How do I fix a door frame that my dog chewed? My dog chewed the bottom part of the doorframe to my bedroom.  I live in a rented apartment, so this is not OK.

Is there any way to fix it and make it look somewhat presentable (doesn't have to be perfect)?

How do I find a matching frame?  How do I match the paint?

Update: Just wanted to thank everyone for their help!

@XOPJ: Thanks, that is useful to know.  Actually, I don't think she actually chewed it, but simply scratched at it when I left her in the room for a while (she's got separation anxiety).  So my description was not quite accurate to begin with!

Regarding replacing the trim, I think that's just too much work for someone like me who doesn't know much about DIY projects.  I considered this initially before coming to this forum, but there doesn't seem to be an easy way to remove the trim, and I'm afraid I'd knock a huge chunk out that I'm not supposed to if I tried to pry it off!

My filler experiment has been a half-success:  I had one big chunk which I managed to glue back in place, and I filled in the rest with wood filler and painted over it.  Since it's near the bottom of the door, you don't notice it unless you're looking for it.  However, I think I'll try to touch it up at some point in the future.

You can simply replace the molding. This profile is an inexpensive ranch casing, available from your local home center. You should be able to match it virtually exactly. It will be nailed to the wall. Buy a new piece to fit. You will need to miter the top end to fit with a miter saw, but you can buy an inexpensive miter box to do that task accurately.

Once you have cut the new piece to fit, take the old one off and bring it into any good paint store. They can match the paint exactly. A quart of paint will be enough to repaint the molding with lots to spare for touch ups.

Install the molding using finish nails, set into place using a nail set. Then fill the heads with putty and paint.


how to remove a tiny screw that won't spin? A friend asked me to have at a look at his 'broken' laptop and here's a picture of one of the screws.

Click for larger view

I've been trying to remove it for about 15 minutes.

It's in a 'hole' of 2~3mm deep and surrounded by the black plastic part

Any helpful ideas ?

First, you need the right sized screwdriver bit - this is already looking chewed up as though it's met not quite the right size. This is one area where getting the non-Chinese product may pay off in the long run (they not only work better, they also destroy less things you work on, so between not having to throw out and replace the tools and not having things you work on damaged, the more expensive tool may cost less overall.)

Second, you need plenty of force pushing down on the screwdriver so it won't pop up. A standard "jewelers screwdriver" has a rotating button on the top so you can push down while turning.

You'd need some adapters to get down to the correct bit size, but a hand impact driver is the tool of choice for truly stuck cross-head screws - preferably with the right bit - be it Phillips, Pozi-Drive, JIS or some other variant on the + screw head (they are different, in ways that matter) in the right size. You torque the body in the direction you are trying to turn to set it, then smack the back end with a hammer, which drives it in and turns it at the same time. It's rare to need to go that far on a laptop, though, and you could cause additional damage if the computer is not well supported.

Third option would be to accept that the screw is stuck and it's not your laptop, and suggest that the friend take it in to a service tech (sometimes discretion IS the better part of valor.)

Fourth, you could (with some damage to the black plastic part) cut a slot in the screw. Messy and complicated (can't let the grinding dust go everywhere, access is poor, etc.) but it gets you more leverage (wide screw-head, small + type driver - can use a wider straight-blade on it once slot is cut.) But look very hard at the third option before going there.


Can an existing exhaust fan with a light and night light be replaced with just an exhaust fan and a seperate can light in the shower? We are remodeling our bathroom and in our shower we have an exhaust fan with a light and night light combo which are connected to three different switches.  We are replacing our exhaust fan with a better one but it does not have a light in it so we wanted to put a LED can light that was made for the shower.  Is this possible using the existing wires from where our original exhaust fan is to install both the exhaust fan and can light and if so how?

Yes, absolutely.

Install the recessed light over the shower and use the junction box attached to the lights to then extend the wiring to the new fan location. You'll obviously need new wire between the light and fan.


Low temperature construction adhesive? My laziness has come home to roost.

I did some work over the summer that required me to rip out some old beadboard planking, which unfortunately destroyed most of the beadboard. After looking at the alternatives, I've purchased and cut some nice looking patterned PVC boards as replacement.

Only problem: you can't nail it, you need to glue it. And since I've managed to put off doing this work until December, it's 20-30 degrees here in sunny Albany, NY. I just looked at my tube of liquid nails, and it recommends not using it at temperatures less than 60 degrees F.

Could anyone suggest an alternative? I really don't want to leave this porch exposed for the season.

I think the Liquid nails adhesive you have may be the basic interior grade. Take a look at the PL urethane adhesives, ie: PL200, PL400 etc. I don't have the specs in front of me, but I think you will find one that will perform OK in lower temps. Obviously, you may need to pick a nice sunny day, keep your new planking material inside and warm  until you are just ready to set it in place. What is the reason you can't use some 16 or 18 Ga finish nails or small diameter finish screws to secure the planks? If you have access under the planks there are some good screw type systems that will attach to joists and screw up from the bottom into your new decking.


Stickyback Velcro Application Adhesive-back Velcro is to be applied to a ceiling and a sensor bracket temporarily for a test.  When selecting the Velcro half to be attached to the ceiling, is there an advantage to using the ‘fuzzy’ strip or its counterpart to the ceiling?  Which strip should be attached to the ceiling and why?

When attaching velcro, my thought process is - when the two items are separated, which one would it be more pleasing to have the fuzzy side or the scratchy side?  Using velcro to mount a flashlight?  Fuzzy side on the flashlight for sure because it's soft.  Normally it ends up being scratchy side on the fixed surface and soft side on the portable piece.

You might also consider which side would pick up more dirt or dust when they are separated.  They both stick the same and have the same forces acting on them when attached, so my decisions focus on the separated items.


Can I run a second cable to add another hot conductor for a range? I have a range that needs 10/3 wiring w/ ground, and the wire in place is a 10/2 w/ground.  My question is can I just run an additional 10/2 wire and use the black in that 2nd run for the "red" wire, and just cut back the white and ground in the 2nd run.  Or do I need to run a new 10/3 wire.

Splittng a circuit across two cables is simply not an option.  It cannot be done, and there are big reasons for that, and those reasons are much more critical on high-current devices.  This isn't low voltage DC power: this is AC and a whole lot of it.

Usually, in situations like this, the barrier is that the cable is too buried in finished walls to economically replace.  You are saying that is not the case for you.  Since you would be adding a cable in any case, add a 10/3 cable.

10/2 to a range or oven site is awkward.  You can get away with it when installing modern ranges which are designed for the world market, and take 230/240V only.  But then you are painted into a corner if you happen to pick a replacement that is North America only.  Perhaps this builder reasoned that it would be easy to swap the cable if warranted.


Single Dimmer for multiple lights each having a one way switch Can I use a single dimmer for multiple lights each having a one way switch?

Dimmer wattage is taken care

Trivial, but it won't work as you'd like with common gear

You can have a dimmer controlling some number of lights.  You can also have a switch interrupting each individual light (at its simplest: a "pull cord" on each fixture). The switch needs to be downstream of the dimmer (between the dimmer and light).  It should switch the hot wire only (unless you are in the Philippines, then follow local code).

However, how well this works will depend on the type of dimmer used.

If you use cheap, common, bog-standard leading-edge or trailing-edge "Triac" dimmers (98% of what you'll find in the home improvement stores), then brightness will be irregular.  Switching lights on and off will change other lights' brightness, possibly significantly, and you may need to readjust dim levels as you switch lamps in and out.

If you want to avoid that, you can pursue other technologies:

Commercial grade 0-10V dimming.  A dimmer sends a 0-10 volt signal on 2 additional wires to each fixture. However the price will give you sticker-shock.
Low voltage LED "PWM" dimming.  The signal is a "duty cycle", or what fraction of the time the signal is "on" versus "off".  This can be sent directly as power to the light, or a signal to an amplifier circuit at the light.  This runs on 12 volt or 24 volt DC, and all this tech is available dirt cheap.  IKEA has systems based on it (their lamps are a great source). Leviton or Lutron actually makes standard form-factor wall dimmers that do 12/24 volt PWM. Meanwell and GE make respectable power supplies. And while we normally warn you away from the sea of cheap Cheese junk out there on Amazon Marketplace, eBay and Alibaba, it's a lot less dangerous when it's 12/24 volts (and I admit using that myself).
Smart light bulbs.  In this case you have the smart bulbs talk to the hub or whatever... and command the bulbs to any brightness you want via the smart system, which you control via a variety of methods.

The 0-10V system can easily control lights on multiple circuits; that is to say, the dimmer does not need to be upstream of the light switches.  The same is true of the PWM system if you use amplifiers


How can I figure out exactly where a bathroom leak is coming from? There's a small amount of water at the lowest point on my bathroom floor.  It looks clear and doesn't have a smell.  Lately, it's been showing up every day, whether anyone's taken a shower or not.

How can I be absolutely sure where this water is coming from?

A few sources come to mind:

The base of the toilet.
The supply line feeding the toilet.
The sink across the room.
A leak in the roof somewhere over the bathroom.

Overall, the house is of...unusual quality.  No one's exactly sure when it was built.  On the one hand, the interior is all fairly new.  On the other hand, there are knotholes in the exterior walls that were "repaired" by having a tin can lid tacked on over them.*  Bottom line: I'd believe just about anything could be the source of this water.

*Surprisingly, you'd never notice the tin can lids unless you were really paying attention.

I see this problem frequently and almost always find the leak by surrounding the suspected area with paper towel laid flat on the floor and then flushing the toilet 3-4 times or filling the sink and draining it 3-4 times. The paper towel will always visibly moisten when the leak starts.


Trying to add a 240V circuit to the breaker box -- is there space? I'm trying to add a 240V circuit to my breaker box. It looks as though there are enough "slots" on my breaker (2), but the metal doesn't extend all the way down. Do I have the space to do this?

EDIT: Adding additional pictures as requested.enter image description here

EDIT 2: Picture of the whole breaker box

Read my answer here that talks at length about what "spaces" are and how duplex breakers work.

It appears that you have one space left.  Any 2-pole (240V) breaker needs to sit in 2 spaces so something special will have to be done.  The article I linked should give you plenty of ideas, e.g. using a duplex breaker for two 120V circuits to free up a space.

If you expect to add any more circuits in the future, you may be better off just adding a sub-panel.

Lastly while you're in the panel you might look at a few minor problems.  First, some of the white wires going into breakers are not neutrals.  They should be taped or marked at both ends to indicate they are not actually neutrals.  Second, it looks like too much bare wire is exposed on most of the wires going into the breakers, probably too much insulation was stripped (there's a "how much to strip" guide printed or embossed on the breaker.)  It can be easily trimmed back.


Removing a broken faucet aerator The aerator on my bathroom faucet gets dirty, so I've been cleaning it out now and again by rubbing a paper towel around the bottom. I think I did this with too much force, because the plastic interior snapped right off.

Apparently you can unscrew an aerator and replace it, but this is my landlord's sink, so I just want to be sure what part to unscrew. I've attached images of the sink and the piece of the aerator that snapped off. Any ideas?

Yes, you can unscrew and replace that aerator. Lucky for you, it appears to be a very common size and should be available at any hardware or plumbing shop (bring it with you).

The part you unscrew is the aerator body itself, the chrome part. Sometimes they are stubborn; you may have to get at it with pliers. I have even had to use destructive removal force on them on more than one occasion.


Installing motion lights on a fixture with a dimmer switch I'm replacing an old led light fixture that is on a dimmer knob. The new light fixture is also LED but motion activated. The instruction manual says do not install on dimmer circuit. Basically I want to know why not, and is it ok to disregard this warning if I don't care about the dimmer effect working?
This will be a temporary fixture until we get a contractor out to have some proper work done. I need to have motion lights as a security deterrent ASAP.
Basically can I install the fixture anyway? If not what do I need to do, would it be a simple wall switch replacement? Or the entire wiring needs to be redone?

The dimmer modifies the sine wave and the fixture may not work. many dimmers  use silicone controlled rectifiers and only 1/2 of the energy wave is passed on even at full on. Only having half wave to work with can keep the fixture from working or may over heat and even damage components in the motion light.
Because the manufacturer states to not use this fixture with a dimmer it would be a code violation to do it.


Should I remove a broken piece of the pivot rod from the trap in my bathroom pedestal sink? I have a pedestal sink in my bathroom and my horizontal pivot rod for the pop-up stopper broke. I was going to simply swap out the pivot rod, however, the short end that broke off fell down the drain into the trap. From the sink down to the bottom of the trap is about 14 inches.

Is it OK for me to leave it there or do I need to disassemble the entire sink to get the small piece of broken metal out? Ideally, I'd fish it out with some long tweezers, but I'm not sure they even exist.

You could check if the remaining piece of pivot rod that you have in hand has magnetic properties (i.e. a magnet will stick to it). If so you can probably be successful in retrieving the broken part from the trap using a tool similar to those pictured below:

Magnetic reach tools can be purchased online, hardware stores or big box outlets. In addition to the type shown above that have the flexible shaft there is another type that has the shaft made out of a soft aluminum wire that can bend slightly as the thing is pushed into the drain line. This latter type is typically a lower cost than the types pictured.


Can I use dry concrete mix to set a post in saturated soil? How dry does the ground need to be in order to use postcret? I'm in norcal and we've had tons of rain. The ground is real saturated at 1 1/2 to 2ft.

You should not put dry concrete mix into a hole.   The wetness is really not the big thing it is the fact that you may not mix it properly meaning you will have pockets of dust as things settle.   These small pockets of unmixed mix will make the concrete extremely weak and will crack or crumble apart - "a buddy had this issue one time" haha.

You mix the concrete as normal (maybe shy on the side of drier mix) and simply dump it in the hole. It will displace the water since it is heavier. I have also dammed up holes and pumped out the water while filling - this just takes a few minutes a hole and keeps the hole integrity better and keeps from getting concrete slopped everywhere.

For wet conditions I use Quickcrete fast setting. It won't cure/set in 40 mins under water but it does harden enough to hold a post and move on.   Others may have personal favorites for wet conditions but I can say that using the right type is a big deal.


How should large, stranded ground conductors be connected to metal junction boxes? Say I have a #6/3 cable being spliced in a metal junction box. How would the (presumably stranded #8) ground wire be connected to the box?

You can connect in much the same way you connect anything else. The only difference is the size of the wire nut. Something like a B-cap B4 Blue would do it, or you can just go with a small split bolt connector if you feel the wirenut would be over capacity.

By the way you don't use a #8 to the box since this is a bond not a grounding conductor. A #10 would be good for a 60A circuit if that is what the #6 is for. To bond to the box you could pigtail and attach to the box with a standard grounding screw (green) and use a crimp connector (spade, loop or some such).

NEC Table 250.122 Minimum size equipment grounding conductor. You size it off of the overcurrent Device. If you feel like doing some more reading you can go to 250 Part 5 Methods of equipment grounding which will refer you to 250.30(A)(1) and on and on and on. The gist of it is go to Table 250.122 and size it from there.

Good luck


Smooth cuts on small ceramic tile I am going to be installing some 2” x 4” mosaic tile sheets in my bathroom. What would be the best method to cut the tile edges to size? Would a score and snap cutter give the cleanest edge?

I would use a wet saw. The least expensive one at home centers is around $70. That will give you clean cuts. Scoring and snapping has always been stressful for me because some would not break cleanly and I would be worried about running out of tile. I would only put score and break cuts at the edges where they are covered up (floor tiles). When mounted on a wall where the cuts are visible, I would definitely recommend a wet saw.


Limescale removal in bathroom (not tiled) I have a limescale problem in my bathroom. As you can see, it follows the arc of the shower door and it's also pretty bad inside the shower.

I have tried various limescale removal products but most of these require the surface to be rinsed off after use. I used the product and rinsed it off inside the shower cubicle and mopped the floor a few times outside the shower cubicle but this didn't work as the picture shows.

How can I remove it? I should also add that the floor is not made of smooth tiles like the wall is.

You need to use a product with an acid that dissolves minerals found in hard water. Cleaners with phosphoric acid and newer products supposedly more environmentally sensitive with formic acid work nicely.

I think all of them will recommend rinsing, if for no other reason than to flush away the dissolved limescale.


My Dresser Drawer is stuck closed I have a dresser drawer that is stuck closed without anything inside it blocking it.  The inside of the drawer is empty, so I assume it is blocked on the rails somehow, but as far as I can tell I don't have any way to access them.

I've attached pictures I took of the drawer being pulled out and the drawers that are still working around it, and I found this youtube video of someone installing similar drawers and this question concerning similar drawers, but neither really helped in any meaningful way.

Is there some kind of tool I should get to free it up somehow? I've tried pulling back, and pushing up from the bottom and I never felt any give.

Do you see the screws that hold the slide attached to the drawer? One cause of stuck-drawer I've experienced is that those screws can back out far enough that the screw head engages with one of the many holes in the fixed track inside the cabinet.

A possible first step is to understand (figure out) what is mechanically holding the drawer stuck in this position. Several useful tools come to mind.

your fingers. It appears the space below the stuck drawer is open, and the drawer slide is on the lower edge of the drawer. Feel around all sides of the slide mechanism on both sides. Compare to the feeling of another, non-stuck drawer. Notice the protrusions, dimples, shapes, etc.
a probe instrument. This might be as simple as a thin piece of wire, a bit of paper or cardstock, etc. Maneuver it into the gap between the fixed and moving pieces of the drawer slide and move it along between the front roller and the drawer roller. Check the slide on each side of the drawer. Do you notice a difference between the two? A difference between these and a non-stuck drawer?
a visual tool. Maybe low-tech like a pocket mirror and a flashlight, maybe the front or rear camera of a smart phone, or even a borescope/endoscope camera (inexpensive, small, USB digital cameras can be found online at relatively low cost). Inspect the slides visually for any obstruction.

After you've understood how/why the drawer is stuck, or if you decide to proceed blindly, you might try techniques such as prying between the two pieces of the slide to un-bind them, or pushing/pulling harder on the drawer face in hopes of breaking whatever is holding it stuck.


How do you service a pocket door? We have a pocket door where it appears that the suspension hardware needs service or replacement.  I can't see a way to access it without a lot of deconstruction.  I'm hoping there's another way.

The symptom is that the door is suddenly hard to move.  Pushing it feels like one of the suspension rollers is binding, and sometimes the door rebounds when you stop pushing (like perhaps pushing causes the door to tilt rather than moving, and gravity pulls it back when you stop pushing, or the bolts that the door hangs from are pivoting in their brackets and then the door pulls it straight when you stop pushing; that's just a guess).

The track does not appear to be bent, and the door doesn't appear to be warped.  I'm guessing that at least one of the roller assemblies is binding, or at least not rolling.  The rollers are captured in a channel with insufficient clearance to allow a roller to jump the track.

I'm able to see that on one roller assembly, the roller on one side rotates when the door moves, but the other side doesn't.  However, this could just be that the non-rotating roller is no longer in contact with the bottom of the channel.

The problem is that none of the suspension hardware is really accessible to inspect it, or to service or replace it.  A few photos:

I got this with a bore scope.  There is another roller assembly at the other end of the door, but I couldn't manipulate the scope to get close enough to be in focus.

The roller assemblies ride in a channel that is formed into two deep "J" tracks.  The rollers almost fill the height of the track, so they cannot come out other than at an end.

This pocket door isn't just a track and roller hardware, it has a metal framework, with the track supported by a number of metal uprights on both sides.  The wall framing must be basically open space below a header, at least on one side of the wall.  The door framework must have been fastened in place to the header, then framing added below for the drywall.

The door itself is also 1 1/4" wider than the finished opening, and there is no stop trim on the close side of the doorway (just the jamb that the door closes against). To get the door out of the opening (assuming it can be disconnected from the rollers), would require at least removal of all of the woodwork around the opening.  In the picture below, it's clear that the door is captured by wooden framing at the top and right side of the doorway, not just thin stop trim.

The roller assemblies are screwed to the top of the door.  Research online shows that there is typically a slot to get the hanger bolt in and out of the door bracket.  However, inspecting the three visible sides of the door bracket, it appears to be solid, with no slot.

So it seems like the only way to remove the door to work on or replace the roller assemblies would involve significant deconstruction.

Please tell me there's another way to either remedy the symptom or service the hardware.

You'll need to remove the first set of trim, the ones right next to the door.

The trims are either side at the top, this exposes the hanging bolts/wheels on top of the door. Loosen the locknuts.  Then I'd remove the two trims either side of the door (in the open position) as well (although the gap looks generous on your door). Then pull the door off the hanging bolts (a bit like opening a regular door) and slide the door out at an angle.

The channel at the top doesn't go all the way to the frame to allow you to roll out the rollers. Slide them until they stop and pull them down at 90 degrees to remove. Clean them up and check for wear. Cleaning the channel itself is a bit tricky if folks have tried to 'improve' performance by adding lube (it just attracts debris). Various ingeniously shaped sticks with an alcohol/cleaner soaked rag on might help!

I clean everything up, (soaking the wheels in cleaner works well) and make sure the wheels are free (I might lube the wheels, but wipe away all excess carefully). I don't lube the track.


Safely use a bare light socket I've got a box of sockets like this:

I was planning to mount a few of these on the ceiling, but am wondering about safety since the hot wire is essentially exposed, and would be very close to one's fingers when changing a bulb. I stopped at the hardware store and saw sockets just like these, except they had cardboard around the upper portion. Would I be ok wrapping electrical tape around the upper portion, or does anyone have better ideas? I also thought about wrapping tape on it then putting a cover like this over it. Thanks.

You are right to be concerned about safety. Attempting to use the sockets as they are is a  hazard, the exposed conductors are an electrical and safety concern. What you have is a replacement part for repairing a damaged fixture.


Leveling-smoothing an exterior cement patio I paid for a 16' x 16' cement slab to be laid down so I can build a shade spot for BBQ and enjoying the evenings. My problem is that I did not want a rough surface. I want to be able to walk out in bare feet to have morning coffee.

I told the guy that. Guess what? Yep, it has small rocks on the surface. What is the least expensive way to level this my self?

The only good ways to get a truly smooth surface at this point is to 1) cover the slab with tile, or 2) grind it smooth.

You can install porcelain or quarry tile for a truly finished surface. Obviously there's some expense and effort involved with this option.

On several occasions I've seen businesses bring in companies to grind their concrete to a polish finish. It's visually attractive and very smooth.


How do I clean a root cellar under my porch to make it suitable for food storage? I have a root cellar under my porch. How should I clean loose stones on the floor and get rid of a musty smell so I can use the space as a safe food storage area.  Small field mice entered and some of their skeletons remain.  It has wood shelves and would work well as a food storage area.

Moisture is the ally of musty, moldy.

I would remove the stones, wash them in a household cleaner, such as Lysol. Wash down the walls and woodwork as well.  Setup a fan to dry out the area.  Run a dehumidifier in the rest of the basement during the summer.  Repeat using the fan if musty odors return.

Put down a vapor barrier on the ground, 6 mil poly minimum, pond liner is a very sturdy option.  Make the piece big enough to fold in the corners and contain the stones


GFCI Electrical outlet near outdoor fountain wall - Shutoff switch needed? I'm installing an outdoor electrical outlet on the back side of a fountain wall.  Basically it's a 5 foot tall wall that flows water down the front of it, into a catch basin where it is pumped back to the top of the wall.
I thought I have read somewhere that if I plan to run pond pumps off of this new GFCI outlet, then I need to have a clearly labeled electrical shutoff switch near the outlet.
Is this true?  Does code require this?  And if so, can I run my THWN2 wires through the conduit and have it pass through the outlet box without pigtails, go up into a separate switch box where it will connect to the switch, and then back down to the outlet box again?
I would prefer to not have the switch, and just rely on the self-test GFCI outlet for safety/protection.
Like this (apologies for the 3 year old crayon drawing):

Electrical drownings are deadly serious
If you understood how gruesome they are, you would earnestly want to do everything possible to avoid them.  Imagine someone drowning, and a rescuer jumps in to help them and starts drowning too, and another rescuer does the same... that happens.  It happens A LOT.
As in the linked case, it's not enough to GFCI-protect the device alone, because water could get behind the GFCI device and contact unprotected AC mains. So it's also important to protect the wiring that even approaches the fountain.
Also in that linked case, the critical 10 minutes needed to get the girls on CPR and save them from brain death, was spent frantically searching for a way to disconnect power. Hence...
GFCIs can protect downlines.
A lot of people look at GFCIs and think "That's a receptacle.  It protects things plugged into it. It doesn't protect anything else".  That's true if you wire it that way... but it's also possible to configure GFCIs so they protect onward wiring runs.    In fact every GFCI device has terminals specifically for that purpose: the LOAD terminals.
So you can use a GFCI some distance away to protect both the wiring to the fountain, and the switch, and the receptacle all at once.  This can be a GFCI receptacle located somewhere earlier in the circuit, or a GFCI breaker in the panel.  It's also wise to locate GFCI devices indoors - they last a lot longer.
There's one more thing. Some GFCI devices do not like being downline of a switch, and will often trip when shut off or turned on.   All the more reason to site the GFCI before the switch.


Best way(s) to soundproof interior wall between rooms? I had a few ideas in mind to keep our newborn from waking up our light sleeping toddler sleeping in the adjacent room.  I'm open to new suggestions. :-)

1) Blow cellulose from above (unfinished area).  I don't know if there is a firewall in the interior wall though so can't tell if the blown in will be blocked by it

2) Rigid foam boards, R-5 stuff available in my hardware store in the newborn's room, painted in something matching the room.

3) Egg crate foam stuck to the wall (seems very unattractive)

The easy and fairly attractive solution is to use sound attenuation panels. You'll often see these in home theater settings. Hang them on the walls like you would a picture. You can DIY a similar solution by hanging a large thick tapestry on the wall, with an optional thin piece of foam behind it.

If you haven't already done it, carpeting in the room will make a huge difference.

To completely sound proof the room, you'd see the best results by removing the drywall from at least one side of each wall, and the ceiling if there's living space above, and installing specialized quiet drywall on top of sound attenuation channel that's attached to the studs like furring strips. This both separates the drywall from the studs to remove base sounds, and the quiet drywall absorbs the higher pitched sounds. However, even after all this work, there are still air ducts and doors that will often transmit sounds.


How to put drywall over garage uneven concrete wall? I would like to make my garage wall a bit "smoother". And now I think about using drywall to cover the bare concrete. However the concrete is very uneven with at least 1 inch of concrete sticking out like in the corner below

(Sorry this pic turned side way)

The wall has several "lines" with metal wires sticking out. I could cut the wires but it will be hard to "sand" or cut the concrete.

What are your suggestion? Or should I "frame" 2x2 or something like that with plywood on the outside then?

Usually when drywalling over masonry walls you install furring strips.  Furring strips are verital strips of wood to which you can attach the drywall (or plywood or whatever you want).  You can easily position and / or notch the furring strips so that the face of the strips comes out level.  You can use lumber as small as 1x2s, it's also common to use 2x4's.  There are also metal furring strips available.

Heavier furring strips are better for attaching shelves etc.  Sometimes by the time it's all said and done, you're better off just framing a hollow wall in front of the masonry wall.  This way you can leave a little breathing room between the wall and the masonry, and you have a full stud depth for insulation, electrical, etc.


Where do I buy a weather proof combination padlock? I have a shed that I use a padlock to secure. The last lock I had lasted a year before failing. It cost about $40. My wife prefers combination so she won't need her keys just to work in the yard.

I can't find a good quality, weather proof combination lock in the US, can anyone help?

I've had a cheap MasterLock for over a decade on my shed and it's not showing any signs of wear. Only downside is that they've been known to have a security flaw (a little internet searching will describe how to determine the combination with only a little trial and error). After a storm, I turn it sideways and the water just pours out, so it's definitely exposed to the elements.

For harsh elements, you may also want to look at an outdoors or boating store. Their locks are usually designed to resist salt water exposure:


pool heater pump electric wiring -- updated --
I want to plug my pool heater 50000 btu Jaccuzi JA50 ( on manual it says  AC208,230/60 1PH , circruit braker 20 A )
it has connection for
----power AC---
slot 1 L1 (red)
slot 2 L2 (black)
slot 3 ground
---- to pump --
slot 4 P1 (bleu)
slot 5 P2 (black) (which is connected to L2)
and I have an 230v nearby oultet which has 2 wires black + white and the ground , this outlet is plugged to 60A breaker (2x30) in the eletrical switchboard, the wall outlet model is NEMA 6-15 250v
my question :
I understand so I can wire directly my heater to this outlet (adding male connector) which I connect L1 to white and L2 to black ( I guess it doesn't matter )
is it correct this wiring and is it ok to use 50A breaker even if the heater says 20A ?
shall I use 30A cable as well ?
Thanks in advance
Joe
pictures :
https://ibb.co/8mmKvqX
https://ibb.co/Dp5Vztq
https://ibb.co/j6F3sqq
https://ibb.co/y4S6tKV
https://ibb.co/WKSYjPP
https://ibb.co/FVrhvN4
https://ibb.co/5Mb3NpZ
https://ibb.co/KXfMYDF

...and I have an 230v nearby oultet which has 2 wires black + white and the ground , this outlet is plugged to 50A breaker in the
eletrical switchboard, the wall outlet model is NEMA 6-15 250v

A NEMA 6-15 receptacle is only rated for 15A, so if it is connected to a 50A breaker, that is dead wrong and an immediate fire hazard.
If the conductors are rated for 50A (6AWG if you are in North America), then there may be something usable here, but not the way it is. It would be difficult however to have connected #6 wire to a NEMA 6-15 receptacle, so it's not likely. If you can, take a picture of the outlet with the wires attached to it (turn off the power before removing it). IF it is #6 wire somehow, you may need special help in terminating it to a 20A receptacle. Report back what you find.
For a 20A circuit, you need #12 wire at a minimum, maybe #10 of the distance from the panel to the outlet is long. If you have that now, then you only need to change the outlet to a NEMA 6-20
All that said, I see the JA50 pump as being rated for 2A, not 20A. So I'm not sure where you are getting that info from. Maybe it says 20A MAXIMUM, but that would not preclude it from operating fine on a 15A circuit.If that's the case, your existing receptacle is fine, but the 50A circuit breaker is still not.
But also, is this a hot tub and if so, does it have electric heating? If that's the case, you likely DO need a 50A circuit to power the heaters + the pump. If it's gas heat though, then you only need the pump power.


Ideas for covering vents to stop pests getting in? We have a crawl space under our house and the wire mesh covering the vents is shredded. I want to keep the animals out and would like some ideas on the best way to do it.

I was planning to replace the wire mesh that is currently there with new mesh (1/8") but it is difficult to get access to the back of the vent from inside the crawl space. Also the old mesh is difficult to remove and that makes attaching new mesh hard.

There are some commercially available vents but none that seem to fit.

I had thought to create a wire mesh plug for each of the 3.75” x 5.25” holes (they are about 0.5” deep) but I am low on ideas for how to create a frame and attach it (I would like it to be replaceable for the next time the mesh is damaged).

Any ideas gratefully received.

You can purchase stamped louvered foundation vents and attach with (stainless) screws and wall anchors or make a frame with window screen frame parts and mesh and attach in similar fashion but with swivel screen clips. The open screen has a higher air flow rate than the louvered vent.


What is the purpose of these ducts in HVAC/laundry room ceiling? Attached picture (1st pic)  is ceiling of 2nd floor condominium laundry room, there is HVAC and water heater also in the room. Due to recent water damage ceiling was removed. I have question about flexible ducts shown by yellow and red dots in the picture.
1st picture is laundry room, 2nd picture is adjacent bathroom.
In laundry room, One end of the duct with yellow dotted line is connected with solid vent which goes down the wall on left side and opens in vent near the floor (not in the picture)
One end of the duct with red dotted line opens in ceiling vent as you can see in the picture.
Blue arrow shows HVAC plenum, you can tell that these ducts are not connected to it.
Both of these ducts go toward the adjacent bathroom ceiling (2nd picture).
In the bathroom ceiling, both of these flex ducts are connected to solid metal ducts which goes further to the right towards my  walk in closet, which is end of my unit (Walk in closet has outside wall of building).
Both duct opens outside the building like shown in 3rd picture.
I just don't understand purpose of these vents. When my HVAC turns on, I don't feel any air coming out of vent in the wall (for yellow duct) and vent in the ceiling (for red duct).
Can someone tell me what are these ducts for ?

Make-up air
Vented clothes dryers and bath fans exhaust air to the outside.  Something has to provide a replacement for that air, and in old buildings, that was done by simple leakage of outside air into the structure.  However, that means we can't control anything about the outside air that gets in, which is an issue from an energy-efficiency (heat/cold) and building-performance (humidity/moisture) standpoint.  It also means that they can depressurize a building, which can send things like combustion exhaust gasses flowing the wrong way, with the attendant CO hazards that poses.
So, modern buildings seal up the leaks and cracks and then bring make-up air in explicitly when and where needed.  This provides the opportunity to direct make-up air supply to where it's needed, damper it off if it's not needed at a given time, or precondition it (such as in a heat-recovery or energy-recovery ventilator) before it gets dumped into the room in question, improving energy efficiency and humidity control.  It also means that the supply of combustion air for appliances is brought in explicitly, guaranteeing its presence vs. relying on random leaks to get the job done.


What types of home radon mitigation systems have you used, and how well do they work? What types of home radon mitigation systems have you used, and how well do they work?  Do recommended types of mitigation systems vary significantly with varying levels of excess radon?  Does climate have any impact on the mitigation system of choice?  Are there any other major factors to consider?

Start here:  EPA's guide on radon mitigation for home buyers.

We have a radon mitigation system in our house.  Our house failed the radon test during the home inspection, so we forced the sellers to have one installed.  The work was done by a local radon contractor, paid for by the seller for $975.  We also had another bid that was $1100.  (Those prices included an independent re-test of the radon levels after the system was installed.)

There are lots of Youtube videos of radon mitigation systems.  They are worth watching.  The videos were very informative for me when I was trying to understand all of this during the home buying process.

For our system, they cut a hole in the basement slab and sunk in a 4" PVC pipe.  The PVC pipe runs up into the garage.  It runs along the wall of the garage, and into the attic above the garage.  In the attic, there is a radon fan (model RP145).  From the fan, a short length of pipe extends up through the roof.  There is a rubber weather-proofing boot around the pipe on the roof.

Our system has a u-tube monitor attached to the PVC pipe in the basement.  It measures the suction, so you can see if the fan has quit working.  Looks like this.

The fan makes some noise.  You can hear it in the garage, but it's not that loud.  Everything I read about the model of fan we have says it is good, with a pretty long average lifespan.  (They do eventually break and have to be replaced.)

The one thing that sucks is that I now have a big 4" PVC pipe along the wall in the garage.  In hindsight, it might have been possible to rip up some drywall and run the pipe inside the wall.  (Not sure.)

The radon level was at 21.9 pCi/L during the home inspection.  The re-test showed it at 0.9 pCi/L.  Here is the EPA's guide on radon levels.

For a house with lower radon levels, they may use a "passive" system with no fan.  For higher radon levels, they may use a more powerful fan and a bigger pipe.

Depending on the construction of the house, the radon contractor may want to install the system on the outside of the house (pipe and fan mounted against a rear wall, running up to the roof).  While researching mitigation systems before buying the house, I learned that an outside fan installation considerably increases the failure rates of the fan motor.

When designing/installing a radon system, some thought goes into the angles of the PVC pipe to control the influx of rain water into the pipe.  The pipe also has to be routed through the house without destroying structural studs and joists.  The wiring for the radon fan also has to be up to code (e.g. use a junction box).  A competent radon contractor will do these things, but it doesn't hurt to ask questions.

The other thing a radon contractor may do is caulk and seal any cracks or gaps in your foundation.  Unused drain holes may be closed up.  The idea is to prevent any radon gas in the surrounding ground from seeping into your basement.

If you are concerned about radon in your house, there are some low cost radon home test kits.  You can buy them at home improvement stores.  They come with a charcoal canister, which you let sit in your basement for a while, then you send it to a lab for results.

We also looked at getting one of these units and installing it down in the basement.  It does continuous monitoring, and will beep at you if the levels get too high.  Never actually got around to ordering it.


Pavers vs concrete walkway What are the pros and cons of constructing a walkway with pavers instead of concrete? Also if pavers are used for the walkway will they eventually have to be replaced?  Can weather affect the pavers such as cause shifting, etc.   When the house and porch are pressure washed will it affect the pavers and can weeds grow between the pavers.   TIA

Pavers:
* Reasonable to do yourself.
* Probably lower cost.  (2" of concrete, instead of 4"
* No cracking issues.
* Look cool (My opinion)
* If you are creative you can make interesting patterns.  Most come in at least pinky-red, charcoal, and natural.  Sometimes you can get white.

Pavers with a lock patter (zig-zag) and spacer nubs to leave a consistent crack are easier to work with.  But the wider crack (3/32 to 1/8) gives more opportunity for weeds to get established.

Pavers downsides:
* Weeds will grow in the cracks.  A flame weeder is quick to use when weeds are small.
* Pavers are a nuisance to shovel snow off of.  The edges aren't perfect, and can catch the edge or corner of a shovel.

Concrete:
* Quick.  2-3 days of inconvenience and they are done.  Pavers can be pretty fast to if done by pros, but not as fast as concrete.

Other options:

Breezeblocks.

I ran into these in college.  Make great bookshelf supports.  Reasonable way to get privacy inexpensively.  But the blocks can also be laid horizontally, and the spaces filled with grass, or other ground cover.  This leaves the surface quite permeable to rain.  Recommended if you want part of the lawn available for parking an RV.  The grass will wear where it gets driven on regularly.

Patio pavers.

Pavers writ large.  Usually 24x24 or 24x30.  These have to have a VERY solidly packed base if you are going to drive on them, as they are usually only 1.5" thick.  There was a fad in California some decades ago to put in 2 strips of patio pavers to the garage, and to use pavers for walkways.  They come in various patterns and colours.

Road crush:  This is what your local county puts on the gravel roads.  It's quick, cheap, and if you put edges on it can look neat.  If the crush is limestone or sandstone based you can 'fix' it in place with dilute muriatic acid.  This dissolves the calcium carbonate, which when the solution dried out, cements the rocks together.  You can also white wash the rocks.  It doesn't last very long, but whitewash is cheap.


Should light bulbs above showers be "steam proof"? In replacing the lighting in my apartment with LED bulbs, I noticed that the recessed can lighting above the shower (to be fair, the light is centered on the shower curtain) does not appear to be steam proof.

I'm only assuming that the bulb/fixture should be rated for use above a shower, but I could be totally wrong about that.

In addition to / regardless of any NEC codes that may be at play here, what kind of symptoms might one experience with a non steam proof light vs a steam proof light (if such a thing exists)?

The only possibly related problem I've had with the light in the three years I've lived in the place is that it seems to be in need of replacement a bit quicker than the rest, but this could easily be attributed to the fact that the light is frequently left on since it's the only bathroom light.

As pointed out by others, luminaires above or near a tub/shower must be "steam-proof" (rated for damp locations). This means the fixture will be sealed in some way, to prevent moisture from entering the housing and causing damage and/or an unsafe environment.

NEC 2008
410.10 Luminaires in Specific Locations.
(D) Bathtub and Shower Areas.  No parts of cord-connected luminaires, chain-, cable-, or cord-suspended luminaires, lighting
track, pendants, or ceiling-suspended (paddle) fans shall be located
within a zone measured 900 mm (3 ft) horizontally and 2.5 m (8 ft)
vertically from the top of the bathtub rim or shower stall threshold.
This zone is all encompassing and includes the space directly over the
tub or shower stall. Luminaires located within the actual outside
dimension of the bathtub or shower to a height of 2.5 m (8 ft)
vertically from the top of the bathtub rim or shower threshold shall
be marked for damp locations, or marked for wet locations where
subject to shower spray.

Corrosion
The major concern here would be corrosion inside the fixture, which can lead to dangerous heating, arcing, shorting, etc.
Heat
Corrosion on contacts increases the resistance of the circuit, which can lead to excess heat, which in turn can lead to increased resistance.  Given the right circumstances, wires/contacts can be heated to the point of ignition.
Arcing and Shorting
In some fixtures, contacts can be in very close quarters with each other. If corrosion builds up causing the gap between contacts to reduce enough, arcing can become a problem.  Similarly, if the gap closes completely, a short can be created.
PITA
Corrosion in fixture can simply lead to a frustrating situation. If the screw base of a bulb becomes corroded enough, the bulb could become difficult or impossible to remove. This could lead to the fixture needing replacement, or at least an annoying bulb change experience.
Ground Faults
As we all know, water conducts electricity (in most cases). Because of this a deadly ground fault situation can be created, if luminairs are allowed to get excessively damp or wet.  If enough moisture enters the fixture to cause dripping, a solid stream of conductive water could bring electricity within reach of a well grounded individual.  In this scenario, a simple touch of the light could be deadly.


When sprayer is used, all water to sink (faucet and sprayer) shuts off, how to fix? Whenever the sprayer for our kitchen sink is used, the water will suddenly cut off (to both the sprayer and the faucet) and not come back on again for several minutes. This has been going on for several months now, but today when it happened, the water didn't come back on at all (it's been about half an hour). Does anyone have an idea about what might be causing this and how to fix it?
Note: I checked under the sink and everything looks normal but I'm not sure if that means anything, the faucet doesn't feel any easier/harder to turn off than normal, all other water fixtures in the house work fine

Your sprayer unit is not designed to sit at full system pressure, so the faucet unit that it came with is specially designed to shunt water towards the sprayer hose and head only when the sprayer lever is pressed. The faucet itself has an integral diverter valve to perform this function, it sounds like yours is not working right.

All faucet brands use their own proprietary diverter mechanism, you will need to get a manual for your faucet to get it apart and replace the valve. It might look something like this:


can I combine electrical cords and their dimmeers? I have three identical floor lamps grouped together.  Each came with its own cord and slide  dimmer on the cord.  I would like to combine the three cords and have them all run on the same in cord slide type dimmer.  Is this possible?

Short answer is no, not a good idea to do this.

First, splicing cords is a bad idea as they become fire hazards.  A splice drastically weakens the cord possibly allowing the conductors to separate which then will cause sparking.  The other, is the dimmer.  The manufacture of the lamp most likely used the cheapest dimmer possible to run the lamp.  Putting three lamps on one dimmer will most likely overload it.

I recommend looking for a new lamp that provides the lighting you need in a single package.


ceiling joist allowable span southern california I'm adding ceiling joists in my garage. It's a 19' span between walls, and I'm using structural or #1 lumber. Should I use 2x8x22 OR 2X10X22 spaced 12" on center? I'll be adding 1/2" or 5/8" drywall.

You added below the top of the wall in the comments.  So I would lag a rim joist to the studs and use joist hangers.

Span will look like this:

2x10 @ 12oc for #2

2x8 @ 12oc or 2x10 @ 16oc for #1

2x8 @ 16oc for select

span table


20' run of romex unsupported through confined-space basement finished ceiling? I've 2-runs of 12/2 w/G romex supported to studs from breaker box up to where it needs to run unsupported 20' through and alongside (parallel) floor joists of finished floor/basement ceiling for 20' to a junction box at other end where again it'll be firmly supported to studs. My QUESTION is it OK to have it laying unsupported on the sheetrock ceiling while only being fastened to studs on both ends. Basement ceiling is finished I prefer not chopping into it??

This is fine
What you are describing falls under NEC 334.30(B) point 1:

(B) Unsupported Cables. Nonmetallic-sheathed cable shall be
permitted to be unsupported where the cable:
(1) Is fished between access points through concealed spaces
in finished buildings or structures and supporting is
impracticable.

So, go ahead and fish the cable through the ceiling as you plan to do.


Best method to use carpet samples squares to create a Rug? I have plenty of carpet samples and I wanted to make an area rug with them.
I would like to make a rug out of them,  maybe I can create a pattern with the carpet squares and then glue them to some kind of soft padding/underlay.
I was thinking to use carpet underlay and glue the samples to it directly. I am not sure if that's possible, and  in the case that it is possible, what kind of glue can be purchased in order to stick the two surfaces together? (considering that each piece of carpet has a different backing).
What kind of underlay should I consider to use?
Any advise will be really appreciated :)
I am trying to do this without breaking the bank.

Photo added to illustrate the project.

One method, like in this YouTube video, would be to use  heat bond carpet seaming tape.  Pro carpet installers use it with a special iron to seam carpet together, but you can use a clothes iron since you will be working on the back side. This would give a strong bond but you will still need a rug pad to keep it from sliding around. (The heat seal tape has a paper backing that is not removable and will be slippery on smooth flooring)
You could use double sided carpet tape in conjunction with a cheap non-slip rug pad. (or not so cheap alternative Pad)
Lay out your samples in the pattern you want, then flip each over so the back side it up. Use the tape to tape all of the seams and put a border of tape all around the perimeter. Place the tape just in from the outside of the outer borders, about   a 1/4 inch in. Put two tape strips across, perpendicular, to each seam for added strength in holding them together.
When dispensing and cutting your tape, leave the protective backing on and put the sticky side down, then press all of the tape down firmly. (Use a rolling pin or a can of tomatoes as a roller to help press it down.)
Unfold the rug pad and then roll it up like a big roll of carpet and place it on one end of the taped together samples so that it will roll out and over the samples as you unroll it. (You can trim it down to just bigger then your rug you are making, Dont worry about cutting it exactly to fit, you can do that after it is taped in place.) Position it and roll it out over the rug to make sure it cover the whole rug with little hanging over all four sides then roll it back being careful not to move it side to side.
Now peel of the protective backing on ALL of the tape and start to unroll the pad onto the Taped rug. Use your roller to  press all of the seams and edges.
Now you can trim the pad just inside the outer border, That is why we left that 1/4 inch gap. You can use small scissors or carefully cut with a utility knife so the pad is not visible.


Am I required to install expansion joints at all interior doorways for Pergo? I am planning to install Pergo laminate floor. When I look up on installation guide, it recommends to use transition molding for doorways less than 4 ft or room larger than 40 ft.

My question is that is it necessary to really use transition molding on each doorway ?

My house got standard size room doors and they are all less than 4 ft. My master room has 3 doors. I don't want to install transition molding everywhere. Can I leave more expansion gap around the perimeter to avoid transition molding? They claim to void the warranty though if I don't follow the installation guide.

Pergo want to absolve themselves of as much liability as possible, so they require expansion joints at all room connections. Obviously this isn't always necessary to prevent movement issues.

You'll have to make a risk judgement. Do you want to absolutely prevent buckling and shifting issues and leave Pergo's warranty intact?  If so, follow Pergo's guide. Or are you willing to accept liability for repairs of any movement issues as a compromise for nicer aesthetics? If so, read on....

I would obey the 40 foot rule. That is, if you're connecting two rooms whose combined width doesn't exceed 40 feet, run the flooring straight through. If it does, install a transition with the required gaps. Connected closets don't really need transitions, for example. This should leave you with far fewer transitions than Pergo calls for, but confidence that you won't have movement issues.

Should you find that you do have movement issues, you can always cut in new transitions as needed. The mounting channel for Pergo's T moldings can be installed after the fact and the molding set in place.


What's a good general purpose light-use drill? I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a decent general purpose light use drill for around the home? It's not going to get a whole lot of use. When it does get used most of the time it'll probably be used to put a screw into some wood, or drilling a hole into a stud to mount some shelves on the wall. Stuff like that.

I was looking at this. I'd prefer to pick up something at a local store so that if it turns out to suck I can just bring it back. Plus I have a TV mounting rack I'd like to finish putting together today.

I've had pretty good luck with Ryobi tools in the past, and the drill you are looking at will certainly do what you want it to.

Normally I'd recommend a cordless drill to just about anybody, but if you find that you will hardly ever use it, a corded drill might be better.  No point in having a cordless drill if the battery is always dead when you need it because it sat around for 6 months without being used or charged.


Drilling a hole from both sides of the wall I need to drill a through hole in a brick wall. Is there a method to start from both sides of the wall and meet in the wall?

I wish to do this because:

The wall is slightly thicker than the length of my drill bit. (Of course I could just go and by a longer bit.)
I want to avoid the "exit wound" effect.

Start with a small bit and measure from the same brick to get the center on both sides then drill in, starting with a smaller bit and good measurements I usually connect but am slightly angled (I guess I never hold the bit quite square) now that the 2 holes are connected open up with the correct size bit. I have done this on concrete block , brick and stone, some as thick as 2'.


Would a transformer protect a 24V digital flow meter if it received 48V? I purchased a new water softener for the house. It has a digital flow metering device. It worked great for a few days and then stopped working. Long story short, I finally figured out that the outlet I plugged it into was for 240V instead of 120V (bought the house about a year ago so the previous owner obviously didn’t know what he was doing).  The power supply for the water softener has a 120V to 24v stepdown transformer to power the digital meter.  I’m assuming the water softener was getting 48V for a few days until either the transformer or digital meter gave out. I’ve corrected the electrical problem so now it’s time to get the water softener working again. Will replacing the transformer be enough or should I just order a new digital meter?  $30 vs $300 so I’m hoping for the best case scenario.

It's impossible to say.  It really depends on how the meter's internal power supply works.

Being electronic, obviously it runs on DC and not 24VAC.  They're just using that voltage because it's extremely common in North American homes, being used as control voltage for the furnace and there's usually an existing 24V transformer somewhere in the house.  Those transformers are cheap and common, by the way; I'm surprised you have to wait for one.  Any HVAC supply will have them, maybe even a hardware store or big-box.

So it must have an internal power supply. If it's a switching power supplY, they open and close (switch) a gate, and on higher voltage they simply close the gate sooner.  (That is how many consumer electronics can auto-range from 90-264VAC).  So you can run switching supplies beyond max spec if their insulation is in good enough shape to handle the higher voltage.  Insulation is cheap to add to most components (not electrolytic capacitors), so you have a fair chance.  If it's fried and you want to attempt component repair, start with the big caps.

None of this will fix anything else that was plugged into that 240V receptacle.

Putting 240V on a NEMA 5 120V receptacle is simply outrageous.  And needless - they make receptacles for that.  They look exactly like standard receptacles except they are keyed differently.  Every big box store and hardware store sells the receptacles and plugs.

Now if you found a NEMA 6 receptacle and altered your transformer to fit, that's on you.  But if the previous homeowner fit a NEMA 5 receptacle because he was too lazy and cheap to get the correct NEMA 6 at the hardware store, and his logic was "well I know it's wired 240V", then he should have disclosed that in his disclosures, and he would've been written up for it and had to fix it, presumably by installing a NEMA 6.   If he did not do any of that, then he is liable for all your damages here.  I would go after him for it.  Not least, he sorely needs an education, because you bet he did it again to save $5.

This could have caused a house fire.


Cleaning a long dryer vent that is completely behind drywall I have a very long dryer vent run that is about 18' or so, and is completely behind a wall.  Included below is a rough sketch of what I think the vent looks like, but I have no way to confirm that without removing a lot of dry wall and flooring.
I bought one of those dryer vent cleaning kits that has a brush on one end, and has a bunch of attachable rods that end up attaching to a drill.  Unfortunately if I come at it from inside the house (basement), I think it's getting caught up on the second 90 degree turn right before the 11' stretch.  I tried coming at it from the outside, and I think it's getting caught up again on the 90 degree turn right before the 11' stretch.
I took a rigid shop vac that converts into a blower and blew at the vent from inside the house, but that basically did nothing (in fact, the vent flaps on the outside vent cover didn't even move / open).
What do you guys recommend that I do?  Should I just leave it?  The dryer runs fine, I just wanted to clean the vent as that's a potential fire hazard.

Perhaps a leafblower (or two?) might clean it out a bit?
Also maybe get advice on how to make the outside vent area fire resistant if the tube does catch fire.


Potential Home Grounding Issue - Illinois I recently bought a new manufactured home.  There are instances where people have touched the front door and received an electric shock.  Using a non-contact voltage detector, I confirmed that there is detectable voltage present. Using my meter, I see 72V from the frame to ground.

I have an outside meter on a pole, a disconnect box underneath it, and have wiring in sch 80 electrical pvc conduit running under my house feeding up into the breaker box.

Click for larger view

I asked a friend to come and look, and he suggested that I needed a ground wire from the outside disconnect to the inside breaker box.  I have a grounding rod connected to the outside disconnect and 3 wires running through the conduit (2 hot, 1 neutral) into the house.  There is also a bare copper wire running from the grounding bar in the breaker box that is lugged to the frame under the house.

My first thought was that a screw in the door facing had nicked a wire.  After removing every screw, that does not appear to be the cause.  Likewise, the problem seem intermittant and isn't experienced on other doors in the house.

Do I need a grounding wire from between the breaker box and the outside disconnect?  If so, would I achieve the same thing by running a ground wire from the breaker box to a different grounding rod since it will be ridiculuously hard to try and feed an extra wire back through the conduit now?

Turn off all the breakers, try them one at a time and see when the voltage returns, this should help to locate the problem area. Once you have the area found, turn on all the breakers, except  the breaker to that area, and check it again. Now with the problem breaker/breakers off, go through the devices and check if any have a bad wire. I would start with the switches that controls the outside light.


Wood glue to reinforce screw holes in an oak frame? This is for load-bearing bronze screws in an oak frame, carrying a heavy oak door.

Four of the screws were removed momentarily for maintenance work. Two of the screw holes may have been stripped slightly when the screws were around 3/4 of their length out of the frame.

A dowel would not be an option at this stage, because that would mean undoing some of the maintenance work. I was thinking of several options:

Just reuse the screw holes, even if some are partially stripped.
Apply wood glue alone to reinforce the inner surface of the screw holes.
The toothpick method. Put in a toothpick with wood glue into the screw holes, leave to dry partially, then reinsert wood screws.

I was unsure what this last method would do to the 3/4 of the threads that are still viable. Does it risk damaging the unstripped threads, or would it tighten and secure the threads in situ?

Which option would be best?

I have used tooth picks and matches with glue for many years. With hard wood I use toothpicks as they are hard, match sticks with the head cut off work will work but I use those on soft wood like pine. I squirt the wood glue in push in however many I think I need then wipe the excess and insert the screws


Do I really need garage door tune ups? A friend of mine sent me a link to a "garage door tune up service".

I've never heard of getting a garage door tuned up... but I've never owned a house before either. A couple weeks ago I had trouble with the door getting stuck and one of the "wheels" was stuck out of the groove, and another kept slipping out. Once I got them back in place and gave them a couple good whacks with a mallet it seemed to be fine though.

So is there any point to something like this, or is it just an excuse for them to come out and upsell me on a bunch of other crap?

You should check the operation and safety mechanisms of any automatic garage door opener probably twice a year or so, to ensure that they are operating safely. If you place a 2x4 flat on the floor, the door should reverse when it hits it. If you remove the 2x4, the door should close fully but not try to close after it's closed (the opener should not be trying to drive it through the floor once it's closed.) Likewise, the door should stop or reverse if the electric-eye beam is broken when it's closing.

If you don't have an automatic opener, adjust when needed as the door gives you issues with manual operation. If it gets hard to open or tries to close with excessive force, check for a broken spring and consider calling someone.

Lubrication, alignment, etc. can be addressed at the same time. No particular need to hire someone else to do it unless you are going to start messing with adjusting a torsion spring. If the spring is not broken (and needing replacement), there should be no need to adjust it for many years.

Garage door torsion springs, if not treated with great care and respect, can kill/maim you. OLD extension springs that lack safety cables (a cable running in the middle of the spring to keep parts from flying if it breaks) can also hurt you, as can a garage door without spring support if it comes crashing down from the raised position. Malfunctioning or misadjusted or safety-mechanisms-bypassed automatic openers can crush people/children/pets.


do I need gfci outlets for a storage room receptacles I wired a storage room and run one 20 amp circuit for some outlets and to power the water heater and furnace does this circuit have to be gfci protected?? Or can I install regular receptacles

If this area is an unfinished area of a basement or crawl space then GFI protection is definitely required for ALL 120V, 15A & 20A receptacles. No exceptions, other than for fire or burglar alarm systems.

The furnace must be dedicated and should NOT have a cord and plug.

2011/14 NEC

  422.12 Central Heating Equipment

  Central heating equipment other than fixed electric space-heating
  equipment shall be supplied by an individual branch circuit.

  Exception No. 1: Auxiliary equipment, such as a pump, valve,
  humidifier, or electrostatic air cleaner directly associated with the
  heating equipment, shall be permitted to be connected to the same
  branch circuit.

  Exception No. 2: Permanently connected air-conditioning equipment
  shall be permitted to be connected to the same branch circuit.

If the water heater has a typical 120V cord and plug you have no choice but to use GFI protection.


How do I clean the intake filter for my washing mashine? I have the Novamatic WA 1268.3 Aqua Stop washing machine, and there is a fault that says I have to clean the filter in the pipe that brings water to the machine because the machine is apparently not getting enough water.

However, the ring around that filter is not like the book says it is.

This is what I have:

And this is what the book depicts:

How do I open this copper ring around the pipe ending to clean the filter inside?

The filter inside:

That's brass, not copper, and it looks to me like a typical hose fitting with a pressed-in rubber washer.

Try grasping the washer with a needle-nose pliers and pulling it out. My guess is that the screen will follow. If the washer is damaged or worn it can probably be replaced with an inexpensive part from a hardware or garden store.


Drywall anchor can't fully penetrate drywall I'm in a new apartment (built 1 year ago) and I am trying to hang a wall mirror (about 50-ish pounds). I've tried 2 different sizes of drywall anchors but the anchors only reach about 1/2inch into the wall before resistance pushes them back out. I'm not on any studs and I can't see anything in the wall that could be causing the issue. It's a shared wall with one of the building's stairwells. The only thing I can think of is there may be some sort of reinforcement behind the drywall for the stairwell. Has anyone encountered this problem before or know how to solve the problem? Maybe a drill could put screws in the wall and hold just as well since the anchors don't seem to be useful in this situation?

You may be hitting a block fire wall. Many types of hangers out there. Do not recommend making holes in firewall.


Will a gas line for my grill be buried? I have natural gas coming into the side of my house from an underground pipe.  I am considering (hiring it out to a licensed pro, of course) running a line from the meter on the side to the back of my house, where I have a grill.

Can I have the pipe buried, and if so, at what depth?  I would prefer not to have an above ground line snaking around the house due to aesthetics.  Plus, it might be more susceptible to damage.

Again, not going to attempt this myself, just wondering what my options were.

Most likely the contractor will route the line through the basement or crawlspace, and emerge from the back of the house near where the outlet will be.  Snaking around the outside of the house (even underground), is more difficult, and may make the pipe more susceptible to damage. If the piping has to travel any significant distance from the house to the destination, that length of piping will almost certainly be buried. Depending on your location, the piping will be buried anywhere from 18-36".
Notes:
If you live in an area prone to freezing. It may be worth asking the installer to install a shutoff where the piping splits off from the main line, and at the end of the run.  This way you can turn the gas on/off at the grill during grilling season, and shut the whole line off when it's not grilling season.


Connecting downspout to first floor gutter I am looking to connect my second floor downspout to the first floor gutter.  In any sort of wind, the water misses the gutter completely and makes a big mess.  I found the thread here very helpful for what I want to do but being new I cannot comment on it.  What I cannot determine is if there is anything special I need to do to attach the downspout to the roof?  Will 2 gutter screws at the top A style elbow be enough?  I'm trying to avoid putting holes in the roof!

Update:

I ended up using 2 A style 45 degree elbows, since the standard 70 degree elbows were too much.  I then connected the downspout and gutter with the appropriate tiny screws.  It's pretty sturdy and tonight's expected wind storm+rain should be a good test.

I wish I could get the colors to match better -- I bought Linen, but I think I needed Almond.  Oh well...

Do not put holes into roof.

Two screws into the outflow.  If you are in a hurricane area or someplace with crazy winds you could put another 90 into the gutter which will keep the section on the roof from moving around too much.  If you still feel that isn't adequate you could secure the lower gutter 90 to the lower gutter.


Electrical wire nut melted I recently completed replacing all outlets and switches in my house. In just about each room in the house one outlet had 3 black and 3 white wires going into it. The receptacles I purchased had room for max 2. You could side wire or backstab. I side wire as is recommended. For these outlets I created pigtails with the 3 existing wires and a 4th wire to go to the receptacle.
Yesterday, after replacing the last switch, I flipped on the power in the room and noticed half the receptacles were not working. These are all on the same circuit that the switch was on. I checked all the receptacles and there were no issues. However, the wirenut on the pigtail I created for one of the receptacles melted. I am stumped how this melted. I replaced the pigtail and all is working fine. But I don’t want this to happen again.
Can someone chime in with anything I did incorrectly?
Details:
Hot side melted,
15 amp circuit,
14 gauge wire,
15 amp receptacle,
Red wing twist wire nut used,
Electrical tape used at bottom of wire nut,
South wire 14 solid thhn black wire (used to receptacle)

Why do you tape the wire nuts?
I can't speak for you... but generally... The usual reason people tape wire nuts is because, in their experience, the splice falls apart if they don't.  Well, if they fall apart that easily, it is a defective connection that is prone to arc faults.  Arc faults make a LOT of heat and will do just that.
The other thing about taping wire nuts is, they preclude doing a pull test.  You can't do a proper pull test on a taped nut.
A pull test is, hold the nut very firmly, then pull on the wire so hard that the nut slips out of your fingers.   I'm talking really hard.  Do that for each wire.
Tightening "really hard" is good, but not conclusive.
The problem is that certain craft errors assembling the wires can cause the connection to fail even though you tightened really hard.  E.G. the wires are not even (staggered) when inserting them.  Stripping too little will also do it.
Here's how you can "post-mortem" whether that was the problem.  Go back to all your other wire nut splices that you've ever done, and give them the full "pull test".  From that, you will have a sampling of how good your wire-nut splices are.  If you have any fail, that suggests technique may be the root of your problem.
Abandoning wire-nuts for other splice techniques is like learning how to ride a bike, and quitting the first time you fall off.  You can't learn until you test and pay attention to the feedback the test gives you.


Why does my framing nailer ocasionally leak from around the trigger? I have a Hitachi NR90AC5 framing nailer that still functions correctly, but some air leaks from around the trigger. Sometimes, after firing a few nails, it doesn't leak air anymore. Then later after more nails are fired, it goes back to leaking again. The performance of the gun is unaffected, but I'm concerned something may be wearing out.

It hasn't been used that heavily and I oil it every day.

What part needs replaced to make it stop occasionally leaking from the trigger?

I have repaired all the internal parts for the trigger assembly multiple times. Works for a while then begins to leak again. Adding grease to the o rings helps but it’s just a junk trigger assembly.


Will the hole drilled into the furnace door cause problems? Gases etc. escaping? I recently had a furnace service. A 3 blink code came up. The flame sensor  was dirty,and a curved white pipe outside on the roof had snow inside it. The tech drilled a hole in the furnace door so you could see the red "code" light.

As he had taken the module out before(to replace the fan, and never put it back properly). So you had to take the door off to see the light on the module. I placed sheet metal tape over the hole as l felt uncomfortable with the "repair". There is a Co2 detector 12 ft away which didn't go on before l covered the hole(or now).
Should l go for a more permanent repair to cover the hole drilled, or leave it? Should l call the tech back to repair the hole? I could use a magnet also. As l understand it isn't "code".
Another positive: the oil-canning stopped. The furnace seems to run slightly longer after the thermostat "clicks", but the loud metal bang is gone now.

There's no problem. In a healthy furnace, combustion gases are contained inside various components housed in the upper cabinet.
If you think through the airflow path of your HVAC system, there's normally a vacuum on the lower chamber of the furnace cabinet because it's part of the return duct--it contains the fan. That means that air is drawn into that space, joins all the other incoming return air, and passes through the furnace's heat exchanger and out through the main exit trunk. A tiny hole just creates a miniscule return path from the furnace room.
I've done exactly this with one of my furnaces after upgrading the circuit board to one with an indicator, so that I could see the indicator from outside. I applied clear packaging tape over the 3/4" hole I made just for the heck of it. I put two pieces back to back to eliminate the exposed adhesive, then I framed that with tape on the inside of the panel. It held well. Obviously you don't want to use anything that could get drawn into the fan cage.


Building work on concrete in a very wet environment - natural spring My garage area, which is currently just a concrete slab for parking cars on, has a natural spring that pops up just at ground level.  The water never stops, and the concrete there is permanently wet all over.  Im hoping to create a channel so that the water is funnelled around the sides of the concrete base, and later into a pond area set below the concrete.  My problem is how to fix some kind of guiding masonry such as a row of bricks, onto the floor in a way that will be totally waterproof - but which will also fix to the floor, which will be wet during the process.  Is there a concrete or similar material which will glue itself onto a very wet concrete base?  Failing that, any other ideas for how to create a channel that will send this water around the sides of my concrete base, and not leave it covered all over?  Any help appreciated.

You want hydraulic concrete.

Hydraulic concrete is a concrete that will bond to other surfaces when wet, and cure when wet.  It can even be used underwater.

This page will give some guidance on how to apply.

Given the nature of hydraulic cement I'm thinking that your best bet is - in a dry place, build something that you can put in place to divert the water. Test it by "dry" (haha) fitting it against the spring (if thats the word), and once you're satisfied that it will divert the water properly once sealed, clean the wet space (Pressure washer, lose the moss and stuff) then seal in your diverter system with the hydraulic cement.


How would I cut an angle greater than 45 degrees with a circular saw? I need to cut an angle of 60 degrees on my deck joists that attach to a wall that is 60 degrees to a square deck. The only saw I have is a skil saw.

I would cut at 30 degrees with the saw table on the end face of the board. This is a bit precarious due to the small work area on which the saw will rest, so be sure to use a stable platform and be safe.

For this case it's not necessary to cut to a full taper. A typical circular saw cuts to 2-1/4". If a person cut that off one side of the board, it would make a fine joist. I'd probably scribe a line 1/2" from one edge and cut on that.

Use a straightedge extending along the outer face and beyond to position the joists on the layout line.


What to look for in a new furnace I've recently been told that my furnace, which is about 20 years old, is on it's last stretch and that I should consider replacing it now rather than waiting for it to fail - potentially at a very inconvenient time.

That said, it seems rather hard to find useful comparative information online about furnaces (with prices) since most of it is just advertising and marketing. So, what should I look for when choosing the furnace? And where can I get educated on the different brands available (perhaps with tier information)?

My place is a 2 bedroom coach-house (i.e. single floor unit in a 4-unit condominium building) and about 1200 sqft.

The HVAC system is forced-air, natural gas and is blowing-down.

From a payback standpoint, its might be hard to justify much above 90%.

One feature I really liked was a variable speed fan direct drive and two stage burner.

Having the variable speed blower means you can leave the fan on and it will circulate at low speed. This helps equalize temp and humidity, plus there is less dust, as the filter cleans continuously.

The two stage burner means most times, the gas fires slowly and the system recovers the most heat.


Self leveling underlayment - should I tile first? I need to level the base of a shower and the plan is to pour self leveling underlayment.

The initial plan to shim the shower explains why I removed some tiles. I've moved on to plan B, which is the self leveling underlayment.

Essentially, should I tile before pouring the underlayment in hollow where the base is, or it doesn't matter? My guess is I should probably tile first as it would help to contain the underlayment (slopes away from wall opposite faucet, edge of cabinet shows it being off by 1/4"). However, this isn't my field of expertise.

Side note, plan A was to simply shim it, but then the base edge wasn't level and sloped inwards. I figured this wasn't optimal for when I would have to put the doors back on.

personally i don't tile atop plywood.  i'd pull the 3/8 then concrete backerboard would go down first over the subfloor.  then i'd shim the shower.  if the shower is heavy i might then give it a week to let it compress the wooden shims and re-test for level and re-shim if needed.  then i'd tile.  some people are less retentive than me though and that's okay too : )


How can I prevent insects from entering my house? How can I find their entry point? We just moved into a different house. There seems to be an unusually high probability of insects entering the house compared to other houses. No infestation, but a lot of one-off incidents. The worst so far have been one wasp and a fist-sized grasshopper. This is definitely not normal.

I suspect that there is some entrance somewhere they're using to get access to the house, but I don't know where it could be or how to find it.

So how can I prevent bugs from entering, and also diagnose and fix any structural problems that may be allowing them to enter (like a hole in a door, for example)?

Get an IR camera.  You should be able to find cracks/leaks/whatever real easy.  Unfortunately IR cameras aren't cheap, so perhaps you can call a HERS guy to come over with one and pay him $100 for his trouble.

If that fails, I suppose you could fill your house up with a smoke machine and attach a blower door (you'd need the help of a HERS guy again)... or just use a smoke pencil.


Doorbell for a rectangular switch box I have a doorbell button that goes on a rectangular switch box that is outside my house. The rectangular switch box is inside concrete. Since the doorbell button is outside exposed to the weather, the plastic is brittle and is falling apart. The cover has gone a long time ago. Since the button itself is rectangular (a bit bigger than a light switch) I haven't been able to find anywhere. What is left on the doorbell says it was made in Costa Rica.

I am trying to find a replacement weatherproof (sun and rain) doorbell button and switch that will fit in a regular light switch box.

You can purchase a door bell button mounted in a cover plate that is designed to mount on a single gang electrical box. The one I located is sold on-line only through the big orange box's web site.

Here is what it looks like:


What is the best way to fix a large rectangular shaped glass table top? It's a 48in wide x 84 or 96in long x 1/2in thick. It broke pretty clean down the middle widthwise. Also it has an arched wooden base with 2 arms arching outwards (one on either side) in the outer middle of table centered and 2 arms on either end centered at the heads of said table. It has to be able to withstand food for 8 people and be able to withstand hot and or cold foods like a 28lbs Turducken for holiday dinners as well as all the fixings.

Call up a glass shop and order a hunk of tempered glass the right size. You can't change the size or shape after it's ordered (tempered glass can't be cut after tempering), so get the size exactly right.

The one you had was not tempered, or you'd have a few thousand more pieces - which is a lot safer than one that breaks into fewer large sharp pieces.

Tempered glass is much stronger than normal glass of the same thickness, so one the same thickness should hold up to your use, but you could always go to 3/4" or 1" thick tempered for even more durability while staying with glass.

Or go with a few thousand years of experience and choose wood ;-)


5 section bow window with one pane cloudy My front 5-section bow window has one section where the seal is broken between the panes.  It is now cloudy.  Can the one pane be removed and a new window put in?

The window should be covered by a warranty, except the company is out of business.   I would hire a glass specialist if the one section can be replaced.

We've had this problem (and my father-in-law had it too), but in our case, just because the windows were old.

Yes, a glazier will be able to replace the panels.  To answer jwh20's comment about "you won't find an exact replacement to drop in the opening", the panels are made to measure (and you want the glazier to do the measuring).


What SEU cable size is required for 100 amp? I need to replace the service cable from the weatherhead to the meter box at my mother-in-laws house. No conduit involved. From the meter to the breaker panel inside was replaced at some point and is still in good condition. I've searched and from what I have read 2/0 al SEU would be required. Is this correct?

Depends if it's your entire service...
Normally the answer is "#1 aluminum".
However, if the 100A is your entire service, a "discount" kicks in: 310.15(B)(7) says you only need wire large enough for 83% of your service ampacity (83A obviously) so that allows use of #2 aluminum wire.
And you are better off using aluminum because the service drop itself will be aluminum, so why create a dissimilar metal problem?
... and if you want a "Heavy-up" later.
Honestly I'm a bit surprised that any power company is offering 100A service these days.  Usually, they want you to take 200A service.  And you may want to take it later.
And you know what: the difference in wire size cost outlay will not be large.  So it may make sense to spend the extra coin today so your wires are ready for 200A later.
For 200A service, you will need 4/0 aluminum (or 2/0 copper).    That's assuming again that it's your whole service and 310.15(B)(7) applies.
If the 200A is less than your entire service and you can't use the 'discount' then full-boat ampacity requires 250 kcmil aluminum or 3/0 copper.
Just to be clear: you never do this hot
To do any work on the service entrance cabling (weatherhead to meter) the power company must remove their service drop wire.
One option that can reduce downtime is to install a new, parallel weatherhead and meter pan right next to the existing one.  Have the new meter pan be a meter-main (required anyway in NEC 2020) which then allows you to de-energize everything downline with the flick of a switch.  Then, the power company is making 1 visit, and you can quickly punch over the.  However, some power companies will want to see that the new work has passed inspection.  Once the service drop is moved to the new weatherhead, the old weatherhead is stone dead, and you can easily de-energize the meter-main obviously.


Steam Baseboard vs. Steam Radiator We currently have a single pipe steam heat system. We've had a couple of plumbers in to give us estimates on recessing our exposed radiators. Neither of them seemed thrilled with the idea and one suggested steam baseboard. Does anyone have experience recessing steam radiators or using steam baseboard?

Don't change them.  Single line steam radiators are tricky at the best of times, and most modern plumbers have little experience with them.  In addition base board radiators make it impossible to put bookcases in.  (In our climate they use up all of the external wall.)

There are lots of ways to dress them up

Recessing them is a bad idea, as the space to do that comes an the expense of external wall insulation. (Most radiators are on external walls)   In addition, most radiators are thicker than the wall you would be recessing into

The british use flat plate radiators.  I know they work with hot water.  Not sure if they work with steam.  Much less obvious, and easiet to clean and paint.


Is it code-legal to have a circuit breaker box within a storage room? I am currently in the process of planning a room remodel to convert an existing bedroom into a home office and storage room.  One thing that makes this conversion a little bit tricky, is the existence of a breaker box at the rear corner of the room.

As you can see in the image below, we plan to have the back 5' of the room become a storage area (there would be 2' deep shelving units along the back wall, stopping short of the breaker box, we would use this area to store Christmas decorations, misc. stuff, etc..).  I know it is illegal to place a breaker box in a closet that will store clothes or other combustibles.  So my questions would be: 1) how would one define a storage room vs. a closet (i.e.- could this be classified as a walk in closet somehow?) and 2) with > 36" clearance in front, and 30" around, would this be legal?

National Electrical Code (NEC) typically defines rooms and areas based on the "intended" use of the area. They do not provide a definition for a "storage room", but they do provide a definition for a "clothes closet".

Clothes Closet. A non-habitable room or space intended primarily for storage of garments and apparel.

To answer the rest of your question, we'll have to take a look at Article 110.  Since section 110.26 of the NEC is a bit long, quoting the entire text here may not be considered "fair use" so instead I'll summarize it for you.

National Electrical Code 2008
ARTICLE 110 Requirements for Electrical Installations
II. 600 Volts, Nominal, or Less
110.26 Spaces About Electrical Equipment. Sufficient access and working space shall be provided and maintained about all electrical
equipment to permit ready and safe operation and maintenance of such
equipment.

110.26(A)(1) Depth of Working Space.
This section says the depth of Working Space must be between 3 and 4 feet, "measured from the exposed live parts or from the enclosure or opening if the live parts are enclosed".  In a typical residential situation, the depth of Working Space will be 3'.
110.26(A)(2) Width of Working Space.
This section says the width of Working Space must be the width of the equipment or 30", whichever is greater. And that there should be enough Working Space to allow the equipment door to open 90 degrees.
110.26(A)(3) Height of Working Space.
The Working Space must be clear from "the grade, floor, or platform" to the height of 6 1/2', or the height of the equipment whichever is greater. There is an exception to this which says:

In existing dwelling units, service equipment or panelboards that do not exceed 200 amperes shall be permitted in spaces where the headroom
is less than 2.0 m (61⁄2 ft).

This section also says that any other equipment associated with the electrical installation"located above or below the equipment, cannot extend more than 6" beyond the front of the equipment.

110.26(B) Clear Spaces. Working space required by this section shall not be used for storage. When normally enclosed live parts are
exposed for inspection or servicing, the working space, if in a
passageway or general open space, shall be suitably guarded.

Which means the equipment can be in an area used for storage, but the Working Space cannot be used for storage. The basic idea is if you draw a box on the floor in front of the equipment 30" wide and 36" deep, and then extend that box up 6 1/2', you'll have your "Working Space". As long as you keep this Working Space clear, you should have no problems.  However, there are a few more things to consider.
110.26(C) Entrance to and Egress from Working Space.

110.26(C)(1) Minimum Required. At least one entrance of sufficient area shall be provided to give access to and egress from working space
about electrical equipment.

You'll have to check local building codes to determine what the "sufficient area" is, and then make sure you keep this area clear too.
Another important consideration is lighting.
110.26(D) Illumination.
This is a section that is often overlooked in residential situations, and is often satisfied simply by having lights in the room where the service panel is installed.  Personally, I take this section seriously.  I recommend installing a dedicated circuit, consisting of a single switch and a single luminaire. Then installing it just above the equipment, as to provide adequate light for anybody working on the equipment.  Putting the luminaire on a dedicated circuit allows you to deenergize other circuits, while maintaining good lighting while servicing the equipment.
It's a good idea (though a bit overkill), to also provide emergency lighting near the equipment.  Installing a simple fixture like this near the equipment, ensures that you won't have to fumble in the dark to flip breakers if the power ever goes out.

This unit can be installed on the same dedicated equipment luminaire circuit. That way even if you have to switch off the whole panel to do work, you'll still have light.

tl;dr

Keep an area 30" wide, 36" deep, and 6 1/2' high in front of the equipment clear (Working Space).
Provide "sufficient area" for entrance to and egress from the equipment (see local building codes to determine "sufficient area").
Make sure the area has enough lighting.
Rooms are defined by intended use.