How to mount a power strip without holes to the wall I got a power strip (this one) that doesn't have holes on the back for mounting to the wall. I had figured I'd use Command Strip adhesive and be done with it, but it has little grippy feet on the bottom that raise it up off of the surface just enough that a command strip wouldn't grip securely. What else might work? Since it will have power cords (and USB cables) plugged and unplugged every now and then, it needs to be able to stand up to forces perpendicular to the plane of the wall.

Is it not possible to use a knife or other sharp edge to remove the feet? Most of the rubber feet I've seen are either attached via grommets--essentially thin pieces of the rubber which extend through a small holes with a slightly larger part at the end to hold it in place. Cheaper companies attach flat ones with adhesive.

If removal is not an option, your best bet is still with Command adhesive for the wall adhesion. However, what you will want to do is attach something to the underside of the strip (using a thin adhesive strip or, ideally, glue+clamping) that will increase the thickness to the same level as the feet.

I'd probably use a light wood like balsa or bass from a hobby store, as they are available in various small sizes and a large range of thicknesses. You may even be able to find a piece that is already the right length and width in their selection! (Be sure to take the power strip in with you to test for thickness length x width.)  If none with the proper thickness will adequately fit, just get a slightly larger one, cut it small enough to fill most of the area, paint it to match the wall or strip (if desired), and attach it with your desired adhesive to the strip. Apply the command strips to the other side, following the supplied instructions, then attach it to the wall.

This will work perfectly, and you likely have something around your house already that you can modify to work (honestly, even a couple layers of carefully glued, trimmed, and painted corrugated cardboard could look professional! You would be surprised!) Honestly though, if it were me, I would probably find a way to remove the feet. ;)

Good luck!


Should a hole develop in the tip of a thermocouple after it is installed in a gas heater and lighted? I just replaced the thermocouple in my gas heater as the pilot wouldn't stay on after lighting. The old thermocouple had developed a hole in the tip and the tip was discolored when I removed it.

I checked the pilot today and it went off sometime today or yesterday. I noticed that the new thermocouple developed a hole in the tip and the tip was also somewhat discolored.

I relighted the pilot and it appears to still work fine.

Is the thermocouple suppose to develop a hole in the tip after being exposed to the pilot flame for a few days?

Edit: I have removed the thermocouple and it is not a hole, but just discoloring. I have cleaned the tip and reinstalled it.

Picture:

The Thermoucouple should withstand the heat of the pilot without damage. If it is still working you are ok but I would get a backup in case it fails. Thermocouples work with 2 dissimilar metals fused together and they create a small voltage when heated. If the junction of the 2 metals is damaged then the Thermocouple will not work. Some manufacturers call there Thermocouples Thermopiles I have used universal replacements and never had a problem as long as they screw in correctly.


Best way to cover up this hole drilled when installing a ceiling fan? So I installed a ceiling fan intending to cover up the wire holes with trim. As you can see below the holes drilled were too big. The entire house uses this size and type of trim. It would look weird putting larger trim here.

Would filling the hole with wood filler be a viable solution? Would the wood filler interact poorly with the fan wiring?

This isn't common on an open wall, more for shadow boxes and such. However, you could remove that piece of molding and cut another piece with a 45° angle where it meets the corner. Then cut a small piece about 1ft. long with 45° angles on both ends. Then cut yourself a dead end on the left side. You will probably have to cope the excess wood at the corners for the wire to fit better. You can pinch nail both pieces at the top and bottom for a tight fit in that area.

Crown Molding Return


Turning fireplace from gas to wood burning We have a those that was originally built in 1977 and its built with brick with brick chimney and all. We believe it was originally built as a wood burning fireplace. How hard would it be to convert it back to a wood burning fireplace. I believe there's an insert that they used to turn it into gas. The problem is that gas has gone so high in price per gallon that it would be more cost effective for us to convert it back to a wood burning fireplace. What would we need to do?

Verify that the size of the flue is adequate for wood burning. Wood burning fireplaces require larger flues than gas.

Also, you should understand that most of the heat will go up the flue compared to gas inserts.


No hot water when cold is turned on elsewhere My main problem is that when I am taking a shower, I lose all hot water when someone turns on cold elsewhere.  I have been led to believe this is because of an insufficient water supply to the water heater, leading to a loss of pressure on the input and thereby decreasing the pressure on the output.  I believe I could fix this by bringing in a 3/4" or 1" line first to the water heater via PEX manifold, and then do PEX home runs to all the fixtures in the house.

I have attached pictures below of my setup, and I welcome any input.

(Originally I had pretty much the entire flow backwards.  I have updated my images accordingly.)

I have a 1/2" line D that feeds both the boiler and the water heater E.  F comes out of the water heater and reduces to a 1/2" line to feed the house fixtures.

I used the installation instructions for the 9DM3 backflow preventer pictured, and the following is an installation diagram.  I have both the 9DM3 and the 1156F pictured between D and C, and I am confident this part of my home matches the installation instructions.

With the new diagram, we can ignore A&B as they are part of the heating loop.

As for upgrading the 1/2" pipe feeding the water heater, yes, that should be possible, though it may not make much difference if all the hot water for the house is still being sent via a single 1/2" line after the water heater. Now, if you increase the pipe size to the water heater and provide individual PEX from the water heater to the fixtures, you should see some improvement, but it may also be limited improvement if the cold water is still being supplied from the 1/2 pipe in (or coming out of) the wall here. If you can increase the pipe size all the way to the water meter (or actual cold-water entry from the meter), that will help more, but a shorter section of 1/2 pipe is better than a longer section of 1/2 pipe if you cannot get all the way back to a full-sized feed line.


What should I know before trying to make a larger deadbolt hole? I had a locksmith come over and check this out, but he ended up refusing the job. It seems pretty simple to me, but before I wanted to go give it a "try" I figure I would ask just so I have a better idea of options, what can go wrong, and maybe why an expert would refuse this job. I've already asked him about it and the answer was very vague and I don't want to bother him again.

I think I would need to drill a larger diameter hole for the new deadbolt, but the problem might be that the metallic strip doesn't leave enough room for a larger diameter hole.

Is my best solution to remove the metal strip drill the hole and repaint?

You need to know what the door is made out of and how to make the hole.

if the door will not be damaged by the larger hole, and you have the appropriate tools, go for it.

Maybe he refused because he didn't have the right tools to enlarge the existing hole in a tidy way


Laminate flooring finishing around door jam I just completed my laminate floor and used quarter round trim to cover the edges/gaps in the floor.
I would love to get some suggestions to have good finishing at the door frames as shown in the photo.
I found that I can use wood filler or fill white caulk in the space. Is there any other good options I can choose to improve it and make it look nice. Thank you, wish you all happy new year!!

Do you still have any pieces of laminate and willing to some more work? You are supposed to undercut the door jamb with saw and slide the laminate under the jamb for a clean look


My mini fridge is not working. Should I repair it or simply toss it out? I came to work on Monday to find that my mini fridge (Frigidaire FRC25B2GB, purchased < 2yrs ago) isn't working.  It had completely defrosted, so had been off a while.  It was on a power strip that was off, so I just assumed the power had surged and the strip shut off.  When I tried to turn the power strip back on, the fridge compressor would turn on for a couple of seconds, then stop.  The power cord wouldn't turn on with the fridge plugged in.  It seemed like there was something going on with the fridge that was keeping the power cord from turning on.  I eventually plugged the fridge directly into the wall, but it no longer makes any noises to attempt to start and certainly isn't getting cold. (btw, other electronics have power when using the same outlet so I know the outlet works)

I have a repair shop that's willing to look at it for $30 if I bring it in, but this is 1/3 of the purchase price so I'm hesitant to do that.  Who knows what they would charge to actually repair it?  Is this something I could fix myself (no electrical knowledge), or should I pay the repair shop, OR should I just toss it and buy another one?

Well, even if they find the problem they are still going to charge you 30$+parts+install time= a colossal waste of time and money. I've owned a numerous array of mini fridges and none of them last much longer than 2 years, the workmanship on these just isn't worth fixing.

Unless the fix is something you can readily check, like a reset button, I'd cut you losses and buy a new fridge. Also because the compressor started and then died, so it sounds like a blown compressor, which is not worth replacing.


Should I install 10 AWG or re-use the existing 8 AWG? My new built in oven uses a 30 amp/10AWG wiring connection. My old oven has 40 amp/8 AWG wiring.

Is it possible to use this connection with just switching a breaker?

Yes, by all means - larger than minimum wire is perfectly fine.


Attaching surface mount deck railing posts directly above a 5 1/8" Rim joist eI am installing a deck railing that will be directly above 5 1/8" x 11" glue laminated deck beam along the front of the deck.  Along the sides of the deck, it will be doubled up 2x10 joists.

I can't find any documentation about if an aluminum post can mount directly into the beam.  Everything I can find is for an alignment that is offset from a smaller joist and uses blocking.  Can I safely install these using 8" lag screws directly into the beam?

On the 2x10s, one side of the post would align with the joists, which I would like to use lag screws on, while the other side would need blocking.  Is that appropriate?

This is for a residential structure, in Utah, USA if any of that makes a difference.

I’m not an expert and likewise did not find any direct documentation on the issue of attaching surface mount posts to a laminated beam but I did find the following information that might help you make a knowledgeable decision.

The following Fine Homebuilding video references surface mounted guard posts. The main issue appears to be that the post as desired will not have any blocking perpendicular to the Rim joist.  It would also be difficult to mount a reinforcing plate underneath.   https://youtu.be/lTRquLcL6Jo?t=540

About the beam itself – is it balanced or unbalanced and is the axis orientation vertical or horizontal?  How the beam is constructed will impact how it reacts to shear forces. I found the following guide useful:  https://law.resource.org/pub/us/code/bsc.ca.gov/sibr/org.apawood.X440.pdf

Also, how wide is the post mounting plate? You will need to make sure that the screws are a minimum distance away from the edges of the board. I found the following document helpful in looking at the calculations needed. https://www.engineeringexpress.com/wiki/lag-bolts-in-wood/

Finally, this document mentions the issues with drilling holes vertically through laminated beams and it's corresponding impact on the ability of the beam to carry a load. It may be something to review. https://www.anthonyforest.com/assets/pdf/apa/glulam/Tech_Note_Field_Notching.pdf

I have a feeling that it will all come down to whether not not the code inspector believes that the guard rail post will handle the required 200 pound static load without an issue. Without any direct documentation, I'd suggest that you verify this yourself using a test version before construction being sure to test all 4 conditions: Mid-span of the laminated beam, mid-span of the 2-bys and testing the corner connections in both directions.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.


What amp rating fuse should be used for the low-voltage side of the control board in my Goodman furnace? I have a Goodman furnace (model GMH80803BNBC) (with separate Goodman AC condenser).
The specs (PDF) are located online.
The control board has stamped on it, next to the fuse (for the low-voltage (24V) portion), 5 AMP MAX.
But I cannot find in the specs, online, or elsewhere on the board what the "recommended"(not the maximum) amp rating fuse is.

Do I assume a 3 Amp fuse should be used (as that appears to be the most common rating I've come across while searching online)?
There are no additional accessories wired to / being supplied by the board besides  a "regular" (not smart/wi-fi) programmable Honeywell thermostat.

A little back story:
Yesterday, one of the inside units would not run and there was no power to the t-stat.
Upon entering the attic to inspect the unit, I discovered a discarded 3 Amp fuse (which was blown) on the floor.
The 3 Amp fuse still in the control board was also blown.
I am left to assume the (discarded) fuse must have blown when the installers were testing the unit (or some point before we took ownership of the house -- this is a new build house, which we've been in for about 1.5 years).
This makes me wonder, in conjunction with the 5 AMP MAX on the board, that perhaps a 5 Amp fuse should be used instead of 3 Amp?

The house has a second Goodman furnace (model GMS80603ANBE) (also with a separate Goodman AC condenser), which has a 3 Amp fuse, but the control board has nothing stamped on it about the max rating.
We've had no problems with this unit.

I believe that this document is for your unit and it indicates a 3amp fuse. Refer page 29, the trouble shooting section, top row, 5th column


Why does this grounding bar have three different kinds of screws? I bought a Murray load center for use as a subpanel. Why do the large terminals in the grounding bar have three different kinds of screws?

Which of them should I be using for the feeder (4-gauge aluminum)

The instructions have no guidance on the different screws in the large terminals:

If you notice, it has 15 small openings and 3 large.  The others are for securing tbe buss to the panel.
Also, you'll need a lug adapter to secure the #4 grounding conductor as per the panels specifications only up to #6 will fit in the three larger openings.

Edit to (2): I believe anything over #4 will need a lug adapter.


How can I restore my carpet's pile after too much cleaning product was used? I recently moved into my new place and have found that my carpet on my landing is completely flattened.  I was told by a carpet cleaning company that it has been caused by too much cleaning product from a Vax carpet cleaner.  I want to find a way of removing the excess cleaning solution and bring the carpet pile back up to what it should be.  Any ideas on how i could do it without bringing in a cleaning company to do it.

Rent a carpet cleaner and don't put in any detergent. Just use hot water.


Refinish Sections of Hardwood at a Time The most feasible method of finishing all the hardwood in the home I am living in is one room at a time. The rooms all connect to a hallway.

Will there be an ugly area (if I do one room's hardwood and a section of the hallway by the door and then refinish the rest of the hallway at a different time) at the joint of the two refinished floors?

I am sanding down to the wood and then coating with polyurethane.

Finishing a floor one room at a time is not a recommended practice. It takes several days, if not weeks for the polyurethane to completely cure. During that time, the poly will be off-gassing toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Exposure to VOCs has been linked to many illnesses, and should be limited as much as possible. The VOCs will mostly dissipate within a few days, but there will be a slight odor for several days after that. The poly also will not achieve its full hardness until it fully cures, so you would want to keep traffic at a bare minimum while it is curing. You also want to keep the floors completely clear during this time because it is very easy to damage the finish.

Finishing one room at a time will only prolong the process of curing and out-gassing. The odor for the first couple of days would be nearly unbearable, and it is not recommended to be in the house immediately after the floor has been finished.

If you must do this one room at a time, be sure to keep the room closed off from the rest of the house. Make sure you have plenty of ventilation in the room, and keep the door closed for the first couple of days. You may want to also shove a towel in front of the door to block the fumes. If you have HVAC ducts in the room, those should be blocked off as well, so the fumes don't get blown through the entire house. You can block them off by either taping craft paper over them, or by blocking off the duct itself with a piece of foam, or a towel.

You should also bear in mind that doing one room at a time will make it more expensive to rent the equipment you need such as sanders. It is much cheaper to rent the equipment for a day, and get it all done at once instead of renting it for each room. By the time the dust settles, it may be just as cheap to hire someone to finish your floors professionally. The finished product usually comes out better when it is done by someone with experience. It is easy to damage the floor with the sander, if you aren't careful. Also, if you do not have room in your home to completely empty out these rooms, you can rent one of those portable storage sheds and have it delivered to your home.


Running Service to Outbuilding We just built a house and wanted to run 400 amp service to the house to keep options open down the road, but I fear my contractor didn't account for my future plans and did what easiest vs what I wanted. Part of our basement is finished, and the interior basement panel was placed about 15-20 feet from the outside meter, with all the wiring behind the finished walls. Getting to this interior panel will be tricky, so ideally I'd like to tap in directly outside if possible.
With 400 amp service to the home, they put 2, 200 amp panels in the home. One is about half full, the other about one third full. Again, no idea why they did this. Only now an I realizing what happened.
What options do I have to avoid running the outbuilding to my home panel? Can I downgrade one of these pabels to 100 amp to be able to run another 100 panel to the outbuilding?
Like I said, I would like to avoid coming inside the home if at all possible. If it's unavoidable, then I guess we'll have to find the best solution.
Thank you for any advice. Naturally, an electrician will be doing all the work, just trying to wrap my head around it all before I start asking for things and getting quotes.
Interior panels:

Exterior panel:

(Click images for full-size versions.)

Your electrician was thinking further ahead than you thought they were
As it turns out, your electrician did think of powering outbuildings when they put your 400A service in, after all.  The cheapest way to do a 400A service is to use a Class 320 socket feeding two 200A main panels; however, your setup is a bit more sophisticated and flexible, and that's a good thing in this circumstance.  In particular, you have a Class 320 meter-main outside, with two main breakers fitted and room for up to 4 secondary mains, under the old NEC 230.71 "rule of six" provision, feeding two 200A subpanels (which have main breakers of their own that serve as convenience disconnects) inside your house.
As a result of this, you do not have to worry about having the inside of the house opened up to install the feeder for your shed; your electrician can simply fit a suitable breaker in the meter-main's subsidiary section instead and call it a day.  They probably should move the spare breaker from slot 2 to slot 3 and add a QO1HT to clean up the minor situation with the existing spare breakers, or replace both spares with a QO215 or QO220 if there's nothing hooked to them to begin with, but that's really just a divot in the grand scheme of things.
That 400A service has plenty of space, too
Running a quick Article 220 calculation on your house, consisting of:

3200 ft2 at 3VA/ft2
7 small appliance branch circuit allowances at 1500VA each between the two kitchen countertop GFCI circuits, the laundry circuit, the two dishwashers, the microwave, and the garbage disposal
a 12kVA oven allowance (this number is kind of arbitrary, but there's so much excess capacity here that it doesn't matter in the end)
a 5kVA dryer allowance as per NEC 220.54
a 4.5kVA hot water heater
1/2HP sump and ejector pumps
a 1/3HP septic aerator pump
and a 27.8A compressor unit

gives us 195A of service load at the moment.  Obviously, this is easily within the capacity of a 400A service; even if your shed pulled a full 100A, something it certainly won't do given your description of the loads inside, you'd still have room to spare.  This also means that you don't have to downsize either interior panel in order to "make room" for the shed at all.
And that 100A figure is quite generous for your shed, too
Running another Article 220 load calculation on the shed, given that we're dealing with a 1500 ft2 shed here and two 1500VA allowances for garage door openers and shop tools, gives us a mere 4575VA, or 19A of feeder load at 240V.  As a result, I would have your electrician run a 1.5" PVC conduit to the shed; that's a sufficiently sized conduit for a 100A feeder, but gives your electrician the option to run smaller wire now and let you (or the next owner) upgrade the circuit later if the need for more power arises, instead of grossly overprovisioning the wiring now just to avoid an expensive dig-up-and-replace job later.


Is there a required ceiling height for a garage door opener? I recently bought a bank-owned house.  They converted the garage into a living space and I would like to take it back to being a garage.  I was hoping to install a garage door opener for the new door, and I was wondering how tall do the ceilings need to be in the garage in order for a garage door opener?

Currently, the ceiling is 7' 9" with the plaster on it, but I will be gutting the entire thing to redo the electrical.

Most garage door openers need just a few inches above the garage door to work. If you have 6 inches above the opened garage door you should be fine.

Some garage door openers need more space above the motor than others. Chain drives with the chain sprocket on top come to mind.


PVC conduit into PVC box: Can I make it watertight when using a threaded fitting? Are sealing locknuts allowed? I have some 2" PVC conduit coming out of the ground and into a PVC box where it enters with a terminal adapter and held in place with a locknut. I intended to use a sealing locknut to keep the box watertight, but came across this discussion which has me worried the locknuts won't be allowed. Any advice? My AHJ uses the 2014 NEC.

Does that linked discussion apply to my situation? What is the correct/typical way to connect PVC conduit to a box outside (or are glued fittings generally always used)?

Glued fittings are generally always used for PVC conduit to PVC boxes.

Most people also misunderstand the concept of exterior conduits and fuss about "keeping them watertight" when, in the code, they are defined as a wet location. And they will be, every time, no matter how watertight you make them - by condensation, if by no other means.


Drainage downhill under slab with block retaining wall I would like to install an allan block retaining wall (3' at its highest). I'm going to build a shop 25' downhill from this retaining wall, and want to have a poured slab for parking vehicles on. In researching foundations, it is recommended not to use a concrete foundation, so how to I ensure that there is not excessive water traveling under to the slab? the drain will prevent the water table from exceeding the drains height locally, but the soils below could still be fully saturated. Or is this OK?

As a 2nd question, how should I interface the gravel footer of the retaining wall and the driveway apron's slab? (Red question mark area in figure)

Lastly, why does allan block recommend a 4" x 18" wide footer? it seems the excess width provides no value, unless it is to ensure a plate compactor has the space get good compaction in the gravel.

Located in Zone 4C (Seattle area)

I know a little about 2 subjects. This is one. I'm a landscape architect and two easy examples of how to fix your problem came to mind. BTW...nice drawing.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU DO THIS...simply get some diamond tip masonry drill bits and drill some holes into your retaining wall about an inch above the ground. Also do the same from the other side of your wall at different levels in your wall, but that's below the ground surface that your retaining.
Doing this is not optional if you want your wall to last through the next rainfall in your area. This is to allow water from any sudden downpours as well as water trapped below the surface to escape, while leaving your yard in place.
The other option that's easily done is called a French drain. This is the most aesthetically pleasing way to move water because the entire drain is buried and cannot be seen. Easily done with the right equipment (varies widely from a mini excavator to a pick and shovel) or neighborhood kid to dig the trench for your pipe to lay in.
The opening to the drain would be where the question mark is on your drawing. And you would have the pipe traveling down the hill and UNDER where your retaining wall will be. Just 3" below the surface of the ground where your wall will be is sufficient to keep it from being pinched or crushed.
Make sure you level out the ground where the first layer of bricks that make up the base of your wall, and bury your pipe 3 inches below that. Cover with dirt. The only things you HAVE TO BE SURE OF is that your pipe must be laid in a straight line, and ALWAYS keep the fall. Meaning don't allow a hump of dirt make your pipe lift more than 1/8 inch or water and sediment will gather there, eventually clogging the drain. It only needs to be as long as about 6 inches at the least past your wall. But you can run it as far as you want. No one will even know its there. You can purchase everything you need at Walmart or your local home improvement store for cheap.
Oh yeah, avoid drilling any holes in the actual mortar/cement you use to hold the bricks in place to prevent weakening the structure. The amount of holes you need depend on the amount of water that comes your direction from other places around you. A 1" hole every 2 to 5 feet above the ground. With  smaller holes placed closer together below the surface on other side of wall.


Cast Iron waste pipe can’t be cut We’re replacing a rotten flange from a cast iron pipe and are not able to cut the pipe. We need only to replace the flange connected to the top of the pipe that connects to wax ring on toilet but are having a hard time finding solutions that do not require cutting the old pipe. I would post a pic but right now our new toilet with only the wax ring is sitting on top of the pipe. We know that we need to clean off the old/new wax ring, of course, but where do we find a replaceable flange that connects directly to the top of the cast iron pipe?

Closet ring repair kit would go over top the old rotten one and screw into the floor.


Mystery constant, fast, and barely audible vibration in private home I recently moved to the top floor of a three story home that is near an infrequently used express track (primarily on weekends during construction on the local line/once or so an hour). A train passing under causes the  house to rumble hard and generally wakes me. It's an old home, and it seems prone to vibration.

To minimize the train vibration in my bed (metal frame with four legs on risers, wooden slats, foam mattress), I put folded-in-two yoga mats beneath each pair of risers. Each riser also has two dense hockey pucks beneath the bed legs. I added a fully inflated air mattress between my bed and foam mattress. Beneath my bed are boxes of books for added weight; two ten-pound weights are on the bed-frame. No part of the bed is touching the wall.

It's helped with the train vibration, but it hasn't helped with what seems to be the entire upper floor shaking very rapidly and constantly. It tends to start in the evenings during the weekdays. This past weekend, it was on the entire time. My landlord (lives on the first floor; I'm on the third) said he's never heard of nor experienced something like that in the years he's been there.

My second floor neighbor doesn't seem to be experiencing anything (but he also mentioned that his family's encounters with the trains seems to be far milder than mine). He also mentioned that he doesn't have any vibrating machines in use (fan, AC, etc.)

We had some boiler repairs recently (I don't know what was done), but the vibration continues even when the radiators aren't fussing about. It's still active when our refrigerator dies down. I tried recording it with the VibSensor app and got rates of 9.7-10hz, but I'm not sure if that's the app just picking up itself. No music, broadcasted or performed.

The room's former occupant (who I don't think spent much time in the apartment during the winter) doesn't recall any such vibrations.

Is this something new? Is something broken? Could it be something 'normal' and otherwise present but now accentuated because it's colder outside? How do I stop it? I'm very sensitive to my environment, but my landlord is at least in his late fifties, so I'm concerned he might not pick up on the vibrations.

I had the exact same problem for over two years and sometimes I could hear the vibration. It drove me just about crazy. I would feel it when I laid down in my bed, lay on the floor, standing in the kitchen, laying on my couch, etc. the vibration and sometimes noise would come and go and odd thing is that some people said they felt it but most could not.  I tried everything to trace the vibration down. Checked with my neighbors but no one had the problem. Call specialist but they were honest and said that it would cost a small fortune to set up equipment and no gaurentee that they would find any thing. I add the water and electricity company check it out, both negative. I went on line and found people around the world (English speaking) had the same problem but no solutions.
Then one early morning around 3 am laying in bed the solution came to me. I realized it and that morning I booked an appointment with my GP. I told him about feeling these vibrations and sometimes noise and told him I think it is my body that is actually vibrating. He never heard of such a problem. I beg him for sleeping pills so I could get a good nights sleep. He reluctantly gave me a 5 day supply.
For 5 days I took the pills, slept well, and the vibrations stopped.
Every once in awhile the vibrations come back, like tonight which prompted me to write this and post it on line.
But that is because I've been under stress and not sleeping well. I'll take some 5mg Melatonin (find it among vitamins in drug store) along with a glass of warm milk, get a good nights sleep - may take a few nights of good sound sleep, rest my body, and the vibrations will go away.


Why do my LED lights flash on cold start? Whenever I flip on my dimmer switch, all four dimmable LED lamps flash on in unison, blink off, and then come on at the selected dim level. This happens even with the dimmer slider maxed out, so it's not a matter of trying to drive the lamps with too little power, which I know can cause flashing and flickering.

The flashing happens only on cold start, by which I mean, if I've just turned off the lamps and then flip them back on, they come on directly with no flash. Wait just a few seconds after flipping them off - a bit past the time they take to completely stop emitting light - and they will flash when you flip the switch back on again.

I don't know what could be causing this particular failure mode, so I don't know where to start debugging this problem.

For what it's worth, I first noticed this behavior when testing after wiring in the third lamp. When only two were wired in, no flashing was apparent.

Gory details:

I have a Lutron Diva CL 3-way dimmer. The "CL" designates that it handles CFL and LED dimming.

It's driving 4 Cooper Lighting HALO 4" LED retrofit kits, model RL406830WH.

The dimmer's package insert installation instructions state it can handle up to 150 W of CFL/LED load. Each of my LED lamps draws only 13.5 W, so all 4 together draw less than 55 W. This is well within the operating range of the dimmer.

The exact LED lamps I'm using are not listed among the "Approved Bulb List for Wall-Mount CL Dimmers", but several similar models by Cooper Lighting are.

ETA: I still would like to know why I saw this behavior, but the problem appears to have been the dimmer.

Disconnecting 3 of the 4 lamps showed flash-on-start still.

I swapped the dimmer for a standard S_3 and had no problem.

I then swapped in another instance of the same model. (Though the sticker on the side gave a different hardware rev, and the assembly location was St. Kitt's rather than China.) The new dimmer caused no flash on power-on, but it couldn't dim the LEDs nearly as low as the first instance. Frustrating.

I know this is an old thread, but I recently had this problem myself. Ended up being because of cheap bulbs. I have two of the same dimmers, one works fine, the other would flash once every time before turning on. I had just bought some "dimmable" LED bulbs on sale from Home Depot, and when I switched the bulbs for the LED bulbs I had in my other fixture the problem was solved. Guess not all dimmable bulbs are made equal. Hope this helps someone.


I have older HVAC unit (heat pump) and looking for the C wire to hook up to Smart Thermostat I spent 2 hours with Thermostat vendor, Ecobee and they couldn't help me.
I have R,G,Y,B and the white lead is not connected.
I need some guidance on how to get a Common wire.
I tested voltage and R-G, R-B, R-Y all give me 26 volts.

So the red,blue,green and yellow were working fine with old thermostat, yet the Smart Ecobee3 needs a Common.

Any suggestions on how to get the Common wire?

This is a Whalen unit, about 15 years old.

You need a "Power Extender Kit (PEK) from Ecobee. I am surprised that the PEK wasn't included in your purchase of the smart thermostat. Mine was.

Visit their web site at

https://support.ecobee.com/hc/en-us/articles/234707528-ecobee3-lite-with-PEK-for-HeatPumps

Their web site also has a "Live Support" ; or, you can call them at 1.877.932.6233.  They provide very good support service.

Sert


Powering LED strip lights at two different brightness The Plan
I am working on finishing my basement and planning on installing LED strip lights inside a lowered crown facing up.
Now where it gets complicated.  I'd like the lights to have a dim setting to be controlled by a timer, on at sundown and off at midnight (easy too), but I would like the lights to come on at full brightness when the overhead lights are flipped on for the specific room.  5 zones in total, bathroom, kitchen, family room, hall and gym.
No Software
I don't want any software solutions with smart switches / dimmers, etc. (Aside from the timer switch)  and no wireless anything.
Idea #1
I was originally thinking the easy way would be to have two strips, one at dim on the timer and the other controlled by the power for the light switch, but I don't like this idea because of the additional cost and I'd need 6 power supplies.
Better Idea (so I think)
I was thinking last night and thought about having two power supplies, one set to dim and one to full brightness.  Then have 5 double throw relays, that are switched to low when it's not energized and then switch to full power when it gets a 120v signal from the overhead switch for the specific room.  What I'm not sure about this idea is if the power supply will keep the LEDs in the different zones at constant brightness when the load increases/decreases.  I'm thinking I just need a constant output voltage power supply, but I've never tried this myself.
(Not thrilled with having to run 14/2 for each overhead back to the utility room, but I can live with it.  Easier than dropping the voltage and sending a 12v signal back)
Will this idea work or is there a better way to achieve my goal.
Additional info

No drywall in the basement yet (done with framing, plumbing and
running electrical now), I can run anything anywhere.
Total is about 200' of LEDs
Planning on having all LED controls in one spot, utility room
Power for LEDs will distributed with thermostat wire.
White LEDs, no color.
Each room will have additional lights, mainly 6" recessed
Locale, US
Mostly dealing with low voltage issue here, but I need to pass inspection NEC 2020 rules.

Be warned that your understanding of this tech is limited and you'll need to skill up more to pull off a successful project.
The power section
OK, the way I'd do that is by having an always-on 12V (or 24V, better for the voltage drop) power supply in the basement.
I will remain silent on the question of that having a battery back-up, but, if you do have a battery back-up, that favors 12V since TVs, Internet modems and routers are readily available for 12V, not so much for 24V. 12V USB chargers are sold in more places than eggs.
The next step out of the 24V supply will be a timer with PWM dimmer, set to do that "sundown-midnight" thing that you want.
So now we have 2 power sources: Negative always-24V, and "negative sometimes" PWM 24V. LED systems use positive common.
I'd watch voltage drop like a hawk. If I found it advantageous to carry it some distance to remote distribution hubs, I'd use fat aluminum feeder for that, because it's cheap, using MAC Block Connectors for the Al-Cu splices.
The switching section
I would use 3-wire cable (e.g. 12/3*) to carry both of those, with positive common, in 3-wire cable to the switch for each LED segment.   I would use these colors:

Black = always-negative
White with black marking = sometimes-negative PWM
Red = positive common

The switch is a 3-way switch.  The "negative sometimes PWM" goes to one traveler screw, "negative always" goes to the other.  The "3-way common" goes onward to the LED negative.  Positive common passes through to the LED without going to the switch.
The 3-way switch either connects the LED power to "sometime PWM" or "always".
Now if you actually want "3-way" i.e. multiple switches controlling the light, that is simplicity itself: the first control position (the one power comes into) gets a "4-way" switch instead of the normal 3-way.
Complying with Code
You need to comply with Code's low-voltage wiring rules. The safest way to do that is use wiring methods legal for 120V.  90% of Code is about physical execution of work - correct wiring methods, correct terminations, etc.  You are not allowed to rinky-dink this thing together in a barf of wires all over the place, like a typical workbench electronics project.  You need to comply with NEC 110.12, "neat and workmanlike".
Power supplies and controllers will need to be physically installed correctly and may need to be UL approved.  You may get in trouble with the AHJ for using non-approved luminaires, NEC 110.2.
The #1 area of concern is complying with the building codes regarding required lighting in any given room.  There must be a light switch in the normal/expected location(s). The light switch must operate a light (a switched 120V receptacle is an acceptable substitute).  You will need to satisfy the AHJ that this is good enough.
There's another reason to use 120V rated cables and wiring methods: Resale value. Later when you are selling this house, you don't want the home inspector going "WTH" and warning the buyer that the lighting circuits are bizarre and unsupportable.  Also, if this experiment fails, absolutely no one will be surprised.  If you make it easy to "fall back" to 120V arrangements and wiring methods, these problems become trivial, and you can proceed with confidence that you always have a plan-B.
The additional cost of wire and proper boxes is trivial compared to the advantage of avoiding difficulties with the mortgage lender and future home buyer.

* Romex for easy fallback to AC mains if stuff doesn't work.  #12 not #14 for voltage drop...
...and because everywhere Code requires a 15A circuit, it accepts a 20A circuit. At the scale I do wiring, the cost diff per foot in #14 vs #12 is not large enough to justify tying up capital in a completely redundant set of wire reels, as well as having to drag those around.


removing upper part of a wall i would like to remove the upper part of that wall, the cut would be somewhere between the red line
one thing i want to make sure is to NOT damage the firewood side finish, the rock tile.
what would be the best way to do that? also assume the remaining section of the wall could need more support, i would like some advice on that too

Of course you can remove the upper part of that wall by:

Scoring the drywall on the finished side where you want the cut to be.
Removing the drywall from the top portion taking care not to pull off any below the score line.
Cutting the studs along that line and removing the top portion of each one.
Place some top plate on top of the remaining studs to tie them all together.

Ok, now you have done what you asked but your going to be left with a wobbly and weakly supported half-wall.  It was not designed or built to stand on its own and you will likely not be satisfied with it. I will say that I don't believe it's possible to secure a 2x4 wall by attaching only at the bottom.
Free standing half walls are usually deeper than a normal floor-to-ceiling wall and they are often secured through the floor and to the floor joists for stability.
I think your plan needs to be revisited.
What to do?  You need to somehow provide a secure anchor to keep the remaining


Should I have my contractor redo the underlayment? I’m having my roof redone and on the roof where my roofer is going to install standing seam metal roof he put down Winterguard HT fastened with staples (because it was cold so it didn’t stick well).
The installation instructions say:

WinterGuard will not adhere to wet or cold surfaces. For cold weather tack down, use only roofing nails. Under no circumstances should staples be used with WinterGuard products.

I talked to my roofer and he said, “it’s fine, everybody uses staples.”
Should I make him redo it or is it actually fine?

The problem is that if there is an issue with the product at some point in the future, the manufacturer will deny any warranty claim because the installation instructions were not followed.
If this were mine, I'd insist that the installer follow the instructions for the products regardless of what everyone else does.


Very low hot water pressure entire house Setup: Electric 53 Gallon Heater, installed in 2014 by previous owners.
Location: Tampa bay, Florida, Home built in 1961, typical cinder block house.

WE purchase the home in December and all has been working great.

Issue: Very low hot water pressure in the entire house. Water begins when first turned on with an acceptable amount of pressure but quickly over a few minutes drops to very low pressure. Enough time for a 5 minute shower, if that!

We called a plumber out and they recommended to replace the water heater. They suggested there is probably a clogged line in the water heater itself?

What I have done: I have drained the hot water heater from the bottom of the tank for about 5 gallons, there was no sediment what so ever at the bottom.

Any ideas?

Your house was built at a time when galvanised pipe was common, the problem is most possibly your pipe has slowly corroded closed in 1 or more places, thus when you turn the hot off the pipe charges open and you loose pressure the longer it is on with a new water heater and old house that is what I would look at a switch over to Plastic with some of the new shark bites is not really that hard and you may get all the pressure you have on your cold by just replacing the main line worth a look and cheaper than another water heator that may end up with the same problem


Tried to replace light switch but circuit breaker flipped with new switch, so put old one back and that flips the breaker too?? I'm renovating a bedroom in our house and went to replace the light switch after doing all the electrical outlets.

The old light switch was a 2 wire, a black and a brownish colour. On the new switch there was 2 screws on one side and 1 on the other and a ground. Then there were 2 holes at the top and at the bottom. So I put the black into the hole at the top then other into the hole on the same side at the bottom. Then tested but it flipped the breaker.
When try to eject the wires from the switch, I broke the switch so went and got another.. this time a simple 2 wire one.

I checked online, found that both wires were probably live as it was the only switch for the light. After connecting wires, tested it again and it brew the breaker again!

So I resigned to putting the old switch back in the way it was before I started messing with it. Tested again, and it blew the breaker again! I changed the wires around in case I got it wrong, still same result.

Anyone got any idea what might be going on??

Any help would be much appreciated!

If the switch you are replacing is in an electrical box that is grounded there is a possibility that insulation in one if the hot wires is compromised and shorted to the box. This would create a direct short when the wire becomes energized and cause the breaker to trip.

The other possibility is that this switch controls an electrical outlet in addition to a light. Switched outlets are common in living rooms and some bedrooms. In bedrooms with a switched outlet a ceiling light may have been added after the original installation so that the switch controls both. In your case you may have replaced the switched outlet and wired it incorrectly. The error may not have become obvious until you came to work on and replace the switch.


Considering replacing blown cellulose on attic floor with open cell spray foam. Should I just leave well enough alone? EDIT WITH NEW COMMENTS/QUESTION:
Begin edit/
Ok...a few thoughts based on your replies:

1) I totally agree that the insulation guy is selling something.  Roger that.  At the same time, the GC I've worked with in the past agrees with the insulation guy, and he's not in on this project at all.

2) Yes, this isn't the main source of dust in the house, but I CAN see dust coming down around some of the can lights.  I also see more dust in rooms near where the registers blow out air, so it's likely some comes from there, no?

3) Re: hiring a maid.  Indeed, that's an option.  However, prices here are around $100 for a visit (up to $150).  At once every other week, that's $2600+ a year.  I would break even there in two years (maybe and a couple of months).  Then I'd be spending more that way.  Plus - maybe someone comes over sometimes already :)

4) I've had the bid upped from r30 to r40.  That way I'm keeping almost the same r, while adding
a) air sealing properties
b) the foam would be sprayed to cover the duct work and the little board room the furnace is in, bringing the furnace and all duct work into the envelope of the house for the first time.

5) Both the GC I've worked with and the insulation guy recommend against spraying the underside of the roof, due to the fact that it is shingle.  They both say that it will make the roof rot faster.

Based on all this: do you think this is crazy or counterproductive?

My main concern is that, by creating an air barrier to the attic, I'll be preventing moisture from leaving the house and therefore increase the chance of mildew or mold inside the house.  Is that realistic at all, or no?

Thanks so much!

/end edit

My wood frame and stucco home with cedar shingle roof is almost 100 years old.  We live near Chicago (Zone 5).  We have blown cellulose on the attic floor, ~r45.  A furnace with duct work is in the attic (there was no other place to add a needed zoned furnace), in a small room with some rigid foam board.  The duct work was sealed as carefully as possible and is covered in some cellulose.

About 5 years ago, there was too much moisture in the attic.  After cleaning, we applied mildew resistant paint, and we added several vents with a fan on a timer and on a temperature switch.  No issues since then.

Our house gets dusty (either that or my cleanliness standards are too high).  I suspect some comes from the blown cellulose in the attic or the dense pack in the walls.  Most probably comes from the outdoors.

I am considering having the r45 blown cellulose on the attic floor removed and replaced with r30 open cell spray foam (ocSF).  Is this crazy?  A recommended technician says that we will be better off with the foam due to its air sealing properties.  Plus he can better insulate the ducts and small furnace room with the ocSF.

Would replacing the blown cellulose with ocSF reduce dust in the house?
Would it make moisture problems more or less likely in the future?
Would it reduce or increase our energy costs?
Are there other concerns I am not considering?

Not crazy but quite unnecessary and counterproductive.

Unless you are visiting your attic often there is no way for the cellulose to get into the living area of the house. Much less the cellulose in the walls since it is sealed behind the walls.

I suspect most of your dust comes from other sources.

You said adding ventilation has eliminated your moisture problem. Don't worry about it then.

So, I think you are contemplating spending a whole lot of money for much less insulation R-rating. Then you will also pay more for heating and cooling from that day forward.

It would be much cheaper to hire a maid service to come clean your house once a week.

Good luck.


Light switch with one red and two black wires. Dont think it's a three way I've been steadily replacing switches in my house with zwave ones. The other day I opened this guy up and found a red wire wired to the top of the switch, a black wire at the bottom and another black wire wrapped around the bottom screw. I am pretty sure this is not a three way switch but it is sitting in a room with a ceiling fan and the fan does not have a switch of its own. Just a remote. So I suspect this red wire has something to do with the fan.

Now of course I could just wire the wave switch the same way with the addition of a neutral wire (the ge wave switch requires it) but I'd like to better understand what's going on here. I'm pretty new at switches so does anyone have any idea what's going on here?

You have a 2-way switch.   One of the black wires is probably the line and the other carries power to some other device on the circuit; they are connected together by one using the backstab connector and the other the screw.   The red wire is probably the load (it's also possible the red is the line and you have two loads controlled by the switch).


Is having a branch off the end of main heating HVAC duct bad and if so, why? Question: Is having a branch off the end of main heating HVAC duct bad and if so, why?

Background:
A heating and cooling contractor sales representative came to my home today. He saw the situation pictured below and said that having a branch off of the end of the main heating duct is bad because it does not allow the main branch to maintain pressure.

I presently fail to see how a branch off the end compared to the same sized branch off the sides (recommended by the sales representative) of the HVAC would make any difference in the performance of the system. I would like to understand the physics behind why this is bad before I pay to have it corrected.

IMHO:

I don't believe the position makes any difference.  The pressure in the main duct, for all practical purposes, is uniform.  There is a slight loss at each exit duct along the main duct, but the original main duct should have been designed to handle this. However, if you added the duct to the end of an existing system, and the duct is comparatively too large-you can effect the air flow of the entire system.  Velocity changes with the duct size.


GFCI buzzing on same circuit as dimmer Ok, is please bear with a little explanation:

My girlfriend had the master bath in her condo remodeled, and asked her contractor to install a new (GFCI) outlet. He apparently pulled it from the switch for the vanity light fixture. At the same time, he installed a dimmer switch for that same vanity light. The good news is there is no buzzing from the light fixture at all. The bad news is that the new outlet is buzzing and crackling like mad. These people told her there was nothing that could be done, and that it wouldn't hurt anything, it was because the dimmer and the GFCI amounted to two transformers on one circuit. This is a crock, but I wasn't around when the work was done. At this point I am wondering if anything can be done without pulling out the new sheetrock. The GFCI outlet works fine, it tests and resets normally, and you can use it nomally as well. It just sounds like an angry beehive. I was considering a lamp debuzzing coil, but my only experience with one of those, it made as much noise at this outlet is. Any suggestions?

I have never encountered the situation of a buzzing GFI before. Sounds a bit fishy to me. The trouble shooting procedure would be to turn off the power to the bathroom, unscrew the GFI from the box, pull it out a bit and remove the "load" side wires which should go to the dimmer and check that "line" screws are tight. Turn the power back on, if the dimmer is on the load side then the light with dimmer should be inoperative. Does the sound go away?  If it doesn't and the buzz remains, the GFI is probably defective.  Now turn the power back off, put the load wires back on and test again. If the buzz comes back then replace the dimmer or swap it for a regular switch. If neither of these subtitution tests stop the problem, call a different electrician.  Trust me, a buzz from a GFI or a dimmer is not a normal situation and could be a  potentially dangerous situation. Feel free to ask follow up questions if any of this doesn't make sense to you.  Maybe one of my buddies can do an edit to make this a bit easier to follow.


Pair of 3-way switches, when one is on, the other won't toggle it I have a pair of 3-way switches. I've wired them the same way as the other 4 in the same box (as far as I can tell), but they're not working as expected. I've tried re-wiring them each lots of various ways, but can never get them both to work as expected at the same time. I can get one to work, but the other doesn't. Or visa versa.
At the moment, I have it so that there is only one combination of up/down that will cause the light to be off.

Photo of the left set:

You need to wire them properly for them to work properly.
So, the unswitched hot needs to go to the black screw on one switch. The switched hot to the light needs to go to the black screw on the other switch. The travelers between the switches need to be on the brass screws on both switches.


Hanging temporary doors and then replacing We are in the approaching the end of finishing our basement with a GC. The wife has decided that she must have some fancy interior doors with windows that of course are a custom order and will take over a month to get. Everything is a standard size and it is really just the arrangement of the panels and glass that make them fancy.

Is it a mistake to buy and hang cheap slabs as a temporary measure and then install the fancy doors (they are slabs also) when they come in? For new construction how hard/long is it to replace a door slab?

The plan is to move into the basement while we work on the upstairs, so we need the temporary doors.

If you order cheap slab doors and the fancy doors from the same supplier, then swapping the old for the new should be extremely easy and not prohibitively expensive.

Though it might seem like you're burning money, ordering both cheap and fancy as pre-hung units should mean that it's just a couple of hinge pins, a doorknob move, and you'll be swapped. The door casing isn't a major part of the price of a prehung door.

** caveat on the "should" is that hinge spacing might vary and it then becomes a bit more carpentry to fix it... but if you inform your supplier in advance of the plan, you've got better odds of success.


changing a looped ceiling rose (LCR) light for a light that only has 3 connections, Live, Neutral and Earth I'm changing a looped ceiling rose (LCR) light for a light that only has 3 connections, Live, Neutral and Earth.

The looped ceiling rose has 3 different metal parts that the wires go into, like this:

I want to put a flush light up and wandering if its safe to put the terminal block up through the hole in ceiling or do I have to get junction box

In my country a junction box of applicable protection class (=IP code) is mandatory ... terminal blocks are never allowed to lay blank.


How can I tell if there's an electrical issue or if I have a bad dryer? I purchased a dryer from Sears: recently, which didn't work upon being connected. I performed a couple electrical checks (more on that in a moment), then called them up and told them that it was dead on arrival. They delivered another one, which also didn't work. I'm trying to figure out if the problem is electrical or just dead dryers.

Our box is a 3 wire, 30 amp 220/240VAC.

What I have tested with my multimeter (both at the outlet and at the dryer):

Line1 to Line2: ~240V
Line1 to Neutral: ~120V
Line2 to Neutral: ~120V
Neutral to Ground: 0V

It is possible it is the dryers, but not likely.  You have checked the socket for the source of the problem and it doesn't seem to be there.  Next check the cord you are using and double check the wiring of the cord to the dryer.


How do I straighten my bent metal cupboard frame? I bought a full metal cupboard but the leg got bent during delivery. Because the leg is bent the door won't close. I tried to get it back in place with a hammer with no success. Anybody got any ideas?

Nice cabinet by the way. I'm guessing it's a ferrous metal and if you hold a magnet to it the magnet is attracted to the metal. If so get your self a Mapp gas tank and a swirl-type torch. Heat the bent metal until it turns a dull red. Move the torch across the buckled area keeping the metal hot. Now with a smooth-face hammer (any style, 20-24 oz is best) begin tapping the bent metal back into shape. Start with light blows until you get a sense of how the metal is reacting to the hammer strikes. Re-heat as necessary.
If the metal is solid and not a tube you will need to apply heat for awhile. If you find the metal isn't moving under the hammer strikes heat it to a bright red or orange color. It may be easier to turn the cabinet on it's side or top to facilitate the pounding. Wear heavy gloves, eye protection and have a bucket of water close by.


Securing a Whiteboard against the Wall I've hung a reasonably sized whiteboard (72" wide by 60" tall) to the wall, but it only has two mounts at the top. One screw I've put in a stud and the other with a heavy duty drywall anchor. There are no holes, mounts or other hooks at the bottom.

My issue is that I'm nervous about kids leaning against it and pulling it down and/or the bottom is totally unsecured. Is there a bracket that I could to go into the wall at the bottom to both secure it to the wall and provide some additional support? I'm looking for something no wider than 2", that I could put into the wall below the board and kind of make an s-shape up over the bottom edge.

Any idea for something that might help here?

Rough idea how this might work - from the front:

From the side:

Rather than using a bracket, it seems like a better looking solution
would be to predrill holes where you want these brackets in the
whiteboard and fasten the board to the wall with bolts instead,
similar to the method you used at the top.
If you feel that a bracket is the way to go, you could grab a few of
those "L" steel angles that they sell at home depot (see the image
below) and fasten to the underside of the whiteboard with the
appropriate fastener for the whiteboard's frame material. You'd want
to install about 4 of these.

Another bracket solution would be that Simpson Strong Tie also
produces a Z-Clip shown in the image below. It would be able to
resist the loads that the board would apply to it if you have
already fastened at 2 points on the top. If you can cut back the
tray and compromise on the 2" to say, 2 5/16", the Z2 would work
well for this with wood filler between the bracket and the white
board.


How do you install a floating floor on stairs? I purchased a vinyl plank flooring to put in my basement and replace the old carpet down there. I would like to put this flooring on the stairs - but it is a floating floor. How can I keep it in place?

My ideas:

Purchase stair nose and secure that, then float the rest.
Use
adhesive on the plank (not sure if this will work, or bleed, or have
other unintended effects)

I don't recommend doing what you're attempting to do but...

If you're covering 2x12 carpet treads, the 2x12 treads will need to be pulled off and have most of the overhang ripped off so you don't end up with a 2-1/2" or better overhang. Then reinstall the treads with liquid nails and screws or 16d nails.

From here, starting at the bottom, working towards the top, you'll need to secure stair nosing to the tread, possibly adding a return or two if you don't have boxed in treads. Now fill in between the riser and the back of the stair nosing you just installed. What you're thinking of doing is going to involve some work.

I've not done this with floating floor material, but I have done it with engineered planks as well as solid 3/4" prefinished hardwood.

Not sure of your location, but I can buy 4' oak stair treads for $25 each in Tennessee ( Lowe's ). 4' pine treads are a little cheaper, but the material is also softer. There's more work involved going this route and expense, but less safety concerns.

The reason my first sentence is, "I don't recommend this..." is because most stair nosing for laminate flooring is only 5/16" to 7/16" thick. If you drop something heavy on a stair nose or misstep, the nosing will most likely break.


How do I make my floors more stable? My builder did (what seems to me) a cut rate job on my floors.

When I walk around in my house my table and entertainment center (and other such things) shake as I walk past them.  (Heaven help me if someone jumps!)

My basement is not finished, so I can get at the underside of my floors.  What can I do to make them more sturdy?

What immediately pops to mind is just go an measure and cut a bunch of 2x4s and put them cross ways.  Does that sound like a good idea?  Are there hidden gotchas?  Is there a better way?

It sounds like the joists aren't properly fixed to the walls or they aren't big enough for the task at hand - keeping your floors up.

I'd get another builder in to take a look and quote for remedial work and then try and get the first builder to either sort out the problem or pay for someone else to do the work.


Is a floating perimeter slab a good approach for a dirt-floor shed? I'm building a 16' x 7' shed and chicken coop in Seattle. I want it to have a dirt floor and be safe from predators crawling underneath. I've been struggling with how best to do the "foundation". I saw a post where someone built one like the picture below. Basically an on-grade footer 6" wide, 6" deep, that the bottom plates get bolted to. I suppose this would float with any frost heave(?) I like the idea of something like this to prevent critters from burrowing under-neath and it seems easy enough to do. I wouldn't do it directly on grade, but a few inches below.

My frost line is 18" deep. If I do this with some 2x8 molds and put a piece of rebar in the molds do I need to worry about frost heave causing problems? After I dig the trench and place the molds should I put down a few inches of gravel before the pour? Would it help to have the molds a few inches above the bottom of the trench and let a bunch of concrete come out underneath? Any better ideas?

A lot of other people seem to do something like this with CMUs, but that seems like it would settle unevenly. I know I'm probably way over-thinking this given its intended purpose, but want it to last.

Thanks,

Yes, the poured, floated & sealed afterward slab is the best way to go, if you're up to it, & it's the best anchor. Definitely do at least a 4-inch bed of gravel under everything, this is what moves instead of a slab or blocks or pads.

However, absolutely consult your Building Dept. first & foremost. They have plans for their requirements & you'll need a permit & likely 3 inspections. They have to approve your plan & that approval will hinge on if you can do anymore "paving" on the property, if the shed/coop placement meets setbacks & if the planned structure is sound or even big enough for your vision.

Other than that stuff, going with blocks filled with concrete is pretty solid & much easier. If anchoring the building is done like putting in fence posts then just concrete pads halfway in & halfway out around the perimeter would accomplish the same overall desire & be the easiest by far.

Oh I initially forgot, if the back, friend & truck's good you can possibly use parking lot Wheel Stops (6x6's) for the foundation or more. There shouldn't be any monolithic requirement & they're higher density concrete that's rebarred. It's slightly rednecky, but saves an awful lot of bag hauling, temporary lung damage, form work & drying time...you'll love the pinning holes too.


How do I connect a 4-wire oven to a 3-wire outlet? I have a new whirlpool dbl oven with a 4 wire wiring harness-white, black, red and green. My old single oven compartments junction box (house was built in '79), has 3 wires-black, white, and copper ground. 50amp, 240v circuit. How do I correctly connect these?

You'd have to look at the old receptacle to be sure.  If it's a NEMA 10-50, then the following is true: it is being fed by common 6/2 grounded cable.

NEMA 10 is an obsolete and somewhat dangerous receptacle family, used in the old days for ranges and dryers.  It provides hot, hot and neutral - 240V hot-to-hot, and 120V hot-to-neutral.  It does not provide ground.

Often, this was installed using the common "/2" cable. There's no choice to color; it's always black, white and bare.  In this usage, the white is not a neutral; it's the other hot.  The bare wire is the neutral. Really.

Today, a white wire used as a "hot" must be marked with tape.  Back in the old days, that was not required if the usage was obvious.

I would make the argument that the old circuit is "grandfathered", which it is.  If the 10-50 receptacle broke, you could change it without breaking the grandfathering; in fact the stores sell 10-50R's for only that purpose. I would argue the same is true for changing it to a modern 4-prong NEMA 14-50.  I would then use the NEC 2014 rules which allow retrofitting a true ground. Can't promise you the inspector would agree.


To prime or not to prime I have just removed wallpaper and popcorn from plaster walls. I am ready to paint. I have purchased Behr paint and primer in one. Do I prime separately before painting with that? I can only assume the walls are from 1950 when the house was built.

If I were you, I'd prime them first. Understand that paint + primer doesn't actually mean you're doing 2 coats of work. They do sell some (the top end expensive stuff) that says it works in one coat, but the dirty little secret of paint is you can generally use one coat as a primer for the next. My bet is you purchased the base grade, which has less of the primer in it than the mid and top tiers.

I would probably go with an oil-base primer here just to be safe. Wallpaper glue can sometimes cause bonding issues with your paint. All oil-base primers should help prevent that issue.


Single pole switch still controlling multiple lights My dining room has a box on each wall with a single pole switch (for exterior light) next to a three way switch (for dining room interior light) that I attempted to replace with new switches. After changing all four switches out, all of the lights (two exterior lamps, dining room, kitchen, hallway, and bathroom) go out when I flip the first single pole exterior light switch off. This switch has 3 black wires connected to it which I’ve identified as the exterior switch, exterior hot, and the third is carrying power to the other light sources. I’ve tried wiring it multiple ways but it’s gotten me nowhere. Does anyone have an idea as to why this one single pole switch is controlling basically all of the general lighting in my house? Not sure what I did wrong. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
UPDATE
I did a pigtail of the supply and onward wires and attached the pigtail to the lower screw on the single pole switch, but the single pole switch is still controlling multiple lights. Very unsure what the issue could be. Would greatly appreciate any help. Thanks

It sounds like you swapped your hot and load on the first switch pigtailing the wrong one because when it is off everything else is off.
So your incoming hot should be on 1 side of the first switch that hot should jump to each of the other switches. If everything works correctly when switch one is on you have to figure out the mixed up wires , lucky thing you won’t hurt things by trying different combinations with them all on the same breaker or circuit.


Repairing crack in interior block wall I have begun making cosmetic repairs to the interior of my home which was built in the 50s. I've got brick veneer on the outside, cinder block inside and then a layer of either chicken wire plaster or just plaster applied directly to the block. After removing the top layer of plaster of a cracked area under a window sill corner, I discovered a settlement crack about an inch wide. The home is no longer settling so I know the crack isn't enlarging. My uncle who is a contractor instructed me to fill the gap with hydraulic cement, dry, apply a few layers of durabond and then top with a coat of mud to finish up the top layer.

Would this be an adequate repair to make sure it's done "right" and not just a quick patch job? Not trying to screw over the next owners.

UPDATE: just needs finishing sanding and primer/paint

I disagree with your uncle on the hydraulic cement part. Hydraulic cement when used properly has the viscosity more like water and is used to flow into cracks and crevices and harden which makes it hard to do on the side of a wall as it will just run down the block. In addition it is very hard when dried so eventually other cracks will appear on both sides of the crack you tried to fix in the future, because the block is weaker than the hydraulic cement.

The best approach is to place a backer rod which is like a mini pool noodle in the crack and then use elastomeric concrete crack filler, its like chaulking for concrete. The benefits are that it will bind to the concrete and if there is any movement in the future it will not crack and yes there will be movement however minor.
After you seal the joint then follow Uncles advice.


Covering lead-painted wood paneling with seamless transition to drywall (1/8'') After removing old wainscoting we discovered a second layer of wood paneling that is between 22'' and 36'' high (depending on location) and slightly set back from the drywall above. The drywall protrudes about 1/8''. The second layer of wood paneling is lead-painted. See picture below.
One option would be to tear everything out and install sheetrock but it's a mess with the lead-paint etc.
So here is my question: What material in 1/8'' thickness can I use to cover the wood paneling and have an almost seamless transition between the drywall and the bottom of the wall after mudding and painting. The goal is that everything just looks like a normal sheetrock or plaster wall. Sheetrock is only available in 1/4'' so it's not an option. Would 1/8'' hardboard work? 1/8'' plywood? Any alternatives?
Thanks!

If it is all 1/8" then you could get 1/8th sheet of plywood from the big box stores, cut it to size and then cover it. Personally, I'd just rip it off and continue with the drywall. Unless you plan on sanding or chewing on the lead paint panels I think you are fine.


What is the proper disconecting device for a heater + air handler not in sight of the panel? I'm finding all sorts of conflicting information on this, some of which is hearsay, local, or outdated.

For an electric heater and air handler unit, with #6 wire, that will be either 50 or 60 amps, what type of device is code compliant to be the "readily accessible" disconnecting means?

This is for new construction and the unit is not in sight of the panel. NEC 2017 and IRC 2012 apply here.

Some say the breaker built in to the air handler is enough. Some say it isn't. Some say to use a non-fusible disconnect, like this. Others say that the door on the front make it not "readily accessible" and some inspectors will fail it.

Can you please tell me what the correct device should be and cite a code reference to support it?

The applicable NEC cite for a typical air handler of this nature is 424.19(A)(2) (424.19(A)(1) does not apply to most air handlers as the fan motor in them is over 1/8 HP):

  424.19 Disconnecting Means. Means shall be provided to
  simultaneously disconnect the heater, motor controller(s),
  and supplementary overcurrent protective device(s) of all
  fixed electric space-heating equipment from all ungrounded
  conductors. Where heating equipment is supplied by more
  than one source, feeder, or branch circuit, the disconnecting
  means shall be grouped and marked. The disconnecting
  means specified in 424.19(A) and (B) shall have an ampere
  rating not less than 125 percent of the total load of the
  motors and the heaters and shall be lockable in accordance
  with 110.25.

  (A) Heating Equipment with Supplementary Overcurrent Protection. The disconnecting means for fixed electric
  space-heating equipment with supplementary overcurrent
  protection shall be within sight from the supplementary
  overcurrent protective device(s), on the supply side of these
  devices, if fuses, and, in addition, shall comply with either
  424.19(A)(1) or (A)(2).

  (2) Heater Containing a Motor(s) Rated over 1/8 Horsepower. The above disconnecting means shall be permitted
  to serve as the required disconnecting means for both the
  motor controller(s) and heater under either of the following
  conditions:

  (1) Where the disconnecting means is in sight from the
  motor controller(s) and the heater and complies with
  Part IX of Article 430.

  (2) Where a motor(s) of more than 1/8 hp and the heater are
  provided with a single unit switch that complies with
  422.34(A), (B), (C), or (D), the disconnecting means
  shall be permitted to be out of sight from the motor
  controller.

Given that the motor controller in an air handler is going to be inside the air handler (it's the fan relay there), unless your air handler has a unit switch on the outside to serve as a disconnecting means, then you need a motor-rated disconnecting means in sight of the air handler.  A non-fusible molded case disconnect like the one you linked works; you can also use a breaker-based "spa panel" type disconnect like the ones used for air conditioners provided the current rating is suitable, or even a subpanel if you wish to run the serviceman's receptacle and whatnot off the same set of wires as the air handler.

Also, having a door on a cabinet or cutout box does not violate "readily accessible" under the 2017 NEC:

  Accessible, Readily (Readily Accessible). Capable of being reached quickly for operation, renewal, or inspections
  without requiring those to whom ready access is requisite
  to actions such as to use tools (other than keys), to climb over or remove
  obstacles, or to resort to portable ladders, and so forth.

  Note: Use of keys is a common practice under controlled or supervised conditions.


Is it legal to use different wire types for pig-tails? When wiring an indoor switch, receptacle or fixture that has NM-B run into the box, is it legal to use a different type of wire (for example THHN) of the appropriate gauge to make pig-tails?
I can't imagine that this would not be legal, since one would connect NM-B to THHN in a box when transitioning from an interior run in cable to an exterior run in conduit, but just wanted to be sure.
If so, is it critical that the colors match, since, for example, it would be obvious by tracing the wire within the box that a short piece of white sheathed "neutral" wire was connected between a black "hot" wire exiting the box and the terminal on a standard toggle switch. Would putting some appropriate colored electrical tape on the wire be sufficient to remark the wire to be of the appropriate color?

It's OK to mix types of wire.
There are no exceptions to the color-coding or re-identifying rules for pigtails.  For example you could not use a green wire for pigtails with the hot or a black wire for a neutral pigtail.  What's clear to you today when you do it may not be clear to the next person looking at the wires folded up in the box.
If you were to re-identify a pigtail by taping the insulation end to end, it's pretty hard to imagine anyone complaining about that, even if it's not strictly compliant.


Makita mitre saw ls1018l not powering up Hi I have a makita mitre saw ls1018l which is not powering up at all I have checked to make sure power is coming through The cable which it is, I’ve changed the bushes and I’ve changed the stator As it was recommended to me as a solution but this still didn’t work , i have tried to test the armature with a multimeter which showed no bakes in the wiring and no shorts I tested the resistance on all the parts I could test and they were all the same resistance. I don’t know what it could be can anyone help
There is a soft start on the back of the saw but I don’t know how to test it.
Thanks Alex

I agree with brush changes but after that the cord and switch should be checked especially something as advanced as a soft start. The output from the switch module needs to be verified. Portable equipment power cords are notorious for having a broken conductor right at the strain relief.
when the neutral breaks a meter or a non contact tester may show voltage but no return path So the saw won’t run (a low z meter won’t show a voltage).
I get corded tools quite regularly cords, brushes, switch, are the main items that fail if the brushes look good not burnt or chipped the armature is usually fine. it is the cord or switch.
I recommend using the ohm meter for those not used to or trained to test with live voltage where you can the wide prong on the plug is the neutral in the us but put your meter on one of the prongs and find inside where the cord connects and test with the ohms function no reading try the other conductor, once you have a reading wiggle the cord around at the strain relief and plug. If your reading goes from a very low reading close to a short to a thousand or more ohms the cord is broken and needs to be replaced. Test both conductors if either one reads high time to the cord. An electronic switch is beyond our scope here but since you have changed everything else if the cord tests good that would be about all that is left to change.


What is an "indoor phone system" called? I want to install a phone system that I can "call" within my house. What I mean is that I want to call my wife from my home office to my kitchen using a phone system; then my wife can use the phone system in the kitchen to answer me. It is better if it is wireless. What should I call that? Do all indoor phones have this function?

As DMoores says, what you describe is called an intercom.

However there are at least two relatively low-cost alternatives.

Cordless Phones

Panasonic and other companies sell cordless phones in sets of two, three, four or more handsets. One handset plugs into your phone socket, all the handsets can make or receive normal phone calls. In addition any handset can call any other handset (they are numbered 1-4).

The base of the main handset (which connect to your phone socket) can optionally incorporate a digital answering machine. You can still use them in conjuncytion with an existing answering machine if that's what you want. An advantage of the built in one is that you can control the answering machine from any handset in the house (listen to recorded messages, delete them, etc).

In Europe (and probably everywhere else in the world outside the USA) the system now predominant is Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecomms (DECT) - I think there are other systems in the USA but you may also be able to buy a variant of DECT.

Panasonic probably have the best reputation among makers of these phones.

Home PBX

A basic home PBX can be surprisingly cheap. You only need one phone line to the outside world. You buy as a many internal handsets as you want (up to 6 or 8 depending on PBX) and wire up extension sockets in various rooms from the PBX. This works like an office system in that you dial 9 before making an outside call. You can configure them so that any extension can pick up an incoming call (if that's what you want). You can usually place restrictions of some extensions. The home PBXs I've used are about the size of a medium-sized hardback book.

I recommend the cordless phones - very small and convenient and don't require any wiring and don't need any extra services from your telco.


Line-to-Line Voltage Reads 0V (or low, 15V at most) on Primary of Main Breaker (L-N both read ~120V) My neighbor has a hot water tank that quit working earlier this week. I checked the breaker - looked good. I measured the voltage at the hot water tank; it read ~15Vac. I checked the double breaker for the hot water tank and it also measured ~15Vac. One step further, the line-to-line voltage coming into the main breaker read ~15Vac. Both 120Vac L-N branches give a voltage but one is at ~118Vac (good) and the other is around ~105Vac (hence my ~15Vac differential, it appears on the surface). When I open the main breaker, both L-N at the main breaker primary read ~120Vac. The hot water tank is the only 208/220 circuit in the house (and the only double breaker). Any idea what could be causing this suddenly? It looked to me like both branches were being fed, in phase, and that is why the difference between them is literally the difference between them. I had read that an open circuit on one of the main lines could cause this (the open line being backfed by the good line through the double breaker). But I'm not sure why the hot water tank would have worked up until this point.

I am not sure if this all adds up but maybe you lost a leg, and one leg is backfeeding the other through the water heater, you're seeing voltage drop from 118 to 105 across the water heater.  (I'd have guessed a bigger voltage drop but still...)

With the water heater breaker off, do you lose power anywhere?


Is is safe to only use a gfci with no ground wires downstream? If you use a GFCI outlet and the rest of the outlets downstream don't have a ground wire attached, are they still considered grounded and are they safe?

They are not grounded, though may be GFCI protected. If they are wired off the load side of the GFCI, then they are GFCI protected.  In which case they should be labeled with stickers that say "GFCI PROTECTED", and "NO EQUIPMENT GROUND ".


3" conduit with many bends - is it worth to build it? I am working on sending some cables (RG6, Cat5 and speaker cables) from basement to the attic. This is a typical 2-story house.

After reading some posts found over the Internet, I am now considering to build a conduit using PVC pipes. The conduit will be 3" in diameter, enough to put many wires inside.

However due to the location of the utility room, as well as the wall chosen to embed the conduit, it will have 6 bends in a total length around 55 feet. I am little bit worried about I really can add wires through this conduit after I build it, considering that it is quite long and has 6 bends in the total run.

What is your opinion? Thanks

This is actually quite simple.

Step one - use PVC electrical conduit, not PVC pipe.

Step two - provide an access point (such as an LB, or a junction box) for every 360 degrees (at most) of turn. This will be something that remains accessible by removing a panel when the walls are closed back up, like any other junction box access.

If you have 6 90 degree turns, either put in 3 90's and an access point (if using an LB, that can be the access point) or 4 90's an an access point, depending how the run works out best for placing the access point. Use electrical conduit sweeps, not plumbing 90's or 45's.

3, access point, 3 would be most balanced, but

4, access point, 2 is also fine.

There's no need to get too excited about leaving a pull string in place - you can always vacuum one in, or pull one in while pulling an old cable out. Do it, or don't do it, as you prefer. Do make sure that the ends of your conduit terminate in junction boxes from which the cables leave by fairly tight holes or grooves (or through proper cable clamps, but that can be tricky with pre-terminated cables), so that your conduit does not become your new rodent pathway and nest.


Venting a double kitchen sink (converting from an S trap to a P trap with AAV in a tight space) I'm replacing my double kitchen sink and replacing an S trap with a P trap.  There is no vent nearby that I can tie into easily, so I'm going with an under sink AAV.  Issue is, I don't have much space between the current s trap and where the drain ties into (through the floor):

Here are some ideas I had to fit a P trap and AAV on here:

I ran out of parts, but my idea is to use 90 degree elbows to circle back to the drain in the floor, and use another 90 pointed down or a j bend to get it into the drain.

Would that solution work without the risk of code violations?

Or would this configuration work better?

Thank you for the advice!

In your 4th photo you have the sanitary tee oriented improperly ( horizontally instead of vertically ) but in your 6th photo you have it correct ( but you have an incorrect fitting on the top ).

The sanitary tee will sit on the straight drain pipe going down through the bottom of the cabinet, it will accept the pipe coming from the trap. Depending on space you may not need to take such a circuitous route to get the trap outlet into the san tee. ( Meaning you may not need the 90 elbow going into the san tee, the trap swivels and you can cut the pipes to try and make a straight run to the san tee )

For the AAV you can come off the top of the san tee and then 90 over to the side of the cabinet and then 90 up so the AAV can go up between the side or back of the bowl and the cabinet ( anywhere there is room for it. )

It needs to be a high as possible. Put a threaded connection just after the 90 that turns up so you can pull it out if you need to change or service the AAV in the future.


How can I remove rust stains from enamel sink? Is there a sure-fire way to get rust stains off of an enamel sink?

Not sure about "Sure fire" but a product called CLR (Calcium, Lime, Rust remover) is a good start.


Understanding fireplace junction box outlets I want to setup my gas fireplace for home automation, roughly following a guide like this or this.

I'm planning to use GoControl Z-Wave Isolated Contact Fixture Module - FS20Z-1 or the FortrezZ
MIMOlite.

I need to get power to the Z-Wave Relay. Under my fireplace is a junction box with 3 outlets: TRANS, REM/AUX, and FAN. Just like the one shown below.

Does it matter which of these 3 outlets I plug into? I cannot figure out what the difference between them are, even after looking at the fireplace manual. Are these simple 120V outlets that are always on?

Trying to understand why each is labeled differently and what that means for me.

That's just a junction box cover with receptacles that are labeled for fireplace units. Indeed they are "simple 120V outlets that are always on" as can be seen in this picture of the backside of the box:


Removal of light switch. Power only to front light, no power to outlets or anything else We wanted to install a security camera in the front porch and as a component of that we needed constant power to the front door which is currently controlled by a light switch.

That light switch was 1 of 3 and was the right most. The middle was a 3 pole switch and the third was a regular light switch. We removed the first switch by connecting the hot and line switched to each other. There was what we think is a ground attached to the side of the switch but when it was all completed. Only the front light had power. All the rest of the outlets and switches in the circuit had none. Any ideas where we could have gone wrong?

Image of the switch we removed and its wiring

Back of the switch we removed with what i think is the ground wire disconnected

Wiring of the adjacent switch

Your problem is that you didn't get all the wires

Your issue is that there was more wiring branching off from the always-hot feed using the switch itself as a junction point; not only was there an always-hot wire coming into the switch via the backstab, the matching screw played host to two always-hots that fed other things by using a middle-looped wire.  When you removed the switch, you left that onward feed unconnected, which is why stuff stopped working.

Fixing it is as simple as cutting that onward-wire in half at the stripped portion, stripping the ends sufficiently so it can be nutted in with the other two wires that went to the switch, and incorporating the two ends into the wirenut junction that replaced the switch, all with the circuit turned off at the breaker of course.


in-line water filter gets clogged weekly after well-water pipe replacement About a month ago, the pipe that brings the water from the well into the house was replaced. I have a inline water filter between the water tank and the UV remediation lamp. I replaced the filter with a new filter after the work was done.

Since the replacement, our water pressure is weaker than it was before. I checked the pressure gauge in the tank and it works as expected. After two weeks, the filter got clogged. I had the well contractor come in and suggested that I should've let the water run for sometime after the work was done. I told him that I did let the water run for 5 mins. then shock the pipes, and let them run for another 5 mins and put in the filter. He said I should've let it run longer because some dirt might been kicked up during the work and that's what clogged the filter. I replaced the filter again. Now, it is two weeks since then and the filter is dirty again. It is not clogged but it is affecting the water pressure.

I brought up the issue with the well contractor and his solution is to remove the filter so the water flows freely. The problem cannot be the pipe since it is new and the pump is working fine. His other suggestions are to add a water softener or a screen/second filter that will catch the debris before they get to the filter.

My Question: what could be the cause of so much debris coming in the water after the pipe was replaced? It was never like this before even when there was a leak in the pipe before it was replaced.

When I asked this question to the contractor, his response was that "well water  is never the same. It changes when it rains. Before it was clear, and now the rain must've bring dirt from the surface". While I am aware that whatever is on the surface eventually affect the water table the well is feeding from: I am not quite sure i believe this is how it works.

I'm assuming your pipes were quite old and that may be part of the reason it was replace.  In that case your experience is entirely normal although it's also quite inconvenient.  Working on old plumbing does disturb deposits and sediment that has collected over the years.  As noted, but best thing is to run the water full-force for some time.  5 minutes, however, is nowhere near long enough.  I'd start at an hour or so and continue until water collected in a bucket no longer shows sediment in the bottom after sitting a while.


What is this rubber tubing called? What is this rubber looking elbow here called and where can it be purchased? It's the black part that is fastened to the 3/4" pvc using hose clamps.

For some context, this is a condensate drain on an air conditioner. It was very helpful to be able to take it apart while troubleshooting a clog. I'm trying to add an auxiliary drain and need a piece that will do the right angle. I need to the name to find out where to buy it though.

I'd prefer to have a way to take it apart rather than gluing the 3/4" pvc together. I'm not a condensate or hvac expert so I may want to redo it later as well.

This is a low-pressure application, so almost any rubber hose of the correct diameter should work. Measure the plastic tubing outside diameter and look in an auto parts shop for heater hose or radiator hose of that inside diameter. Some radiator hoses have a right-angle bend, and smaller diameter heater hose should be flexible enough to bend without kinking.


Electrolux EOB51001 oven making loud vibration noise when switched on I have quite an old Electrolux oven (model number EOB 51001), which has started making a loud vibration noise instantly as soon as it is turned on. This happens when turning it to any setting other than off, including grill or even just the light being turned on. So this rules out the main oven fan - it definitely isn't that. The sound seems to be coming from somewhere around the top of the oven, near the front.

Grateful for any suggestions on what might be causing this and how to rectify.

If it is only associated with heating, it is likely that one of your heating elements has cracked and is arcing. This is only going to get worse and is dangerous, you need to get it serviced ASAP.


Installed dimmer switch caused another switch to stop working I installed a dimmer in my bedroom today and I just realised that the dimmer in my mom's room and in the corridor is not working anymore...

Followed standard procedure :
Breaker off, changed the old switch for the dimmer and then turned the breaker on again and the dimmer is working fine.

I can't find any help online...

If it can help, it's a dimmer with a 3-way compatibility, but I didn't connect the wire for it.

I'm a beginner, I wondered if any of you could help, thank you. (Did I mixed up the Ground wire with the black one?)

You really need a multi-meter or a non-contact voltage tester to find out which wires are hot, but if you want to you could try to do this without testing.

The white wires are "neutrals" (not grounds). Looks like you have bare grounds connected to the metal box with screws in the back. Leave those alone.

Do the B, R and W wires in the right cable go to the light in your room? If so, the B & W wires in the cable to the left are the feed to the hall and the other bedroom. The B is hot and the W is neutral. Somehow you disconnected the feed and did not reconnect it.

Probably the B and the R on the right were connected to the original switch. If so, one or the other of the B and R is always hot and the other is the switched hot which controls the light in your room.

The B in the left hand cable should be connected to the always hot from the right cable. The two W wires should be connected to each other (and to nothing else).


What is this type of sink drain/plug called? We recently moved into a condo, and the sinks have screw-in drain cover. We are trying to find a replacement drain cover that is able to close, but I can't figure out what the type of drain is called to see if this exists!
The drain itself has a plus-shaped brace that sits about an inch in, with a threaded hole in the middle. It looks a lot like a bathtub drain, but the threading of the hole is slightly different.
The cover is a wide metal disc with a short bar coming from the bottom which is partially threaded. I feel like this is the type of drain + cover in a lot of hotels.

EDIT: 7/8
I thought it might be a 'pop up click' or 'click clack' drain (as two answers suggested), and ordered a pop up stopper and bolt, but the length of the bolt is way longer than our drains (even in 'compressed' position).
The length of the stem on our drain cover is ~33mm, with ~13mm thread, while the 'pop up' we got has a 66mm bolt, with much larger thread. See image below for comparison.

I have always heard those type are called pop up drain plugs , it looks like yours is missing the rubber seal. If when you press it it drops down and press again it pops up you probably only need to find the rubber seal.


How do i measure the shape of an irregular curved wall? I want to make a shelf which fits exactly. However the wall isn't straight, it's curved. How do I measure the shape so i can draw it and cut it on the wood for the shelf?

You use a scribing tool

Example 1
Example 2

You can also use regular compasses with care. Or make something up with a pencil and a piece of wood to hold the pencil and offset it.

You put the shelf next to the wall, at the height you want it, pull the scribe along the wall with the pencil or marker on the shelf - this produces a cut line.

Just imagine doing this horizontally instead of vertically, part way up the wall instead of at the bottom.

Similar product being used to fit counter-top to uneven wall