Strengthening existing 2x4 joists to create a mini attic Between the first and second floor of a friend's house he has about 4' of dead space that he wants me to help convert into storage (this is in San Francisco, so every square foot counts!).  He got the idea from a similar space in my house.

Currently the ceiling of the first floor consists of 16" o.c. 2x4s, generally running across a span of about 10' for each room.

I do not want to rip out and replace all of the ceilings in the first floor, so my plan is to strengthen the 2x4s in some way and add either 1/2" or 3/4" flooring so that I can put some crates up there and leave "crawlways" to get around.

Here are the solutions I've come up with and my thoughts on them (I'm not a builder, but I've built lots of ad-hoc structures and so far nobody has died..   :) ).  I should also mention that I plan on using screws instead of nails everywhere, so hopefully that improves stiffening.

Just put 1/2" flooring on the 2x4s.  I think this would probably work for a little while - I had a house many years ago that had standing attic space that was only on top of 2x4 joists, though I recognize that 2x4s really shouldn't be used for a 10' span, even for an attic.
Sister the 2x4s with another 2x4.  I believe this only improves the span by about 25%, but that gets us within a foot or so of 10'
Sister the 2x4s with 2x6s and put the floor on top of that.  This should be strong enough, but unfortunately the way things are laid out that would take a lot of extra work with making everything fit properly (because of the location of stringers and where the floor would go and working around a pipe on one side and etc.. etc..)

So those were my options.  I kind of felt like 1&2 might work but would be on the weaker side, and 3 would definitely work but create a bunch of labor.  Ideally something in between the two would be enough for handling attic storage that was 4 feet high and that's when I thought of this crackpot idea:

Place a new set of 2x4s on their side going across (90 degrees to) the current 2x4s.  I know that 2x4s aren't that great on their side, but this only adds 1.75" to height, like the sistered 2x6s would, and with it all screwed together, wouldn't this add a decent amount of stiffness with the flooring on top?  But I can't quite figure out how to guesstimate how much strength this will really win me and if it beats #2 above.  I don't want to put the 2x4s vertically on top of the other 2x4s, because there's only so much space in there..

Any thoughts?

If the answer is to get a structural engineer, then that's out of their budget, so we'll just probably be forced to put in the 2x6s, though I bet the 2x4s or sistered 2x4s would actually be enough for such a low attic space...

Wow, this is quite an effort, but I know how valuable space is in SF.

I’ll make some assumptions and you let me know if I’m wrong. First, Loads are divided into Live Loads (storage boxes, books, Christmas decorations, etc.) plus Dead Loads (gypsum board ceiling, ceiling joists, 1/2” plywood subfloor, etc.) Generally we add about 3 psf for miscellaneous loads like lights, ductwork, etc. into the dead load. So, here’s your Dead Load:

Gypsum board ceiling: 2.5 psf, plus 2x4’s @ 16” oc: 1.0 psf, plus 1/2” subfloor on 2x4’s: 1.5 psf, plus misc.: 3 psf...for a total Dead Load of 8.0 psf.

Second, Live Loads are considered uniformly distributed across the storage space...AND loads in the middle third of the span affects the deflection the most AND can cause cracks in the gypsum board ceiling when you exceed the allowable loads.

Here are your options:

Option 1: Just add subfloor on existing 2x4 @ 16” oc.

Depending on the species and grade of ceiling joists, 2x4’s @ 16” oc spanning 10’ can support about 12 psf Live Load plus 8 psf Dead Load.

This is certainly the easiest option. I’d suggest you lay out some items you want to store and see if it exceeds 12 psf. (Remember, it’s 12 psf over  the span of several ceiling joists. That is to say, if part of the area is 16 psf and an adjacent area ON THE SAME JOISTS weighs 8 psf...you’re probably ok.)

Option 1A: Same as Option 1, but don’t store anything in the middle third of the span:

With this option, you can store about 20 psf Live Load in the first 1/3 on each side of each span...but nothing in the middle third.

Option 2: Add 1 - 2x4 between each existing 2x4. (You can sister it to the existing 2x4’s or secure it anywhere between the existing joists.)

This will double the allowable loads discussed in Option 1 and 1A.

Option 3: Sister 2x6’s to existing 2x4’s.

2x6’s @ 16” oc spanning 10’ will support about 60 psf  Live Load. If you add that to the existing 2x4’s you can support about 72 psf. However, this is based on the fact that you fasten the 2x6’s to the 2x4’s with adequate nails/screws. (Of course, if they are not fastened together then the allowable Live Load would be 60 psf.)

Option 4: Install 2x4 flat to top of each 2x4 ceiling joist.

This is not recommended. The extreme fiber in bending on the tension side (on the bottom) is still limited by the lumbers fiber strength for a 2x4 on edge.

Option 5: Provide supports from ceiling joists up to existing 2x8’s @ 16” on center spanning the same 10’.

2x8’s @ 16” spanning 10’ can support about 120 psf Live Load. Adding a support (2x4) at mid span will increase the allowable Live Load on the existing 2x4’s up to about 110 psf AND add a point load to the 2x8’s....which could over stress the 2x8’s depending on what the actual load is above the ceiling and what it’s supporting on the second floor.

If you have a refrigerator or a waterbed above this area I would not do it. Otherwise, the Code requires 40 psf Live Load plus 10 psf for Dead Load for a living space. In this case, I think your 2x8’s would be fine, depending on the species and grade.

I think your next move is to consider what will be stored above the ceiling and how much it weighs...on average over a 10’ span.


How can I quietly tear down drywall? Is there a way to remove drywall without exerting brute force?  Being that I live in a condo, I don't want to go all happy with a hammer to my wall and disturb my neighbors.  It seems there would be a way to saw lines into the drywall so that it could be easily pulled away.  While a saw isn't whisper quiet, it's definitely far less barbaric than a hammer.

Well, you really only need to punch one or two holes in the drywall to get it started, then you can simply pull it down with your bare hands.  Assuming it's really just drywall and not something heavier.

Sawing lines won't really help, however, as properly installed drywall has screws ALL OVER it - so just go with  "punch hole and start pulling"...


Dryer won't start. Uses a 4 prong 240v outlet where hot/ground is 120v but hot/neutral is 50v. What's wrong? I recently had a dryer hooked up to this outlet and it ran for 2 years without problem. I recently got a new (to me) Kenmore 400-series dryer that was serviced a month ago and was in perfect condition, though it traveled from 2 states away and was jostled a bit. The new dryer will not start, but I can hear the timer motor ticking when it's plugged in.

I used a multimeter to check the timer, the start switch, and the door switch. All of them were ok (according to what I was seeing from a YouTube tutorial by theapplianceman). I checked the cord. It's fine.

I checked the outlet. H1-H2 gives me 240v. H1-G and H2-G gives me 120v. H1-N and H2-N gives me around 50v.

I don't know what this means. Is this why the dryer won't start? Is it even an issue?

It's an open neutral.

The neutral wire has lost connection somewhere.

You are getting indeterminate readings because you are using a common digital multimeter (DVM).  Those have very high input impedance - which is normally a desired feature in a meter.  However on a long run of parallel wires, if a floating wire is near a live one, it will pick up a "ghost voltage" by capacitive coupling or induction.  It doesn't exist in any usable amount of current (paying out 500' of wire under a high-tension line won't get you anything), but these meters are so sensitive they will pick it up as a varying voltage somewhere between 0 and the line voltage of the adjacent wire(s).  It's common for it to drift around, that's a sure sign actually.

So that tells you that your neutral break is probably not right at the receptacle.

As a sidebar, 3-prong (groundless) NEMA 10 type connectors are still allowed for dryers and ranges. These omit ground, and ground the chassis of the machine to neutral. The logic is that these appliances are rarely moved, and neutral wire failures are extremely rare.  Not so rare, apparently.  When you lose neutral on a NEMA 10 connection, it electrifies the chassis of the machine. The washer next to it is properly grounded, touch both and BLAM.

So that 4-prong hookup provided a real safety dividend for you today.


Will WD-40 dissolve plastic? I've seen cases where it has harmed certain metals. Will plastic dissolve in prolonged exposure to WD-40?

(since most people answered in the comments.)

No, it won't.


What is causing this air-conditioning unit to cool on cold days? This is a temperature log from a reverse cycle air conditioning system that has run fine for getting on for 30 years.  It has suddenly started to blast out cold air on days when it should be heating.

The temperature was measured at a point just inside a ceiling outlet vent - hence the wide fluctuations.

What would cause the cooling cycle to start in this manner?

Nice chart.  This looks like abnormally frequent triggering of the defrost cycle.  Typically this will occur if the unit is severely low on charge or when the outdoor thermostatic expansion valve (TEV) has failed and is restricting flow of refrigerant through the outdoor coil so severely that the coil freezes in an abnormally short period of time, triggering frequent defrost cycles.  You would have a similar problem if your outdoor coil was exceptionally dirty, but I assume you would have noticed that.

To positively diagnose this, a technician would connect a manifold to the service ports when the unit is heating, and verify that the subcooling of the refrigerant returning from the interior coil is at least 8 C to confirm the unit is not too low on charge.  If the charge is adequate, then check the saturated suction temperature (SST) and also the superheat of the vapor in the suction line returning to the compressor.  If the SST is much less than 6 C below ambient and the superheat in the line is much more than 11 C, then the outdoor TEV has likely failed in a closed position or become plugged.  Depending on the unit this may be a fairly major repair.  In a 29+ year old system it may not be worth it versus replacing the unit.

EDIT:  Some defrost control boards have a manual setting that forces a defrost cycle at a programmed interval.  If you have one of these control boards, you should verify that it has not been set to force a defrost cycle every 30 minutes.  Also, someone should confirm that the "freeze-stat" that signals the defrost board when the outdoor coil needs defrosting has not become disconnected or damaged.  You can eliminate these by looking at the outdoor coil after the system has been heating for 15 minutes.  If it is covered with frost and really does need defrosting in that short a time, then this problem is not merely a control malfunction and is more likely a refrigerant charge / TEV problem.


Changing garage light socket to outlet, found wiring problem I want to change a light socket in my garage to an outlet, so I can hook some shop lights up to it. When I looked at the socket, I saw some really strange wiring.

When they built the house, they used a single 14-2 to go from the switch to the socket AND the outlet for the garage door opener. There's one too few wires...They ran the black wire from the switch to the socket, so it's a switched hot. The white wire is connected to hot and goes to the outlet. The GROUND wire is connected to neutral in the switch's box and becomes the neutral for the socket and outlet. That's obviously messed up. They used ground as neutral, so there is no real ground. The garage door outlet has both it's neutral and ground going to the same wire.

They should have used 14-3 or 2 runs of 14-2. I'm going to fix it. Would it be best for me run a single 14-3 or 2 separate 14-2 sections of Romex. Also, current code calls for GFCI everywhere in the garage. Can I put a GFCI outlets in the ceiling for both the garage door outlet and the switched outlet that I will use for my shop lights or does the GFCI have to be low enough to accessible without a ladder?

Thanks!

As far as the GFCI code doesn't specify the location. There used to be an exception for outlets over 6.5' but I think that is gone now. I would add a new wire so you don't have the safety concern. If the walls are closed you may have to fish the wires through the walls because the old wires should be stapled to the studs and pulling the new wire with the old won't work with the staples holding them in place.


What is the name of this part of an old window? I am in the process of restoring old windows. These are original to the house and hence from 1940. Windows have these plastic or metal ventilation plugs, here are two pictures:

The problem is some of the windows miss these parts, and I would like to replace some of the older ones. I, however, have no idea what these parts are called. I tried to google some random terms (such as vent plugs for wood windows) but did not find anything.

So, what is the official name of this part? and it is possible to buy a replacement?

This item is called "Wood Casement Air Ventilator" and is available through the Andersen web page, here is a link. I did not find any metal replacements, only plastic, but these are exactly the same size.

https://parts.andersenwindows.com/detail_0533008__w_wcasement_sash.html


Need to split water line behind refrigerator to add an espresso machine Just a quick explanation of what I'm trying to do. I'm not a plumber by any means, but I'd like to try to get this done on my own.

I have an espresso machine on the counter next to my fridge. I want to plumb it in, so I bought an Everpure ESO6 filter:

Also the Everpure QL3B Filter Head:

This will go under my cabinet, so I'll be drilling a hole on the side with a spade bit in which the braided hoses for both the espresso machine and to the water source will go through.

Here's how everything looks connected:

The problem I'm having now is how I get the tee connected to the water source. Here is my water source, which currently has the refrigerator connected to it (1/4"):

My question is: How should I tee this? I bought a tee that's 1/4" outside diameter (OD), but the problem (as I was told by a Home Depot employee) is that all ends are male. But couldn't I just connect a 1/4" braided hose to the water line, then into the tee, then plug the line to the filter and the line to the fridge, and that would be it?

I'm also wondering if I actually need a pressure regulator. My manual says if line pressure exceeds 5 bars (~70psi) then I'd need it.

Pressure regulator would depend on your incoming water pressure. Ask the city if it is city water. As for plumbing the tee in, you can use an length of hose needed to get the water to the fridge and espresso maker.


Is a brad nail gun suitable for attaching pickets to a fence? I have a large fencing project and I'm thinking about purchasing this nail gun:

RIDGID 2-1/8 in. 18-Gauge Brad Nailer:

Would this be suitable for attaching pickets to the rails, or is there a better tool for this?

No -- an 18 ga. nailer is ideal for attaching small pieces of trim, like shoe molding/quarter round, inside your house. Outside, the nails will quickly rust and fall off -- they aren't galvanized, they are TINY, and they have little to no head on them. If you want to use a nailer, you need to use a framing nailer like Shirlock suggested. Make sure you use hot-dipped galvanized nails.

Personally, when building a fence, I use coated decking/exterior screws. They won't allow boards to warp and move like nails will, they absolutely won't ever rust unless you stripped the coating off somehow, and if you need to replace a fence plank because it cracked/warped/discolored, or you need to repair storm damage, or you need to remove an entire run of fencing to get a pickup truck or a large piece of equipment into the backyard, you can just unscrew a couple of screws. I haven't used nails for fencing in several years, and I've been happier as a result.


My sliding window is leaking air via the groove - is it fixable? I live in an apartment complex with a dedicated maintenance crew. I noticed that one of our bedrooms is a lot colder than the rest of the apartment, and of course when inspecting the sliding windows, I found that there is a noticeable air leak.

The leak is coming through the groove of the sliding window. I'm not sure I understand how air is coming through this groove, but it's very clearly a problem, as I can easily feel the air leaking in from outside.

I called maintenance, and the man they sent says that it's a problem that can't be fixed with weatherstripping, and the only solution is to replace the windows. Apparently they are aluminum windows and that's a common complaint they've been receiving. Instead, he offered to cover the window in the plastic insulation that you can get at any Home Depot or Lowe's.

Either way, it's no cost to me, but I find it hard to believe that this is just an accepted problem of aluminum windows. Is there really no solution to this problem other than replacing the windows?

I ran into the same issue with my building's aluminum windows.

To fix it, I removed the window from the track and tightened the screws on the latching mechanism. This made a tiny bit of difference as it allowed the window to sit better on the track, and allowed the latch to pull the window closer to a full 'locking' position. While the window's out, you should clean out the track as well, since any kind of dirt in the channel will cause the window to sit off-line and cause air to leak through.

The other thing to check and/or replace is the pile weatherstripping on the exterior facing side of the slider, but make sure you get one with a fin strip (that's a bit of rubber running down the middle of the pile) since that blocks airflow more effectively. If your building is willing to replace the windows, great, if not, you can also press rope caulk into the leaky areas. I would advise against the plastic sheeting you mentioned, though, since it leaves a terrible residue on your sills and often removes the paint along with it come spring (though they are effective if nothing else works).


What can I use for 25 watt bulb replacement Can I use a 60 watt led bulb that uses only 7 watts to replace my current incandescent 25 watt bulb?  Never mind the lumens, it can be dimmer.....thanks.

Yes, that's fine.  The 'maximum wattage' rating listed on a light fixture is actual watts, not incandescent-equivalent-watts.  So in this case, your 7W LED bulb is well under the 25W maximum rating of your fixture, so it will be fine to use.


Leaky Shower Drain...Caulk or Replace? I have been experiencing a leak onto my first-floor ceiling from my shower. It only happens when someone is standing in the shower, making me think it's likely a drain issue caused by pressure rather the faucet or shower head.

I've opened the strainer and found a rotten-looking light gray gasket just sitting on top of a hard black plastic/rubber pice that surrounds the PVC. I've included the image below.

My question is whether it makes sense for my next step to be to try caulking around the seam where the flange and shower base meet (and the flange/black plastic and black plastic/PVC meet) or whether I should try to remove the drain, clean and re-caulk. I'd like to take my best shot without calling in professional help.

Guidance and advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Caulk is not a plumbing solution, and was never the right way to install a drain. (Plumber's putty is also on its way to the bin of history, having been supplanted by more reliable and less messy synthetic gaskets.) You need new gaskets or an entirely new assembly.

The only difficult part about tub plumbing is usually access. If you can get to the area in question, the rest is somewhat academic. Parts are generally fairly standardized and information abounds.


New Circuit Help Please - Feeding 2-gang receptacle boxes with MC 12/4 Hoping someone can help me with this.  I have searched the whole dang internet multiple times and can’t find the answer to my question, so I am posting it here.  I have added two 120V-20A circuit breakers to my panel, and ran 12/4 MC to a string of five “2-gang” boxes (the first box will host a pair of GCFI’s, different than what I drew).  I’ll use commercial 20A receptacles in down-stream 2-gang boxes.  Total length of the run is under 100’.
Here’s where I need help (just a review and approval if I’m good).  My plan is to use:

Black/White wires from 12/4 to power the first circuit “A” on the left side of the box.

Red/Blue (blue taped white) wires to power the second circuit “B” on the right side of the box.

Tie all grounds together (Line/input ground wire, 2-gang chassis, “A” outlet, “B” outlet and Load/output ground wires).

I’ll send line power to the tops of the outlets (inputs) and take load power from the bottoms of the outlets (outputs) to feed the next box ... lather, rinse, repeat.  I have installed a string of 5 boxes over about 60’, but may possibly add 3 more for a total of 8 boxes within a single workshop under 100’ of 12/4.

Please see pic.  It’s all surface-mounted MC and boxes, strapped with Minerallac 125 Jiffy Clip one-hole clamps with holes above the MC, and fastened within 11” of each box, 12” everywhere else.  I will pull a permit and have the work inspected because I have an affinity for doing things right.
My rationale for “assuming” this is correct is that it’s how I would run 12/2 to a string of 1-gang boxes/outlets.  My main confusion is whether or not I should be bonding all of the neutrals in each 2-gang box, but think it’s not required because the neutrals are all bonded together in the panel.  Is there a safety requirement in the code that requires the bonding of the neutrals in each receptacle box?  And if so, can you please point me to the code so I can read/learn/understand?

Thank you so much for your time and assistance with my question!  I love this stuff and wish I would have chosen to become an electrician.  My problem is that I’m an anal perfectionist beyond comprehension.  I guess a little OCD is a good thing when dealing with electricity. :-)
Thanks again,
Rich

You gotta keep em separated!
You need to keep the neutrals separated throughout the circuit for a couple of reasons.  First off, if you want to put GFCI on this, the GFCI will tell you if you cross or join the neutrals by stubbornly refusing to stay un-tripped, so keeping them separated is a good policy that way.  More importantly, though, neutrals rely on being protected by the overcurrent devices of their partner hot wires, as they don't have fuses or overcurrent breakers of their own.  As a result, if you tie the neutrals together, and one of them opens, you'll potentially put 40A down a 12AWG wire, which is going to get rather toasty and melty...
And yes, you have the wrong cable for the job
While reidentifying neutrals to hots in a cable works, you can't take a wire smaller than 4AWG that's not white, grey, or striped with one of those two colors and legally use it as a neutral.  To be fair, if one was working under significant duress, tape-flagging a hot to a neutral is by no means the worst thing you can do, but it sounds like you'll have to order in some 12/2/2 MC and do this over.


Is it OK to use washed, smooth gravel under a pier block footing? I am preparing footings for an outbuilding, using pier blocks. Our frost depth is only 12". There is a significant amount of clay in the soil, so I am putting gravel under the pier blocks.

The plan was: excavate holes to 12". Fill with 4" of 1 1/4" rock, compacted. Then 4" of 3/4" rock, compacted and leveled. This leaves the pier block 4" below grade. Fill around the block with soil, to resist sideways movement.

I have excavated to frost depth and bought a load of gravel. It's not exactly what I expected: it's smooth, round drain rock, and I was expecting coarse crushed rock. I assumed that coarse rock was important to make a stable base for the footings.

Is it OK to use round, smooth rock in this application, or would that doom my building project?

Really Jay, that is the wrong stuff. I wouldn't use it alone.  It will not pack properly and will have a tendency to shift and let water rush through and undercut the surrounding soils.  You really need a good sandy gravel that will pack hard. I'm absolutely sure you will regret using washed round stone without a binder.  You could add Sacrete mix to it to firm it up.  That would help.  Mix the sacrete with the stones dry and just wet it down with a hose or a couple of gals of water, let it set up and continue. The stones will become the aggregate in the concrete mix and make an excellent base for you.


How can I patch a concrete porch that separated from the house? I have a concrete slab as a front porch on a property I recently acquired.  This was put in when the house was built.   At some point since it was put in, front sunk/settled and the slab separated from the house.   It looks like previous owners attempted numerous patches (silicone sealants, concrete patch etc).   The separation from the house allowed termites to enter and damage a 5 foot section of the rim joist along the front - there is no active infestation and we've determined the rim joist was the only damage.

At some point I realize I need to have the front porch torn out and the rim joist repaired.   However, in the short term I'm looking for the best way to patch the concrete and mitigate further damage to the joist from moisture or critters coming from the crack.   What would be the best thing to do?

From the two pictures, it looks like the porch is two parts - the foundation slab, and the top surface. Is the slab moving, or just the top surface?

My suggestion would be to apply low-expanding spray foam (they make a grey-colored version so it doesn't look ridiculous, as well as one with pest deterring chemicals) to those cracks. If it expands too far out of the top-surface crack, trim it after it's try, then apply caulk to the face of it to waterproof it.

Continue to monitor it for movement going forward. It's important to determine how and why you're getting movement.


Under Floor Heating (Wet) - pipe coupler under the screed? I want to fit UFH to a whole house - normally it would be an easy process if one could just move out and live somewhere else as the whole house gets gutted and re-done. However, ideally, i want to fit ufh o each room on a room by room basis so i still can live somewhere.

Now in room 1 I thought of doing this:
Lay down insulation, lay down the pipes and cut them as they leave the room into hallway, pour screed.

Then move onto room 2, room 3 etc.

At the end i would end up with all rooms having pipes installed and screed done but the hallways left (with all those pipes sticking out from each room into the hallway. I could potentially do Hallway last but this raises the question. Can i use pipe couplers to connect then all the rooms to the system(manifold in the hallway)? and submerge the couplers under the screed? Or the pipes have to go to each room directly from the manifold and there is no other way around it?

Can i use pipe couplers to connect then all the rooms to the system(manifold in the hallway)? and submerge the couplers under the screed?

With PEX pipe it depends on the fittings. Some fittings are rated for this (the crimp/slide ones), others are not (ie, the ones you screw on). Check your local code.

Personally though I wouldn't risk it. It would be easier to simply leave enough pipe in the corridor, then roll it and place it out of the way against the wall so no-one trips on it.


How to calculate maximum demand charge from appliance wattage My roommate and I are planning to switch to the Terms of Use - Residential Plan that Georgia Power offers (see link below).

The one item on this plan where I'm not sure of my calculations is the Demand Charge.

The demand charge is a $6.64 fee per KW of Maximum kW.

Where Maximum kW is defined as:

  Maximum kW shall be the highest 30-minute kW measurement during the current month.

Assume my Maximum kW is caused sometime during the month by my dryer being on.

If my dryer is rated at 2790 watts, does this mean the contribution by the dryer to the maximum wattage is going to be 1.395 kW or is it going to be 2.790 kW?

If it helps, the "30-minute kW measurement" is what is confusing me.

Link to plan rate sheet: https://www.georgiapower.com/docs/rates-schedules/residential-rates/2.40_TOU-RD-3.pdf

Update: Use this plan to mine bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.

Beware: sharp spikes

This billing scheme is covered with sharp spikes.  It'll be practically impossible for average consumers to comply with the rules, because even if you're really trying, one misstep in a month can spike your bill $35 or $70.  "for no conceivable reason".   Only consider this type of billing if you have automatic systems which force you to comply with the plan's rules.

It's yet another dodgy way to package energy costs

In the last decade you've probably been flooded with offers to change how you buy electric or gas.  (partly because of deregulation.  One common scheme with gas was to "fix" your rate "to protect you from gas company increases" - actually fracking was pulling gas prices down.  Those companies made a mint.

All these plans are gambling. (in fairness, so is staying put).  But this you know: They wouldn't be offering these plans unless their expert industry opinion was they'd make more money if they do.  Since it's a zero-sum game, that means you lose.  And indeed, they often pay hefty commissions to salespeople, with door-to-door salespeople making $0/hr and $200/sale.

Historically most people pay 8 to 15 cents per kwh per power.  In this deal, you pay an exorbitant monthly rate for your peak use for the month ($6.64 per kw); then electricity is practically free (1c/kwh) all hours except summer/fall weekday air conditioning times (10c/kwh).  They are betting your usage is spiky.  You are betting your usage is flat.  But they have all your smart-meter data.  You don't.

The business rationalization for this plan is it charges you for the "thickness of the wire" needed to deliver to your home.  But wait. The service lateral is already plenty big, and they're not going to downgrade you to #8 and upgrade you to #6 or #4 if you pay enough peak charges.  If this applied to neighborhoods, wouldn't it only apply at times neighborhoods normally have peaks?  How does it hurt the grid if you blast dryer, EV charger and on-demand shower at midnight when the neighborhood pipe is wildly underused, and the nuke plant is giving power away? Why should that define your peak?   This rationalization simply makes no sense.

The only way you can win under this plan is to become a master of your energy usage, particularly your peaking. If  you can master your household peaking, it's a very good deal.  But people are awful at that.  You can't rally a modern family to be that conscientious.  It's totally impractical and the industry knows that.  That's the scam.  You get a $300 energy bill and the stage is set for them to flip it around and make it your fault.

Plans like this are common for commercial power delivery, but business/government have a  Facilities department whose job is to manage onsite power consumption and contain costs.  Families do not.

A 2790 watt dryer does not exist

Gas dryers take around 500 watts give or take, just for the drum and fan. Electric dryers on a 30A circuit (7200 watts) are allowed a maximum of 80% (5760W) so they try to run near the max, or about 5500 watts.  There are no dryers in the range of 2000–3500 watts.  Why did the power company choose an obviously wrong number in the middle of the dead zone?  They're averaging all dryers, gas and electric.

Keep in mind a 5500W element is undersized compared to what manufacturers want, but it's limited by the 30A dryer circuit.  (Contrast with gas dryers, where manufacturers face no such restriction). Gas dryers are much faster IME.

Similarly, the linked website understates or omits many other peak loads.  It does not claim 2790W, which makes me skeptical of the source of this.

Your actual loads

Remember, a "KWH" is a kilowatt for an hour.  Your dryer might use 5500W = 5.5KW, and if you run that for 30 minutes, that's 2750 WH = 2.750 KWH.  Peak load is concerned with KW, not KWH.

The power company may already have your 30-minute peak load (from your smart meter).  It may already be stated on your electricity bill.  Or you could try calling the customer service department (certainly not the Sales department!) Either way, look at the last 24 months.

Which begs the question: why are they soliciting you for this rate?  Did they look at your statements and see that they'll make more money that way?

If your smart-meter displays instantaneous KW (remember this is not KWH), that can help - you can just walk out there and check it "live". Try turning on every single thing you have even a small probability of using all at once: cooktop, dryer, max the A/C, blast the hot water, and see what the meter tells you is your current instantaneous KW.   Multiply that by $6.64, that will be almost all your electricity bill every winter month when power is essentially free on this plan.  Just to armwave:

3000W for various 120V loads.
5500W for the dryer (30A)
5500W for air conditioner (30A)
5500W for an electric hot water heater on a 30A breaker
3500W for a couple burners on the stove

If you think a perfect storm is unlikely, consider cooking.  Washing dishes, making a lot of heat in the kitchen which the A/C must work harder to remove... this loads all of the above, except the dryer.

So I see 23000W or 23kw peak, or @$6.64 about $152 monthly.

That's just for the monthly peak-usage fee.

It could be even worse in the winter, if you had electric heat. A typical 8-foot baseboard is 2000 watts, with shorter baseboards proportional.

There will also be the cost of the electricity proper: close to zero most of the time, and normal price during peak air conditioning hours 2–7pm M–F Jun-Sep.  That part of the deal is quite generous.

But your peak loads are murder.  An ideal house that draws 2000W continuously (the way the nuke makes it), would cost $37/mo.** under this plan, $94 in the summer months (less if it was smarter).

** $10 monthly fee, $13 peak fee, $14 energy usage

The same, more realistic house that averages 2000W and peaks at 20,000W would cost $157*** in winter, and $213 in summer.

*** $10 monthly fee, $133 peak fee, $14 energy usage

Turn the tables

I personally think humans are too fallible.   One false move — dry while cooking once — and your bill leaps $34.  The best plan is to add some technology that makes compliance automatic and human-proof. At the least, interlocks to keep you from running appliances at once.  At best some "smart home" technology that auto-throttles appliances in a sequence — cooktops > hot water > A/C > dryer etc.

First, you can't work blind.  You have to actually know your moment-by-moment usage.  Install a home-energy monitor like Neurio, Aeotec or Curb into your house.  These put sensors inside your service panel, which clip to the L1 and L2 "hot" wires.  They come up on your phone or tablet and give you rich displays about what your energy usage is.  They can even pick out individual appliances based on their electrical noise.

Bigger picture, it's a huge opportunity to architect smart systems that automate much of this.  Even more could be done with heat storage — have a large insulated water tank in the backyard, and all night, your heat-pump chills it with cheap midnight power, and by day, you use it to air-condition your house much more efficiently.  All this leads to a "smart grid" where the power company can do load-management, i.e. tell your dryer to stop heating for a minute so they can avoid having to spin up an expensive peaker.

Guess who pays for this tech.

If they could actually get people to do this sort of thing, then this plan would make sense for the grid. But where is the PR campaign explaining to consumers how to do this?  If it exists, it's pretty feeble, isn't it?  They don't profit when people are smart, they profit when people are stupid.

Ironically, their rate punishes peaking, but doesn't reward conservation.  Those annoying 24×7 "vampire loads" that the rest of us are stomping out?  Not your problem.  They lavishly reward you for consuming energy off-peak: mine bitcoins, grow medicinal herbs or pot, whatever. Consider 5000W of grow lights, rigged to shut off at peak summer hours or when you are running dryer, water heater, A/C or kitchen.  It adds nothing to your peak usage fees, and you pay <1 cent per kwh.  Crazy. Crazy.  They are literally giving power away.

Do exactly that: Bitcoin

Since I wrote this, we have been flooded with almost daily inquiries for people trying to wire up Bitcoin miners, which take an impressive amount of electricity and so a cheap electric rate is key.  I keep thinking about this rate.  You can't avoid peaks, but you can have the Bitcoin miners working very hard in all the valleys for a penny a KWH. You would need some sort of power line monitoring to have the miners "back off" when you start the dryer so they do not heighten the peaks.  The hardware for that isn't that hard to find.

Why on earth

Easy: your area is over-nuked.  Nukes provide base-load. They run 24×7 full throttle, stopping only for fuel changes (and fuel is dirt cheap). So they have a glut of midnight power — they literally can't give it away. (this video here, after 10:09). Meanwhile they're starved for peakers, because they're spending all their money on more nukes at $7/watt (for political reasons) instead of useful peakers like turbines and solar (for a fraction). So they have to clip the peaks, and they're using punitive rate charges to do it.

Trouble is, consumers won't understand why the rate punishment, won't have the tools (energy monitor) or knowledge to change their behavior, and will just get exploited.  A swindle indeed.


Are there any alarm system panels, control boxes, etc. that have a kind of API for software to access? I am basically looking to build an advanced alarm system for my home. I have previously used FrontPoint Security which offers a service through alarm.com. This basically gives me access to arming and disarming remotely and the ability to watch surveillance cameras remotely. It's pretty neat, but I want to take my system a step further.

Since I don't own the equipment and am just leasing it, I have no problem getting all new equipment.

What I want to do is set up a 32 IP camera system for the exterior, interior, and driveway. However, I want to know if one of the cameras goes offline and I want it to trip an alarm or at least put the system into a trouble state. I have not seen any control panel that has capabilities for putting cameras into the loop.

Since I already will be planning on taking the video from the cameras and streaming it in real-time to a remote computer for archival, I will be able to detect if a line goes dead. I would like to be able to interface the control panel with a piece of software I will build that allows me to programmatically trip the alarm or change the panel's state to trouble.

Of course the best option for this would be some web interface that lets me trip the alarm remotely and then the alarm company notifies the box that there is an alarm, similar to if a cellular device on the alarm system stops reporting back to the monitoring center.

So far my only thought has been to make a device that interfaces with the alarm system like any other alarm device, like a door sensor or motion sensor, and hard wire it into the panel and then simply break the circuit when the device receives a signal from the camera video processing computer. But this seems more complicated than it should be.

I'd prefer a control panel that has a cellular transceiver option that acts as a failover for if the phone line goes down. One of the GE panels I used in the past had such a feature.

I've tossed this on DIY because I don't know of any system that does this and am not tweaking any equipment as of yet, so it's not quite a programming question or an electrical engineering question.

If any of you folks have heard of such a flexible control panel, I'd love to know.

Try the following brands of panels:

Elk M1 **Best Panel on the Market**
Inner Range Concept
DSC Panels


Why is the light always on after replacing the light fitting? I replaced the light fitting in our living room, which is controlled by a dimmable switch, and now the light is always on.

When the dimmer is in the off position, the light is not very bright. When I turn the light on by increasing the dimmer setting, the light gradually gets brighter as expected. In the fully on position, when I place my ear next to the dimmer switch, I can hear a buzzing sound. The volume of the buzzing sound gets quieter when I lower the dimmer setting.

While I was changing the light fitting, I turned the light switch to the off position; however, to my surprise still got a small electric shock (it hurt, but I survived).

The light fitting came with two wires: brown and blue. The fitting in the ceiling also has a brown and blue wire, so I connected blue to blue, and brown to brown.

I have a few questions:

Did I wire the fitting up correctly? Could it be possible that I just need to wire blue to brown?
Is the switch broken?
Could there be another issue?
Was I wrong (stupid) to assume that turning the light off at the switch was enough to protect me from an electric shock?

Matching colors is usually correct, but there are exceptions. While this is considered the "right" way, it is for safety issues. The light will work either way. But we don't want the power from the brown going down the blue usually neutral in random parts of the wiring.

Which is why turning off the circuit with the switch is usually safe. If the wiring was reversed, with the switch on the blue neutral, the light will still work, but you would have gotten a really nasty full mains shock, instead of the "little" attenuated by dimmer shock. Always kill power to circuits at the breaker before working on them!

Dimmers, when full off, should indeed be full off. The fact it illuminates a light means it is defective. It needs to be replaced. It's not unusual for dimmers to emit a slight 50 hz hum during use, the volume proportional to the current being passed. But they must be able to completely open the circuit.

If you do get another dimmer instead of a regular switch, do ensure the lamps in the fixture are dimmable, and the dimmer is compatible with the lamp type.


Legionella and occasionally used tanked heaters We have a 30 gal tanked heater and dual knob faucet (no anti scald).   We use it once a week.  It is on a hand crank 12 hour timer, set it, get 12hrs of hot water.

The thermostat is set low enough to not scald (110-120F) but a good temperature to grow legionella.  We do not want legionella.

Noting that tankless heaters can't grow legionella because their water is room tempersture most of the time... does the same apply to us?

Can legionella develop if the tank is room temperature 6 days out of 7?

In Australia tanks must be set to bring the water to at least 60 C (140 F) and so it seems that thermostatic mixing valves at the output of the heater are promoted there to lower the temperature in the distribution lines to 50 C (122 F) or a little less. You might consider such a mixing valve on the output of the tank.

  Legionella bacteria can be present in water and become a health
  concern when present in high concentrations. Water should be heated
  and stored above 60 C for at least 35 minutes to ensure Legionella
  bacteria are killed. http://www.yourhome.gov.au/energy/hot-water-service

I wonder if Australia goes overboard on regulations? For 20 years in Dallas before the Legionella regulations were out we kept our 40 gal NG fired tanks at ~120 F, and nobody got Legionella (that I know of).


crumbling exterior plaster We have a semi-exterior wall with some spots where the paint is peeling and what appears to be dry, powdery plaster is falling out. The wall is under a roof so it's not rained on directly, but otherwise it is exposed to humidity and hot to freezing outside temperatures here in Virginia. It's a brick wall and I've seen no evidence of lathe. The other side of the wall is completely exterior and painted.

What's the best way to stop this and repair it?

The blisters in the photo are due to moisture (water vapor) being forced out of the from the opposite side or from the ground. Moisture permeates through the plaster in the path of least resistance, such as a fissure or hairline cracks. If the surface has been painted the water will actually blister the paint as it continues through the wall. The powdery residue you notice is a combination of minerals left behind when the moisture evaporated and whatever effluence it picked up traveling through the plaster. To solve the problem first eliminate the cause of the moisture. This could be any thing from a wayward sprinkler that splashes water against the walls surface to gutters saturating the ground that is against the wall. If the wall is in contact with the soil, excavate to the footing clean the surface and when dry apply a concrete sealer like Dryloc. To repair the blisters wire brush the loose plaster scrape any flaking paint, apply a concrete adhesive to the surface (not critical to the repair, but it helps), and apply a plaster patch as needed. It will blister in another location if the water source isn't corrected.


How can I wire my WIFI thermostat to control my millivolt fireplace? I have a gas fireplace that has an millivolt on/off switch on my wall (and a remote that includes flame on/off, a countdown timer and a thermostatic flame control).

I want to be able to program this fireplace to automatically turn on and off based on different temperature thresholds during different times in the day.  Just like I do with my forced hot air furnace using its programmable wall mounted thermostat.  Then I started thinking programmable and I see the WIFI thermostats.  Why not use a WIFI thermostat?    Okay great!

With a WIFI thermostat I can make the wall thermostat a weather station too, showing the indoor and outdoor temperature.  I can also cause the space to be heated from a remote location.  For better or worse let’s assume I want a nice programmable WIFI thermostat.

Let’s assume too that the fireplace remote is useless.   You can set the remote to a desired temperate, but then later you go to bed, having forgotten that it is set and it runs all night because my programmable forced hot air furnace thermostat lets a the house cool down to 60.  All night the little fireplace, based on the remote setting, tries to heat up its space to 72.   An annoying waste of gas and money.

The problem is the wiring for the WIFI thermostat.  All I have is a milivolt circuit and no C wire.  The fireplace on-off switch is millivolt.  Also, the 24vac output from a standard WIFI thermostat, I assume, would fry the fireplace millivolt flame on/off controller.

How can I power and use this new WIFI thermostat when my fireplace wall switch is a millivolt circuit?  There is house current to the switch box, where the fireplace fire on/off switch is currently located too.

I am thinking that I will mount the new programmable WIFI thermostat above the wall switch, as that is a good location for sensing the current temperate in the space.

It seems like the problems here are:
A) How do I convert the house current to 24vac, so that it can power the new thermostat?
B) How do I turn the 24vac thermostat on/off output from the new WIFI thermostat into a switch for the millivolt circuit?
C) Is there anything else I need to figure out?

How do I do this?

You'll need a transformer to step down mains voltage, to 24 volts that the thermostat can use.  And you'll need a relay that can work with 24 volts.

You'll wire it up something like this.

When the thermostat calls for heat, the relay contact will be pulled closed.  This will signal the fireplace to turn on.

NOTE: the three contacts used on the thermostat are R, W, and C.  In the drawing the C may or may not look like a C, so I just wanted to make that clear.


Should air be escaping from this? I have a Rheem Criterion Gas Furnace. At the moment, my air conditioning system currently has low air pressure coming from the vents around the house. I double checked that the fan is working, replaced air filter, and checked outside condenser and made sure it is working. There is no water leaking, no ice formations around the copper pipe either. Not sure what the issue is.
Should any air be escaping from RED (with square-dash) PVC cover pictured below? Right now there is a lot of air coming out of it and not sure if this is normal.

Just to answer your question, no, air should not be escaping from that red fitting. That is an extra drain pan fitting, maybe for a shutoff valve if the condensate backs up. Make sure the air is coming from that fitting and not from the cabinet around the PVC pipes. Try tightening the pipe and if that doesn't work, wrap some teflon tape around the fitting and screw it back in.
As mentioned in the comments, this will not have any effect on your air flow as the volume of air is so small. Check that the filter is the right size and that the blades of the blower fan are clean. this can really affect the efficiency for the blower.


What can I use at the top of my stairs for a winch mount? I need to get a heavy concrete grinder (180 lbs), with wheels, down my stairs. I was thinking of getting a winch, but i have nothing to mount it to (the opposing wall is too far away). I was thinking of making a bracket for the top of the stairs, or perhaps even a table (where the winch could be mounted under the table where the 4 legs would be up against the wall) or perhaps some scaffold.
There are many out-of-the box thinkers on their group, so looking for some ideas.

Having recently moved a refrigerator of about that weight up a set of stairs using only a hand-truck (for wheels) it can be done (I'm not abnormally strong or huge.) Literally take it one step at a time.
If the wheels are not of adequate size to roll on the steps, use a hand-truck with large enough wheels (but not so large you can't stop on a step) and ignore the wheels on the grinder.
But it can be more easily done with two or more people, whether rolling or (when your people can lift it and not be at their limits and at risk of dropping it) brute-force carrying.


Bathroom Exhaust Fan with Light - Wiring I have a new bathroom exhaust fan and light unit replacing an older unit of the same. Two switches — one for light and one for fan.
The wiring instructions show.

I have 4 wires coming to the unit. 2 hot (red and black), 1 neutral (white) and a ground.
For the fan: the white and black white wires coming from the fan are pre-twisted together. I’m assuming I connect these with the black or red wire coming from the desired switch.
I connect the other black/red wire the brown wire and white to white, correct?
N. Light refers to night light but I can’t find anything in the instructions about it. Aero Pure ABF80L6W
Thanks in advance.

This is fairly simple
Your fan brings out the neutrals for the light/nightlight and fan separately for cases where they wind up on two different circuits or on opposite sides of a GFCI.  Since you only have a single circuit, though, you can simply wirenut both the fan and light neutrals to your white incoming neutral inside the fan's built-in wiring compartment and land the bare wire from that cable on the fan ground terminal, then wire up the hots as you'd wish.
Personally, I'd forego the nightlight myself, which means you cap off the blue wire, then connect black to one incoming switched hot and brown to the other incoming switched hot.  (If you wanted to use the nightlight, you'd put the fan and main light on the same switched hot, then use the other wire in the cable to bring always-hot to the nightlight, taking one of the switches out of service in the process.)  Obviously, you'll need the appropriate clamp or fitting for where your wiring enters the fan's terminal compartment, as well.


Options to refinish deck Our wood deck is only a few years old, and has taken quite a beating from the weather. We just moved in, and I'm not sure if the previous owners have taken care of it properly.

On our old house's wooden deck, every two years I would powerwash and sand it down, and then seal with Thompson's clear water seal or something similar.

This new deck has been treated with Behr DeckPlus Solid Color Waterproofing Woodstain. It says it should last five years, but it clearly hasn't.

What's my best option to prep the deck? Same thing as before powerwash and sand, then let it dry out?

What are some options to seal it? Are there any products that produce almost a vinyl-like coating, effectively turning the wood deck into something similar to a composite?

I'll tell you what I did with my deck and it worked great... The product name is Copper Green-Brown

Copper-Green    1 gal. Wood Preservative
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Copper-Green-1-gal-Wood-Preservative-221832/300502828

I just retreat it every 3 years ( no stripping needed ) and it looks fantastic. Very simple solution


Is there a minimum for spacing between take-offs from an HVAC trunk line? I have to add 3 take offs from my main HVAC supply/trunk. Is there a minimum amount of distance I should maintain between each of the take offs?
What should I do if I don't have the minimum distance available? Is it OK if they are right next to each other?

There's a "2 foot" rule for separation, but I have seen take-offs on direct opposite sides of the main trunk, I have seen them right above the furnace, and I have seen two side by side for the same 16in joist space.
Nominally throughout the trunk there is air pressure and air velocity. At any branch-off the pressure drops and the velocity increases because air can move more easily: some of it "escapes" down the branch duct. Take offs tap-off the air predominantly based on air pressure, they don't "scoop" the air. Take-offs are slightly angled to take advantage of the velocity, and they are not exclusively pressure based.
At some distance further down the trunk (the rule of thumb is 2 feet) the velocity drops to nominal and the pressure rises to nominal. That's where the next branch-off can be.
If two take-offs are too close to each other, the pressure for both is low and both cannot tap off as effectively.
If you do it the "wrong" way it just means you have lower pressure entering into the two branches, and their velocity or flow is less than if they were properly spaced. A few of these cases won't break things, and usually you can re-balance the flow with proper throttling at the register.

Image: https://hvactoday.com/0719-two-foot-rule/


How to detect patch on drywall We have tenants that have carved holes on the drywall to access the heat pipes and AC mains. At some point they will patch the drywall very well. Perhaps by another piece of drywall that closely fits the hole and all that had to be done is paint it over and it will be as if nothing had been tampered.

So I need a way to detect any discontinuity on the drywall piece (sort of like a stud finder) if such a technique exists.

Of course, I can simply find where the AC mains and heat pipes run through and then sand the wall right in front of them and viola, I've found the patch. But, I was wondering if such a technique exists.

You can try a magnet.  They will have to secure any substantial patch with a nail or screw.  But really there is no exact way to know what was the patch and what was existing drywall, because the existing drywall will also have screws/nails around it.

So either the patching will be in a unique shape and you can find it or it isn't and you need to take pictures of the wall before they patch.

Real world I seriously doubt this will be patched absolutely perfect.  Not only would they have to do a superb job with the drywall and mud but they would also have to prime it and paint it feathered in with the existing area.  So in reality a high powered light and a good angle on the wall and you shouldn't have a problem.


What type of weather stripping for this door? Steel basement door.  Original vinyl weatherstripping fit in a slotted metal track deteriorated after 40 years and no longer works.  As you can see daylight shines through which I'm guess means cold & hot air do too.

I tried this stuff but it was so thick the door would not close & latch properly:

What I ended up with was rubber foam tape that is not very good.  This is actually the 2nd time I've applied it as the adhesive wears out over time and the foam just dries out and flakes away (white strip next to dark strip):

The track the original seal was set in is pretty much non-removable.  The screws holding it in strip when I try to take it out.

Ideas?

I'd suggest you remove the old and put in some nice new stuff.

To remove the existing screws, first scratch any paint out of them (possibly with a sturdy knife). Then, using the right size slot screwdriver, you'll be able to remove them. (Firm pressure while turning is often what you need. Failing that, tap the back of the screwdriver with a hammer while turning. Failing that, get out the vise grips and just grab the head and twist.)


Can I connect these two different types of drain material together? If so, what sealant should I use? I'm preparing to replace a bathtub and the new one requires a different drain assembly (the overfill drain is a wide-mouth connector).

Anyway, I'm noticing that the new drain pipe material itself is different - a white plastic (PVC?) compared to the old drain which is a black plastic (not sure what it is).

Is it OK to mix these two types of materials? I seem to recall that some plastics can't be interconnected together or that a special glue is required.

If it IS OK, what type of sealant should I get? Just a standard silicone glue?

Black plastic drain pipes are typically ABS. White, usually PVC. There is a special cement that can join the two which will be found in the area with regular PVC cement at the plumbing supply. Just check the label carefully.

Not silicone - no way, no how, don't go there.


How can I fuse galvanized sheet metal together so that it is water tight? Is it possible to fuse sheets of the galvanized sheet metal that they sell at the hardware store for roofing together so that it is water tight?

I was thinking that this may be able to be accomplished with the same flux and solder used to fuse copper pipes, but I'm not sure.

The reason I am doing this is that I'm hoping to make some water tight trays that potted plants can be placed in.

You can make watertight trays from flat sheet metal without soldering or riviting.

Take a sheet of metal whose

length is the length of the finished tray plus two time the height of the sides;
width is the width of the finished tray plus two time the height of the sides.

Fold the sheet so it ends up looking like this:

You can fold up one side at a time using a piece of wood (maybe 1x2), a bit shorter than the length of the side you are working on, as a bending edge.

Work around the piece, clockwise or counterclockwise.

You will have to work the angle fold in the corners as you move to each successive side. The angle corners will point outward initially. Then you bend them inward toward the short end.

All edges will end up at the height of the sides with no seams. The easiest kind of waterproof.


What is causing the high limit switch to pop on my electric water heater? The high limit switch has popped twice on my electric water heater, both times at night.  I reset the switch and the water heats and it's ok throughout the day.  Wake up in the morning and it's popped.  I tested the switch, thermostats, and heating elements with a multimeter and everything seems ok.  I'm getting 243v through everything and continuity through both upper and lower elements from what I can tell.

Any other ideas or should I just replace parts until it stops?

The limit switch wasn't adjustable and the water was getting quite hot regardless of the temp setting. The temps were set where they were supposed to be, but then it kept popping even after I set the temps to the minimum level "hot" setting (this was below the A,B,C area even). I ended up just replacing the top and bottom thermostats and so far so good....total cost of 24 bucks and about ten minutes work. Calling a plumber would have cost me about $125 for anything within the first hour of work.


Does such a door knob/handle exist that has the latch bolt installed on the outside of the door? I am building a custom, soundproof door out of two layers of 3/4" MDF.  It's not as rigid as I'd like it to be and has a bit of bow to it which will eventually compromise the neoprene seal that I will be installing around the stop.

What I need is a low-profile method of reinforcing this door and Menard's seems to have what I need, a 1 1/2"x1/8"x6' steel strip.  It is very rigid and will definitely keep the door from warping or bowing.  My initial idea was to fix this strip to the inside edge of the door and drill a 1" hold through it for the door handle's latch bolt.  Someone else on this site brought up several complications in that method, so it may not work.

However, I still want to use the metal strip for reinforcement.  If I could find a door knob/handle that has the latch on the outside, I wouldn't have to worry about drilling a hole through steel.  Does such a thing exists and, if so, what do you call such an assembly as this?

You might want to investigate rim locks. These are decorative/antique styles, but there may be more utilitarian ones if that is what you want.


Reduce Tiling Dry/Wait Times I am tiling my kitchen floor and unfortunately it is the major walkway in and out of the house.  Is there anything that I can do to reduce the drying and waiting times for the thinset (both for taping and tile application) and grout?

I was wondering if I applied a little bit of heat via a hair dryer after I tape the backer board seams if that would help.  I live in Michigan and the daytime temps are in the 20s right now so I know the temp and humidity will affect things negatively.

Some ideas:

Use a faster mortar (or an admix designed to speed cure time).
Finish the set in the evening to give it overnight to cure before foot traffic.
Lay down blankets and then plywood/OSB after the mortar has sufficiently set. It'll dramatically reduce the force on any particular tile and give you a good safety buffer.
Set one side of the area one day, and the other the next. (Grout it all together for color consistency.)


new furnace hurts ear/eardrums I just got a new furnace in my 800 sq. ft apartment.  Single stage 80% efficiency 40K BTU Coleman.
It seems much louder than my old one.  The burners and the blower.  And when I walk past the (single) air intake in the front room (which happens to be at head level), it seems to kind of hurt my eardrums/put pressure on my head somehow, when it's on.  There is definitely a lot blowing relative to the old one.  After a few minutes of it blowing, however, the "air pressure" sensation in my head goes away. Odd.

The single air intake is basically a couple of feet above the furnace itself, at head level.

A few other random clues: it sends air "down" into the ducts under the foundation, however it seems to leak from the edges of the unit and blow hot air "into" the utility closet.  Also makes a ticking noise and seems to shake wall when blower on (shake it a tiny bit).

I'm also afraid of it being so loud people will have to turn the TV up and down for it.  Most of the sound seems to be coming from "air" noise/volume/pressure.

Any ideas (either on air pressure or noise)?  Larger intake (current is 14x20)?) Would a larger intake allow for better "heat rise" [temperature differential] across the heat exchanger?

I installed a "decibel meter" app on my phone and it seems to show that the noise level generated is not abnormal, relative to others like it (it's still louder than I'd like).  I was able to have the furnace guys that installed it change the "fan speed" setting, apparently for heat there were two options "high high" or "med high" and the default was high high (apparently for cooling there is only "one" option "super high" but I don't have A/C so haven't experienced that).

Another work around is to just not walk "past the intake" and I'm OK (or not put a couch next to it), though I haven't experimented totally with these options yet.

Other options: use a furnace filter that prohibits air flow (but then they get dirtier more quickly), or add a piece of paper the intake so it can't get air in as quickly (just be careful to not block it too much because if the heat exchanger gets too hot, because it doesn't get cooled with as much air, the furnace will shut off so you'll have to test it out first and make sure this doesn't happen, suggest running it an hour straight to make sure).

If its too much air pressure in the bedroom, I found out that our door lacked a gap underneath it that was large enough to "let air out" as it were (so I could cut off some more from the bottom of the door to make it match the others in the house), and you could also close the vents in that room.

Other options: install variable or two stage furnace.  I'm not sure if two stage would actually be helpful since the furnace man says it just runs as "high high" and "high med" for low anyway, but it's possible he was mistaken.  Two stage might run "more often" as it were, as well, FWIW, so unclear there.  It seems from my research that "two stage" furnaces mostly refers to a "two stage" gas release valve (i.e. 2 stage burner).  The blower is separate, and might be "single stage" still, even on a "two stage burner" furnace (though frequently they're not).  The blower can be "1 stage" or "2 stage" or "variable speed" (the latter being the quietest).

Also double check for CO levels in the air, also have installer make sure the ducts are "big enough" for the size of furnace.


Properly grounding equipment with a ground screw I have an NVR that has a power brick and a separate ground screw. What is the "Right way" (read: safest way) to connect this to ground? I've thought of a couple ways to do it.

My 4 options are:

Leave it unconnected. This seems like a bad idea, since several cameras are outside and I want to have at least some protection against ESD.
"Run a line" off the outlet. Either splice in an extra wire that sticks out of the outlet cover (Seems like a terrible idea), use the screw in the center of the outlet, or get some sort of special outlet with an extra screw.

Use an ESD plug

Use some sort of ground only plug.

Grounding of metal cased equipment is most often done for safety reasons, rather than ESD protection. If a fault occurs inside the equipment that places line voltage on the chassis, the voltage is shunted to ground and will trip the breaker on the circuit. This protects you from accidental electrocution.

Edit: Since this is powered by a brick, safety grounding is unlikely. For ESD protection, the wire can simply be connected to any suitable earth ground. I would suggest whatever method you find most esthetically pleasing.


Can I leave an unused conductor when running wire for an extractor fan? Whilst wiring a new extractor fan, I’ve ran out of twin and earth but I have some left over three core and earth from the lighting (1mm^2). The fan doesn't have an over-run and only requires 2+e. It will be on a 6A MCB circuit with a 3-pole isolator with 3A fuse regardless of the cable used.

I don’t fancy buying a new reel of 2+e for such a short length, so besides the fact it’s a bit wasteful, is there any reason I can’t use the 3+e and just leave one core unused?

I can’t think of any reason why it would be a problem as long as the end is properly trimmed so it’s not touching anything.

The best thing to do with an unused wire is to mark it 'unused' at each end and then wire it into the earth connection at both ends. That way there won't be any loose wire which could possibly touch a connection and become live accidentally, and if it did the protective device would open.

Lighting circuits are usually 5A fuses or 6A MCBs.

Running 3+e to the fan (live, switched live, neutral, earth) allows you to use a fan with a built-in over-run timer.

If running 3+e you may need a triple pole isolator for the fan, eg

https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/MKK4859.html


Drain plug or nut in basement hidden in drywall I have two houses that have different drain plug / nut design in the basement.

House 1 has the plug all the way inside drywall like this:

Do I suppose to drywall over and hide it?
Or do I install an access panel there?

House 2 has the plug showing out like this:

When I put my hand there, it's blowing cold air from the outside. So I need to seal or cover it.

What is the best way to cover this when the nut is extruding out the drywall?

Those both look like clean out plugs. I wouldn't drywall over either. They could be needed at some point and then you'd regret covering them as you start punching holes in the wall looking for them.

If you want to seal out the cold, create a proper frame for the 1st and then get an access panel for it that has weather stripping around it or use the foam weather stripping on it to create an air tight seal.

The second, I would just use spray foam in the gap.


Why is my refrigerator over-cooling to the point of freezing? Whirlpool  Mod.# GB2FHDXWQ01 Ser. # K02883627

With no change in use habits, temp dropped well below freezing in refer ruining produce in crisper drawers. Raising set temp has not raised box temp. This happened once about a year ago and seemed to self correct after some time. Nothing I did then seemed to help, same now. Why? Thanks.

Also, periodically, this thing will fill bottom of freezer (below frig.) with ice til water overflows basin. Easy to deice but a pain and now less than a week since last icing. turned off ice maker, no help. Temp now set at 3 out of 7 and holding right at 32 on bot shelf. 7 was usual set #. I hesitate to start replacing parts with no real idea what's happening. Jim.

This could be a bad Damper Control Assembly. Your fridge pulls cold air from the freezer section and more modern models tend to have an electronic controlled port that opens and closes to regulate the fridge temp. If the fridge is too warm or cold, the assembly is letting too much or too little in.

That part is not terribly expensive (showing around $60 at various online retailers for your model) and seems to be easily replaced.


Can I wire a doorbell transformer in-wall this way? My current under-powered doorbell transformer is in a very awkward location (old home, etc.) and in a location where several old wires are cable-nutted together and I would rather not replace it there.  I can disconnect and patch through the existing LV wiring easy enough though and I have a much more accessible location to install an updated one.  However-

The location is in a coat closet, with an existing (currently capped) 120vAC line and close proximity to the doorbell wiring. But it is waist-high and would be covered by coats all the time.  Would that be a problem if I surface-mounted the transformer?

What I’d like to do is mount the transformer in the wall cavity. I know code requires this to be accessible so I can’t drywall over it, but can I have a transformer like that attached to a gang box on its side, with all of the wiring behind a cover plate? Or cover plates?

As seen here the 120v is behind the existing wall plate in a single box currently mounted on a stud. (Green). The doorbell wire runs vertically in the same wall cavity (red area) and has enough slack to reach the green area easily.

So- do I just expose the transformer at waist height and surrounded by coats, or can I put the whole mess in the wall and cover it appropriately (vented panel?). I’m in Virginia and would like to do this to code.  Thanks!

The line voltage parts of the circuit must be contained inside an electrical box which has an accessible cover. The low voltage wires should not be inside the electrical box.

If I were doing this I would make a new opening for an old work electrical box up near the ceiling of the closet. Then drop a new electrical cable down the stud cavity from the new opening and enter into the existing electrical box (it may turn out to be easier to push the new cable through the existing electrical box up the wall to the new opening where you can reach in and snag the new cable). Once the new box is all installed in place you can mount the new transformer on the box cover of that new box with the low voltage wire terminals being up near the ceiling.

Before you start do check that wall cavity to see if it has a cross member or fire block that would impede pushing the cable up the cavity. If so it may be necessary to make a temporary hole in the drywall near the blocking so that you can drill a hole through it for the new cable.

The new cable used must match the wire gauge of the existing wiring in the low down electrical box.


Edging options for newly paved asphalt driveway and parking lot My partner and I are about to hire a contractor to pour new asphalt on our driveway and parking lot. My question has to do with edging. I have read up on Permalock which is an aluminum edging that requires 10" spikes nailed into compacted ground. It will be more expensive and we'd have to wait for it to arrive from out of state to our home. I was wondering if I could use 2x4 or 2x6 pressure treated lumber instead. I know it won't last as long as aluminum but will it at least give me ten years or so? Or is this just a bad idea?

I have a neighbor who installed landscape pressure treated timbers along the edge of his paved (brick pavers) driveway. His are holding up very well. I was wondering if I could do the same with an asphalt driveway.

Unless your neighbor pulls up his timbers to check their condition, it's impossible to say if they're truly holding up well; wood in the ground will rot from the bottom up, so the top can look great but underneath could be a soggy mess.

That said, ground contact-rated, pressure-treated lumber (typically pine here) should last 10 years without issue, especially if you wait long enough to use it that you water seal it or stain with a moisture-sealing stain. Alternatively, you could pay more (3x or more) for a wood that is naturally moisture-resistant like cedar or redwood.

However, while I'm not very familiar with the behavior of asphalt, I do know it will flex a lot more than brick pavers, so the wood lining your driveway may well crack over time due to that.


Properly insulating crawl space Currently my crawl space has no insulation. The previous owner put gravel on the ground.

I was told by my home inspector that I would save some money on energy costs. However, I'm not sure what's recommended?

Should I rake up the gravel and put a plastic moisture barrier on the ground then rake the gravel back over? Should I staple insulation into the joists instead or do both?

The vapor barrier should go on the hot humid side of the insulation . In Kansas, the critical season is winter and the hot humid side will be the interior heated space. It will not be the ground or the exterior side of the insulation.


Connecting modern dimmer to two-wire junction box I just bought two "smart" dimmers to replace some older ones. We have two different ceiling fixtures. The old switches only had two terminals, and both switches were tied together on one of the terminals.
The new dimmers have "hot", "load", "neutral", and "ground". I'm pretty sure we don't have grounded anything in this house (it's old) so I can just ignore that, but I can't figure out what to do with the others. It also doesn't help that all the wires in the junction box are red.
There are a total of 3 wires in the box, two on the top (presumably one each to each ceiling fixture) and one from the bottom.
How do I connect two dimmers with a total count of 8 terminals to 3 wires, as shown below?

Your dimmer is not compatible with your wiring
Your house appears to be wired in late-stage knob-and-tube, with only the hot wires (incoming and outgoing) present in the box and the neutral bypassing it.  As a result, you do not have a neutral in the box, which is what your dimmers require to power all the "smart" electronics inside them.  You'll either need to use a "smart" dimmer that trickles power through the load, such as the no-neutral version of the Lutron Caseta (and perhaps LUT-MLCs in the fixtures to keep your lightbulbs from glowing or flickering due to that trickle of power), or have the neutral rerouted into the box, which'll require an electrician who's familiar with knob-and-tube stuff.


Waterproofing 1st floor bathroom with original wooden floor boards in a Victorian house I want to convert a 1st floor room into a bathroom, retaining the original wooden floorboards. There will be no shower, just a bath in the room. What needs to be taken into consideration with regards to waterproofing the floor to prevent splashes, spillages and kiddie bath time from ruining the ceiling below?

You could sand down the floors, and refinish them with oil based stain and polyurethane. That should be enough protection to keep the floors from rotting. You could do what they did in the old days and put towels down around the tub and wipe up spills immediately. Standing water will leak through the cracks between the floorboards.

You could also good clear polyurethane caulk meant for bathrooms and fill the gaps between the boards around the wet areas, or on the entire floor. This should prevent water from seeping to the room below.


Irrigation system code I'm doing research on what I want for my irrigation system and I have the following two questions:

The City of Denver requires that the PVB be 12" from the wall as documented here. What's the reasoning behind this?

I'd like to get something like a stop and waste ball valve installed for winterization. However, the supply comes out of the crawl space and is only about 2' below grade. The crawl space it would come out of is insulated and sealed so I don't want the S&W valve in the crawl space. But if I install the S&W outside, isn't it still prone to freeze damage thus making it completely obsolete? If so, what's the right way to go about getting this setup?

First order of business: why irrigate?
The first order of business you have here is to determine what actual value irrigation brings beyond "green lawn".  If you're irrigating vegetables and other edible or otherwise useful things, presumably using a drip system, you can skip this section entirely; however, there is a strong case to be made for not planting your lawn in a way that requires irrigation once established.
Using grasses and plantings reflective of the North American shortgrass prarie ecosystem that you sit on the western fringe of, such as blue grama, buffalograss, purple prarie clover, and leadplant (another nitrogen fixer), as well as native shrubs and local wildflower types, in a xeriscaping scheme is a far cheaper (no irrigation installation, lower water bills, less chemicals, less mowing) way to handle your lawn in the long run.  This even can work with picky HOAs, as several turfgrass cultivars of buffalograss have been developed over the years due to its hardiness and drought-resistance.  Appendix C of the Denver Green Infrastructure Guidelines is a good starting point if you want to go beyond my suggestions here; there are other sources of guidance available as well.
If you insist...
If there's some bizarre reason you can't abide by not having lawn sprinklers, or need to irrigate for other reasons such as vegetable plantings, then we can address the installation issues.  First off, the 12" spacing behind the Pressure Vacuum Breaker is required so that the device can be tested and serviced on a regular basis, as PVBs have test cocks, unlike their non-testable Atmospheric Vacuum Breaker counterparts.
With that out of the way, your best bet for the drain port on your Stop and Waste valve is to route it to a floor drain via a drain line and air gap, if possible.  If that's not an option, you may be stuck routing said drain line to a sump or other internal drainage means instead; just take appropriate precautions to prevent stormwater from backing up into it!


What is the strength of a TV signal at the antenna? When understanding signal attenuation along a coaxial cable from an antenna to the television (e.g., signal loss from splitters, coaxial connections, etc), it's also important to understand what the signal power at the starting point is (i.e., at the antenna).

How can we determine signal power at the antenna, before it travels down to the TV?

For instance, my TV antenna has around 12 decibels of antenna gain (it's not amplified). Would this pretty much be the "starting" signal power before it heads for the TV, or is the signal strength calculation more complicated than just using the antenna gain figure? (e.g., depends on the noise margin of the particular TV channel).

The signal strength at the antenna is measured in dBm, decibel-milliwatts. A 0 dBm signal corresponds to 1 mW, -90dBm is 1picowatt (pW), one billionth the strength of 0 dBm.

Given the power of the transmitter, transmitting antenna gain, distance, receiving antenna gain and a few other parameters, such as obstructions and frequency, it's possible to calculate the approximate power at your receiving antenna. A television may need -65 dBm or stronger signal for clear reception.

An example of signal-strength calculation is shown at Mathworks.

Some stations make public a chart showing the signal strength at various locations on a map. If you can't find one for a local broadcaster, contact the station for info.


light stays on even after disconnecting switch Have a light that's been working fine for years. Two switches control the light on opposite sides of the room. All of the sudden light will not turn off. Disconnected both switches and light stays on. Tested voltage at both switches and get almost nothing or just a few volts. At first I swore the meter was jumping over 150 volts to OL but not anymore. Get 120 volts at light bulb socket.  Light is hung via hook from 18 foot ceiling.

Sounds like you have a short (hot to switched) that is providing power directly to the light, bypassing the switches. Start with checking any junction boxes or splices, and any exposed wiring that might have been gnawed on by animals. Or if you have had carpenters/construction (amateur or professional) when the problem started, suspect a nail through a cable.


How can I install a light fixture in the ceiling of a finished room? In my dining room, I would like to install a ceiling light in the center of the room.  This room is on the ground floor of a colonial two-story, so there is no attic access into the ceiling; my work space is limited to "within the room itself."

I have an existing switch on the wall, which toggles a wall outlet in the corner of the room.  I would like this switch to also control the new ceiling light.

Is it better to branch the electrical wire to the ceiling from the wall outlet, or from the light-switch?  Why is one a better option than the other?
How should I go about running the electrical wire to the center of the ceiling, from the corner of the room, with no attic access?  Should I cut a long thin strip out of the ceiling and cut a notch out of each crossbeam on the way?  Or is there a better strategy?

The easiest option would be to run a new cable directly from the switch, up to the ceiling fixture. You'll want to either install a larger box and a new switch, or a double switch, so the light can be controlled independently.

If you're working in a home constructed of solid wood framing, you should be able to run the new cable fairly easily. Since you didn't mention where the switch is, or which way the joist run, I'll cover a few scenarios.
Wall adjacent to joists
If the switch is in the middle(ish) of the wall, and the joists are adjacent to the wall. You might get lucky, and simply going up the wall will land you in the proper joist bay.

In this situation, you'll simply have to drill a hole through the top plate, then run your cable.

If you're not so lucky, and the switch box does not line up with the joist bay.

You'll have to bore some holes through the joists to reach the ceiling box.

In this case you'll want to consult local building codes, to figure out where and how to bore the holes.
Wall parallel to joists
If the wall runs parallel to the joists, there's no getting around it, you're going to have to bore through the joists.
In this case it doesn't matter if you're near the middle of the wall, or to one side or the other. The procedure will be the same.

Boring the holes
To get from the switch box to the ceiling box, you're going to have to drill through at least one structural member. However, if you have the proper tools, the damage can be minimized.  To do this with the least amount of damage possible, you're going to want a flexible drill bit, extensions, and an alignment tool.

Through the top plate
To drill through the top plate, you'll need to make a hole in the finished wall. Cut a hole in the wall above the switch box, near the ceiling. Cut the hole far enough from the ceiling, so you have room to position the flexible drill bit.
Use the alignment tool to position the bit, and drill up through the top plate. Depending on the construction style, this could be a double top plate.
Through the joists
To get through the joists, you can take advantage of the hole you've cut for the ceiling box. Again use the alignment tool to position the flexible drill bit, and start drilling in a straight(ish) line towards the wall with the switch box.  Add extensions as you go, to extend your reach.
Pulling the cable
Now that you have a clear path from the switch box to the ceiling fixture, you'll have to pull the cable through the wall/ceiling.  Depending on how things line up, you might have to cut a few hand holes in the finished wall/ceiling to help you maneuver the cable. A fish tape might come in handy.
Future proofing and other considerations
Ceiling fans are a common upgrade, so it might be worth a little added expense now. Installing a braced ceiling box, will allow you to install a ceiling fan in the future.

Ceiling fans often come with light kits, and it's common for folks to want to control the fan and light(s) independently. Instead of installing #/2 with ground cable, you might want to install #/3 with ground. This will allow you to install one switch for the fan, and one for the light kit.
Boring vs. Notching
While you may, or may not be able to notch the joists to run the cable. Boring holes can be done with less damage to the finished material, and won't make structural engineers cringe.

WARNINGS:
Consult your local government regarding any permits that might be required. And always follow all manufacturers installations instructions, and all local building codes.
If you're working in a home that does not have solid wood members, consult local building codes for appropriate course of action.
If you try to notch the joist, you could end up with your second floor on your first floor.


Can I use a power gable fan and ceiling louver vents to pull cool air into my house? I live in L.A.  We only have really hot weather 5-10 days a year and it usually cools off at night (outside). I also have a large Gable vent in my attic. (recently added with addition)

I would like to install a gable fan in the attic and then install louvered vents in my hallway ceiling.  When the gable fan comes on, the ceiling vents would pull warm house air up and out and allow cooler (night) air to come in.

I would like to not use the thermostat and have the unit switched in the house.  This way it would not run during the day.

I have no attic vents around the side of the house or roof vents.

A/C estimates were $7,000+.

Opinions??

I had something like this growing up, except ours sucked and did not blow. Air flow was adjusted by how far you opened the window in each room. It worked really well on many of the cooler nights.

Whole House Fan - Lowes lists one as Model #: WH302BDX


Can a toilet be properly installed without a flange? Someone put a toilet in for me, he used different bolts than came with the toilet because he said the bolts that came with the toilet wouldn't work. He said the floor was rotting but he needed to get under the house and toilet to see what to do about it at a later date.

He also didn't use the wax ring that came with the toilet, instead putting two standard wax rings under toilet for a better seal, he said. He later told me that there was no flange under the old toilet either.

What do I do now?

The flange and accompanying bolts hold the toilet firmly to the floor and keeps the seal between the toilet and the floor.

Without the flange or if it is broken, he would have to attach the toilet to the subfloor with wood screws, and if the floor is rotting out, those won't last long.

Sounds like it will need further repairs sometime soon.

Good luck!


Attaching a light fixture without a box I'm replacing a light fixture, but upon removing the old light I discovered the wires are not in a box. Can I just anchor the mounting plate to the drywall or is a box mandatory?

There are instance where this is possible and legal, such as bathroom vanity bar type lights with an integral and complete back plate. Other than that a box is absolutely mandatory.

Here is a good example. Imagine these fixtures flush against the wall.


Overcurrent Protection I am trying to find a device that I can plug into the wall, then plug another device into that will offer overcurrent protection. Basically, a circuit breaker that will trip before the actual circuit breaker will trip.
My reasoning for this is that I am staying in a cabin that has 14 outlets wired into it (think of a shed with outlets), a ceiling fan, and lights all on one circuit breaker. I do not have access to the breaker box and do not want to trip the breaker if I plug in a window AC unit. If I tripped the breaker it would disrupt my cabinmates, and we would have to get maintenance to come to unlock and reset the breaker (1-2 days for that). The device I have in mind would basically stop my AC unit from tripping the breaker and would tell me that it is too much.

Tenant side

What you need is a plug-in electric meter. It's called a Kill-a-Watt and it costs $20-30. Every time you turn something on, go check the Kill-a-Watt and see what you're pulling.  It offers several figures, the one you want is amps.

I gather you don't have a foggy clue how much power various devices draw.  You'll get edumacated right quick with this!

As long as the lights are LED, they and the fan will surely draw less than 1 amp together. If they are not LED, make them LED.

Also, if you are paying for this facility, 2 days to reset a breaker is a violation of tenant occupancy laws, and they are violating state law by renting a unit with that problem.  Contact the local government and report a fair-housing violation.  Such a problem is acceptable (e.g. In a hotel room) when there is competent on-site maintenance capable of dealing with the problem in a sub-1-hour time frame.

Provider side

Now if you are the provider and you are installing this, that's a horse of a different color.  I would expect any day now, the inspector to show up, spend the whole day, and have to call down to City Hall for more red tags. However...

You should have a service panel in each unit, and the main breaker in that service panel must be a shunt trip type.   These allow "remote" trip of the breaker, or to be more precise, allow electronics to artificially induce a trip.  You could use a GFCI breaker and have your electronics induce a ground fault, but a shunt trip will be far more intuitive for users, since it looks like an overload trip not a GFCI trip.

Then, you'll need to build an Arduino style gadget that sits inside the local breaker panel. It has a current transformer (CT) on the incoming power so it knows how much power is being drawn.  It has one job: activate the shunt trip before the remote (inaccessible) breaker trips.  So it will need to know the trip curve of that breaker.

This won't protect from all situations like a dead short, where it's anyone's guess which breaker will trip first.  But in simple "too much stuff plugged in" overloads, it will do the trick.

It would also help to have an ammeter on the service panel, so occupants can see how close they're gettng to trouble.

Also... Don't punish tenants for not knowing what appliances draw... because you don't know yourself.  Most people don't.  You know how to find out, but you have to look, right?


What could be eating or removing the insulation in my garage door? We have noticed that there are piles of the tiny particles of the insulation from one of our garage doors on each side of our door. At first we swept it up and didn't think anything of it. The next day there were piles again! It just keeps happening. Any idea what might be inside of the door eating the insulation or just moving around inside of it to have it pile up on the floor? So strange.

Carpenter ants, they did the same in my insulated (Styrofoam) garage door. They attacked one door but not the second. I stopped them with Sevin dust but it needed a couple months. I just sprinkled it on the floor where the door touched ( because it is "flea powder" it is very low risk to pets.)


Low water pressure in both kitchen lines - First some background;

our house was built in '56 and has galvanized pipe
Hot water heater is almost two years old
We finished remodeling our kitchen last July and installed a new sink and faucet (Grohe 32665DC1 SuperSteel Concetto Single Handle)
The lines running to the kitchen are linked to the faucet and the dishwasher.

The water pressure for the kitchen sink was always fine.  It's no firehouse but it doesn't need to be.  However, in the last couple of months it has decrease to just above a trickle.  I've opened up every possible inlet/outlet on the faucet to clear rust and it appears to be fine.  I disconnected the flexible supply lines and ran water through those.  There doesn't seem to be any obstruction but the pressure there is still lacking, although seemingly not as bad as at the faucet.

I don't know where else to look for an obstruction.  The faucet itself was/is low-flow but this is ridiculous.  The water pressure everywhere else in the house is fine so it has to be isolated to the lines running to the kitchen.  I've experienced an episode where I was running the dishwasher and the sink at the same time and caused some 'jackhammering' in the lines.  Shutting off the sink stopped the "hammering".

I intend on having the galvanized replaced with PEX at some point but it isn't in the budget right now.  I'm hoping there is a way to clear the lines for the time being.

I am not experienced with plumbing.  I've read quite a bit on the web but I don't like working with the galvanized for fear I'm going to make something worse.

I'm very close to calling a plumber but I want my ducks in a row if I come to that point so I'm not taken for a ride.

Any thoughts from the hive mind?
Craig

Since the pressure drops for both hot and cold at this fixture, the problem is inside the fixture as you've already guessed. The first place to look is any aerator or filter screen on the fixture, debris gathering there will quickly slow the entire flow. Looking at the diagrams for your faucet, I believe that will be part P (the flow straightener) in this picture (Q appears to be a tool for opening the end of the spray assembly).

You can also verify the pressure from before the fixture is strong by disconnecting the hot and cold supply and running them into a bucket or drain to check the pressure coming from after the shutoff valves.

The problem could also be in the mixing valve and you'd need to remove and inspect the cartridge if it's there. basically anywhere after the two water lines merge could have a blockage.


Gas fireplace, “log” placement, and flame flare up I recently bought a house that has a gas fireplace. It seems to work well (although the fan is too loud to actually use—perhaps a future DIY question!), but to the right there’s a large flame that isn’t really “hitting” the logs. It seems to me that the fire warming the ceramic logs is really what radiates the heat. The flame to the right is just shooting it’s heat right out the exhaust.

Should I open the fireplace and look at how I might adjust the placement of the logs to ensure they are over the flame? Or, is this working as intended?

If I were you I would stop using the fireplace until a detailed inspection has been done of the gas piping and gas jet manifold. It would appear that there is a gas leak coming from part of the piping assembly. This could be from a loose or dried out pipe joint or some malfunction part of the gas jet system.

From the appearance of the picture I would venture to guess that this could be a pretty dangerous situation until it is fixed.