isn't there freon (or some kind of chemical) which keeps everything ''lubricated''?  I'm open to opinions, but I REALLY could use the ADVICE of a professional fridge/freezers sales/repair person.  Thank you so much~~~  Cherie

Freezers have very little "thermal inertia" when empty -- the compressor cycles on and off more often (which can cause more wear) in an empty freezer than one that's full (or partially full) of food, which makes it less efficient:

A full refrigerator retains cold better than an empty one. If your
refrigerator is nearly empty, store water-filled containers inside.
The mass of cold items will enable the refrigerator to recover more
quickly after the door has been opened. On the other hand, don't
overfill it, since that will interfere with the circulation of cold
air inside. The simplest solution is to buy the right size for your
family in the first place.

Full/empty efficiency has also been answered over in Cooking.StackExchange.com:  Does keeping a fridge/freezer full significantly help energy efficiency?
I'd suggest not leaving the freezer empty when not in use, but keeping some frozen jugs of water in the freezer all of the time -- not only does this help reduce compressor cycling, but it also helps chill food faster when you load new food into the freezer.
Freezers in daily use can last decades, so I wouldn't worry about excess wear by keeping your freezers plugged in -- just don't leave them completely empty.
Fridigidaire recommends leaving their refrigerators on for periods of a few weeks, and turning them off for longer periods of time:

Leave the unit operating during vacations of less than three weeks. If the appliance will not be used for several months:

Remove all food and unplug the power cord.
Clean and dry the
interior thoroughly.
Leave the door open slightly, blocking it open
if necessary, to prevent odor and mold growth.

Kenmore has a similar recommendation for their chest freezers.


Running 8/3 along strongback I'm running a 220(240) 8/3 line for a table saw in my garage.  I can fish the 8/3 to the box.  I need to run the line to the other end of the garage.  The other lines are run down the 1.5" side edge of a 2x4 strongback on top of the rafter ties (no ceiling joists) .  The ceiling is open all the way up to the rafters.  I need to follow the same route, but the other cables take up all the edge space.  I was thinking of running the line on top of the strongback.

Do I need to run conduit on top of the strongback to be up to code (local code references IBC)? Can I just run the romex on top of the strongback unprotected? Technically the rafter ties are not meant to be walked on or hold anything.  Which to me means they aren't meant to be accessed; however, they are accessible ( because it is an open ceiling).

IMO if it's open it's not an attic, and running along a strongback is FINE.

May I ask, WHY 8/3 for a table saw???


Plastic junction boxes and covers in floor? Our family room is currently being remodeled to include a raised/tray ceiling. Once the drywall was removed from the ceiling and the plywood removed from the attic floor above the family room, it was discovered that a LOT of wiring was going down the center of the room and had to be relocated. The electricians 'relocated' the wiring by adding 20-30 plastic junction boxes in the floor of the attic and covering them with solid, plastic covers. The attic was and will be re-floored with plywood and the space will eventually be used as livable space.

Are plastic junction boxes and plastic box covers appropriate for a floor? If not, what should have been used? Is this method of rewiring (using junction boxes) safe?

Plastic junction boxes and plastic covers are generally fine for wire connections. However, every junction box must remain accessible. You cannot put a floor over them.

If you were to have the junction boxes mounted through the floor, they must be protected, and plastic covers would probably not be considered acceptable in most jurisdictions. Metal covers, or specialty floor boxes and covers might meet code.