Trying to add a light at the end of a 3-way switch Let me caveat by saying that I am a new homeowner with relatively little electrical experience, so please bear with me...

Our house has a standard 3-way switch with the light between the two switches. Originally I wanted to convert the 3-way to function as two single pole switches. I would have to add more wire directly between the switches to make that work, so I'm trying for a simpler option. Essentially, I want to splice an additional light onto the second switch, to work in tandem with the light in the middle. (see diagram)

The 3-way switch is working fine, but the new additional light turns on for a second and then off. First, does this setup work? If it does, does anyone have any ideas why the light is turning on then off immediately?

Good grief, nobody could expect to understand that tangle of red, black and white.  Let's get some red and purple tape and actually mark the wires for what they do.

Well that's a lot better.. White is actual neutral.  Black is actual hot.  Red is switched hot.  Purples are 2 messengers - they're the same, so there really isn't any need to distinguish them from each other.

I didn't color your extra wires.  Can you see a bit better how this is going to work -- or to be more precise, not work?

The original lamp is getting its switched-hot filtered through another lamp.  This is called putting them in series.  They're not designed for that.


Sizing electrical wire from Solar Panels Our home has a 200 AMP main service disconnect and a 200 AMP sub-panel inside the house.  The barn is about 200 feet away with a small sub-panel and is currently fed by a an overhead 8/3 wire.  I plan to install solar panels on the barn roof (5-kw array) and connect the inverter to to the barn's sub-panel.

Do I need to increase the size of the wire feeding the barn?  It will be carrying all the electricity produced by the solar panels.  How do I know what size wire is appropriate?  Also, I plan to put any replacement wire underground in conduit.

Thanks for your help.

I am assuming that you have 220V going to the barn? As far as wire size, industry standards say to aim for 1 - 2% voltage drop, but running 5000W, 200ft on #8 wire @ 220V results in just under 3% voltage drop. This will probably work just fine but it would work a little better if you were to upgrade it to a #6 or a #4. It is just a matter of weighing the options. During peak performance a system running at 5000W with a 3% drop would be losing around 150W. At 1% drop you would only lose 50W remember, this is only during peak performance; during the morning and evening, your losses are much less.

Here is the question to ask yourself... How much money is it going to cost to upgrade the wire? Is it worth it for a 100W increase?

Credits: I mostly use the Southwire Voltage Drop Calculator for my calculations... I can do it manually but the Vdrop calculator is much easier.

Thanks, Maxfield Solar


Drywall over Ceiling tiles and Plaster Ceiling I have a 100 year old house with a room with old outdated ceiling tiles that I want to disappear. I don't know if the tiles are glued or stapled on but there are furring strips that run the length of the room that the tiles are adhered to. The ceiling behind this is a plaster ceiling. Can I just put drywall over everything or do I need to remove the ceiling tiles first? The tile have been there for at least 50 years and I don't know what they may contain. I also want to keep the mess to a minimum. Can I reuse the furring strips? The furring strips are 3in. x 3/4in in size.

What is the best way to handle this?

The only concerns are:

That the furring strips are on suitable centers (24" or less)
That they're anchored well enough to support the weight of the drywall in addition to the tile.

Otherwise it should work just fine. You can take this opportunity to shim out any dips or humps, too.

If you're going to the trouble of removing the tile, you might as well just remove the strips, too.


Better way to fit wires in electrical boxes? So in pretty much every video I watch with installing a ceiling light or fan they just sort of 'stuff' all the wired pigtails up in the box.

Is there a better way to do this? maybe it's my distrust of wire caps/connectors? I always feel like that seems sorta hazardous...or the wire caps might get disconnected?

Am I wrong? or is there a better way than just stuffing everything in a box?

You can ever so gently stuff them in, but there really isn't all too much that you can do - about the same with any wiring.

The 'technique' that I learned is to push one side in first, getting the majority of it in there, and then roll the device onto/into the box to push the rest in.

Just tighten the screws good enough and you'll have no problems.


Why can't I get this plastic drywall anchor into the hole? I bought drywall anchors to hang a curtain rod, and followed the directions on the package (use 1/4" drill bit to make the hole for the anchor, then push it in). When I push, it won't go. If I try to lightly tap it with a hammer, the plastic anchor just deforms and it doesn't go any further. I don't want to make the hole bigger than what they specified on the package - what could I be doing wrong?

Or maybe these plastic anchors are just junk?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Triple-Grip-8-x-1-1-4-in-Anchors-with-White-Screws-5-Pack-178S/202531180

I actually really like those linked triple grip wall anchors (linked by OP). The package often comes with its own drywall drill bit as well. The trick to using them is to pinch the "shoulders" in until they are flush with the sides of the anchor body before pushing them into the hole. Drywall is fairly chalky and brittle, so it will give a little bit where needed to let the shoulders through. Once in, these are nice, strong, low-profile anchors. The auger ones are a lot more destructive and tear up a lot of drywall if they fail. But I've used those successfully in the past as well.


What's the best/official way to draw a building's electrical system? We are installing home automation systems, and we have serious problems with electricians. Short: they are stupid and lazy. So, we have to do something.

There're some stories:

We have a spreadsheet with a numbered list of all the wallets, lamps, switches, and also a layout map of the house, all wallets/lamps/buttons/etc. signed on it with these ID numbers. With this list in his hand, our electrician just marked all wires with his own words instead of numbers, e.g. "sleeping room lamp switch". He has made no checklist at all.
We're working at the rack, wiring relays. There are cca. 200 wires coming from the rooms for input/outputs installed by electrician, but after a while we found that about 50 wires are missing, there are plenty of relays left empty. We call electrician, he says: "I have had no more space for wires".
(Not my story.) We mark all swith places on the wall with small sticky papers, writing ID numbers on it. Checking wires, it appears that there is a wire numbered "4" at the place "14". Electrician says "oh, I did not see the '1' before the '4'...".

And so on. Electricians don't do any documentation. The pen and paper is missing from electricians' toolbox.

We're enough. Legendary hard times arrives for electricians. We will don't pay if they don't do their job immaculate (we will ask customers to do so). Sorry, guys.

So, what we need is a simple, easy-to-understand graphical markup system which we can push into the hands of the electrician, and say: that's the job, brother, do it, no more, no else, no less, otherwise you will be surprised at payment.

Is there any standard for it? We should draw it into the layout plan. We should put separate rooms to separate pages, if it helps. Any ideas are welcome, e.g. "make two drawings, one for wallets and another for lamps", "use only prime numbers for IDs", "don't draw, use detailed textual instruction list with checkboxes", "ask him to sign that he understands the plan and the conditions" etc.

The drawing system should contain the following item types:

pushbutton,
shutter pushbutton (two-way, 3 wires: common + up/dn),
wallet 220V,
IR/move sensor,
shutter motor (3 wires),
lamp 220V,
wallet 220V,
CAT5 ethernet cable (both for computer network and buttons),
other power wire (e.g. 12V),
etc.

(I will update the question if you have other important requirements I forgot.)

I'll go ahead and answer because I think your core question is a good one.  It sounds like what your company installs are fairly complex home automation systems, and you're hiring residential electricians to do the wiring.  Instead, what you need for applications like this is an electrician with industrial automation experience.  They do exactly the type of thing you're asking all day long -- wiring rack-mounted PLCs and relays, labeling wires according to ID numbers on a diagram, high voltage and low voltage wiring and termination.

Another thing you need is a contract.  If having your circuits and wires marked a certain way is important to you, then you need to specify that in your contract.  You can't just assume that your electrician will know that you prefer ID numbers on your circuits just because he has a sheet with ID numbers on it, especially a residential electrician whose usual clients would have no idea what the ID numbers meant.  And then, if something isn't done according to what you spelled out in the contract, you can point it out and the electrician will correct it.  The other stories you mention just sound like mistakes that should have been corrected by the electrician, assuming they were his error (was it you or he that ordered the relay panel that didn't have enough room for 200 wires?).  Anyway, everyone makes mistakes now and then.

To answer your specific question, there already is a system for diagramming electrical circuits.  You should probably already be familiar with these symbols if you're installing home automation.

One last piece of advice for good communication with your electrician if you're working in the U.S. (which you may not be): make sure that what you're calling these devices matches up with U.S. terminology for these devices.  For example, in the US, you would never call a switch with an "up" and "down" position a pushbutton.  Here, a pushbutton is a button that you push into the surface on which it's mounted.  Up/down switches are normally just called switches, at least in a house.  I don't know what a wallet is, maybe a wall outlet?  And it would be very unusual to have a 220V lamp circuit.


How can I build a bed frame out of palettes? I'm moving to a new house, and on a broke budget. I found this bed design online.

I'd like to do this from scratch and perhaps use wooden palettes for the main structure (adding supplemental wood for the legs, seams, etc.). Any ideas on how to really do that? Sorry for the vagueness, this is completely out of my territory.

Believe it or not, there is an entire Pinterest page dedicated to beds made out of pallets. There are no instructions, but plenty of designs in addition to your IKEA model that you can use for inspiration. Some involve simply stacking the pallets in various configurations, but several of them are quite stylish and it's pretty easy to see how they disassembled some pallets and screwed them back together to make a nice frame.

Have a look!

Pallet Beds


Trying to finish a full basement but footers arent deep enough? I have a full basement that we are wanting to finish, we hired a contractor to come out and estimate and he said we couldn't do it at all because of the slope of the land the footers weren't deep enough to finish the basement.. is there anything I can do? Any suggestions

Yes, you have to underpin your foundation with new footers. This is not an easy--or likely cheap fix, however.


Why do builders say that wet concrete/mortar is not as strong? I have been watching a few videos demonstrating the mixing of mortar and cement and a constant theme is that you must not have the mix too runny.

I cannot fathom the reason... Does anyone care to elaborate?

My only guess is that a watery mix will have the layers settle in their different sedimentary layers with the fine cement settling to the bottom...

My only guess is that a watery mix will have the layers settle in
  their different sedimentary layers with the fine cement settling to
  the bottom...

One reason is that the aggregate can settle to the bottom much too easily, yes. This is called segregation and results in non-cohesiveness of concrete.
Another reason too much water is bad is that it can result in porous concrete, especially at the surface.

  "Concrete that is poured too wet will be weak regardless of how it is
  cured. Not all of the water that is added to the concrete mix is
  necessary for the hydration process. In fact, the amount of water
  required to completely hydrate the cement is only about one half to
  two thirds of what is usually added at the batch plant or on the job
  site. The rest is added strictly to make the mix more workable. Adding
  too much water, however, might save work during placement, but it will
  also result in very weak, porous concrete, even with proper curing." - source

Excerpt from a good article (read the whole article) describing this problem in good detail:

  "When there is too much water in the concrete, there is greater
  shrinkage with the possibility for more cracks and reduced compressive
  strength. As a general rule, every additional inch of slump decreases
  strength by approximately 500 psi. So for example, if you ordered
  5-inch slump concrete and received 7½ inches, a mix designed to be
  4000 psi would end up being 2500 psi. This represents a serious loss
  in strength, especially if you were placing exterior concrete in a
  freeze/thaw climate where the standard requirement is 4000 psi for
  proper durability." - source

This is often the reason for the slump tests that are done on most large projects. It tests the workability, but also indirectly tests if there is too much water.


Basic Circuit Breaker trips inconsistently, persistently I have a 15 amp circuit breaker in my house. It controls 1 of the basement circuits for a room that has:

1 small dim CFL wall sconce
6 ceiling cans with CFL bulbs
6 wall outlets that only have a single nightlight plugged into them
a double outlet (4 outlets total) that have a dvd player, a 50" LED flat TV, a small stereo

Some things I've tested:

My whole-house heater/AC is not on this circuit
My whole-house water filter (which does draw some power) is not on this circuit
There is no sump-pump and I can't think of any other appliances that might be on this circuit.

The basement was renovated 6 years ago and when that happened the whole house electrical panel was upgraded to a modern unit.

The breaker has been tripping periodically ever since the basement renovation. Sometimes it will go for a month or 2 without tripping. Sometimes it trips and trips again within a minute of resetting.

The time of day it trips is not consistent. The load on the circuit when it trips is not consistent.

What steps should I follow to try to pinpoint the problem? What are the likely causes of the problem?

There are a few possibilities, if this is a standard breaker.  If it is AFCI or GFCI, there are a few other things to check, but you didn't mention that.

There is a high-current draw on the breaker that you are not aware of.  When the breaker trips, you can check the temperature of it with a non-contact thermometer.  If it is warmer than the breakers around it, that would indicate a high current load.  The internal heat is one thing that causes a breaker to trip.  You can also check the load with a clamp meter after removing the cover for the panel (you might not be comfortable with that).
The breaker is bad.  This happens, but its not very frequent.  Replacing it requires removing the cover of your electric panel (again,  you may or may not be comfortable with that).  It's a simple a cheap item to replace, so if there isn't a high load and its still tripping, this could be a good next step.
There is a bad connection to an outlet or light that shorts out periodically.  This can be the hardest to find, so that's why I suggested replacing the breaker to rule it out before hunting for this one.  The only way I know of finding this is to inspect every connection downstream from the breaker to find a loose or charred connection.  Any outlet that is loose in the wall or doesn't feel right when plugging something in would be suspect.


Old oak stairs nail squeak - removing nails Stairs in a 100 year old house are squeaking, and I'm looking for a way to repair it.
The squeak comes from a single nail that is connecting the tread and the riser, vertically, in the middle.
There is a gap between the tread and the riser, and I can see the nail. When someone is walking on the stairs, the tread flexes and rubs on the nail.
I've seen suggestions to use glue blocks and shims to support the tread from below, but since its a single nail - does it just make sense to remove or cut the nail under the tread, since it doesn't seem to be providing any more support?

Remove the nail and replace with a long deck screw and then patch over the hole to match the oak.


How can I separate the fan and the light in my bathrooms? We've got four bathrooms, all wired so that the light and the (extremely loud) fan are on the same switch.  Each one appears to have two blacks wires (both connected to the switch, different screws on the same side) and two white wires (twisted and capped to one another).  Is there a way to add a second switch to control the light and the fan separately without running new wiring?

No, not without running new wire. The way you have it there is only one switch leg going up to the fan/light.


What is the life expectancy of a washing machine motor? My washing machine is 6 years old. I found what I think is a good deal on a motor (about $50). I was just wondering if it would be a good investment to have a spare motor around.

Motors don't break... the brushes used to power the coils or the golden fingers used to get the power are for sure worn out and need replacing. This can be a difficult task sometimes and these parts could cost $50, so by replacing the motor with an equivalent type you should expect the same life span based on the usage of the machine.

In this picture you can see the brush (inside the yellowish bracket) and the commutator (golden fingers) it touches (here they are dirty - but in good condition) usually they would need to get cleaned on change of brush - but if they are badly worn the motor could be rendered useless as you can see - they are not replaceable on this version.

A nice picture showing the complete design of a coil-motor. The only things that break in here are the brushes/commutator and in rare cases the coils themselves could burn if a high current flows past them. The coils never burn from just running. These motors can run forever as long as they have power to them (even if you physically stop the shaft and put 100% power they won't burn); it just generates strong electromagnetic fields.


How can I light up a room without a ceiling light? I will soon be moving to an apartment that has no ceiling lights. Unfortunately installing my own is not an option, it needs to be reversible. There may or may not be a switch wired to an outlet.

I am looking for recommendations on alternatives to ceiling lights. Or really, in result, an effective way to light up a room.

At the moment I am aware of these options:
swag light
 or torch lamp

I like the idea of a swag light because it can be placed in the middle of a room. Though I have not used one so I am not sure how well they disperse light. The downside with a torch light is that it cannot be placed centrally in the room.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Usually in this situation, people tend to use lamps. There are two common types of lamps, each available in various styles to fit your tastes.
Floor lamps
These are meant to stand on the floor, and are typically tall.

Table Lamps
These are meant to sit on a table, and are typically short.

Both types of lamps are typically powered through a cord and plug, and have some form of on/off switch built in.
If long range control of the lamp is desirable, The Clapper can be installed.


10 gauge whip off disconnect box fed from 12/3 on 15 amp breaker for Mini Split? I'm wanting to make sure my shopping list is correct for my mini split install.
The mini split, Senville SENA-09HF, uses a 12/3 wire and requires a 15 amp breaker. I'm planning to buy a non-fused disconnect box and an electrical whip, but 12 gauge whips seem to be uncommon.
Would I be safe to use a 10 gauge whip off of the disconnect box to the outdoor condenser unit?
I could feed my own 12/3 through the conduit but first wanted to know if there's even a need to. My intuition tells me this would be fine but this wouldn't be the first time it's failed me.

As long as the terminals on your mini-split accept 10AWG, you're fine
I'd go ahead and use the 10AWG whip as long as your mini-split's terminals can accept 10AWG wire (most power connections can).  If they can't, then I'd get some black and green 12AWG THHN  to replace the 10AWG the whip came with.


Repairing Hole Drilled Vertically in Joist I'm remodeling my kitchen and pulled up the old flooring down to the joists. I discovered that a hole was drilled down into one of the joists, nearly 3/4 of the entire height of the joist. The joist is a 2x10, spanning 14 feet.

The options I'm considering are:

Add a new joist that runs the full length of this joist, glue and nailed to next to the original joist
Use a repair plate
Add a section of joist (3-4 ft) and connect with glue and lag bolts

What's my best course of action here? Is the full length joist overkill?

There's nothing about that old joist that's really worth trying to restore it to full strength, which would be iffy at best.

I'd sister a second joist right next to it and nail it to the original - no need to glue it.  That should be simple, quick, and inexpensive.  You'll need to get the new joist in so it rests on the beam or wall that supports it at either end, but that's usually not too difficult.

You could just remove and replace the old joist, but I don't know if that's worth the trouble, the extra joist won't do any harm there.

One possible confound to replacing the joist that came up in the comments:  if there is plumbing and / or electrical running through the joist, it may be a lot harder to double up or remove and replace the whole joist.

If it's a lot harder, I would not hesitate to repair the joist, I'd sandwich the joist between two pieces of 3/4" plywood glued and nailed on.  I'd want a minimum of 2' on either side of the damaged spot.

If there's not even room to place 4' of plywood, you could add 2x10s on top of 1/2" plywood or OSB and bolt the whole thing together, making a three ply flitch beam in the repair section.  (Flitch plates are usually made of metal, but that would be a bit over the top for weak floor joist.)

Keep in mind that one weak joist could cause some sag, may mess up your tile floor, etc., but it isn't going to make the house collapse.


What is this wire attached to a manufactured home water line? We are working on moving a manufactured home off of our property, and in the process exposed water line that was underneath a four season porch. The line is plastic, has insulation wrapped around it, and it seems there is this wire that follows along the water line.

It is blue, has shielding on the outside (never seen that before), and has two conductors inside, which are not twisted like a phone wire would be. The end I found was not connected to anything, it was capped with a weathershield cover.

I've never seen something like this. It doesn't seem to be a tracer wire (shielding wouldn't make sense). This line is not underground, but is exposed to elements underneath the home in a crawl space. What is this wire for?

That looks like heat tape - it keeps the line from freezing.


How can I create a polycarbonate roof valley? My roof valley is wider than this. I want light to pass in through. Is the polycarbonate I should use? Can I make a joint somewhere in the middle through the length with polycarbonate.  I need some advice to get this done.

You will have a difficult time getting approval for a non-traditional material in a roof assembly, code wise.

Additionally, polycarbonate has degradation problems with UV light: City Plastics

Acrylic or safety glass might be a better choice.

HOWEVER, the real fly-in-the-ointment is the structure necessary UNDER the roof valley, which is not transparent.

Stick with standard roof windows BETWEEN the framing members.  It will be warrantied, accepted by your insurance and code authority, and easily installable by a journeyman roofer.


What areas of a home are required to be AFCI protected? I've got a Crouse Hinds panel with the majority of the breakers being of the ridiculous side connecting type. The panel and breakers are old and beginning to arc due to the lose connection. I've found replacement breakers for the panel but I need to know what areas of the house need to be protected by AFCI type breakers per NEC 2015.

According to NEC 2014 210.12(A).

  ...kitchens, family rooms, dining rooms, living rooms, parlors, libraries, dens, bedrooms, sunrooms, recreation rooms, closets, hallways, laundry areas, or similar rooms or areas shall be protected...


How do I clean dripped paint from a wood floor? I've painted the skirting boards in this room and the paint has dripped on to a pretty fresh stained and varnished floor.

How can I get these paint marks off the floor without damaging the new stain or varnish?

Use a 5-in-1 painter's tool (e.g. Richard brand) to scrape them off.  These tools have an edge that is slightly curved and rounded so that you can scrape without gouging a surface. I've used this for removing burnt-on gunk from a frying pan, without damaging the pan.

You may find that the paint does not actually adhere to the varnish very well and the droplets just pop off, which is the ideal situation. If they adhere stubbornly, you may nevertheless be able to use the tool to plane them flat, reducing these droplets of dry paint into essentially thin white stains. The remainder of the work can be done by a some light sanding with fine paper that won't cut through the varnish. Or, some solvent may be able to help with this last step. Acetone is almost certainly too strong for the varnish, but try isopropyl alcohol is a possibility.


Can I install Kerdi board just on the walls of my shower and use a PVC membrane on the floor? I have poured the preslope on the cement floor, and installed the Oatey PVC membrane and 3 piece drain.

I would like to use Kerdi board on the walls, but not the floor.  Can I install Kerdi board next on the walls bring it down to the membrane?

After the Kerdi goes in, I would pour the final slope for the shower floor and tile overtop.

I like the Kerdi product for my walls because of the pre-fab niche, and lightweight materials and smaller board sizes that are available.  I really don't see any videos of people installing Kerdi board with an Oatey membrane.  Are the two incompatible for some reason?

That makes sense the installation video from Oatey says "wateproof drywall or cement board"  but your kerdi board is waterproof too, so it's equivalent.

Be sure not to screw through the shower liner--if you need to screw low on the Kerdi board put a dwang (cross-block) in above the liner and screw to that.


Switch with 2 red, 2 black and 1 ground wire I have a switch indoors which controls two outdoor daylights. I opened the wall plate and found that it has two red wires and two black wires and one ground (so 5 terminals in all). I stuck a multimeter on them and only one of the black ones has voltage, the rest are all 0.

Now, I want to replace this whole thing with a timer switch, which has one line, one load and one neutral. I've taken care of the neutral (together with all the other neutrals in the box), but I am a bit confused about what to put in the line and load.

How can I make my timer switch control both the daylight bulbs? Also, what kind of a switch is that, which has five terminals?

Thanks!

Connect the line to the one hot wire.  The black wire in its cable gets capped off. Connect the load to the black or red wire of the other cable, you'll know you have the right one because the light will work.  Cap off the other one.

This combination will work until you find one of the other 3-way or 4-way switches in the system.  Then, it will fail until you throw that switch back.  Your layout is

  ---- 3way ==== 4way ==== 3way ----
  ----------------------------------

or

  ---- 3way ==== 4way ==== 4way ==== 4way ==== 3way -----
  -------------------------------------------------------

with any number of 4ways in the middle.

I have a personal rule that "the last guy" probably had a pretty good reason for doing it that way.  So before you take a wrecking ball to his work, look for those reasons.  Otherwise later, you'll be going "Gosh, it'd be a lot more convenient if it worked like --- oh right, it already did and I destroyed it  because I didn't understand it".  Those 4-way switches are about $10 each, people don't use those without a pretty good reason.


regular circuit breaker doesn't trip.....when changed out to ground fault breaker it trips circuit from wall socket keeps tripping even with a small fan with a ground fault circuit circuit so took out the ground fault circuit breaker and put in a regular breaker now the fan works but I need to and need a ground and need a ground fault why does the groun ground fault  keep tripping tripping

GFCI breakers trip if either:

there is an overload
there is a ground fault

Regular breakers trip if:

there is an overload

From here we have a simple high school logic question.   If a regular breaker does not trip, and a GFCI breaker does trip, what kind of fault condition are we talking about?

Right first time :)

So now you need to find and kill that ground fault before it finds and kills you.


Why don't you connect unused hot and neutral wires to "complete the circuit"? I'm new to home wiring and had a question I'd like explained to me. I removed a vent hood over my oven and I thought I had to complete the circuit so I tied the hot and neutral wires that were powering the hood together with a wire nut, but all the lights on that breaker in the house didn't work after that. I then tried turning on the breaker with the hot and neutral wires NOT touching and all the lights worked!

This doesn't make sense to me; this might be a super simple question but I'm just trying to understand.

Why did the breaker work when those two wires weren't connected, but when I secured them with a wire nut then all of the lights also on that breaker didn't work?

You don't need to "complete the circuit".  Tying together the hot and neutral wires creates a short circuit, which should immediately trip the circuit breaker.  If you're removing a vent hood, you should put a wire nut on the end of each now-unused wire (to prevent a short circuit) and close up the box.

Every unused outlet in the house is an "incomplete circuit".  Presumably you don't install jumper wires across each outlet every time you unplug something, right?


How to replace vent tee under kitchen sink My garbage disposal empties into a trap. Before the trap, my other sink drain joins with a vent tee. I am assuming this in incorrect. Occasionally, the trap does not empty fast enough and water + food climbs up into the horizontal run of pipe, causing it to clog. I am also assuming that I need to replace the vent tee with a sanitary tee.

My problem is that I can not find a replacement sanitary tee that has the top threaded. I also can not find a male adapter that maintains the proper diameter. I am seeking advice on how to redo this.

Come to think about it, is this plumbing arrangement even allowed? The waste from the other drain, along with the dishwasher discharge flows into the line from the disposal. Isn't it normally the other way around?

Try replacing the tee with a sanitary tee. Use couplers to create threaded ends on the tee.


How can I remove / replace this OSB floor? I would like to update the flooring in a carpeted room, replacing the carpet with hardwood. I've removed the carpet, carpet padding, and tack carpet strips.

Underneath the carpeting was OSB subflooring that has been damaged by pet urine, so I would like to replace one of the 4x8 OSB panels, and possibly another 4x4 piece.

I've removed all the screws but it the panels are glued down (I can see underneath the subfloor from my basement). I'm also not sure if this OSB floor is tongue-and-groove, and if I need to use a circular saw to cut a perimeter of the panels I would like to remove.

I don't plan to install the hardwood floor myself, but I'd like to be able to replace this subfloor if it's feasible. Currently the damaged OSB panels are level, so I'm somewhat worried about replacing them and making the floor un-level. Is it acceptable to sand / seal the OSB instead of replacing it to cover up the pet stains?

What's the best way to proceed from here? Can I cut the 4x8 piece down the middle, in-between the joists, and pull it up that way from the glued joists? Am I risking too much unleveling the floor?

You can make your cuts about anywhere, but I'd avoid leaving thin strips from the edges of the existing sheets. Some tips:

Set your saw to depth by placing it on the edge of a new sheet and lowering the table until the blade protrudes 1/8" below the bottom of the sheet.
Consider cutting your replacement sheets first, then tracing them. This lets you cut for a perfect fit.
Cut down the centers of joists where you can to avoid needing to add backing below.
Cut between joists and across the joist bays where necessary. This generally isn't a problem.
Make extra cuts as needed to make removal easier.
Don't cut off the sheet you're standing on.

When you pull out the pieces to be removed you'll likely have strands of the sheets left behind, along with construction adhesive. Depending on how old and hard it all is, you'll need to either scrape or grind it away to bare joist. Lumps here will result in lumps later. A few gouges in the joists aren't a problem. A hammer and chisel can work well, as can a belt sander with a coarse-grit belt.

When you install the new sheets, use a 1/4" bead of construction adhesive at all points of contact. 2-1/2" gold screws work well. Place two-by backing under all floating joints, gluing and screwing as needed. You can't really overdo this step.

If you see any surface height issues, pull things apart and resolve them now. You don't want to have to do any sanding or grinding later. If you prepare carefully everything should remain nice and flat.


What type of gravel should I use to top a sand driveway? I live in Central Fl and we have a sugar sand driveway and when its dry like it is now our driveway turns into a never ending sand pit and getting in and out is difficult what would be the best type of gravel to put on top of this that is durable ?

I would use crushed quarry or shale but not crushed river rock. Quarry and shale lock together quite well but crushed river rock moves around.
I would want at least 4” (we put 6” in our horse stalls) and compact it. With rubber mats over the top, it is good and solid even with our warlander (a draft / Andalusian cross 17-2 hands) a big horse.


Can any damage be caused to a door and/or its hinges if pushed open with force? In the majority of houses that I've visited, I've noticed that most walls in the property have door stoppers behind them to prevent damage to the wall from a door hitting hard into it. For doors that are situated in an area of a house that has no direct wall behind it, however, can any damage be done to the door hinges if a floor-mounted door stop isn't present? I was mainly thinking that it may be possible for somebody to force the door back not realising that there wasn't in fact anything behind it to stop it from going any further - but I'd be interested to know if damage to the hinges and/or the door are possible.

No. A door-stopper isn't there to protect the hinges.

It's just to prevent the doorknob from punching through the drywall.


If I have a firepit on my screen porch, how high does the ceiling need to be? I'm building a large screen porch.  The roof is held up by wooden trusses and there is no ceiling.  There will be ceiling fans attached to the joists on the trusses (but they won't be run when we have a fire in the fire pit).  I'm planning a chimney on the ridgeline of the roof.  (The fire pit may be off center, but I figure if the chimney is on the ridge, then the smoke will rise and always find its way up to the chimney.)

I'm thinking about putting a wood burning firepit on the porch.  If I do that, how high would the bottom of the roof trusses have to be to be fire-safe?  (Note I'm not worried about discoloration.)

Also, what if I switched to a propane fire pit?

This is not the same as this question.  The variations may be slight, but the other question is in enough of a different setting that the answers there didn't give me the answers I needed.

Every place I've lived has city or state laws that prohibit this. In Virginia, the law says no open fires (exludes bonfire which is 50') within 25' of a structure.. So, don't do this.

If you are intent on continuing anyway, sketchy, unproven advice can be read below...

Ten feet clearance above the flame would be needed. Wood fires can reach over 2000 F (bonfires) and more typically are a bit over 1000 F in normal fire pit use; wood's flash point is at 572 F.

You can greatly mitigate the clearance by using things like a metal hood (think stove top hood, but bigger) or even a metal sheet dropped below the trusses several inches for airflow. I don't know of any exact designs for this, but you can probably simulate this fairly easily with a piece of paper on a large metal sheet over the fire; if the paper catches fire (451 F flash point) within 4 hours, it would be too close.

However, the bigger problem is the smoke. It will be an issue in a semi-enclosed space. I think a hood can greatly help, but the reality is that gas fireplaces are used in these scenarios as the temperature is quite a bit lower and it burns clean. This is the proper solution to your problem.


Federal Pacific / Stab-Lok Breakers I have a bag full of old Federal Pacific Stab-Lok breakers. A quick Google search says one out of four of these are a fire hazard, and this question/answer corroborate the fact that this is a low-quality residential brand that should be avoided.

Several years ago my licensed electrician brother and I replaced the load center in our house with a brand new GE panel and brand new breakers in accordance with NEC 2011. This was primarily because the old FP panel was out of space and we wanted to bring our kitchen and baths up to modern code (i.e. not one circuit for two baths, kitchen, and exterior outlets) thus avoiding nuisance tripping every time my wife fired up the hair dryer. Anyway, that was all just so nobody worries that we did something wrong and burnt the house down. The house is fine, actually, better off now with each bathroom and the kitchen on separate circuits per the NEC's requirements.

What should I do with this old bag of FP Stab-Lok breakers? Should I sell them, knowing that they lasted 31 years (house built in 1980) without any problems? Or, is selling them just encouraging someone to risk damaging their house?

I know many SE sites frown on ethics/subjective questions, but the help center does not forbid them, in fact it says "questions you would typically ask a home contractor" are on-topic and this is definitely something I would ask. In case you are curious, my electrician brother would say "sell them, not your problem" but obviously he does not care as much as I do.

I do not think that you load tested all your breakers. If you sell them, do not advertise that they "worked fine for me" since you do not know if they trip at the appropriate load.  And do let the buyer know what you know about the reliability of these breakers.

This video may convince you to put them in the trash.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/Federal-Pacific-Circuit-Breakers-Investigation-Finds-Decades-of-Danger-171406921.html

The best thing I can think to do is to hold on to them in case the gov does a buy-back or exchange program to get them out of circulation.  Or a class action suit pays out.


Heating the cold exhaust on heat pump I'm honestly kinda surprised that nobody has tried that (at least, my Google Fu failed me in finding someone that did).

I just bought my first home and noticed something. My outdoor coil for my heat pump sits right behind my house. Due to it's location, it's always in the shade and the temperature around it is much lower than the temperature in the sun. I was wonder (how stupid this idea is) if I were to put some sort of reflectors so that the sun hits the outdoor coil thereby warming it up and putting that heat in the house, would it be worth it? I already have an vague idea of what I need to do but figured I'd get some advice before trying it out.

In some ways, you're not far off from a system I've been working on for a while. Instead of reflecting sunlight, however, which, as others have mentioned, wouldn't really be effective, you could consider other forms of heating, such as a solar thermal array that heats water, or a cogenerating PV array that provides both hot water and electricity.

Of course, you're better off with a ground-source heat pump and utilizing any available sunlight for electricity, but what you're describing is typically referred to as solar gain, whether passive or active, and is a component in green building design.


Replace faucet handles in existing bathtub I'd like to update the handles for the faucet in an existing soaking tub to something more modern than these knobs. Is it possible without taking out the tub?

You will surely be able to remove the knobs without removing the faucet  valve body and  without removing the tub.

First examine the tops of the knobs and see if there are caps which pry off to expose bolt heads underneath. Remove these bolts (screws) and then wiggle the knobs off. You should be able to find other knobs more to your liking that fit the same shafts.


Door lock hole drilled too big I drilled a bigger hole over an existing one on my door so I could put a new lock on. Unfortunately I drilled the hole too big. Now the lock is too to small to install. Any suggestions?

Look for reducer or adapter plates. They’re a pair flat rings that go on both sides of the door hole. The outer diameter is big enough to cover the hole completely and the inner diameter is sized for the lock.

They’ll have basic ones at any home store. Usually in brass and satin nickel finishes.


metal looking ball dust in attic, dangerous? I was installing insulation in our attic. On the beams, there was this metal looking ball dust. Any clue what it is? Was exposed to by breathing it breifly, then skin contact for a few hours. I have not been able to sleep all night so Im hoping i didnt poision myself

A plasma cutter used for cutting HVAC duct will have this kind of debris not dangerous. Other than that possibly conduit or other metal pipe / brackets being cut leaves the filings or if with a torch the balls, but I would expect a plasma cutter with most modern homes and ductwork.


Need help troubleshooting dead outlets Yesterday 4 outlets in my house stopped working.  All of the lights on the same circuit seem to work fine but as far as I know, these are the only 4 outlets on the circuit and they have all stopped working.

The switch doesn't control the outlets but the box for the switch seems to be the source of the electrical for the line of outlets.  As a result, I believe the problem is something either in the switch box or in the first gfci box or something between (hopefully not).

The switch box and first gfci are in the same bathroom and just close enough that I can stretch my voltmeter between the two to run continuity tests (audio tone).  I have disconnected the gfci in the first outlet box and tested the neutral (white) and hot (black) between both boxes.  The strange thing is that there is good continuity (solid tone) between the neutrals of both boxes but there also seems to be some continuity (broken tone) between the neutral in the switch box and the hot in the gfci box.  Is this normal?  There seems to be no continuity between the hot in the gfci box to any wire in the switch box.

In my mind, this makes me believe the wire is bad between the boxes.  Is there other possibilities here?  If so, how would I troubleshoot this further?

-edit- images of switch box and first outlet box.  Note that in the gfci box, I labeled the wires line and load when I disconnected them.  I was testing continuity between the line hot and neutral in the gfci box to the bare wires under the screw cap connectors (I took them off for testing).

-edit2- gfci is definitely good.  I hooked it up in another outlet and it functions normally.

The most likely failure point here is the GFCI's.  #2 is the switch.  Then the wire-nuts.  Lastly, the wire.

Since the switch is not involved, I'd try temporarily replacing the GFCI outlet with a quality plain outlet.  Buy quality, preferably one which uses the screws to clamp down on the wire, similar to the way it appears your GFCI grabs the wires.   Avoid plain backstabs: they don't use the screw and are cheap and should not be used twice even if you wrestle the wire out of them.

Obviously if changing the outlet fixes it, it's the GFCI.   I wonder why (or if) you have two GFCI outlets daisy chained with the LOAD of one connected to the LINE of the next.  It won't hurt them, it's just redundant, and so, a waste of money.  It can also create confusion: if the outlet goes out and you go to the GFCI and it's not tripped, you'll go nuts trying to figure that out... until you discover the other GFCI that has tripped.

I would also get some wire nuts, they have improved much mechanically in recent years, they are also color coded.  Use red ones to join 4 wires of that size.


Why is my shower faucet turning itself off? My shower has a wall mount single lever faucet similar to this: http://www.cn-faucet.com/Wall-Mount-Single-Lever-Faucets-141.html

Over time, it has become more sensitive and now, in most angles, gravity pulls and turns it off, unless water flow is very high. If I turn it to get very hot or very cold water, it becomes less affected, and at only hot or only cold, (when it's almost horizontal), it can stay on with a very slight water flow.

The lever has a screw that holds it to the faucet, and I haven't found anything else to touch.

I use it now without the lever, and it's quite steady (hard to use with the hands, indeed; I usually put the lever to turn it on or change water temp, and then put the lever aside).

What could be the problem, and how could I fix it?

Update:

The faucet itself:

The insides of the lever:

You can see the screw at the bottom of the lever; this screw bites the black plastic piece of the faucet to keep it in place; I don't think this is related to my problem, though.
In the center of said black plastic piece there's a screwhole, but there's no screw in it.

If a more detailed picture of some part is needed just ask for it.

It sounds to me like your diverter valve (the round piece w/ the green on it in your pictures) is failing.  It may be as simple a fix as pulling the valve and replacing the gaskets (O rings, probably) and reinserting the valve, or alternatively just replacing the diverter valve entirely.

Unscrew the chrome cap surrounding the diverter valve and the valve itself should pull right out. Take that to a plumbing supply shop/lowes/home depot/someone who carries your brand of faucet.


Is MoCA better for home network if coax cable is all over the house already? Or just rewire whole house with ethernet? House is full of coax cable.  Want to direct wire some devices with a switchbox and still have wifi.  Use moca and current wire or future proof like CAT7?

Assuming you don't have conduit for the network wires, use the wires you have until it hurts, and then face the pain of getting new wires in. If it never hurts enough for that, you get lucky.
If you have conduit, the game changes. Which is why some of us strongly suggest conduit for networking. But ripping the walls open for new wire when the wire you have works well enough for your actual use (as opposed to your theoretical not yet use) is pointless.
There is no "just rewire" without conduit, for any reasonable value of "just."


Does this wiring look normal? If so, how can I connect a porch light to it? I'm getting ready to (finally) connect a porch light for my outdoor office.  The overall wiring looks like this:

1) A sub-panel outside feeds a circuit into the shed:

2) The line goes from the shed to an outlet and then a set of two switches:

3) One switch is intended to control a port light. The other switch is intended to go to an overhead light:

4) If I examine the junction box where the porch light is, I see this:

Specifically:

Two green wires (ground) connected together with a wirenut.
To white wires (neutral?) connected together with a wirenut.
One red and one black (hot?) connected together with a wirenut.
A single black (hot?) connected together with a wirenut.

The wiring installation instructions are remarkably sparse.  It's one page that literally just has this:

So, I have several questions:

1) Which of the two black connections should I attach the black fixture wire too? I would assume the single black supply wire?

2) Can/should I attach the white fixture wire to the set of two white wires (making it a set of 3)?

3) The ground wire from the port light is quite literally bare wire/cable.  Should I attach that to the green bundle? Or is that not appropriate?

There is no way to tell what to connect to. It depends on how they wired it. I think it is safe to assume you should connect to the single black since it is in that box by itself like that. And yes, you would connect to the white and green with the other two wires. The instructions are not sparse, they show what you need to connect to. They do not know or care how your house is wired, nor should they. I will say, that box for the porch light is NOT appropriate. That is a collar box meant to mount onto an existing flush box. The wood of the logs is exposed to the back side of the box.

I also see a hole in the back of that collar box. Is this new light meant to be inside or out? If outside you'll need to replace that existing Wiremold collar box with a regular box, then run a cable from the back of the box into the back of a flush box outside.


Home: Using Exhaust & Circulating Fans to Improve Air Quality While Staying Cool In the hopes of ventilating nasty odors and airborne contaminants, I recently installed the Bionaire BW2300 in one of my kitchen windows. This is the only one I have installed in my home at the moment. I leave it on 24/7 with the AC running at 82 degrees. Outside temperatures during the day hover around the 90s. So far the AC turns on and off intermittently for 5 - 10 minutes every half hour. (Trying to reduce my energy bills as well. Last month was $190.)

This morning I discovered that -- in combination with the exhaust fan -- the overall room temperature falls 2 degrees if I place a circulating fan between the short corridor that separates my living room and kitchen. I positioned it in a way that air is being pushed toward the exhaust fan.

Now my idea is to place between 1 - 3 Vornado 270s in the small corridor as well as the main hallway. The main hallway separates the living room from the three bedrooms. So it's basically t-shaped with the central AC located at the point where the "two lines of the T"  intersect and form right angles.

I don't know what I'm doing, but based on my experiences so far I'm guessing it'd be beneficial to position each of these fans so that air travels from the hallway, into the living room, and then through the kitchen to the exhaust fan. That's from one end of my home (vicinity of the central AC) to the other (kitchen/patio).

So what do you think about my idea of using multiple fans to draw and force air from one end of my home to the other end? My goal is to use the exhaust fan to vent excess heat and to improve air quality.

Additional information: I have only one exhaust fan for security reasons, so I can't position a window intake/exhaust fan anywhere else. Circulating fans are fine. In addition, my family has seen a noticeable disruption in the air flow when the front door is opened (opposite end of home). The rotation of the exhaust fan's blades slows down momentarily.

Just a couple of points to keep in mind...

1) Any exhaust fan is moving air out of the house...that means there is outside air coming INTO the house somewhere to make up for the lost air volume. Speaking only about temperature, this could be a good thing or bad depending on where most of that air is coming in.  For instance, if it is getting sucked in from your hot attic, then your exhaust fan would be making your AC work harder.  If the air is mostly getting replaced by cool air from a basement or crawlspace, it might have a cooling effect on the inside of the house.

2) Humidity plays just as important a role in your comfort as does temperature.  Moving the air in the house around helps your AC to take out more of the moisture in the house, making it seem cooler.  Also keep in mind that your exhaust fan is sucking in outside air as mentioned above...that air may have much higher humidity than what you're blowing out...so again, the AC would have to work harder to keep you comfortable.

3) Experimentation is a GOOD THING.  Ultimately it is much more important that your house feel good than to achieve some specific temperature.  Just having air moving around inside can make it feel cooler than it is.  So, if your efforts along that line are making you more comfortable with less AC, keep doing more of it until it doesn't continue to help.

4) before you buy more fans, check the CFM (cubic feet per minute) of air they move.  Many of the smaller fans simply don't move enough air to make any difference.  You mentioned "Vornado".  I have one of those...couldn't blow out a birthday candle at 2 inches away.  It just barely cools me down any if I have it blowing right on my face.  Suggest larger fans despite the inconvenience.


How to take down a lath and plaster ceiling I have a lath and plaster ceiling to remove, but it is quite large, and my first attempts have created masses of dust. Is there some way to take it down easily? (For example, would lifting the floorboards above make it easier?).

Also, is there some way to reduce the dust produced? Maybe with some hose set up?

I'm in the process of a large plaster-and-lath removal; my methods have evolved over the course of the project, maybe these tips will help others who find this question.

I found that it's easiest to peel the lath one or two pieces at a time.  Pull it with a pry bar or crowbar exactly where it's nailed to the joist (in my case this meant four places), and then pull down the wood piece itself and set it aside.  The plaster will bend as you're bending the wood; it will peel off the ceiling and fall to the floor.  You can then shovel the plaster into containers and cart to a dumpster, e.g.  The hardest part of this process is getting a line started: it takes some digging with a pry bar to get your first piece.  Once you get going it goes quickly.

It's easy and very effective to just smash everything down but then you have a big mess: the lath won't cooperate with bagging or shoveling and so has to be picked out.  Maybe this is my OCD but I bundled most of mine and posted it to Craigslist and it was gone over the weekend--evidently some DIYers are doing the opposite of you and me.

I didn't find an effective way to keep the dust out of the air, instead just wore a respirator.  I found that the plaster dust dries out the eyes too.  The hose method you mention might be worth trying.

A few other tips:

This will be obvious but don't expect to be able to carry a big contractor bag full of plaster; a 5-gallon (e.g. homer) bucket holds about 30 lbs.
My plaster varied in quality: some finer porcelain-like plaster would not admit bending and had to be smashed down.
I did not have the opportunity to remove floorboards above but when demolishing from the other side of a wall, yes it's easier to simply punch out the lath close to the joists, so that the line of nails squeaks out in unison.  I would estimate that it cuts the time in three.


Installing UK/EU electric radiator in USA… 50/60Hz significant? I've currently got several Cadet RM162 Registers (in-wall heaters) in my home. They're powered with 220VAC power. I'm curious about the challenges of converting some to the sort of electric radiator that appears common in Europe. From what I can tell, the voltage is the same, and the load (current) is similar. But what is unclear is if 60Hz power in the US will be a problem for heaters designed to run on 50Hz power more common in EU/UK.

One retail site I've found many of these on is Geyser.

Since the resistive heating element really won't care about the frequency of the AC power, the real question is about how the built-in thermostat will handle it.

The resistive element in the heater will not care about 50/60Hz.

The motor, however, will - to start with the different frequency will change its speed.  This in turn will change its current draw, to either less or more than it is designed for.

This, however, seems like a fool's errand; resistive electric heaters are dirt cheap.  You will spend more shipping one heater intercontinentally than the heater is worth.  Buy your heaters on your own continent.

The only case I can see it being useful to even think about the question is if you are fitting out a blue-water boat capable of an ocean crossing; or fitting exotic machinery unique enough to justify crossing oceans (say, in a container).  Or military equipment.

P.S. Thermostats.  US vs EU thermostats work completely differently and incompatible.  In North America, the thermostat either switches the full 240V current, or switches a low-current, low-voltage signal.   In EU, the low-current signal thermostats use full mains voltage.   None of these three thermostats are compatible with each other.  Using a foreign thermostat is not wise, as it will be unsupportable - local HVAC guys won't know what to do with it.


Running power to garage. Can't find THWN. Is THHN rated for Wet Locations the same thing? I am reading that wire inside Schedule 40 PVC conduit running underground must be THWN, however it is proving very hard to find at local big box stores.
Something like this https://www.homedepot.com/p/Southwire-100-ft-10-Black-Stranded-CU-THHN-Wire-22973284/204812489 does not mention THWN, but in the Specs you see that it is rated for wet locations. Is this what I need? Why can't they just add  THWN on the label? What am I missing?
Thanks in advance!

The wire needs to be rated as and stamped THWN. You need that "W" in there, that designates the wire is suitable for wet locations.  As you know, the inside of a buried conduit must be treated as a wet location.
However it's not a problem here, in fact I don't know if there's any THHN on the market now that's not also rated THWN.
That wire is actually dual rated as THHN and THWN, and the jacket will be stamped with both.  They just have THHN on the label and product description.  You can verify this in the Product Brochure PDF linked on the homedepot page in your post.


Drop-down shower floor prep I am remodeling a first floor bathroom and the concrete for my shower drops down 3 inches from floor level. What kind of prep do I need before tiling the shower?

A contractor said all I need was sand mix to make the bed and didn't need a liner. I was thinking of applying RedGuard to the walls and floor. If I RegGuard on top the sand mix bed can I tile directly over that or do I need another layer of sand mix?

I would probably still put a liner in.  It doesn't hurt to have, and a liner makes sure all the water goes where you want it to go.  You can use RedGuard in place of a shower pan liner, but make sure you read the product instructions on how to achieve the correct thickness.  I believe it's 2 coats of product to meet the requirements for a pan liner.

You can also mortar/tile directly over RedGuard (in fact, you have to - RedGuard is not meant to be left as a finished surface).


How to determine the correct capacity for a sub-panel for a shop? I plan to install a sub-panel for my woodworking shop, and would like to determine the total capacity that should supply that sub-panel. These are the main items that will likely be running in the shop, possibly simultaneously:

table saw, 240v, 14 amp
dust collector, 120v, 9 amp
freezer, 14 cu ft (I don't have the amperage)

(The lights are run on their own circuit.)

What is an appropriate capacity for the sub-panel?

It's all about Volt Amperes.
NEC 2008 gives us an easy way to do things in residential.

220.82 Dwelling Unit.
(A) Feeder and Service Load. This section applies to a dwelling unit having the total connected load served by a single 120/240-volt
or 208Y/120-volt set of 3-wire service or feeder conductors with an
ampacity of 100 or greater. It shall be permissible to calculate the
feeder and service loads in accordance with this section instead of
the method specified in Part III of this article. The calculated load
shall be the result of adding the loads from 220.82(B) and (C). Feeder
and service-entrance conductors whose calculated load is determined by
this optional calculation shall be permitted to have the neutral load
determined by 220.61.
(B) General Loads. The general calculated load shall be not less than 100 percent of the first 10 kVA plus 40 percent of the remainder
of the following loads:
(1) 33 volt-amperes/m2 or 3 volt-amperes/ft2 for general lighting and
general-use receptacles. The floor area for each floor shall be
calculated from the outside dimensions of the dwelling unit. The
calculated floor area shall not include open porches, garages, or
unused or unfinished spaces not adaptable for future use.
(2) 1500 volt-amperes for each 2-wire, 20-ampere small appliance
branch circuit and each laundry branch circuit covered in 210.11(C)(1)
and (C)(2).
(3) The nameplate rating of the following:
a. All appliances that are fastened in place, permanently connected,
or located to be on a specific circuit
b. Ranges, wall-mounted ovens, counter-mounted cooking units
c. Clothes dryers that are not connected to the laundry branch circuit
specified in item (2) d. Water heaters
(4) The nameplate ampere or kVA rating of all permanently connected
motors not included in item (3).

So we can use 220.82 (B)(2) to figure for the dust collection, freezer, and an additional circuit for receptacles.
1500VA * 3 = 4500VA / 120V = 37.5 Amperes
You'll then have to use the values from the nameplate on the table saw to figure for that (A Volt-Ampere value should be listed on the nameplate, use that number for more accurate calculations). You could also use this method for the dust collection system and freezer since they are both "permanently connected, or located to be on a specific circuit".
3360VA / 240V = 14 Amperes
Now we'll add them up.
37.5A + 14A = 51.5A
So This is what our subpanel will look like.

60A double pole breaker in the main panel.
6 AWG feeder cable for a run up to 75 ft., 4 AWG feeder cable for a run up to 150 ft.
60A main breaker in the subpanel.
20A double pole breaker for table saw.
20A single pole breaker for dust collector.
20A single pole breaker for freezer.
20A single pole breaker for convenience receptacles.

Notes:
Don't forget to balance your loads between the two legs in the subpanel.


Is this shower trap better than a P-Trap? Here in Brazil almost all shower and floor drains are made using a device that translate as "siphoned box" and work as a trap collecting water from the sink, tub and shower.

Is that any better (or worse) than a P-Trap?

EDIT: One advantage of this system, is that rings or earrings that get collect usually stays at the bottom of this device, which makes it easy to retrieve it. Also, is provides a easy access to another inspection point in the plumbing.

BTW: How prevalent are floor drain in bathrooms and laundry areas? In Brazil every laudryroom have a drain and some bathrooms have another drain besides the one in the shower. I heard that in Europe and US that is very rare.

This is what is called a drum or barrel trap in North America. They used to be common many years ago. Then P-traps became available and were found to be preferable, leading to the banning of drum traps in model plumbing codes.

Unfortunately, I'm not privy to the reasons they were banned. Some disadvantages I see is they retain a relatively large amount of wastewater. In theory, some small portion could remain in the trap for quite a long time, possibly allowing mold, bacteria and other undesirable things to grow in there. P-traps, by nature, have more of a first in, first out sort of flow, minimizing the chance of old wastewater staying around. In the case of the shower and floor drains, the wastewater is in very close proximity to the drain grate. It makes it easy for occupants to come in contact with the wastewater, which would generally be considered an unsanitary event and thus frowned upon.

Floor drains in residential bathrooms are quite rare in the Northern and Western hemispheres, except where the floor drain also serves as a shower drain. I've seen such a configuration in mostly tropical and sub-tropical countries. Floor drains in commercial restrooms are so common, they might be required. I'm too lazy to check right now.

Floor drains in residential laundry rooms, while perhaps not common, are certainly seen often enough. Still, they are not required, so many laundries have none.


How do I replace a damaged valve on a water heater? Near the bottom of my hot water tank there is a plastic valve that looks like it is used for draining the water out of it. It has developed a hairline fracture along the length of it and small jets of hot water were shooting out of it.

I've shut off the cold water supply valve and turned off the gas running to the hot water tank. My plan is to drain the hot water tank and replace the valve. However I do not know if this is some sort of special valve and if there is anything extra I would need to do with it's replacement besides just screwing it in.

What kind of valve should I be asking for at my local hardware store and how do I replace this valve?

It should be a standard threaded valve (NPT, National Pipe Tread), most likely 1/2" in diameter. If you are not sure, you can do one of the following:

Lookup the valve in the manual, search the make and model on line if you don't have a hard copy of it.
Remove the valve and take it to the store with you.

Two would be the simplest.

When draining the tank, remember to open the hot side of a fixture or two as this is will allow air to enter the system and let the tank drain faster. You can keep these fixtures open until you refill the tank as they will allow the air to leave the system when filling the tank.


Where are the ground rods needed? Drawing attached showing setup.

At minimum you need a rod (or more usually 2, more than 8 feet part, since that gets you out of measuring the resistance cheaper than doing the measurement) at the entrance and the same at the mobile home. Given it's not a huge expense, buy 6 and sink a pair at the pedestal as well to be sure. No points off for doing more than the minimum.

I have 5 or 6 and a 100 foot well casing on a single service entrance, personally.


Resurfacing a wood table I have a 10 year old hardwood (red gum) table that has had a hard life. It was originally finished with bee's wax but I did not really keep up maintenance.

What is the best way clean up this table? Is it just a matter of running a belt sander over the top then reapplying the wax?

If you can scrape the wax off first (handscraper, etc..) I believe that will add some life to your belt.


Boiler Valve Corrosion I have a hydronic heating system in my house, and I noticed a valve on a pressure gauge on the side of the boiler is extremely corroded (see 3 pictures below).
1) Is there any purpose for this valve other than for removing the pressure gauge?
2) Is this a huge/expensive/messy accident waiting to happen if I don't do something about it? If so, what should be done? I'm a somewhat handy DIYer but don't know much about boilers, is this something better left to an expert?

1) Is there any purpose for this valve other than for removing the pressure gauge?

NO, the valve is only there for isolation of the gauge.
Gauges like that have a high failure rate (for various reasons) and often need to be replaced "on the run"; that is, while the boiler is still in operation.

  2) Is this a huge/expensive/messy accident waiting to happen if I don't do something about it?

The construction of that type of gauge uses a Bourdon Tube, in which the process fluid (e.g. hot water, steam) is actually present inside the gauge. Failure of the gauge could indeed be messy and expensive, if you could not isolate it.

For both cases, the valve is an important system component.

  is this something better left to an expert?

It is a simple job, but depending on application and your locality (plumbing/boiler code) it may not be legal for someone other than a pro to do it. Check with the local Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ).


Arc-fault breaker in sub panel, pigtail to neutral bus or ground bus? I recently replaced an arc-fault breaker in our subpanel that I thought to be faulty (it kept tripping at strange intervals around when I added a new dimmer, but I found no issues with my dimmer install, karmatic misdirection at work).

However, when I opened the sub-panel I found that the old arc-fault breaker had its pigtail tied to the ground bus bar rather than the neutral bus bar on the other side of the subpanel (which I took to be wrong, as described in this other question). The pigtail was long enough to reach either side, so before swapping it, I moved the pigtail to the neutral bus bar. Powered back up, but no good, it was still immediately tripping. Apparently confirming my hypothesis of a faulty breaker. I installed the replacement breaker (actually a combo GFCI/AF) with the pigtail tied to the neutral bus per instructions and it was immediately working without issue (or at least, without taking issue).

Shortly after midnight the same night, my wife and I woke to the outlet behind the (fabric) head of our bed popping and arcing. I immediately went and shut off the new breaker and pulled the outlet out to ensure nothing was on fire.

The house isn't burned down but I'm rather confused on why the arc-fault didn't trip. I feel badly for usurping an apparently incorrectly wired breaker which was trying to save my life and putting in its place an evil and expensive replacement bent on my destruction.

So, is the pigtail supposed to be connected to the ground bus or the neutral bus in the subpanel? Is it possible there is just something else wrong in this subpanel or with the new breaker? What went wrong here?

Unrelated to my question, but for the curious, the cable coming into the bottom of the outlet box is somehow full of water. Yes, the water is welling up from inside the cable. Not enough to dribble into the box, but all the paper inside is soaked and there is a little pool between the wires. I suspect it's related to the recent remodel of the adjacent master bathroom (there was a roof leak created during work that was allegedly fixed). The intermittent tripping of the old breaker, in retrospect, correlated with heavy rain (not uncommon in Oregon).

Update:

I found the water entry point. There is an outdoor outlet on the same side of the house as the one that failed inside. Apparently this indoor box was feeding the outside one. I had looked at the outdoor box already, but it seemed dry. However, as soon as I loosened the bottom screw holding the receptacle in, water came pouring out. The end of the cable inside had been immersed in water, but apparently had no nicks in the wire sheath. Once this water wicked to the inside it cleverly located a nick in the hot wire from eleven years ago when the house was built. In celebration of locating the long lost nick in the wire, the water and cable set off a late night fireworks display.

I've resealed the outdoor receptacle box and left it disconnected from power since they're not getting along. I'll try pulling a new cable through when it stops raining sometime in August next year.

I'll be exchanging the evil breaker, but as its own test button was working fine, I have no way to confidently test the new one in a real situation.

I'm happy about all of this because it allowed me to justify to my wife the purchase of a Fluke tone generator and probe. Because, you know, our lives were at stake.

The white pigtail wire coming off of the AFCI is supposed to connect to the neutral bar.  It should technically work either way, as the neutral and ground are bonded together at the service entrance and at the utility transformer, but using the ground as it was is introducing currents into the ground conductor that should not be there.

I'm not sure why the new breaker did not work as intended, but it seems like the old one was working properly.  It seems like the cable feeding that plug has had its insulation damaged.  It also seems like it is coming in contact with a substantial amount of water, and that water is wicking up the dry paper into the outlet box.  If the insulation on the conductors is damaged, that moisture could be creating a high resistance short between two or more of the conductors.


237V seen across terminals of a dimmer switch when 'off' I have a household, dual module dimmer switch. One module is working and dims a 3A sidelight loop, the downlight loop with 4 drivers doesn't work and I'm fault finding.

I noticed on the working module that the voltage across the terminals is 237V when off and then reduces when on - it's a push on/off and turn dim. The voltage changes when turned as expected.

But I was expecting to see 0V on my tester when off, what am I misunderstanding?

Is the tester and the way the dimmer work showing a potential difference even though no current is flowing?

There is always voltage across the circuit, supplied by the power company. By Kirchhoffs's Voltage Law, the sum of the voltages across the individual components must always equal the supply voltage. When the light is on, there is little or no voltage across the switch and all of the voltage appears across the light. But when the light is off, all of the voltage appears across the switch and there is no voltage across the light (and no current through it).


Threaded hollow wall anchors spin out partway in Today I tried to install one of those Ikea kids storage units on my daughter's wall. It's a stud partition wall in a newly-constructed house.

Before attempting it I spoke to one of the builders who called round to check the house etc, read various guides, spoke to the guy at Wickes, and bought self tapping metal plasterboard fixings that come with metal screws.

Fixings go in fine then the 1st screw fine, then the 2nd screw...not fine: halfway in, the fixing stops gripping the plasterboard and starts turning with the screw. Started again, same thing again!! Meaning 2 fat useless holes in the plasterboard about 10mm diameter each, which I then filled and quit in rage.

What on earth did I do wrong?? Should I choose nylon instead? Please help!

i don't understand why you just didn't anchor to the studs, but you must have had some reason.

sometimes the metal anchors are a little too hard for the screws, so the torque that is exerted on the screw translates into the anchor, and the anchor spins in the drywall, thus defeating the purpose of using the anchor in the first place.  you can't use those anchors in those holes, however, you can get yourself some toggle bolts and put them right into those holes.  they are a stronger anchor anyhow.  have a look here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IuNkiiqhO4

just use plain old toggle bolts, not the plastic ones or the newfangles ones or the usb connected ones.  just plain old togglebolts.


A sillcock with integrated manifold Like many, we have an exterior spigot with "garden hose" threads on it. Like many, we find a single spigot not enough and attach a manifold to it.

Unfortunately, those manifolds -- be they made of brass or plastic -- are flimsy and last no more than two seasons. Simpler dual ones are more reliable than quads, but aren't good either. And I don't mean just that the seals start leaking (though that's annoying too), water begins to drip from the inside too. Amazon's ratings for these implements rarely rise over 4...

Which leads me to the thought of replacing the very spigot with something having a built-in manifold. I cannot find such a thing readily-made online -- maybe, I can create one myself and replace my current with it?

How would I do it -- to survive winters -- and why hasn't anyone thought of offering such a thing commercially (or, at least, marketing it widely enough for Google to find it)?

Drill 3 more holes in the wall and insert and plumb 3 more sillcocks. If it helps, put them not all next to each other (distribute them around the house close to where you use hoses,) but if you need them all in one place, line them up next to each other.

Or even dig a trench and put one or more frost free hydrants out in the yard.

Or: attach one quick connect to the faucet and 4 (or more) mating quick connects to your 4 (or more) hoses, so you can easily attach the hose you are actually using. Unfortunately those are subject to failure as well. Then again, so are hoses.

I have two sillcocks at present, one at front, one at back, and if I find use for another I'll happily add it.


How to remove one step from a three step ladder? I bought a three step ladder for some alternative use. However, I need to remove the first bottom step, but don’t really know where to start. Is there a smart way to remove it, except for just cutting the wires that hold it?

Here are some visuals:

Note the slots cut in the holes at which the supporting rods attach. The rods have a matching tang. It seems likely that you can fold the ladder in such a manner to allow the tang on the rod to align with the slot on the step which should then allow the rod to slip out..

It may be necessary to remove the other step to accomplish this, or you may be able to remove the desired step straight away.

Detail is missing for the main support rod.


Can you change a PRV by isolating the radiator at both ends? I've been changing the thermostatic radiator valves on my radiators.
My understanding (obviously wrong) is that if the PRV is turned off and the lock shield is off, that at that stage no water is getting put through the radiator, so by taking off the PRV you'll have to catch the entire contents of the radiator and then change the PRV.
In my house there is a pipe from the floor into the PRV , and then the TRV goes into the radiator. Is this the reason why it needs draining first - because the pipe from the floor will still pump water?
I had a leak earlier at the tail and was able to isolate at both ends, bleed the radiator (then tighten back up) and unscrew the tail. It obviously leaked while I applied PTFE tape but in this instance I didn't need to drain the radiator. It did, however, continue to leak more than I was expecting (one radiators worth).
Could someone clear this up for me please?

A hot water heating system has to have enough water pressure in the heating system (boiler, piping, and radiation) to keep the water up to the highest point in the system. So, for each pound of water pressure in the system, the water will rise up in the piping a height of 28" or 2.31feet. For example, if the height of the highest point in the heating system from an accurate pressure gauge on the boiler was 20 feet, the boiler static pressure or cold fill would have to be 8.66# (20 divided by 2.31). Most PRV settings are 12psi for a 1 story house and 15 psi for a 2 story house. So, if you remove the TRV there is pressure in the system that is being supplied by a PRV set at at least 12 psi If you want to remove any of the isolation valves you should reduce the pressure to a point that the water will not flow out of that pipe. MYself, I would drain the system.  Hope this answers your question.


How often do sewer lines collapse? I have the opportunity to add some coverage to my insurance that would cover a sewer line collapse (amongst other issues with underground services).

Is there any rule of thumb as to how long they normally will last without attention?

In my case, I've got a house from the 1950s which probably has clay or concrete sewer piping, so we don't have the durability of PVC or HDPE.

Should I be sweating that this thing is going to go in the next 10-15 years?

Collapses are just one problem with clay sewers. Probably more common are roots clogging the pipe.  If they do collapse, it can occur under your foundation slab, or out in your yard.

Some 60 year old clay sewers might still be in great condition while others not so great. If you want to know the condition of yours then get a video inspection.

Do you have a basement and is it finished?  Obviously a finished basement is a lot more costly to repair than an unfinished one.  If a collapse does occur, the backup will occur pretty slowly (versus from the city where you might get a few feet of water in your basement quickly). Water alarms can be obtained relatively cheaply and would alert you to the issue early on.

Ultimately you need to weigh the cost of the insurance against the cost of repair.  Remember that insurance companies don't make their billions by paying out claims to people.


bending 1/4" natural gas tubing I'm going to install a new tube for my pilot light gas supply. Should I consider using a tubing bender, or is that just silly? I can bend it easily by hand, but I don't want to risk kinks.

I can get a bender for under $15, but I don't know if these are meant for such soft tube like these pilot supply tubes.

For reference, I'm using this kind of tube:

I'm considering one of these benders:

or

A tubing bender works quite well on this stuff and isn't expensive. An alternative you may want to consider for more open bends is an external bending spring if you can get one in the right size.

Bending by hand is quite likely to kink the tube and isn't a good idea.

What is the tube made of? It doesn't look like copper in the picture. Aluminium won't bend nicely or at all, steel needs a tool even more than copper.

When using a pipe bender on thin stuff, take it easy and release the tool a few times rather than trying to make the whole bend in one movement.


How can I fill old screw holes in wood on the exterior of a house? The exterior of my house is stucco, but there are some spots that have vertical wood planks. I think this was considered "in style" when my house was built (1950s).

Anyway, over the years previous owners had installed various things to these wood panels - I imagine an exterior security light, for instance - that now have empty screw holes. I'd like to fill these, as they're a tad unsightly and, I imagine, are just asking for fungus/mold growth.

Pardon my ignorance, but how do I go about filling these? Is there a product designed specifically to fill holes in exterior wood?

You can fill the holes with Wood Fillter which is available at almost all home stores:

You fill the hole with it, and let it dry. Once dry, sand it flush with the other surface, prime and paint.


Where should I look to rent time on a router table? I have a woodworking project which requires a CNC router table.  It would need a decent sized table for the 36" x 28" panels.  Somebody that spends thousands of dollars on one of these machines must do jobs for other people or rent their expertise and time on it.

What should I be searching for?  Is there a specific name for this service or a type of facility which does small jobs?  I live in Maine and there doesn't appear to be much for groups equipped with high-end tools, such as hackerspaces or woodworking groups.

The CNC Zone has an area for matching up people who need CNC work done.

You can also look in your yellow pages for people who make wooden signs as these are commonly made by CNC.


Are nail pops under vinyl flooring likely to worsen? I have been in my new Mobile home now for 5 months.Nails are starting to pop up slightly under the linoleum floor. Is this likely to get worse over time?

It will certainly worsen. The nails are probably coming up because the subfloor was not glued to the framing. Not only will more nails work up, but the vinyl will very quickly wear through in those spots.

I agree that this is certainly a warranty issue. If you're not able to get satisfaction from that, you'll need to re-fasten the subfloor and reinstall flooring. I'd probably run suitable screws at 12" intervals on all joists, then fill the dimples and overlay new vinyl. An embossing leveler may be necessary to flatten the texture of the current vinyl.


Sump Pump Recommendations I have an outdoor sump pit in front of my basement door to prevent water coming in during strong rain storms.  In the pit is a 5 gallon bucket with a 1/4 hp automatic pump.

Here's more information on my setup and problems.

The sump pump just can't keep up during flash flood level storms.  So, any recommendations for sump pumps?  Brands you can trust?  Specific models that have worked well for you?

My last house had all sorts of awful water issues like this, so I feel your pain...

In a flash-flood type situation, there isn't much that you're going to do with a pump. You didn't describe the terrain too much, but you need to find a way to redirect some of the water  in a different direction. If you have gutters that empty in the area, direct the water further away from the house.

Other things that may help:

Remove paved or other water-impervious areas.
Plant vegetation that will absorb water flow. Google "rain garden"
Build a French drain around the area.
If it makes sense, dig a drywell.

When municipal systems have issues with flash-flood rain, they install cisterns to capture some of the overflow if redirection can't work.


How can I determine the color / temperature of my current fluorescent bulbs? I intend to replace an old and large population of T12 flourescent lights with T8 LEDs: direct wiring.  The ballasts are $15 a piece (2 required per fixture) and it would seem that a 4 X $10 direct wire LED bulb is a better choice because of the labor to replace future ballasts is high.

That being said, I would like to understand what color is in the current population and would like the LED to match the population so that the phasing in of the LEDs is seamless.

Is there a clever (simple) method to assess the color?

I bought a contractor pack of T12 fluorescents (4100K): is this the 4100K the common standard for fluorescent lighting

The temperature will likely be printed on the bulb somewhere. Take a couple out and check, and they are all likely the same. If not, you can compare the color to an image like this:

There is no "standard" for fluorescent lighting, as they come in a variety of temperatures. That said, fluorescent bulbs are more traditionally associated with the institutional bright white light, which would put them on the higher end of the temperature scale (closer to 6700K).


how to extend washing machine drainage hose such that it doesn't leak I have a portable washing machine that I want to keep in one of our bedrooms and thus need to extend the stock drainage hose. My current solution is:

buy the necessary length of clear plastic tubing
wrap the existing hose with electrical tape until it barely fits inside the plastic tubing
use a hose clamp to cinch down the tubing so that there are no leaks

Unfortunately, my solution does not prevent all leaks; a small bit of water still leaks out.

What are your suggestions?

Replace this hose with a single long hose.

Remove the hose that came with the unit and measure the size of the fitting it was attached to. Go to a good hardware or plumbing shop and buy a single length of heavy duty reinforced rubber hose and a hose clamp to fit. This is the only correct way to do it IMO.


How do you remove a wire from a push-in fitting when there is no release opening? How do you remove a wire from a push-in fitting when there is no release opening?

Note: “What could cause two of my receptacles to stop working?” is my post.

Note: My home is a 1980 manufactured home. It had junk plumbing (I have replaced the plumbing) and it has a junk electrical system.

I wanted to practice on an old receptacle by replacing the receptacle with an up-to-date receptacle that has screw terminals. When I looked at the old receptacle I saw that it had push-in fittings, but no release openings to remove the wires (two white, two black) from the push-in fittings.

So, how do I remove the wires?

I see four ways:

Cut the wires. I would cut the wires as close to the push-in fitting as possible.
By using brute force pull the wires from the fitting. Is this even possible?
Use a Dermal rotary tool to cut-up the receptacle being careful to not harm the wires. I see no reason to save the junk receptacle.
Some other method.

Any help you can give me with this problem would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Unless the wires are way too short, just cut them off - it's not worth wasting your time for 1/2" of wire. You can use wirenuts and add a pigtail if you need more wire. If the wires are way too short, and the circuit is dead, put on safety glasses and use a hammer or locking pliers or a bolt cutter to smash the crap receptacle and release your wires quickly. Life is way too short to fuss with a rotary tool cutting them open.


how do you install laminate flooring with multiple rooms at one time with click flooring (since you can only put it in one way) how do you install click laminate flooring when it can only click in one way?
in the picture every room is getting done that doesn't have an x. the red lines are which way the boards are going. only that room is done. the hallway and 2 other small rooms would be going the right way, but how can you do the big awkward sized room with all of it going together right, because going backwards they wouldn't click in?

We did this and cheated; at some doorways we stopped and covered the join with a rather smart strip of brass.

This makes it a lot easier, especially if:

your house is not quite square
the floors are not quite flat
you have big temperature variations
you want to have different rooms not running the same way
you want the doors to close snugly


Should I install insulation between the rim joist and the top of foam insulation? I am in the beginning phases of finishing my basement, newer house with poured cement foundation and engineered I-beam floor joists. No moisture issues in the basement.

Rim joist currently has a batt for insulation and that's it. My plan is to replace that with 2" XPS and foam spray and then another batt (probably just reuse what's already there).

On the foundation walls, I am going to use a thinner XPS all the way up to the joists, frame out with 2x4 and insulate with batts, then drywall.

I think I have a good understanding of these 2 parts, but am not sure what to do where they intersect. It seems to me that if I don't somehow seal the top to the foam wall insulation it will allow air to flow in behind the rim joist insulation. I've not seen this particular issue addressed anywhere, so maybe it's not really a problem? I'm trying to err on the side of extreme caution since I am doing this myself, and dont want to headaches down the road.

Found this:

at BuildingScience.com

Which seems to be recommending a strip of XPS between the rim joist wall insulation.

Thoughts?

You can always spray foam over top edge of the wall layer of XPS, this ensures that there's no air leakage from behind the XPS on the wall going up.  I'd also make sure you caulk/tape all seams between XPS boards, and spray the bottoms/corners so it gets a real good seal from air movement.


What could cause water to come out of the faucet when the shower is on? I'm having a problem with my shower.  The water is not all coming out of the shower head, but out of the faucet.  The type of shower I have switches to the shower by pulling down on the faucet head.  I uploaded a short video of the problem; notice how water, when I pull down on the faucet head, comes out of the faucet head and from the seam on the wall.  I do have water coming out of the shower head.

What would cause this problem?  Am I looking at a problem with the faucet itself, or a plumbing issue, or something else?  Do I have to worry about water in the house?

Your diverter needs to be replaced - in your case, this is part of the spout. The diverter is responsible for allowing water to flow out of the tap, or when engaged, it closes the spout and forces the water up through the shower head.

You can try to disassemble it and find a replacement part, but often it is easier to just replace the entire spout.

Usually the spout is held onto a piece of copper pipe with a set screw in the bottom of the spout. Loosen the screw (usually with an allen key) and pull away from the pipe.  Replacement is the opposite - twist onto the pipe, align it properly and tighten the set screw.

You might not find an exact replacement but any spout with a diverter in it should work.

This should be a pretty cheap and easy replacement.  Good luck!


How do I dry out a damp patch in my subfloor? I bought my house over a year ago and had the hardwood oak floors refinished. One of the bedrooms had water damage from a leaking roof (previous owners fixed this before I purchased the house) so they did not put poly on that floor and told me I should let it dry out before finishing it.

Long story short, there was a puddle of water in the crawlspace beneath this area which is why the subfloor was damp. I remedied all of this... no more puddles, no more soaked under-floor insulation, no more leaks. A year later and after trying multiple methods to dry it out, the hardwood floor was still wet so I finally decided to rip out parts of the floor.

Just as I suspected, the subfloor beneath still has a significant amount of moisture. The tar paper between the subfloor and hardwood was also damp.

Here is a picture of the affected area. You can pretty clearly see the color difference between the damp and dry areas. For the record, the damp areas don't FEEL considerably wet or anything, and there is 0 rot or mold:

Now that I'm at the subfloor, what can I do to finish drying this out so I can finally finish this darned bedroom!?

You say, "The tar paper between the subfloor and hardwood was also damp."  I don't see the "tar paper". You MUST have a moisture barrier.

However, your question is about drying the area out. I agree with @isherwood, keep a fan blowing on it and it will dry out faster. However, be aware that the rapid drying could warp the oak flooring. To minimize this problem, I'd re-assemble the oak boards to keep the boards straight.

Btw, I'm surprised I don't see "damaged" edges along the edges of the oak flooring from being nailed in place.

Also, I thought this type of floor needed to be installed on "sleepers".


How to cover exposed attic wall insulation I have a small walk (crouch)-in attic from the closet of one of my upstairs bedrooms.  It has insulation on the walls that form the bedroom closet/wall.  Given how small the attic is, whenever I go in there and place/remove things I tend to brush up against the insulation pulling it out from between the studs (see pictures below).

I plan on stapling plastic to the studs to hold the insulation in.  Is there an issue with this plan?

Plastic isn't recommended in this situation because it would create a second vapor barrier that can trap moisture and result in condensation and mold. Craft paper would have the same problem, this is what is most likely on the other side of the insulation for the vapor barrier you want.

The good solution for this is a house wrap material (often referred to by the popular commercial brand Tyvek) which allows vapor to pass through while blocking water itself on the outside of the home.

You can also put up a thin board, plywood, or even drywall, if the goal is simply to prevent accidental contact. If you already installed plastic, then cutting some slits to vent air both high and low in each wall cavity may prevent any condensation issues.


Furnace blower comes on full time when the thermostat is set to Auto I have a Maytag furnace and the blower motor comes on right away when the thermostat is placed in auto and stays on when reaching the temperature set point and the heat goes off. I have replaced the board in the furnace, I’m not getting any fault codes, and I don’t see a fan switch or button telling the fan to stay on the indefinitely. The fan does turn off when I switch the thermostat to off. I have no idea what else to do. Please help

Something here isn't adding up. Your post states that when you place the fan selector to auto, the fan immediately turns on. The fan should be running before you select auto. The fan selector switch has two positions on and auto. On - closes the connection from R to G bringing on the fan. Auto - does nothing at the thermostat and the furnace will bring on the fan as required.

So from your post I can deduce there is potentially a problem with the thermostat. The simplest way to diagnose where the problem is to

Unmount the thermostat, check the state of the furnace. It should be doing nothing.
Mark down the wire locations. Jumper R to G. The fan should come on.
Jumper R to W. The burner should fire and the fan should energize within about 2 minutes.

A thermostat is little more than a set of manual switches that operate based on temperature. If the instructions above provide different results then outlined my next guess would be that the board was somehow wired incorrectly.

The board could have a continuous fan selected by dip switches but it wouldn't shut off when setting the thermostat to off. So again it looks like a faulty thermostat. The only thing I can think of that wouldn't be the thermostat is a continuous fan speed set high and the cooling fan speed (G terminal) set so low that it is not noticeable.

If the stat checks out, more information is required to determine the problem.