Would enveloping an attic in insulation cause any problems? My attic currently has batt insulation between the joists, and a second layer of batt insulation on top of that.  In the summer, the second floor is quite a bit warmer than the first floor. I'm thinking about adding more insulation to the attic, but I'm not sure what the best approach is.

Originally I was considering simply throwing another layer of batt insulation on the floor.  Now I'm thinking about insulating the roof instead, by adding batt insulation between the rafters.

Obviously I'd have to extend the baffles, to allow air to flow up to the ridge vent.

Would this approach cause any moisture, or any other unforeseen problems?  Is there any benefit to this approach, over simply adding an additional layer of batts to the floor? Should I use faced or unfaced batts?

As you've discovered, an insulated attic doesn't really provide much comfort, even if it does reduce heat flow by some amount. In order to get true second-floor comfort with insulation, you need to really, really improve the amount to R-60 or greater, and you need to use insulation that's opaque to infrared radiation, which fiberglass is not. I suggest adding 10 to 20 inches of loose-blown cellulose on top of the layers of batts.

Insulating your attic at the roofline presents many problems. To build an unvented roofline insulation assembly virtually requires spray foam, which is incredibly expensive in the amounts needed to actually produce comfort. To do this without spray foam requires ventilation channels, reducing the amount of space available between the rafters for insulation unless you fur out the rafters to get more depth or fasten several inches of foam or mineral wool boards underneath them. Finally, you need an airtight layer under that, which usually means drywall, which is a waste if you're not planning to use the space as finished area anyway.

There is an experimental method of doing a much cheaper unvented roof without spray foam and drywall using 4 lb/sf dense-packed cellulose between furred-out rafters, held in place with a vapor retarder (not barrier) membrane like Intello or MemBrain (no affiliation) but, again, this is experimental.

The physics behind what's happening in your attic is that insulation doesn't do anything to reduce the heat flow, it just slows it down. If you don't have enough insulation to slow the heat flow down so much the heat fails to make it through the entire insulation layer during a daily cycle, the heat gets through your ceiling and you feel uncomfortable. Even if it's not a lot of heat, it's enough to raise the temperature of your ceiling plaster or drywall, and that heat radiates down onto your head, and you feel much less comfortable than the air temperature alone would suggest. Having less than the critically large amount of insulation necessary to slow the flow enough will reduce the heat flow and reduce your AC bills, but not enough to prevent comfort problems anyway.

This suggests an alternative approach to adding like  two more feet of insulation: actually reduce the heat flow itself with radiant barriers. Don't put it at the roofline; the best place is above the roof sheathing itself, but this may be hard if you don't plan to re-roof soon. The next-best place is above the existing insulation. To prevent dust from degrading its performance, use a type with multiple staggered layers, such as http://www.savenrg.com/upton.htm (No affiliation)


Effects of heat pump capacity? I have a portable heat pump/air conditioner that I want to return under warranty due to some thermostat and compressor issues. The only other unit available I can replace it with has slightly less heating and cooling capacity. My current unit is 4.1KW cooling/3.8KW heating, the replacement would be 3.5KW for both heating and cooling. What effect will I notice in the reduced capacity? Longer running to reach the desired temperature? 3.5KW should still be adequate to heat and cool my roughly 18sqm room but I'm unsure of what effect I will notice exactly in the reduced capacity.

It depends heavily

Because ultimately, you have a room with heating/cooling loads, which you're trying to meet with the heat pump. 18 sq. m. is approximately 200 sq. ft., and I've generally seen 30 BTU/hr/sq. ft. as a rule of thumb for rough sizing. With this guideline, you'd need 6 kBTU/hr, or 1.75kW. Because your heat pump is going to be twice this, it's unlikely you'll notice an impact.

Why it depends

The problem with 30 BTU/sq. ft. is that is makes quite a few assumptions about your HVAC loads. If your insulation is especially poor, you will need more HVAC power. If you live in a milder climate (ex. 20-30 °C all year) you might not need any HVAC capability. There are too many variables for us to definitively say how you will be impacted.

How to determine the impact

If you found your old unit was running constantly, that's a sign that it's incapable of keeping up with your heating and cooling requirements. If, however, it was nearly always off (or, if it used an inverter, it was running at very low power) then it was likely significantly oversized. If you don't remember, try looking back at previous electrical bills. Unless all your appliances are also electric, or you drive an EV, you should be able to tell approximately how much power your old unit used. For a ~4kW unit, you should expect 1-2kW of electrical draw while it's operating (at full power).


How should I hang racks from the garage ceiling with trusses? During installation of the 4' x 8' SafeRacks, I discovered that the ceiling joists in my garage are 2x4 trusses, instead of solid joists.  Unfortunately, the product comes with 3" lag bolts, and after consulting with their customer service, they insist that I need at least 2" of solid wood penetration (the ceiling truss would only provide 1.5").

Would it be acceptable to substitute the 3" lag bolt with 2x 2" lag bolts per location?  The product is rated to hold 600lb, and I doubt I would utilize the full weight capacity.  At the same time, I don't want to put my family at any safety risks.

EDIT: Thank you for your comments so far.  I really appreciate your responses!  Here is a picture of my garage ceiling, prior to drywall being installed.

8/27 EDIT: Given the expert advice here, I have decided to return the racks.  I'm going to look for shelving that are mounted on the sidewalls.  I'm very glad that I found this site.  Thank you - you guys rock!

2x's laying flat as opposed to on edge are going to bend or break when weight is suspended from it over time. The longer the board the faster it will compress or fail. To remedy this problem you must add support to the existing framing members. I think the simplest way is to install additional 2 x 4's (on edge) attached against the edge of the original 2 x 4's. It should have a "L" shape profile. You didn't mention the span of the rafters, but you may consider adding webbing above the platform. All this is are lengths of 2 x 4 attached to the platform joists at one end and the other to the mating roof rafter above. This is probably over kill, but still another way to prevent a failure.


Wiring a Ceiling-fan and switch while disconnecting an outlet from the switch A couple of years ago I replaced a ceiling light in the MB with a ceiling fan/light using a remote control wall switch (light off/on with dimmer; fan off/on, high, med, low).  There is only one switch. This worked great until I plugged the vacuum into the wall outlet nearest the switch,  which was apparently wired to the wall switch. This action immediately fried the wall switch and the bottom half of the outlet ceased working.  Note, it was only the bottom half of the outlet that caused the failure as the top half of the outlet was in use with a clock radio without a problem.

What I now wish to do is:
1)  Put in one wall switch that will turn on/off the power to the fan/light both.
2)  Disconnect the outlet from the wall switch so that the outlet, both top and bottom, are always on and not effected by the switch.
3)  Then I will wire in a fan/light remote control that will work when the wall switch is on but not when it is off.  This part I can do.

The Question:  What is the proper wiring configuration for the switch and the outlet to meet the above conditions?

The Current Wiring Situation:
The Switch:  Three sets of wires, including white and black, white and black, white and black and red.  All having a grounding wire.
The Outlet:  Two sets of wires, including white and black, and white and black and red.  Currently it is wired as such when looking at it as if looking at the BACK of the outlet:  Upper Right (UR) is White, Lower Right (LR) is White, Upper Left (UL) is Black, Lower Left (LL) is Red.  Both sets have a grounding wire.
There are a total of four outlets in the MB.
The Ceiling:  One set of wires which is white and black with grounding wire.

Thanks for your help

Correct, it is a wireless remote @ThreePhaseEel.

Your problem is actually very easy to fix based on the information you've given -- simply replace the outlet with a new one without breaking the tab off the hot side, connect the black wire to the hot screw on the outlet, and cap off the red wire at the outlet with a wirenut instead of connecting it to the new outlet.


Does a painted side of a glass cover for a fluorescent light go towards or away from the light? In my building, there are ceiling and wall fixtures that use fluorescent bulbs.  The cover of them is just a sheet of glass and there is a large square in the middle that is painted white.  My question is, does the painted side go toward the bulbs or is the painted side supposed to be pointed toward the outside, away from the bulbs?

I have seen a coat of semi-translucent paint on the inside of a fixture before.  My understanding was that the paint was to help dim the direct brightness of the bulb by making the cover more opaque. The paint was put on the inside to help prevent it being worn away, which is how I would place the glass.  I've seen the paint chipped off the glass before, and putting it towards the bulb may help prevent this. (plus its easier to clean and looks better?)


Is there a thing that allows you to easily control which way down a pipe water can flow I'm trying to design a somewhat complex small system, in which based on the configuration of certain other valves, water could be flowing along a pipe in either direction.
To be clear, given any particular configuration of the other valves the flow direction should be entirely fixed.
But different configurations could lead to that fixed flow being one way, or the other.
Given the complexity of this design, it would be nice to be able to put in something that ensured that the water was flowing in the expected direction. So ...

Do there exist valves which are mono-directional, but where I can (by e.g. turning a handle) change the direction of allowed travel?

Evidently. One of several rsults of searching for reversible check valve. Image from flow-rite.com, no affiliation, never heard of them

However, I'd suggest re-examining the entire design. When complexity leads to wanting more complexity, it's more often an overly complex design ethos than a need for complex parts.


Moisture is leaking through my basement walls, but the house is surrounded by concrete. Worth fixing? I'm in Minneapolis, in a house built in 1886, fully renovated a few years ago. The basement is finished. This has been an extremely wet winter, with lots of snow and ice that is now melting.

Some guests pointed out a damp patch of carpet in the basement. When I pulled it up, it looks like water is leaking in through an exterior wall. I can't see more without taking off the drywall.

The basement has leaked only once previously, but that was due to a blocked sewer clean-out pipe, and that is not the cause this time.

The house is surrounded an all sides by sidewalk. It is graded/angled to allow for drainage. The house has gutters, but they are completely blocked with ice. I suspect that the leak is related to the build-up of ice on the sidewalk.

I am deciding between these options:

Pay a contractor to come in and investigate. Because there is sidewalk on the exterior, I expect any repairs will be very expensive.
Just fix the damage, and in the future try to be more diligent about keeping the sidewalk clear of ice.

What are your thoughts?

I would get the ice away from the walls by a yard or so to try and minimize the incoming.

Drying out the damage is next - perhaps a dehumidifier...

Could you consider a drastic (and expensive probably) solution - by excavating down each outside wall and putting a treatment to seal the wall, also uses a plastic membrane (the one we had to use has "hats or thimbles" molded into it to make it 1/2" thick to allow the water to drain.

You could also consider adding a layer of insulation to the wall at the same time if appropriate...


New electrical service to detached ADU/garage I'm planning to bring dedicated 240V 1Ø power to a meter box attached to an outdoor face of a detached ADU/garage building, then on inside to a 225A main breaker in the ADU (apartment) portion of the structure, and then continue the main service wiring on to feed another 125A breaker sub-panel located in the attached RV bay.

I'd rather use a main breaker box as my sub-panel, as opposed to using a main lug box.

Does anyone foresee a problem with the AHJ (WA State) for this arrangement?

Thanks to all for your questions and comments.  New 240V 1Ø service will be installed underground from the street transformer by IP&L to a new meter box w/ disconnect on side of the structure, then directly through the wall to a 200A main breaker box in the RV bay (serving an anticipated instantaneous max load of ~50A, primarily 120/240V lights and outlets in the unheated RV Bay), and then approx. 25' feeder through 3"Ø PVC conduit buried under the RV Bay concrete floor to a 200A subpanel breaker box in the garage, serving the 800sf ADU (gas heat) and unheated 775sf garage.

I have yet to finalize the wiring map, but am confident that the 200A service and 60 combined breaker spaces between the two boxes will be entirely adequate to handle all my initially desired circuits, as well as those possibly needed in the foreseeable future -- at least mine!

If anyone cares to comment on wire size/type needed for the 25' buried feeder run, I'd be pleased to hear them.  Otherwise, the branch circuit wire sizing will be IAW standard practice, with no individual branch runs anticipated to be longer than 75-85'.

Thanks again to all who responded -- you've been a huge help!

Best regards, Russ

Thank you TPE, your responses are much appreciated.  However, your 2nd assumption regarding the ADU/garage ". . . that it's the only garage on the property", is incorrect:

This detached ADU/Garage addition is built on a single residential lot, and co-located behind my home/garage (currently served by 200A metered service, with the service panel located inside the attached garage).  As such, according to Spokane County Building and Planning, land accommodating the ADU structure will never be allowed to be sub-divided into a separate residential plat.  I.e., any future sale of my current residence must also include the ADU/Garage unit.  Installing the second metered service line to the new ADU/Garage is a matter of convenience only to avoid having to upgrade my home's existing 200A service line/panel to 400A, and subsequently running a 200A feeder from there.
My home, as well as numerous others that I'm aware from the 1990 build era, has it's main service panel located inside the attached garage: does the IRC specifically prohibit this practice currently?  In my reading of NEC Art. 240.24, “readily accessible” means being located so a person can reach the OCPD quickly without having to climb over or remove obstacles; I don't find specific distance or location limitations, such as having to descend a stairway, or opening man-door(s) to access the panel.  If such a limitation exists, is there any requirement preventing the new ADU feeder sub-panel from being located in the wall adjacent to a mid-flight stair landing (not on a step), but still nine steps below the ADU floor level?

Once again TPE, I certainly appreciate all your input, and will definitely get explicit approval from the AHJ for the final component configuration prior to electrical rough-in.

(P.S.  I haven't figured out how to get all of my verbose thoughts into a "Comment", so have once again resorted to opening another "Answer".)

Normally, you wouldn't be able to do as you describe

Normally, a carriage-house ADU setup (with the ADU atop a garage space) is set up on the only garage on the property, with use of the (detached from the main house) garage shared between the main unit and the ADU. Were that the case in your situation, your proposal would be no good, even though your utility's metering rules are silent about separate metering vs. master metering, as it would involve serving what effectively can be treated as a common area of a two-family or multifamily dwelling (the garage, shared between both/all units on the property) from equipment that serves an individual dwelling unit (the ADU), which violates the intent of NEC 210.25(B), if not the letter:

  (B) Common Area Branch Circuits. Branch circuits installed
  for the purpose of lighting, central alarm, signal, communications, or other purposes for public or common areas of a two-family dwelling, a multifamily dwelling, or a multi-occupancy
  building shall not be supplied from equipment that supplies an
  individual dwelling unit or tenant space.

Since that's not your situation, though...

Thankfully, in your case, the main house has its own attached garage, separate from the ADU's garage, which eases things significantly, as it allows us to treat this in a fashion much closer to what you describe, which is basically a detached duplex configuration, with each dwelling-unit/garage combination being served and metered separately, but with the garages treated as part of their respective dwelling units.

This makes your existing plans for the ADU much more feasible.  Load-wise, your ADU comes out to a conservative 102A of load using the Article 220 procedures, given:

800 sf of ADU at 3VA/ft2
3 20A small appliance branch circuits (2 kitchen, 1 laundry)
an 8kVA range allowance (good for ranges up to 12kVA)
a 5kVA allowance for an electric dryer
a 4.5kVA allowance for an electric hot water heater
and a 1.5ton, 13 SEER air conditioner outdoor unit (9A @ 230VAC).

With this, we add 3600VA for the currently proposed RV receptacle and another ~800VA (2400VA at 35%) for lighting in the garage, which puts us just shy of 125A, well within what your 200A service can handle.

Equipment-wise, I would use a 200A meter-main on the outside of the ADU/garage that is configured with a single main disconnect feeding a small (8 spaces is common) panel.  This provides enough room for a separate shutoff for the ADU feeder by itself, as well as shutoffs for the garage and RV-bay feeders, while allowing a 200A feeder to the ADU, if so desired.  Since your utility's metering rules are silent on whether to use ring-style vs. ringless metering hardware, and the approved meter socket list specifies both ring-style and ringless sockets, I would speak with the utility for details.

If you insist on separate metering of the RV bay, then we can use a WEP2212EV with the 200A portion feeding a tap (in a 2" RMC nipple) to a 125A panel for the garage as well as providing the main 200A feeder to the ADU, and the 50A portion providing a separate feed to a RV-panel box in the RV bay.

As to the subpanels: GO BIG OR GO HOME

The key number with panels more often than not is not how many amps a panel can handle (a 125A panel is more than adequate for anything you're doing in the garage, for instance), but how many spaces the panel has.  Considering that putting a large panel in now is far cheaper than upsizing the panel later, I would use a 200A, 40- or 42-space panel for the ADU and a 125A, 24- or 30-space panel for the garage.  Both of these can be main lug or main breaker panels at your leisure (unless the garage is on a feeder tap; in that case, the garage panel must be main breaker in order to protect the feeder tap and busbars properly), since they are being fed with feeders from the meter-main/meter-pack hardware outside, and can be of whatever current make and model you wish.

Your plan to run a fat PVC conduit for the feeder to the ADU is wise; however, you'll need to LB it from the wall into the back of the meter-pack/meter-main box, and perhaps use a reducer to narrow it down to 2.5" or even 2" for the nipple connecting the LB to the meter-pack, depending on the size of the knockouts available on the meter-pack/meter-main you are using.  (This isn't an issue from a fill standpoint since nipples <24" long are permitted to use 60% of the available conduit space, vs. 40% for longer runs.)

ADU panel placement

The ADU subpanel needs to be accessible at all times to the ADU occupants, as per NEC 240.24(B)(2):

  (2) Branch-Circuit Overcurrent Devices. Where electric service and electrical maintenance are provided by the building
  management and where these are under continuous building
  management supervision, the branch-circuit overcurrent devices supplying any guest rooms or guest suites without permanent provisions for cooking shall be permitted to be accessible
  only to authorized management personnel.

Given that the garage is effectively being treated as part of the ADU here, putting the panel for the ADU in its attached garage is not an issue; however, there can be merit to having it in a space which is less likely to be blocked by storage or other items, as such blockages violate NEC 110.26(B):

  (B) Clear Spaces. Working space required by this section shall
  not be used for storage. When normally enclosed live parts are
  exposed for inspection or servicing, the working space, if in a
  passageway or general open space, shall be suitably guarded.

This brings us to your plan to locate the panel at a stairway landing; this is acceptable, as 240.24(F) only prohibits locating a panel over steps of a stairway, but does require the landing to be large enough to fit the entire clear floor space required by 110.26(A).

RV provisions

While it's certainly possible to simply have a TT-30 receptacle in a regular junction box wired to a 30A, 1-pole breaker in the meter-main or the garage panel to serve the RV, I would instead run a 50A feeder from the meter-main to a dedicated, surface-mounted RV box.  This provides enough room for upgrading to a 50A RV receptacle later, and just enough room to tuck a 60VA(W) lighting load into the picture, even with the RV receptacle maxed out (we're exploiting the 220.5(B) rounding rule here, but you probably aren't going to be maxing out the RV load in the bay with the lights in the bay on, no?).

That RV box, at the moment, will need to have at minimum a TT-30 receptacle (for your current RV) and a spare space that can accept an appropriately typed 15A AFCI breaker (for the RV bay lights); a Talon TL37US with a Q115AF for the lights will do the trick here, and provide a 20A duplex GFCI for general use within the RV bay as well.


How should I avoid corrosion at this water heater connection? I installed a new water heater 2-3 years ago. I put 3/4 pipe to PEX adapters on it and then used pex to connect to my house. On the hot water outlet, corrosion and rust is forming. I bought some plastic lined nipples after I read about dialectric separation, but in thinking about it, I'm pretty sure my Whirlpool water heater already has the plastic lined nipples. There is a warning sticker about not applying heat because its conneted to a plastic dip tube. Could the brass fitting on the galvanized pipe be causing the rust? How can I fix this? Is there such a thing as a pex adapter that is coated with plastic so its insulated? Should I just take it apart, clean it, and put teflon tape on the threads? I will probably still add joint compound (Rector Seal).

With brass connected to galvanised pipe you can get some galvanic corrosion.  There is something called a dielectic union which I've never needed to use.  That may help.  You'll need to clean up the rust. That may require cutting out the rusted part or at least scraping it off.

Here's a picture that describes the dielectric union joint.


If an AC guy checks a system and finds it 100% out of refrigerant, what is the correct next step? I'm doing a sort of feasibility follow up regarding a visit from our neighborhood AC repair person. He checked our system and found it was completely out of refrigerant. He added 7.5 lbs.

I'll add more to this after I see some answers, but I wanted to know if he did the right thing or if he should have done more. I was out of refrigerant, so he filled it back up. Seems open and shut but...

I would love your thoughts.

Edit 1

Wow! I wasn't expecting this to get so much traffic. In any case, you guys did a great job answering my question. The full story is that, as I said, my AC stopped cooling, but the unit was running fine as far as I knew. I called our neighborhood guy that does a lot of jobs for our area and has good word of mouth feedback on NextDoor. He saw my freon was out and filled it back up. 7.5 lbs of freon. A month later, it stops cooling again. I have him come out and look and he says the freon is down to half. The unit itself is a 1999 unit so it really is about time to replace the thing. Over the past several years I had spend at least $600 annually on maintenance so this should pay for itself in a few years. I had 3 people in total review the unit and 2 of them identified an issue with the indoor unit (condenser coil or something...I don't know the exact terminology). It was only after all of this that I felt like the first guy should have done more investigating the prior month, especially with the freon being slap dry.

In the end I replaced an 8 SEER unit for a 14.5 SEER unit. I'm hoping that will save me a good bit on my electric bill. I'm looking into other ways I can save on that, but that's a question for another thread.

Thanks!

If the system still had pressure you could add the correct amount of refrigerant and get the system running again. However the correct fix should be to find the leak, fix the leak, add suction and discharge filter driers, evacuate the system, then recharge with refrigerant. Just recharging with refrigerant guarantees the service company another service call to again recharge the system, since it will again leak out. I would explain your options and let you decide. My unit is 19 years old and has no leaks and has never had to have refrigerant added. What a great cost savings for me.


How do I place a terminal fence post next to my house? I'm about to begin setting all of my terminal posts for a chain link fence.  However, upon digging the post hole for the terminal post that goes up against the house, I ran into a possible problem.  After digging about 12 inches down, I ran into concrete ( I assume this is from the garage's foundation and perhaps the basement as well), and it runs away from the house for about 11 inches.    That means between the terminal post and the house would be an eleven inch gap.  The fence is intended to keep the dogs inside, and that gap would be too much of a problem.

The fence fabric is 48" in height, and the post is 72".  The terminal post needs to be 50" above ground with the remaining 22" buried.  Do any of you have any suggestions on how to approach this situation?

I had the same situation at my place, I set  the post and ran the top rail past it to the house and set elbows to make a hoop to carry the chain link past the post. I did not want to screw anything to the house so I rebent wall brackets to clamp the top and bottom rails to the line post


Fixing signage flush to concrete block I have a number of large aluminium signs (4ft x 3ft) that I need to fix flush to pre-cast concrete slabs.  Ideally I would like the fixings to be invisible rather than screw heads which will be visible and have been trying to source some kind of solution to no avail - Can anyone advise please?
Many thanks

I would try a construction glue in a caulking-gun

Random example from Internet, any product with same characteristics will do

  Waterproof: Can be used in interior or exterior applications
  Versatile: For use on wood, metal, plastic, foam, mirror, concrete and brick

I've used a similar sort of adhesive to attach small plastic signs to rough granite, with mixed success. Some lessons -

You need the surfaces to be clean, dry and free from dust or loose debris.
If the back of the sign is very smooth, it might be worth experimenting with roughening it with sandpaper. This may depend on the specifiic adhesive.
When fixing signs on a vertical surface, I found it best to support the sign until the adhesive sets. I fabricated a temporary support using scrap wood and other materials.


GFCI seemed to fizzle and pop, and now works as a non-GFCI outlet - what happened? An outdoor GFCI that's under a covered porch has been working fine for a long time, but recently started failing to turn off when the 'test' button is hit. Here's what I observed.

Right after plugging something into the outdoor GFCI outlet, the GFCI and a light that gets power from it both turned off. I realized I may have accidentally hit the 'test' button on the GFCI while plugging this bulky plug in, which has happened before. I pressed reset and as expected, the light and outlet both got power back, but once power was back I could here an electric fizzling sound. I pressed reset again and firmer, and while depressed the power was off and when released the power and fizzling sound came back. I pressed test intentionally to see if that was working, and it did cut the power. Upon pressing reset a few moments after that, the power and fizzling sound came back, and then after a second or two a sudden pop and flash of blue from within the outlet, as if something arced. Power stayed on, and now when I press 'test' nothing happens and when I press 'reset' power is off when depressed and on when released. The outlet seems to function normal aside from 'test' not cutting power (and the test button itself appears half-depressed and not being fully released).

I'm wondering what could've happened, and what to watch out for if opening this up. Will simply replacing the GFCI be good enough, or should other follow up measures be taken to ensure safe functioning?

What happened?

Turns out, "outdoor leak-proof covers" don't actually work.
The GFCI was destroyed by the weather.
Your pressing "test" exposed the weather damage, and finished the beast off.
The noticeable arcing after you reset was grim warning of imminent hazard.  Your healthy fear of electrical things should've kicked in; it certainly would have mine!
You tinkered with it instead; this ultimately welded the contact closed.

You now have a GFC.  Ground Fault Circuit (absolutely nothing).

The quick fix is to replace this GFC with an outdoor-rated GFCI+receptacle.  You'll be doing this again though.

The good fix is don't leave valuable electronics outside.  Follow this circuit back inside the building, and find the next receptacle on this circuit that's closer to the supply.  Follow the circuit from receptacle to receptacle until you find one that's in the nice dry indoors.  Fit a GFCI+receptacle there, test it, then feed the rest of the circuit off its LOAD terminals.  Replace this GFC with a plain receptacle.


What is under my floor I am removing vinyl flooring with cork tiles underneath and noticed some green bits under the floor. Can this be asbestos?

This flat was built in 1988 and I bought it this year

Asbestos was identified in the 70’s as a health concern by the late 80’s it had strict regulations for inspecting and removal although the EPA ban in the US & many other countries also banned asbestos. Asbestos was still legal into the early 90’s in some areas if you are concerned have the material tested. Color of a material is not an indication if it has asbestos.

With all that said most contractors quit using asbestos based products prior to the mid 80’s due to lawsuits, but testing is the only way to know with certainty.


Can a cheap angle grinder be used to cut concrete and ceramic tiles? I am interested in the Black & Decker KG100 600W Angle Grinder because it is cheap enough.  I will only use it occasionally for small scale do-it-yourself home improvement works.  But, I really need one that can cut ceramic tiles and concrete.  I don't mind about the performance.

Are all angle grinder regardless of price and power rating suitable for cutting ceramic tiles and concrete?  In particular the B&D KG100 I mentioned above.  I'll use it only occasionally, so I don't mind waiting for a long time for it to finish the work.  Other B&D models are 50%-100% more expensive and the power ratings are not much different(~600W-700W).  So I'm wondering why that particular model is so cheap.

In most cases the cost is directly related to expected durability. In expensive commercial/professional grade tools, parts spin on ball bearings and motors are more powerful. They are designed to run allday every day at maximum speed where time is money. Home owner grade tools typically are designed to be used for brief periods of time and at less than maximum performance levels for the majority of their use. They contain less powerful motors and parts spin on bushings instead of bearings. In most cases they will last a long time as long as you respect the design limitations of the tool. If it starts to get warm while using it stop work and let it cool a while. Don't force the tool if it starts to bog down back off the pressure and let the tool do the work. I have a 10 year old $30 grinder that I cut over 100 slate floor tiles with and it is still running strong.


What kind of compact fluorescent light bulb fixture is this? I have search quite a bit to find what kind of compact fluorescent light bulb I need for this recessed can light?  It is in a bathroom above a tub.  I have include a picture of the base looking into it.  It has four electric blades, two on each side.  I tried buying a G24Q-I 4-pin base CFL bulb but that was too big.

I have looked at all the bases here but don't see any that match.  Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Here is a picture of the ballast too.

It's a gx23-2 base for a 13w cfl like this:


What does a manifold do in an underfloor heating (UFH) system and why do they cost do much? I am trying to understand what the manifold does in a UFH system.   It seems to just be an overpriced collection of T joins connect in a row with a basic valve on each.

What am I missing?

The manifold is used to distribute fluid evenly throughout the system, as well as allowing you to turn on/off zones (for maintenance and whatnot).  Without one you may find that some zones get more heat than others, since the flow could vary from zone to zone (depending on the plumbing).


How to repair damage to finished fibreboard Not sure exactly what happened, but there is now a dent in the  bottom of one of my IKEA cabinet doors, which is Fibreboard covered with some kind of enamel or plastic.

I'm wondering if there is any way to repair this damage rather than replacing the door (this is the discontinued line and replacement parts are harder to find and more expensive).

As a result of the damage, this part actually bulges out slightly. I do have matching enamel paint to cover the chipped surface, but ideally I'd also like to get the surface flat again before I paint it.

Looks like someone opened the door with an object in the way. It's going to be very difficult to replicate a factory-applied vinyl coating as a DIY project. I'd contact IKEA about a replacement, or look for coordinating replacement doors from a local cabinet clearance outlet.

Otherwise, I'd shave out the loose, cracked, and bulged material with a sharp utility knife, then apply high-quality wood filler (Plastic Wood bonds very well and dries hard). Mask before sanding to minimize the impact to the surrounding area.


How to Repair Laminate Countertop Wear Near Sink I have a laminate countertop that my kitchen sink is mounted in. I've noticed the laminate is beginning to wear away and expose the particle board where the sink meets the counter.

Since this is where the sink meets the counter, I am worried about water damage to the counter. Is there a simple way to repair this and avoid water damage?

Find and examine an exposed edge on your laminate somewhere -- most easy to find is where the front edge abuts with a wood trim strip (in custom countertop designs) or where it wraps around the front of the countertop (more common with the manufactured type with integrated backsplash). You'll be able to see the dark color of the laminate substrate and also its thickness.

If the sink had completely worn through the laminate then you'd see not only particle board, but also a cross-section of the laminate subtrate. It would look similar to that edge examined earlier -- it would be kind of like looking at the layers in a sedimentary rock formation. But I don't see any depth or cut-away layers in your photo; instead it looks like surface discoloration caused by water deposits, food/dirt/dust, or even a little mold. (Molds can exhibit a rainbow of colors.)

Try detailed cleaning around the edge of the sink. Rub it with a cloth or a green abrasive/scouring pad. Scrub with a toothbrush or scrape gently with a razor blade, etc. (Your laminate looks like it has a strong surface texture to it so scraping may not work well.) You could try letting it soak a bit with a mild acid like vinegar before doing the mechanical cleaning.


What is this plumbing fitting? Today I saw this water hookup in at the site of a farmer's market. What am I looking at? Is this a shutoff? Is it frost-free?

Bayonet style sprinkler stand pipe with a pipe nipple, 90 degree fitting and MHT hose adapter. Lower section similar to this part from Rainbird.

Normal operation is that you lift the cap, push the sprinkler standpipe with attached impact sprinkler in and give it a quarter turn to lock it into the socket. They've adapted the operation to put the water into standard lawn hose in this instance.


Fridge coil won't get cold History:
A year or 2 ago, my fridge started leaking from the freezer (bottom freezer) so I tried to fix it myself, assuming that the drain was clogged.
I discovered that a large ball of ice had build up on the copper pipe leading to the coils in the freezer, so I broke it up, melted all the ice, and made sure the drain was clear.
After that, things worked pretty good except the ice ball was reforming. But I put off doing anything about it because we have a separate chest freezer. So we just didn't put much in the fridge freezer and it never leaked again, but cooled great.

Current Problem:
Yesterday I got ambitious and figured I'd attempt to fix it for good. My thought was that the copper coil was supposed to have insulation on it since it probably doesn't get warm like the rest of the coils and evaporator during the defrosting stage, so it just never defrosted that part.
So I melted all the ice away and tried packing some insulation around it to see if that would help. Throughout the day it seemed to work fine, stuff got cold.

But then this morning my fridge was warm and the coils in the freezer won't get cold anymore. I ripped out all my insulation thinking I'd covered a temp sensor or something, but it still won't cool.

I opened the back of my fridge and the compressor seems to be running.  It's humming and is hot, but the coils are currently at 11 C and probably because that's the air temp in the fridge now.
It was getting cold all day yesterday after I put the insulation in. It just stopped overnight.

The fridge is 6 years old.

Defrost cycle. Your defrost timer, element or thermistor are probably bad. If you unplug it and after it has warmed and defrosted, then you plug it in and it works for what seems to be a day, then ice builds up again, then its not defrosting as it should. This ice build up will block the fridge vent and not allow the fridge to cool. This non-defrost will make the freezer think it has cooled to the temp you selected because the thermistor is covered in ice. Its hard to figure out which part unless you have the tools. A multimeter would allow you to test the defrost element and the thermistor. Just your ear and hands would allow you to check the timer (assuming it is a manual timer) by manually rotating the timer to different spots. Make the unit click on, run for a bit, listen and feel for cold air. Turn it and make the unit turn off. If you can do this successfully, the timer is most likely ok. Another test to check the timer, is to move it just before or after the flip on/off time, and let the fridge do it by itself. If it does, then the timer is ok.

Once you have verified the timer is ok, you can test the other two with the timer. Set the timer to the defrost cycle and let it run a complete defrost cycle. Check for water and ice in the areas you found them before. If present, then the element is not defrosting/melting the ice. Move on to the next test.

The thermistor is a tricky test, I had a bad one, but it never tested bad. You can take it out, place it in warm water and get an ohm reading, then place it in ice cold water and get a different reading. Compare those to the specs listed for that thermistor. Out of spec means the thermistor is bad. I would bet that the thermistor is most likely your culprit. It is what tells the defrost element to turn on or off to defrost and melt the build up of ice.

Before you test the element ,if you have a bad thermistor, replace the thermistor and run the unit for a day and monitor it. Do the timer test to see if it is now defrosting. If not, then continue to the element test.

The test on the defrost element, you do need to remove it or isolate it from the rest of the fridge usually by unplugging it, you use the ohm setting on your meter again, and test for continuity. Open circuit, bad element, closed circuit, good element.

I would do these tests in this order as the parts get harder or more complex to remove or find.


Understanding US Screw Sizes I'm going to be building a workbench, so I've been 'screw shopping.'  I need some explanation on the sizing of screws when they are advertised as (example) 6 x 3/4".  I know that 3/4" is the length of the screw, but what does the 6 mean?

"6" is a #6-size screw. Screw gauges are a measure of the head size and shaft size, and are roughly linear but not quite a 1:1 relationship (a #8 screw is a little less than twice the diameter of a #4 screw). There isn't a good system for converting gauge to a calibrated measurement, so you're best off consulting a table like this: http://hingedummy.info/screwinfopage2.htm

Screws have three basic measurements: gauge, threads per inch, and shaft length in inches. So, you may also see a measurement like 6-32 x 1 1/2". This means it's a #6 diameter, with 32 threads per inch (almost double the normal thread count as a standard wood screw) and an inch and a half long. When the middle number is absent (6 x 1 1/2"), the screw has the "normal" number of threads per inch for that size and type of screw (for #6 wood screws that's 18).


How should I repair rotten load-bearing porch posts? I have a backyard porch that has 2 load bearing posts (the other side are attached on the house). The wood base trims around the bottoms of the posts looked rotten so I wanted to replace these trims. After opening the trims, I found the posts themselves were rotten by moisture from the bottom as they touch ground and there are working irrigation heads nearby. Now I wonder if these posts are repairable, and if not, how to replace them.

These posts are ~12 years old. Each post is 7 1/2 inch (width) by 7 1/2 inch (thickness) by 12 1/2 feet (height). They were secured on the ground with Simpson Strong-Tie CB88 column bases in concrete. Each post has 2 bolts on the top to the railings and 2 bolts on the column bases.

Each CB88 column base has 2 bolts. The external rotten area starts at the post bottom and goes up close to around the column base's bottom bolt height. I think inside these posts, the rot may progress even higher. I dug some holes on a post with a screwdriver; it was soft internally, and blackened by fungus infestation.

If these posts must be replaced, is it a DIY project?

Attach a few images showing the porch and posts' rot.

How to tell if these posts are still repairable? For instance, if I dry the wood, and apply lay up & laminating resin, then fill-it epoxy filler, perhaps add fungicide (Bora care or TimBor), will this buy me a few more years before replacing these posts?

This could be a DIY project, but it's pretty big. Anytime you start messing with support columns you can get yourself into a big project. But, that said, this is most likely doable.

You need to get the bottom of the post off the ground with some sort of concrete footing and replace the bottom (or all) of the post.

Basically, if you hired a contractor, he'd prop up the roof using doubled 2x8's on each side of the post. Then he'd either replace the whole post or cut off the post about 2 feet from the ground.  He'd probably (based on code) also dig a hole and pour a concrete footing and then bolt the new post base back in. The size and depth of the footing can vary by local regs and the contractor's preference.

If it were me, I'd prop up the porch, take out a post, dig a hole (2 foot+, unless you are concerned about frost heave in which case 4 feet+), put in a sono tube up to about a foot above ground, fill it with concrete and put a new post in.

Based on local code, this would probably require a permit (but depends on where you are and the nerve of your contractor - personally, I'd do this myself without a permit...)

You reuse the metal bracket by embedding in the top of the new footing (sand it and paint it with rust proof paint), but you might not need it. Home Depot has lots of various bracket to attach vertical columns to footings. Also, google images is your friend on how this can look.


What's an easy way to fix a damaged floor tile? It's top layer is chipped off. Anyway to cover it up or repair it? Can I also know of this happened recently or old damage from this picture (not realistic obviously but asking anyway).

Glop some epoxy on it. For a less blatant but still visible repair, mix some marble dust (given the tile color) into the epoxy, or choose a white rather than clear epoxy and mix (but do not mix too well, for this pattern) some pigment into it (after throughly mixing the epoxy, first.)

Age can somewhat be inferred by how clean or dirty it is, as a chip will tend to collect dirt and be harder to clean than the surface of the floor.

The proper fix is to reach for your stash of spare tiles (problem if there isn't such a stash) and break out the remainder of this tile, then replace it. But you wanted easy...


How to safely dispose of latex paint? So, like most home owners, I have gallons of partially used paint, both from my old place, and old ones from the previous owners here. I want to dispose of these both safely and efficiently (we have quite a few gallons so pricey solutions may not fly).

They're all latex paint. My municipality will take these if they're "dry".  I checked, and I tossed the chunked solid ones, but what about the ones with liquid? How do I dry them?  Can I just open the can? That seems like it will release a lot of VOCs, which I'd rather not. I saw some "drying agent" at Home Depot, is this a good match? Or something simple like kitty litter (we do not have a cat) would be more cost efficient?

The municipalities just don't want it liquid or with the lid on.  Imagine a paint can full of paint when the compactor squishes down on it.  Paint everywhere! You can put whatever you want in the paint to make it more solid. Kitty litter, the store bought stuff drying agent, sand.  I have used some old mortar that I had on hand.    You just want to make sure that it's a solid or semi solid, and you can put it out on the curb for pickup without worry of it spilling with no lid. It would take too long for it to air dry.  Also, a film might form on the top, preventing the bottom from drying.


What is the NEC-compliant way to add a conduit in this configuration? I'm about to open the interior side of a kitchen wall. My breaker panel is on the exterior side of this wall. I'll be adding insulation, making future pulling of cable difficult, so I'd like to take the opportunity to install a conduit between the breaker panel and the crawlspace below this wall. Then the conduit can be used for future circuits or when replacing existing wiring. I'd like the conduit to accommodate six NM 12-2 cables. Note that this stud bay contains no wiring currently; I'll just be installing an empty conduit for future use.

What type and size of conduit should I use? How must the conduit terminate in the crawlspace?

Type

ENT or "smurf tube" is described in NEC article 362 and seems right for this application. It can be bent by hand unlike EMT and does not require solvent-welding like PVC does.

Size

NM 12-2 is 0.400" in width. Chapter 9 Note 9 says to treat elliptical cables as single conductors with the diameter of the cable's major diameter. So each NM 12-2 is treated as a 0.126 in^2 conductor. Six of them equals 0.754 in^2.

Six NM cables counts as "over 2 wires," so we use 40% fill. For ENT, we consult Chapter 9 Table 4, which says that 40% fill in trade size 1-1/2 is 0.774 in^2, which will (just barely) accommodate six NM 12-2 cables. The next size up is trade size 2, for which 40% fill is 1.282 in^2. If you might pull seven cables, pick the larger size.

Termination

300.15 says "Where the wiring method is conduit...a box or conduit body shall be installed at each...pull point, unless otherwise permitted...." 300.15(C) says "A box or conduit body shall not be required where cables enter or exit from conduit...that is used to provide cable support or protection against physical damage. A fitting shall be provided on the end(s) of the conduit or tubing to protect the cable from abrasion. So the choices are box or bushing.


Identifying how this switch with indicator light is wired I have a switch with indicator in my basement for a shared backyard light. It appears to work fine. The backyard is a shared yard with neighbors in downstairs unit and I would like them to be able to turn the light on/off any time they like. To this end we are going to install a wireless relay with one of those self-activated switches. I want to understand what is currently set up before we start changing stuff.

The switch is wired right now like this. There are two white wires and two black wired to the switch. There are two bare wires twisted together in the back of the box. The switch says Leviton and googling turns up Leviton 5226-ISP that looks identical, but mine might be an older model.

There's no obvious ground screw on the switch, So one of these black ones is hot, the other is load, and then white is neutral, is that correct?

Are the wires twisted together inside the box, the ground wires?

The wiring diagrams I find for the switch online don't show two neutral wires attached to the switch so that's where I got confused.

Ok. So the indicator lamp is on when the light is on.   And if either your or the neighbor switch the light on, it's on.     This is unusual, but workable, and your description in your comment makes it all fit together.

The location of the pins on the switch/lamp is what gave me pause.

The switch and lamp are totally separate. They don't even have tabs to break off.

The cable coming from the other switch goes to your switch.   It carries hot and switched-hot.   It is wired in parallel with your neighbor's switch.  Your switch's two terminals go to the same place as your neighbor's switch's two terminals.    Eiher your switch or your neighbor's can give current a path to the light.

The cable coming from the light goes to your indicator lamp.  It is in parallel with the lamp, so the indicator gets power when the lamp gets power.  The two wires are switched-hot and neutral.

What struck me is it's a little bit wasteful.  The switched-hot is logically the same wire on both the switch and the lamp and could have been done with a single  /3 cable.

But this method is also alright, it's visibly obvious what is happening from how the cables are routed, so you don't have to logick it out.


How to waterproof inside cedar shed? I want to build this shed like the picture below (I got from someone else) using my leftover cedar fence pickets:

However I don't know if it will leak water from the side. There isn't much protection from water to the inside. What about the edges around the shed on the roof? How to seal everything inside?

If you look closely at the boards on the inside, you will see they are overlapping, the top edge being behind the bottom edge of the board above (behind when viewed from the outside). This is standard clapboard type construction (although many modern clapboards have a tapered upper edge and the overlap is much greater). Rain tends to drip off the lower edge of the board and proceed downward, not into the joints.

The doors are probably tongue in groove which would resist moisture penetration by creating a circuitous path. Also, moisture that gets into the joint tends to cause it to swell and further seal the joint (somewhat).

The roof joints largely depend on overhang to keep water out.

In general, falling rain not whipped by high winds would largely stay outside.

However this type of construction is not meant to be very watertight, only keep the large majority of the water out. If you have sensitive materials that must be kept very dry, you would probably need to line the shed with a real membrane seal.

If you just want a little increased protection, you could seal the joints with caulk or silicone sealant. Most sealants prefer painted surfaces, so if you are not finishing the surface, look for one that says it bonds to wood.


Re-purpose old water heater vent for bathroom exhaust fans We just had our old gas water heater replaced with a tankless unit, so the vent for the old tank is now unused. I'd like to install exhaust fans in our 2 small bathrooms, and ideally use the old vent instead of cutting a new hole.

My plan is to use 4" insulated flexible duct to run from the first fan, have the second fan wye into that same duct (with a back draft damper if needed), and then run the rest of the way to the 4" exhaust from the old water heater. Like so:

Will this setup work, or will I need different/bigger ducts? An alternative could be to use the 8" vent that used to connect to the furnace (which is now in the crawlspace) that's in between Fan 1 and Fan 2, but that seems like it may require more powerful fans.

I would use the old gas vent with the existing exhaust fans without concern. The only issue I could see if one fan was on pressurizing the duct the second one might have trouble opening its back draft damper because of the pressure (both fans should have back draft dampers). I would check to verify that both will open when the other is running. If anything I would think a smaller fan would be needed to reduce the back pressure, but make sure it works and use it if it works.


How do we waterproof a cement slab floor that has moisture coming up? Our gymnasium was built over 35 yrs ago.  They did not put any moisture barrier under the concrete slab floor.  Moisture constantly comes through and times with a lot of rain, water even comes from where the walls meet the floor.  We run a humidifier to keep the moisture and mold down.  We have a very small budget.  The building is a pole barn type.  The gutters are good.  The floor is bare concrete.  When it was first built we literally had dirt and mud come in where the wall meets the floor.  They put more cement blocks (higher) on the outside of the foundation.  This stopped dirt from coming in but not moisture.  What can we do on low finances.

It sounds like you have two problems.

Water is coming in through the space where the wall meets the floor.

This can be mitigated by making sure the surrounding terrain is sloped away from the walls, ensuring that surface water flows away from the structure.  You might also be able to dig out the foundation and seal the soil/structure boundary with a heavy plastic such as Delta Board.

The other problem is likely what's called rising damp.   This is water underneath the foundation that wicks up through the concrete.  The solution is expensive.  You need to excavate the foundation, Install weeping tile which drains to a safe location.  This will help keep ground water out from underneath the foundation.

Since you say this is a barn, the foundation may not be that deep, and it's something you could do yourself.  Just be sure to fully research (or ask questions here) how to do it.


Does new panel needs to be up to new code? I'm adding a 40A breaker to the existing panel in my condo to charge an EV (Electric vehicle). I called the city and they said that as long as I have space for the breaker that would be ok. I do have the space but I have to move a 15A breaker to the other side of the panel (Panel is challenger SL12(8-16)CGN) where the connection tab is is the opposite side. Then get the 40A and a 15A breaker. These old breakers are very expensive, $25 for the 15A and $50 for the 40A, maybe because they have the connection in the corners and not the center. The place was built in 1986 (Southern California). I can buy newer breakers and a new panel for about $100 (Square D homeline panel and breakers).

Would I need to use AFCI breaker (new NEC code) if I change the panel? That would change the price too much to do it.

Thanks

I finally called the city and talked to an inspector. My city, Diamond Bar (California) said that I did not need to have AFCIs. The GFCIs were already in the outlets in the right locations so a new panel with regular breakers was ok.


How do I quiet a noisy furnace condensate pump? I have a mostly-finished basement, with the furnace in a utility room off the main room. I feel the condensate pump is noisy, but this is my first heater with one, so I'm not sure if its normal dB or not.

Normally, we're not down there much, so we don't mind the noise (you still can hear it, muffled, throughout the house). But with holidays coming up and guests over, we'd like to quiet it some.

Is there any way to either minimize its action, or quiet it, or both?

My furnace controller has an "accessory" terminal that carries 120VAC whenever the blower is on. I wired a receptacle to this terminal so that noisy accessories (namely a drum humidifier and a condensate pump) only come on when the blower is on. My blower is loud enough to mask the sounds of the accessories. Maybe yours is, too.


Adding a mast to a house I have to add a two ft. mast to my house.  Could I use a wire connector to add wire so that I do not have to run new wire?  If I can, is there something I can use to allow me to get to the splice if necessary?  Thank you for your help!A

If you are extending your service entrance and need to use splices, you would also need to use an appropriately sized junction box so the splices are accessible. Without that, you cannot splice them. If it is, indeed, your service entrance, you might be well served to get the assistance of a qualified electrician; it's a place where you do not want to have any occasion to say "oops! I shouldda done that better."


Refrigerator water line leaking even though not hooked up I recently moved into a home and decided not to hook up the water line to my refrigerator. It was fine for a few weeks, but there appears to be a leak. Now the tube that flows from the water valve is leaking water. I'm not sure what needs to be fixed. Is it the water valve itself that needs to be replaced? I'm pretty sure the valve is turned off because it wasn't leaking before.

If you are talking about the water supply to the fridge from the house the valve may have been bumped. If you can find the valve try and turn it off "lefty loose right tight" (I still have to remind my kids that sometimes LOL). If you find a Saddle valve that looks like this these are notorious for leaking at the connection point and dripping when not connected. the valve may need to be replaced. Hope that helps.
At first I thought you were talking about the fridge itself but after re reading revised, putting both in just in case.
If the water is dripping out of the tube on the refrigerator where you normally supply water to it, it will stop soon. Once a little air got into the tube the system started to empty out. To speed things up pull the water filter if it has one and trip the water in the door these will remove some water and allow more of the water in the system to drain out quickly.  There is nothing wrong or to worry about.


NEMA 6-50 plug to attach to electrical conduit I bought a EVSE with pigtail leads because it had strong conduit around the supply cables to protect them from damage. However now I go to get ready to install the EVSE and I can't seem to find a NEMA 6-50 plug that accepts the below threaded conduit end into the plug's rear end. I understand conduit has many options to terminate it into a box, but surely there is some need to have the cable protected by conduit up to plugs, no?

OK, another swing at this given that you also want the NEMA 6-50 plug to be available to use with a portable charger if the main fails.
The cheaty way
I'll use a precedent here.  They make little subpanels meant to go at RV parking spots, which include all relevant sockets.  Different RVs require different plugs, so they supply NEMA 14-50, NEMA 14-30 and NEMA 5-20 at the same time. They are allowed to be fed by a single 50A supply breaker, even though if all 3 kinds of RVs plugged in, they could pull 100A.  Why is this allowed? Because only one RV will fit on an RV stand. If the 14-50 is in use, the 14-30 must not be.
So.  Hardwire it like I suggest, but instead of a blank cover plate on the panel, fit a NEMA 6-50 and hook it up so both the hardwire and 6-50 are live.  Label the 6-50 socket "EVSE Only". It can't be used unless your hardwired charger is not in use.  Because it's only one parking space.
The non-cheaty way
Install exactly one of those RV subpanels that has at least 4 breaker spaces.  Change one of the panel front sockets to NEMA 6-50, and add an extra 50A breaker to feed the EVSE charger that you hardwire.  If it has a 5th breaker space, then support the NEMA 5-20 outlet also, giving  you another way to plug in.
If you really, really want the existing charger to plug in, then do hardwire it into the panel, but wire it to a flexible cord and have it exit the panel and loop right back into the panel  Noting that these panels have outdoor in-use covers, that can be locked, have the cord's starting point be somewhere protected.

Based on what you say in comments, your primary concern is armoring the installation against casual vandalism, e.g. cable cutting. Presumably our vandal is bright enough to de-energize a cord before cutting it, so he'd unplug a flexible cable before cutting, eh?
Use a permanent wiring method ... temporarily
In other words, overcome your reluctance to hard-wire, because hard-wiring is really the right way to do this.
I have the experience to hardwire a thing like this in about 2 minutes.  For me, it's not any harder than wiring a plug.  I do all sorts of temporary work, and it's perfectly routine for me to "permanently" wire something up, all spit-shined and inspection-ready... then, 4 hours later, "permanently" unwire it.
That's exactly what you should do. Bap in a knockout on the junction box, and wire it in that way; either cap off the receptacle's wires or replace the receptacle with a 50 cent blank cover plate.  If the box is mounted flush, then add an extension box and side-enter that, or get a blank plate with a knockout hole on its face. Depending on what works physically at the site.
And then, when you move, just unhook the wires and cap it off with a 20 cent knockout plug, in a neat and proper manner.  Done.  It's really no different than removing a chandelier.
It goes without saying that you turn off the supply circuit breaker before touching the circuit wiring. Also, NEC requires that EVSEs are dedicated circuits, and forbids multiple outlets on 50A circuits with a socket, so de-energizing this circuit won't affect other users.*
Why that thing is not available
The concept of a "plug" implies there is a cord attached to it which is rated as cordage, i.e. is made for frequent flexing.  Flexible conduit is not rated for frequent flexing; it is intended for fixed, permanent installation and its bendiness is only intended as a convenience to the installer.  As such, a plug for flexible conduit is a contradiction in terms.
At least in the consumer space.  ThreePhaseEel describes some industrial exotica, but it'll be industrial-priced, and still need a variance from the AHJ to use it.
You say "It's mere coincidence that nobody makes it" - no, it's not.  You may notice that every piece of electrical equipment (such as a plug) has a stamp that says UL, CSA, ETL or other marks (CE is not one).  These are Nationally Recognized Testing Labs (NRTL).  NEC 110.2 requires that every piece of equipment be "approved". The instructions must be approved as part of the listing.  UL won't approve instructions that tell the user to violate NEC.  So the maker would need to find a use for this thing that does not violate NEC, get their UL listing based on those instructions, and then you would use the device contrary to its instructions, which violates NEC 110.3b.
So it isn't happenstance that these don't exist.  There's reason for them not to.
Or, hardwire to one box, and jumper to the other
However this won't work if your risk is vandalism.
Go to a real electrical supply house.  Get a NEMA 6-50P line cord with pre-molded plug, that uses proper cordage.  Also get the correct strain relief that fits that particular cordage ... and that's why I'm sending you to the electrical supply.
Now get a 4-11/16" or 4" deep junction box.  Fit the 6-50 cord and strain relief into one of its knockouts.  Then screw it to the wall within cord's reach of your NEMA 6-50 socket and within reach of that flexible conduit.
Put this EVSE's flexible conduit into another knockout.
Pigtail a #10 ground wire off the ground screw on the box,  then splice wires to match.
Voilà, now you can plug and unplug the EVSE at will, you are not flexing things not meant to flex, you are flexing things meant to flex, and it's Code legal.NEC 400.7(A)(6).

400.7 Uses Permitted.
(A) Uses. Flexible cords and cables shall be used only for the following:

(6) Connection of utilization equipment (that's any device which uses electricity for something) to facilitate (allow) frequent interchange.


Back-to-back conduit bodies for wall transition I am running an 80A (4AWG Copper) line for EV charging in my garage. I am using EMT conduit and I need to transition through drywall. Since the studs are not deep enough (2x4) for the minimum radius turn to fit, can I put an LB conduit body on both sides of the wall to effect the transition? It seems to be code according to NEC, but it's exploiting an exception back-to-back, namely:

NEC 314.28(A)(1): for 4 AWG or larger conductors the distance from a conductor's entry to a "box" and the opposite wall must be at least 6  times the raceway size - 1" EMT in this case, so 6" - except if the opposite wall is a removable cover. So I'd be exploiting this exception twice with essentially zero intermediate cable run.

ASCII picture:

       GARAGE
                   ---------- <--- removable cover for LB conduit body #2
                ________________
  LB conduit    | .................... 4AWG conductors
  body #2 ----->| . ____________
================| . |========================== <--- drywall
       _________| . |
4AWG .............. | <-- LB conduit body #1
       _____________|
         ----------  <--- removable cover for LB conduit body #1

There is no restriction to how many you use. We regularly use extra pull boxes and conduit bodies to make the job easier. It’s not cheating at all. Each one is listed for that use once it leaves the conduit body. There is nothing except cost preventing you from using them.


Why does tv sound go off when switching off the ceiling fans with pull chain? I read the comments on the sound going off on the tv when the ceiling fans are switched off. I have a ceiling fan/light in each room of my house. We operate the fans by a pull chain on the ceiling light and the lights by a single wall switch. when we turn the ceiling fans off by the pull chain the tv sound goes off for a second or so. All rooms do this. It doesn't effect the picture. I have cable tv(Charter) box and new tvs. Didn't used to do this but don't know why it started. It is possible these are all on the same ciruit. I have been told that a white electrical wire is loose somewhere on one of the circuits somewhere in the house and garages.(big job to try to find). Also i have been told the ground on one of the cable connections is not grounded properly. Can this do it? Any ideas of what is wrong? Please comment.

You're on the right track. Generally when you have what seems to be unrelated electrical problems it's usually one of three things. First and most common is you have a broke neutral. Second somewhere in your system you have a phase loss. Third and most difficult to find is the system has had a previous problem and someone has tried to fix it by illegally tying neutrals and ground together in the system and now it's a mess.

Since you are saying it is happening full house, my educated guess would be that it is ahead of the panel (between the panel and the utility connection).

First I would look for a broke neutral. If you have an overhead drop carefully exam to make sure the bare wire (the neutral) is not broken or loose on the drop. Alos look for cracks in the insulation of the drop. If you find a break you can call the utility company and they will make the repair. If it's anything after the meter you have to make the repair. Make sure all of your connections in the panel and meter are mechanically and electrical sound. If you have a meter check for a good voltage reading between the phase conductors and neutral bus. Check the voltages on all breakers including the main both in the on and off positions. If there are any voltages that are not around 120V or 240V, make note of them and look for your problem there.

If you can't find a broken neutral visually and you don't have an extensive electrical background. I would recommend you find a highly skilled electrical serviceman to help locate your problem since it takes quite a bit of testing and maybe just some dumb luck to locate your problem, and some of the testing may require circuits to be active. Also if you want to examine the meter you may have to break the utility seal and that might require a permit by an electrical contractor.

Hope this helps, good luck and stay safe.


How can I clean floor tile grout? Someone I know had tile laid in their kitchen and was supposed to seal the grout after the work was done. This never happened and now they have dirty grout. What's the best way to make the grout look new?

Is re-grouting an option? By that I mean just putting a new thin layer of grout over top the old stuff to hide it.

Don't re-grout, clean it! Talking with a Home depot guy last year about this and he was amazed I still had to use a brush. He shows me this stuff called oxygen bleach from Ajax. This was literally the easiest method I have ever used. Make a solution with just enough hot water to dissolve it, apply and let it sit for 15-20 min and mop off. That easy. I will never use a tile brush again. Once you get it sparkling white, you can upkeep it my adding a small amount every time you mop and you will have pearly white floors forever.


Should Ground and Either Neutral or Hot be Lighting Circuit Testing? Summary

Why might hot and ground light a circuit tester; neutral and ground also light; but hot and neutral do not light a circuit tester?

Details

I opened an old box to branch a new receptacle.

I used the circuit tester against the hot and neutral wires. It did not light.

I tested the circuit tester against hot and ground. It lit.

Neutral and ground also lit the tester.

I have never seen this before. What's going on? Is it possible the previous homeowner accidentally used ground for hot or neutral?

Because Black = hot and White = neutral is not actually a hard and fast rule in household wiring. You are probably looking at a switch loop - no longer approved for new installs, but approved recently enough to be quite common. The white wire that's hot SHOULD be marked in some way to indicate that, but often is not, or the marking was impermanent. Red tape or paint or black tape on white wire are common methods of marking a white as not being Neutral.


Lights and outlets on multiple circuits out but no circuits tripped. Power back to normal after several hours for the past several days the lights and outlets to multiple rooms in my house have been going out, yet no circuits are tripped. This is happening to lights and outlets on multiple circuits. The weird thing is, the power is restored after several hours. The only common factor between the downed lights/outlets is that they are all on circuits that on the left side of the breaker box. I've check all GFCIs. The house was built in 1980.

Any ideas?

Before trying anything else, switch all four of those breakers completely off and then on.  Many models of breakers do not visibly trip:  to reset them, they need to be shut off first.

If that doesn't work, take the panel cover off to see what is going on inside.  Be careful not to touch any exposed bare metal wires, especially near the main breakers.  Look for disconnected wires (especially on the dead circuits).  If they all seem connected, check for loose wires by gently wiggling each wire one at a time by grasping on the insulation near the connection.

Each circuit has a white wire which goes into a terminal strip which is the neutral and ground bus, like at both sides of the photo (from here).  Wiggle all those wires too.  If there are separate bus bars, they will be connected together with a wire (unless this is not the main service panel).  Carefully scrutinize all the connections into the bus bars.

It does not make sense that all four circuits failed and are clustered together in the panel like that.  If one phase of the 240 volt service failed, it would affect every other circuit, both left side and right sides.  Also, probably none of the 240 volt appliances would work right.

If all the connections are fine, obtain an AC voltmeter and check that there is 120 volts (±10%) between each breaker terminal and neutral.  If all four of those breakers are providing voltage but the circuits are dead, there is a break between that end of the wire and the outlets.  Maybe those wires go through a junction box which is disconnected?  It might be necessary to look inside every junction box, switch, and outlet box until the problem is found.


grounding wire from ceiling with no place to attach to the fixture? I was took down my parents 45 year old kitchen light fixture to tighten a screw and when i went to put it back up i noticed that there was a grounding wire coming down from the ceiling but no place to attach it to on the fixture. was it safe to just leave touching the inside of the wire box?

Preferred solution in that case is to attach the safety-ground wire to the box with a screw (if the box is metal), or wrap it around one of the fixture's mounting screws. As long as it makes a circuit to the box and the body of the fixture, it's doing it's job. (Of course if the fixture is non-conductive, it doesn't need grounding.)


Christmas lights: getting rid of the half that doesn't work? We've all seen these regular Christmas light sets where only half of the lights work.

My question: assuming the half of the set that works is closest to the electric plug, is it possible to cut the half that doesn't work and rewire the ends?

I have about 5 sets of Christmas lights that only half of it work, and the half that works is the one closest to the electric plug. I don't want to throw them away, but I also don't want to go through the hassle of "hiding" the half that doesn't work.

Thanks.

It depends on how they are wired. Many strings have two (or more) "parallel" strings of "series-connected" bulbs.  Since each of the series strings are independent, then other parallel strings can be safely removed.  Remember to carefully insulate the cut ends so that you don't electrocute someone.


fan that require timers in the US About 6 years ago we did a remodel.  The electrician stated that a fan control was required in our laundry room, one of those things that looks like a dial and periodically turns on the fan.  I really hate the things, I can turn on the fan myself - and really it is never needed there.  But I digress -

Both fan countdown timers installed at that time are buzzing constantly and I need to replace them.  At the same time, I was thinking about just putting the fans on a z-wave controller and then I can schedule whatever I want - or even turn them on when away on vacation.

Roundabout, my question is this:  Are these kinds of timers (the round ones that click at certain times and turn the fan off and on) really required in a laundry area?  How about for a bathroom?  Would it be permissible to use a z-wave controlled switch instead?

Washington State, US.

Thank you.

No. Timers on exhaust fans are not required in a laundry area in Washington State, nor any other state, that I'm aware of.
If your z-wave switch is UL listed for fan control, then it's permissible.
This code excerpt makes no mention of specific rooms.

Local exhaust ventilation systems. Local exhaust ventilation systems shall be controlled by manual switches, dehumidistats, timers, or other approved means.

(LOCAL EXHAUST. An exhaust system that uses one or more fans to exhaust air from a specific room or rooms within a dwelling.)
–Chapter 51-52 WAC. STATE BUILDING CODE ADOPTION AND AMENDMENT OF THE 2015 EDITION OF THE INTERNATIONAL MECHANICAL CODE, wa.gov


Recommendations for portable/fold-up work surface? Does anyone have any recommendations for portable/fold-up work benches?  Growing up, my father had a Black and Decker Workmate, but from what I've been reading construction of those work tables is different now than it was 20 years ago.  Any recommendations/experiences with anything on the market right now?

There are a few variations of the Workmate, but mine is still useful at times when I need a bench away from the shop. The construction seems about the same as back when I got it. (Roughly 15 years now.)


What are the code regulations for stairs off an exterior french door? Do the stairs off my french doors need to be the width of both doors or can they be just the width of the most used side?

How big does the landing have to be at the top and bottom?

Can I just attach a guardrail to the exterior and forgo the stairs?

If the door can be opened, it must have a landing on the outside, minimally 36"X36", but in your case, it must be the width of the doors X 36" deep from the house. You can put a guard rail in front of the inactive one, then have a smaller landing. That will look a little odd in my opinion though.


Looking for a two way clamp two extend a pole I'm looking for a clamp that can extend a 2" diameter pole with another pole.

Basically I'm trying to set up a Ubiquiti Litebeam but the pole I'm attaching it to isn't tall enough for line of sight to the other building.

What I want is something like this picture but the poles will be free standing in the air, not againt a wall.  Imagine that the one on the left is attached to the building and is sticking out of the roof.  I want to get another pole (the one on the right) to be clamped on (possible two clamps) to the pole sticking out of the roof.

What kind of clamp am I looking for?

EDIT: Here's an image of what I want, don't know what it's called.

That is called a Shelly pole/mast clamp.  If you are extending a fairly light load like you show, an antenna or other such fairly light, non load bearing use, then this is fine.

For anything structural, or carrying live loads, this is the wrong product as you want to carry the load directly from top to bottom not laterally like this product does.


TV Arcs with Cablebox through both Coax and HDMI Here is our setup

Outlet in older house that was replaced with a GFI last year. (no issues until recent)

The GFI doesn't have a ground wire running up from the basement.
Just the white and black wires. (From my understanding this is an acceptable configuration)

The outlet reads 119.0v when checked with my multi-meter.

The outlet reads less than a volt when the "positive" line and the ground are checked with the multimeter. Same with the "negative" with the ground.

A (real) surge protector plugged into the outlet

A large tv plugged into the surge protector

A cox cable box plugged into the surge protector

A coax cable (run by cox) from the outside of the house, split and sent to a modem and the cable box. The coax reads 0v (no leakage at all) when a multimeter is placed on the inner coax wire and the outer shielding. I tried this on both DC and AC settings on multimetter

The problem:
When either a coax cable or HDMI cable is run from the cable box to the TV, an Arc appears. This has already fried one TV.
My theory:
The coax cable is improperly grounded. I just need a way to prove it. The basis for this theory is the coax cable in a separate apartment tests with an AC voltage of 1.5v. The cable technicians are somehow less informed about circuitry than me. This is a hobby for me so I am lost in the sauce. Any Ideas?
Update
So I took the time to diagram what I have observed. This further supports my theory that the cable isn't grounded properly. I'm not 100% sure how coax is supposed to be run from a telephone pole though so I could be incorrect.
Just in case there is confusion, no the neutral is not plugged into the ground. I was just demonstrating that there is only two wires going to the GFI.

Near where the service enters the house, you should see a grounding block similar to this.

The coaxial cable from the pole/dish/mast should be connected to one side, and the coaxial cable feeding to the house should be on the other side. The screw terminal should have an insulated copper wire, larger than 14 AWG, and shorter than 20' (6 m) attached.  The other end of this wire should be attached to either:

The Intersystem Bonding Termination.
The grounding electrode system.
The grounded interior metal water piping system, within 5' (1.5 m) from the point of entrance to the building.
The metallic power service raceway.
The service equipment enclosure.
The grounding electrode conductor.
Or where the building has no grounding means, to an approved grounding electrode.

If the service is not grounded at the house, it could be (and likely is) at a different voltage potential than the grounding system in your house.


Should I reorganize the main service panel when adding a subpanel? I am currently in need of a new 240V circuit for a welder in the garage but my main breaker is full.  Adding a subpanel seems to be the only solution that would be to code, but I have a couple questions on the specifics.

First, There is already a subpanel that is powering the basement, but its distance from the garage makes running 10-3 cable a bit difficult.  Is it ok to have two subpanels?

Second, assuming I could install another subpanel, how should I reorganize the circuits?  Would it be a good idea to move all lighting and misc (15A-20A) circuits to the new subpanel and keep the existing/new 240V circuits in the main breaker panel?

It's nearly impossible for anybody to tell you if you can safely add a second subpanel, based on the information you've provided.  It's going to depend on the service capacity, and how loaded the service already is.

Your best bet would be to contact a local licensed Electrician, and have them do an estimate on adding the new subpanel.  They will come take a look, and should tell you what would be involved in adding the panel.  This will give you a better understanding of what your options are, and an idea of how much it would cost to simply have a professional handle the job.


What is the correct way to fix a leaky drain trap that is not detachable? I have a shower that has a leak in the drain trap. From this picture, it appears to be leaking from the drain to pipe connection to the shower pan, but that part is actually fixed as it was leaking too. It is actually leaking now from the connection between the pipe and the drain trap turn in the center of this picture:

Is there a good epoxy or cement I can put around the connection to seal it? It is a slow leak. If not, what is the best way to fix it?

Wow, someone butchered that install. You really should think about replacing the trap and the shower drain. You mentioned that both were leaking but the pipe into the drain has been fixed and now only the trap leaks. They will leak again. I've never seen a drain connected like that. The drain looks like it was modified to take the pipe, poorly.
If you can pinpoint the leak, clean and rough up the surface.Widen the leak area a bit to make room for the epoxy. Then try some marine epoxy and coat the area. Follow the directions for curing time. this might buy you a little time.


Is my main feed the correct size for my panel? I have a Cutler Hammer CH30E 150 Amp panel. It is fed from a 150 main disconnect mounted on the wall next to my meter can. The wire sizes are 2#2/0 AL THW & #1/0 AL THW NEUT & #6 CU GND buried in a 2" PVC pipe. My house was built in 1981.

Checking my wire ampacity chart, I'm seeing that 2/0 Al is good for 135 Amps. Should my feed have been 3/0 AL?

PS. I would have never checked this before joining this site.

Yes, you should immediately downbreaker to a 135A breaker. Hold on. Those aren't made.

Oh dear.  Well, per NEC  240.4(B)(2), you should round up to the next available breaker size.

You'll need to fit a 150A breaker ASAP.  Sorry to put you to the expense! :)

Seriously, there's  one other thing that may apply here.   Since all the power for the entire domicile comes through this feeder cable, it actually gets to be derated like a service.  Per 310.15(B)(7), you apply a (favorable) 83% derate, meaning the 150A breaker only needs wire rated for 124.5 amps.

Alternately, take your 135A wire ampacity and divide by 0.83 to give 162.7A if it's handling all the power for a domicile.  That again rounds up to 165, 170 or 175A depending on which breaker sizes are actually made.


How to seal a refrigerator water line I have a GE GSS22JEPDBB model fridge. The water line that goes into freezer door and then to the dispenser is leaking water right at the bottom of the door. Not sure exactly where. I suspect this is the source of the leak because it was damaged during a move. Unfortunately, I found out that I cannot replace this particular water tube, I would have to replace the entire door.
Is there any way to somehow seal the portion of the tube by gluing a seal as a 'wrapper' of sorts instead of shelling out $hundreds for a door? Any creative suggestions?

This is why you are not getting helpful answers:

  "the dispenser is leaking water right at the bottom of the door. Not sure exactly where"

Without an idea about the source, location, and nature of the leak it is impossible for anyone to tell you how to fix it. Most assuredly, any attempt will fail unless you pinpoint the leak source.


Delay Mains power after a blackout My parents live in a country with very unreliable electricity. Something that happens very frequently is mains power will go out and when it comes back it will flicker for a couple of minutes. It has destroyed some of my parent's appliances already.

I'm looking for a device I could use to setup a delay timer (hopefully on the breaker box, but if not protecting each appliance) so that power to the house is delayed until there is continuous power for 2 minutes or so.

Is there anything like this? Would it possible to build such a thing if there is not?

An application for a time delay relay though in most cases you'd need that driving the control/coil of a heavy duty relay/"contactor" to actually switch appliance or whole-house power, as most time delay relays (TDRs) are fairly low current devices. One to switch whole house power will probably be expensive, but one for each circuit will add up, so you'll have to make that call based on what you find when shopping.

TDRs are a standard industrial item, widely available in many configurations. While you may not be aware of them, many consumer devices have one built in (i.e. my air conditioner has to have had power for 3 or 5 minutes (I don't recall which) before it will start the compressor, so that a an outage or being unplugged does not result in trying to start the compressor before it's ready to be started without damaging itself, if it had been running before the power went out.


L14-30 Plug & Generator Please move if this is the incorrect place.

I have a portable generator that is mounted to a car trailer.  No earth grounds are made from the generator to the ground.  There is a service panel inside the trailer with 2, 110v connections and 1, 220v connection.  The wires coming out of the trailer are black, white, green and solid bare copper.

I want to make sure to wire this up correctly and is based on US standards.  On the L14-30 plug I had the white and black going to the hot poles on the plug and green going to ground.  What I did not know is where the solid, bare copper wire went.  I had to convert from a NEMA 6-30 plug.  When I was disassembling the plug the bare copper appeared that it was just pushed into the end of the plug but not attached to any connections within it.

Use the right colors
First off, if you're wiring to US standards, you've got the wire colors wrong.
Green and bare copper are both used to identify an equipment grounding conductor.  White is typically used as a grounded (neutral) conductor (grey is also acceptable), though can be used as ungrounded (hot) if there are appropriate markings at each termination.  From there, basically anything that's not green, bare, white, or gray, can be used as an ungrounded (hot) conductor.
Wiring L14-30 Plug
To properly wire a NEMA L14-30 device, you'll need 4 conductors.

Proper Wiring
In your situation, I'd pull an extra red or black conductor from the panel to the receptacle location and remove either the green or bare conductor. Then you'll connect the original black conductor from the breaker, to X on the receptacle. Connect the new red/black conductor from the other terminal of a double pole 30 ampere breaker, to Y on the receptacle.  Next connect the white wire from the neutral bus bar in the panel, to the N terminal of the receptacle. Finally, connect the green/bare conductor from the grounding bus bar, to the G terminal on the receptacle.


How can I secure NM cable in a tight spot? I need to secure NM cable in an area where there isn't enough room to swing a hammer. This makes the usual staples impossible to use. How can I secure the cable in this tight space?

You can get an NM cable stapler at a supply house or home center, that is if you can fit it into this area.

Also, we many times use our linemans pliers to pound staples. Sure, it's not the intended use, but in a tight spot many times they work perfectly. Hit with the face where the cutters are.


What is this fabric tape made out of? Any ideas what is this fabric tape on my cool air return ductwork?

High res close-up

Some of it is separating or worse falling off of the duct work on the cool air return to my forced-air gas furnace. The furnace itself was installed in 1994; the house at some time has a coal-burning furnace, so I'm assuming this ductwork was installed during the retrofit from coal to gas. I'm not sure if this is the first or second gas furnace since the retrofit, but that at least tells us that the fabric tape was applied sometime before 1994.

It occurred to me that this fabric might have asbestos in it, which is a horrifying considering that it's all over the ductwork inside and out. For what it's worth, I was wearing a half-mask p100 respirator when I cleaning it up.

I would treat it as it is asbestos. Old coal heater is my clue. It really needs to be removed or encapsulated at least. It can be tested, but I bet the results would be positive for asbestos, remediation can be costly...


30 amp RV to 50 amp Receptical 30 amp RV, 50 amp Receptical. Does it matter which "hot" hole in receptical is used? Can the neutral wire be wired into ground bus bar along with the ground?

There are commercial adapters available to allow plugging a 30A RV into a 50A receptacle.  It shouldn't matter which hot leg you get, as long as you have the neutral and ground correct.  Both legs of the 50A are rated for 50A each, so a 30A max draw is well within capacity.


How to remove silicone caulk from a shower wall? I took down a shampoo dispenser and now I have several big blobs of moldy silicone caulk on the shower wall.  I bought a plastic razor scraper and a bottle of Goo Gone Caulk Remover, which gets high marks for removing silicone on Amazon, but I haven't even made a dent.  I think part of the problem is that the wall is vertical (duh :) and the remover is liquid, so it doesn't stay on the caulk long enough to do the job. Is there a gel formula out there that works well, or some other technique that would work better?

If you saturate toilet paper with the remover and slap it on your vertical surface it will stick there and hold it against the caulking. Practice a couple times with water to get a feel for the appropriate amount of moisture. Scrape off as much as possible before you start in with the remover though.  Just to clarify, you should be using a plastic blade in the scraper so you don't damage or leave marks on the wall.

EDIT: BTW, you can also use acetone (i.e. nail polish remover) to remove silicone caulking. Acetone attacks some plastics, so I'd only go this route on tile.

EDIT 2: If neither of those options work, you can also go to an auto supply store and pick up an adhesive eraser wheel. You use these with an electric drill and they are designed to take adhesives off of auto bodies without damaging the paint.  Again, this might not be the best thing to use on a plastic surround.


Is there a way to simply splice in an additional length of 12/2 NM-B cable? Is there a way without using junction boxes to simply splice in additional length of 12/2 NM-B cable? Can I use twist caps?

I'm putting in a dog door and as it so happens, there is some 12/2 right in the way of the location I've chosen. There's no additional slack in the cable, and I don't want to rip up more drywall than I have to. I'm tempted to just cut it and splice in an additional foot or two with twist caps to get it out of the way. I don't know if this is safe or legal. Do I need to get junction boxes? Attached some pictures for fun.

Also, there is a 1-gang electrical outlet box that is going to the outside. I'm moving that up a bit.

Tyco makes NM splices which are concealable and acceptable under NEC for use for rewiring in an existing building.

NM Cable Splices

NEC 2008

  334.40 Boxes and Fittings.

  (B) Devices of Insulating Material. Switch, outlet, and tap devices of insulating material shall be permitted to be used without
  boxes in exposed cable wiring and for rewiring in existing buildings
  where the cable is concealed and ﬁshed. Openings in such devices shall
  form a close ﬁt around the outer covering of the cable, and the device
  shall fully enclose the part of the cable from which any part of the
  covering has been removed. Where connections to conductors are by
  binding-screw terminals, there shall be available as many terminals as
  conductors.


How do I know whether or not I've killed the mold? I had some mold on the ceiling of my bathroom. I scraped it off with a sponge. The thick black mold has gone, but there are still fainter grey stains all over the ceiling which won't come off, even with bleach. I sprayed on PolyCell mould killer (UK product).

How do I know whether or not that has worked? I was told the area would have to be completely dry for it to work. There is obviously a lot of moisture around there every day when we have a shower.

If I now paint over the ceiling with anti-mold paint, how can I be sure the mold is not festering underneath it? Does anti-mold paint prevent existing mold from growing underneath, as well as preventing any new mold from coming on top?

To be sure you can buy a mold test kit at your local home improvement store or even on amazon. It's probably not perfect, but might set your mind at ease if you're unsure.