Is it common for a chimney to separate from the outside wall? The chimney has separated from the wooden outside wall of a pier and beam wooden home. It is 7 years old.  The chimney is mortared with rock and a couple have fallen from the top.

The gap is about 3 inches or so.  We are 7 inches below normal rain fall.  The poles supporting the house are in 4 feet of concrete.

Is this normal?  I have contacted the mason, but he avoided me.

This is common but its also a big issue.  I doubt that this has to do with your house foundation although it could be a factor.  The main cause would be a weak footing below your chimney.

The fact that you are having a dry year might have caused the footings to move earlier but if they weren't up to spec then it was going to move.  You have to figure that your chimney may weigh a few tons.  It has the house on one side.  So the chimney is going to move away from pressure if the footings are weak.  So that is why the top is separating probably a little more than the bottom.

I am not sure exactly who was supposed to do what to make the chimney 7 years ago.... But normally the mason would create proper footings or at least not build until it was done right.  If your mason was contracted to do everything he messed up or your soil is completely unstable (which he should have researched before doing the job).

So now you need to get this fixed ASAP.  If it hasn't had too much damage they can jack it back into place, repair footings, and bracket it into place.  This is much much cheaper than tear down and build.  If you have a warranty you will need to keep trying to contact the mason - maybe he gives you a deal on the repair.  Fixing this yourself really isn't DIY because the tools/equipment are too costly for a one time job.


Cleaning up very old oak and other hardwood roof beams I am building a stone barn and have just acquired an assortment of very old oak and other hardwood beams (with nails, dirt, the lot) to be used to construct the barn roof. A lot of this wood is filthy with lots of rot and dead wood. I need an incredible rough type of tool/angle grinder to rip out this old materiel. I will then use a belt sander to finish them off. I just need to know how to clean up the really rough bits.

I have seen a kind of "cheese grater" finish disc which might work well but can't find out where to buy them.

Anyone with experience/ideas?

You have a pile of wood that needs to be turned back into lumber.

As they are to be structural, the beams should be resawn until there are no "rough bits" left. Digging the rot out of a beam makes that beam no thicker than its narrowest point; a weak link. The whole beam should be resawn to its narrowest dimension where there's rot. Effectively, that's how thick it is anyway.

Whatever tools you use should say nail embedded wood, or just use metal cutting blades. Sanding nail embedded wood just takes a lot of paper and patience. A quick once over with a standard grinding wheel might save you a lot of paper. Pull or set as many nails as possible.

What you're asking for, which I do not suggest, is probably (diamond) granite grinding wheels. They're liable to catch on a nail and make for a really bad day.

I would suggest trying a grinding bit for drills, a grindstone bit that will turn your drill into a gigantic Dremel tool. Again, make sure that what you're left with is acceptable structurally, at its narrowest point.

If you want to preserve that old look and not re-saw them, consider sand blasting them. IMO, re-sawing or blasting is the only way to really see what you're dealing with (without wasting a lot of time and paper), especially if they're as bad as you say they are.

An expensive option is to have them professionally planed. I say professionally (expensive) because you would ruin yours, and they will charge you for a blade replacement on theirs, regardless of its condition afterwards.


Wall Drain too high? My wall drain is barely below the bottom of my strainer basket. My T for the double kitchen sink will be below the wall drain. Will this work?

Water won't flow uphill. You need to either raise the input (shallower sink) or lower the output (opening the wall and finding a way to rework the plumbing). This is why it's important to look at the drain height and counter top height plus any difference created with something like a disposal before selecting the sink depth.


How to increase height of existing concrete slab? An existing patio has flag stones set over a concrete slab. If you were to remove the flag stones and thinset, what would be the best way to raise the level of the existing slab to make up for the lost height once the flagstones are removed? Height difference is about 1".

Is there a recommended mix for this? Are there any additives, bonding agents, mesh or anything along those lines that would be recommended?

Something got lost in translation and the question I asked here was totally different than what the person asking had in mind. Not a patio and they didn't even want to raise the height of the slab! That said... I still found the answer to the question I asked by contacting Sakrete, a manufacturer of bagged concrete mixes found in many home improvement and hardware stores in the US.

They recommended:

Surface be thoroughly cleaned and all thinset or tile adhesive completely removed. Any cracks should be repaired.
Existing slab should be painted with their Concrete Bonder and Fortifier and allowed to dry.
They recommended their Sand Mix which as far as I can tell has either no, less or smaller aggregate. It's used for pouring 1/2" to 2" thick. For the liquid, use the bag recommendation but replace half of the water with Bonder and Fortifier. Combine the admix with water before adding to cement.
Any expansion joints in the original slab need to be duplicated on the top coat.

No mesh or fibers necessary.

I called Sakrete because that's what's easiest for me to get locally. Quikrete has a similar Sand/Topping Mix and an Acrylic Fortifier. You can mix your own sand mix I guess if you're into that sort of thing.

One of the comments above about being lucky to last a year was a bit extreme. I have seen a heavily trafficked sidewalk leveled with some straight out of the bag mix that held up for over 10 years in the NYC area. DIY job with no bonding agents or other additives.

I have personally used Quikrete's acrylic fortifier and can attest that it creates a better bond.

I agree it's always better to rip out the old slab and pour a new one but sometimes the added labor and budget isn't always practical.


Why do LED lights with a dimmer stay dim and won't go bright again? I have a chandelier with five lamps. I brought an LED compatible dimmer and changed out the switch for the dimmer.
I brought five dimable LED bulbs.
The bulbs and dimmer worked for a little while, but then the bulbs stayed dim when the dimmer was bright up to full brightness.
It's like the bulb now remembers only the dimmed setting.
If I take the bulb and put it in a circuit without a dimmer it still does not go bright?
I have tried a selection of dimable LEDs from three different manufacturers and they all went dim and stayed dim.
What is going on here?
How can I get the lights to go bright again?

There is a fight going on between your dimmer and your lights, and the dimmer lost.

One of the (too many) bits of electronics in your dimmer died.

Dimming is not as easy as it seems it should be, well, dimming without huge size, weight and heat.

In dimming led's, you are turning them on and off, fast, really fast, hundreds (or more) times a second fast.

For each of the on/off cycle, there are parts having to do work in the dimmer. Everytime electronics turn on, they make heat. Heat is the fastest way to kill electronics.

Your dimmer likely died in its really dim setting, and simply is not going to change.

Dimmer is gone - wants to be replaced


Replacing old 3-switch with new one that has Line In I'm replacing an old 3-switch switch in the bathroom with a new one. The old switch has a "Common" terminal (black wire) and 3 unlabeled terminals (one white and two black wires). I also have one unconnected copper wire coming out of the wall, which I presume is Ground, but not sure.

The problem is that the new switch has a "Line" terminal, in addition to a green "Ground" terminal, and three unlabeled terminals. So the old switch had 3 terminals, and new one has 4.

I've tried a few combinations but none cause the switch to work. Any ideas?

Note: Old switch is from a French company, Hubbell.

Fixing the sins of installers past

What the installer who put this switch in did is run two /2 NM cables between the switch and the junction box downstream of it to hold all the switched hots and the neutral, which was rather naughty of them as it is a likely NEC 300.3(B)/310.10(H) violation that could get your switch box mighty toasty if the circuits the triple-switch was controlling were heavily loaded.

What they should have done, and what your electrician (as you indicated you weren't comfortable running wire yourself) needs to do to fix it, is run a /4 W/G NM cable from the switch box to the first downstream junction box -- that cable has enough wires in it for the neutral, the ground and all the switched hots, combined into one sheath.  Then, they can put the new switch in and have the installation (or at least, this part of it) meet Code :)


Deer skinning pole design I would like to build a deer skinning pole, about 8 ft tall. Here is my simple design:

My questions are:

How deep should I set the pressure treated 4x4 in the concrete base to be able to safely support approx. 200 lb load ?
Which diameter cylindrical form should I use for the concrete base? Is 12" sufficient or should I go bigger?

This is not a great design.

The exact weight of concrete required to keep this from tipping over depends on how far out the load is suspended. If we assume you are hanging the load 24” from the post (18” from the edge of the concrete) you will need about 3X the weight of the load: 600 lbs of concrete. In a 12” diameter cylinder you would need the concrete to be more than 5 feet tall (assuming your concrete weighs 150 lbs/cu-ft). If you went up to a 24” diameter base the situation is a lot better because you have more concrete and more leverage, but I am not sure if the post would really be stable in such a large block of concrete without reinforcement.

There is also the issue of the serious amount of bending you are putting on a 4x4. This is not an axial load.

I would recommend another design. Either put supports on both sides (like a swing set) or stabilize the post with guy-wires into the ground.


Why does this night light cause the GFI to trip? I recently got some of these auto-dimming, light-sensitive, night light / emergency flash lights and plugged one in into a grounded (three-prong) GFI outlet in the bathroom. In the few days since I did that, I've found twice that the GFI had tripped. I have not had trouble with this outlet before, including when using it with a simpler kind of light-sensitive night light.

More details:

Neither the current night light nor the older one have a ground prong.
The outlet is dry and clear of obstructions.

Why would this kind of night light cause the GFI to trip? Should I simply not use this light in this outlet, or does this point to a possible fault in the circuit? How would I check?

(Context: USA, 1950s-built house)

A GFCI device compares the current flowing on the "hot" to the current returning on the "neutral".  In principle, the only way a GFCI can trip is if current finds some third path.

What about battery charging? Isn't the current going into the battery and not returning?  NO.  Think of a battery charger like an irrigation water pump driven by a water-wheel.  All the current going into the water-wheel falls out the bottom.  That turns a shaft.  And on the other end of that shaft, the pump pushes a completely different stream of current.  The GFCI is akin to having current meters on top and bottom of the water wheel proper, to make sure all the water that enters the wheel, exits.  It has nothing to do with the pump current.

So, if your nightlight has only 2 connections, hot and neutral, then there is no third path - every electron which enters via hot must exit via neutral.  A GFCI trip should be impossible.   That would seem to leave 2 possibilities.

Something about the electronics of the night light is creating noise or signal delay in a way which is irritating the GFCI.  This could be exacerbated by a defective or poor-quality GFCI.
There actually is a ground fault, but it's somewhere else and the problem is being triggered by the presence of the nightlight.  Picture a broken receptacle where the neutral is very close to the ground, and plugging the nightlight in shorts neutral to ground.


Water Softener Drain Line with Loop - Flexible PVC to Sharkbite? So, I bought a Genesis Revolution upflow water softener to install in my first house in Laveen AZ. We have a water softener loop already plumbed into the house. The airgap is in the laundry room upstairs. This question is about the drain line. I have the 1" Sharkbite flex hoses for the inlet and outlet, not a problem. I'm having a huge problem figuring out exactly how to attach a drain line. The directions for the water softener only say to "connect 1/2 drain tube" with no clear indication on how to attach it to the copper drain pipe. Everything I've Googled or YouTube'd is about fitting it to an air gap PVC fitting, which I cannot do with my loop setup.

Everything I could find, said to use PEX and a Sharkbite connector. Easy enough, except that the drain on the Genesis valve head is a barb fitting and the 1/2 PEX tubing I bought does not fit on there. It's too rigid.

The other solution was to get "flexible PVC" tubing, using a tube clamp to clamp it to the barb. Easy enough, except I don't think that will work on the Sharkbite connector to the copper pipe, will it?

Does anyone know how to make this work? I'm at a loss after 10+ hours of being online, reading forums, watching videos.

If you use flexible hose, and take the sharkbite fitting off the drain, the flexible hose will/should clamp right onto the 1/2 inch copper pipe. Or, you (or a plumber if you don't solder as I might expect for sharkbites) can solder a brass/bronze barbed fitting there, or I suppose you can build some sharkbite contraption that ends in a barbed fitting.

Hint, use enough hose onto the pipe to allow placing TWO hose clamps on the pipe, and put the screw-clamp part on opposite sides.

Alternatively, you could investigate what sort of threads you get if you unscrew the plastic barbed fitting, and look for a PEX fitting that matches that thread.


Can I connect a tankless water heater with 3/4" connections to my 1/2" plumbing? I have 1/2" pipes from the water meter throughout the house with two full baths. Every fixture installed is fed by 1/2" line and doesn't have pressure problems.

Soon I will need to replace my hot water tank and would like to go tankless. Every tankless NG water heater I've researched above 4.5 gpm has 3/4" water line connects. My zone needs are a top rise of at least 70 degrees which puts me in around 9gpm.

Can I reduce those 3/4" line connects to 1/2" inlet and outlet and still run that tankless safely and with no loss of performance?

Yes, you can in most cases. Water heaters have 3/4" connections to allow for increased flow and pressure where it's needed and where the pipes are larger, but that doesn't mean your plumbing has to match. The heater will flow at the same rate (more or less) as a straight run of 1/2" pipe in your case. If anything, the heater will perform better at heating rise since flow is restricted by the pipes, extending time in the heater for each water parcel.

To be sure, read the specifications for the product you're interested in.


Any thoughts on how to remove this faucet / handle Hoping to find some help here as I am at a loss.  Does anyone have any thoughts on how to remove this fixture.  There are no brand marks and I don't know who installed it.  The handles don't have any set screws so I can't seem to get them off and when I grab the neck piece I can't seem to get it to unscrew.

It may be a Kohler or at least have the same design. Try this :

  1  Hold on to the handle while turning the handle base counterclockwise by hand or with a strap wrench, taking care to protect the finish.

  2  Remove any remaining components to expose the valve. Set all parts aside for re-use.

  3  The valve can now be replaced or other repairs made.

  4  Reassemble handle parts in reverse order.

https://support.kohler.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002095334-Remove-the-Handles-for-the-Finial-Bathroom-or-Kitchen-Faucet


What kind of receptacle to buy for a Tappan Stove-top (electric)? I was just wondering what kind of receptacle I would need for a Tappan stove. Recently one of them burned out and I would like to replace it. It's the part that the heating coil plugs into with the hot neutral wires on it.

It's confusing as to what one I need when the pictures are all low resolution and claim broad compatibility with a brand name.

There seem to be two kinds of generic plugs, one of them has small circles, the constitutes a more traditional plug you don't want this

The other one has friction slots. Tappan uses the friction slots.

For my specific Tappan stove I used RR117 from Supco (pictured above).

It was marketed on eBay as

  Frigidaire Kenmore Gibson Tappan Stove Burner Terminal Receptacle Kit 5301167733

The bag says it replaces 5303935058, 330031, 868464, 709T034S01, WB17X210, 0089336, W10116799

If you need wire, for my job I paid $10 and got some nice stuff.

Copper Wire, 14 GA, AWG, GAUGE .116. High Heat, Resist Abrasions. For Truck, Motorcycle, RV. General Purpose. (25 FOOT COIL)


How to hide patch of mud & oil primer under latex paint I put a hole in my wall a while ago. I made a patch for it with a wood backing, two drywall patches and spackle in the middle and on top.

I painted over it with CIL (white eggshell latex) paint/primer. Contrary to the claim on the can, the paint did not stick to the spackle. I ended up peeling it off as well as the area around it revealing some of the old chalk paint as well. Apparently painting latex over latex will "activate" the old paint.

I used more spackle to try to smooth out the damage that was done. I then used Kilz Oil Base primer to seal the spackle. I then used the CIL again on the wall. This time it sticks to the wall.

The problem I'm having is that the patch of wall were I primed it with Kilz is noticeable. Essentially there's an area of the wall that is marked with brush strokes from the oil based paint. I tried to paint over with more CIL. I used a bit more than a gallon of CIL on the entire wall and the patch is still visible. This was roughly 4-6 coats on the wall.

What can I do to hide this? I read that latex paint shouldn't be sanded. I tried it and the sand paper won't grab at it. I suppose I could try mudding the wall with more spackle. But I'm worried about doing it on top of latex paint. I'd also likely increase the area of the problem, not to mention I'll have to use oil primer again.

One suggestion I read on a DIY forum was to use Kilz Build Primer. It seems to be designed for this kind of thing. Should it be oil or acrylic? I'm not sure which one to use. Any thoughts on this? Will it work?

I'd hate to bust out the patch of wall or the whole wall because of this so any advice would be helpful.

Yes, you can and should sand latex if you are painting over it.  You cannot expect the next coat of paint to grip if it doesn't have a roughed surface to grip to.  Painting a glossy or glazed surface is like painting glass - it has no adhesion and will lift right up.

Fresh latex is hard to sand because it hasn't cured yet.  You have to wait it out.  If it won't sand, it's definitely too soon to overcoat it with anything but itself.  (and on that, check the cans for recoat rules).  You really need to leave decent curing time between dissimilar products - especially oil over latex.

There is no such thing as paint-primer.  Paint companies tell you that to take your money.  Their marketing claim is based on painting surfaces which are close to ideal - that is to say, well prepared and primed, with no material variations.

By "material variations" I mean material, color, porosity, chemical differences, anything which might "print through" because the topcoat reacts differently to it.  I'm not referring to physical roughness like brush stipple or high spots. The purpose of primer is to bind to the underlying surfaces no matter what they are, seal them, and make them "equal" to the topcoat, so the topcoat applies uniformly and reflects exactly the physical terrain, without visible glitches for any other reason.

Done right, you will not see where wood meets marble, an area was previously painted, or where a cat peed on bare drywall.

You also need to remove surface contaminants which would foul the primer (oil, acids) or prevent adhesion (wax, silicones, linseed oil). In machinery paint, that's the classic 2-cloth wipedown with solvent.  Water is a solvent, but too many contaminants are immune to it, so you need to use a chemical solvent or strong soaps, e.g. the classic TSP.  You need to get the soap residue off.

Invariably when paint fails, somebody skipped one of these steps.

Why are the oil brush strokes still visible?  Is this contamination like acid which is fouling each layer? (remove it).  Or is it physical irregularity/bumps (sand it down).  A build primer is specifically meant to be sanded.  It will leave brush stipple marks far more than a topcoat will, but it's easy to sand.


How do I calculate the length of a ladder I need to reach a certain height? My roof-line is 24' from the ground. What length ladder should I purchase to ensure I can reach the this height safely?

I'm guessing there is a "safe" angle (a) for a ladder, regardless of the height (h). So more generally what is an easy way to calculate the length of a ladder (l) to safely reach a particular height?

You have to take into account a few factors:

extension ladders have an overlap that isn't shown in the nominal length - for example, a 16' extension ladder has two 8' sections, but fully extended is only 13' long.

the ladder will be used at an angle (usually a four to one pitch / 75 degrees) so the top of a 16' ladder won't even be at 13' in use
you don't want to stand on the top few rungs
some tasks take more ladder than others, if you're painting, you can reach up and work a little higher than the top of the ladder, but if you have to get on a roof, you need the ladder that extends well past the edge of the roof (usually about three feet)

Trig tells us the height of the top of a ladder tilted at 75 degrees will be .97 the length.  For example, a 16' extension ladder (which is really 13' long extended) set up at a 4:1 / 75 degree pitch will touch a wall at about 12'7" (13' * .97).

This chart has all you need to know, no math:


Inner deck guardrail posts and deck framing connectors I am mounting the deck guard rail posts inside the frame before adding the decking.  I have used deck framing connection hardware as suggested in the Simpson Strong-Tie deck connection guide.
One thing not clear to me is what to do when the post and connection hardware (e.g., joist hanger or angle bracket) interfere with each other? Do you space out the post to clear the hardware or do you remove the hardware so you get a flush fit, relying on the carriage bolts, blocking and tension ties to keep the frame together. This detail seems to be missing from all the online tutorials, diagrams etc.
Example: Simpson Strong-tie Inner Guardrails via Timber Screws with Blocking
For example, in the aforementioned, they showed one method for internally attaching guardrail posts using timber screws (instead of carriage bolts) and blocking, but they don't show any connection hardware such as joist hangers or a framing angle in the corner. The figure indicates that connecting hardware isn't shown, but they don't indicate either whether all other hardware is required, and how you get a flush fit with the post if the hardware is in place.

Example: Lowe's Inner Guardrails with Carriage Bolts and Blocking
Lowe's also has some detailed instructions using more traditional carriage bolts, but with blocking and tension ties (likely reflecting newer building methods coming out of the Virginia Tech study).
Their corner blocking layout does not appear to include an framing angle bracket in the corner due to how flush the post is (below).  Does this imply the carriage bolts and blocking is enough to ensure structural integrity of the joist framing?

In Lowe's example of inner guardrail mounted on a rim joist, we can see at least half of a joist visible.  Is it a half of a joist hanger?  The toe-nailing slots on the joist hanger would have pushed out the post from the joist, but as you can see the inner guardrail post looks like it is laying fairly flush against the 2x8 joist.  Is that just an optical illusion and the post is offset from the joist?

"Does this imply the carriage bolts and blocking is enough to ensure structural integrity of the joist framing?"

From what you show in the illustrations, yes.
The installation of the carriage bolts & blocking ensure the structural integrity, and, if you install them carefully, replace the function of the framing angle bracket.


Installing timer switch with jumper wire into possibly old wiring I'm trying to install push button timer switch for the shower fan.
In the wall socket there are just two wires plus ground. Previously, a mechanical timer connected the two wires.

Based on this answer and this answer, it looks like I got a wrong switch. However, my switch comes with an extra jumper wire to hook up to the neutral line.

Based on my previous setup, are the wires in my wall hot and load, or hot and neutral?
Can I use the jumper wire to connect either line or load to the neutral terminal, to get the timer to work?

I attached photo of the manual. The drawing of the socket shows wires coming from both top and bottom of the socket (line and neutral from one end, load and neutral from another end), but I have only two wires coming from one side.

Old timer switch

Manual. Circled connection is missing. I stopped at the third-last step (Remove the white jumper wire)

Thank you

You got the wrong switch.

A spring wound timer switch, like the GE unit you're taking out, is you-powered.  It doesn't need energy from another source to do what it does. Like any passive switch, it is simply a gate between "always-hot" and "switched-hot".

However, your push button timer switch needs power to do its little thing.  And it needs power at all times. In electricity, you get power between hot and neutral.

So the switch needs neutral.  Your switch is on a switch loop, and historically they never provided neutral on switch loops. Now they're starting to do it... but if you don't have neutral, you can't use this switch.


Replace 7" metal duct with 6" flexible or 8" flexible? I am replacing the flexible ductwork in my attic, which is a mix of ancient 6" and 7" metal ducting.  I'm having a hard time finding 7" flexible ductwork for sale locally, but no problem with 6" and 8".  For a smaller, fairly open single story ranch house, would it cause excessive airflow issues to use 6" or 8" instead?

This is going to a room with about 160 square feet by the way.  An additional, larger room is about 290 square feet that currently has 2x7" ducts to it.

You're probably fine with the larger diameter (I wouldn't go smaller), but I would install a damper where you tie into the main trunk and then have someone come and rebalance the system using flow meters. That way a professional can optimize your entire house so that the air entering each room is the same relative to it's size and heat load, and the house will stay more comfortable as a result.


Refinishing options for metal sink drainplug? The drain-plug in the sink of my bathroom vanity is made of a plastic base with a metal top (brass by the looks of it) that is chrome plated.

The chrome-plating developed some scratches which turned black over time (oxidation I presume).
My cleaning lady couldn't stand the eye-sore and got too enthusiastic with the polishing. She used Brasso copper-polish on it and managed to cut through the chrome-plating and through the underlying copper-plating as well. (You can see the yellow brass coming through just left and top of the center.)
That was last week. Now the exposed copper-plating is starting to go dark as well.
I can't easily get a replacement. This plug was made by a factory that went bankrupt 10 years ago.
It is a peculiarly shaped part of the whole faucet and drain assembly on the sink. (Faucet has a lever at the base which pushes the drain-plug up from below when the drain is closed. The plug itself is a seperate part, but the plastic base goes 3" into the drain where it sits on top of the lever. The metal top is glued or epoxied to the plastic base. I can't separate top and base without damaging the base.)
To make matters worse the plug is a non-standard size, in between the standard small and large drain-plugs. I can't just put in a standard rubber plug. This also makes replacing the whole drain-faucet assembly a problem due to non-standard sizes.
The wife is really starting to nag me about the eye-sore... Something needs to be done.
So, my best idea so far is to refinish the metal cap. I have never done anything like that so what are my options?

I had been trying, in vain, to find a replacement plug for days.
Hence I was looking towards refinishing options.
Due to Corona lockdown all shops here are closed. Plumbing suppliers with a web-shop still do mail-order, but I wasn't having any luck finding a match for the plug.
I resorted to emailing/chatting to customer support on various webshops without much success. And I started calling every plumbing supplies and installation outfit in a 50 mile radius.
Miracles do happen apparently...
Called supplier nr. 15 on the list.
The lady there started to laugh about halfway into my story. Turned out she had exactly the same vanity at home and the same scratching problem 2 years ago.
She also had the solution.
When the original factory closed 10 years ago the inventory and designs were bought by the company Grohe, who integrated them in their own sub-brand called "Ben".
They still make them. Slightly different plastic base nowadays, but it fits.
The reason I couldn't find anything online... Grohe calls these "waste plug" instead of "drain plug", so you never find them in an online search unless you happen to know you need to look for "waste plug".
Additional confusion is caused by the fact that Grohe calls this a 5/4" plug, but that doesn't match any of the actual dimensions of the plug. 5/4" happens to be the size of the pipe-fitting on the siphon that goes under the sink.
So I got my replacement ordered and I can forget about refinishing the original plug.


What drainage should I install under concrete slab in garage? I have a concrete garage which is halfway inside the hill. Essentially the surface behind the garage is at garage's roof level. Garage's floor is concrete slab 3"-4" thick (at least it's best I could figure). I suspect that the base under the slab is in poor condition.

Some bright minds, presumably about 50 years ago, terminated drain holes inside the garage. So now I have water along garage sides year round. Also a bit of water sips through some cracks in the slab.

I don't want to dig around garage to install drainage because there is a large tree behind it which I don't want to kill. Plus it's very close to property line.

So what can I do to minimize the moisture inside the garage? I was thinking of removing the slab and putting drain pipes along garage walls. Then re-pouring the slab with proper base under it. The holes would then just drip directly into the drain pipe. Drain pipes can be terminated in sewer, then.

Does it make sense? Can someone recommend better option?

You can install an interior weeping system similar to what you would normally do on the outside, but without the waterproofing.

Start by jackhammering out about two feet of floor around the edges of your garage, as close to the walls as you can get. Dig down until you reach dirt, and if that's not at least two feet down, keep going. Now, put down a couple inches of 3/4" crushed gravel, and then install weeping tile (it's not tile anymore; it's 4-6" corrugated plastic drain pipe with a nylon mesh sock over it). Make sure the sock is continuous across any joins you make in the weeping tile for corners etc. This is a good time to direct those drain holes down into this trench, where the water they drain will flow into the weeping tile. You'll also need a sump, or a connection to a downhill storm sewer; direct the weeping tile to this sump pit or the storm drain. While you're doing all this a center drain can't hurt too much; you can tie it into the weeper wherever it's convenient, just make sure the garage floor and the drain flange are level, or that the garage floor slopes slightly to the drain.

Now, you can install waterproof sheathing on the interior walls contacting the concrete. Normally this product is designed to go outside the foundation walls, but in cases where that's infeasible it can work this way too. The idea is to trap moisture that weeps through the wall behind the sheathing, where it will then be directed down the wall and under the slab to the weeper. So, you'll install the sheathing, which should have an air space between wall and most of the layer, and make sure the end is down in the trench by the weeper.

Backfill the rest of the trench with 3/4" crushed gravel up to the slab footing, then patch the slab with new concrete. Your garage should stay much drier.


Concerned about 3 circuits interconnected in 1 box My home was built in 1941. The wiring is a mix of original and some added updates. I recently went to wire in a bath exhaust fan and timer switch on the same circuit as the light-switch (they share a box now) I traced the circuit (14) to a nearby box with a ceramic light also on circuit 14.

This small octagonal box had 8 cables coming out of it. Using a voltage tester I determined circuits 10 and 12 also ran through this box. With all 3 circuits turned off I proceeded to separate circuits 10 and 12 into different junction boxes to free up room to tap off 14 for power - and I prefer not to have multiple circuits in the same box for reasons I am about to come to.

The voltage tester indicated voltage was not present, but when I disconnected a group of white wires I saw sparking and lights I know to be on circuit 8 went flickered and went out. I turned off circuit 8 (that's now four breakers off to cut power to this one junction box with light).

After separating all the wires for 8, 10, and 12 (14 was wired to itself and not interconnected like the other 3) I turned the circuits back on and found that both the black and white wires from circuit 8 were 'hot'. There are 3 sets of 3 and 4-way controlled lights on 8, but no switch position checked had any effect on either black or white, they always stayed hot.

Tracing 8 I found that there is a cable going from one junction box back to the panel with the black removed completely (white and neutral only) and another that goes to another junction box down-line on circuit 12 (again white and neutral only with black removed completely from the sheathing).

This wiring has been this way for at minimum 22 years (my father may have added some of these wires between 1985 when they purchased the home, and 1997 when he passed, or the previous owners may have done this) Either way, in 22+ years it has been working, but I haven't a clue as to why it would have been done this way, nor if it's to code.

10 come from the panel to the box (what i thought was down-line circuit 10 is actually fed from a junction box on 8), 12 also comes from the panel, but has two cables feeding down-line.

Attached is a diagram showing the connections that concern me black of 10 to black of 8, white of 10 to white of 12 (not from panel), all 3 blacks of 12 are connected together, and the 'Hot' white from 8 is connected to the white on 12 coming from the panel as well as the white on the other 12 that runs down-line.

You're not supposed to disconnect wires with the power on. However, this can be a real problem in a promiscuous-neutral situation, where you don't realize another circuit is borrowing this circuit's neutral, thus putting current on it.  It won't even show up with a voltage tester until you disconnect the neutral, and then whammo.

Don't let your guard down around neutral (or any other wire that's "supposed" to be safe); this is a good example of why.

White wires normally handle current

Current flows in loops. That's why everything has at least 2 wires. Current is flowing out the hot wire, to the appliances, then returning on the neutral wire.  If you disconnect neutral, it'll spark because you are interrupting current.

Further, the disconnected side of the neutral will measure out as "hot", because electricity is trying to flow from hot via the appliance back to neutral, but it can't get back.  It's normal in this case to read mains voltage across the neutral gap. (in fact, this "lighting up" of neutral is a huge reason ground is separate!)

Absolutely NO promiscuous neutrals

Your box's current wiring has neutrals sleeping with everybody.  That's quick and lazy wiring, but it's very bad.  Imagine you run three 20A circuits, that just happened to return all their current on the same neutral. That neutral will flow how much power? Anyone, anyone, Bueller? 60 amps, that is correct.  Neutral wires don't have circuit breakers, so that's a huge problem.  The neutral will set the house on fire and the breaker will never know.

There are ways to exploit split-phase or 3-phase geometry to intentionally share neutral wires (so that neutral handles only differential current), but you don't appear to be doing it here.

Currents must be equal in every cable or conduit

This is another rule that outlaws the promiscuous neutral.  AC power kicks a heck of an electromagnetic field (EMF).  When two adjacent wires have opposite flow, their EMFs cancel each other out.  That's vital for safety - EMF causes eddy current heating, which starts fires, and vibration (which cracks copper and causes arc fires).

Imagine many ants running up and down branches of a tree. They never leap from branch to branch; they'll come down branch 1 and go up branch 2 rather than jumping.  At the end of the day all ants go home.  If you put ant turnstiles anywhere on the tree, you'd have exactly the same number of ants going out as coming back.  Mains electrical is like that -- if you wire all your cables in tree/branch topology with each branch being 1 cable, currents will inherently be equal in all cables.

See how current is not equal in that 10-8-12 sequence.  Current goes out the orange hot, but comes back on the red neutral via a different cable.

So... where hot goes, neutral follows. Always.

Now, with all that in mind, look at your drawing. Its hot (purple) serves two downline cables (OK so far) -- but it's neutral (red) serves two completely different downline cables (no, no, no!)

So pick and choose.  For instance have green neutral go straight across to that cable orange hot serves.   Then have red neutral serve the same cables that purple hot serves.    This is mandatory and you should do it immediately.

When you have two disparate circuits in the same box, it's preferred to partition them.  Or at least mark them with colored tape -- white and gray are allowable colors for neutral.

This may not solve all your problems, but at least this will be correct.

And to review: Hook up wires in order, and push them into the back of the box in order:

Safety Grounds (green, green-yellow and bare) first.  They go in the back, you're unlikely to need to disturb them later, and this heads off a common problem where a device has a ground fault. If you hook up ground last, then it seems like ground is the problem when actually the device is defective.  Hook grounds first.    By the way, grounds are promiscuous - hook them all together along with pigtails to the steel box and to any devices which mount there.
Then Neutrals (white or gray)-- keeping diligent separation.  I recommend marking, but use only white or gray, but don't go past middle gray, or it'll be confused as black on a switch loop.
Hots (every other color) on top.


Top course of cedar shingle on a lean-to roof If the apex of the lean-to roof extends beyond the tall wall 6 to 12 inches, what does the topmost course of cedar shingles look like, up at the highest point on the roof?
Is there flashing that partly covers that course and then bends around to wrap the decking and then turns downward 90-degrees to act as a drip-edge?

Your roof edge may have different details, but the concept is the same - drip edge is required to prevent water damages.

Drip edges are metal sheets, usually shaped like an “L,” installed at the edge of the roof. Also called drip edge flashing or D-metal, they serve a vital function by directing water away from the fascia and into the gutter. Without a drip edge, water may end up beneath the shingles and may cause damage to various parts of the home. Though your home may not have originally had a drip edge installed, drip edges are now required by most building codes across North America to protect homes from damage.
https://www.iko.com/na/pro/building-professional-tools/learn-about-roofing/guide-to-drip-edges-for-shingle-roofs/
For the ridge:


Why does one of my LED flood lights randomly turn on and off? One of my outdoor floodlights stays on for approximately an hour then goes out.The other led floodlight on the same fixture randomly goes on and off also, but not as much. Are the bulbs going bad, or is it something else.

Over the last couple of years I have installed hundreds of LED fixtures and relamped Flouresents to LED's every failure I have had has been due to a bad driver. I have some drivers totally fail no light, some fail by reducing the output, and others flicker or strobe. I have pulled each failure apart and none of the LED's have failed each time it has been the driver. On the expensive fixtures I have been able to repair the drivers when not potted but if potted I replace the drivers. There could be other causes but it sounds like the drivers are overheating and shutting down.


Ceiling fixture crossbar with 45° rotation I'm trying to mount a Hampton Bay track light power feed to a standard 4" round ceiling box.  The power feed seems to be designed for a ceiling box where the mounting screws make a line at 45° to the walls of the room, but the ceiling box I'm working with has the mounting screws such that the line drawn through the two screws is parallel to one wall.  Mounting the power feed using the existing screw holes would result in the track running diagonally in relation to the room walls.

Here is a photo of the guts of the power feed

And here a drawing of the ceiling box with its relationship to the walls

And a tracing of the power feed baseplate in the same orientation as the ceiling box.

And finally, what I imagine a 45° offset crossbar bracket would look like if it existed.

I've tried Home Depot (of course), online searches, and several lighting stores but nobody has anything like this.  I found a Westinghouse "universal crossbar" but it provides only about 25° of possible rotation, not nearly enough.

I cannot believe this problem has not come up countless times, both in this context and in many others besides track lighting, and a solution must already exist, but I have not been able to find one.

They make a lot of different crossbars and adapters, including some that swivel. Have you tried one like these?:

I recommend a good ol' local mom and pop hardware store rather than some big-box warehouse chain store.


2 GFCI or not 2 GFCI With modern Bidet Seats are becoming more common, especially models that offer an electrical plug-in option to heat and dispense water, does the Bidet Seats need to be plugged to a GFCI electrical receptacle.  Similarly, Do electrical receptacle under bathroom' s sink / vanity or light fixture' s switches near water source / faucet, need to be tied to a GFCI electrical receptacle or a GFCI circuit breaker, for safety

Yes and yes. All receptacles in a bathroom must be on a GFCI protected circuit. You could have the GFCI on the first receptacle in a series string and it can protect others down stream of it, or you can use a GFCI breaker that is dedicated to that bathroom and protect everything. But fair warning, if you tie the light fixture to it (which is not required), then a GFCI trip can leave you in the bathroom in the dark, with the Reset far away!

In your photo, push the Test button on your GFCI and see if the outlet for the bidet seat is also killed by it. I'd be willing to bet it is.


Does this small clamp have a special use? I have this small clamp - its about 2" / 5 cm tall:

I'm not sure where it came from so I don't know what its for. Note the pin on the right side which is removable - I assume this is to allow something to fit in the clamp from the side?

I suppose it could be more of a press than a clamp but I don't think you could get much pressure given the small size of the main knob.

Searching for terms like "castaloy small clamp" returns lots of hits but nothing that seems to match this particular tool.

Update - thanks to Solar Mike's answer I was able to locate the exact clamp, apparently still made which is a "Fisherbrand Castaloy Hosecock Clamp" from Fisher Scientific, with the description

  Fine-machined adjustment screw for very accurate regulation of flow

Neat!

The keyword that made the difference was "tube" which was critical to locating it since nothing about the clamp was obvious to me to have anything to do with tubing.

That style of clamp can be or has been used to compress or close soft tubes or pipes in many situations like drip feed water supply to plants as a simple example.


Can I rough sand a deck before rain, and finish sand after rain dries? I am in the process of sanding and staining a new deck (built in June) but the weather is not being very cooperative. I know stain needs to sit 48 hrs before being rained on, and that wood needs to be dry and sanded before hand, meaning 24 to 48 hrs after a rain. So at a minimum I need 5 clear days, assuming 1 day in the middle for sanding and staining.

I am planning a 2 pass sanding job with a belt sander using 40 grit and a finish pass with an orbital using 80 grit. My question is, can I do my rough pass before a rain, and then do my finish pass 48 hours after the rain, and then stain? Or am I wasting my time sanding before the rain at all?

Thanks in advance.

I've done deck railings and have split the sandings with rainfall in between with no problem. You just have to make sure the wood's dry before the second pass. Weather never cooperates when trying to sand/stain a deck. Get a waterproof tarp and keep the deck covered while you're working on it. It will save you a lot of time waiting for it to dry out after rain. Just make sure to allow for air flow. I always have a tarp handy when sealing decks.... you can't rely on the weatherman. Good luck.


What's up with the PEX on this shower valve? I've been using PEX for a couple years now. I came across a few shower valves recently, but the 1/2 PEX lines for the hot/cold are not what I'm used to seeing. Please compare my photo (top) with a similar Moen model but a different type of PEX connection.

I've only used the PEX clamps that they sell at Home Depot, will that even work with this valve?

That is for PEX-A (Wirsbo/ProPEX/Expansion).  Its the expansion type, not the crimp type that is PEX-B, cheaper, and available at big box hardware stores.  PEX-A is slightly better for strength and leaching, and is available from supply houses but costs a bit more.

The way that PEX-A is, it tries to return to form when expanded, so with a special tool it is stretched out with an expansion ring over it, slipped over that fitting, then it shrinks back down in about 10 seconds and holds on.  No crimp rings or anything other than the PEX itself holding the connection together:

While you probably could put PEX-B crimp style on this fitting, its not supported by the manufactures and probably isn't worth the worry of it slipping off someday.  The ProPEX fitting lacks the barbs that the crimp type fitting has.


Do DRIcore panels need to be flat? I want to install carpet tile over DRIcore on my concrete basement floor.  The floor is far from flat; I would guess at least an inch or two of overall variation.

Do I need to ensure the floor is flat for the DRIcore?  If so, how would I do this?  I see they make integrated plastic shims, but they are apparently only designed to adjust the height by 1/4".

In my opinion yes, you need to eliminate the dips. Anything that will be spanned over a low spot by the Dricore will move under foot. It is after all only a high grade OSB and the T&G joints will eventually fail somewhere over time.

The whole floor does not have to be level, just on the same plane.

On a concrete floor, a laser level will drive you crazy, do not do that to yourself. Technically, it needs to be flat, ideally it should be level, but level is not critical. I see eyes rolling now.... A string line will give you a good idea of what is in plane, not relying on it needing to be level. I refer to a level as a straight edge only, not using the bubble to determine level. Usually a level is always straight, therefore a good candidate for checking flatness over a given area. It is a lot of "hands and knees work". Scoot the level all over the floor to see how the floor plane is in any 4 ft span. This will help locate the high spots. Situate the level or straight edge over 2 high spots, anything over a 1/16" needs shimmed.


Is this an emergency tool ie; seatbelt cutter/ glass breaker I think this is an emergency tool. Glass punch/seatbelt cutter.

That is not a glass break tool. It's a chip inserter.

You put the microchip in the U shaped slot at the bottom, then use the plunger at the top to push the chip in to the circuit board or holder.


How can I improvise a kids double bunker bed? I have a small bedroom and two single beds on ensemble. I want to fit them in the corner in an L shape but on top of each other. This means part of one bed will go underneath the other one. My local hardware shop said i need very strong platform to support the top bed. I dont have the skills but a thought came to me that I can use a dinning table as the platform. Its strong and will not collapse. Does anyone have another solution?

Kids being kids this is a bad idea. Without any means of locking the bed on the table it will slide off and someone will get hurt. One lower cost option is to check craigslist and see if someone needs to swap some bunk beds for regular twins. I admit it would be a long shot but eventually someones kids has grow out of them.


Supply/return plenum box: OK to use top of box? For sheet metal supply/return plenum boxes, I noticed the builder didn't make holes in the top for any of the ductwork.  I figure it's because it wouldn't make sense considering every duct works its way back down from that point.  Question I have is for cases where I just have run out of room around the plenum box to make new duct, is it ok to make a new take off on the top of the box?  Is there any gotchas with doing that?  I figure not but just checking.

The reason there are no supply ducts running from the top of the supply air plenum is that the air from the fan in the air handler hits the top of the plenum forcing air equally to the supply runs coming off of the sides of the plenum. If you were to have a supply run coming off of the top of the plenum it would get more air because of it having the path of less resistance. Return air plenums do not matter where the duct openings are as much.


Pool chemical balance - 0 FC and High CH, CYA I have a 15,500 gallon inground plaster pool. I recently purchased the taylor 2006 kit. Doing the tests, this is what i got.

FC 0 (the reason for the 0 chlorine is, we recently purchased the house and prev owners didn't seem to have added any chlorine during the 3 weeks period. Only trichlor jumbo tabs were used as i could tell from the floater and trichlor bucket that we left behind.)
CC 0
PH 7.5
Total Alk 180
CH (using the taylor 2006 kit, at 10ml, it took 22 drops). So 22x25 = 550
CYA (it's way below the 100 mark on the test tube) It's on the 1 1/2ml mark on back of the tube which i would say more like 300 cya. I can't tell exact measurement since tube is not labeled below the 100 mark.

I added half gallon (10% liquid chlorine) but i still can't read any chlorine on the kit. I'm guessing it's because of high CYA.
Water look clear. No signs of cloudiness or algea.
What do you suggest i do at this point. How come the water still looks good even though no chlorine in water and high CH. What do i adjust first at this point and how do i get free chlorine up to it's proper level 3-4ppm.

A high CYA (cyanuric acid) will cause the chlorine levels to appear lower than they actually are. Unfortunately the only way to lower high levels of CYA is to add fresh water. You ideally want the CYA level to be in the 20-40ppm range. CYA is the stabilizer which slows down the process of chlorine evaporation due to sunlight. Trichlor tablets have stabilizer in them so you don't need to add any yourself. Likewise, shocking your pool with trichlor will also add stabilizer. CYA levels are usually lowered during the season via splash out.

There's nothing wrong with having high levels of CYA, you'll just have a hard time monitoring your chlorine levels. If you're close to the end of the season, I would say do nothing to correct the problem and then drain your pool when you close it, add some fresh water for the cover to sit on and let the rain fill it up in the spring. If you want to fix the problem now, drain your pool and refill it with fresh water. The amount to drain is dependent on the current level of CYA and the target level.

Another observation is that both your Total Alk and hardness levels look too high. TA should be around 100. Your hardness may be right on the verge of the high range. Personally, I'd bring it down closer to 300-350. Draining your pool and filling it with fresh water will accomplish this as well.

When it comes to adjusting chemicals, the Taylor recommended order is:

Total Alk
Calcium hardness
pH
Chlorine


Was my approach to repairing stripped holes in a door jamb appropriate? Two of the screw holes on the doorframe of a bedroom in my house are completely stripped out, to fill them in I soaked small strips of paper towel in wood glue and carefully stuffed them deep until the hole was evenly filled. I made sure they where heavily saturated so the majority of volume is just wood glue, and I stuffed them evenly so the paper towel was not crammed at the bottom. It's drying now and looks good.

My thinking is that as long as the majority of volume is woodglue, and paper towel is just a carrier, this will be solid. After impulsively doing this without verifying if it works or not, I looked up common ways to do this and saw someone mix sawdust and wood glue. It looked as if their mixture used less glue than my concoction, which seems promising for me.

Can I expect my experiment here to last or should I prepare for a dehinged door in the coming days or months?

Paper towels and glue are both relatively weak. The best thing is wood plus glue. Fortunately most of us have some right sized pieces of wood handy in the kitchen:
Toothpicks
Clean the hole. Put in some glue. Stuff the hole with toothpicks (possibly dipped first in glue - depends on how big the hole is and how much glue oozes out as you stuff in the toothpicks). Cut off the ends sticking out of the hole. Let dry.
It is also a good idea to use longer screws if you can. But match the head of the existing screws so that the screws match the holes in the hinges.


How can I remove paint stains from a bathtub? I was cleaning my paint brush, bucket and roller in my bathtub.  Afterwards I noticed that I stained a couple spots of the bathtub. The stains are a light blue (the paint was a dark blue).  I am not sure of the material of the bathtub but it is the common material you see a lot of bathtubs in apartments (The closest thing I would relate it to is fiberglass with a white shiny glass but I don't know/think it is fiberglass). It isn't dried on paint (it feels completely smooth and looks like a stain).

How can I remove the stain? I have tried scrubbing, baking soda and water (paste), baking soda and hydrogen peroxide(paste), and bleach but I haven't got it off yet.  I could try scrubbing harder but I am afraid of harming the tub itself.

If the tub material is fiberglass (and most commonly are) the best way to remove any blemish is with an orbital sander and some 300 600 and 1000 grit Wet and Dry sandpaper. Using a spray bottle filled with water wet the stained surface. Starting with the lowest grit sand and keep the area wet. Let the sander do the work. No need for hand pressure. Watch how fast the stain is being removed (it should go quickly. Move through the grits and spray to keep surface continuously wet. The paper is of such a fine grit it will not leave any discernible scratches. When completed apply a cleaner/sealer for fiberglass.


help me understand this fridge auto-defrost circuit This is a followup on a question I asked awhile back about temporarily disabling the auto-defrost circuit on my KitchenAid KRFC300ESS fridge: modify fridge to temporarily defeat auto-defrost?
I believe the solution is to add a method to temporarily break the connection to the defrost heater. I'll use an NC (normally-closed) relay, so that I can bring a low-voltage wire pair to the front of the unit, where I'd put a "disable" switch (I believe the defrost heater operates off line voltage).   I want to put the relay in the machine compartment at the rear of the fridge, on the relevant wire that goes to a connector into the cabinet itself (where the defrost heater is located near the evaporator coils).
But I'm loathe to do this without first understanding the circuit.   Here is the relevant part of the schematic, showing the defrost circuit near the bottom and some surrounding context:

I believe interrupting the WH/BK wire is a non-starter, because it's connected to a number of other components (perhaps it's a neutral).   So that leaves me with the OR and BR wires, both of which appear to have the ability to energize the defrost heater ("DEF HTR").  I suppose I could use a DPST-NC relay and interrupt both, but I'd really like to understand what they do.   The BR wire comes from a connector terminal labeled "STAT" - does that mean thermostat ?   Except I thought auto-defrost circuits were usually based on timers, counting of door openings and such.  If anything is a thermostat, it would appear to be the thing labeled "DEF TERM" ("defrost terminator"); and why does it have that resistor bypassing the switch, is it to leave a trickle current in DEF HTR when it's off, maybe so the heater itself doesn't frost up ?   The OR wire goes to a connector terminal labeled "D-SENS" and I have no idea what that means.
To add further confusion, here is a portion of a companion drawing labeled "Wiring Diagram":

Note that in this drawing, the OR and BR wires appear to be going to pins 3 and 5 on a single 9-pin connector, whereas on the schematic they appear to go to two different connectors. You'd think the actual physical connectors are more likely to be in "Wiring Diagram" than "Schematic", but who knows ? I suppose I'll sort that out when I open up the back and locate these wires.
For completeness, here is the entire page from the "tech sheet" from which I lifted the above images.

It seems "DEF TERM" might mean "defrost terminator." If you can locate this component it may shed some light on what it does -- I wonder if it might be an auto-resetting thermal switch. It seems that a well-placed switch would experience temperature of 32F (or lower) until the moment when the ice surrounding it has turned to water, and then the temperature of the switch would rise. A control could use that behavior to terminate the defrost cycle at the right moment. A time-based defrost would run the risk of being inadequate by letting ice remain or inefficient by heating the freezer compartment excessively.
"D-SENS" might be an abbreviation for "defrost sense." If the guess about the terminator is correct, this sense line would provide a way for the controller to detect that the defrost terminator had activated. That could have been done by sensing the current flowing through the defrost heater, but maybe in their circuit design they decided a voltage-based sense was better than a current-based sense.
There's definitely some experimentation in your future. I'll guess you could use the NC relay to break the connection between the terminator and the heating element, leaving the sense connected to the heating element. That'll probably interrupt the power to the heater and hopefully still provide the sense feedback so the controller can decide to end the defrost cycle. But you may possibly upset the controller -- it could possibly do some kind of self-test to confirm the heating element is functional and this tampering may cause such a test to fail.


How can I fabricate a custom one-off plastic part? Here's some background: I just moved into a house and am in the process of fixing up the bathroom.  I want to keep the two florescent lights that frame the medicine cabinet but the plastic covers are probably 30 years old and one is cracking.

Question: Does anyone know of a place where I can send the one good light have a set of covers fabricated out of new plastic?

The lights look almost identical to this:

(source: robern.com)

That piece looks to just be a single curve (bent in a single axis), so it's possible to do yourself, but it's not necessarily the easiest thing to do, and you can get some optical distortion depending on how evenly you flex it.

If I were to do it, I'd do the following:

Trace the inside contour onto a piece of wood.
Make multiple wood pieces, slightly under size, one for each 6" or so of the length.
Attach them all with some sort of stringer, or just mount down to a piece of plywood.
Stretch a piece of thin metal (look for aluminum flashing at the hardware store) over the plug.
Make sure the existing piece fits on the plug well, if not, adjust.
Secure the aluminum flashing.  (I recommend contact cement or other adhesive so you don't leave dimples from nails or screws)
Get a piece of plastic the length you need, and maybe a tad wider than you think you need.
Get a few strips of wood the length needed, and some clamps.
Place one side of the plastic against the plug, and clamp in place (use the wooden strip, so you're not clamping against the plastic).
Using a heat gun, evenly heat the plastic at the curve, and slowly apply pressure on the unclamped side.
Once you get it bent, clamp the other side and let cool.

If you have a more complex shape, you can try to find someone who has a vaccuum table (or make your own), or find someone with a large enough autoclave.

And one other thing to note -- flourescent lights give off more UV than incandescent bulbs, so most shrouds for them are UV blocking.


5hp 230v single phase motor popping 30amp breaker I have a 5hp 230 single phase Leeson motor on my bandsaw. I ran a 30' circuit from a 30amp breaker in the panel to a NEMA 14-30 plug using 10AWG wire. From there, I have a 10-foot 10AWG cord to the saw. The connections are two loads and a ground, no neutral. Every time I turn on the bandsaw, the breaker pops immediately. I checked that the saw turned freely.

I had previously connected a dryer cord to it, also 10 feet long and 10AWG. The connection was two loads and a neutral. The saw ran fine. However, there was no blade so only the bottom wheel had to be turned. The dealer, Laguna, specifies that it is 30 amp. Any ideas how I can fix it?

Update

When I turn on the breaker, I can hear a solenoid clicking. When I turn the start switch, the blade starts to move before the breaker trips.

Plate on the motor

The 30 amp breaker

Update 2

I went back to the 10-30 cord and my 30amp dryer circuit. The connections are load, load, neutral as far as I can tell looking in the main panel. It works fine. It did take a few seconds to come up to speed. I put the 14-30 cord back on. The connections are load, load, ground. It still has the same problem. I tried the neutral on the new cord and got the same result.

I even read the manual. The spec for the LT18 bandsaw, which I have, is for a 30amp breaker. It also specifies that it has a 4.5hp motor so it may be out of date as it was written in 2008.

I did one more test. I hot wired the plug directly to the breaker in the panel using 10AWG wire I had left over. I got the same result. Could it be the breaker itself? I had previously used it for a 15amp motor and a 20amp, one at a time.

More images

The tripped 30amp breaker is for the bandsaw.

The circuit box at the bandsaw.

The wiring diagram from the manual. The image says LT16 HD. The manual is for the entire range of their Italian bandsaws.

This is the breaker for my dryer. This is one on which the bandsaw works. The wire from it looks like 10AWG at most.

NEC Table 430.245 states to size 5HP motor for 28A at 230V. Add 25% for start up and the circuit should be sized for 35 amps minimum. That would be #8 copper conductors with a 40A or 45A breaker.

The only way you could verify it is to check the amperage with an ammeter at start up and see if it is over 30A. That's probably is what is tripping your breaker.


4 prong Dryer cord not quite in all the way I've seen similar questions on the inter webs, but in a lot of cases I think users had the wrong dryer power cord. In my case I have a 4 prong cable and a 4 prong receptacle. Despite lots of rocking and pushing, I can see maybe  1 mm of the prongs and the plug is (obviously) not snug against the receptacle.

Do I need to have an electrician replace the receptacle? Has anyone ever seen this but eventually got the plug in 100%? I've been trying for 15 minutes and haven't been able to get it.

If it is only 1mm you have it in as far as it will go, good contact is being made. Your concern is what? The blades of the plug start engaging their receivers in the outlet almost as soon as the blades enter the receptacle. Lots of contact.

To answer your question, no you do not need to replace the outlet, IMHO.


What is the best way to shorten legs on a table and chairs? A few years ago we bought a "bar height" kitchen table and chairs.  It seemed like a good idea at the time but we hate it now.  It's terrible to have to sit with your feet not touching the floor for long periods.

So my question is what is the best way to cut off the exact same length on all the legs on the table and chairs so nothing wobbles (too much)?  The chairs have curved legs in the back so by the time they reach the floor they're angling a bit.

I don't mind renting a tool if the accuracy would be worth it.

Put the table/chair on a very flat and very horizontal surface. Ensure and double check with a levelgauge.
shim the table/chair so that the top surface of the table/chair is level using the level gauge
Take a pencil and tape it on a small block that is about the height you want the legs to shorten. Ensure that the block has parallel bottom and top planes.
With the pencil on the block, scribe the legs of the table/chair and make marks all around.
Cut precisely and carefully with a proper saw. Which is probably the hard part. If you start on a corner of a (square) table leg, make sure you cut on the cutting line on two faces.

in short:

Watch this video by Chris Schwarz: level the feet of a chair or sawbench


Is installing blinds a DIY Project? My wife and I have been in our home for a little less than a year, and the paper blinds are starting to get tired to look at. The prices on blinds.com look appealing, but I'm hoping there are no hidden gotchas I'm not aware of.

The majority of my windows would only be one piece, there are a couple of windows that would require two blinds, and a couple would require three. We are looking at horizontal blinds also and not vertical.

My self-assessed 'DIY Level' is pretty high by my standards, just to give some background, I do the majority of the repairs on my car, and as for the home I painted the living room ceiling, walls, and baseboards all different colors, and replaced all the electrical outlets in the same room.

So, my question is: Is this something that the average home-owner can tackle? of course the blinds.com website says so, but of course I have to take the question to Stack Exchange. I've seen this question, I didn't read every answer but I did a search for blinds and it hadn't come up yet, so that's a plus.

Update 11/5/2013

The blinds project has gone pretty smooth up until this point. It seems that some walls have plaster or sheetrock behind it. Probably not a big deal, but I've snapped a couple of quality drill bits in the process. The proper method for this should be posed as a separate question imagine, so I'll do just that.

My 70 year old grandma just put up new blinds in her house last year.  She did borrow my makita.

Quick Tips

make sure you are putting your screws into either the window frame, wood framing, or use anchors
make sure your blinds are level so if blinds are outside of window frame either use a level or take a measurement from the top of each side
cut blinds out so that the bottom barely hits window bottom


200A service to 100A transfer switch? I have 200A service but,

I want to add a whole house generator (GENERAC 17k), but my transfer switch is only 100A.

Can I add a 200A subpanel (NEMA 3R 12-space with 200A main) on the outside of the house and then use a 100A dipole breaker to run to the transfer switch? I also plan to install a 30A dipole in the subpanel to run to an outbuilding.

I plan to change my inside load center to 100A and just have 100A service to the house circuits (backed up by generator) It’s a small house with gas appliances and heat and my garage has it’s own 100A service (seperate meter).

Are there any concerns installing the subpanel on the outside of the house, connecting the transfer switch to the 100A breaker and using my inside load center for the generator circuits?

Yeah, that's how you do that.

A 200A main panel which contains a 100A feeder breaker to
A xxxA subpanel
via a 100A transfer switch.

The 100A feeder breaker protects the transfer switch.
Assuming the subpanel is quite large (30-space +), it will surely be rated well over 100A.  It will be able to operate safely downline from a 100A breaker.
If the subpanel happens to be what is currently the main panel, well that is just fine! Make sure to rigidly, obsessively separate neutral and ground, and remove the N-G bond.  There should be infinity ohms between N and G, provided the neutral feed line is pulled.
Loads which you do not want to place on generator go inside the main panel.
The only thing I don't like about your plan is putting the 200A main panel on the outside of the house.  Momma taught me not to leave my valuable electrical devices out in the rain.  I would make some effort to seek an inside location.
Also, I think buying a 12-space panel is "throwing good money after bad".  Nobody ever came onto this forum and said "I am trying to add a circuit and have plenty of spaces in my panel".  But we hear the other thing a lot.  Therefore I would definitely aim to have at least 45-50 genuine spaces between your main and sub.  And double-stuffs (that fit 2 breakers in one space) are no longer a workable way to solve that, since AFCI and/or GFCI are required on so many circuits, and they don't make AFCI/GFCI in double-stuff.


Will security system wiring cause interference in data cables? Is it acceptable to run 22/4 security wire along side Cat6 and Coax cables, or is there any possibility for interference?

TL;DR it should be OK to run them together.

The signals from a security sensor are typically very low frequency because they're generated by the switch within the sensor opening and closing as the sensor activates.  So for a motion detector, it might open and close a few times as you cross the field of view; a door or window sensor would switch as often as you open or close its corresponding door/window, etc.

The signals from a remote keypad are higher frequency because they have to communicate more information, e.g. the text to display on the screen, or which buttons were pressed on the keyboard, but they're still going to be low frequency1.

Twisted pair cables, such as Cat 6, are fairly immune to outside electromagnetic interference, and coax is even better thanks to its outer shield.  And since the signals they carry (e.g. Gigabit Ethernet, TV signals, etc.) are very high frequency, the chances of interference with the security system's signals are very low.

1. The value 300 bits/second is emerging from my long-term memory, but I could be conflating it with the speed of the soft modems on security panels


Seaming HardiBacker to Drywall I'm rebuilding my shower and using HardiBacker (1/2" thickness) in that space. I've then got normal green-board drywall that I'll be transitioning to. I figure that I'll tile up to the edge of the HardiBacker.

The real question here is whether I should seam the HardiBacker to the drywall using:

(A) normal tape and drywall mud
(B) paintable caulk
(C) something else or some other solution like tiling over the seam by an inch or so, etc.

I've seen some interesting answers online like (A) and (B), and I can see advantages to each - (A) would make for a pretty smooth surface transition while (B) would allow for a permanently flexible (since the two different materials should in theory expand and contract at different rates), waterproof transition that could be repaired if a crack were to form and could be covered with grouted caulk. So in short, does anyone have some thoughts or suggestions?

A few additional notes - I'm planning to over-engineer this shower by putting Schluter Kerdi liner over the HardiBacker as I like the idea of redundant waterproofing solutions, and I like the idea of using something like KSL1400 (a prebuilt shower pan with integrated liner and slope).

When I did my shower, I lined it up so the Hardi/drywall seam was about 1" before the edge of my shower tiles. Then I just covered this seam with mesh tape and thinset. So when I laid tile, it overlaid onto the drywall by about 1". I then used a caulk matched to the grout color run along the outside edge of the tile where it met drywall.

The tile edge is a good 5" outside of the tub, so I wasn't too concerned with water getting through the grout onto the drywall.

This gave me a nice clean edge and avoided having to try to get tape/mud smooth on the hardibacker. I've never had any expansion issues with the different materials.


Wooden window frame in shower The genius design of my 60 year old home includes a wooden Window frame in my shower.

I believe the prior owner took baths only to avoid problems with this. For me it's constantly growing mold and the wood is not looking good.

What's the easiest effective way to handle this? There's not enough room in the show for there to be a window curtain. Can I seal or cover the wood with something?

What's the easiest effective way to handle this?

You could

Clean it, scrape/sand it and slather it with yacht varnish annually.
Replace it with PVC or Aluminium.
Brick it up (maybe with glass bricks?)

The easiest and most effective way to do anything is to throw vast amounts of cash at tradesmen until everything's OK or you are declared bankrupt.


Adapt Porch Light for Power over Ethernet (PoE) Similar to the question presented here, I was curious, is it possible to adapt the porch light or the cabling where the porch light itself is to covert it over to PoE? For example, are there face plates or metal shims that one can use? I did read the posting from here, but that is not quite what I had in mind.

Secondly, if you could have the porch light AND PoE, that would be even better.

I know that you can try to drill lots of new holes and run cables from the attic, etc. However, I am looking for guidance on how I can do this without having to drill and fish a bunch of things, if possible.

The PoE would be for an external security camera.

Typical porch light cable will be a 2 or 3 wire big (compared to Ethernet) cable (plus ground). That is not the type of cable you would use for Ethernet - it just won't work.

Could you replace that cable with an Ethernet cable - i.e., instead of running a separate cable? Maybe:

The existing cable would have to be either in a conduit all by itself, or NM (Romex) cable. If it is conduit then you can't share that conduit with any other high voltage cable (e.g., you might find that you have a switched hot for the light but also additional power cable going elsewhere in the same conduit). If it is Romex and not in a conduit then using the old cable to pull a new cable won't necessarily be so easy if it is stapled or otherwise secured in place.
At the other end (e.g., switch box), you would need to either pull the Ethernet cable out at a different location or remove any electrical cables from the box as you can't mix low voltage (Ethernet) with high voltage (e.g., 120V).
You wouldn't have a porch light any more, which means your camera would be in the dark.

I really wouldn't recommend trying to replace the electrical cable with PoE - just not worth it unless the electrical is really "extra" - e.g., two separate switched lights and you combine the two together and then reuse the conduit/replace cable going to one of them.

The good news, as you already know, is that at least PoE saves you from having to run separate power to the camera.

There is one other possible solution, depending on distances and equipment. If the porch light is wired in a way that power is always available (e.g., panel -> porch light -> switch instead of panel -> switch -> porch light) then you could:

Install a receptacle in a box next to the porch light, pulling power from the porch light always-on power cable.
Use a WiFi camera with power from the new receptacle.

And one more possibility: If no unswitched power is available at the porch light, you could leave the switch always on (or rewire so that the porch light fixture is always on and remove the switch) and install a receptacle next to the porch light, sharing power, and replace the porch light itself with either a motion sensor or a dusk-to-dawn photocell fixture. That way you can have power all the time for a WiFi camera without having the light on all the time.

I generally prefer wired cameras,  but this is one case where WiFi might save you a lot of trouble running a new Ethernet cable.


Can I switch the hot and cold water supply to improve the pressure of hot? I have a very old house (built in 1903) with very old and corroded pipes. Because of the corrosion, the hot water pressure is fairly low (mostly in the shower) but cold water pressure is okay. I’m wondering if it would be an okay idea to switch the cold and hot water lines right after the water heater. I think This would drop the cold water pressure which I don’t mind. I know I’ll need to replace all the piping eventually but I’ll probably be selling in the relative near future.

Your question boils down to "please validate my wonky idea" and I will absolutely NOT.
Yes, you can do it but you shouldn't. At best your proposal is something that would be done in a super emergency situation.

You can switch the hot and cold lines at the tank but that would really be quite an obtuse solution. So now your cold valve gives hot water and the hot valve gives cold water? Good luck getting the proper temperature from your shower if you have an anti-scald valve installed.
Sounds like a surefire way to deter the average buyers and lower your home's value.
I think you will find that by the time you've acquired the right tools to perform a wonky cutover then the cost of materials to just do things properly is insignificant.
PEX has made plumbing so easy that it's almost hard to screw up.


Where can I find handle-operated flushbolts for French doors? I am going to be building a set of custom interior French doors and would like one of them to latch into the door frame, while the other door is a normal door latch. However, I want the latching mechanism for the door frame to be operated by a door handle, rather than with those small levers at the top and bottom typically found on the door.

The reason for wanting one door to latch into the frame is simply so that the set of doors will remain closed if there is a cross breeze occurring between the rooms (which would want to push the doors open a bit).

Does anyone know a source for this kind of hardware, or at least what the proper term for this hardware is so I can search for it?

As far as I know, what you're looking for doesn't exist as a flush bolt.  If you think about it, you'd need to do quite a bit of woodworking on the door in order to install a mechanism that actuates rods at the top and bottom of a door via a handle in the center.  This type of arrangement DOES exist in surface bolts, where the rods connect to the door externally -- think commercial door hardware.

However, there may be a different way to accomplish what you're trying to do: Automatic flush bolts.  These are actuated not by a handle, but by lever that is pushed on by the other door when it's closed against it.  Then, you could use a dummy handle on the door with the flush bolts, and that door will swing freely when the other door is open.

This page describes how they work


My oven insulation is burning when I bake My oven burns every time I bake. The insulation always seems to light up when I use it.
Also, some rats infested it a while back and really caused damage but they all died.

you probably have some loose /corroded connections that are arcing and burning some insulation. The rats could have gnawed at some of the wire insulation causing arcing.
You need to get this looked at. Very little you could do safely. It is dangerous.


Why is my toilet humming? After one of my toilets is flushed, and it fills the bowl back up, I sometimes get a loud thrumming/humming noise.

It is the flusher stacky thingy making the noise.  I turned down the volume of water flow into the toilet and it stopped making it.  When it is doing it, the water tube from the wall to the toilet is literally vibrating in my hand.

Is this the water supply vibrating at a frequency that my flushy-stacky-thingy is exposing as noise, or something else?

Per Tester101's comment, I should note it only makes the noise, when the tank is full, and not running water through the pipes.

I'm guessing the valve assembly inside the toilet is finding a resonance when it's just about to close. You can replace it, and it's not too difficult of a DIY job. They sell just the valves:

But if you're going to take it apart to replace the valve, I tend to buy the full kit and replace all the guts.

Note that when my toilets started to leak, it was because of high pressure in the water lines. So it wouldn't hurt to pickup a pressure gauge that screws onto a hose faucet to make sure you don't have a bigger issue. After I fixed one, another would start leaking next as the pressure got a little higher.


How can I effectively use Google Sketchup to render walls, doors, and windows? This question falls dangerously close to being a software question, but it's definitely specific to DIY...

My house is around 100 years old. Off-the-shelf home design programs have nice libraries of drop-on components like walls and windows that can be adjusted somewhat to fit, but they are basically useless when trying to realistically match older wall sizes, window types, molding, etc.

I love Google Sketch-up and have successfully created a few basic plans in it, but I'm really tired of reinventing the wheel constantly, or compromising my 3D design and having just a big box rather than a detailed rendering.

I would love, for instance, to be able to create a wall that is exactly 9'4" tall, 5 1/4" inches thick, with a baseboard on each side that is 3/4" x 8" with a 1/2" turn edge, and quarter-round at the bottom. Then I'd like to be able to drop that into Sketch-up and simply resize it to create a custom wall that is exactly like those in my house.

Same goes with the windows, doors, trim, and various other odds and ends.

My experience, however, has been that SU can't think of anything as an "object", only as edges and surfaces. So, trying to reuse shapes is a bit of a pain, as is punching through walls and adding realistic windows, etc.

So, any tips on how to properly component-ize my designs?

You need to learn to use Components in SketchUp; they do exactly what you want. They do not "stick" to other parts of your model and won't affect other lines/etc but you can still snap to them when drawing.

Also, you can go into a component and edit it, and the changes will be reflected in all the copies you have made of that component (or, you can break a single component free and edit only that one).

Additionally, the paid version lets you create Dynamic Components; e.g., a cabinet where you can alter the reveal around the door just by entering a number, or a stair where you can set the run, rise, and number of treads without drawing anything new.

Components will do it for you!


Light switch to quickly toggle power on and off for LED control I installed an led chandelier that is controlled by a remote, which can change the color temperature and dim it. The light came with a 120VAC/24VDC driver.
The device came with little instruction, but the manufacturers (who aren't communicative) told me you can change the color temperature from the wall switch by quickly toggling it on and off. Other folks on Amazon say they have used dimmer switches to control the device, but without a better understanding of the driver, I'm afraid to connect it to a dimmer. I'd like to control it from the wall switch most of the time.
Is there a particular type of wall switch that can quickly toggle itself on and off to change color temperature? Is there a particular type of dimmer that works with a driver like this?

That's a recent trend in LED lights; the driver changes to give you different color temperatures or even colors by "coding" it with the switch. You don't need anything special, a standard toggle switch is fine. You flip the switch on for the first level, on and off and back on to change to the second level, on-off-on-off-on for the third, on-off-on-off-on-off-on for the 4th (if there is one). This type typically is NOT suitable for dimming, mine is not. Basically if the instructions do not EXPLICITLY say you can use a dimmer, you cannot.


Chimney crown repair - cover holes in bricks? Getting ready to repair the chimney crown, using this Family Handyman article as a guide.

On our chimney, there is a line of bricks around the crown that have exposed holes in them. The holes are facing upward, and I imagine that they could potentially allow rain to seep in.

Should those holes be covered/plugged at all? Potentially with the chimney crown sealer?

Those holes should be filled with at least with masonry cement. You can get it at the big box stores, it is sold in 60lb bags for a few bucks. It does not matter whether it is fast set, type S, it just needs to be masonry cement. No need to mix the whole bag. A 5 gal bucket to mix it in and a Tupperware(r) container or large coffee can will hold about what you need. Get a margin trowel, also at the same store you get the cement. Mix it to a peanut butter consistency and carefully place it around the edge of holes. With a little coaxing it should go in.
DO PROTECT the roof, it will stain it, or keep a garden hose on the roof with you. You will need something to keep the roof clean from the chimney crown material.

Do not let the material you use to protect the roof be the same material that throws you off the roof. Stepping on a loose tarp will do it fast. Plywood acts like a skateboard. Be careful!

The way the chimney crown material works, you may only need it to get hard overnight before you apply the chimney crown material


84' wall leans 5",17' out. Pulling to plumb, + columns, save wall? 84' wall leans 5",17' out. Pulling to plumb, add columns, save wall?

(https://i.stack.imgur.com/JvnVY.jpg)

If it is just a privacy wall, leave it be, unless you really want to spend a lot of bucks tearing it down and rebuilding it. If it is a retainer wall, with the dirt a lot higher on one side than the other, which is pushing the wall out, then it may need to be rebuilt if it is a relatively new wall and was not built properly to start with.


What is the best adhesive for making styrofoam sandwich panels? I wanted to make some panels in which styrofoam sheets are sandwiched in between 2 steel sheets. What kind of adhesives are best for this job. I also want the fastest curing time for adhesive because I want to make these panels using a fast technique.

I recently built a sandwich as hitting platform for a golf simulator; two pieces of 1/4" plywood with 2" styrofoam insulation in the middle. Spray adhesive failed.  I then used the Liquid Nails Panel adhesive and it is working well.


Identify the make / manufacturer of this chandelier I was taking down a 20-year-old (est.) chandelier to paint the ceiling, and I broke one of the five glass cones.  I want to replace the cone, but have not located a suitable match, or a viable replacement for all five cones.  I took the mount off the ceiling, but due to some rust from precious water damage (a now fixed leaking roof), the manufacturer label has disintegrated and is obscured.  This item is located in the United States.

There are three labels on the mount:

a number which reads "400366" (probably the serial number)
a yellow standard Incandescent Fixture label, Issue No. A-40,093
the important white label which may read "H........BURG & CO.  Bellv.... LL.....". The initial 'H' might be a 'K' or 'M', the 'v' might be a 'w', the 'LL'  might be 'II' or '11' or even a 'U', but I'm fairly confident of the rest; The extra dots in my overall quote do not represent actual character spaces.

Two photos follow:

a shot of the chandelier (missing two cone s; I need was removed to bring to local lighting places to identify replacements)
a shot of the interior of the mount, showing the destroyed label.

I would like to know the manufacturer and, if possible, model name.

Moral of the story -- if you have pieces of a UL listing label, the UL folks can help!

It turns out the OP wasn't typing the correct UL number into the database -- the E-##### listing number was eaten away by rust. So, I suggested he call UL, and he reached a friendly guy named Jim who was able to figure it out:

  I called UL and Jim at UL helped me. It is H. A. Framburg & Co. E-12305, Bellwood Illinois. All of this matches up to the missing characters.

Furthermore, with that and the serial, he was able to get the model number -- it's Framburg's 8835, or "Syzygy" (don't ask me about the name).


Wall outlet in house are burnt in wall Wall outlet in house are burnt in wall. How do I fix it?

You'll have to move through each item and inspect it very carefully.

Inspect and correct

Start with the junction box buried in the wall.  If that box is made out of any kind of plastic, or aluminum (not magnetic), or Magic Self-Burning Metal (magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, uranium, etc.), then the box needs to be replaced.  If it's made out of good old iron/steel, inspect it for serious arcing damage - if arcing has burned a hole in the box, it's done for.  Otherwise just scrub out the soot and call it good.

Now the wires need to be viewed very critically. Manhandle the insulation.  If it is anything but resilient and strong, then the damaged insulation must go.    Now, look at what insulation remains.   Wires must extend  6" beyond the cable clamp, and, 3" beyond the surface of the wall, with only a modest amount (3/4") of insulation removed.  You can try loosening the cable clamp and see if you can pull more wire in.   If you still have the length, in good, undamaged insulation, and the metal wire is not discolored or polishes up easily... then you dodged a bullet and can continue the wire in service.  Otherwise the cable must be replaced.  Yeah, in the wall.  Ouch.

As for the recep, carefully visually inspect it, follow with a borescope and X-ray -- I'm kidding, that recep costs 50 cents.  Just buy another one, except get the $3 kind that is better built.

And use a torque screwdriver to set the correct torque on the screws.

If any of the wires are aluminum, then use a recep rated CO-ALR.   Also, place an AFCI circuit breaker on this circuit.  If the circuit is not grounded (it might be via armored cable), then fit a combo GFCI/AFCI breaker, so you also have GFCI protection.  At your leisure, review all other outlets and ascertain if aluminum wire is present; if so, again use CO-ALR rated receps or switches, or Alumiconns, and torque correctly.

Any outlets protected by GFCI may be installed as 3-prong.  Label them "GFCI Protected".  If they are not grounded, label them "No Equipment Ground".

Now, move through the circuit and the house and inspect each other recep -  particularly ones that lost power, or that do lose power when this breaker is off.  Give them the same treatment as above, but see our Q&A on what to watch out for when replacing receps.

Next look at the service panel. Make sure all the breakers are the correct size for the wires they are feeding; 15A is pretty safe, no receptacle circuit should be over 20A.  Also look at what kind it is, and google whether this is a dangerous panel. (Hint: Pushmatic isn't dangerous, but it is obsolete).  If unsure, feel free to post a picture here.  (door open, no need to unscrew the cover; also get a shot of any labeling).

What went wrong

Most likely a screw was torqued incorrectly, which is why they require torque screwdrivers now.

Copper terminations have a serious defect in that they will not correctly clamp aluminum wire.  Many people used copper-only-rated receptacles with aluminum wire, and many more used devices rated CU-AL, a standard developed hastily and incorrectly by UL, and which proved to have severe problems and had to be revoked.

It's also possible the circuit was wildly overloaded, but the breaker should have intervened to protect.  If it was a Zinsco or FPE firestarter panel, or a Pushmatic with Connecticut Electric breakers, that would explain why it did not.  It might also have been mis-sized; sometime when confronted with frequent breaker trips, idiots don't want to stop overloading the circuit, and instead put a larger breaker or fuse and let the wires smoke.  This is a mistake.


What do I do with the ground wire in a smoke detector install? The electrician ran 14/3 to a metal box.  There is no grounding post on the Kiddie i12010s smoke detector. Can I just cap the ground and call it done?  Doesn’t seem right but I’m not sure how to proceed.

That looks like a plastic box to me. If it is metal, code requires that the box be grounded. If all the external parts of the smoke detector are plastic then a ground is not required (the same is true with light fixtures).
I don’t usually cap bare grounds. I just tuck them in the box (the entire length is conductive, so I don’t see the point). If it makes you feel better, put a cap on it and tuck it in the box.


What is this moulding? Contractor removed and threw away a 12' segment and now I don't have the right material!

What you have is a 4 1/2 inch colonial base trim. I can't tell you exactly the name or number, but if you take a small sample to your supplier, or preferably the same supplier your contractor used, they will have a chart that shows all the millwork profiles. What you have does not look unusual, so with a little footwork you should be able to find it easily.


Can I cover/wrap 6x6 post with plastic to protect them from rain during construction? I built a patio cover and used 6x6 treated yellow pine posts. I'm going to build the deck in two months so the contractor left posts uncovered for now. Posts will be covered with hardi once floor is completed. I'm concerned that leaving the posts exposed to the rain will damage them. Should I cover them with plastic?

If they are treated, they are probably okay. However, I have any easy fix; we had some 6x6 doug fir posts that were going to be out for a while, and we just put some 5 gallon buckets upside down on them. That keeps the end-grain dry - which is where it will absorb the most moisture - without sealing the end totally. Worked great.


What is this sink drain bolt called? A bolt that holds the kitchen sink drain "basket" to the sink basin has broken and caused water to leak between the sink and the drain. What is this part called?

Also, any ideas on where I can find it in Canada? So far what I've seen for sale are only entire "sink strainer" assemblies, when I just need that bolt.

Any bolt of the correct thread pitch would work. I'd suggest taking it to your local hardware store and browsing the selection until you find one that matches. I would recommend stainless steel so it doesn't rust and/or get nasty looking, brass would be a good alternative, though it wouldn't match in terms of color. Galvanized steel would be a second place. Bare steel would be a very distant 3rd, and I'd invest in a box of them so you can replace them when they start to look nasty.


Rail spacing & Child proofing a deck For a deck to be considered child proofed, what is the recommended spacing between the rails?

I did a google search and turned up one recommendation for a maximum 4 inch spacing. That sounds right to me, and is in accordance with the International Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings.

  R312.3 Opening limitations. Required guards shall not have openings
  from the walking surface to the required guard height which allow
  passage of a sphere 4 inches (102 mm) in diameter.