How should I protect wooden trim that abuts a brick chimney from further water damage? We are repairing and painting all of the wooden trim on our (new-to-us) 1930's home. We have a brick chimney on the gable end of the house, approximately 6 feet down from the ridge. The roof is a double-roof (ugh): there's a layer of asphalt shingles (in good condition) laid down on a raised platform over the original roof. Water appears to be dripping down from the flashing (visible in the photo) around the chimney and onto the crown-molding and fascia board (correct term?). I've removed the rotted wood from the end of the fascia board in the photo, and I was going to repair that damaged end with Minwax Wood Hardener and then Minwax Wood Filler.

The crown molding piece appears to be solid, but it needs to be reattached more securely which will reduce the width of the gap between the molding and the fascia board. I will then caulk along the underside of the molding to seal that gap between the molding and fascia board.

But what should I do along the brickwork/wood interface to protect the ends of these boards from further water damage? Extend the chimney flashing out and/or down somehow to the vinyl siding? Install a drip edge on top of the crown molding (essentially, between the two roof layers) for the six feet of roof between the chimney and the ridge? Do I also need to further protect/caulk where the vinyl siding meets the chimney for the rest of the way down to the ground (probably not, I think)?

Thanks for your suggestions!

Well, I'll answer my own question. So I scrapped all the loose paint away, and used 4 inch deck screws (barely counter-sinked) to more firmly attach the crown-molding back to the house. I filled in over the deck screws with wood filler to hide them. I caulked the gap underneath the molding. I picked out all of the rotten wood at the end of the fascia board, where it abuts the chimney. I applied Minwax Wood Hardener to the end of the fascia board. I then carefully folded up a section of zinc-coated steel plumbers strap (AKA "hanger bar") about four times to match the shape of the missing wood [it looked like a reversed "C"]. Folding the strap multiple times insured that the gap, between the sections of strap, was small. I pushed the tape in so that it was just below flush with the fascia board. Then I used Minwax Wood filler and applied 4 coats (eventually) to fill in the end of the fascia board, using the plumbers strap as a substrate for holding the wood filler. Then I primed and painted.

From the ground it looks good--you'd have to really stare at it to know that something was repaired there. I left a little gap between the end of the fascia board (now consisting entirely of wood filler and plumbers strap) for water to drain down. I didn't do any caulking of the siding. I also extended and angled the shiny metal flashing (visible in the photo) so that water could not easily flow/drip behind the molding. And in case your wondering, yes, that chimney needs to be repointed. Add it to the list...


Bathroom light tripping GFCI? I've been searching these boards for 3 days straight and I still can't find an answer.. And I'm about to pull my hair out!

I have a small half bathroom in my basement, toilet and small sink. Over the sink is a medicine style mirror with a 17" florescent light fixture over it. This past weekend the GFCI outlet, which feeds the light, tripped for reasons unknown to me. I naturally hit the test button 16 times with no success. So I killed the power and opened the wall box, switch box, and light fixture. It was set-up to protect the downstream devices (line AND load). I replaced the outlet and that didn't help so I pig-tailed everything together and attached everything to the line terminal and that brought everything back to normal.

However, I don't want to just leave it as is because there obviously is a problem. Without tearing the wall paneling off, I think the setup is: Source>GFCI>switch>light.... I pulled all wires off the devices and tested for power and GFCI line black wire was the only hot one...

Thank you in advance!

People often get very confused by GFCI trips

We install ground fault detectors (that's RCD to you Brits), but then we're caught off guard when we actually catch one!

If a GFCI repeatedly trips, then an appliance downstream or the wiring probably has a ground fault.

Then it's a matter of divide and conquer. Break things out of the circuit until you find the culprit.

My hunch is it's an old or cheap fluorescent ballast.  1000bulbs.com stocks a huge variety.


What important factors should I consider when building a dog house? I've never actually done this before, and I know that there's more to it than just slapping some pieces of wood together.  I live in a place that gets pretty much all the extremes of weather, including extreme dry heat, extreme cold and snow, very little humidity all year round, and yearly extreme wind.  Though rain is scarce, when it does rain it does with a vengence! :)  But besides weather and the dog's size, what else is important to consider when designing it?

I usually build people houses, but have built a dog house or two.  My research says that the size should be adjusted to the size of dog. It wants to be just big enough for the dog to lay down stretched out, and not too tall. A raised insulated floor is good. The reason for this is that the only heat source is the dog's body heat and too big a house will be too cold in winter.  Of course, it should be insulated and have a safe sheathing on the interior to cover the insulation. It should also have some type of flap door that the dog can easily pass through, but will reasonably seal the opening from the elements. I have seen several books with designs and decors for your pet's condo at building materials stores and book stores online. Don't forget to put it's name on a plaque over the door!

PS: If the weather is really bad, let the poor thing indoors, have a heart.


What cleaners are there in the market to use for Air duct duct cleaning? My air ducts need to be cleaned:

My house is near to the mountains so I' am unable to get a duct cleaning company to come to my house. Can any body suggest me some cleaners used for air duct cleaning? Any suggestions are welcomed. Thanks in advance.

There are a lot of options for air duct cleaning companies in the US market.
here are the things you should check before closing with air duct cleaning company:

if they have a license
if they have insurance
check online reviews


removing a circuit from a circuit breaker I have one circuit breaker connected to three different items, a garage door opener, a water conditioner, and an alarm system. As I am not using the alarm system I want to remove it from the circuit breaker. How is this done/

Just turn it off and tape it so it stays off. Off does translate to completely dead and not even some stand-by power can be obtained. You never want to remove any wiring completely, regardless of your use or non-use...you don't know the future nor the future occupants. If you need the circuit for another new circuit, then your Electrician (not you) would just disconnect the old circuit from the breaker and run the new circuit.


Was my new carpet installed correctly? My guess is no. We had carpet installed on our stairs and our upstairs hallway and bedrooms. The carpet install was "free" though we had to pay extra for the stairs.

When vacuuming the steps the dust-buster lifted the carpet on one of the steps. This also revealed the installers didn't replace the 30 year old damaged tack strip. The little nails on this exposed tack strip aren't at the 45 degree angle that they should be but are mostly pointing straight up.

Which leads me to my next point (pun). In multiple locations the tack strips are easily poking through the carpet. The worst area is where the carpet meets the laundry room, where the carpet transitions to linoleum. The tack strip is an inch from the silver metal piece. The installers actually tried to leave the metal transition piece until my wife remembered paying for that silver metal transition.

The carpet in general seems to be shedding. On the window seats in our children's room there are strings hanging from the carpet.

We purchased the best padding the store had and what we thought was mid range carpet.

When the old carpet is pulled up wouldn't that bend the tacks up so that they point upwards making them a hazard? They should have replaced the old tack strips, right?

Should the carpet on the steps be a single piece or at least sewn together?

Update:
imgur.com put in some weird images instead of mine so this is a link to a flickr set of the carpet issues:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31260465@N04/sets/72157637395611156/show/

Nope, your carpets weren't installed correctly. I'm not sure if code dictates that tack strips need to be replaced, but at the minimum, your contractor should have checked if any tacks were poking through or would otherwise pose a needle hazard. Those things hurt.

Shedding seems to be normal. We recently had some carpet installed on our basement stairs, and some corners (and manually-cut straight edges) do have the little plastic strings hanging loose, and several nylon curlicues roaming around. I really wish all installers would properly vacuum their junk up, but most of them don't.

Carpet on the steps does not necessarily have to be a single piece, simply because you can start a new piece (and stop the old strip) where a tread and riser meet. As long as the edges are butted together with no gaps, you should be fine.

Also, simply vacuuming should not lift carpet edge off (anywhere, specifically not stairs!)... that alone should require that they come back and fix it, or pay for a professional to re-do the effort.


What is the failure mode of making an adapter to convert a 240 V outlet to 120 V I have an EV charger that uses a NEMA 14-50 outlet with 6 AWG back to a 50 amp breaker.  The outlet is in a location where there are no nearby 120 V outlets and it would be convenient to occasionally to have 120 V there instead.
Functionally it is possible with just a dryer plug, a 20 amp duplex outlet, and a box to create an adapter to convert (in the functional sense, not physics) the 240 V outlet into 120 V.
Edit for clarification: I'm not talking about making a permanent hard wired change to my home's wiring.  I'm talking about a stand alone adapter that I can unplug the EVSE and then plug in this adapter on an as needed basis and then switch it back.  In this way it's impossible for both to be used simultaneously.
One safety failure of the adapter is if a device pulls more current than its own cord (or internals) can handle but less than 50 amps because it wouldn't trip the breaker and potentially cause a fire.  Is there anything else I'm missing?  I saw some inline circuit breakers on Amazon for up to 250 VAC 20 amp.  Would that be a way to fix the safety issue or am I thinking about it too simplistically?  What is wrong with adding these sort of circuit breakers to the outlet?
Another clarification: I'm not interested in adding a subpanel for a few reasons.

It requires a permit
It is more expensive even setting aside the permitting cost
It's cumbersome on the wall
It would then allow the car to charge while also using the 120 V at the same time.  In doing so, it may trip the 50A breaker since the car pulls quite a bit of current unless.  I recognize that I could reduce the charging rate but I don't want to.

You can't just slap up a subpanel anytime you want to split a 240V plug.  However, with a NEMA 14, you can -- because it has all the right wires to feed a subpanel.
So, that's it.  You convert the 6/3 cable run into a "Feeder" to the subpanel.
As feeder, 6/3 cable is rated for 55A. They don't make breakers that size, so the feed breaker (in your main panel) gets bumped to 60A.
Eaton CH and Square D QO have perfectly compact 8-space panels, and that's the way to go if you are cramped for space.  Otherwise if you match your main breaker's type, you can reuse that 50A breaker.
You don't need a main breaker in this panel, unless the building is detached from the house (and then you do).  If so, either choose a panel with a main breaker, or those 8-space panels can have a main breaker added via backfeeding.
Install a 50A breaker to feed that EVSE socket.  Then install as many 15A or 20A breakers as you please to supply receptacle loads.  You can safely use two 120V circuits at the same time while charging. Realistically due to the 80% rule, your EVSE will actually pull 39A and your random power tools will pull 12A per leg.  So you're at 51A which is not a challenge for the 6/3 or the 60A feed breaker.
You can't overdo this.  If you're really going to town and running the saw, dust collector, compressor for blowing sawdust away, shop vac for your apprentice to pick up sawdust, etc. -- then the EV is certainly not in the garage at this time!


Can I get 10 Gig on cat6a running through two wall jacks? I'd like to have cat6a running from the basement to a second floor room. I'd like to have a wall jack installed in the addict and plug a cable into that jack that runs into the second floor room. I want this kind of setup so I can add a switch in the future for more upstairs drops. Will going through two outlets cause any performance issues?

If everything is done properly, this will work fine. However, every component - in-wall cable, jacks, patch cables, network cards - has to be able to support 10 Gig. Plus, your installation quality (especially installation of the jacks) needs to be perfect.


Should I install hardwood flooring under my kitchen cabinets? I'm doing a total kitchen renovation with solid hardwood flooring. Do I go hardwood all the way under the cabinets to the wall or stop just past the toe kick and finish the rest with ply of the same thickness?

In your situation, using real 3/4" hardwood flooring should be a lifetime floor. I cannot see any reason to remove it as any other type of flooring in the future could be installed right over it.  Since it is much more likely to have some type of cabinet upgrade rather than actually needing to remove the hardwood, I would install the hardwood wall to wall and install cabinets over it. The actual extra amount of hardwood used under the cabinet area is minimal, and will make installation easier and faster than working around the cabinet footprint.


Use in repairing wires Can these connectors be used for a splice inside of a wall in order to fix a damaged wire? If you have a damaged wire inside a wall - not a box - will these type connectors meet code as a permanent splice to fix the wire in the wall?

You don't seem to have identified the type of connector you are asking about.

There are rated and approved splice kits suitable for splicing NM cable inside the wall without a junction box.

For example, look at this one: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Tyco-Electronics-Romex-Splice-Kit-2-Wire-1-Clam-CPGI-1116377-2/202204326.

Note the strain relief on both sides of the splice, and the enclosed nature of the connection. But the real point is that it is legally approved for this use.


Leak in boiler system Have concrete slabs heated with an HTP boiler. 4 manifolds (2 supply, 2 return w/shutoffs). Had a loss of pressure and low water pressure error on boiler. I have isolated the leaks off the manifolds. Yeah, more than one. They are running city water through this to heat the concrete at a car wash in the hand bays. No no.

Question: Is there anyway to fix those leaks? They're running underground through hose...looks half inch. Thx

There are sealing systems for pinhole leaks in copper water piping water under slabs. The pipe is sandblasted or media-blasted in place and then coated in place with epoxy. This may or may not work for the high temperature water or steam you are using here.


Can I float click laminate diagonally without transitions in my space? I'd like to float click laminate on our floor in a continuous manner without transitions. I'd like to float diagonally, but am open to another orientation if this isn't feasible.

I understand floating diagonally results in more wasted material and brings the added challenge of recalibrating your angled cuts as walls are not straight, but I like the character diagonal placement brings. If I'm not mistaken, on the plus side, laying diagonally can help avoid the problem of thin board strips running alongside walls due to how many distances need to be accounted for in a given space.

Questions

Is floating a continuous floor possible given the diagram below?

If yes, I'd love an explanation for how I can achieve the result...

Is diagonal placement possible, or do I need to go another way? Which direction would you recommend laying the boards if not diagonal? I assume the direction holds throughout all of the areas? The product I'm heavily considering comes in 6-1/8" wide planks.
Is there a recommended room to start in?

For diagonal placement in particular, all of the resources I've read so far talked about "starting in the middle of the room", but there's really no "middle" with my space (especially in the kitchen where there's an island and a nook jutting out).
Any specific pitfalls I should watch out for given my floor shape?

If no, can you help me understand why?

I had a "pro" consultant come to my home, measure my space, and he told me the whole area could be floated without transitions, but since he quoted me upwards of $15K, I'd like some more data points to do it myself.

Floor Plan

The teal area represents everywhere the flooring will be laid. Total area is roughly 1080 sqft.
The longest stretches, as you can see from the diagram, are just under 38 feet long. Perhaps this is a non-issue if I lay diagonally though?
There are only three doors (the colored lines in the lower area).
I've added some letters for narrow areas in case it helps to refer to said areas in your answer.

Answer(s)

Is diagonal placement possible? - Yes

Can you do it yourself? - Yes - but make sure you have the right tools in advance.

Is there a recommended room to start in? - Given your floor plan - I'd start in the dining room, as it looks like the single longest continual diagonal line runs from there into that little side corner room thingy that's past "E" on your layout (nice job there btw).

For diagonal placement in particular, all of the resources I've read so far talked about "starting in the middle of the room" - consider the "longest continuous line possible" - start there.  Running on a diagonal, you have a few options and you don't have to start on the absolute longest but find a good long one to use as your starter.

Any specific pitfalls I should watch out for given my floor shape? Yes - getting your first line right will be critical.  If you're going for a 45 degree angle, get it perfect.  Measure 3-4 times, mark start and end points, snap solid chalk lines (use hairspray to "glue" down the chalk), and check and re-check.

Next, using your chalk line, line up the boards on your starter chalk line.  Lay them along the line but be prepared to shift them along the line towards one wall or the other, so that at either end your distance from last FULL board to wall is about the same.

Initially your floor is going to want to shift around on you.  Once you have it where you want it, use a temporary means to keep it stable.  Take small blocks of straight wood and line them up against the edges of the starter strip and screw them down in place.  This will "lock in" the floor temporarily - and give you anchors you can move as you progress.  Once the floor becomes so large and heavy that it doesn't shift around on you, you can stop with the blocks - but given the length you're dealing with, that'll probably only be after you've got a good chunk of the first room done.

Most of your cuts will be pretty straight forward - set a chop saw at a 45 degree angle and use it to cut away the bits you don't need.  Save your remnants as they'll frequently be useful at the other end of a strip to fill in gaps.

Since it's click lock - suggest you take your sq footage and add 30% to your order for all those funky angles you're gonna be dealing with.

On your trickier cuts, like around doors, take your time, make sure you leave the manufacturer recommended breathing room, and be prepared for this to take longer than you think because you're choosing to do it a harder way than most.  Wear knee pads too. :)

Don't forget underlayment - but you needn't run it in the same direction as the flooring.

Looking forward to hearing how it works out!


Avoiding mold after machine backup My washing machine just backed up (drain pipe is clogged). Fortunately I was home and just bought a shopvac last weekend, but a lot of water got out. Also fortunately this is an unfinished basement, but I’m worried about two things.

It damaged the seal on the floors - I figure this is easy to fix and probably not an immediate concern?

And my bigger concern is water got into two areas. One where the water line comes in which seems to have a hole that goes down into the soil (not sure if this is by design?)

And another area that is inaccessible.

Is there something I should spray in these areas to prevent mold build-up or should a dehumidifier be enough? The basement is generally very very dry - I wasn’t sure if a dehumidifier is even necessary, but I’m worried the inaccessible area will not dry out as fast as there is a lot of dirt, dust and other junk in there that looks like it can hold moisture.

Drying it out will probably be the best but if you want to sanitize it I would use 3% hydrogen peroxide and water. Hydrogen peroxide doesent have the smell and will kill organics very well. Remember to always add acid to water (AAA).


How to repair leaking electric kettle My electric kettle (Brewista BKV12S02-CEV, if you're interested) fell on its nose (?), and now leaks water (one drop at a time) at the point where the swan neck touches the body of the kettle. The kettle is made of stainless steel.

Food-safety is very important, so I tried soldering with S-Sn97Cu3 with the predictable result that the solder didn't adhere to the stainless steel properly and just rolled off. Is soldering this a good idea? If yes, what solder, flux, etc. should be used? Or is soldering a bad idea?
The repairs must be food-safe, i.e. no toxic flux, etc.

Jb weld or epoxy. You need to patch the hole, not necessarily weld it


Make 16 square meter room operable for two persons I have really serious question to me.
We have flat with two rooms. One is beeing used by me and my brother. It is 16 square meter room. There are two beds and two desks and some old shelfs. I have only old bed which i use to operate computer and sleep. Unfortunately to the late night brother is sitting one meter away from me and talking through skype, playing games which imply there is no calm for me to sleep which i need to be well and study well. There is a lot space where there is old wardobes with unused things, my desk is also not beeing used.

Is there any way to cheaply change this room so we both have some private and soundproof space?

Not possible if he's talking on Skype.  You two need to sync your sleep schedules, and that's that.  You'll need to address that with your parents.

The more sensible option, frankly, is to move the gaming PC to commons space (not bedroom), at which point brother will move too.  Having a PC in a shared bedroom is an outrageous situation.  Bedrooms are for sleeping, especially when they're shared.

These are all "parent-involved" solutions, and I gather you're reluctant to go down that road. Okay, then. If your brother wants to keep parents uninvolved, then he's gotta take the initiative to fix it.  He won't want to, of course.  But your brother is the vulnerable one here: your parents could take away that gaming PC just like that.  So if he wants to protect his gaming privileges, he's got to do the heavy lifting to solve this.

What about "narcing" or "telling on", the discouragement to go to authority figures?  OK, that's the school-yard bully system.  That trains you in life for one thing: the prison-yard bully system, and that is where you'll go if you train your brain to operate in the world that way.  Seriously, what happens if your customer wants you to fix problems with the electrical work they just paid you to do...  Are you gonna call em a dirty narc?  Take their lunch money?  Beat em up?  That doesn't work, they'll call your licensing board, and if necessary, the cops, and you won't be an electrician anymore.  And without that, how do you plan to provide for your family?   You don't.   So you say "Oh, I'll just magically switch to professionalism when that day arrives" - nope, real world, people don't rise to meet challenges, they fall back on habits or training.


How to handle expansion of wood when attaching a bed to the walls of a room I would like to carry out a similar project as the one described in this thread(Can I use bolts to attach a bed to the walls of my room?).

I have seen several similar projects but they do not seem concerned about the expansion of the 2meter long beams of wood against the wall.

I have considered leaving an expansion gab at the end of the beam but have not worked out how to hold it securely to the perpendicular beam bolted to the wall.

Would 2meter long support beams not expand in length sufficiently to cause the wall to bend/crack? Can they be securely bolted to the beams bolted to the wall and thus make a solid frame?

Wood expansion is mostly an issue across the grain, and can almost always be ignored when considering movement with the grain (your 2m dimension). See this post on woodworking for some more details.

Assuming you're using 1x4 material as in the linked question, and assuming you get plain-sawn stock and not quarter-sawn, the most movement will be along the 4" (well, actually 3.5") direction - swelling to e.g. 3.75" and shrinking to 3.25"* . You may see some slight movement along the 1" (actual 3/4") direction, but that might swell to e.g., 25/32" and shrink to 23/32"* .

Note that if you air condition the space, the actual movement will be much less than if the space were not conditioned, or if the piece were outside.

*These numbers are examples and may not be indicative of actual movement.


Is "hissing" sound from a water main a good indication that water is in use? I recently received a notification from my water department that they suspect I have a leak somewhere in my house.  Apparently, the meter outside has a mechanism that goes off if water has been running for 24-continuous hours.

As a test, I tried turning off all water in the house and checking the meter.  Then, approximately 20-30 minutes later, I checked the meter again and compared numbers.  Sure enough, I had gone through 1/3 of a gallon.

Now comes the fun part -- finding the leak.  I've checked:

Water supply valves and spouts.
Toilets (placing dye tablets in toilet tanks)
Major appliances (refrigerator, dish washer, clothes washer, etc)

The only thing I found was a extremely small leak in the toilet water supply valve. I'm in the process of replacing the valve but I'm skeptical this is it.

When I periodically check my water meter, it looks like I'm leaking approximately 1 gallon an hour.

One thing seems odd: when I stand close to the water main line as it enters the house, I hear a faint hissing sound.

So my question is this:  Is a faint "hissing" sound from a water inlet pipe a good indication that water is in use?  Can I trace that sound to the source? Or is this a red herring and could be caused by something else?

The most common leaks that don't show themselves (damage, or water on the ground) are either inside toilets (the toilet leaks water from the tank to the bowl) or in the water line outside the house.

Right where the water line comes into the house there should be a valve. The first place I would start is to turn off the main valve in the house then check the meter. Leave it for a few hours and check it again. If the meter has turned then the leak is underground and it will be a pain to fix. I've heard that if you do confirm that that's the problem, some professionals have an expensive tool to find such leaks. If you don't have a valve right where the water enters the house I would seriously consider starting by adding one in (or have a plumber do it).

If that's not the problem I would put a bunch of food coloring in the tanks of all the toilets (not the bowls) and check in a while to see if the color has leaked down into the toilet bowls. If any of the toilet bowls do have color in them, that right there is a leak that doesn't cause any damage, but does waste water.

Some water heaters can absorb some water into the insulation, making it less obvious that it's leaking but once the insulation is saturated, that wouldn't really make a difference.

Other than that, watch carefully for any signs of water or water damage near the base of all of your walls, on all of your floors (especially near the walls), and in all of your ceilings. Regularly check all around your water heater (especially around the unions, T&P valve, valves, and the base).

If you don't find anything I would seriously consider getting a plumber (especially if you know one) because water damage can be very costly. Not being a plumber myself, I don't really know how much they can do to track a leak but I'm sure they would know more than a DIYer like me.

I hope this helps.


Worth going from R49 to R60 in attic? We have about 3" of old insulation in our attic. We want to bring it up to R49 but I have read that some suggest taking it to R60 to get more energy efficiency. This may not be a question that can be answered without seeing the attic, but would the extra few hundred dollar be worth the energy saving benefits? The attic is already air sealed as well. Thanks for any insight.

The answer is it matters, barely.

Beyond R25 in most climates has very very diminishing returns.  Having air seal to the house and air flow in the attic is way more important than adding more insulation.

I don't want to get into a diatribe but thermal mass (think weight of your building) is a much better indicator of energy savings than insulation.   Adding insulation on normal wood framed homes allows heat (or cold) to store in the insulation thereby negating the effectiveness beyond the "blocking".

You can use a calculator to do the numbers and for a 1000 sq ft house you are looking at around $7-10 a year... and remember this calculator does not account for the mass of your home (or lack of) and it is actually created by the insulation industry - so they are going to use the lab numbers that suit them best.

When insulating your attic - taking other things out - there are three main things:

Don't expose wood that touches the house - wood is really a poor insulator so cover it.
There has to be a thermal break.   So is there a defined area of a few inches that covers everything from everything touching your "ceiling".
Does the quantity ensure if there are low spots that there is still proper coverage.

Look at the picture below.   Once you get to the "R40ish" stage, yes more is better, but does it have any sort of lasting effect?   No.


Kitchen Disposal placement I have a double sink with equal size basins. Which side should the garbage disposal go on? The dishwasher is on the right.

Personal Preference
This is purely personal preference.
If you are going to use the two sinks for different types of dishes (e.g., kosher = 1 for meat, 1 for dairy) then I would put the disposal on the one that is likely to get more use.
If you are going to use the two sinks for wash vs. rinse then put the disposal on the wash sink as it will get the most food residue.
The dishwasher hose is normally long enough to reach the extra foot or so to the farther sink, and should be connected to the disposal. Disposals normally have a knockout for easily connecting a dishwasher. Make sure the dishwasher output either has an air gap or a properly installed high hose loop.


Is there software that can optimally determine how to cut sheets of plywood for a project? I want to build some porch planters out of sheets of plywood, but I'm trying to minimize the number of sheets of plywood I buy.

Is there software that will let me enter all my planter designs and then have it spit out the sheets of plywood with their cuts? Does software exist that converts a project design/CAD('ish) drawing to bill of materials?

I have used Cut List in the past when building speaker enclosures.


Hard-wiring my Temporary power pole to my job site Wife and I purchased an unfinished house just before covid. The majority of work remaining is unlicensed and cosmetic (doors, trim, paint, floors etc.), which I can do myself. In the last 2 months we've had numerous break in attempts at the job site. I've added window bars and security doors, but was hoping to light the property up to further discourage trespassing and future break in attempts. The job site currently only has a temporary/construction pole for power. I understand the logistics/mechanics of wiring, so my question is:
Can a licensed electrician legally hard-wire power from the temp pole to the house to feed flood and porch lights?

If the electric panel, meter can and house wiring is complete, just have the electrical inspected and have the power company run the service. A electrician can run from a breaker on the temp power pole to the house electric, even if it's not all complete, but it would have to be inspected. Keep in mind that anyone could just shut off the breaker and there go your lights.
Note: This is/was allowed in Florida but you'd have to check with your local people.


What is the official name for wiring hole stops/plugs and where can I buy them? We have several holes in our house (floor and external wall) that are used for cables (coax and cat5e).  The holes are bigger than the cable that goes through them so we'd like to minimize the excess space (to help prevent bugs from getting through).

I can't use caulking or other "permanent" sealers because the cable needs some flexibility and slack.

I've noticed some stoppers/plugs like this:

... but I'm not sure what they're called or where to buy them.  I tried searching in my local big box hardware store and didn't see anything in the electrical section. I also searched amazon but must be using the wrong search terms because I can't find them.

Can someone tell me what the name of these stoppers are and where I can find them?

They are called "wire grommets" or "electrical bulkhead fittings", and if you search for those (or some combination of those words) you should find what you're after.

I typically seal large exterior holes with expanding foam, and smaller holes with silicone caulk. I've run many cat5 and coax cables through walls, and generally keep the hole just slightly larger than the cable, and it seals up fine. You can leave some slack on both sides (I typically leave a drip loop on the outside and a coil of a few inches on the inside where it's not visible), and that's all the flexibility needed. Silicone caulk has enough give that it is fine for this application.

For a larger cable or a couple cables, I'll go through the exterior wall with a conduit, then seal around the conduit with foam and the outside with silicone (expanding foam breaks down under UV, so it's best to cover the exterior bit with some opaque caulk). At the end of the conduit I'll put a wire grommet in a small box (a 90 degree PVC pull box works great).


Why do I read 120v between the hots and neutral in a 240v circuit? I installed a 240v outlet for a new GE stove with its own 50 amp breaker. I ran a 50' section of 6/3 cable, 18' of it from breaker box to a vent in the foundation then I stapled the remaining to floor joist to my 240 outlet, plugged in the new stove and only the clock and stove light work. When I  was troubleshooting I found 120 on both hots to neutral and very little on hot to hot same reading at the new outlet.

The two two are from the same phase I would guess. Do u have a double pole breaker? Make a picture from your breaker box wiring. Double check the wiring your outlet as well.


TV Mount fixtures on hollow wall with plywood I'm wanting to mount an 18Kg TV using a universal mount with 6 holes. The positions of the studs are not quite right for where we want the TV to go.

This part of the wall has been built recently to block up an alcove and has 18mm plywood attached to the studs and the plasterboard is attached to the plywood.

What fittings should I use to mount this with? I'm assuming wooden screws would not work since there would only be 18mm of plywood behind.

My first thought was to use a hollow wall anchor like:

But the 36mm depth of plywood+plasterboard means I've not been able to find an anchor long enough.

What are my options?

18mm (3/4") plywood is certainly adequate using proper screws. #14 (7mm or so) wood-thread screws with a proper pilot would hold just fine. Otherwise just use togglers.


Should I ground the metal box for 14-50 outlet? I just finished installing a 14-50 outlet in my garage. I haven't hooked it up to the breaker box yet. I used 6/3 nm-b cable with ground. I made the wire and ground connections to the outlet but I didn't connect the ground wire to the metal box and now I get the feeling that's wrong. Is it? I didn't see a screw on the metal box to clue me in. Should I connect the ground to the metal box?

Here is a picture of the outlet and links to what's behind the plate.

Thanks

Metal box: https://www.homedepot.com/p/RACO-4-in-Raised-Ground-Welded-Square-Electrical-Box-8232/100578083

Metal box cover: https://www.homedepot.com/p/4-in-Square-Box-Cover-for-30-or-50-Amp-Receptacle-Case-of-10-RS13-10R/202597322

Wall plate: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Legrand-Pass-Seymour-2-Gang-1-Power-Outlet-Wall-Plate-Stainless-Steel-SL703CC12/202313808?keyword=785007180268&semanticToken=20030000+++%3E++++st%3A%7B785007180268%7D%3Ast++cn%3A%7B0%3A0%7D++cn%3A%7B0%3A0%7D++785007180268+%7Bproductkey%7D+qu%3A%7B785007180268%7D

Cable clamp: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Halex-3-8-in-Non-Metallic-NM-Twin-Screw-Cable-Clamp-Connectors-5-Pack-20511/100133208?keyword=051411205119&semanticToken=20030000+++%3E++++st%3A%7B051411205119%7D%3Ast++cn%3A%7B0%3A0%7D++cn%3A%7B0%3A0%7D++51411205119+%7Bproductkey%7D+qu%3A%7B51411205119%7D

You want one of these

attached with one of these

right here

Then you can lay the bare ground in the lay in lug, no wire nut in the box, no pigtail ... at least IMO that's the easiest way to ground this.

The green screw is typically used for grounding but you can really use any 10-32 machine screw.

Be sure to choose a lay-in lug that accepts #6 wire.


How can I locate the drain plumbing in my old house? I don't have plans for the house. I have had a plumber here but he's dug and he didn't find the pipes. We have had every kind leak imaginable for months. Now it's coming in under the concrete and water is getting worse.

Could someone please help me to know how to find the sewer pipes?

On homes that have sewer under the slab I have rented a tracer and purchased a tracker ball I flush the ball (I have attached fishing line to the ball to controll how far it goes) I then use the tracker to figure which way the pipes go. Once I get the general direction I will release some line and flush again, tracing where the ball goes until it quits moving. I have found septic tanks using this method that were more than 100' away from where it was shown on the plot plan. Several times I was able to retrieve the ball but I have also lost a few they are designed to be flushed I just hate dumping 20-30$ down the drain (pun intended). My local equipment rental place rents the receiver but you have to purchase the balls and once activated some only have several hours useful life. I have cleaned a few up and opened them and pulled the battery and was able to reuse but some are sealed so well it damages them beyond use. This is the method I have used to figure out where the plumbing goes and also find a tank that was not where the plans showed. At the age of your home this method could save a lot of time and expense as you will be able to cut a trench above the pipe to allow for replacement as it sounds like your pipe may be leaking, the only way to stop the leaks cost effectively is to replace the old cast iron pipe with plastic.


Trying to install Cooper surface LED down light to ceiling but don't see a ground wire I'm trying to install a Cooper LED down light to a pre-existing ceiling metal electric box that has been un-used.

I know to turn off electricity at the breaker and that white wire from light fixture goes with white wire from electric box and black wire from the light fixture goes to the black wire from electric box.

The mounting strip of the fixture has a ground wire coming from it.  But I don't see a ground wire coming from the metal electric box.  So I'm not sure where it goes.  Do I need to get a green grounding screw and screw it into one of the holes I see in the top of the electric box?

[2
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I also have other ones of these LED down lights that were installed.  I'm not sure how to take them down to look at them as models for what i"m supposed to do.  Does anyone have any tips on taking down these Cooper LED Ceiling Surface LED lights?  I'm trying to turn them clockwise (and counter clockwise) to release them from the j-box bracket but not getting a good grip to turn it.  Any tips here will be helpful

If you look inside the box, there is a raised hump with a tapped hole for a ground screw.

Since it looks like your ceiling box is wired with armored cable, the box has no ground conductor as the armor around the cable is the ground conductor. The screw size is 10-32 and you can find packs of green grounding screws at home improvement centers.


Vent portable a/c without a window My son is moving into campus housing and needs a portable a/c for health reasons.  Is there a way to vent this unit without access to a window?  I read that you can vent into a large pot of water, is

All portable a/c units must be vented to outside. Usually this is through a window, but some apartment buildings have ports through walls for venting portable a/c units.

The idea that one could vent it into a bucket of water is not factual. It is either an innocently spread myth or an outright hoax.


brand new toilet installed by plumber won't drain Ok,  I have read many questions and answers to this question, but none of them are what mine is doing.  Buckets of water poured down don't go down, holes aren't clogged, all the guts in toilet work fine. I have logged it--sometimes I get 1 or 2 flushes that actually work, there has been a time I actually got 30 flushes. Sinks, tub, shower, other toilet all drain & work correctly with no bubbling, stink, etc. This toilet will fill to almost overflowing, then takes an hour to drain (no solids, minimal toilet paper). We have snaked with 3' and nothing. Only me here, no children or anything dropped in. A toilet is a simple fixture--people question its a defective toilet?! Venting? Pipe was cut in attic thinking vent issue and still nothing. Here's the plumbing: in crawl there is a 90 degree into a 45 degree, a 4' run with a 1/16" per foot slope (supposed to be 1/4" slope per foot), vent is 12' away from toilet before going upwards then reduced to 1 1/2" pvc, then 7-8' up in ceiling with six 90 degree elbows, about 12-15' run in attic and goes back to 2" pvc to meet an existing toilet, both vented out same pipe. Toilet is American Standard. Help?!

Your DIY answer is:
Call the plumber that installed it.

If that does not work, call your state licencing board, and determine who the bonding agent is for the plumber (it's a licenced plumber, right?)


Is it possible - setting thermostat based on a separate thermometer I'm looking into building a solar water heater, but I'm wondering, is it possible (and what products should I be looking for) to turn on a pump when the water in the solar heating device is hotter than the water in the water tank.

I would assume it would take a thermostat that is set by a thermometer in the solar device.  So the thermostat would know the temp in the water tank, and kick on whenever the thermometer in the solar device is higher than it is.  But I have no idea if it's possible to set a thermostat based on a thermometer (or if this is an overly complex solution and there's a really simple one instead :)).

You're referring to a differential thermostat control, which I believe is fairly standard on solar water heaters:

  In active systems using pumps,
  whenever the collector is hotter than
  the storage tank, the pump should be
  on and the system circulating. When
  the tank is hotter than the collector,
  the pump should be off. This function
  is performed by either a differential
  thermostat control system or the use
  of a PV-powered pump. The differential
  thermostat controller compares heat
  sensor readings from the storage tank
  and collectors and switches the pump
  accordingly.

http://homepower.com/basics/hotwater/#ControlsComponent


How to hang a dryer vent in a basement ceiling? I have an old house and had to rerun the dryer vent line from the first floor through the basement and then to the outside of the house.  I basically replaced everything the previous owner did with few exceptions.  I used the 4" semi rigid aluminum vent hose and replaced the external vent hood.  The old installation did not have cutouts in the floor joists for the vent line due to the presence of water, gas and electric lines in the path.  What can I use as a hanger to help support the 4 inch line as an alternative to cutting the joists?

You can use metal pipe hanging tape to hold it up. It comes in a roll and has several holes in it which you would use to attach it to your framing with nails or screws. Simply cut it to length with a pair of aviation snips, and nail or screw it up.

Once thing you want to be careful of is not to put it on too tight and crush the vent line.


Do I need to tape a drywall plug? My understanding is that drywall tape is to provide structure to the mud as the framing members shift. In my case, I've cut about 17 5" holes in my garage drywall ceiling and saved the plugs. I plan to plug the holes as pictured below (side view).

There's a gap between the existing drywall and the plug. Do I need to tape it? As the house shifts, the plug should shift with the drywall sheet since it's attached to it with the short lath strip.

Since the plug is circular, it seems like I'd need to use something like these (not cheap) instead of regular tape. Aesthetics aren't a big concern since this is a garage.

I think the question you're asking is whether the joint compound will crack around the plugs if you don't tape the joint.

Probably.

But that depends on:

How well you replace the plugs. If you don't center them perfectly, leaving uniform gaps, the joint compound has nowhere to go  in the tight spots and you're left with a paper-thin skin on the surface that's sure to crack.
How well you press mud into the gap. Same reason.
Your climate. Extremes of temperature and humidity will probably crack untaped joints.
How you use the lath. If you use just one the plugs can move more and will probably crack. If you use two, well spaced, and 8 screws, probably not.

What I'd do:

Since it's only 17 plugs, run a strip of tape down one side, and a strip down the other, covering as much joint as possible with the two. The remaining untaped joint segments will be short enough that they're not likely to crack. This will take very little time. A 12" or larger knife will allow you to make a nice wide second coat over everything and end up with a finish that will require very little sanding.


Drawing power from load side of GFCI I added a switched outdoor outlet and a switched outdoor light fixture to my garage, getting power from the load side of a GFCI outlet with a 12/2 romax. Everything works works fine, grounds are all connected and pigtailed to metal boxes, but my tester shows "open ground" at GCIF and new outdoor outlet. Ideas?

Probably the supply to the GFCI itself is what you need to check at both ends, since the tester is reading open ground there. Load wiring has nothing to do with that.
Presumably you didn't test before starting the work?


Outlets that seem to be on same circuit, but not behaving that way I'm trying to install a GFCI outlet in my kitchen. My understanding is that you can install one GFCI on the circuit and this will protect all of the other outlets. This is assuming that the GFCI outlet is installed at the beginning of the circuit. (Correct me if I'm wrong about this).

In attempting to identify the outlet at the start of the circuit, I went one by one and disconnected each one of them, testing the others as I did that. They all seem to operate independently of each other. Disconnecting one outlet did nothing to the others.

What makes this puzzling to me is they are all connected to the same circuit breaker. So wouldn't this mean they are all on the same circuit? If they are all on the same circuit, why do all of them continue to work no matter which one is disconnected?

The old way of running kitchen plugs was to split the top and bottom plugs so each plug was on a seperate feed. This was accomplished by running 3 wire between the plugs and removing the breaker tabs, the entire thing was conected to a dual pole break so the entire plug would trip at once.

If your house was built to code before the advent of gfci this is probably what is going on.

If you test the breakers for those plugs and find them tied together with breaker bars or some othe way this is almost certainly the case.

Unless they were wired with 12g cable you will need dual pole 15a gfci breakers rather than 20a gfci plugs to add gfci protection or to run new cable and 20a breakers.

Fyi: not an electrician


Worried about cracked rafters in house built 1985 There are cracks and dry rot in the rafters of this house, and I'm wondering how urgently they need to be fixed:

support rafter where  brace is located, crack  runs widthwise   almost entire width almost all the way thru & cracks along rafter  w/some flaking where pencil went in ~1mm
rafter where brace has cracks running lengthwise along rafter  from attic ceiling ridge to center of rafter

rafter on east side above living room has signs of dry rot.  was flaking off where pencil went in ~1-2mm

How do I fix these?

By the way, how  much weight can this roof bear? I go up on the roof to clean off debris and sweep the chimney monthly. Did I cause this?

Thank you

This isn't a stellar answer because there's more information needed. But here's a start.

First, your roof system is built with trusses, so the forces acting on the wood behave a little differently than classic stick framing. (For instance, some members are in tension; others are in compression.)

In picture #1, the crack: it's not clear to me what function that stick is doing. If you could draw a sketch of the truss (with the approximate location of the crack and an indication of where walls are underneath), we could form a bit more of an opinion. (Off the top of my head, that crack doesn't look terrible in the context of a truss, but we need more information.)

Pic #2: if you're highlighting the long crack, that's unlikely to be anything other than checking. (If it was an inch/25mm deep, that would be a problem, but I don't see that in the picture.)

Pic #3: if you're only able to dig in a few mm before you hit solid wood (don't hesitate to be aggressive with a screwdriver or pick -- any wood you remove wasn't helping anyway), I wouldn't be concerned about this. Check the other side to see if it's any deeper. If you manage to excavate a considerable amount of wood, come back and tell us. More important is the question of how that started to rot. Is there a leak there or above it on the roof? Or has that been dealt with?

Regarding your weight on the roof... don't worry about it. Modern roofs are designed to carry considerable live/dead loads, and you're not going to get close to the limits.

edits to respond to comments (I ran out of space in the actual comment box...)

I'd like to reiterate that I'm neither an engineer, nor am I in your attic. So my opinion might be worthless. But I look at your additional pic of #1 and I see a truss member that's in compression. And it doesn't look like it's completely falling apart either. So I'd sleep well at night with that over my head. But if you're concerned, you could add another 2x4 either beside or under the existing one. (Essentially, you'd be giving it a splint -- called 'sistering' if you want to google it.)

Good to hear that the other issues aren't problematic.

And a quick aside: trusses are astonishingly flimsy when they arrive at the jobsite. Carpenters look at each other as if to say, "We're gonna put that crap up?!?" The wood they use never seems to be particularly nice. And yet, these things work well. Partly because they are overbuilt, and partly because they are so redundant when put together in a system.

So, long story short, I'd suggest you not worry.


Is a conduit required or recommended when running SER wire in unfinished space? I'm planning on installing a 100amp sub panel in the garage. The garage is right around the corner from the main load center in the basement, but part for that path goes through the stairway from the garage into the basement.
I think it might be required or at least a good idea to have the wire protected in a conduit for that part of the run.

I am planning on using 1/0-1/0-1/0-2 Al SER wire for the run.

Should it be in a conduit for some or all of the run? What size if needed?

The total run should be about 30 feet with going around bends.

Photo of the basement from the main load center looking to the doorway to the garage.

From the garage doorway looking at the stairs up and the back of the garage wall.

No, conduit is not required

Wires equal to or greater than two #6 AWG or three #8 AWG can in fact be secured to the bottom of the floor joists per Code.

334.15 Exposed Work
(C) In Unfinished Basements and Crawl Spaces. Where cable is run at angles with joists in unfinished basements and crawl spaces, it shall be permissible to secure cables not smaller than two #6 AWG or three #8 AWG conductors directly to the lower edges of the joists.

Technically SE cable ran indoors is treated as NM cable....

338.10 Uses Permitted
(B) Branch Circuits or Feeders.
(4) Installation Methods for Branch Circuits and Feeders.
(a) Interior Installations.
In addition to the provisions of this article, Type SE service-entrance cable used for interior wiring shall comply with the installation requirements of Part II of Article 334, excluding 334.80

I'd recommend metallic flex though if a conduit is to be used.


Transformer won't work for US plug I live in the UK but have a few US appliances in my possession which I would like to use here in the UK. To avoid having to rewire all the plugs, I bought a transformer to step down the voltage from 230V to 110V. The outlet is set to receive a European plug, so I bought a Schuko adapter to accept US configured plugs. However, when I plugged it into the transformer, it did not work.
The transformer, I believe, is fine. I will check my appliances further, but I can't decide if the fault is with the adapter, which I only just bought. Does anyone have any thoughts? The transformer can receive a 3 prong plug, but as far as I know, European plugs only have 2 prongs.
The transformer nameplate

Transformer specs

Transformer receptacle

Adapter interface

Wrong adapter
Your problem is basically entirely that you have the wrong adapter.  Your transformer is a UK worksite transformer that outputs two 55V legs with an inaccessible center-tap for the grounded neutral, and thus uses IEC 60309 pin and sleeve (also known as "CEEform" or "Commando" in the UK) type connectors as they are rugged and weather-resistant.  These are not intended to mate with the Schuko plug on your current adapter, though, so you'll need to get or fabricate (using a short length of appropriate cordage as a go-between) an adapter from the appropriate pin-and-sleeve plug to a NEMA 5-15 cord cap and use that instead.


How to fix "married" light switches that have been wired in series? I have a light switch at the top of my staircase and another at the bottom. I would like to be able to use either light switch to turn on/off the light.

However instead they seem to be wired in series in that BOTH the switches have to be on in order for the light to work.

Is there any non-intrusive way to rewire this so that both switches can be used to toggle the light?

You should be able to rewire it to work the way you want if they are three-way switches.

Here's a diagram from Wikipedia:

Here's what the behaviour should be:

Switch 1    Switch 2    Light is
On          Off         On
Off         On          On
Off         Off         Off
On          On          Off

See further explanation on Wikipedia


Keys lost in a water evacuation pipe I lost my keys right in front of my building, in a water evacuation pipe of approximately 7-8 centimeters of diameter. It goes vertically in the ground for about 1m and then bend to approximately 90 degrees, which means this next part is almost horizontal. It is filled with small rocks. I guess my bunch of keys ended up at the beginning of this part.

None of the keys is magnetised. I tried to get them back using a wire with a hook at the end, but I didn't succeed, I guess the rocks are not helping. I am afraid using a drain cleaner would push them further instead of hooking them.

I have no other access to the pipe, and no direct vision on the bunch of keys.

Is anyone having an idea ? I'm getting a bit desperate here because it would cost me a lot if I can't get them back.

Thank you in advance for your help !

In desperation, I would likely use a shop vacuum, a wet-dry vacuum that can tolerate pulling out water without damaging the vacuum. It should also handle the small rocks.

Be sure to remove the paper filter if the instructions for the vacuum so state and to empty the bin prior to this operation.

Even if the keys will not pass into the vacuum hose, it may block the hose enough to use as a lifting device to retrieve them.


How do I raise light switches so my kids can't keep toggling the light? My flat at the moment has all the switches at about 1 meter off the floor. Naturally my growing kids are starting to toggle the lighting now that they are tall enough. Is it possible to raise the switches and is it a DIY job? Can you list out the stages I will have to do including making a new hole in the wall etc. etc?

They make various types of "child proof" switch guards, which might be a more practical approach than moving all the switches.


Zoned oil furnace and AC thermostat question I recently moved into a new home and wanted to replace the old thermostats with digital Honeywell ones. From what I understand the home has a Rheem 10 Seer (1996) compressor and a Williams oil furnace installed in 2012 (not sure of the exact model). The system is zoned via dampers with a master thermostat downstairs (this one can switch between heat/cool and fan on/off) and a secondary thermostat upstairs (just temperature control on this one).

My problem is that I can't figure out why my main thermostat has a B and an O wires. Full list of wires with labels:

B - black wire
O - orange wire
G - green wire
Rc + Rh (via jumper) - red wire
Y - yellow wire
W - white wire

Master thermostat picture:

The secondary thermostat is even stranger with what seems to be incorrect labels/wire colors. It has three wires with what seems to be labeled like this:

W/Heat - white wire
R/Com - red wire
B/Cool - green wire

Secondary thermostat picture:

Instructions page from the new thermostat for conventional systems:

Which wires would I connect these on the Honeywell thermostat, and which settings should I choose in the setup?

UPDATE: I called Honeywell's help line and they redirected me to a zoned help line (800-828-8367 option #5). There a very knowledgable sounding person told me that my thermostat is not compatible with zoned systems. He said that the B and O wires here are used for controlling the dampers in the ducts. His recommendation was to get a RTH2410 or RTH2510 (newest models with no screws on front plate). The manuals for these suggest that they do accept B and O wires in non-heat pump situations.

You should check the wiring in the furnace. There are no standards for thermostat wire colors, so you can't always trust the color of the wires.  Seeing how the wires connect to the furnace, is a sure fire way to figure out what's what.

The O (cool mode) and B (heat mode) terminals are usually used for a reversing valve, in heat pump systems.  I'm not familiar with oil systems, so I can't say for sure what they would be used for.

Some thermostats have separate O and B terminals, like this.

Others have an O/B terminal, and use a jumper to select which should be used.


Drywall thickness for ceilings Took down ceilings in a room on the second floor and it looks like they are 1/2”. House was built in 1983, but I thought all ceilings were supposed to be 5/8”? Joists are spaced 24” o.c., so I figured 5/8” would be best to prevent sagging.
If 1/2” is used, possible to replace with 5/8”? Space between joist and stop of room walls looks like 5/8” would fit. Or should I just replace with 1/2”?

I would replace the ceiling drywall with 5/8" material because it is much better suited for your ceiling joist spacing of 24" than would be 1/2" material.
There is no real reason that the ceiling drywall has to extend out to be over the drywall that is on the walls. The wall material can help support the ceiling material if it does extend out over the wall drywall. But if your ceiling joists have backing lumber between the joists at the ends and there is joist exposure along the walls parallel to the joists that can have screws driven through the 5/8" ceiling drywall into the joists and backing lumber then the only real need is to bring the new drywall up close to the wall material.
New taping joints along the ceiling to wall corners should easily make for a clean finished corner despite not having the ceiling drywall tuck over the wall drywall.


Looking for a large pull-down hinge mechanism I have a large skylight, and currently have a shelf installed in it for indoor seed-starting. I would like to turn it into a pull-down shelf. I have found a clever design for hinges that might work, but none of the products I've seen are large enough for my use case.

Does anyone know of a product like this one that is larger - preferably with a 2-foot extension, rather than 9inches? My intention would be to use it upside-down, and push the shelf up into the skylight. amazon product link

I could probably buy the hydraulic pistons separately, but I don't have access to metal fabrication tools. Do you have any other ideas for how a DIYer could build these kind of hinges themselves with standard tools?
Do you have an idea for a different design that could also work?

Cables, Pulleys, and Counterweights would probably be the easiest and most effective way to DIY a shelf to be raised into/lowered from a skylight without extensive fabrication abilities.


Hot water stops flowing after clunking noise When I turn the hot water on in the bathroom faucet, a clunking noise sounds, and the water stops flowing.  If I open the faucet quickly, it happens immediately.  If I open the faucet slowly, it takes 20-30 seconds before the noise sounds and the water stops.  What causes this and how can it be repaired?

It sounds like it could be the cartridge slipping off the shaft and closing off the water supply.  Not at all sure on this, but be worth removing the cartridge or taking a look at the washer/ O ring carrier.  If this is a newer fixture, you can buy a new cartridge, if older and the shaft is broken or stripped, it may be time for a new faucet set.  The only way to really know is to open it up and take a look.  Make sure to turn off the water supply first!


How can I thaw a frozen exterior drain quickly? I have a driveway that is angled down slightly towards my house. About two feet before the garage there are two long drains that cover most of the drive way. Right now one is 100% frozen and the other is 1/2 frozen.  I am getting so much water build up that it's going into my garage. Does any one have any idea on either:

How I can remove the water from my driveway (I said wet vac it but I can't seem to find anyone with a wet vac in my area), or
How to thaw the drains?

The drain that is fully frozen I think is also frozen under part of the driveway where it would travel to exit so I'm not sure how anyone would thaw that. Also any advice on how to get rid of 3 inch thick ice really fast would be very helpful as well.

You can pick up a cheap water pump that you can use to remove the water.  If you have a Harbor Freight in your area, they have a good selection of cheap pumps.  If your drain is metal, you can use a brush torch with a 15 pound propane tank to help remove the ice.  Use it to help break up the ice.  It will probably not be efficient to melt all of the ice.  Warm water may help break up the frozen water in the drain pipe.


Does adding new dedicated circuits involve new breakers at the panel? An electrician is planning on doing some work in a few weeks and I want to make sure I am educated to make sure it is done right too.

Circuits need to be added so some of my appliances are on their own. I have plenty of room in my panel, so I would assume this would require running new wire to the panel and installing a new 15 or 20-amp circuit, depending on my needs. So, the extra/empty circuit spots in my box would be used?

Does this sound correct? Thanks!

If the electrician is going to add circuits then yes he will add breakers in the extra spaces in your panel.


How to attach concrete to wood? I'm planning a wooden table with concrete legs. I will use a U-shape or O-Shape for the legs.
Should i use screws to attach the legs to the slab or is there a better way?
I thought of placing a metal angle in the concrete but i dont know if its the perfect plan to prevent the table from wobbling (if thats the right word)

EDIT:
i didn't use the concrete legs idea and made a table with steel legs.

With out any design sketch, a good way to bond wood to concrete is using threaded anchors  or threaded inserts

The difficult part is placing these inside the concrete column, to be level and not get dirty from concrete.

So using a fairly large size, so its easier to clean later, and easier to screw into.

Basically you would then insert a metal shaft in the wooden part and use a long screw that goes throught the wooden shaft freely but its head will clam the shaft.. and when you screw it into the concrete threaded anchor you essentially pull the wood tightly to the concrete pillar..

I could not find a diagram that illustrates this but this picture depicts the concept

So imagine the top of the screw, the part of your wooden table.. and the bottom part the concrete pillar, but using the threaded insert, instead of that bolt in the picture.

I have seen this used in building public park benches, with wooden planks fastened to concrete pillars... it is highly durable and very vandal proof.

But you might consider putting in three studs per column.. Three, in a triangle shape.. as this helps stabilize heavy objects. Or four in a SQUARE shape.. Using 1 you will need some sort of cross member or brace.. 2 is almost useless as you still need cross members or braces.


Dismantling an old piano I'm trying to dismantle an old piano, and I would like to do it without damaging the individual parts or pieces of timber (for sentimental reasons - may use it in other projects).

I've screwed out and removed all I can but I've gotten to the point where I want to remove the keyboard section from the main frame. There were two screws on each side apparently holding this on, but even after unscrewing these it remains stuck fast. I assume there is some kind of glued joints or dowels somehow keeping it together.

Is there a handy way of removing this while minimising the damage to the timber? I've managed to hammer a sharp knife in between, but that will only go down an inch or so, is very narrow, and won't do any good in prying them apart (it'll bend then break quite easily), but it shows something could go in there if it was as thin but stronger and broader.

Is there a tool or something, maybe similar to a chisel but a lot thinner that is used for prying joints apart while minimising the damage to the actual timber?

The parts of the surrounding frame itself is just as stuck together so I'm assuming something similar is going on there, but the main thing is this keyboard section so I can then put all the parts away...

What you want here is a coping saw. The main advantage is that you get a hacksaw that has a smaller, more maneuverable blade. It should let you make smaller cuts, like you want.


How do I fix this wiring to properly run LED lights? (More details/products added) The people that lived in the house before me did something odd. They evidently intended on putting in under cabinet lighting in the kitchen, so when they tiled the back wall all around the area, they put in a wall switch that ends in two wires that are currently connected to an extension but going nowhere.

Here are the pics of the items:

Picture of the rocker switch (Taped in the off position):

Picture of the wall (Note the tile goes directly up to the cabinet):

Up close of where the cord comes out from the base of the cabinet:

I would like to run LED lights for under cabinet lighting, and I've been looking at some of the linkable 6" and 12" strips.

I would like to correctly wire LED lighting to this switch. The runs of light strips that I would need come out to 142" (Cabinet lengths are 36", 2 @ 31", 28" and 16"), with a total of 87" of junction runs between lights (There is an in cabinet microwave that I would need to run around, which accounts for 75" of that run.)

How can I correctly fix and wire the LED lights without causing major damage to the current tiling? (For reference, I was looking at these power supplies combined with these light strips, if there is a better solution I would appreciate those suggestions as well).

Update: I used the online chat support on the site I was considering ordering the lights from, and they recommended these lights with this power supply and the appropriate connectors.

When I asked about the current wiring in the wall, he sent me this picture:

So, I am guessing that I need to run the 3 wire segment from the light switch to the transformer junction, but what do I do with the ground wire? Just add a screw in the cabinet for it, or how does that need to be grounded?

Romex is not supposed to just stick out of the wall.  Any in-wall wiring is only supposed to connect to out-of-wall wiring through a junction box.  The cleanest way to do that is to put in an electrical outlet.
You can get retrofit junction boxes that just hold on to the drywall, which makes it quite easy to add an outlet.

(source: homedepot.com)
Also, those power supplies may be way overkill.  How much lighting are you planning to install?  I just installed about 8 feet of strip LED lights and it's using about 2 watts.  If the power supply is over-rated by 10 times, it's wasting power just sitting there turned on.


How do I connect a light to a switch when the light receives power first? I have a power source running from the light how do I connect it to a switch?

In general, a light switch breaks the hot wire lead when it is off and connects the hot wire lead when it is on.  The neutral lead and the ground lead are never broken (that is, they are connected, either continuously, or through a permanent attchment, such as a wire nut).

Power source through switch box -
When power comes through a box containing a light switch and continues on to the light, the switch is attached on one terminal to the black (or sometimes red) line from the power source and on the other terminal to the black (or red) line going on to the light.  The white neutral from the source and the white neutral to the light are connected directly. The bare or green ground lines are also connected (but are not show).

Power source directly to fixture -
When you want to add a switch to a light that is "hot" at the fixture, you can run a new 3 wire cable from the fixture to a box containing the new switch.  The black caries the "hot" to the switch, the red carries the hot back to the fixture. Both will be "hot" when the switch is on.

Most basic switches do not use or need the neutral line, but one is included for more complex switches that need to be powered.  The ground line (green or bare) should be attached to the ground screw on the switch (but is not shown).

At the fixture, you connect the black "hot" coming in from the source to the new black wire running from the switch, and the red switch wire is connected to the black "hot input of the fixture.

These descriptions of wire color are US conventions. In other countries, the color pattern may vary, but the principles are the same.

THIS ANSWER HAS BEEN UPDATED: Thanks to mfarver for the correction about neutrals to switches.


What could cause a 3-bulb fixture to blink when turned off? Two new lightbulbs(energy efficient spiral) blink rapidly when I turn OFF the switch for the 3 bulb fixture in my kitchen. House built in 1912ish. My house but previously had tenants. They only had 1 bulb in, so probably occurred for them, too. I'm worried about turning it out now. Wiring internally, probably wasn't updated since 1940's , when house converted to duplex.

Is your light fixture is controlled by a dimmer switch?  If so, it might not be capable of properly dimming the more efficient light bulbs.

I had a ceiling light fixture on a dimmer switch.  When I changed from incandescent bulbs to LEDs, the light would blink with the switch turned off.  Not dimmed, off.  I replaced the dimmer with a simple on/off switch and it works as expected now.


How can I repair a worn and rusting dishwasher rack? I have a GE dish washer, the bottom rack coating has come off, some of the tines, and now my dishes have rust spots on most of them. I tried to replace the rack at GE, but the part has been discontinued and the replacement rack is too big. I wonder if I can tape rusted parts with water proof tape.

There are products designed specifically for this, like this one:

I haven't tried it - I actually have a kit but never got around to it...
I definitely would not use tape because if it comes off during a wash cycle and clogs the drain you have a real mess. The racks (doesn't matter what brand) vary by model. Even when you can get replacements, the cost is a significant portion of the cost of a new dishwasher.


putting concrete footer with slab I am going to install a pavilion on a concrete slab.  I was wondering, if I install 4 ft concrete footers, should the top of the column be flush with the top of the slab to be poured, or the column be just to the top of the bottom of the slab to be poured, where the rest of the concrete covering the footer would be from the slab.  Any info would be great.

thanks

You mention a column as the footer, so I'm assuming this is a post framed type of structure with the posts sitting on concrete piers.  If so, the posts must be supported directly on the piers, not on a slab poured over the pier.  You can do this by either extending the pier to the top of the slab and using a support like this (Simpson EPB44T) with the slab poured around the pier:

Or you can bring your pier to the bottom of the slab and use this style of support (Simpson PPBZ Porch Base), which you anchor to the pier, and then pour the slab over/around it:

This is NOT engineering advice - I suggest you talk to one to properly spec out this component for your application!

(just realized this question is 5 months old and probably OBE, not sure how it ended up on my feed - hopefully you got it right)


GU24 to E26 light socket adapter -- any risks? I recently moved to a new location where instead of the common E26 light sockets, they have GU24 light sockets. This is a bit of a problem for me, because I like to use edison-style incandescent bulbs, and I find their warm color and low luminescence most palatable for evening indoor lighting.

I checked the GU24 socket, and it says 660 W. But on the light fixtures there is a sticker that says "MAX. 13-watt. Risk of fire". I'm very new to home improvement, and I'm not sure exactly how to interpret this.

If I buy a GU24 to E26 adapter and install a 30- or 60-watt incandescent in it:

Is there a risk of fire because the fixture can't handle the heat produced
by a 14+ watt light bulb?
Is there still a risk if I remove the glass fixture and just screw the light bulb into the adapter?
Would a 14+ watt light bulb potentially cause overheating in the actual electrical wires/their plastic sleeves?

I've added a few pictures to show the fixture and the socket. The "MAX." sticker is attached to a plastic ring that keeps the glass fixture in place.

If I buy a GU24 to E26 adapter and install a 30- or 60-watt incandescent in it:

  Is there a risk of fire because the fixture can't handle the heat produced by a 14+ watt light bulb?
  Is there still a risk if I remove the glass fixture and just screw the light bulb into the adapter?
  Would a 14+ watt light bulb potentially cause overheating in the actual electrical wires/their plastic sleeves?

Absolutely a fire risk. Generally things are designed to handle a bit extra, so a 15W bublb probably wouldn't be a problem. But 30W = > 2X - don't do it.
Yes. The rating is based on "everything". You can't guess which parts exactly determine the problem without a lot of engineering calculations.
The wires themselves? No. The wires are typically rated for 15A or 20A - i.e., 1,875W or more. The problem in this situation is the socket and connections.

As I understand it, the GU24 (or similar) has been mandated in some jurisdictions specifically to avoid people (like you!) using it for incandescent bulbs. If they installed E26 fixtures then it would be trivially simple to install a bulb that generated too much heat for the fixture and waste energy.

Take a look at the newest LED bulbs. They are available in quite a variety of CRI and are a far cry from the first CFLs and even the first white LEDs. If you save 25W x 1,000 hrs/year (< 3 hours a day) that's 25 kWh ~ a few dollars a year, more than enough to pay for a high-quality bulb. Plus in the summer you will save double because you won't pay to remove the heat generated by incandescent bulbs.

Seriously, there is a lot of good stuff out there. Many big orange or blue stores have decent lighting departments with samples of a lot of different bulbs so that you can actually see the difference. If that doesn't satisfy you, go to a real lighting store - i.e., one that sells to the trade (but most will sell to the public too) where the only thing they sell is lighting. Hanging an incandescent bulb may have been the best answer in the early days of CFLs, but there are much better choices now with quality LEDs.


Dimmer switch is buzzing at one location but not at another I installed a dimmer switch in my bedroom and got buzzing from the switch and from the incandescent light/fan on the ceiling that it was controlling.  I took that same dimmer switch and installed it in my daughters room and got no buzzing from the switch or the light/fan.  I tried installing a different dimmer switch back in my bedroom and it also buzzed, so it seems to be the location and not the switches that are the problem.  Why am I getting this buzzing sound in my bedroom?  With a regular on/off switch there is no buzzing, just with the dimmers. I removed the light bulb to see if that was an issue and it still buzzed.
Thanks.

First let me just say, that I noticed that you did not ask, How do I stop a dimmer switch from humming?, but rather WHY is it buzzing (especially, here- not there).

Essentially, your dimmer is also creating or acting like a speaker, because it is physically causing air to vibrate, which is detected by your ear... in other words, sound is created by moving air back and forth. A speaker is made by inducing a magnetic field in an object (like a coil or a bulb filament) which exerts a physical force upon the (induced) object causing it to move and by default, move the air. The range of human hearing is 20 to 20,000 Hz and the frequency of the electricity in a residence is 60 Hz.

The reason it is happening in the dimmer is the same reason as the light bulb; some piece of the dimmer or a neighboring conductor is physically vibrating.

Why it is only in the one spot has to do with something called harmonics... and there is a long physics lecture involved. But in short, harmonic distortions happen because like-waves are additive, meaning that electric wave of similar frequecies (and amplitudes) will add together. The light bulb in the bedroom (or perhaps of the fan motor) and the dimmer are acting like tuning forks each causing amplification (or resonance of waves) in each other and the result is induced power which is strong enough to cause physical movements, and thus, audible feedback.

Of course, from the other discussion about how to stop it, the answer was to change the bulb (that's acting like a tuning fork- not mentioned).


Should I use a hose clamp on my furnace drainage pipe? I have a drainage pipe coming from my furnace that a hose regularly connects to and drains to somewhere down into the floor. The hose unfortunately isn't in a great location and if people aren't being careful then it can be knocked off fairly easily. I was wondering if I took a hose clamp would help at all. My concern right now is that it could maybe damage the plastic, maybe PVC pipe coming out of the furnace.

Does anyone know of the proper way to get a better connection between the pipe and the hose.

The link for the picture of the pipe is below. The pipe has a red circle around the end of it.

It is proper to put a hose clamp on a connection like that as often the barbs aren't sufficient especially after it's come off a few times.  If you're worried about damaging the fitting from the furnace just add another fitting after it and secure it the the furnace or floor, etc.  Then your standalone fitting will be the one that gets damaged if somebody kicks it hard.


Is adhesive to sister a pressure treated deck joist necessary, and if so what kind? My deck has a cantilever of about 4 feet from the girder to where the stairs attach, and the stairs tend to have a bit of a spring in them when you walk up. I want to solidify it a bit by sistering some joists in that area.

I've been trying to decide what adhesive to use, if any. I think nails themselves would be a solid repair, but the extra strength from some adhesive is also a good thing.

I've found that PL 400 (or other polyurethane) adhesive is advertised as compatible with wet pressure treated wood, and as being waterproof, and I'm leaning towards that.

The deck is about 5 years old from what I understand, so the joists are certainly dry. I'm worried about using adhesive in the repair and having the shrinkage of the greener wood delaminate from the adhesive on one side of the wood. I'm also worried about the board drying unevenly with one side in contact with dry wood and the other in the open air, I think the wood may try and cup a bit, backing out my nails. Maybe I should dry the wood for a few months first? They don't sell yellawood up here in Massachusetts.

Would you use adhesive, or just nails? What kind of adhesive?

Edit: Message received on nails vs screws for exterior applications - but I'm most curious about the adhesives

I'd be using stainless steel deck screws or stainless steel lag screws.


How can I mount an electrical box in a drywall hole that's too large? I need to mount a 2 gang dry lining backbox on a drywall.
Now, the hole in the wall is too long, so the clips won't grip (or rather, only one clip will grip where the other one would be too far from the drywall edge).
For reasons beyond my control I can't move the box. Any suggestions?

I assume you used this box to avoid tearing up a bunch of drywall. So let’s try for a solution that avoids that.

Mount a piece of wood inside the wall along the edge of the opening and mount to this piece of wood.

The wood must be small enough to fit inside the existing hole. Once in you rotate it into place and then mount with drywall screws going through drywall and into the wood. If this area is exposed wall (not covered by a picture, a TV, or other furniture) you will want to patch the screw heads.

Mounting to the wood may require some more DIY finesse. With so little room to work you may find you need to modify the clip attachment and find some other means to attach on that side of the box. Like maybe snip off the clamp part so the hinged piece sits flat agains the wood and then drive a screw in horizontally.

HOWEVER, by the looks of things this is a box intended for main electrics? If there are high voltage (>50V) connections in this box it is a code violation to modify it. In particular, it may no longer be fire resistant after modification.


Any advice on unthreading old Brass pipe? Any advice on unthreading old Brass pipe? The brass pipe is in the back with the spigot attached.

Try it
Before you assume it's not going to turn, give it a try. You might find that even though the pipe looks like it's in rough shape, it unthreads without too much trouble.

Put a pipe wrench on top of the pipe with the jaws open down, and the handle to the left.
Tighten the jaws down on the pipe.
Try to rotate the pipe in an anticlockwise direction.

Give it a tap
If the pipe won't turn, tapping might break it loose. However, you'll want to be gentle, so you don't break anything. You're not looking to apply extra rotational force, you're looking to knock crud loose from the threads.

Apply gentle anticlockwise pressure to the wrench on the pipe.
Gently tap the handle of the wrench and/or pipe with a hammer.

Two wrenches
If the pipe still doesn't budge, try putting a second pipe wrench in the opposite direction on the outlet of the tee. Then push the handles of the wrenches together.

Put a second pipe wrench on the bottom of the tee outlet, with the jaws open up and the handle about 45° below the first wrench.
Holding the second wrench stationary, push the first wrench handle towards the second.

The second wrench reduces the amount to torque transferred to the fitting, and gives you a bit of extra leverage.
Gunk buster and lube
If the pipe is still being stubborn. Soak the joint in penetrating oil, and allow it to soak in for a bit. Then repeat the steps above.
Heat it up
If the pipe is still not moving after repeating the steps above a few times, It's time for more drastic measures.

Wipe down the joint to remove any excess penetrating oil.
Heat the joint with a torch.
Using a pipe wrench as described above, try to rotate the pipe anticlockwise.

Cut it out
At this point you'll be at your wits end, so it's time to get destructive.

Use a pipe cutter to cut the pipe off close to the tee.
Using a mini hacksaw, carefully make a few cuts into the interior of the pipe.
Using a wrench, try to break the pipe nub up in to pieces.

Be careful when making the cuts, as you don't want to cut into the threads of the fitting.  Usually you can break or deform the pipe nub enough, so that it can be removed from the fitting.


How to make sure the toilet bowl won't break after abuse? Caught workers using the uninstalled toilet bowl I bought a week ago,  as a stepping stool.  I know that porcelain is fragile and deadly when they break under stress, how do i know that one is broken or safe?

I'd try giving the main contractor (the person you're paying) a stern earfull about how you don't want their workers using your brand new toilet as a step-stool. Maybe say something like if you catch them doing it again you're not paying for that toilet, or they're fired, etc.

They're supposed be professionals and use ladders and stuff, besides the idiot worker could easily fall & hurt himself and your property.

Plastic wrap won't really protect porcelain from much more than dust, a dirty boot with a rock in the bottom could easily scratch it. Might even want to unwrap it some & carefully inspect the "stepped on area" for any hints of damage. Do be careful not to scratch it yourself though, especially if any workers are watching, even a sharp bit on a ring, or house key, or piece of rock on your hands could scratch it, and if it is scratched you could demand it be replaced since it is damaged.

I'm quite sure that porcelain is only broken when it's cracked, so if you don't see any cracks it isn't broken. Toilets are really very sturdy, they're supposed to hold the heaviest people who use them, and almost everyone drops closed heavy toilet seats (even though they probably shouldn't). The next time someone's throwing out an old toilet, ask if you can smash it up with a hammer, you'll find they're quite sturdy (the local garbage here will accept broken porcelain in a box for no charge, but wanted $10 to take a whole toilet).

Just an idea, but there are some special dyes used for detecting cracks in metal, I suppose you could try using one of those on the toilet.

You could try using a stainless steel toilet if you really don't like porcelain, though I'd imagine it would be a lot more expensive, just from it's rarity, or maybe an RV or boat toilet (plastic or metal) is another option. You're also always sitting on the plastic/wood seat, that's on top of the toilet, so even if the toilet cracks you should still be on the seat anyway...


Can I safely use a straight (Type 1) metal cutoff wheel in angle grinder? I have a Ridgid angle grinder and a metal cutoff wheel.

On page 7 of the manual it states:

  Use ONLY Type 27 depressed center grinding wheels (such as the one provided  with this product). NEVER attach a Type 1 straight or cut-off wheel to this angle grinder. Use for any other purpose is not recommended and creates a hazard, which will result in serious injury.

After reading some online forums, asking some contractor friends, and watching YouTube videos it seems that everyone simply uses a Type 1 wheel to cut metal and move on with their life.

PS: I won't acknowledge the countless people that use an angle grinder without the guard. I will absolutely be putting the guard in the correct position.

As far as I can tell I just have to reverse the clamp nut and it securely holds the Type 1 cutoff wheel in place.

Am I using the wrong tool or wrong cutoff wheel or are there simply so many more Type 1 wheel accidents that companies just try to distance themselves from Type 1?

Even the cutoff wheel packaging says "for use with angle grinders" and has a picture of an angle grinder.

Important: I am trying to solicit authoritative answers which can properly explain why one should not use a Type 1 disc. I do not wish for polling answers such as "I've done it so you're fine".

I think I have enough research to make an answer to this.  I believe it comes down to the guard available for this tool and it not meeting the requirements for a "Type 1" cut off disk.

This Ridgid forum has what is supposed to be a quote from Ridgid:

  The RIDGID R1001 Angle Grinder has an included type 27 guard and is certified to Underwriters Laboratories (U.L.) product safety standards. U.L. requires only type 27 depressed center grinding wheels be used with type 27 guards. Type 1 straight or cut-off wheels have no depressed center posing a safety concern to the operator when connected to a type 27 guard. In no circumstance should a type 1 straight cut-off wheel be used with a type 27 guard. Please contact RIDGID customer for further assistance: 866-539-1710.

This is for a different model, but it does show that they do limit the wheels on their tools based on the guards.

I also found this PDF from an abrasives saftey site that shows an enclosed guard is used for cutoff wheels:

I also found a Makita manual that shows an optional enclosed guard for cut off wheels (#13):

And here is that product sold seperately:

So, all of that points to the guard being the "breaking point" for the type 1 disc support.  This is probably because the company had some legal issue in the past so they have decided to officially not support that type of disk with their tools while other brands are happy to sell different guards (speculation alert).

I guess what it comes down to is trusting the included guard to contain the explosion of a cracked type 1 disc.


How do I reinforce an old mortise and tenon joint? I have some old This End Up chairs with mortise and tenon joints that came reinforced with nails. They are generally pretty sturdy but have gotten quite the wiggle over their 33 years.

My question is how to reinforce such joints without damaging the chairs at all? I am not much of a wood worker and don't have a lot of tools but am willing to get my hands dirty. Recommendations so far have been to use glue like this or even Gorilla Glue. I would consider a pocket hole if it could be done in discretely enough but I fear the way the joints are layed out will now allow that.

Could I possibly drill (to avoid cracking) a pilot hole for a nail and use chair doctor glue? That's my current plan.

For reference, here are the chairs:

Click for full size image

The key to a mortise and tennon joint is the glue surface.  Often, in a manufacturing environment, when the joint is assembled, they will shoot a nail into to hold the joint until the glue dries instead of putting it into a clamp and waiting for it to dry.  This speeds up production and takes up less space.  There is nothing wrong with that method, but it means the nails really don't do much except get in your way taking it apart.

You can try forcing some glue, like the type you described, into the joint and see if that holds.  You can even get glue injection syringes from most woodworking stores.

Ideally, you want to get a good tight glue joint, preferably clamped under pressure.  The joints on a chair tend to flex over the years and this causes them to compress and wear and become loose.  If you really want to get these back together tight, you will want to carefully remove the nails and pull the joints apart.  Scrape off any roughness and take them down to bare wood but be careful not to take off any excess material that will make them more loose than they already are.  If they are pretty tight, a filler glue will do the trick.  If they wiggle a lot, you may need to insert a thin piece of wood to fill the gaps, like a slice of veneer and clamp the joint.  Be sure to apply glue to all surfaces.  If you have to lightly tap it with a hammer to get the joint tightly together, you are on the right track.  You can also put a small wedge into the back of the tennon to force it to expand and apply pressure to the mortise, but you have to be careful not to completely crack the wood beyond the tennon.


Prevent water seepage through concrete block foundation Earlier this week we had a really warm day which was welcomed by many after such a long cold winter. That night I came home to find a small puddle forming on my basement floor. I followed the water back to an unfinished corner of the basement and pulled back the insulation to find a half a dozen or so wet concrete blocks.

This is the first time we have had water in the basement and my guess is with the warm weather and the only thaw piece of ground being next to the foundation, the water only had one place to go and after the ground got over saturated it began to seep in.

This spring, I plan on revisiting the landscaping in this corner of the house to look for low spots in the grading and drainage. We do our best to keep our gutters free from ice build up and what not, but are there additional things I can do to prevent water seepage through a concrete block foundation?

This time of year is prime for water seepage into unsealed foundations. With water tables on the rise and the top of the ground still frozen, there tends to be less natural drainage and a bit more water pressure on foundations. This is also a bed time of year in northern climates to improve external drainage. A good drain tile around the foundation directed away from the building or a sump pit pumping water away from the house is the usual method. Since that is not your best option now, the other option is to treat the interior of the foundation with a hydrolic sealant like DriLoc. Driloc and products like it are applied like paint to masonry surfaces and will protect against leaking for up to 4 or 5 PSI external water pressure. The external pressure of ground water against the walls is usually very low, under 2 PSI, so this product is very effective.  The only problem is that the surface should be dry when you apply it. You may have to suffer through the current situation for a bit until the surface can be dried. When you do apply Driloc, it is important to clean the surface well, remove any and all efforant mineral deposits, old paint etc. When applying the product, work it into all the tiny holes of the masonry. Pay special attention to joints between walls and floors.  Two coats is normally necessary.


Plugging hole in hollow brick The extension to my house is built with hollow brick elements and I have a hole on one of them that I'd like to plug and mortar over. Since it's hollow in the back of the hole inside the element, I need to provide some backing. I thought maybe insulation foam (e.g. "Great Stuff"). What is the best to use?

The foam you suggest will work well for what you want to do. Do not over fill the cavity, leave room for expansion of the foam.

After it cures in a couple of hours, poke it in a little, maybe an inch, more would not hurt. Clean off the skin of foam that is left so the new cement bonds with the old. The act of pushing in to compress the foam should relieve a larger area behind the hole, so the cement mushrooms inside the hole.