How to operate automatic sprinkler system anti-siphon valve I have an anti-siphon shut-off valve that is leaking.  I'd like to replace it and noticed there are 'automatic' valve with solenoids installed.  This made me wonder if I should be leaving my valve open at all times, which caused the leak.

Should I be walking out every morning and night to switch the manual anti-siphon valve on?

The type of anti-siphon valve you are likely using is not intended be constantly under pressure. It is not intended to have down stream valves actually controlling flow. It is meant to only be active for the duration of an irrigation cycle, then to have pressure removed when the sprinklers are turned off.

The proper device in this situation is a reduced pressure backflow device. It is much more expensive than irrigation anti-siphon valves, but it can serve many stations instead of installing a basic anti-siphon valve for each station. It also allows more flexibility in control valve placement because you don't need an anti-siphon valve sticking up after every valve.

Yes, you could just run out and turn on the main valve before the sprinklers cycle, then turn it off when finished, but that defeats the purpose of having an automatic sprinkler system.

How do I know all this? I did the exact same thing and had the exact same problem!


Can puck LEDs be used for recessed lighting in above bed soffit There is currently a soffit in the bedroom that sits above the headboard of the bed.

The soffit is rather large, dropping down around 15 inches from the actual ceiling, and has three recessed lights. The lights are old, large, probably CFLs.

I'm looking to have the soffit raised so that its height goes from 15 inches to something more like 6 inches or maybe 4 inches and placing smaller recessed lights in as well.

I keep leaning towards LED pucks, but they appear to always be categorized for cabinets rather than soffits or ceiling.

For example, this item https://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-5-Light-LED-White-AC-Puck-Light-Kit-21325KIT-WH/206996745 , says the thickness of the cabinet (and this is sheetrock not cabinet I'm working with) must not exceed 0.2 inches.

That seems rather thin for sheetrock, maybe not for cabinets and makes me think I'm looking for the wrong product.

What is the proper recessed lighting to use for a small soffit? Are LED pucks not intended for this?

Mounting form below I assume. LED puck lights that high off the ground probably won't give enough usable light. They are low light for cabinets to soften the countertop are and add a little light. You probably would still want a can light or the newer lights that are very thin and look like a can light in a way, but you cut a hole in the ceiling portion, connect your wires, then you push the light into place. It has 2 or 3 spring loaded clips that hold it in place. These are LED, come in different light colors, wattage and size. The following is an example:


Light fixture wire colour coding I am busy installing a new light fixture however the varying colours have got me confused and google is not helping. The light fixture itself has a brown and a blue wire, however the ceiling (socket?) has a green/yellow wire, a blue, a red and a grey wire. In which way should I connect these wires? T Oh and btw, I'm located in Denmark if that helps.

Most likely you connect blue to blue, and brown to red or brown.

BUT you should really test it with voltage and continuity tester to be 100% sure you're connecting outside thread of a bulb to neutral and the pin to live.

How I understand colours of your wiring at the ceiling:

green/yellow: ground
blue: neutral
red: circut 1 live
brown: circuit 2 live

I assumed you have 2 switches on the wall. If you have just one switch, then possibly one of the live wires is not connected at all OR the opposite: it's permanently connected (for remote-controlled lamps).

And wiring on the fixture:

blue: bulb thread (must be connected to neutral)
brown: bulb base (must be connected to live)
metal thingy - if your fixture has extra screw that's simply connected to the metal body of the lamp, this is where the yellow-green ground wire goes)

About the testing you should do: With a neon probe on the wires coming from the ceiling: turn both switches "on" and verify which wires are live. Turn the switches off (or even better, ask someone to keep cycling one of them) to verify if they switch off properly and which switch is which circuit. With a continuity tester (eg. ohmmeter or a buzzer) on a disconnected fixture: check if blue goes to thread and if brown goes to base. Sometimes you can disassemble the fixture a tiny bit to simply see where the wires go.


Can't sump basin be shut so it can't overflow? I have the typical Sump Pump setup with a 1HP pump and what seems to be drainage tile leading into the basin. Works fine 99% of the time but in a very big and long storm the pump isn't enough and the basin overflows into the basement. What I don't understand is why this kind of setup has to be an "open system", meaning it may overflows. Why can't we have a "closed shut" system, like in an ejector pump? So in case of excess pressure, the water would be just pushed along the pipes to outside the house instead of flooding my basement? Ideas? Thanks

You'd stop the flow for a while, then it would come up through all the joints and cracks and gaps in the system. (A home's foundation and floor are not really like a swimming pool. They're not intended to be water-tight. Very little pressure would be present.)

What you'd be left with is essentially a home without a drainage system, subject to all the flooding and related unpleasantness of centuries past.


Can a plumbing vent go up and then back down to the connection with the vent stack? I am changing the location of all the fixtures in my bathroom.  This move will put the toilet and sink on the opposite wall from the stack.  I was originally planning on running a vent up the wall with the sink and across the ceiling to connect back into the stack, but this was assuming I would be replacing the 85 year old cast iron pipe with PVC so I could easily add a new connection up at the ceiling height.  Now I am considering leaving the existing cast iron stack and trying to just reuse the existing connections.

There is already a vent connection on the stack that is above the height of the sink, so if I could get the pipe over to this connection I could reuse it.  However, to do so I would have to come up the wall, across the ceiling, and then back down the wall with the stack (so I use the old vent connection that is about 4 feet from the floor).  I can't just route the vent horizontally around the edge of the room as there is a window on one wall and a door on the other.

Would this configuration meet code? It seems to me it would work fine since it will always stay above the "overflow height of the tallest fixture".  I am in Ohio, the Ohio Plumbing Code is based on the IPC.

         ║
stack>   ║
         ║
         ║  ╔══════════════╗
         ║  ║              ║   <vent
         ║  ║              ║
         ║  ║              ║
         ╠══╝              ║
         ║                 ║
         ║                 ║
         ║                 ║
drain>   ╠═════════════════╝
         ║
         ║
         ║

EDIT - The drain is 3" and will have a toilet sort of in the middle and a sink at the end (near the vent).  The 3" drain may also tie into the tub drain or I could connect the tub to the stack separately (the tub is right next to the stack so I have more options).

905.2 Grade.
All vent and branch vent pipes shall
be so graded and connected as to drain
back to the drainage pipe by gravity.
(2006 International Plumbing Code).

This might prevent you from doing what you want, since your lower horizontal connection would have to slope toward the stack. Not sure if this is allowed or not, but it might be something to look into.


Safe to put old white paper-backed fiberglass insulation on metal ductwork? We live in a very old house with an unfinished basement. The heat for the entire main floor is from a furnace in that basement that blows through the square style ductwork to vents placed in each room on the main floor. These ducts have no insulation on them at all, and get quite warm to the touch near the furnace itself, but decay with distance (obviously). Right now our water heater is wrapped with probably pretty old insulation - I don't see any labels on it, but it's the yellow style with a white paper backing. It's held to the water heater with duct tape. We have a water heater insulation tube recently purchased, and are wondering if we could repurpose the fiberglass insulation on the ductwork.

The two main concerns we have come up with are:

Overheating the insulation --> starting a fire.
The insulation somehow makes its way into the duct through some tiny crack (currently we have the fancy duct tape for heating vents around all the cracks, but this is likely imperfect) and gets into our air.

We think these are both unlikely but wanted to ask. Having trouble finding this exact question on the internet. We know this is not an optimal solution, but it's available now and free, so our main concern is safety. Can we get away with this, or is it critical to purchase the foil-backed insulation for use with duct work for heat?

If it matters, these ducts only connect to the furnance; there isn't any air conditioning set up in this house, which was built in the early 1800s (for sure before 1830).

Thanks!!!

All fiberglass insulation is white and dyed a colour (so there's no functional distinction among colours).  The melting point of fiberglass is about 1,300 F. But the paper backing is, obviously, not so flame retardant.  Yes, foil-backed insulation is better in every respect but batt insulation (minus the paper backing) will function.  BTW, foil-backed bubble wrap should never be used (and for the cost and claims, is a pseudo-fake product) ...if it's still on the market.

Fiberglass batt insulation works best if not compacted (ie, by being taped tightly with duct tape...which begins to melt at 200 F w/ toxic smoke).  There's also a safer product specifically for taping ductwork and duct insulation that is made of metal foil.


What are the primary differences between air paint sprayers and airless paint sprayers? I have an upcoming project where I'm going to need to be painting 7 interior doors and a few hundred feet of trim. Next summer I'm likely going to also have to start restaining the exterior of the house.  I'm thinking it's time I upgrade from the brush and roller.

I'd love to get a air spray gun, but I'd have to get a large enough air compressor that a) would take up more of my limited space and b) likely never get used much (since my pancake compressor is more than enough for my nailing needs).

I see the big box stores now sell a variety of airless systems. Here's one on Amazon (picking it at random more than anything for reference:

http://www.amazon.com/Graco-Magnum-262800-Airless-Sprayer/dp/B0026SR0FW/ref=sr_1_13?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1347519798&sr=1-13

My only experience with an airless sprayer was a $40-ish dollar hand-held one that I bought for doing a fence. It worked...but not really all that well. It sputtered and splattered more than it sprayed and we had to go over it all with a brush as we went to get an even coverage.

Granted, that was $40, so hoping the $300 airless systems are a bit better.

My question: What is the primary difference between the performance and usability of an air spray gun vs. the airless ones? What should I be looking for in an airless sprayer in terms of features?

First off, I'm no expert on compressor/air type sprayers. Most of the time, these type sprayers are used for very thin paints such as automotive, lacquers etc. They also have fairly small paint reservoirs attached to the gun itself. They tend to put out a lot of over spray and should be used in a controlled area like a spray booth with proper ventilation. I never see this type of sprayer on building jobs.

The airless sprayer, such as the one you noted, use a high pressure pump to push paint through the hose to the gun. They deliver a good pattern (depending on tip selected), are easily controlled and since they don't mix air with the product, have far less atomazation of paint in the air. the other huge advantage is that the pick-up hose can be put directly into your 1 or 5 gallon can of paint. Follow the directions on priming and cleaning, but it is easy.  I personally have a Graco model 17 and love it.  It is a professional grade sprayer and retails around $450-$500. Just two weeks ago, I and a helper painted and back-rolled a complete two story house and detached garage in one day.(very long day, however!) This saved 3 or 4 extra days of labor and the results were fantastic. We shot both semi-trans stain on the house and matching color solid stain on the garage.  This sprayer handled both products easily. (I always use apx 10 to 15% flowtrol with thicker solid latex based products)

The only disadvantage of this type of sprayer is on very small jobs. It takes about a pint or more of paint to fill a 25 foot hose and closer to 1/2 gallon for a 50 ft hose when priming the unit. This amount product is usually wasted at the end of the job when you get ready to clean the pump.

From the type of jobs you plan to do, I would recommend the airless sprayer hands down.


Need to move the dryer vent up by 3ft I just bought a stacking washer/dryer machine and I need to relocate my floor dryer vent by  3ft above the floor so that I can push my machine all the way against the wall.  This will give me about 7in of extra space in my laundry room.   My floor vent is behind the wall and vent through the roof.  It is 10x3.25 size rectangular tube and it's pretty much stuck to a stud.
One option is to cut the rectangular vent tube at a 3ft location and add a stack boot.  But I am not sure how to seal it since the stud is right next to the tube and no space for me to wrap the tape around to seal it.
I think the easiest way is to punch a hole at 3ft location and add a 4" opening for the dryer. And seal off the floor vent.  This will be much less cutting and easier to seal. However, this setup creates T or Y like connection. Dryer air will flow in two directions, up and down.   Air flows downward by 3ft but it's blocked at the floor.  And also flows upward to the roof (25ft) and exit. Is this an OK setup or will create issues?
Thank you so much in advance for any advice.

It'd be better if you modify the duct.  A dryer vent that fills up with lint is a serious fire hazard and even if you're sure you'll clean it regularly, the next homeowner may not.
You can find a lot of videos on Youtube about how to work with that kind of ducting.
I'm not sure if you'll need any materials; it may be possible to re-configure what you already have.  But if you do need anything, the HVAC section of your local home improvement store should be your first stop.


How to repair garage ceiling? The attic of my house is unfinished. My son accidentally fell to the filing and caused the garage ceiling broken.

Please see the images.

Can you advise me how to repair this?

I would:

Clean out the hole and all the broken drywall.
Use drywall screws and screw 2 or 3 cross pieces of strapping across the back side of the hole.
Then you can cut a new piece of drywall and fit it to the hole and you have something to screw it to.


What could I use as a metal body for my DIY wind turbine? I'm building a Ametek wind turbine, similar to the one in this YouTube video.

I'm having trouble figuring out what I could use for the metal body, preferably something I could buy from Home Depot or Lowe's. I tried using a sliding closet door bracket, but the base is too small. I need it to be at least 4 inches wide.

Here's what I'm trying to replicate:

Any ideas for what I could use?

Looks to me like a standard 5 gallon plastic bucket, with lid could be cut with a hole for the fan shaft in the bottom and a slot for your mounting pipe on the side. Once mounted, cover the slot w plastic and screw or pop-rivet in place. Wiring will need another hole.
Sun might make the bucket brittle in 5 years, but even with thin metal, you're going to need to do occasional maintenance.


How to replace wire next to another wire? Currently I have, courtesy of the last owner, 3 wires running to the "socket" behind my TV. It's a coax and 2 audio cables (image below), and they go to the fuse box/meter box in the hallway. . I'm not sure how they run, but at least: in the wall they go up, through the ceiling (probably some turns there), and then back down into said box. The yellow PVC tube they run trough is about 1.5cm in diameter (also see below).

Now I don't need an audio cable there at the moment, but I DO need network. I have a "wire pulling spring" (not sure that's the correct term). I figured my options are:

Attach the spring to one or all wires, pull everything out, pull everything I need back with the spring
Attach new wire to audio wires and pull the audio out and the network in with one action
Attach the spring to the audio wire, pull the spring in and the audio out in one go, then pull the network in with the wire pulling spring.

Option 2 and 3 mean that if I do get stuck, I won't be in a worse situation: the coax is still there. On the other hand, I imagine failure is easier if you don't pull out all the wires.

My question is of course: is there a dead-give-away best method, or are there options/considerations I didn't account for that might provide a 4th way or at least pick a certain winner of these three?

(As an added bonus I wouldn't mind some help or links to the best way to attach springs/wires to other wires for these purposes, but that's kinda a seperate thing.)

I would approach it first by trying to pull the network cable through with one of the audio wires.   Strip the covering from about 6 inches/10cm of the network cable and separate the conductors in the audio cable about the same distance.  Put the two cables end-to-end with the stripped parts overlapping and fold half of each cable back around the other and use electrical table to tape down flat to the original cable (folding the full cable may make your joint thicker and more likely to catch on the other wires in the conduit).   Tape the remaining conductors down flat to the opposite cable (I adjust how I do this for the flattest seam with the specific cable being pulled).     Now, see if you call pull that one cable through.   If not, you may need to pull all three out, in which case I would pull a "pull string" rather than a fish tape -- electricians use a synthetic string that is lightweight but slippery -- and then pull the wires you do want back through.

If you have access to the attic, you should check to see if the conduit is continuous or if you will need to make one pull into the attic and a separate one back down.

Depending on the length of the run, you may also want to look into wire lube that eases the effort to pull them through the conduit.


Which wire do I attach to what when installing a light fixture? I'm trying to change a light fixture for the first time and I don't know which wires to attach to which. Here's images explaining:

One hot yellow wire

Your wiring is likely in conduit, hence the yellow hot wire.  Turn the circuit off at the breaker, then connect yellow to both blacks, white to both whites, and green to the bare ground.  Button things back up, turn the breaker back on, and enjoy your new light fixture!


How do I clean ballpoint pen marks from an LED TV screen? My kid was playing with a pen and she drew a few lines on the TV screen. I tried to remove it with water just after it happened, but it didn't work.

Now the lines have been on the TV for a few days, so how can I clean it?

A simple pencil eraser works well, you just have to be patient and not press too hard.  I've had my kids mark up TVs and laptop screens a few times.


What do the "N" and "T" labels mean on junction box cable clamps? This is a typical old-work junction box with integral NM cable clamps. They are each labeled with a tiny "N".

I had assumed this stood for NM and didn't give the labels a second thought. But then I removed this junction box from 1955:

Now the top clamps are all unlabeled and the bottom clamps alternate between "N" and "T". There is no perceptible difference between the "N" and "T" clamps except, when this particular box was installed, only the knockouts for the "N" clamps were used.

What do "N" and "T" stand for?

From the UL White Book

Guide Information for Electrical Equipment The White Book 2012
Outlet Boxes and Fittings (QBPZ)
Metallic Outlet Boxes (QCIT)
CLAMPS
Boxes may or may not be provided with clamps. When clamps are provided, the carton is marked to indicate the type of wiring system or combination of systems for which they have been tested. The clamps are marked with the following letters or combinations thereof to indicate that they are suitable for use with armored cable ("A"): flexible metal conduit – "F," nonmetallic-sheathed cable – "N," or flexible tubing (loom) – "T." Clamps suitable for Type MC metal-clad cable are marked "MCI" for metal-clad interlocking armored cable, "MCI-A" for metal-clad interlocking armor ground cable, "MCS" for metal-clad continuous smooth-sheath cable, and "MCC" for metal-clad continuous corrugated-sheath cable. If suitable for all seven types, the clamp is marked "ALL." Clamps suitable for nonmetallic-sheathed cable are also suitable for multiconductor underground feeder and branch circuit cable where used in dry locations.

tl;dr
The letters indicate what type of wiring system the clamps should be used with.

A Armored cable
F Flexible metal conduit
N Nonmetallic-sheathed cable
T Flexible tubing
MCI Metal-clad interlocking armored cable
MCS Metal-clad continuous smooth-sheath cable
MCC Metal-clad continuous corrugated-sheath cable
ALL All


Which grade of PVC piping do I need in order to sustain a 1,000Pa vacuum? I'm rigging a proof of concept DIY machine, in which the internal pressure will need to be at most 1/50th of atmospheric pressure. For a safety margin, I want the machine to withstand 1/100th atmospheric pressure (or about 1,000 pascals). What grade of PVC piping do I need in order to prevent implosion? Or, is PVC piping, not the best suited for the job? I don't have access to a laboratory, so things I can pick up at a store would be ideal. Many thanks.

The pipe grade PVC pipe can service the pressure satisfactorily. See information below.

https://www.aciplas.com.br/assets/technical_manual_pvc_cpvc_sch_80_e_40.pdf


Connecting the four terminals of a 14-50P to a homebrew 240v system with three wires I bought a new 240v homebrew system. The system requires a 30 amp circuit and comes with 10 gauge wires (black, white, green) but no plug (so you can connect the plug needed for your situation).

I also recently bought an electric vehicle so I had a 14-50R installed in my garage with a 50 amp GFCI breaker.

I want to connect my system to the 14-50R, so I bought a 14-50P to connect to the bare wires from the system. The issue I have is that the 14-50P has 4 terminals (2 hot, 1 neutral and 1 ground), but there are only three 10 gauge wires coming out of my 240v system (1 hot, 1 neutral and 1 ground). The terminals in my 14-50P are removable, so should I connect the 1 hot, ground and neutral and remove the unused hot terminal? Or should I do something totally different? And am I okay using the 10 gauge wire since the system will only draw less than 30 amps?

If it's 240 volt it doesn't have a neutral. So your home brew has 2 hots and a ground.

Just wire it with the reverse pattern of the receptacle except for the neutral (white) wire will be deleted from the plug.

10 gauge is good for 30 amps but understand the receptacle is protected with a 50 amp breaker so if your homebrew has a recommended max size breaker less than that you will be exceeding the recommended protection for your brewer.

Good luck!


Dual Grounding Electrodes In Parallel versus series I've installed two 8' copper rods each with a beefy copper wire tying them back to the panel ground.  It is the entrance panel, so neutral is also on that ground and the service pole is ~15' away with its own ground rod I'd assume.  I've seen most everyone else put their rods in series, but I ran two wires for mine.  I'm not sure it matters but it did allow me to answer this question:
"what is the impedance between two 8' copper grounding rods installed 10' apart for my soil".
While this will give insight into the soil path resistance, it is not equivalent to the NEC required measurement of <25ohms for a single ground rod to earth.  Taking this measurement requires special equipment to emulate the earth connection.

I can't find anything that says you can't have it the way that you do. As long as each physical service has at least one ground of its own I think you're fine. Isolated ground systems aren't uncommon these days in residential dwellings, and that's how you'd do it (except you'd shield it and land it to an isolated ground bar in the can).
I've built large ground rings to deal with lightning which were always in series (#2 tin coat copper Cad Welded to 6 - 8 rods together about 10' apart, depending on the soil), but that was because we had to get extremely low resistance. The service grounds were completely separate. These are mandatory at cellular tower sites.
So with your setup, you just have options. Ever get any equipment that is particularly sensitive to noise? It would not be hard to set up an isolated ground bar and some IG receptacles. Or, just have fun measuring :)


Wiring a fan and recessed lighting to a double switch I currently have a single switch operating a ceiling fan. I'd like to add some recessed lighting to the room. Can I replace the single switch with a double switch to operate the ceiling fan and (4) recessed lights? Or, do I need to install a second switch and run all the wiring?

Possibly.  They do make gadgets designed to control a ceiling fan + light separately, using wiring meant for a light only (which is your case even though it's a fan only). They include a control module which goes behind the fan shroud, and an intelligent light switch.  The module doesn't care if the fan and light are separate items.

They also make lights designed to depart a ceiling box underneath a fan shroud.

By the way, that setup is currently not code.  Code requires every habitable room have a switch at one entry which works a light.   If it switches an overhead light, the light must work and not be only a fan.   The rule is designed to benefit house guests and first responders.

Speaking of that, not all ceiling boxes are rated to support ceiling fans.  There's a big difference both in weight and vibration.  So while you're up there, make sure your box is in fact labeled for a ceiling fan.  It will say right on it.


Repair Leaking Roof/Chimney In Winter I live in an 100 year old house in Michigan.  I have suspicions that the flashing around my chimney is leaking as the plaster in the ceiling directly below the chimney & roof point is getting soft and the paint is peeling.  I intend on doing it the right way and replacing the flashing and/or ensure the seal is in good shape.  The problem is that its winter and I cannot safely get up onto the roof to do that.  Are there products that I could apply from the attic to help block the water from coming in until I can fix this the proper way?

No. That would be like sealing the bottom side of a sponge--moisture will travel through it to emerge in other areas.

You can probably accomplish the repair even in winter. A water hose will quickly melt snow and ice from the areas you need to access, or use scaffolding and other hardware to work over it.


New ecobee3 lite, have heat but no cool option I recently installed a new ecobee3 lite. When I completed the setup process, I found that there was no option to enable cooling. My original setup had both heat and cool options. I believe the option is missing because I connected the Y wire to C, which is what my schematic suggested. Right now, I have:
R wire -> ecobee Rc and Rh via jumper
W wire -> ecobee W terminal
G wire -> ecobee G terminal
Y wire -> ecobee C terminal
Is there any way I can get the option to enable cool back? There are 2 extra unused wires that run from the thermostat to the HVAC system in the below diagram. I was thinking about using one of them and connecting it to the BRN wire between the transformer and the left COM port, and wiring the Y wire to the ecobee Y port, would that work?
The photos are my old thermostat, new ecobee, and my HVAC system diagram.
The last picture is the wiring. The top left contains the connections to the thermostat, and the wires running downward on the left are the contractor seen in the system diagram connected to Y.

ecobee wiring

You skipped the compressor contactor
When you were reading your furnace's wiring diagram, you skipped over the symbol between the thermostat Y terminal and the furnace C connection that represents the coil on your air conditioner's compressor contactor.  That coil is what is energized by the thermostat to turn the air conditioning on, so it's kind of important that it not be left out of the circuit, as you seem to have assumed so far.
Fortunately, you can fix this rather readily since you have a spare wire handy from the looks of things.  Strip the end of the spare (blue) wire at the furnace end, and join it in with the junction of the fat brown and thin red wires (by the wiring diagram, that's your C wire connection); then you can wire yellow to Y and blue to C at the thermostat end.  From there, finish wiring the thermostat as you had it before, button everything back up, and enjoy your new thermostat!


Does a garbage disposal and/or dishwasher need to be on a GFCI? Part of me always cringes when I turn on the garbage disposal with a wet hand, which got me thinking...  Does this thing need to be on a GFCI?  And on that same thought, does the dishwasher need to be on a GFCI?  Both currently are not and wondering if they should be to meet current code.

There are no requirements in National Electrical Code (NEC) that a residential disposal must be GFCI protected. However, there may be requirements in the installation instructions, which would make GFCI protection required.
210.8(A) requires receptacles serving the kitchen countertop to be GFCI protected. It also requires GFCI protection for receptacles within 6' of a sink, but only sinks not in a kitchen.
The 2014 edition added 210.8(D), which requires dwelling unit dishwashers to be GFCI protected.

National Electrical Code 2014
Chapter 2 Wiring and Protection
Article 210 Branch Circuits
210.8 Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupter Protection for Personnel
(D) Kitchen Dishwasher Branch Circuit GFCI protection shall be provided for outlets that supply dishwashers installed in dwelling units locations.


Why does my freezer suddenly have more frost than it did? My freezer that attached to my fridge has all of a sudden and lot of frost on the top and on the items in it. Why would it has a lot of frost and what's the easiest way to get rid of the frost.

Could be that the defrost drain line is plugged (water frozen in the line).


Why won't my air conditioner work after a power outtage? The air conditioner does not work at all. I'm wondering if it's a power problem? The thermostat isn't even on and doesn't show a temperature. Before it stopped working the power had gone out due to storms, could that have contributed to why it is not working now?

You may have a breaker integral to the AC that has tripped= a little red button you have to press to reset it.


How to access hole behind kitchen cabinets? Description:
I have cabinets that run along the left hand side of the kitchen. They meet in a corner, where they turn to meet my stove. Within that corner there is no shelving. Just an empty space underneath a countertop. (pictures included)
Also within this empty space, is a hole I need to seal.
Why I'm concerned:
I live in Florida, where palmetto bugs are unfortunately "normal". However if you don't have any holes in your home, you rarely see them. In my new apartment, I see about 2-3 a month, which is too many for me. I knew there must be a hole somewhere. Sure enough (when I pulled out my dishwasher and stove) I found a 3 inch gap between the wall and floor where trim should have been. I sealed the holes.
A few months later, I am still finding palmetto bugs here and there.
I am 99% sure the same gap runs behind the empty cabinet area I can't seem to reach.
Question: In the picture you can see how the countertop has a triangle cut out. I'm wondering if I can somehow remove just that section of the countertop in order to access the hole? If not, any other suggestions?

Well, my kitchen has a similar corner and it has a cupboard with turning pull-out shelves which make use of the dead space that you have.
So consider taking the nearest cupboard out then dealing with the holes and putting better cupboards back in.


What is this thing on my junction box? This thing is on my junction box but i don't know what it is or what it's for.

This is easy

What you have here is a low voltage (NEC Class 2) transformer that steps house voltage down to a safe voltage -- they're typically used to power doorbells or HVAC controls, but may be found in other places as well.

Simply get your new cable into the box with the power off (use one of the built-in NM clamps you can see on the bottom right), then connect black to blacks, white to whites (+a black from the transformer), and bare to bares/greens.  While you're at it, use a grounding screw and pigtail to attach the box to the bare/green ground wire bundle.

Then you can install the new receptacle and its box on the other end of the new cable.


Mount shelf into wall top plate? I am working on installing wall-mounted shelves in my garage. To keep the shelves high enough that I don’t bang my head on them, I am finding I have to anchor the mounting plate up high on the wall, near the ceiling.
After installing one, I realized I am anchoring the top lag screw into the wall top plate.
The bottom lag screw in each mounting is low enough to be secured into a wall stud.
My head is screaming at me that it’s not OK to mount into the top plate but wanted to post to find out for certain. This is an exterior wall so I’d imagine load bearing?
Additional info that may be helpful:
This appears to be a double 2x4 top plate (see pic, the bottom 2x4 is seen in its entirety, with the 1.5” side facing the camera).
There are engineered joists above, running perpendicular to the top plate into which the shelf mounting plates are secured.
I’ve added a picture of the loading limit from the installation instructions. Circled in purple is the configuration I intend to use.
Thanks.

By mounting the wires into studs the back of the shelf is guaranteed to press evely on two studs
if you mount the wires into the top plates the back of the shelf may press against only ones stud and one corner of the shelf may burst through the drywall.
Remember that the the wire holds up the front of the shelf by converting the downwards force into a pull towards the wall.
This force is multiplied by the slope of the wire, so a fully loaded shelf could be pressing against the wall with 600 punds force at each corner.
So long as your wires (and shelf corners) are in line with the studs this will not be a problem asd the coners will then be pressing on the studs.
The top plate is if anything stronger than the studs. so anchoring to that does not make the shelf weaker.


Is there a detector of plastic pipe? I know metal detectors for walls, but in my house there are places where it has a plastic pipe. I wonder if there is a good detector to buy.

I used a thermographic camera to detect pipes in my house. Let the hot or cold water run for 2-3 minuttes, and the pipes heats/cools the wall very slightly. This is very visible on even the cheapest thermographic cameras.


Can i use two AC sources to power one load? I have a 1.5 KW Solar array with a 48V  battery storage of 8KW, I am planning on using a 1KVA generator to back up the solar power system in case the solar system cant power the load on its own(both providing power to load at the same time, with priority to solar power system), i can't use an inverter to do this aswell.

Yes, but it depends on your inverter. Many of the high quality inverters that have an AC input have a mode just for that. When the generator is running, they will meter how much power is being used and if it exceeds the internal (adjustable) set point power level of the generator, it will "support" the generator. i.e. it will produce just enough power to keep the generator loaded to the set point that you program. When large loads need to be run, the inverter augments (supports) the AC source, adding inverter and battery power to ensure that the loads receive the power they demand.

Outback power calls this mode "support mode," Schneider (previously known as Trace, or Xantrex) calls this mode "Generator Support," Magnum Energy calls it "Load Support."

Note from Outback power support-

  IMPORTANT:
  If the AC loads exceed the amperage limit setting, the inverter will draw energy from the
  batteries. If the loads are sustained, the batteries may discharge to the point of Low
  Battery Cut-Out and the inverter may shut down with a Low Battery error.  To prevent the loss of backup power, load use should be planned accordingly.

The only thing that I see that could be a problem is that you specified that (if I understand you correctly) you wanted it to primarily draw off of the solar, and supplement with the generator. The inverters however are designed to primarily pull off the generator and supplement with the solar/battery power. This is so that you don't drain your batteries too much. Generators are actually much more energy efficient (more power per fuel consumption) when they are loaded down (as opposed to running near idle) so most people will advise to primarily use the generator power while it is running so that your batteries will be closer to full when you turn the generator off. But I guess if you wanted to use more of your battery, you could set the "max generator power" lower so that the inverter offsets more of the power.

Edit based on comments below: Here is a brief illustration to show a way you can do this.
MAKE SURE to have a large enough load. 3kW should be enough but too much is better than too little. Program the inverter into grid interactive mode (I'm not sure what that's called for schneider). Just program it the way the manual says to in order to sell power back into the grid. It won't successfully push any power back into the grid (or generator) because your resistive load will fully consume it. The only hurdle that might arise is finding a high amperage 220 outlet to plug it into for your demonstration. I don't think this method would work with a 1kW generator... just too small to support the load.

P.s. This sounds like a pretty expensive school project but it should work and when you are finished with it you can use all the parts for something useful (except maybe the resistive load).


What's a high R-value insulation material alternative to dimensional lumber Years ago I read somewhere about a building material described like this :

a composite/synthetic material (not wood)
available in traditional dimensional lumber sizes (e.g. 2x4)
rigid enough to have roughly the load bearing capabilities of lumber
allows drilling and using fasteners in much the same way you would lumber
has a high R-value (more insulating than wood)
likely patented and manufactured by a single manufacturer (as opposed to more generic technologies like fiberglass or polyurethane foam)

I've since tried to find out what it was but without luck.

My use case is to modify a chest freezer by adding a "collar" between the lid and the chest to allow for running beverage lines into the chest freezer. This is a common DIY project for homebrewers called a "keezer". Here's a photo of a typical example.

Often the material used to build this collar is dimensional lumber, which the builder then adds insulation to the inside of. I'd like to find out what this alternative building material is that I'd read about in hopes of using it instead.

This thread suggests Azek siding trim

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=161256&page=2


Can I use Wiha "Micro Bit" bits with regular 1/8'' hex screwdriver? Wiha says their micro bits are 4mm in diameter, and suggests to use special adapter for 1/4 screwdriver. Obviously these 4mm micro bits are smaller than 1/4 inch, but are they compatible with 1/8 hex driver?

I can't see how they would be compatible.

¼" = 6.35mm
⅛" = 3.175mm


Do I expand or crimp pex water line, and why? New construction water lines, should I use expansion on the fittings or should I crimp them?? And why- pros and cons of each. I have another question posted about proper sewer venting diagrams and information. I am currently getting ready to help a friend plumb his new construction home that he's and it's been several years since I've done plumbing for a living (a lifetime ago). CPVC was still the big thing when I quit plumbing and went to HVAC. Pex was just coming onto the scene, so I know very little. Any information is welcomed and greatly appreciated. I want to be able to --know-- beyond any doubt that I can help my friend and everything will work properly for the life of his new home.

There are different types of PEX and different types of joining systems.

PEX A is joined by slipping a PEX collar around the PEX tubing, then temporarily expanding the end with the collar. Without delay the fitting is inserted and in a minute or two the PEX relaxes and grips the fitting. This type of fitting has a larger internal diameter than the fittings for the other types of PEX.

The other types of PEX are PEX B and PEX C. These latter two are joined without enlargement--a metal band is crimped in some systems and in other systems a metal band is simply pulled into place to secure the PEX tubing to the fitting. Each type has its strong points and weaker points.

One video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhzIRHLOQ_E


Putting together a tool set for children 8-11 One of the many hats I wear is the hat of Bagheera, assistant cub scout leader.

I'd like to introduce a project where we build a wooden tool box.  But I'd also like to provide the cub scouts with a minimal set of tools they can take home.

What would you suggest I shop for to make it actually useful?

If I recall my time in the scouts well enough, I'd suggest the following:

a set of screw drivers
an 8-10oz hammer
a set of pliers
a small chunk from a bar of cheap soap for coating screw threads
a piece of chalk- both to use for marking things, but also to absorb moisture and prevent rust.
a small framing square
a retractable tape rule

If you shop around and hit discount stores, it's not an expensive proposition (in the US, I'd recommend Big Lots and Harbor Freight.)


How do you install a frost-free garden faucet mid-wall? I have a split level house, and have a garden on the side that's half underground. I want to install a frost-free faucet on that side of the house, but if I install it as instructed in the foundation wall, it'll only be a few inches off the ground, and if I install it in the rim joist between levels, it'll be 5 feet above ground.

How do you install a frost free faucet mid-wall through insulation and drywall?

...Provide framing/blocking to support it.

Cut a hole stud to stud in the drywall, add blocking between studs (like a one-stud-bay rim joist at a convenient height) and now you have something solid to mount your faucet to.

...And, y'know, repair the wall after - put the insulation back in, repair the vapor barrier if needed, repair the drywall.


How can I switch my standard outlet to a GFCI? I have a standard 2 receptacle outlet in my house.  I am trying to switch it to a GFCI.  I realize GFCI has load and a line side.  There is also a switch in my room that is tied into this outlet (and other outlets on the same circuit).

I have two sets of Romex coming into the outlet.

With the switch off:
- Romex 1 Black 120V
- Romex 1 White 0V
- Romex 2 Black 0V
- Romex 2 White 0V

With the switch on:
- Romex 1 Black 120V
- Romex 1 White 0V
- Romex 2 Black 120V
- Romex 2 White 120V

So I thought I should wire Romex 1 to the LINE side of the GFCI.  I wired the black to the gold screw and the white to the silver screw.  I did, and it lit up green.  But when I wire Romex 2 to the LOAD side of the GFCI it trips, and it stays red no matter how many times I hit reset.

Does anyone know how I might wire this properly?

Put the warning tape back on the LOAD terminals.

Since you are sure the tabs on the old receptacle were not broken off, they were simply splicing the two wires (on that same side) to each other, as well as serving the receptacle. Use a wire nut to join them instead, then use a pigtail to serve only the LINE terminals of the GFCI.

In this installation, LOAD will not be used.

I have a feeling there are technical errors on the downline wiring.  Generally Code requires that currents be equal in any cable or conduit, and in a simple /2 Romex, there are only 2 wires so they must be equal, obviously. So who knows.  Much as I'd like to help you spend days tearing apart the whole room in the dark disassembling everything and ringing out every cable on a great bug hunt for a triangled neutral or bootlegged ground or old dimmer, that is not what you asked for today.


Why is the polyurethane finish I applied a month ago still tacky? I recently decided to embed my niece's picture into a serving tray style tabletop. I printed the picture, had it laminated, bought polyurethane, followed the directions to a "T". It's now one month and a day later and the surface is still tacky (I can leave a fingerprint in it). Otherwise, it looks GREAT!

How do I remove the "tacky to the touch" from the surface?

Depending on the type of Polyurethane, they could cure first by solvent flash off, then by oxygen or water in the air, or by some other curing agents in the mix. What product did you use?

Sometimes very thick layers of Poly will not cure because the layers below the surface cannot interact with the air or the surface blocks the solvent evaporation of the lower layers. This interaction causes the whole thing to stay "tacky" for a long time.


Correct Circuit Sizing - Two Machines Woodworking Shop I have two machines that require 220+ and I was wondering if one double pole 230 amp breaker would do the trick for both?  The run is approximately 60' so I'm wondering if 12 awg wire will work or if I should go for 10?

It'd be great to get a pointer on how to do this math myself too :)

I am running a dust collector and a table saw so they will definitely be running at the same time.

Photos of motors and plugs below:

Your best bet here is to run two 20A circuits.  You might be able to run the saw and collector at the same time on one 20A circuit because they normally operate below their peak power, but you would trip breakers often when cutting through difficult wood.

Your saw requires 13 amps (rounding up) and has a 15 amp plug.  The collector needs 11 amps and has a 20 amp plug.  Not sure on the plug choices by the manufacturer, but that's what they did.  When they are both operating you could have up to 26 amps.  That won't trip a circuit breaker immediately, but it won't last very long like that.

You can't run a 30A circuit and put two 20A receptacles on it.  General purpose circuits are limited to 20 amps.  Since you have a long run, it might make more sense to run something like a 60A service to a sub-panel in your shop for future expansion.  There are several other questions here about sub-panels and their wiring.


Leak with Drywall and Wood Framing I've got, potentially, a silly question.

We're having some work done in our basement, including the addition of a bathroom. The guys working here were working on the main to install the up-flush system when one of the workers forgot and used the toilet and sink pouring all of that waste all over the other guy working, down the drywall and wood framing and onto the concrete floor. They left that afternoon and when I looked I saw it was all soaked. They came back next day and bleached the concrete with mop and bucket, but I'm a little uneasy about the waste that was absorbed into the drywall and wood.

Am I overreacting or could this pose a health concern and have them address it?

It isn't going to cause mold or permanent issues to the drywall or wood.  That means there are basically two issues - aesthetics and cleanliness.  From a cleanliness aspect bleaching and normal cleaning is pretty par.  Crap can be hard to get out of lumber though.  If you have exposed wood framing and it has crap on it and it will remain exposed, they should replace it if you can see even the faintest trace.  Simply if you can see it, then it exists.  Meaning if there are brown marks, you can still touch crap particles.

From an aesthetics point of view everything should look exactly like it did before or better.  So the advice I am giving is set the expectations for them.  I don't care if they need to repaint, so be it.  They messed up (literally) and now have to fix it.


Closing refrigerator's door causes freezer's door to stay open The problem with the freezer door is that when the refrigerator's door is pushed closed, the door of the freezer slightly opens and stays open without re-closing and sealing itself properly, leaving a gap. It seems to be due to even the slightest closing as something does not absorb shocks properly. Similar thing with refrigerator's door but it worries me less as it closes and seals itself. It's actually the freezer's door which I am concerned more about:

See this in action on YouTube: http://youtu.be/5fs35-deVV0

There are no screws holding gasket and it seems to be stretched across door's frame.

I am concerned because as long as door opened, I hear fridge constantly working and leaving door opened for half day results in freezer's inside becoming wet. After closing door and looking inside next day I get to see products covered in snow/ice? and layer of ice on fridge's left and right sides, and especially freezer's ceiling.

If you think about misalignment then there is a bit but I have no idea how to realign. And if I did realign, you think doors would be absorbing shocks properly without opening?

What are your thoughts gentlemen? Thanks.

Before going out and buying new rubber seals, simply extend the fridge front legs about one inch, tipping the fridge back so that the doors will swing shut by gravity. This will solve your problem.


Minimum distance from receptacle terminal to conduit connector Is there a minimum distance required from a receptacle terminal to a conduit connector?  Surely this is defined in the NEC somewhere right?

It's in NEC 110.12. Mechanical Execution of Work. "Electrical equipment shall be installed in a neat and workmanlike manner."  (which does not mean nipping back all the wires in your service panel).

First, they make non-metallic caps for the ends of conduit fittings. Google "rigid conduit insulated bushing". They are nominally to prevent wire gouging, but they will solve this nicely.

Second, run those screws down all the way, then wrap the receptacle with electrical tape.  No reason to leave screws exposed.

Speaking of neat, you have a metal junction box where the receptacle yoke is landing hard flush on the box.  Get rid of the little paper squares on the mounting screws, and you'll have a valid grounding path and won't need a ground wire to the receptacle.

You don't need a ground wire in the pipe, but if you have one, it needs to go to the ground screw on the metal junction box.  Going to the receptacle is not enough because the ground would be disconnected if the receptacle is removed.

If this is outdoors or if the pipe is subject to physical damage, there's wisdom in running ground wires also.


How to fix a towel bar drywall anchor getting loose? I have a towel bar  which isn't anymore firmly attached to the dry wall as it should. You can see what the situation looks like in the picture below. This was most likely due to the screw not being properly installed in the drywall, which ended up damaging the drywall.

Now, in this situation, how can I get the towel bar properly attached?

(I thought of filling the existing hole and  placing the attachment a few inches to the left or to the right, but this isn't an option, as this is 1 of 3 towel bars, and it needs to be in that position to be aligned with the 2 others, plus there wouldn't really be enough space to the left or the right.)

I might suggest my, "If you don't overbuild it, it isn't worth doing," approach by:

locating the studs and marking their centers (they should be 16" apart);
cut out a stud-center to stud-center swath of drywall to include where your towel bar was mounted;
replace drywall (using a "patch piece" from local HW store - usually 16"x16", so if you do a 4"x16" strip you can afford 3 do-overs);
tape edges of your patch, prime, texture to match, prime again, and paint. If you take your time, it'll take you a full day.

There are many ways to patch a hole in drywall and screwing to the studs offers a good, standard way to do this without adding extra stuff that isn't supposed to be there and will also be strong enough to hold your towel rack. If all else fails, you might consider replacing a half-sheet of drywall to obtain a new, strong mounting base for all towel racks. The more repairs needed to a given area, the bigger your patch should be to be able to hold what you are mounting to it.

Happy drywalling!


How can I find an open neutral? My lights and outlets went out in the half bath of my home and also the two recessed lights in my hall just outside the half bath.

I believe there are two feeds, one to the hall lights and one to the half bath light and outlets all on the same circuit. I had a plug tester read an open neutral though it was not positively an open neutral as the first yellow light lit but very dimly.

I checked all the outlets and switches for loose wires, etc., but found nothing.

I pulled all the outlets and switches so I had bare wires everywhere. With a multimeter I checked all the hots by touching the blacks and grounds they all read 120V. But when I check any of the neutrals with the meter - one on hot, one on neutral - they drop to nearly nothing ( like .2volts ) so I assumed the open neutral was the problem.

I went to the breaker box and pulled the neutral from the bar and tested the black coming out of the breaker by touching one probe to the black and then to the bar and I read 120. So I assume the breaker itself is OK.

But when I test it with one probe on the black and the other to the now free neutral, I get nothing. So again open neutral somewhere in the circuit, right? I can't seem to find the open neutral anywhere and it's driving me crazy. :(

Am I missing something? Maybe a junction box somewhere?

It sounds like you have a pretty good handle of the problem. Hidden junction boxes do exist but it could also be a failure along the cable.

If you've 100% ruled out all known junction boxes then you need to narrow down the problematic section of cable and go hunting between with a cable tracer.  With each section of wiring (ie: junction box to next junction box), test continuity of the cable.  You should eventually find the two points where the fault exists between. Once you have this, use the cable tracer to look for hidden boxes and other fun stuff. A flexible scope might help you look in stud cavities. If that fails you might have to open up the wall to get a better idea of what's the problem.

Also inspect all visible wires for nicks, oxidation or other damage.

There comes a point too where it becomes easier to just run a new wire versus trying to find the exact fault location.

If you do find the issue, it would be worth thinking about if it is likely to occur elsewhere and if so, how you should deal with that (replace all the wiring, redo connections in junction boxes, etc.)


One 60A 240v Breaker connected to 4 Outlets using PDB I plan to power four 240v outlets from a single dual pole 100A breaker using a power distribution block. I'll have 4 AWG copper wires coming from each terminal feeding into a power distribution block, and will have separate 10 AWG copper wires connecting the block to each outlet (two are rated at 30a the others at 20A). Is this safe and legal? My research tells me I should be alright, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. The outlets will be powering computers rated at 24A for the 30A outlets and 16A for the 20A outlets.

Only if the ”distribution block” is a subpanel

Just get an 8-space main-lug panel and four 2-pole breakers.

"Just".  As if electrical is that simple.   I know you did a lot of research, but it's a broad subject.

You didn't say whether you needed neutral for 120V loads.  240V PCs tend to not need it, so I omitted it from the drawing.  It's not a big deal, just land it on the neutral bar, which is not breakered.  Neutral is not ground, and ground is not Vss.  That green thing is equipment safety earthing, which we call ground.  Note that in a subpanel, neutral bar and ground bar are separated.

If you use a subpanel that doesn't come with separate ground bars, and you reuse its neutral bar for a ground bar, mark it clearly as such, so the next guy doesn't think it's neutral.

Here, note I did a shabby job of showing separation between neutral and ground bars.

I don't know whether you're running 60A or 100A, you seem unclear yourself (uh-oh!)  #4 wire is wrong for both.   For 60A, use #6 copper wire.

For 100A, you'll need #3 copper wire, or preferably #1 aluminum wire from the main panel to the sub.  The ground can be a smaller size as Code specifies.

Your wire to the 30A receptacles needs to be #10 (larger is always OK).

Your wire to the 20A receptacles needs to be #12.

If you're running in conduit, white wire can only be neutral.  Neutral must be the same size as the hots.  The two hot legs don't need to be black and red - black and black will suffice, there's no need to tell them apart.

If you're using multiconductor cable the ground will be sized correctly.  If you don't need neutral, use /2 cable (black white ground) and tag the white wire with tape to indicate you are using it as a hot.  If you need neutral, use /3 cable (black red white ground).

Remember to derate the circuit, loading it to only 80% of capacity.  You have done that with 24A PC on a 30A breaker etc.

Why?

Because breakers protect wires and devices.  A 100A breaker will fail to protect #10 wire, and the wire will set your house on fire before the breaker knows to trip.   It will also fail to protect a 30A receptacle if that has internal problems.  If the PC it's plugged into has an internal fault that flows 70A, it will also fail to protect the PC.

It is also illegal to fit a 30A receptacle on any breaker except 30A (for this very reason). Likewise, a 20A receptacle can only be protected by a 20A breaker.  National Electrical Code, Table 210.21b3.


Why does my GFCI receptacle trip when I connect the load wires? I was trying to install a GFCI outlet and when I install it with the five wire setup with the line on top and load on bottom, the outlet continually trips. I made sure which wire was the hot-line and confirmed it by successfully wiring the GFCI with only the line wires in a three wire setup. I connected the load wires again and it tripped again? I even tried a second GFCI!

Ideas? The outlet works fine when a standard outlet is there, so it's got to be something simple.

It sure sounds like you have a ground fault on one of the down stream outlets or devices. Check the load side devices for proper wiring etc. Hook the circuit up without the GFCI and use a plug in tester to determine if any devices have reversed hot, open neutral, etc. Also check to see if there are any motor loads on the load side circuits, motors can cause nuisance tripping.


How to fix gaps between bamboo flooring planks About 8 months ago I laid down a floating bamboo floor. The planks are solid carbonized strand bamboo. We allowed the planks to acclimate for over two weeks in the apartment and then laid down the floor as a floating floor- gluing the planks together- following the manufacturers instructions. About a month ago (during the winter with the heat on) large gaps appeared between some of the planks. One gap is about 1/2 inch wide and the plank can be wiggled around.

My question is: What is the best way to fix this problem? I'm assuming that the bamboo is very moisture sensitive and has shrunk due to the warm and dry conditions during the winter, and will therefor expand again in the summer. Would using a floor colored silicone type caulk be good way to fill in the gaps while still allowing for expansion and contraction? Or should I cut another piece of bamboo to fit into the gap and glue it in? Thank you for any suggestions!

I would NOT glue anything in those gaps. You'd want loose & free floating double beveled flooring strips in there. The fillers would be shaped like the crust end of a pie slice, so as the flooring expands again it pushes the fillers out so they can be removed & stored in the closet for next winter.


How can I drill into cinder blocks and attack brackets? I want to affix some shelves to some cinder block walls. The shelves would be 3000 x 400mm. I have been eyeing up these brackets as supports. The shelves will be to hold power tools and toolboxes and will need to support a decent weight.

I'm completely in the dark about how to fasten the brackets to the cinder block walls. I'm eyeing up these fasteners but I feel like something that long would just be hanging loosely in the hollow cavity of the cinder blocks. Likewise I don't know if a shorter screw would support the weight involved and I don't know if the width of the screw holes in the brackets is big enough for these screws.

Normally I would just ask someone at the hardware store but quarantine means I need to pre-order and then go collect it.

Any advice would be gratefully received.

In my humble opinion, you've got two choices using those brackets in cinder block. You can use 1/4" toggle bolts if you drill in the hollow section of the block or 1/4 or 5/16" lag bolts with lead shields for the solid area of the block. These are common items at your home store. Lag shields need a 1/2" hole drilled in the block and the toggle bolts need a 5/8" hole. A regular masonry bit will do the trick. Don't use a hammer drill. Good luck and stay safe out there.


Do I need to run a ground from my main panel to the new sub panel 100' away? Do I need to run a ground from my main panel to the new sub panel 100' away or can I establish the ground at the shop location ie. UFER?

You have to run a separate grounding conductor between the panels. If the second panel is in another building, you need to install a grounding electrode at that building as well. At least that's how it's done in  the US, if you're covered by NEC.


Does romex wire between studs in a garage have to be encased in conduit? What is the current code about a new wire run between studs on an unfinished garage wall? I am installing a switch between a GFCI  and an outdoor UF run to control an outdoor pole light.

NEC Article 334.10 (A)(1) Allows NM to be installed in both exposed and concealed locations except areas where trim, doors, window casings, etc. Or where they would be susceptible to abnormal damage. Just make sure it is installed and stapled in the center of the stud. If you have to drill into a plate or stud it should be in the center also. If not protect with a nail plate. I like nail plates. They are inexpensive and easy to install. I would rather over do them than under do them.

Good luck


How does denim insulation perform at low ambient temperatures? I am interested in how denim insulation like this performs at low ambient temperatures. Does anyone know? I am most interested in performance measures like R-value and what other factors affect this.
I have seen some estimates for other materials, such as here and here, but not for denim or for other "fabric-type" insulation.
(For me, "low temperatures" means 0 to 40 deg F, or -18 to 4 deg C. I am thinking about insulating windows at night with denim insulation and a vapor barrier, but I'm interested in a range of applications.)
Thanks!

you can use this far better frost avoidance and cold draft reduction . good to -40’C
https://www.homerepairtutor.com/how-to-weatherize-windows-with-plastic-film-insulation/
I made insert frames and heat shrunk onto then remove and store in spring. But getting an air flow seal is best. They will inflate if not tight.  Easy to install with a hair dryer,  not too close .(6”)


How do I make my bathroom pipes more practical? I need to install a new vanity in my bathroom but I'm not sure what to do about the plumbing for under the sink. I believe the present location of the sink was originally where the bathtub was. The pipes for the faucet come out of the floor behind the sink on one wall. The drain pipe goes through another wall (on the left side) and also through the floor. It is awkward and takes up a ridiculous amount of space and is making it difficult to choose a vanity. Would you be able to tell me what would need to be done to fix this problem? Is it a simple fix or is it something major? I would appreciate any advice or suggestions.

The relatively fixed elements are the drain  pipe going trough the floor and the vent pipe running to the left. It is complex to change where these exit the room (go into the wall or floor).

As other comments and answers suggest, you can probably shift these pipes toward the back of the vanity.  With the vanity removed, you can put in a "sweep elbow" (a shallow curve rather than a sharp 90 degree) from the pipe coming up through the floor toward the back of the cabinet area.  You can then turn it upward, again with a sweep elbow, and join the P-trap to that upright pipe.

If the sweep elbow is higher than the floor of the vanity, you can open up the floor to lower it or you can take out a channel in the vanity floor to accomodate.  This should still leave enough room higher up to accomodate drawers on one side ot the other.

The vent stack can also be turned toward the back to meet the newly routed drain stack.  Elbows in vents are less critical than waste elbows.


How can I move/replace this ABS p-trap? I installed a new vanity and sink, and found that the sink drain doesn’t line up with the p trap (also, incidentally, I’ll need a tailpiece extension - but that’s not my question).

I am trying to move the p trap but the swivel nut on the distal part of the p trap (pictured) is extremely stuck despite channellock pliers. Can I cut the abs just past the elbow and will there be a piece that fits over the cut end? Or should I cut all the way back at the PVC of the sanitary piece?

It is all glued together, it will need to be cut of at a given spot and glue a wall adapter on the remainder of the cut off piece.

Picture courtesy Home Depot

If the white pipe (PVC) is at least 1" beyond the face of the wall, and glue is not smeared over it to any major degree, the pipe can be cut just behind the black (ABS) connector. Clean up the square cut you give it, get rid of any burrs, add PVC primer and glue to the wall adapter and pipe, and join together, holding it in place for a short while , until the glue grabs.

If there is not enough room to get the 1" needed to glue on the wall adapter with the original escutcheon on, when you cut the pipe and remove the escutcheon, this should get you another 3/8" of pipe exposed. Then use a "bell escutcheon" to cover the wall adapter once you connect the sink p-trap.

Picture courtesy Signature Hardware

This means the ABS p trap is useless and a new p trap will need to be installed.

Wall adapters come in different sizes, make sure you get the right size, as well as the p trap.


Side and corners of an archway Hello and thanks to whomever answers my questions.

I have undertaken a task of increasing the opening of an archway.  I need an extra 1/2 inch in order to receive a new refrigerator.  I removed a 4" piece of 3/4" drywall (about 5 feet up) and about 1" around the corners of this 4" wide archway.

Q1.  To fill in the sides around the corners, do you recommend just using mud with corner tape or should I screw in a 1" x 60" replacement piece of sheetrock?

Q2.  OR, should I take away another inch so that my replacement piece is 2" wide and more stable?

Q3.  For the 4" face of the archway, I am planning in priming the wood stud and then using compound to shape it.  OR, do you recommend using 1/4 sheetrock for the face?

Thank You.

I've made the following decisions:

Around the sides of the corner, I removed an extra inch of wallboard so that I can now affix a more sturdy 2" section.
For the face of the archway (the section that walk through), I have purchased 1/4" drywall which opens the space as I need.  Around this 1/4" section, I will use two plastic corner beads, one on each corner.
My joint will indeed be at eyelevel as I don't want to mess with the actual curve of my archway.  I am quite proficient at making joints disappear so I have no worries for that.

Thanks again for your input.


How can I remove dark stains from laminate flooring? This is laminate flooring. Not planks. No idea what the stain is at all!

Any suggestions on how to get it out or what it is?

Response to answers below:
I have not tried steam cleaning. I heard water and laminate floors don't do well together?

Perfect wording Jack, I've been trying to explain this flooring for awhile, because it's not individual planks, it's all one piece, with a picture of wood on top. I do not know what the core is though.

It is mostly infront of the dish washer with a small dot over by the fridge and one dot to the side of the stove. There is also one near the trim on the wall which is no where near a water source (except the bathroom on the other side of the wall).

I have tried magic eraser in case it was a stain, and it did nothing. I have also tried acetone nail polish remover on a portion that was most hidden, and again nothing happened.

I live in apartments, and the manager had one of thier friends come "look" at it. He was saying it looked like I had split something which then stained the floor.(which doesn't make since for all the locations). I have been home while a whole dish washer cycle goes through and have not seen any sitting water. Would water even do this?

For anyone wondering, the vinyl floor was installed incorrectly and those stains are pieces of the old vinyl underneath saturated in the wrong kind of glue/epoxy . We got our floors replaced, and they look great. Thanks for all your help!


Replace Light Fixture with outlet I have a projector I plan on mounting to the ceiling in my basement. It just so happens that I have an unused light fixture receptacle which had been covered with a plate, right next to where I am tying to mount it. I know how to replace an electrical outlet, but I had a few questions:

Is light fixture wiring capable of handling the 350 Watts the projector consumes (the additional 3A shouldn't be a problem, I don't think)
There are 4 wires of each color (white, black, and bare). Why so many? Which ones do I use?
I have yet to measure whether or not this receptacle is on the same circuit as the lights, but if so, how do I get this outlet off of the switch? Since I would like to use the projector with the lights off, I need this circuit to always be hot. This is my biggest question. I would prefer not to have to run additional wiring to that spot on the ceiling.

Since it always comes up, I live in Maryland (USA).

Light wiring is no different than outlet wiring in terms of capacity. The breaker should already be sized appropriately.
Could be that the switch and/or home run (source) wires come into that box, and that two pairs go out to the other light boxes. Some tracing or testing would be necessary.
If the source comes into the box, you're golden. You can connect the new outlet to that and leave the rest of the circuit as-is. If not, You'd probably need to find a way to make changes elsewhere in the circuit to isolate that box. You probably can't bring additional cabling into that box as it's very full already.


How do I fix this toilet flange? Basically there is a PVC flange that was glued to the inside of the pipe.  The problem was that the metal flange that was on the outside was so completely bent that the bolts no longer stayed inside.  So I wanted to remove the metal flange and replace it with a new one, but I didn't know the PVC was glued in and long story short wound up breaking it.  What is the correct way to fix this? I have replaced several toilets before but never had this problem before.

Picture of toilet flange now (note - that metal ring is the NEW one):

Will a wax ring like this just go over it and seal the hole?  Or do I need some kind of gasket?  Something more?

The metal ring (in fact the whole flange unit) looks like it was perfectly fine... until you got to it. The exception is that it does not appear to have been screwed to the floor, which is necessary for stability.

I think your problem of "the bolts no longer stayed inside" may have had to do with misunderstanding how closet bolts attach, rather than a damaged ring.

It will be very difficult, at this point to remove the remains. I strongly recommend that you screw the ring directly to the floor, as it should have been originally, and go ahead and install the toilet using that wax ring you have. Make sure you understand how to properly use those bolts to attach the toilet.

If the floor beneath is ceramic tile on concrete you would need to drill into it and use appropriate anchors for the screws (I would use lead anchors and stainless-steel screws). If it is vinyl tile (or ceramic tile on plywood or backer-board) you could drill through it to the wood subfloor and screw into that.

If I were doing it, I would buy an extra wax ring and pack wax into the voids between the plastic flange body and your new ring (warm the wax in the sun or with a hair dryer).


using a relay to swich between main and solar power I have both solar and mains voltage at my house and since the solar isn't enough to continuously power the house , we switch between it and mains when there is less sun.I was hoping to make an automated system to do this switching using a relay and a raspberry pi.

I understand that a solid state relay provides a fast switch,
Is this a realistic project ?
 Is a Solid State or Mechanical relay which would fit the requirements available?
If so what should I be looking for ?

Edit:
To make it more clear,I have two sources of power and I use a manual switch as shown below to switch between them

I want to use a relay instead of the change over switch and would like to know what kind of relay I should use.
(Indian 220V system)

There is more to it that you may not realize. By using manual switching, you inherently prevent even the remotest possibility of back-feeding the utility grid with your solar power. It is not physically capable of being connected to both systems simultaneously. As soon as you "automate" this, you introduce the possibility that something could fail in an unsafe state. The result could then be that your solar system is feeding the grid and a utility line worker is killed by it because he is working on the wires when your "transfer switch" screws up and connects. For that very reason, as soon as you go with anything other than a manual changeover switch, it must have certification that your power utility accepts regarding its safety.

You will need to start there before you buy anything.

And to answer your question about using solid state switching, absolutely not. Solid state switches "leak" when they are supposedly off. The leakage is minimal and for general purposes is often ignored, but for something like this it is potentially lethal.


How NOT to use a power drill. What are common mistakes that should be avoided? While I know how to operate a power drill in general (by the manual, so to say), I am wondering which things I should avoid of doing to it, in order to get the best out of the drill. I want to know about things that I might use a power drill for, because it seems like a genious idea, but which put the mechanics and electronics at danger. As an example: I see and am tempted to  tilt the drill in a hole or apply perpendicular force on the drill bit as in milling. While I think this is a common idea and practice, I am not sure about how much damage this does to the drive, if at all.

Some other helpful hints (not from Heloise)

0) ALWAYS wear gloves and eye protection. (Note: if you're using one hand to hold down the material being drilled, a glove can reduce injury if the drill bit jams. On the other hand, you should never depend on body parts to hold things in place)

1) When drilling into soft material such as plastic or pine, withdraw the bit periodically to clear out shavings.

2) When drilling into metal or hard materials, use a center punch to give you a starting hole. This avoids "wander" when you start up, and reduces the need to push down hard in an attempt to avoid "wander."

3) Don't put a gigantic size bit (e.g. spade or Forstner types) in a drill not designed for one. The torque required will burn out the motor.

4) Not bad for the drill, but bad for the bits: when using really small diameter bits, be careful and gentle or they'll snap.  If you've got a 3-prong chuck, make sure the drill bit is properly centered before attempting to drill.

Note: it's fine to drill at an angle so long as the applied force is along the shaft of the drill bit.


Keeping a Threaded Pipe at 90 degrees I recently demo'd a bathroom that was using a "rustic farmhouse" galvanized shelving unit.  I took this unit off and was hoping to re-install.  Ideally, the elbows would thread in so when they are tight, they are exactly 90-degrees upright, making the shelf level (pic 1 + 2).  The problem is... they don't.   If I tighten them to the point where they would support any weight (pic 3 + 4),  they are going in complete opposite directions and will not work.

It used to be 90 degrees.... I can't figure out for the life of me how they did it.

Is there some sort of discrete nut or washer or something I can use to tighten these and still determine the angle?  Am I using a glue/adhesive of some sort?  What's the trick here?

Assuming that they are threaded in correctly, you just need to apply adequate force. Pipe threads are tapered to make a seal (which you don't care about in this application) but there is considerable latitude in how far they can be tightened, with proper pipe wrenches (always use two.)

Otherwise, you can add unions to get exactly the angle you want, but the normal approach (particularly when you don't have to make a seal) is just to get them tight enough, and then crank it up more to get them aligned. You have to really overdo it (or start cross-threaded) to seriously damage the threads.

You MIGHT find some benefit in using pipe dope (as for sealing) since it will provide some lubrication, without being all slippery like grease or oil. i.e. It's designed for the job at hand.


How would one install a wall-mounted toilet when the original is on a concrete slab? 1973 framed townhome.  I can do whatever I want to the slab, which is 4" thick.  The current drain for the toilet is standard, but it travels through a 4" slab.
The wall behind the toilet(s) are 1/2" drywall with 2x3 studs @ 16" on center and the space between the drywall on either side of the wall is about 12" (room for dryer vent).
So, I have enough depth for a wall-mounted toilet.
What I don't have is a wide enough stud, so I imagine I would need to re-frame a section of the wall to widen it.
2nd, and more costly is going to be moving the drain for the toilet.
Since it runs through a slab, I foresee that I would need to bust through the slab far enough to be able to re-fit the drain such that it's centered on the wall plate below the new toilet tank.
Have I missed anything?

Reframing behind and busting open the slab seems typical for going from a standard toilet to a wall-mounted.  My question is - why?


Two-speed hot tub motor hums but doesn't run Have a hot tub 2.5 years old one of the motors is 2 speed. When I push start on that one it just hums. Could it be just the capacitor. If so how can it be checked ?

Many single phase motors use a start capacitor. If it fails the motor can hum without starting. Sometimes they puff up and are obviously broke. If it appears OK visually then you will need to test it.

To test a capacitor you will need to disconnect it from the motor. If not use a digital multimeter set on resistance connected across the terminals of the capacitor. Initially it should read extremely low and the resistance should climb as the capacitor charges. Reversing your leads should yield the same result. If you get these results, the capacitor is good.

Otherwise a failed capacitor will read zero or infinite resistance.

If it is not the capacitor, it could be the pump motor is seized or the piping is plugged.

Good luck!


How should I prepare this compression fit copper tube for use again? (Apologies in advance folks - I'm new to compression fit connections so I suspect this is an obvious question).

I'm preparing to reconnect an old copper tube to my water supply line and refrigerator for the ice maker. Here's what I see at the end that's near my sink:

The key point that concerns me is that there's no compression nut at all and the compression ring/olive is on there pretty good.  I'm not sure how this could have happened but oh well.

My current plan of attack is:

1) Cut off the old compression ring section.

2) Lightly clean the end to ensure there isn't any dirt and debris.

3) Place the compression NUT on first (which seems to come with most water supply valves of appropriate size.

4) Please the compression RING on second.

5) Place the tube in the compression seat of the shutoff valve.

6) Tighten the nut.

Is it really that simple or am I missing something?

I'm confused on a few things:

What actually tightens the ring seal to the tubing? Is that done when I'm tightening the nut?  Or do I need to apply some sort of glue around the base?
Do I need to wrap anything in plumbers tape?
How far up the tubing should the ring/olive be? In the old piece, it looks like it was placed about 3/8" to 1/4" up but I'm not sure if that's recommended or not.

Yes, quite simple.

use a Scotchbrite pad to shine up the copper tube so the ferrule ring has a clean, gouge free seating area
slide the nut on
slide the ferrule ring on
push the copper tube into the fitting till it seats (fittings I've used have an internal stop at about 1/4" from ferrule seating area, double-check that the fitting is designed this way)
push the ferrule ring into place against the fitting
thread the nut on by hand (make sure the tube doesn't back out of the fitting and till nut is hand tight)
tighten the nut just till the fitting is leak-free (about 1/2 turn from hand tight)

No plumber's goop, no teflon tape on assembly, the seal is formed by compressing the ferrule ring.

Where most people go wrong is to over-tighten the nut for the ferrule ring. The ferrule ring is trapped between two conical surfaces (nut and fitting) that force the ring to bite into the soft copper which both seals and forms a mechanical connection to keep the tube from backing out. Over-tightening causes the ring to dent the tubing, causing leaks and the inability to disassemble and reassemble the fitting as all the give is taken out of the ferrule ring and it cannot compress any more to seal effectively on the next reassembly.


Splicing load side of GFCI receptacle I have a Junction box with incoming 120v coming into it.   I want to Install a GFCI recpetacle in this location.  From this same location I would like to splice the load side of the GFCI in order to protect planned receptacles which will be located to the left AND Right of this location. If I splice the load and carry load in 2 different directions, will this protect properly?

Yes. That's what pigtails are for. No problem at all.

Incoming (from panel) wires -> LINE side of GFCI
Outgoing wires - short pigtails (colors matching the outgoing wires, normally black & white) -> LOAD side of GFCI
On the other end of each pigtail, wire nut the two matching wires to the other locations.

All grounds (both sides) are connected together.


GFCI Circuit begins and ends with GFCI receptacles I've bought a home with a circuit that begins with a GFCI in the breaker box, runs thru a bedroom, and ends with several GFCI outlets on the patio, that trips randomly.

Suspecting a moisture issue at the patio, I'm thinking of replacing those GFCI's on the patio with just regular (weather-resistant) receptacles to eliminate the moisture problem...keeping the one GFCI at the start of the circuit..the breaker box.

Would this be a safe move?

Perfect Solution
The GFCI in the breaker is all you need, so replace the other GFCI receptacles (whether inside or out) with regular receptacles and you will be fine. Except, as noted by Harper, the receptacles that need GFCI protection (and have it but "elsewhere") need to be marked GFCI protected.
There are three reasons why there may be GFCI receptacles in addition to the GFCI breaker:

Previous Owner Confusion - Previous owner didn't understand how things work and had GFCI deliberately installed in both breaker panel and receptacles for perceived extra safety.

Home Inspector or Real Estate Agent - A well-meaning, but not knowledgeable, home inspector or real estate agent told the previous owner to put in the outside GFCI in order to meet current code, without understanding that the GFCI in the breaker took care of everything safely

Retrofit - GFCI receptacles originally installed where needed to meet current code. At a later time, the breakers were upgraded (either an entire panel replacement or individual breakers replaced with GFCI breakers) to include GFCI, but the GFCI receptacles were never removed.

In any case, you can get rid of the GFCI at the receptacles. They are more vulnerable to weather-related problems (even with weather-resistant covers) than regular receptacles. If moisture really does get into the receptacles in a way that causes a ground fault, the GFCI breaker will protect you.
The only advantage of a GFCI receptacle over a breaker is that it is convenient to reset. However, there is no guarantee as to whether which GFCI (receptacle or breaker) will trip first - or they may both trip at the same time - so that advantage goes away when you have GFCI in more than one location.


limit detection angle of a motion sensor light switch Is there a way to limit the horizontal angle of a motion based indoor (occupancy) light switch to it doesn't  pick up movement within, say 90 degree horizontal angle only

I did the same thing for a motion sensor in my alarm system. A window in the corner of the view was causing false alarms.

I am assuming that your sensor is similar, it has a semicircular translucent cover over the IR sensor. I disassembled mine and put black electrical tape on the back side of the translucent cover to block part of the view.

You could also put tape on the front, but it won't look as nice.


12 gauge on 30 amp circuit - after thermostat I have 2 2500 watt baseboard heaters that I'm planning on running off of a 30a 240v breaker. My question is, because the thermostat is close to the panel, can I run the 10/2 JUST to the thermostat, then run 12/2 to each heater individually?

NO. If this electric heat circuit is on a 30A breaker then ALL the wiring on the circuit must be #10cu (or larger). Even if it feeds just one heater.


When drilling a tiled wall, should I aim for the seams or avoid them? I'm going to drill a couple of holes in a tiled wall in my bathroom. Is it best to drill through the seams or the tiles? Should I avoid vertical or horizontal seams, or does it really not matter?

The holes are for a shower riser (i.e. just a couple of screws with plastic wall plugs/dowels). These look like the plain old ceramic tiles, and they have cracked where they were drilled through by whoever installed the shower.

P.S. I'm aware of the possibility of drilling through a water pipe; will take the necessary precautions.

I would buy a set of glass bits.  I linked to some cheap ones - no idea if they are great or not but probably doesn't matter.

It also doesn't matter if you do it on grout or tile - you need to anchor either way.

The key is to start with your smallest bit and work your way up to the hole size you need.  The tile breaks because of pressure.  By slowly increasing the hole size you are putting less force on it.


I'm trying to find the manufacturer and age of French Patio Doors grateful for any advise anyone can give me.
I'm trying to find the manufacturer and age of French Patio Doors installed before we bought the house.

Inside frame
RHEN12608SIIAG353203903071206503820042029

Inside other frame
RHEN12608SIIAG35314350307052--8550022074

Inside glass
RAVENSBY KM25420 BSEN1279-2

Photos of doors attached

The actual glass was made by Ravensby Glass Co. And the company that made the doors is called Rehau. They mold(ed) plastic frames anyway.

Here's a link to their home page: http://www.rehauhome.com/default.aspx

I think that you'll need to contact them to figure out the age... but sometimes the date of manufacturing is part of the numbers... like 12608 might mean 12/6/08. In Europe that would be June 12, 2008... in USA, it's December 6, 2008... but then again, sometimes the number refers to the day that the design was created- not the actual door, and then of course the number might be meaningless- just a fingerprint.


Can I power an outdoor security light from a non-EV garage receptacle? I'm planning to install an outdoor floodlight above my rolling garage door, and there is a continuously powered receptacle in the rafters above the garage door that's just a few feet from the other side of the wall where I want to install the light. Running some new Romex from that receptacle through a hole and into an outdoor junction box for the floodlight seems like an easy installation.

However, I've read that new code requires that no garage receptacles power outdoor security lights. Is this an issue even for ones that are not intended for EV car charging, like my garage door opener receptacle?

Here's a photo of the receptacle powering the garage door opener, and the wall above the garage door where I'd be drilling a hole:

The 2014 NEC states:

  210.52 (G) (1). For attached and detached garages with electric power, the branch circuit supplying the garage receptacle(s) will not supply any outlets outside the garage. And at least one receptacle outlet shall be installed for each car space.

An "outlet" is defined as "A point on the wiring system at which current is taken to supply utilization equipment."

So, your outdoor floodlight power should come from elsewhere.

Sorry


What can I do about electric code violations in a rental unit? My fiance and I are currently renting an apartment in Baltimore, MD and recently we have become alarmed by much of the house's wiring. Things we have seen included:

countless wires that are spliced together outside of electrical boxes
wires spliced together with only electrical tape inside electrical boxes
wires spliced together with only electrical tape outside of an electrical box
wires that are black spliced to wires that are white
single wires running from one electrical box to another (i.e. only hot or only neutral)
loose wires laying in the back of our cabinets
wires pinned (and chafed) between our oven and sharp corners of the cabinetry
lighting fixtures that are wired in series instead of parallel
twisted pairs without any sort of jacket running from one fixture to another

A lot of this was here when we arrived but we have personally observed a couple fixes entailing several of the bullet points above within the last few months.

I don't think that there is any combination of grandfathering in and loopholes that could result in this setup being up to code but are things like this common in older(early 1900's) houses?  We've brought it up with our land lord but he hasn't taken any significant action to correct the issues. Would it be excessively paranoid to insist that someone inspect the place? If not what type of inspection should we ask for?

I had this same situation.  I made a (written) list of issues (with pictures) and gave it to the landlord.  When it became clear that the landlord would not fix them, I called an inspector.  It turned out that there was a completely different department overseeing residential safety inspection vs. building code inspection, but after getting that sorted, they gave the home a free inspection and gave the landlord a fine and deadline to fix the issues.  The landlord was understandably upset and asked us to leave, and we happily signed the lease-termination.  I maybe should have told the landlord that I was going to refer the issues to the city by such-and-such a date and this may have avoided involving the city and angering the landlord.  We probably would have been let out of lease under better terms, but there would have been no incentive for the landlord to fix anything and the cycle would have begun again with the next tenants.

I recommend you give the landlord every opportunity to fix your concerns, and seek a mutual lease-termination agreement if/when this fails.  Pay your rent!  If you don't and this goes to court, then It'll just end up looking like the you wanted out all along and used the safety issues as an excuse.  If the inspector condemns the place, and you are forced to move, then you can stop paying your rent.


How can I patch a hole in this brick wall? I just pulled out the washing machine the old owners "kindly" left us to find a hole where the wall meets the floor.

It's approximately 80mm x 50mm and goes down approx 100mm - below ground level - where it seems to open up again. There is a drain near it (on the right of the photo) so I assume this void is due to that. I can feel a breeze when I put my hand near it. Before I put in the new washing machine, I'd like to patch the wall to improve insulation and prevent mice getting in. What's the best way to do this? The wall is brick.

Edit: Thanks, Bib! Photo of the patch added:

You can patch it with hydraulic cement similar to this type

You need to carefully remove all loose material and clean the area. The cement is fast setting and expands slightly as it sets, making a tight seal. Only mix as much as you can use in a few minutes.


What are the best option to Rekey My New House? I'm closing on my first house on Tuesday and I'm interested in seeing if rekeying my locks is worth the effort. I think my options are: new locks, rekey it myself, and get a locksmith to rekey it. Any recommendations or am I missing anything?

Rekey
You can probably rekey the locks yourself, depending on what brand and type of locks they are. The process isn't too difficult, you'll be a pro after one or two.
You'll have to remove the handles and deadbolts from the doors, so you'll probably want to go one at a time.  But if you like doing little projects like this, rekeying them yourself could save you some money.
Check amazon for rekey kits, but make sure you know what brand locks you'll be working on first.  I recently picked up a kit for less than $20. If I remember correctly, the kit had 50 of each pin and all the tools that were required.
If you decide to go this route, there are tons of great videos on YouTube that explain exactly how to do it.  Watch a few, and you'll be an expert in no time.
Locksmith
A locksmith will probably save you a bit over a wholesale change out. Again you'll probably want to do it in stages, unless the locksmith can guarantee they will be done in a couple hours.
Replacement
Replacing all the hardware is probably going to be the most expensive option.  However, it does give you the opportunity to switch brands, styles, quality, security level, and technology level.
Depending on how many doors you have, you might still have to rekey some of the new hardware (or special order it). Since most packages off the shelf only handle up to two doors.


How do I fix the twist mechanism on a blind? As you can see from the image below the twisting mechanism which holds the longer stick to adjust the angle of the blind as broken.

Any ideas on how this can be fixed, either by fitting a new twisting mechanism in or a DIY hack?

I would repair this by fitting a short piece of aluminum, copper or brass tubing over the nubbin of the shaft. This can be glued in place using epoxy. Before installation the end of the tubing can be worked to make a new end to engage the wand. The simplest (working with copper is especially nice) way would be to squeeze the end of the tubing flat. Then trim the corners of the flattened section to a rounded end profile. Finally make a hole in the end that can take a ring linkage from the adjustment wand.

I was going to draw a picture of the idea but it was faster to just make a sample of the proposal. Just choose the tubing with an inner diameter that is close to the size of the nubbin. The hole for the linkage gets drilled through the flattened end. Before trying to apply the epoxy in the tube do use a Q-Tip dipped in isopropyl alcohol to clean away any possible oil film left from the manufacturing of the tubing.


Connectors on wires entering a plastic box I brought a 14/3 U/F cable into a single plastic nail-on box, through a hole that I drilled through the back of the box. Do I need a connector on that wire, and if so what would you recommend a black button Romex connector backwards?

I have used listed clamps on construction boxes but black button connector is a device like an “insider” plastic clamp it is only listed for 1 direction. Mechanical 2 screw clamps can be installed with the screws on the inside or outside. On plastic boxes if you have a bushing to protect the insulation the staple needs to be within 8” not all plastic boxes have clamps but if you drill a hole it will require protection for the wire at a minimum. I would say based on that it doesn’t matter but if the instructions for your clamp provide a direction the inspector can flag it.