How To Provide For Carpet Edging? I have a lower level hallway in my house that is currently carpeted all the way through the hallway and into the adjacent Den room. See outline drawing below:

This hallway is a high traffic area from the garage, which is beyond the laundry room, and up the stairs to the mid level of the house. I have a desire to remove the carpet in the hallway and replace with a click-lock style of laminate flooring. This new flooring would extend into the shown bathroom and the computer room.
I want to retain the existing carpet in the Den room so I would anticipate cutting the carpet along the green line in the above outline drawing.
The question here is what to do with the method to secure the carpet and provide for an edging for the carpet?
Normally carpet has a tack strip underneath the edges that would be inset some from the edge. How would I go about installing some tack strip after I cut the carpet at the green line? Would I need to rent a carpet stretcher to secure the carpet to the new tack strip. And finally, after the new laminate flooring is installed what would be the typical type of transition to use from the carpet to the laminate flooring?

There are many options for the transition from hard flooring to carpet, and the method of securing the carpet depends on the option you choose.
You could have the cut carpet edge end in a metal strip of the color you prefer. In this case, there are strips that act as a tack strip, wherein the carpet is gripped by the strip itself and tucked under a decorative cover. For these, the metal strip would butt directly against the edge of the hard flooring:

You could use a traditional tack strip and cover the edge of the wood and the cut carpet edge with a rabbeted wood strip, stained and varnished to meet your aesthetic:


Floor tile murals, is this proper? I am looking for some feedback on a floor tile mural that I recently had installed.

My contractor used some fairly thick grout lines, and I am questioning whether or not this was the proper thing to do for this sort of tile.

After questioning him, he claimed that this is industry standard. And that using a linen color sanded grout would be just fine, and refused to pop the tile back up and re-align it. I tried to search around the ANSI for tile standards and couldn't find anything that talked about this sort of tile.

I did some research and understand the need for at least a 1/32 grout line, but it seems impossible to make this tile look good with the large gaps that he used.

See the photos for more context.

EDIT:

1/8" inch were used, tile is 32"x32"

The question here is, is this a standard practice for a tile of this format? Since this tile is portraying an image, is there a specific standard for that sort of thing?

Thoughts?

The pictures show a beautiful job so far.

Grout lines that are too narrow make tiles that have some size variation very obvious. In addition somewhat wider grout lines allow some minor tile misalignment to be accommodated without it sticking out like a big thumb. This includes variation in the tile X&Y dimensions as well as small variations of the laid height of the tile.

I suggest that you are very observant right now as you are forking over good money to get this installed. I would venture to guess that after the installation has completed and you have walked over it a few hundred times that you will be completely past any concerns that you have today.


What is the correct height of a toilet flange relative to the finished floor? What are the best practices or other rules such as building code regarding how to set the height of a toilet flange relative to the finished floor height?

Example of the type of flange I am referring to:

I have read conflicting information - some statements that the top of the flange should be flush with the finished floor, others that the bottom of the flange should rest on the finished surface.

Possibly these are not really contradictory but depend on the circumstance.

A related detail is that if you are unsure of the finished height is it better to err too high or too low?

Note: I am referring to US-style toilets; likely this is relevant for other regions also, but I'm not sure which. I know some places typically use other systems however, such as rear-discharge toilets in the UK.

Note: although there are several related questions here about this issue I haven't found one yet which seems to give a general purpose answer. The others are all for specific situations. I think we need a 'canonical' question for this topic.

Related:

What can I do about a toilet flange that is 1/4" below the finished floor?
Is my toilet flange too high off the ground?
How proud can a toilet flange sit above the floor?
What do I do about a toilet flange that is too high?
Is there a problem with this toilet flange or flange installation?

The original intent of the toilet flange is to screw down to the finished flooring, not below it, definitely not shimmed up above the finish floor, although there is a small bit of room if there is a small error in the install, say no more than 1/8"-1/4" Remodeling has made it a regular practice of setting the flange below a newly installed finish floor where the toilet was already in place. Larger (taller) wax rings or doubling get past that issue. And with that in new construction, setting the flange on the subfloor has become acceptable, also setting it below the finished floor.


How do I fix a chlorine feeder that's nearly impossible to open? I've got an off-line Hayward chlorine tablet feeder on my pool (it has a 1/4" hose that taps off some water from the pressure side of the pump before the filter, and it outputs via 1/4" line to the return lines after the filter).

This thing has a screw-top to seal the chamber where the chlorine tablets go, and it has a latch mechanism - if you screw it on far enough, it latches to prevent the top vibrating off.

This thing is only 3 or 4 years old.

At this point I can't close it completely (it's simply too tight to screw on any further). When last I did have it completely closed, it took me over an hour to get it apart. It doesn't leak, and various tests (unscrewing various fittings) shows that it is working.

Anyone know what's gone wrong here? It's almost like the plastic has changed shape in some way. Any idea how to fix it? It's not an expensive part ($60 or so), but it's only a few years old, and it seems to me it shouldn't need replacing already.

The O-ring for the cap on my Rainbow chlorinator didn't last more than a couple of years.  Perhaps you need a new one.  My O-ring actually swelled and got bigger.  I keep mine lubricated with silicone grease.


Ceiling light with 6 wires I'm trying to replace old ceiling light with a new one.  New light has only blue and red, no green.  There are 2 cables coming from the ceiling each with 3 wires. Green/blue/red and green/black/red.  I've blocked green/green and tried blue/black to blue and red/red to red but light goes on but not off.  Blue to blue and black/red/red doesn't work. Any suggestions?   UK.

Green is indeed ground pretty much everywhere except old work in the Soviet Bloc.

You need to attach the new light the same way the old light was attached.   It is likely of the 4 wires from the wall, two of them were attached to each other and not to the lamp.  Reconnect those same ones the same way.

In wiring, colors don't mean a whole lot, becuase cables are made to standardized colors. (Old: black-red... new: brown-blue). So the information of how wires are connected is valuable. It is the only documentation for how the circuit is wired.

However, in that era in the UK, they were fond of using a special-color cable for "switch loops".   In this case, the color coding sort of works out.

Red is supply/always-hot, and comes from supply and goes to switch.  It does not go to the lamp, the lamp has no use for always-hot.
Black is old neutral, and should go lamp neutral (which is blue/EU or white/US.)
what remains is switched-hot. It is Blue (old) from the ceiling.  And from the lamp,  brown/EU or black/US.


How to check grounding connection Background: in my neighborhood the water company is renewing the pipe line, taking away the old metal pipes and replacing them with plastic pipes. The electrical network company has thus sent a letter to all the houses (built in the late '60es) advising to check that the grounding was not made by connecting to the water pipes (now this is not allowed, but it was common in the past), as this would basically leave the house with no grounding after the replacement. After this check they ask for a written communication that the grounding is ok, to be done before the replacement works begin.

Is there a way to check how the grounding is made? From the electric cabinet I just see a cable going below the floor, and I cannot wait for them to remove the pipes and then check if I still have grounding.

Your house will be grounded either by the metal water pipes as you said, by a ground rod, or rebar in your foundation (if it has it).

The most common modern method is the ground rod. Normally if a ground rod is used, it would be placed on the outside of your house on the other side of the wall your electrical panel is. Because you state that it goes below the floor, it's not likely you have a ground rod (at least not one you can see outside). You can easily check for an exterior ground rod by looking outside next to the foundation on the other side of the wall of the electrical panel. You should see a copper wire going into the ground, and possibly the ground rod itself sticking up a little bit.

You stated that your house is older, so I'm not confident that your house is grounded by any rebar in the foundation as your house probably doesn't have it. If it's grounded to the rebar, you may not be able to observe the ground connection without digging if the foundation was poured over it.

If the panel is grounded to the water pipes, and the ground wire can be seen going into the floor, I'm assuming the side of your house the water comes into is on the same side of your house that the electrical panel is on. I say this because you want to ground the water pipe as close to the entrance of your house as possible. This is so that if, for example, you replace your water lines in the house in the future. If you take off the water pipe that the ground wire is connected to, you will have an ungrounded house. By having it near the entrance, you are that much less likely to accidentally disconnect your ground. I would have thought that they would want the water line to come through the wall of your foundation, rather than the floor, but it's possible.

So how do you determine if your house is grounded with the water pipes? You can do it by observation as described above, but this won't help if you can't see where the ground goes as you can with a ground rod.  Some might say to disconnect the ground conductor from the panel and measure the impedance between the ground wire and your pipes. This won't work because the ground path could be going through rebar, a ground rod, or some other method before reaching the pipes.

Unfortunately unless you dig through your floor, you can't tell where it connects. You would need specialized meters that would test ground impedance, but even this method isn't guaranteed to pinpoint the ground connection. An electrician should have this meter though. If I was in your position, I would call my utility company (water and electric) and ask how you should determine the ground connection. Explain that your ground connection isn't visible and that it would be an expense to determine the ground location. Hopefully they will reimburse you in some way, but normally the utility's responsibility ends when it enters your house.


Rewiring a UK dimmer switch with a Wifi switch I've just bought a wifi switch and was wondering if somebody could tell me which wire goes to which please? I'm thinking the following?

L = Live (Brown)
L1 = Arrow over tilde??
N = Blue (Neutral)
Earth = Wrapped up

Thank you

Current Varilight dimmer switch:

To new wifi switch:

Put the two blues into the N connector

The browns go into L and L1, but you have to get them the right way round.

one of the browns goes to the lamp and the other comes from the supply (you will probably need to check for voltage to determine which is from the supply)

The supply brown goes into L and the lamp brouwn into L1

join the earth wires with an approved joiner. over here earths need two screw joiner while other conductors don't, so you probably shouldn't use that joiner that came off the blue wires.


How to remove wire from insert connector in recessed light fixture I want to remove a wire from this connector inside a can light junction box. I tried pulling it but it doesn't come out. Am I missing something here?
Take a look at picture of similar can. I know that in this picture the wire is integral to the fixture. I want to remove incoming wire from another similar can in celling.

If you were to detach the connector from the group retainer by releasing the tabs you might find a wire release tab or slot on the connector. Otherwise...

Try twisting the wire as you pull. Sometimes they'll sort of screw out with a bit of effort. Remove the damaged portion of the wire and re-strip before using it elsewhere.

Cut the wire and re-strip it. Leave a stub on the connector to which you could reconnect later, or which you can cap or tape to insulate the exposed wire. (You could also just loop it back into the same connector to secure and insulate it.)


Flashing EPDM roofing up a short arched vertical portion? I have an old concrete garage roof that is leaking. I plan to attach a layer of pressure treated wood then glue an EPDM sheet to the surface.
I understand how to install a drip edge on the sides however, I'm not sure what to do where the flat portion abuts a short arched piece. Images below. I'd rather not cut it off or attempt to refinish it to a taller edge at this time if possible.
Is it totally insane to just fill the corner with caulk or other adhesive? What would a professional do?
Back sketch of the garage

I would run your EDPM sheet right up the back side of that arch and onto the top surface using the same adhesive you use to hold it down to the flat surface. I'd pull the membrane about 1/2 way across the horizontal top of the arch. Then I'd use the same flashing you're going to use for the sides to flash over the vertical edge of the arch.
Note: I'm not a roofer, this is just me "thinking logically", so wait for some confirmation before doing this.
Also, I'd suggest that while it might look nice, the wooden planter isn't doing your roof leaks any good, and it will most definitely not be good for the rubber membrane you're about to lay down.


Must the ground wire be continuous from the panel box, through the meter to the grounding rod? Splitting service to a new power meter. I just cut the wires coming out of the meter box and now the grounding cable is 2' short of the grounding rod.  Must the ground wire be continuous from the panel box, through the meter to the grounding rod?

In most circumstances it isn't necessary (or advisable) to go "through the meter", but your exact installation would need to be addressed. The wire should be continuous.
NEC 250.64 Grounding Electrode Conductor Installation (C) Continuous...shall be continuous...If necessary, splices shall be...(1)..irreversible compression-type connectors listed as grounding and bonding equipment or by the exothermic welding process.


What type of screws should I use to attach a sign to fiber cement siding? My house has fiber cement siding and I want to attach a decorative sign to the siding. I'm told that I need a carbide tip drill bit to make a clean cut. But what type of screws should I use? And what length is recommended? (the house is wood framed).

Just use ordinary wood screws.
Beneath the siding should be 3/8" or 1/2" sheathing. That is what the screws will really bite into.
Just make sure your screws are long enough to go through the sign and siding and have at least 1/2 of length beyond that. If you're concerned about water penetration squirt a little bit of caulk in the hole before placing the screw, but doing nothing is probably fine too


Best glue for shower bar? I bought some suction cup handles for my tub/shower walls. One wall is made of smooth tiles, the other less smooth tiles.  The stick-on mirrored circle is supposed to be attached and stay on the wall; the hold-on bar has 2 suction-cups that are flattened by using a lever on each cup, supposedly securing the whole handle to the suction cups on each side. I want the handle to be more securely glued to the tiles AND to the cups. What kind of glue is most likely to work with tile and plastic?

Assuming these bars are not used to support the load of a human pulling on them, the typical choice of adhesive in a shower is silicone. As an added benefit, while strong, it is removable by cutting and scraping.

Make sure that both surfaces are clean before gluing and that you have a way to apply pressure (clamping) to the two surfaces.  Painters tape might be an option depending on where they are going.


What is a good way to attach vent covers to ceiling vents in my basement? I recently bought a house and the basement was newly renovated.

The furnace and air exchangers have vents all along the ceiling of the basement suite. However the vent covers have a tendency to fall off the ceiling and onto the floor. Is there a good way to attach them to the ceiling?

The vent covers are similar to this

You have the wrong register cover for a ceiling. The one you have is a floor register, it just sits in place. You need a register like this one that screws into the ceiling.

This will also distribute the heat more evenly.


Electrical outlet has two black hot wires but one neutral white wire? I attempted to replace an electrical outlet that was not working.  My voltage tester indicated nothing was working.  A receptacle analyzer indicated nothing was working as well. but when opening it up, I was surprised to discover that the outlet was wired using two black wires and one white wire.  There was a bare ground as usual.  Surprisingly, I didn't see an additional white wire in the group of wires, so I got confused.  I wired it back up the same way it was just with a new outlet and it still didn't work.

Why would this wiring configuration be like this?  Was it a mistake?

Assuming you are in the US, this could be a half-switched outlet. Do you still have the old outlet? Look at the side and see if the metal tab between the screws is broken off on one or both sides. If it is, then (at least) one of those black wires is probably controlled by a wall switch somewhere, resulting in one outlet being on all of the time and the other switched.


How do I even out a pair of bookcases on an uneven floor? So, I have a couple Ikea Billy bookcases, normal.  I got them with doors, so with the forward weighting, I'm a bit extra paranoid about tipping.

I put them together; all fine. Then I try to place them against the wall. I find the floor is uneven. Not just slanted, but a little bowed as well. I want them flush together, but it seems if I try to get that they don't fit together right, and are not aligned vertically.  I can get them to sit nice together, but then they have a slightly forward lean (I can and will anchor to my wall with a bracket at the top).

So, if I shim enough to be perfectly level, they won't stand together right and I get a little stair step effect across the top.  I also get a bad gap with the kickpanel/toepanel underneath.  If I have them standing together right, they're not level across the top.  Is having them level all that necessary, especially since I will be anchoring to the wall?  Is there something I can do to make the gaps from shimming less noticeable?  Does joining them together with bolts make sense? I saw some parts from Home Depot that can bolt them together, would that help, or would the stresses from the bookcase shear the bolts? (unlikely, but as I said paranoid about tipping).

Thanks much.

EDIT: I accepted the answer closest to what I did. But this is what I did. I realized a few things. 1) the hinges on the Billy (standard Ikea hinges) don't have to be super level to work, they have a bit of a snap action to them. 2) I'm bolting to the wall, so with this and above, I don't need to be super paranoid about level, i can just join together at sorta level.

I actually got some binding posts and some breakable/adjustable length bolts. I drilled through the shelf holes in the bookcase, trying to use the ones where the hinges were anyway.  This got them together. Then I did some mild shimming, and bolted to the wall.  NOTE I got 3, I probably should have gotten more. I sheared one bolt by tightening too hard. If you break before Ikea does, you're not heavy duty use.  Seems to work well, and very solid.

Attaching the bottom of both bookcases to a single flat board will get them aligned right.
Then you'll just have to shim once to get things properly vertical.  If the problem is extreme, consider bolts or a backboard to connect the sides of the units.
Both these options will improve overall stability of the pair.
Depending on the aesthetic situation, you could use anything from 3/4" BB grade plywood to birdseye maple for the boards.


Can we install a slide in gas range with convection oven outdoors? I am planning to build a simple summer/outdoor kitchen in the covered patio. Even though the patio is covered it gets occasional rain and a lot of sun. I don't need a grill but need a good gas cooktop along with a conventional oven for baking.
A sample product that I am looking is similar to KitchenAid freestanding oven with gas range

I'll answer with a practical suggestion, rather than precisely answering the "Can we" question with "you can!".
A complex appliance designed for indoors, full of electronic controls and sensors, and lots of hidden inaccessible crevices where moisture and insects can collect, is unlikely to last long outside, or to work at all in some extreme outdoor temperatures.
Look at specialty outdoor cooking web sites and vendors.
Buy a gas cooktop designed for outdoor use.  They exist, and they are designed in a way that can withstand most of the things that the outdoors can throw at them (sun, snow, etc ... maybe not bears).  Outdoor ovens are harder to find.  There are lots of pizza ovens designed for outdoors. They can be used for more than just pizza. And if there are some things that require a conventional oven, you can cook those inside.  Why do you need to, for example, bake a cake outdoors?  That's probably not how you'll get most of the enjoyment from your outdoor setup so move that bit back inside.


Anyone heard of painting asbestos insulation tubes? We recently had an old furnace inspected and the heating specialist mentioned that he suspected that the heating ducts had asbestos.  He suggested painting them as an alternative to expensive removal costs.  I'm skeptical.

Has anyone heard of this before?  If so, what paint would be useful for this type of application?

-M

Yes. I have heard of that. I believe the main issue with asbestos is when it becomes dust and floats in the air and is inhaled into the lungs. Painting over that seals it in and prevents that from happening. It probably should be repainted whenever it starts to show wear.

You will probably need to use a government certified painter who will use special equipment to prevent the process from filling the air with particulates. (You'll have to check with your local government agency for exact requirements.) Asbestos is a very regulated substance.

The EPA's website has an Asbestos Page that covers the topic from a concerned homeowner's point of view with links and advice:

  How To Manage An Asbestos Problem

  If the asbestos material is in good
  shape and will not be disturbed, do
  nothing! If it is a problem, there are
  two types of corrections: repair and
  removal.

  Repair usually involves either sealing
  or covering asbestos material.

  Sealing (encapsulation) involves treating the material with a sealant
  that either binds the asbestos fibers
  together or coats the material so
  fibers are not released. Pipe, furnace
  and boiler insulation can sometimes be
  repaired this way. This should be done
  only by a professional trained to
  handle asbestos safely.
  Covering (enclosure) involves placing something over or around the
  material that contains asbestos to
  prevent release of fibers. Exposed
  insulated piping may be covered with a
  protective wrap or jacket.

  With any type of repair, the asbestos
  remains in place. Repair is usually
  cheaper than removal, but it may make
  later removal of asbestos, if
  necessary, more difficult and costly.
  Repairs can either be major or minor.

That page includes a section on "Asbestos Professionals: Who Are They and What Can They Do?". Also, farther down the page, under the heading "If You Hire A Corrective-Action Contractor" (I'm assuming your painting contractor would fall under this heading.):

  Contact your state and local health
  departments, EPA regional office, and
  the Occupational Safety and Health
  Administration  regional office to
  find out what the regulations are. Be
  sure the contractor follows local
  asbestos removal and disposal laws. At
  the end of the job, get written
  assurance from the contractor that all
  procedures have been followed.

You should put removal of that onto your "someday list" because that will come up as a negative if you ever want to sell your house.


Kitchen Cupboard Mould issues I have a mould issue that I am trying to tackle. I live in a pre 1900's victorian terrace on the ground floor. Our kitchen has one problematic cupboard which is in the rear corner of the property.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed small bugs on the far rear walls of the cupboard, I went to wipe them and there were hundreds of them, I can only assume they were mould mites. I cleaned out the cupboard with a mould cleaner (bleach) and have been keeping the cupboard open, however this is not a viable solution going forward. I removed the kick boards from my kitchen unit and noticed it was wet in the rear corner so I managed to dry it and put my dehumidifier there for a couple of days.

I haven't noticed any mould since, and its not wet under the cupboard, however I want to know how I can solve this problem permanently.

See the images in the link of the kitchen:
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNWEju0hl9EbgNhjlirwoRP0RUpB99NAXHQJfoJDKREUOWNtMaVSKgig_id9HEg7w?key=UXF2dlV6aThjYkxwc3I3RjFqNnlfS1JfQXhRMkNn

What you can see in the images is the kitchen cupboard backs onto the solid brick wall, its pretty dry as far as I can tell, and the temp on the wall is around 12 - 13 degrees (measured with a laser temp gauge)

The relative humidity in the cupboard is getting up to 100% with the temp around 13 degrees.

What are my options here to drop the relative humidity? How can I increase the ventilation?

Would getting a tube heater in the cupboard help drop the humidity?

I have solved this buy purchasing a 40W Tube Heater and placing it into the back of the cupboard.  It now keeps the cupboard at around 50 - 60% humidity and at a temp of about 20 deg.


How to stack and store old pressure treated fence boards I acquired some used pressure treated 1x10 fence boards from a privacy fence teardown.  Some of the boards do show some wood beetle signs where they were in contact with the ground.  However, they are in much better shape than the boards on my ~20 yr. old fence so I'd like to save them as replacement boards to patch my fence.

Is there a way to stack and store these boards (for years, probably) without further rot?

I've currently got them leaning against a fence individually, to dry out.  I have a shed, but I don't know if that would be good or bad for long term storage -- would it allow insect damage because of lack of airflow?  I thought about covering with plastic, but again unsure because of the state of the boards.

Most of the references I can find (e.g. http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/usda/ah188/chapter10.pdf) only talk about new lumber, not lumber that has been exposed to conditions.

The answer is that it depends on the exact method of pressure treatment (did the chemical penetrate to the center of the wood or not) and the current state of deterioration. The main thing to protect the wood from is water; you want to keep it as dry as possible, by both preventing large amounts of water washing over it, and also small amounts of water remaining in contact long-term. Water washes away the bug-repelling copper compounds used to treat the wood. So, stacking the wood in a sheltered area (like your shed) with some spacing between boards (you can stack them in a loose grid if you have the floor space, or cut the worst pieces up into roughly square pieces you can use as spacers) should allow the wood the best chance.

Now, this is if the wood is in good enough shape to save. You may think so, but if the wood has already been penetrated by WDIs, the protection offered by the PT chemicals is likely past its expiration date. This is normal for fences; they're out in the elements, and unfortunately the copper compounds used are water soluble, which is how they get them into the wood in the first place (kiln-dry it, then immerse it in a bath of copper arsenide and ramp up the pressure to force the chemical-laden water into the grain). If the wood was well-treated, with green all the way to the core, the parts that haven't already been savaged by WDIs should stay good, but if you cut a board in half and see white wood in the center, termites and carpenter ants can eat that board from the inside out. If you see grey-brown all the way in, rot has taken hold and the board is garbage.

One last thing; whatever you do, DO NOT BURN PRESSURE-TREATED LUMBER. Not in your fireplace, not in your wood stove, not in an outdoor fire pit, not in a bonfire, not anywhere. Burning PT lumber, no matter how weathered and degraded, will release toxic, polluting smoke; the primary chemical used in PT lumber is copper arsenide, which oxidizes when burned to produce arsenic. In addition to the normal harmful effects of wood smoke inhalation, the amount of arsenic in 12 ft of 2x6" PT can kill 250 adult humans. A single 6' 1-by fence slat would still have enough to kill you and your family about 10 times over. If you don't breathe it in, it'll dissolve in the moisture in the air and be carried up to the clouds where it will fall as acid rain.


How would I remove a concrete shelf with possible reinforcements I've had a brick-walled cupboard removed from my kitchen, but the concrete shelf that was in it had to be left because of the gas piping around it.

The piping will be removed for 2 days soon while a new boiler is fitted and I'd like to remove the shelf with minimal damage to the walls supporting it.

I was considering an angle grinder with a concrete cutting blade, but was worried about how it would cope with the wire reinforcement? Other than that, what options do I have?

Your plan to use an angle grinder is the way to go. The masonry disks for your grinder will cut the metal reenforcement wire or rebar. The metal will reduce the blade or disk life so get more than you think you need  you can return unused ones. Cutting concrete is really messy when done dry, make sure to have a quality dust mask and you may want to seal off the room, I have gotten in trouble with the wife many times for the dust, but an angle grinder is the way to do this job. Note if you only have a 4” make the first cut on the bottom then the top cut even if not fully cut a sharp blow with a 2lb or 3lb hammer is usually enough to sheer it clean, then use the grinder to even it up. With a 9” it should make it from the top.


How can I prevent water from beading on roof drain channel? I have a flat-roof above my flat, and have located the source of a leak which has been dripping for years.

I have bought some roof sealer (Roof Trade) and painted it over the channel where the leak originates from.

This has stopped the water coming through, but the water now travels down the channel in streams, and mini puddles (beads) are forming. I know these will eventually evaporate, but with the original surface, the water wouldn't 'bead' and would just spread out over the surface of the material.

Is there another product that I could apply to this to make it less smooth?? I was thinking of mixing sand into the sealant, but I'm just really guessing.

Or is it not a problem that the water is forming beads?

Beading isn't a problem. If it was, a persistent rain would also be a problem. Chances are the oils on the surface will eventually be removed by weather and the beading will subside anyway.


Solar 240 VAC source and load wires sharing a conduit I'm planning on installing a new electric oven and solar panels on my house soon.  Given the location of everything relative to my electrical service panel, both the panels and the oven will need to run along the same path, so I'd prefer to install a single conduit to run all the wires, and branch off near the end of the conduit to either the oven or the panels.  The other end will branch off to either the AC shut off (for the solar panel wires) or go directly to a breaker (for the oven wires).

The solar panel wires are already at 240 VAC, because the panels have microinverters mounted directly underneath them.  The oven is a 240 VAC appliance.

Does NEC allow such an arrangement?

Normally you're not allowed to mix service wiring and branch circuit wiring, but solar is special.

Derating

It's almost never a problem with 2-3 circuits, but when you put 2+ circuits in conduit, you must pause to do a "derate" calculation.  Other rules prevent you from using wires at their thermal maxima, but you derate off of that.  For THWN-2 wire, that is the 90C column of table 310.15(B)(16).  So for instance if you're running 8 AWG Cu wire, your 90C number is 55 amps.

Your derate comes out of table 310.15(B)(3)(a).  In all split-phase 120/240V circuits, there are only 2 wires that count, so you are always 2 wires per circuit.  So 2 circuits is 4 wires, which calls for an 80% derate.  80% of 55 amps is 44 amps.

You then round up to the next size of breaker.  They don't make 45A breakers, so you go to a 50A breaker.  Lucky you!

This does not liberalize any other rules.  If this was #8 Cu NM cable, that's only allowed to run at 60C, so it is limited to 40A regardless.

Up to 4 circuits per conduit (70% derate) is fine for 15-30A circuits. However for 50A and above circuits, it starts to pinch. #8 THWN-2 can only carry 40A.  If you ever see installations with many conduits next to each other, that's why. They are keeping it to 3-4 circuits per conduit.

Can you use the 90C column if your termination is only 75C? Depends if the termination is inside the conduit! (unlikely to be legal to splice in a conduit, but perhaps in a raceway, gutter etc.? Anyway if it was a 60C splice, yes, #8Cu would derate off 40A at that point.) If the splice is outside the conduit, then conduit/raceway derate rules are inapplicable and you apply whatever rules exist for the space the splice is actually in.

Branching

Anywhere wires split, there must be an accessible point, such as a "T" conduit body or a junction box.  (Places where splices happen have much larger cubic-inch requirements; junction boxes are sized to allow splices, conduit bodies are not).

Every accessible point most remain accessible in perpetuity. For instance if you get a mind to deck over your attic to use it for storage space, you better install a junction box so it'll be flush with the ultimate floor, not bury a conduit body under flooring.

Also you can't have more than 360 degrees of cumulative bend between accessible points; for a novice DIY puller, even 180 is ambitious.  I prefer 90-135 at most.


Poor LED dimming performance I recently bought this LED dimmer to drive these LED bulbs on my recessed lights.  The fixtures have a built in transformer that drops the voltage to 12v, but I'm bot sure if they are MLV or ELV transformers.

Anyway, the crux of my problem is that the dimmer only slightly dims the lights.  I started with halogen lamps and an older dimmer which was able to dim the lights nicely using the same fixtures.  But the new bulbs and dimmer kind of suck together.  Do I need a different dimmer?  Are these bulbs a poor choice or is this just the reality of LED bulbs?

Leviton published a document laying out bulb compatibility that may or may not shed light on this.  They also published a document on MLV vs ELV low voltage lighting units, which I'm not sure I fully digested just yet.  Anyone else run into a similar problem?

Problem (mostly) solved.  It turns out most dimmers have a way to adjust the minimum level of the dimmer.  The way to adjust my dimmer was very unintuitive, but it allowed me to crank it down to about 10%, where it shipped with a minimum brightness of about 50%

Lutron has a nice video on their dimmer site that shows how to make the adjustment.  Other brands of dimmers have different ways of adjusting the minimum output.


Conduit sizing for three #10 THHN wires Is 1/2" PVC conduit sized properly for three #10 THHN wires ?

Yeah, that's legal.
If it's a particularly complex pull, larger pipe size can help.  It can also help with the fact that you can easily put 4 circuits in a conduit (if it meets the fill rules).
Now, since you mentioned this is a dryer and you are running hot/neutral/ground... If it's a gas dryer you are on the right track.
If it's an electric dryer, we must deep-dive into the arcana of dangerous and obsolete dryer connections.  Old 3-prong dryers used no ground, and worse, they attached the chassis of the dryer to neutral.  This has the potential of being dangerous in several ways.  As such they have been outlawed for 30 years.   And even when they were legal, it was NEVER legal to use /2+gnd (black white bare) to connect them - though it was done shamefully often.
Since you are doing a new cable run, you MUST bring it up to current Code.  This isn't far out of your way; you just need to use 4 wires in the conduit instead of 3.  The 2 hot wires can be the same color - but neutral must be white, and ground must be green or bare.
I for one recommend using stranded wire, because it's a lot easier to pull.
By the way,  if you use EMT metal conduit, the conduit is the ground - one less wire.
And yes, you will need to convert the dryer socket and cord to NEMA 14-30.


What type of interior vapor barrier is appropriate in the southern US? I'm in the midst of a remodel in Austin, TX and I'm struggling to resolve the "right" way to go about insulation for exterior walls in this region. I'm generally familiar with the concepts of vapor barriers, vapor retarders, and managing airborne liquids in and around your living space, but all the sources of information I'm referencing have my head spinning at the moment.

My question(s) is/are this: in the southern US/Texas, where it's warm (read: hot as heck) for most of the year...

are vapor retarders required?
are they prohibited?
Are they allowed, but not good building science practice?
Should they be faced towards the exterior (unconditioned space), flying in the face of what most sources suggest for insulation best practices?

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

One added detail, the makeup of my walls presently is (will be):

Nature >> Wood siding >> air gap/furring strips >> 2 layers felt paper >> OSB >> studs/R-15 fiber batts >> kraft paper face/tape on the seams >> gypsum >> netflix and cheetos

P.S. I know that spray foam insulation is probably best in a case like this, but unfortunately I didn't plan for that in the budget.

Just talked with the inspector and it seems using a insulation with kraft facing on the interior of the house is perfectly fine here (as of April 2018, at least). In his words, taping the seams is "overkill" but will certainly help to keep airflow to a minimum.


Low voltage LEDs fluctuate from full to half to off and repeat I purchased and installed 100' of 16/2 wire and eight lamps (LED Lawn Light 12W 2800K AC/ DC 12V) and Malibu’s  200 Watt Low Voltage Transformer. 96 watts of lamps, I was told, would be perfect for a 200 watt transformer.
I carefully installed the system checking each item as I completed it. The transformer was placed 18 inches from the outdoor ground fault plug with the nearby light sensor. The first light was installed 22' from the transformer with connectors to each of the wires from the lamp. Each time I connected another lamp, I would double check that each connection was successful by turning on the transformer. I then buried the wire 2 1/2 to 3" beneath the mulch after safely taping each connector. The last lamp was attached 18" from the end of the cable.
Testing each connection showed a prefect system installation. However, when the sun set and the system came on automatically, lights began to blink, not in unison, but alternately at random. Each light had full brightness for about 45 seconds, then go to half for about 20  seconds and then turn off for about a minute before it would turn on again with full force to repeat the pattern.
As time has continued, I find the connectors of the cable and the lamps disconnect (lousy connectors, I think, but Amazon reviewers say they are best) and at this time only one lamp is lite. Even with the one lamp it jumps back and forth from full to half every two minutes or so but unlike before, it does not turn off. I now have a full system that is unusable.
Can you help in any way with advise or whatever? Thank you very much.

I see several problems.
Provenance
A quick google of the terms you gave lead me to a quality power supply, but straight to eBay/Amazon for the lights proper. The Amazon items were "cheap Cheese junk" that lacked even a UL listing to assure product quality.
The cheapie lights also came with "pierce the wire" type connectors that jab a spike into the wires.  These fail very quickly.  These appear to be unique to the halls of China; I don't see any "spike" connectors from any reputable vendors.
Voltage drop
I checked a voltage drop calculator for what happens to 12V at 8 amps over 22 feet of #16 wire.    It says you get 1.41 volts of drop.  Leaving 10.59 volts at lamp 1.
Now assuming it's 8' from lamp 1 to lamp 2, that wire needs to carry 7 amps. Plugging that in, it's telling me 0.45 volts; totalling 1.86V so far.  So at lamp 2, voltage is 10.14V.  Continuing to assume 8' between lamps...
Wire from lamp 2-3 carries 6A, dropping 0.39V.  Lamp 3 sees 9.75V.
Wire from lamp 3-4 carries 5A, dropping 0.32V.  Lamp 4 sees 9.43V.
Wire from lamp 4-5 carries 4A, dropping 0.26V.  Lamp 5 sees 9.17V.
Wire from lamp 5-6 carries 3A, dropping 0.19V.  Lamp 6 sees 8.98V.
Wire from lamp 6-7 carries 2A, dropping 0.13V.  Lamp 7 sees 8.85V.
Wire from lamp 7-8 carries 1A, dropping 0.06V.  Lamp 8 sees 8.79V.
A bump in wire size to something like #12 would probably make a big difference here.  Alternately, going with smaller lights would work.  A top rate kit made by Volt includes #14 wire for 5W lamps.


NEC Compliance: Removing a wall switch in favor of a remote for a ceiling fan In my bedroom, there is a wall switch that controls a ceiling fan. I recently installed a wireless remote controller in the canopy of that ceiling fan so I could turn it on and off from the comfort of my bed with a remote dongle. Because I primarily use the remote to turn on and off the fan, I have no need for the wall switch anymore.

I could completely remove the need for a wall switch by splicing the line and load wires together and putting a plastic plate over the switch box. However, I conducted some research and found that the NEC prohibits lights from being controlled primarily by a "pull chain" type of mechanism. While a remote and pull chain are not exactly the same, if I were to remove the wall switch, I would no longer necessarily have the ability to turn the ceiling fan on and off from the entry of the room (if I left the remote in my drawer, for example).

Strangely, the remote control comes with a holder that can be installed over the switch itself by screwing it into the face plate cover. By installing the holder over the switch, I would effectively be rendering the switch inoperable, constantly keeping it in the "on" position. Surely, The Home Depot wouldn't sell a device that violates NEC code by its intended use.

That being said, would my removal of the wall switch in favor of a remote controller in the canopy of my fan be considered a violation of this prohibition of the NEC?

You're correct, there's a huge Code problem with that. It's stated in the Electrical Code, but mainly because it's also stated in the Building Code.

I mean nobody cares about the fan.  Have a field day controlling that with your phone or whatever.  The core issue is that, as you might have noticed, almost every room has its light switch in an easily anticipated location; you can walk into a room you've never been in before and your hand knows where to reach to find the light switch.  Like a lot of really good UX features, that one is subtle and almost unnoticeable.  Anyway, you anticipated correctly: You're not allowed to break that.

A core doctrine of US cities is "No hovels". You are not allowed to build a home in which practical occupancy is only possible by you.  So "Secret" methods of turning on basic things like lights are not allowed: you can't have all your house's lights controlled by your phone only.  Aside from community standards and its effect on real estate prices, the #1 reason is visitors.  And the #1 kind of visitor they're worried about is first responders.  The EMT trying to intubate you, the firemen searching rooms, and the cop needing to see that's a gaming mouse not a gun.

Home Depot stocking something is about that thing being UL listed, and UL only makes sure the product won't kill you through inept quality or some design glitch that has proven troublesome in the past.  Home Depot sells lots of things that are legal in some ways (NEMA 10-30 recep to replace identical recep) and illegal in other uses (to replace a NEMA 14-30).   Instructions are part of what UL certifies; and UL will generally try to avoid approving instructions which definitely, always violate the electrical code, but that fan's remote with its on-the-switch hangar would not always violate; it'd be legal in cases where the fan and light are controlled separately. So the instructions/UL would not disallow it.

Depending on how your wiring is laid out, there's a fair chance you can wire the remote to control the fan remotely and leave the light to the switch.

Depending on how cleverly the remote is designed, it could even allow fan+light to be turned OFF by the switch (or remote), but cause the light to definitely come ON when the switch is thrown ON (that is to say, after power loss, its default is to turn the light on).  That is the ideal scenario since it provides positive light-turn-on from the switch (to satisfy building codes) and positive system disconnect from the switch also (for safety).


using a U.S. 220v water heater in a foreign country where the line voltage is already 220v The water heater is set up to use a double pole breaker in the U.S. to create the 220v needed with 2 hot wires, and a ground wire.  However, overseas the incoming voltage is already 220v, and doesn't need to be created using the double pole breaker.  I am unsure how to wire the unit over there because of the 2 hot leads on the heater, instead of a hot lead and a neutral lead at 220v

I wouldn't wire this in Europe. As I mentioned in a comment, I used to work for ETL, which is an NRTL (Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory). ETL evaluates and tests devices for compliance in the markets the manufacturer plans to sell the device in.

Below is an image from the manual. You will notice the C and US next to the ETL circle. This means the product was evaluated and found to be in compliance for Canada and the United States. There would be an E if it was accepted in Europe.

What does this mean? It means that this device has not been evaluated and tested to Europe's standards. Europe's utility may have the voltage you need to run the water heater, but their utility is 50Hz, not 60Hz. This difference in frequency can be bad for internal control transformers and other control devices.

Another problem is that to wire the device in an European panel, you would need to wire L1 of the water heater to line of the panel, and L2 to the neutral of the panel. The control system isn't expecting a grounded L2 connection and that may cause problems. Also, the manual clearly states that the use of a two-pole breaker is required.

I know you were probably trying to save money by using this water heater, but it would be a bad idea to use it. Play it safe and get something designed for use on Europe's utility.


Bizarre cold water bypass I'm trying to install a new under sink filter and what should be a fairly simple installation is turning out to be a nightmare.
I've figured out most of the connections but what has me puzzled is something a plumber did a long time ago. It appears to be some sort of  needle valve connected to the cold water pipe directly behind the cold water valve. The hose emerging from this goes into the old filter system.

I tried to close this valve but no amount of turns in either direction did anything, it just spins in place. Engaging the cold water valve does nothing either. How on earth to I stop water coming from this needle valve???

If the valve just spins in place, then the stem is stripped and your solution is to remove it and plug the hole with a repair sleeve or just replace the valve with a new one and turn it off. This was a common way to add small filtering systems to point of use. The water to the house would have to be turned off to do either fixes.


Wiring 2 double 3 switches I have two double 3-way switches one upstairs and one downstairs. The bottom toggle on both switch controls the living room and the top toggle controls the top upstairs hall light.  The problem is that for the downstairs light (the only one I hooked up as of now) is that the top switch must be on for the light to be on. I connected the 12/3 wiring to what I think it should be hooked up to, namely A1 (traveler) going to A1 on switch 2 and B1 (line) going to B1 on switch 2.   Obviously I want 3 way switching behavior but the product diagram doesn't include a diagram for double 3 way to double 3 way switch connections.   Can anybody  help so I can work on the other light??

Switch2 (going to light)

All mixed up

Your single set of travelers has been split between the two switches in the dual switch set.  In order to unconfuse things, I'd move the wire from the A1 terminal to the B2 terminal on each switch in your diagram.

P.S. there are two travellers between a pair of 3-way switches, not a traveller and a "hot".


Can not find the circuit breaker without power I have an outdoor outlet that when I came home, the cover was open.  The outlet is dead.  The GFCI is in the master bathroom and another is in the other bathroom and both are dead.  When I push the master bathroom reset, it goes on and immediately goes off.  I purchased a circuit breaker finder but it doesn't work if there is no power to the outlet.  All circuit breakers were turned off and back on and I have no idea how to find the correct breaker to shut it off to remove and replace the outside outlet.  Any advice?

If your GFCI is trying to reset then you do have power at the source conductor attached to you GFCI.

You need to remove the cover of the GFCI and carefully unscrew and pull out the receptacle. Use a non contact tester to see if there is power at the GFCI. If it does then get a helper and have them test the receptacle while you go through panel turn each breaker on then off until you find the one that turns the power off at the receptacle.


Installing a ceiling light with screw holes that don't match the ceiling bracket I want to install an IKEA Calypso ceiling light. The screw holes in my ceiling measure 7 cm across.

The screw holes on the light differ - they measure 9 cm across. How would I screw in the light if the holes don't match up?

Here's the manual to my light:

I noticed that the original lights in my house have both 7 cm and 9 cm separated screw holes, a feature that my new light does not have. Here is an example of an original fluorescent light, which would be easy to install:

You need to acquire a light fixture mounting bracket. The type that you need would look like the bracket as shown in the picture below:

Install it through the longer slotted holes into the existing electrical box holes. You can use the screws from the old light fixture.

Due to the deep recess of the electrical box the bracket arm with the long slotted holes will reset against the ceiling drywall. The other arm needs to be oriented so that the ends project down from the ceiling so that there is clearance for the screws from the light fixture to go into the threaded hole but not have to enter the ceiling surface. This picture will help to show the mounting strategy:

The new fixture then can mount into one of the sets of threaded holes in the other arm of the bracket.


What PVC fitting can I use to replace this cast-iron wye? I would like to replace this old iron cast fitting. See pictures. Do they make this type of fitting in PVC? Any ideas on which fitting i can use to replace it?

It looks like 45 degree wye with a side inlet. Fit a reducer and a 45 degree street elbow on the branch.

this part found here


What is this white fluffy material? I've been finding this material all around my house for the last six months.  To give you some perspective, the sample below is about 2 inches by 1 inch.  The sizes of the pieces I find vary considerably in size from less than 1 inch to almost a square foot.  The larger pieces tend to be flat like a layer. Other houses in the neighborhood don't seem to have this so it seems to come from our house.

I live in a house that has been converted into two condos and the other unit had construction done last year.  Most was internal, but they did have a sky light put in.  I wonder if the construction left a hole somewhere that allows an animal to get in a retrieve this material.

Any idea what it is?  It feels synthetic.  Figuring out what it is should hopefully help us find the problem and fix it!

I'd guess that you have a rodent problem, and I'd guess that you're finding bits of your furniture padding/batting that were in the way of a cozy nest. How else could something like this just appear "around the house"?


How can I connect a bath wall spout intended for copper to a brass water supply outlet? I'm in the process of remodeling a bathroom and am getting ready to tile the walls surround the tub/shower.  I'm stumped on how to connect the bath spout.

The spout looks like this:

As you can see, it's all one piece and from what I can dig up online, it's intended to slip over 1/2" copper pipe.

The problem? I don't have a copper pipe extending out.

Here's what my shower valve side looks like:

About 4-5 inches inside, is a screw-on outlet (sorry - that likely isn't the right terminology).  Here's a picture:

So my question comes down to this:  How can I connect that spout to that outlet with minimal intrusion to the wall (so I don't have to reapply the whole hardie board slab)?  Is there some sort of adapter for connecting copper to brass?

Stock fitting - Male Pipe Thread to sweat (ie, soldered copper) Solder to a section of pipe, screw in, enjoy.


Flush Mount Masonry Electrical Box Building an outdoor kitchen out of 4" concrete block, it will be faced with natural stone veneer.

As I'm stacking the block, I'd like to add a few electric boxes, here's the 2-1/2" deep masonry box that's made for 4" block:

I assume the front of the box is flush with the outside of the block. But what about when the ~1" of natural stone gets added to the block, it wont' be flush anymore??

I havent' been able to find any type of plaster or tile rings that extend masonry boxes.

Please help, I'm a newbie!!

thanks.

I think you position the box sufficiently proud of the cement blocks so that the box will be flush with the intended finished wall. Err slightly on the side of having the box inset in the finished wall and if necessary use a box extender(metal) or plastic. If you use an extender, you will have to use a ground pigtail to get a robust ground connection.


How is power to an entire room restored by plugging something into an outlet in an adjacent room? We lost power to an entire room about a week ago. All outlets and ceiling light are dead and no breakers were tripped. Unplugged everything in the room, reset all breakers anyway and checked the only GFCI in the house which is downstairs from the room in the kitchen. The GFCI outlet was not tripped but I still did the test and reset. Nothing.
 Scheduled appointment with electrician  who will come next week.

Today I needed to use my printer which was in the dead room. Took it to the bedroom across the hall and plugged it into an unused outlet in the room. The light came on in the dead room, I checked all the outlets and they are working as well. Unplugged the printer and power to the room went out again.
What would cause this and would it be safe to keep something plugged into that outlet until my electrician comes? Or could that cause more damage?

the outlet that restored power is directly below the light switch in the working bedroom but does not require the switch to be on to work. It is the only outlet that restores power to the dead room
when I plugged in the printer there is a slight flash (arc?) in the outlet
the dead room and the working room closets are back to back. The restoring outlet is on the same wall as the closet

Most likely scenario is that all the devices in the "dead room" are daisy chain wired on the same circuit coming from the outlet that you plugged the printer into. That printer outlet is likely to have been wired up using the notoriously unreliable back stab connections on the outlet. One of the back stab connections has come loose and when you plug in the printer it torques the contact metal inside the outlet just enough to make the loose wire connect up again.

The loose wire in the back of the "printer outlet" could be the source of arcing and this can build up heat and maybe become a fire danger. It is wise to get this addressed as quickly as possible.

When the circuits are repaired make sure to have all the wires be secured by the side screws on the outlet. That will give you reliable connections for years to come.


What is the right way to join aluminum house wiring to aluminum fixture wiring? My home is 1970s construction with aluminum wiring. I have recently upgraded several fixtures in my bathroom and basement. These fixtures have all been internally wired with stranded aluminum wiring. The directions for these fixtures make no mention of special care needed for joining aluminum to copper. About half of the fixtures have shipped with some sort of crimp connector to join to the house wiring, the remainder have shipped with bog standard wire nuts. These fixtures are all LED lights. I expect them to be fairly low draw.

I am well aware of the risks of AL wiring when adding fixtures and outlets. CO/ALR receptacles triple the cost of simple work in my home. I am well aware of the risks and needs of joining aluminum wiring to fixtures made for copper.

Do I need to take any special precautions when wiring aluminum to aluminum for these new fixtures?

Do AL to AL connections pose any risks distinct from AL to CU connections?

I guarantee it's not aluminum wire on the fixtures.  I see fixtures with multistrand tinned wire all the time.

Install AFCI breakers in your panel.  These detect arcing from bad connections, which is the crux of the problem with aluminum.  Killing yourself to replace every Al-Cu splice in the house doesn't make much sense when you can just detect the root problem.

Then you can use any listed method, such as the generally-regarded-as-poor purple wirenuts, or the excellent Alumiconns.


What to do for the best on the exterior of our house? We’ve just had our kitchen hacked off, injected and re-rendered because of damp and have now been told the exterior which is pebble dashed has blown.

The house is over 100 years old, end terraced 3 bedroom house, it’s a cold house with slightly higher ceilings approx 9ft. I have been trying to do a bit of research and I’m guessing we need a silicone based render and not the usual and the process will be different to what most builders are used to.

As we are on a tight budget I’m thinking of alternative materials we could use on the exterior and not having it pebble dashed again, although I don't fancy going thru this again in a couple of years. Could someone suggest an effective but cheaper alternative to pebble dash? I have thought of just paint but don't fancy having to paint it every couple of years.

I live in Wales (the UK) so my terms must be different to some of you. "Hacked off" means taken back to the brick, "blown" means the pebble dash has come away from the render allowing water in and causing damp "render" is the concrete applied to the brick and "pebble dash" is like a coating of loads of little stones something we use a lot of on the exterior of houses where I live. Our weather is varied but we hardly get winds stronger than 11mph, we can get cold winters down to -4 °C and a lot of rain and tend to have fairly nice Easter breaks and get short summers. It would be the whole house that needs doing so it would need to be the same.

I'm starting to think this would be the wrong site for me as we use different materials in the UK. Thank you for those who replied, I would still like feedback if you are familiar with UK materials etc however understand if you can't help.

On a budget, Vinyl siding is the most cheapest, cost-effective option.

Pros

Fairly easy to install
Durable
Comes in a ton of colors/styles
Low-maintenance (wash yearly, that's about it)

Cons

Can be broken by strong impact, and if cracked, there's not really a patch, you just have to replace the entire section
Very strong winds can rip siding off (though this is highly subject to the wind angle, style of siding, installation method, strength of fasteners, etc)

To install over top of brick you'll have to install furing strips first. Basically vertical strips that give you a nailing surface, installed every 16"  (though siding manufacturer may have specific instructions).

1x3's would be fine, but you can use a different thickness if you're trying to match up with window trim. There's many ways to install but I'd tend to use masonry screws (eg Tapcon).


What are the guidelines for holes in joists? I've been unable to find a good reference for the size/amount/location of holes I can drill through joists.  This is mostly in order to pass cabling or pipes through the joist crosswise.  Also, what about notching the bottom, is there a size threshold there as well?

Have a look at this document for a quick reference.  This type of thing will be covered by International Building Code (IBC) and International Residential Code (IRC)

  IBC 2308.8.2 Framing details.

  Joists shall be supported laterally at the ends and at each support by
  solid blocking  except where the ends of the joists are nailed to a
  header, band or rim joist or to an adjoining stud or by other means.
  Solid blocking shall not be less than 2 inches (51mm) in thickness and
  the full depth of the joist. Notches on the ends of  joists shall not
  exceed one-fourth the joist depth. Holes bored in joists shall not be
  within 2 inches (51 mm) of the top or  bottom of the joist, and the
  diameter of any such hole shall not exceed one-third the depth of the
  joist. Notches in the top  or bottom of joists shall not exceed
  one-sixth the depth and shall not be located in the middle third of
  the span.

  IRC R502.8 Drilling and notching.

  Structural floor members shall not be cut, bored or notched in excess
  of the limitations  specified in this section. See Figure R502.8.

  IRC R502.8.1 Sawn lumber.

  Notches in solid lumber joists, rafters and beams shall not exceed
  one-sixth of the depth of the  member, shall not be longer than
  one-third of the depth of the member and shall not be located in the
  middle one-third of  the span. Notches at the ends of the member shall
  not exceed one-fourth the depth of the member. The tension side of
  members 4 inches (102 mm) or greater in nominal thickness shall not be
  notched except at the ends of the members. The diameter of holes bored
  or cut into members shall not exceed one-third the depth of the
  member. Holes shall not be closer  than 2 inches (51 mm) to the top or
  bottom of the member, or to any other hole located in the member.
  Where the  member is also notched, the hole shall not be closer than 2
  inches (51 mm) to the notch.

  IRC R502.8.2 Engineered wood products.

  Cuts, notches and holes bored in trusses, laminated veneer lumber, gluelaminated members or I-joists are not permitted unless the effects
  of such penetrations are specifically considered in the  design of the
  member.

  IRC R602.6 Drilling and notching - studs.

  Any stud in an exterior wall or bearing partition may be cut or
  notched to a depth not exceeding 25 percent of its width. Studs in
  nonbearing partitions may be notched to a depth not to exceed 40
  percent  of a single stud width. Any stud may be bored or drilled,
  provided that the diameter of the resulting hole is no greater than
  40 percent of the stud width, the edge of the hole is no closer than
  5/8 inch (15.9 mm) to the edge of the stud, and the  hole is not
  located in the same section as a cut or notch. See Figures R602.6(1)
  and R602.6(2).

  Exceptions:

  A stud may be bored to a diameter not exceeding 60 percent of its width, provided that such studs located in exterior  walls or bearing
  partitions are doubled and that not more than two successive studs are
  bored.
  Approved stud shoes may be used when installed in accordance with the manufacturers recommendation.

  IRC R602.6.1 Drilling and notching of top plate.

  When piping or ductwork is placed in or partly in an exterior wall or
  interi- or load-bearingwall, necessitating cutting, drilling or
  notching of the top plate by more than 50 percent of its width, a
  galvanized metal tie of not less than 0.054 inches thick (1.37mm)
  (16ga) and 11/2 inches (38mm) wide shall be fastened  to each plate
  across and to each side of the opening with not less than eight 16d
  nails at each side or equivalent. See  Figure R602.6.1.

  Exception: When the entire side of the wall with the notch or cut is covered by wood structural panel sheathing

  IRC R802.7 Cutting and notching.

  Structural roof members shall not be cut, bored or notched in excess
  of the limitations  specified in this section.

  IRC R802.7.1 Sawn lumber.

  Notches in solid lumber joists, rafters and beams shall not exceed
  one-sixth of the depth of the  member, shall not be longer than
  one-third of the depth of the member and shall not be located in the
  middle one-third of  the span. Notches at the ends of the member shall
  not exceed one-fourth the depth of the member. The tension side of
  members 4 inches (102 mm) or greater in nominal thickness shall not be
  notched except at the ends of the members. The  diameter of the holes
  bored or cut into members shall not exceed one-third the depth of the
  member. Holes shall not be  closer than 2 inches (51mm) to the top or
  bottom of the member, or to any other hole located in the member.
  Where the  member is also notched, the hole shall not be closer than
  inches (51 mm) to the notch.

  Exception: Notches on cantilevered portions of rafters are permitted provided the dimension of the remaining portion of  the
  rafter is not less than 4-inch nominal 102
   mm) and the length of the cantilever does not exceed 24 inches (610mm).

  IRC R802.7.2 Engineered wood products.

  Cuts, notches and holes bored in trusses, structural composite lumber,
  structural glue-laminated members or I-joists are prohibited except
  where permitted by the manufacturer’s recommendations or  where the
  effects of such alterations are specifically considered in the design
  of the member by a registered design  professional.


What is this piece of the window called? My window is missing a bit of plastic. I would like to replace it, but do not know what it is called to search for a replacement part.

Here is a picture showing a window that is missing the piece

Here is a picture showing a window that isn't missing the piece

The windows are manufactured by Window World.

The entire vertical window frame is called the “jamb”. The portion on the jamb that protrudes outward is called the “stop”.

It appears that this window manufacturer has pre-cut a notch (cutout) in the stop and frame in anticipation of installing a connector for screen, etc. to be applied later.

The piece that seems to be missing is the “cover plate” that covers this pre-cut cutout.


The Big Crack and What’s Underneath It There’s been a horizontal crack in my house’s foundation going all the way around the house since we purchased the house 12 years ago.  The foundation walls look like ordinary cinder-block, with a ¼” layer of ‘cement-facade’. The other day I noticed some of the cement was loose, and pulled a few chunks out. Underneath the cement facade and between the cinder-blocks was a very rusted steel bar. It looks like the rust’s expansion is what’s causing the crack - pushing out the cement facade all around the foundation.

Here's a couple facts about the house:

The house was built back in 1942, we believe it was a kit-home, and
was renovated in 1970’s. To my knowledge, there’s no renovations done
on the foundation.
The house is built on a small hill - the basement floor is a little bit above-grade for the nearby road, but the crack itself is a few
feet from the local ground-level.
As far as I know there’s never been any water seepage problems in the basement.
The house is near Minneapolis, Minnesota - the basement is heated, but it certainly does get some temperature-swings in winter.
This crack was repaired before - looks like mortar of some sort was slapped into the gap after the cement-facade crumbled away the first
time
The house was professionally inspected prior to us buying the place, and the inspector did make an incidental mention of the crack,
but didn’t say we should be alarmed or anything.

Questions:

What the heck is this metal thing?  Some sort of rebar?
Does this need to be fixed?
Any way I can fix it myself?
If not, what sort of professional do I need to call to have it evaluated/fixed?

Photos:

In 1942, there was a war on, construction standards where not well developed, and concrete masonry systems were not nearly as prevalent as they are today. Which is a round about way of saying, that it looks like old construction that does not utilize contemporary practices.

To me, it looks like horizontal reinforcing. Today, it would probably be done with a prefabricated wire 'ladder' or similar module. In the old days, those weren't common so it is probably a small reinforcing bar (perhaps 1/4", but that's just a guess based on the time frame).

For peace of mind, it might make sense to hire a Professional Engineer to take a look; evaluate the situation and provide advice. Then there is will be more information for making an informed decision regarding what, if anything, needs doing; when it needs to be done; and how feasible it is to tackle on your own versus hiring construction staff.


Nest learning thermostat 3rd gen - E80 error Happy new year! I was installing the Nest learning thermostat (3rd gen) and run into a "no power on Y1 wire" problem...it is saying no power on yellow wire, NEST error code is E80. It is winter I am located in NY, I am pretty sure the AC was working in summer if they are related... Any idea where could it be wrong on this one?
Here is my situation, I have 3 nest stat for 3 floors：
Floor 1: Nest thermostat E, no C wire installed, working fine so far..
Floor 2: Nest learning thermostat 3rd gen, no C wire, reporting E80 error - no power on yellow wire.
Floor 3: Nest thermostat E, didn't work without C wire, working fine so far after connected C wire.
I was thinking to put the "E" version device on the 2nd floor base to see if it reports same error but realized the E version's size is different with the learning 3rd gen version so can't do that...
Related question: Nest thermostat wiring to First Co air handler

Problem solved - connect the C wire! But really the credit should go to @ThreePhaseEel because he helped me figure out which one was C wire from the air handler for the other nest thermostat installation.


Central Heat Won't Turn On When I Raise the Temperature on Nest Thermostat I'm sure my heater is working. It's 47 degrees outside, and I'm only a little cool inside. My Nest thermostat is set to 67 degrees. The screen on my app (which agrees with the thermostat) is shown below.

I tried to make it a little warmer, putting the setting to 72 degrees and nothing happened. I raised the temperature further, and still nothing, all the way up to 90 degrees. It's been nearly an hour now, an nothing is happening.

The thermostat screen says "Heat Stage 2". I don't know if that is related to my question below, but I'd like to know. And the screen is orange when the setting is above 67 degrees.

If I set the temperature below 67 degrees, the screen turns gray and is says "Heat Set To" whatever I set it to. And a green leaf appears.

I have used this thermostat for many months now without any major issues.

Have I inadvertently configured something or accepted some utility company mode of operation that is preventing me from having a system that is more responsive to my manual temperature setting? Is the auto-scheduling the reason I can't control the temperature? (I think I just recently accepted the suggestion to try that.)

UPDATE

I woke up this morning to 37 degrees outside and the thermostat reading 71 degrees. It was comfortable inside all night. The furnace was running when I woke up, and probably off and on during the night.

I think this has something to do with the program that the Nest is running. Accepting suggested settings offered by our utility company probably has something to do with this unwillingness to follow the temperature I manually dialed in. I'm sure there's a way to override that in the settings, but the most obvious way - using the temperature setting on the dial - didn't work. I'll have to call Nest product support to see what is going on. I'll post back if and when they tell me what's going on.

In the meantime, all your Nest are belong to us.

Also, it's not a heat pump.

Is this a heat pump?  It sounds like a heat pump.

To quote Boromir, "one does not simply cycle a heat pump on and off."  Heat pumps are similar to air conditioning units (but with the ability to pump the other way).  When they shut off, they need some time to stabilize before they start up again, otherwise you have what's called a "short cycle" which can damage it.
Most units have an internal protective circuit to make sure it doesn't restart too soon after a shutoff.

If you command increased heat shortly after it has shut off, the thermostat might call for heat, but the internal protective circuit will prevent it from starting right away.  This may cause the thermostat to call for 2nd stage heat.


Can I tilt a window air conditioner at 15 degrees when not in use? I'm trying to design a frame for a window ac that will allow me to easily move the unit in and out of the window. (mostly for security reasons - I want to be able to close the window properly at night.)
Here's my current design: the unit will sit in a frame that is attached above the window to hinges, I should be able to swing the unit in and out easily.
(If I'm not being clear, imagine an ac unit stuck in a awning window. When you swing the window open the unit clears the window frame - that's roughly what I'll achieve with the frame I'm building. In my case I have a sliding window, so when the unit is no longer in the window I can close the window properly.)

Here's my question, how much of an angle can the unit be kept at. Obviously the unit won't be running while it is at an angle, but a quick search shows that even storing a unit sideways can damage it.
I'll be keeping the unit at a roughly 15 degree angle (according to my current design) for extended periods - sometimes just overnight and sometimes for perhaps weeks. I want to be able to slip the unit back into the window when I want, and turn it on right away. Can anybody tell me whether such an idea will damage the unit?
Thanks

That's unlikely to be a problem. Plenty of such units have been stored on crooked trucks and pallets without damage.
It may be more of a concern if you were to run it at an angle, as the bearings in the motor may not be designed for that type of load, and condensation drainage may be wonky.


What size and type of fitting is this? This is the fitting connecting the copper (yes, copper tubing is OK for gas lines where I am) gas line feeding our water heater to our water heater.  What size and type of fitting is it?

Two types of flare fitting, the 45° and the 37°. The 45 is used on low pressure air/gas/water and also rated for fuel gas (usually LP, aka propane). The 37° is called the JIC flare and used in hydraulic plumbing. They don't interchange so just be aware when you buy tooling and fittings.

Can't tell from the picture but I'm guessing 1/2" hard copper tube to 1/2" 45° flare to NPT.

Get a caliper or something to measure the tube. If the OD is exactly 0.5" then you have soft copper. If it's 5/8 then you are looking at hard copper (the kind typically used for water) which for some reason doesn't go by outside diameter but a nominal inside diameter trade size. If it's different, refer to the handbook linked below to figure out the size.

Hard copper can't be flared without first annealing it. To anneal, I heat with a propane or mapp torch until it is glowing orange hot and the flame is turning green. Then let it slowly air cool to anneal. Quenching it with water will only harden it again. You can then flare it in a flaring tool.

Plenty of information in this handbook if you wish to read further: Copper tube handbook


Shower valve causing hammering I just had a plumber out to take a look at a pipe hammering issue I'm having.  He isolated the problem to the shower valve.  He turned off the water to the valve to demonstrate how the noise will stop when there is no water entering the value; he was right the noise stopped. He wants to replace the entire shower value.  Is there anything I could try before replacing the shower valve?

"Water hammer" (the noise) is caused by suddenly stopping the flow of water in a pipe and creating a "shock wave" because water cannot compress and yet has kinetic energy when moving. The cure for water hammer is to have a valve that closes slowly so the kinetic energy dissipates slowly, or to trap air in the piping system so that the air can absorb the energy by compressing. That's why you will often see little "pipes to nowhere" inside of the walls.

There are also specific devices called "water hammer arresters" that are similar and have a little bladder or piston inside that serves the same function.

So the fact that it USED to work fine, points to something having changed. Fixing or replacing just the valve may NOT fix the problem. So for example if you have a piston type arrester on the hot side and the piston has failed, it no longer absorbs the shock wave. A good plumber would know this. So he may know this and by turning the water off to that valve, of course the problem goes away. He may be trying to up-sell you on replacing the entire shower valve because then he tears open the wall to replace it, he will also replace the arrester and this solves the problem.


Can I run electrical cable in old unused heating ducts? Possible Duplicate:
  Does the NEC allow electrical wiring to run next to a ventilation duct?

My house has recently been converted to 200-amp electrical service, and I would love to run some new wire to take advantage of that fact.  My house was converted from forced air to hot-water baseboard heating.  My question is:  can I run electrical wire through the old heating ducts to save myself quite a bit of hassle?  What if there are hot water pipes in them?  Is it advisable to/must I use conduit, or would Romex suffice?

I will let someone else weigh in on the NEC compliance, but likely it is allowed (I am guessing it is the same as retrofitting and fishing a wire through an empty wall cavity).

However, I would definitely not do this with NM wire, since there's a high chance there are sharp metal edges and other protrusions that can damage the wire creating a safety and fire hazard. BX (armoured) would be more appropriate, and easier than trying to get NM through conduit and into the vents.


How can I reuse studs? I know That it is probably impossible but I used a drill bit that is too big and the screws come out when I put a triangle bracket on it plus a small amount of weight.  I am wall mounting a desk and the amount of wieght that the bracket is supporting is much more than the weight that pulled it out.  I have been thinking of using wood glue but heard that it can be madw worse a with the use of it.  I am wall mounting a desk so changing bracket height is a last resort.

Consider searching for "wood anchor bolts". Something like this might work for you, essentially providing a machine screw threaded hole in the stud for you to screw your bracket to.

EDIT: "threaded wood inserts" appears to be a good search term, too -- it finds more like this.


How to get a straight line on plastic guttering We live in a climate (Utah) which can move from 0F to over 100F during the year.

Our plastic gutters bulge away from the soffit, and it bulges itself; it also leaks at some joints. My long-term plan is to replace with Aluminum, but is there anything I can do in the short term to make these gutters straighter and more waterproof? More ties, or something different? I can't find this profile of gutter in the local hardware stores.

The gutter is as wavy as it is partly because not enough hangers were used initially. Vinyl requires more support than steel. Now that it's warped you'll have a hard time straightening it effectively. It's also wavy simply because it's vinyl, which is soft.

Add more hangers and replace the worst sections. Consider replacing it all with steel if you want a truly straight gutter.


Removing cartridge from mixer tap - recessed nut I am trying to remove a cartridge from a mixer tap, and faced with this recessed nut that I cannot get a wrench around. It's also an unusual shape (well, not hexagonal). There is no maker name on the tap. Any tips for removing the cartridge?
Best
Barry

Pretty sure that's a Carron faucet from UK. The design looks like you pull out the stem after the clip is removed. Similar to many other brand's designs like American Standard.


Ground wire giving shock All metal appliances in my house give shock. Following is experiment I conducted: I stuck my electrical tester in each hole of my mains wall socket (one by one) and it does not glow on neutral, glows on live, glows very dimly on ground. But when I stuck it with end point of my iPhone charger, it glows (dimly). My iPhone charger has no ground connection (2-pin plug).

I also conducted many other experiments but the above experiment is equivalent to all of them. Same thing happens with lenovo charger and my also APC UPS or any other modern appliance. Even if this house does not have ground connected to actual ground, event like this should only happen if all of these appliances have live wire leakage. Is it possible that bodies of electrical appliances gain some voltage when appliance is turned on (without any fault)?

I also tried connecting the ground wire from my UPS to one of metal pipelines (that go beneath my house) and viola! No more electric shocks from my UPS/desktop. While connecting this wire, I noticed my monitor turned off momentarily. Thus, I suspect this might be a huge mistake. Could this cause higher electrical bills?

Any help on what's causing this and how to fix this? This is India, Delhi, BSES yamuna electricity, single phase (domestic).

This can be caused by a bootleg ground together with a poor neutral connection at the service panel.

  In building wiring, a bootleg ground is an electrical ground that is wired from the neutral side of a receptacle or light fixture in an older 2-wire home. This essentially connects the neutral side of the receptacle to the casing of an appliance or lamp. It can be a hazard because the neutral wire is a current-carrying conductor, which means the casing can become energized.

You have probably encountered the combination of bootleg grounds on some of your receptacles, and a failing neutral path somewhere between the receptacle and the neutral connection from the power utility.

Here are some diagrams that you can show to your local electrician:

Home wiring with correct fault grounding:

This is the correct way to protect against the appliance case accidentally becoming electrified. If the hot wire (red) insulation fails inside the appliance, the casing will become hot, and almost instantly the circuit breaker will open.

Home wiring without fault grounding:

The earliest home wiring in my country (USA) didn't have fault grounding, and the appliances of that era didn't have little green ground wires.

Using a modern appliance in such an old house involves living without fault ground protection. As you can see from the diagram, there is obviously no place for the appliance's fault ground connection to go. Most users either use an adapter incorrectly, or break the round ground pin off the plug.

Bootleg ground -- what you evidently have:

Unscrupulous home sellers and misguided handymen may for various reasons connect the fault ground to the neutral wire inside the receptacle.

Sellers do this because they want to give the appearance of fault ground wiring in the house. An untrained repairman may do this because he thinks it is safer than leaving the ground disconnected.

Dangerous failure in a bootlegged circuit:

In every country, as far as I know, the neutral service connection is held near earth potential by the utility company's wiring, so connecting an appliance's fault ground to the neutral wire does provide some protection against an insulation failure inside the appliance.

BUT it introduces a more dangerous and much more common failure mode, the broken neutral. You are much more likely to encounter a corroded or broken neutral wire in an old house than you are to encounter failed insulation in a new appliance. The neutrals are usually clamped to a copper bar in the service panel, and these connections will become corroded over time.

When the neutral path is broken anywhere between the bootleg ground and the service panel, everything that is "grounded" becomes live. You can trace the path in the diagram, from the circuit breaker, thru the hot wire (red), thru the appliance load, down the neutral wire (blue), thru the bootleg connection, and thru the ground wire (green) back to the appliance casing. Because of the high resistance of the failing neutral (probably at the service panel), the appliance casing will be energized and current will flow to nearby earth through any accidental path provided, such as you.

Now, it's true that any current that flows through a person touching an appliance casing must also flow through the appliance loads, which is probably the only reason you are still alive. Note that the more appliances you have running the greater the shock you will get.

Connecting a ground wire to the plumbing is a stopgap that may prevent you being electrocuted by touching an appliance, but it introduces a new problem: you can now be electrocuted by touching your plumbing.

You are not going to be able to safely fix this yourself. You must call a licensed professional electrician. Even if you applied some repairs and got rid of the symptoms, without training and experience you might not find all the problems, and would be subjected to dangers later on.


Two 3-way dimmers on 6 LED lights - lights blink when on I wired 6 LED ceiling lights, and I want to control it from two sides, so I used 3-way dimmers on both sides. Everything works, I can dim the lights from both sides, but they blink. I wired a 3-way cable from one dimmer to another, and lights from second dimmer. Can anyone help me?

You should not use two 3-way dimmers on the same lights. A 3-way dimmer can be used in combination with a 3-way switch, to have on/off/dim at one location and on/off at the other.

But if you dim at two locations, rather than getting 0% to 100% dimming controllable from either end, you end up with a combination of the two dimmers' settings that may not make sense. The exact behavior depends on the particular electronics of the dimmers, but for LED lights and their compatible dimmers blinking is a possibility as the modulation timing of the two dimmers will not align perfectly.

Change one of the dimmers to a switch. If you must have dimming at both locations, look for a dimmer that offers a remote control option.


Bathroom vent where there already is one? In our master bathroom we have a smaller room with a door where the toilet is. This smaller room contains a vent fan. The larger area where the shower and sinks are doesn't have a vent and gets very humid.

Is it possible to install a vent fan in the shower area and just hook it up to the other vent fan’s exhaust ductwork?

All vent fans are single units where the fan is located within the vent in the bathroom.

I would not recommend this. If one fan is turned on and the other isn't, the fan that is on could send humid air backwards through the other fan (unless it has a working non-return valve).

I would advise either ducting this new fan completely separately, or instead getting an inline fan with a Y-piece to allow it to vent from two seperate grilles. See hvacquick.com for this example:

NB This is not a recommendation of a particular product/supplier/manufacturer


Best way to create a simple and economic steam machine for steaming wood? I want to build a simple steam machine for steaming wood to bend.

To do this I must place the wood into a sealed PVC pipe and pump steam into it. The PVC pipe part is the easiest part. Producing steam in a simple and economic way is where I need help.

I was thinking of simply using the element from an electric kettle, but these use quite a lot of electricity - the wood must be steamed for at least an hour. I also looked at a clothing steamer, but these seem too weak.

'Pumping' the steam into the PVC pipe is not a problem, as long as the pipe is higher than the steam source, so there is no need for forced induction.

Has anyone built something like this before?

Would anyone know a way of building a simple and cheap steam making machine?

The container doesn't have to be a PVC pipe. Wood boxes were the traditional solution, and still seem to be more common among woodworkers than the PVC approach.

There are steam generators available from woodworking stores which are a bit more effective than an electric kettle. They may or may not be significantly more energy-efficient; boiling water takes the same amount of energy no matter how you do it, so the only question is how much energy gets lost to the environment rather than going into the water and being kept in the steam.


How should I seal a shower base that is leaking? I have a shower stall with a cement-like slab base.  The shower base is ancient and has developed some cracks.  The top surface has some sort of sealant which has worn away, with the result that water can leak down into the slab.

I don't see water damage in the ceiling of the room below, but am worried nonetheless.  I tried to re-seal the slab with some garage floor "epoxy" paint, but after 6 months that surface has bubbled and cracked.  I'm not sure why it bubbled, as I did a pretty thorough job of roughing the surface for it to seal to.  As the bubble was in the same place as the original crack, perhaps there is some relation?

Is there a better material to use to seal such a surface?

This happened to me in a previous apartment due to an improper shower pan/missing-concrete installation when the complex was built.  What the restoration guy did was cut out the floor of the tub, pour concrete over the subfloor, then used layers of fiberglass mats and resin to complete the restoration.

Hope that helps.


How effective are angle-grinder wood discs for removing material? I'm working on an old house with 2x8 T&G subfloor planks. All of the structure is sound and has been reinforced but there are areas where the edges of subfloor planks are not level.

This has previously been under carpet, which hides the edges better... but I intend to put an underlayment over it and put down hardwood. To do this, I either need an elaborate setup of ramps or I need to sand/grind the extra material away.

In some places there is as much as 1/4" of a lip.

How effective are the wood-grinding discs for angle grinders? Would that be an effective way to handle this task?

I really think a belt sander would do a nicer job than an angle grinder. You could use a small handheld model with 40 or 60 grit belts, or rent a larger one used to refinish hardwood floors if you need to do larger areas.


Why am I not getting any power in two legs of my main power? I have a house that runs solely on 120 volts. For some reason I am only getting 120 volts on one leg on the main power plug going in to my house. The others are not getting any. What could cause this? I only have lights working as well as all but 4 outlets and no hot water heater. It, my house is an old trailer.

If you are comfortable doing it, you can take the front panel off of your breaker box and check the voltage of the wires coming in from the meter, but in cases where "one leg is dead" it is usually a problem with the power utility.  In your case it's pretty obvious because you have no 240v loads, but sometimes in houses it can be a confusing and dangerous problem because voltage can travel through a 240v appliance.

I guess it could be a bad connection between the main breaker and the rest of the panel, but we've had several questions on the site about partial power outages and it's generally the power companies issue.


Gfi that has 12 2 gauge 20 amp, can i tie a 14 2 gauge in the load terminal for an outlet ans light in my shed I have a gfi with 12 2 20 amp wire, and want to run power to my shed can i tie in 14 2 gauge wire in the load terminal for a outlet and small light

In this case, there's more than one problem to fix

I suspect you heard "conduit should be buried 6" deep" somewhere, went off to the home store, got the nearest/cheapest conduit you could, and buried it.  (Either that, or someone at the home store told you "conduit should be buried 6" deep.")  Unfortunately for you, that 6" rule only applies to rigid metal conduit (RMC) -- the PVC conduit you're using needs to be buried 18" deep, so you'll have to pull the wires out, dig it up, and re-trench it at the deeper depth (and add 12" lengths with couplings at each end to compensate for that).

Once you get the conduit set at the correct burial depth, you can then pull a set of 12AWG THHN/THWNs (black/white/bare) through the conduit.  (Had you gotten the conduit burial right, pulling out the old wire and stuffing new wire down the conduit would have been all that was needed for a fix.)

For the next bloke: Just use another length of 12/2

You can't do what you want without making the whole circuit into a 15A circuit (which requires replacing the breaker with a 15A breaker).  Just get some 12/2 and use that instead.


Pendant lights without a ceiling box I am having a house built, and I noticed there was no exposed ceiling box at the locations of my pendant lights.  I was unable to get out there to visually verify things before drywall went up (that's why there's a construction manager) The CM reassures me everything is wired, inspection passed, and ready to be pulled through on the final set out.

I walked through the attic this morning to find nothing more than a bundle of romex hanging from a roof truss, coming from the light switch location.

I've never seen a new construction rough in without a ceiling box for each light fixture, and this includes other houses this CM is building.

Is this cause for concern?  Should I require another electrical inspection for this? The attic will be blown in, concealing anything wrong, for the final inspection.

If they did not use boxes I would consider this a code violation unless they used romex splices , the splices can be made without a box romex to romex other than that I would take a photo of the point of connection and post it but it sounds shady to me. In the states I have worked to get a rough inspection signed off for cover all the boxes need to be in place.


What should I use to seal the hole where my central air enters the house? Wood foundation house with vinyl siding. The hole that was made to allow the lines for my central air conditioner to enter the house is basically wide open - the silicone/caulking that was around the hole has eroded or something, and when I look at the hole from inside the house (in my furnace room) I can see clear through to the outside - I can see daylight. I was thinking of spraying some expanding foam into the hole, then using caulk to seal around the hole, but I'm wondering if that's the correct approach. Has anyone on here ever done this before?

thanks!

Duct seal, or similar product, is a common solution.

Kneed it until malleable, then mold it in and around the hole like clay. It is nontoxic, paintable, and will stay flexible.