Repairing rot in window framing I recently noticed some soft spots in my T1-11 siding around a window. In hopes that the problem was just in the siding I started the process of removing the rotten piece. Once I removed it I found the house had no wrap and the studs around the window had been exposed to water and now appear to have been affected by rot. I am a new homeowner and can't really classify how bad the rot is, but about 1/2in (in depth) of most of the king and jack/trimmer studs are able to chipped out fairly easily from the wall sill plate to just above the bottom of the window. The tongue and groove subfloor seems to be fine and has no softness or significant discoloration. This is on the gable end of a single story house built with a truss roof (wall runs parallel to the trusses).

Since my confidence level with modifying the structure of what I assume is a load bearing wall, I tried getting a few bids. My problem comes from what they want to do. The first quote I got was to tear out the all of the studs (king, jack and cripple, maybe others) and put new ones in and this shows in the cost of the bid. A large part of this cost I think was due to the window having a Sheetrock return and needing to be redo the interior Sheetrock after removing the jack/trimmer stud. The other quote was to simply cut away the rot and splice in new studs pieces and was far less. So, my two questions are as follows:

Is this likely a load bearing wall? I'd assume all exterior walls are load bearing, but with a truss roof and the wall running parallel to it, I'm not sure.
If this is a load bearing wall, is it ever acceptable to splice/repair a jack/trimmer stud? I've include a picture of what I believe the "repair" quote was saying they would do with yellow being original wood, and red being new.

Hopefully this is an appropriate question for this StackExchange. I'm new to this home owning thing and a bit out of my depth right now! The first bid was very high while the other seemed like it might be cutting a few too many corners...

While not super critical to my questions, I've also attached a picture of the effected area in case that makes an difference to the situation: rot images (PS The gouges in the wood are from myself/contractors testing)

If this wall is parallel to the trusses, it is probably not load bearing. At least that would be typical.

Water infiltration

You must address the cause of the water infiltration, or this will only happen again.

You noted the lack of housewrap, and that may be contributing, but since its by the window I'd say correct window flashing is essential. Check with the  window manufacturer for instructions (they are all similar but for example: Andersen). The details really count, especially how to lap one layer over another, etc.

If you can do it from the exterior, I'd also air-seal the window to the framing while you have the chance. (e.g., Canned spray foam - low expansion).

You should add housewrap (or tar paper) wherever sheathing is exposed, and if you ever re-side tie into that later.

Framing

This is a reasonable repair to do yourself. It sounds like the rotted studs are possibly still adequate. i.e., if they are solid the remaining thickness and no water has reached the interior, you might be able to just live with them as long as the wall is closed up correctly.

You could also sister new wood side-by-side with the existing which would avoid tearing out material and damaging the interior finish. The key thing is that the header is still supported by the left stud. If you sister the king stud there you might run some long structural screws (like Headloks) just to ensure the new wood will support the header.

The thing that concerns me most if you want to leave the damaged wood in place is the sill plate. If that is rotted through it isn't doing its job (transferring the load of the wall, ensuring shear transfer through the sheathing, etc.) However you could probably just cut out that rotten piece and slip a new one in. This is unlikely to damage the interior since it is probably behind trimwork. You could also leave the rotted section if its small enough, and slip in 2 or more 2x4s on the horizontal over the top of it. This might spread out the load adequately.


Can you use a heat pump for hydronic radiant? I want to electrify the heating in my house.
It's heated by a hydronic radiant system, fed by a propane boiler. Another loop from the boiler  heats a hot water storage tank. The total floor surface area covered by the radiant heat is about 1000 sqft. Is it reasonable to do all this with a heat pump instead? (I'd rule out an electric resistance boiler as too inefficient -- electricity is relatively expensive in my area.)
I also have a mini-split AC system already installed. Would it be feasible to run that off the same outdoor unit as the heating equipment? (I don't want to use the mini-split itself for heat -- I have high ceilings, and the hot air from the indoor units doesn't really reach the lower half of the room.)
The climate is hardiness zone 5b, although in practice it doesn't go below 10 °F. I have no idea whether a ground-source heat pump is feasible on my site.
Note, I'm not planning on doing any of this work myself. I just want to be well-informed about what my options are as I start looking for installers.

It's certainly possible - whether you can get someone in your area to install and service it, and whether you can afford it, are two entirely different questions.
Air source heat pumps that are designed for it can operate efficiently below 0°F - many mini splits qualify, and few whole house units do, for whatever reason. As such, they also work fine at 10F which you need.
Run-of-the-mill whole-house heat pumps (that are mostly air conditioners) do indeed crap out around 30F as Lee Sam comments - but there is better tech available if you can find a dealer and know what you are looking for.
The cold-weather air-to-airs are also generally far more efficient at cooling, as a bonus.
Getting that heat into water is a far more fickle beast - there are a few companies making Air-to-Water heat pumps, and at least one of those is a Canadian firm that claims operation to -25F - but they have no dealers in my area, and self-importing a system without a service person or dealer available was a bridge too far for my taste. So I purchased an air-to-air cold weather minisplit system with a servicing dealer in my area. For the moment, the hydronic tubing in my slab is idle. I'll probably install a wood-burning boiler for it eventually.
Water-to-Water Heat Pump (ground source hydronic heat pump) seems to be somewhat more common, but ground source tends to have high installation cost (relatively low operation cost, however, due to a stable source of non-varying temperature to work from.) It either takes a lot of excavation or drilling a couple of wells, and that runs to money. If that isn't a problem, it's probably the best way to do this, and certainly the most widely available heat pump to hydronic option.
Your mini-split is a system unto itself, and most likely cannot be combined with any other system, particularly an air-to-water one. It might be possible but likely not fiscally sensible to use a larger outdoor unit of its brand that can accommodate it and additional heads, but I'm not aware of any maker offering an air-to-water version of that type of setup.
The common, normal solution to high ceilings and winter heat distribution is to use fans to move the hot air down from the ceiling in heating season.
"Heat pump water heaters" in freezing climates depend on whatever the house heat is in winter, as none that I'm aware of can work with below-freezing outside air supply. So they save a bit on air conditioning in the summer, but make whatever your heating system is work harder through the winter (even if that's also a heat pump.)
If electricity is relatively expensive compared to propane in your area, making this change is unlikely to pay back, or might even cost you more to run.
[...and the usual boring stuff nobody wants to do 'cause it's not as sexy as a whole new system - if you look at your roof and you have icicles, you need more insulation. Insulation and air sealing tend to be the best bang for the buck in saving money on heating - even if you get a whole new system, less waste makes that cost less to operate, too.]


How do I fix a vinyl covering that is coming away from the outside deck support beam? I live in a townhouse with a deck over the garage. I noticed that under the deck, along the board that is on the outer edge, some of the vinyl covering is popping out of place and hanging down a little. You can see two images of what I'm talking about here:

It appears that this rubbery cover is attached only at certain intervals, which is why you can see it popping out of place only in certain spots. If I push it back into place it looks fine, but it does not stay there when I let go. My assumption is that I can simply put some adhesive inside of the cover in the pieces that are limping and then duck tape the material into place while it dries.

Is that the proper way to fix something like this? And what type of adhesive would I use if I used one?

If you want to use an adhesive, one of the liquid nails products should work.  The comment about vinyl expanding and contracting is right, although it may not be a concern since it's under an overhang.  Vinyl siding gets really hot since it's on the side of your house exposed to the sun.


Using a board when studs don't line up I need to hang up a track in my garage that will be used to hang bikes. The track is from The Container Store and looks like this.

It has holes every 8 inches so that it lines up with studs. I'm not sure why but the area where I'm hanging the track has two studs right next to each other which causes the track only to line up with 2 studs. I originally had the track hanging with drywall studs but the track had started to come off the wall a bit with just a couple things hanging from it like a ladder. Since I want to hang bikes I'd like to strengthen the track.
Can I just attach a 2x4 that is screwed into the studs and then mount the track on the 2x4? Would that provide the strength I need provided I use the correct screws to mount the board to the wall.
Here is what the wall looks like. You can see the studs next to each other along with the original mounting location of the track.

You could also simply redrill new holes to match the framing. 2 or 3 new holes near the ones that are there will not weaken the bar. The holes look oversized for a range of fasteners, you could use smaller holes if you are using 1/4" lag bolts for example.


insulating an exterior rowhouse wall with windows New owners of a row home going through it one room at a time...  We decided to tackle the master/front facing bedroom first.  It has wood paneling (70/80ish) and I am pretty sure the walls behind are plaster on brick on the exterior wall.  thinking to either do foam panels or put up studs and batting - then drywall on top of either one.  This is what I am looking to do on the exterior/façade wall, but I am concerned about the two window.... Since I am adding a few inches to the wall the windows will be a few inches deeper.  Do I need to reinstall the windows within a deeper frame?

Not knowing the age of the home, most row homes have the windows set directly to the brick. You can add framing to carry the new/salvaged trim around the windows. After the insulation is set a "jamb extension' is added to the interior edge of the window to increase the depth of the window on the interior side. Add a picture of what you have and I or others can elaborate more.


Can I install a sink that drains into this floor drain? I would like to install a sink in my basement but the only drain that is close to it is being used for the HVAC. Can I use this existing drain for the sink as well?

This is roughly how the drain is currently setup/used.

You have to ask your local building inspectors.  Some places allow grey water drainage into their overflow drain but most don't.

One of the problems you will have is if your sewer backs up it will back up into your sink drain.  This isn't a huge deal but could get messy.  Also you would be require to secure the PVC to the floor in some way.

I personally don't see an issue with it.  There is no real downside other than it looking slightly ghetto.  Most inspectors would just tell owner to set it up after they pass inspection - hence most cities won't recognize it as finished plumbing.  Will it work though, sure as long as you are not sending a ton of mud or crap down your sink.


I'm converting a light switch with Quinetic. Does the light switch need a 16 amp receiver or a 6 amp one? As above. It's a normal domestic light switch. I want to get one of these: https://www.quinetic.co.uk/products/wireless-switch/
It needs a receiver too, which is wired into where the current light switch is. Does it need a 6 amp receiver or a 16 amp one? https://www.quinetic.co.uk/products/rf-receiver/

Cool idea, I never saw one of those before.  Whether 6A or 16A depends on the size of the load it will be switching.   If it's just switching a light the 6A should suffice.   But considering there is a 5% price difference I cannot imagine why anyone would buy anything other than the 16A one.


Floor noise tongue groove I own an old 60s kit house that has tongue and groove 6" pine boards for the ceiling in the main floor room.

In the upstairs room above, they laid ¼ OSB as subfloor and secured it to the boards by placing random screws in the OSB.

As you guessed, I am getting a lot of noise from the joints of the tongue and groove every time you walk across it.

I'm looking for a solution to reduce that noise. I have three options so far:

Glue the OSB to be tongue and groove boards and add screws.
Put screws in every 6 inches on either side of the joints.
Both

Other questions, is there anything I should do with the tongue and groove boards now that I have them exposed?

Is there a different subfloor to use? Weight?

Are the joist 16" oc? If not you may want to sister them for added strength, and give you a better nailng/screwing surface. The 1/4" doesn't give the best support for subflorring, so you need to upgrade to 3/4" or at least 1/2" plywood. It's also a good idea to use a glue like liquid nails or other adhesive over the joist. Your fastners should be placed about every 8 inches. Good Luck!


What type of conduit do I need in under ground use? Do you need expansion joints in under ground burial of conduit and what type is acceptable?

You do not need expansion joints underground. For most folks PVC conduit is the easiest to work with. This is different than water pipe but is similar in cutting and glueing. Make sure to chamfer the inside edges of the pipes so they don't cut the insulation when being pulled. I see this step forgotten about quite often.


Help me identify my rough in plumbing pipes I'm wondering if anyone can help me id some rough plumbing. This is a basement bathroom rough in a 2009 New Hampshire house. I believe it was supposed to be roughed in for a toilet, single vanity and a shower. Judging by the distances from the wall and pipe sizes I'm guessing #1 is for a toilet (because it's 3 inch pipe and if the wall behind it was framed the center of the pipe would be 12 1/2 inches away), #4 is for a vanity and #5 is for a shower. #2 seems to be cover for a sewage pump. I have not found any roughed venting pipes in the ceiling so far.
What is the 3 inch pipe #3?
The sewage pump cover says Zoeller 17-0276. Does it only fit Zoeller pumps or are these universal fit?
Thank you in advance for looking at my question.
**Edit 1
I did some homework and snaked the pipes except for #5 which i didnt want to cut as the cap is glued on and it's so short. It seems they're all connected (now drawn in red on the schematic) and going to the sewage pump pit. I can see #1 is a toilet rough in after taking the silver wrap off.

If the basement bathroom requires a sewage pump, one of those pipes (quite possibly #3) will be the output of the sewage pump going up to the level of the house drain (which is presumably above the floor level, if a sewage pump pit was roughed in.) Pull the cover off the pit and poke a snake into the pipes...
Or if there's only one pipe into the pit, and the pump output would go out via the cover, it may be a vent pipe and cleanout access.
Lack of vent pipes above the concrete is fairly normal. The rough in is "put pipes before pouring concrete" rather than "prepare all for a bathroom that hasn't been put in for the next 11 years, and may never be" - pipes above the concrete are easier to add than those below.
Sump basins are pretty generic - make sure the pump you want to buy fits in the one you have, but that's pretty much physical size of pump and hole, not brand-specific. The part number is for exactly what it is - a sump cover. There will be a sump basin under it, with the plumbing run to it if it's in fact for a sewage pump. An alternate possibility (not knowing where your sewage or septic pipe leaves your house) is that the sump cover is covering "the other kind of sump" (drainage) and the bathroom plumbing goes directly to your septic or sewer pipe below floor level. Once again suggesting open it, take a look, poke a snake in the pipes and see where it comes out, or listen for it, anyway.


Frigidaire Dryer with error E64 My dryer is giving me an error code e64. It is an affinity Frigidaire dryer. They dryer heats up just fine. It cuts off after 10-20 minutes of running with this error. The "Dryer Tech Data Sheet" describes E64 as follows:

  E64 - Heater Open Circuit - Heating Element or wiring defective -
  Check heater coils and connections for open circuits. Replace heater
  and or wiring and retest.

My theory is that the thermostat has gone bad and is stuck "open" and never cuts off the heating element. Eventually the unit gets hot enough for the high limit sensor to get tripped and the dryer throws the error. Does that sound plausible? What else might be going on here?

Turns out it was the heating coil. I was able to test resistance with a multi-meter and saw that there was a broken circuit in one of the 3 legs of the heating coil. At first I crimped the broken end together, but later replaced the part.

Googling:

  test dryer heating element multimeter

will yield good results.


Can I stick ceiling acoustic panels to my wall with intent to reduce room echo? I know it's far from ideal, but I have a few excess cartons of ceiling tiles. If I stick some to my walls, will it help to noticeably reduce my room's echo or reverberation? Or will the difference be so minimal, that I will be wasting my time?

Any plain wall is a sound board. Any application of materials that are porous, or have 33 degree multiple angles will reduce the amount that sound waves bounce. The acoustic tiles will provide a reduction in the echo. And will in turn provide a better sound insulating factor. By themselves they will not provide the recording studio atmosphere. You will need a entirely different set of materials and structural application.


I want to remove a wall dividing my living room from my porch The ceiling joist on the porch runs east and west connecting to the last ceiling joist over the living room, which runs north and south.  The roof is a hip roof and has no load on the ceiling.
The ceiling consists of 2x8x12 overlapping each other in the center,  1/2" drywall and 8" of insulation. Currently  the living room is supported by two 2x6x12 (10 foot visible)  with 1/2" OSB in between.  I need to span a total of 16 feet with a 1 foot overhang on each end.
Suggestions?

You want to remove an exterior wall that is integral to the structure of the building so you will need to know how to provide a suitable, to code, way to support the load that the wall is carrying.
Suggestion:   Hire a Structural Engineer to tell you what is required.
You will need a structural engineer to size the correct beam and post system that will be needed to replace the wall.


Do I need a box-spring for my bed? I've moved into a smaller room and would like to maximize my space. I've decided to build a new bed frame, but for that to work how I would like I would need to eliminate my box-spring as it would make the bed too high.

I currently have a standard mattress, with a box-spring, on a metal frame. If the new bed frame has a solid enough foundation, could I eliminate the box-spring?

Yes. You can use slats instead of a box-spring. It will be a LITTLE bit stiffer, but it's perfectly fine and you'll love how your bed squeaks less. Here's a pic from an Ikea bed frame assembly guide - just as an example:


Goodman GMNT100-4 Unit- Blower Motor Works for Air But Not the Heat I have a Goodman GMNT100-4 that air conditioner was working great. However, I recently turned on the heat. The system goes through all sequences fine until it's time for the blower motor to kick on, it doesn't. The system then shuts down because it's getting hot. I've replaced the blower motor and squirrel cage a few months ago. I've changed the primary limit switch, the lower one at the blower motor and the pressure switch. Is my circuit board bad? The only other thought is a bad rollover switch or something on the heat inducer... Any help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Check to see if the HEAT terminal on the circuit board is getting energized when the blower motor should be running.  If the motor is getting power, but not spinning, then there's a problem with the motor. If the motor is not getting power, then there's a problem with the circuit board.

If the motor is getting power, but not spinning, it could be:

A bad connection between the circuit board and the motor
The wrong motor lead landed on the HEAT terminal (but that would likely just spin the motor at the wrong speed)
A bad motor capacitor (Probably not if A/C works)
A bad motor winding

If the board is not energizing the motor terminal, it could be:

A bad timer
A bad relay
A bad circuit board trace


Fan control & 3-way light switch combo I have a wiring configuration that appears to allow for a single switch piece that controls a ceiling fan AND 3-way switching of a ceiling fan light (there's another light switch on the other side of the room that seems to pair with the 3-way light switch).
What is currently hooked up in this spot is just a fan control (with a red and white wire), which controls the current lightless fan.  However, there is another loose red wire in the box that goes hot with the light switch across the room, so I'm thinking I can replace the fan with one that does have a light that I can control from both locations.
My primary questions are:

Does it seem like I have correctly deduced that I can add a fan with a light in this way?
Is there a slider/switch combo I can purchase that both controls the fan and acts as a 3-way light control?  I'm having trouble finding one, but might not be searching correctly

Bonus question: the fan is on a very high lofted ceiling - and some have said having a light there would get annoying when bulbs need to be changed (pretty much would need to rent a 12-ft ladder), however I think the extra lighting is worth it and bulbs these days last a long time… any thoughts or experiences? :-D
Thanks!!
UPDATE: adding photos of the two boxes.  The larger box includes the current fan control hooked up on the very left, and the smaller box is the one wired for 3-way.  The middle switch in the large box is a single-pole for a hall light and the one on the right is a 3-way switch paired with a different switch for another hall light.  The two wires hooked up to the fan control (one red and one white) are both hot (per my contactless voltage tester): the white wire is coming from the cable on the far left (along with the loose red wire that goes hot when i flip the paired 3-way switch across the room, a ground wire, and a black wire that's joined with the other black wires in the box); the red wire is coming from the second cable from the left in the box, along with a ground wire and white and black wires that are joined with their other like-colored wires in the box.
UPDATE2: adding a photo with more detail of the larger box and the wires labeled - source cables are colored in yellow and the corresponding individual wire terminuses in green.
UPDATE3: adding a chart of which wires are hot in the 3-way switch box and the larger box (just those on the left side: the red and white hooked up to the fan control and the other loose red wire), based on configuration of the 3-way switch I have installed (whether the red or the white wire is wired on the same side of the switch as the black common wire, and which position the switch is in). Checkmark=hot.  Maybe this isn't supposed to be a 3-way switch?

You'll need to use the correct fan/light control and remote for this
The problem with your proposal is twofold.  First off, most fan/light combination controls are single-pole only units, with no support for multi-way switching whatsoever.  Furthermore, and worse yet, most fan/light combination controls require separate switched-hot wires for the fan and the light, which is something you don't have here.
Fortunately, Lutron still makes a fan/light combination control setup that works for your application, namely the MA-LFQM control/canopy module pair and MA-ALFQ35 remote.  You can put either control at either location, with the black wire landing on the black screw and the white and red wires landing on the brass screws at the small box, and the white and red wires from Cable 1 landing on the brass screws and the red wire from cable 2 landing on the black screw at the large box.  Of course, you'll have to connect the grounds at both locations as well; once you're done with that, you'll need to install the canopy module from the MA-LFQM kit as part of putting the fan up (it's not much different from any other fan remote receiver you'll run into).


How can I prevent frost buildup on a concentric water heater intake? I have a hot water tank with a concentric PVC vent that's both an intake and exhaust for the tank.
Whenever it's -30 celcius and below (I'm from Canada), the air intake on the concentric vent clogs up with frost, causing the hot water tank to stop working.  When this happens, I need to go outside to clear out the frost.
Does anyone have any tips with this problem?  I've heard some posts that people recommend insulating the pipe.  What kind of material would you recommend to insulate the vent to ensure it doesn't frost?

Foam plastic pipe insulation for the size of the outer pipe.
You want something closed-cell / waterproof, since it's out in the weather. Possibly an overwrap of aluminum tape to prevent sun damage.


Can I use a 20 amp and a 15 amp breaker on one 12-3 wire split into 2 circuits with a common ground Running from my house panel to my garage I currently have a 12-3 wire split into two circuits with a common ground, each circuit has a 15 amp breaker. I know 12 gauge wire can support a 20 amp but my question is can I run one circuit on a 20 amp breaker and the other on a 12 amp breaker with a common ground.

My reason for doing this is I want to run a slightly larger heater in the garage on colder days when I am working in there and once in a while it will trip the 15 amp breaker when it kicks on.

The garage currently has one 15 amp outlet on one circuit (the one I want to change to 20 amp) and the other circuit has a two 15 amp outlets and 2 50 w lights.

I hope this is clear. I look forward to the answers

I believe that it would be against the NEC to have these two seperate circuits with a shared neutral and not have them on a double pole breaker (or at the very least a handle tie between a 15A and a 20A breaker).

Branch Circuit, Multiwire. A branch circuit that consists of two or more ungrounded conductors that have a voltage between them, and a grounded conductor that has equal voltage between it and each ungrounded conductor of the circuit and that is connected to the neutral or grounded conductor of the system
210.4 Multiwire Branch Circuits.
(B) Disconnecting Means. Each multiwire branch circuit shall be provided with a means that will simultaneously disconnect all ungrounded conductors at the point where the branch circuit originates.

A double pole breaker will simultaneously disconnect both circuits and satisfy the code requirement.
20A breaker is required and 12 gauge copper 10 gauge aluminum is the minimum depending on how long the circuit run is.
Furthermore even if it is on a 20A circuit, you are not required to upgrade your 15A outlets to 20A outlets.  This is only required if there exists a single receptacle on the circuit.  One can only plug in 15A max devices into a 15A outlet, therefore the 20A load circuit load would not be achieved on a single device.
It might also be a code requirement now for a detached building to have its own grounded sub-panel as well but that I will have to look into.


How to run 10/2 THHN outdoor wire in finished basement along ceiling? I need a 240v (intermittent load will be 14 A max) single phase outlet about 30 feet from my distribution panel in my finished basement. The distribution panel is outside on the first floor. I do not want to tear out the finished drywall and popcorn ceiling, and running wires inside the ceiling would be impossible without major damage.
Is a metal or plastic raceway required along the ceiling?
Can the outdoor rated 10/2 THNN wire be run along the ceiling with just hooks, where it is visible? The wire does not run along the wall.
What does the NEC require for finished basement wiring along the ceiling?

You need a conduit. For that matter you would need a conduit if running them inside the ceiling space.


Can I rewire my ceiling fan to make it move faster? I installed a fan outside and it has no light, just a fan. It does have remote though. I capped off the red wire and used white, black and green. The fan at its highest setting does not move very fast and does not put off much wind.

If  I  switched the black wire to the red wire will that help, or will hooking both the red and black together give it more power?

If the fan has a pull chain as well as the remote the pullchain MUST be on high speed. The remote control only slows the fan down.

Bottom line is no, you cannot re-wire a ceiling fan like this to make it go faster.


14 Dead Outlets, Obvious solution tried Doing a remodel and moved an outlet a couple studs over. Well once i hooked it back up....nothing. Plugged in a circuit tester and it's not reading anything, multimeter's got nothing either. Checked everywhere for a GFCI on that circuit. Also double triple triple double checked the breakers. I have a total of 14 outlets in my Living room and master that are dead. I think there are 2 separate breakers that control them. Where to go from here....

I may be imagining this, but it seems like the breaker switches to the said outlets are a little weaker then the others, as in, they turn "off" easier....

It was a pretty violent rewiring to say the least. I went through 1 of those blue receptacle boxes from the force used trying to manipulate the 14 gauge wires around and about 3 different holes. think i may have knocked something loose. What would an electrician do to start troubleshooting this?

Thanks Friends.

I may be imagining this, but it seems like the breaker switches to the said outlets are a little weaker then the others, as in, they turn "off" easier....

An easy to move handle is the classic sign of a tripped breaker.

I think you have one of three problems:

You wired two circuits together. When you turn on the breaker for both circuits, you trip the breaker for both circuits.
You have a dead short in the circuits somewhere. This could be a bad outlet (not likely) or a mis-wired outlet (likely) or a damaged wire somewhere (likely). To troubleshoot this, find the first device (outlet, switch, light, etc.) in the chain and disconnect everything downstream. Turn the breaker on. If it stays on, you know the problem is downstream somewhere. Now keep connecting/disconnecting devices until you find the wire or device causing the problem.
You might also have a bad breaker. Take the cover off the breaker panel, and turn off that breaker. Measure the voltage with your multimeter between the screw on the breaker and the bus bar that all of the white neutral wires are connected to. With the breaker off, it should be 0. If so, loosen the screw on the breaker that clamps the wire. Pull the wire out and put a wirenut on the wire. Now turn the breaker on and measure the voltage again. If you get 0, then the breaker is bad. If you get 120, then the problem is elsewhere.


What are my non-gas alternatives to a wood burning fireplace? Our house has a wood burning firplace that we want to convert to something else but we have no gas lines in the area. What are our options for heating benefits and esthetics?

All very nice and stylish.. Electric fire place! This will be the easiest way to replace your wood fire place. But the cons in most countries is that electric heating is very expensive. Pros are well.. clean and easy. Press a button and set the heat you want. Effects vary and they are not expensive.
If you want to use gas,
then you have some options.
If you have a basement directly under the fire place you can make a safe place to store gas bottles and just put a supply line directly above to the gas fire place. Easy to to replace once every few months and lasts for a bit.
If you have no basement then maybe if space permits a safe place somewhere outside on your wall- hidden away form first sight(but easy access to replace) and run some gas lines to the fire place.
Last option is to keep the gas bottle somewhere in the same room in a safe,ventilated cupboard.. like some people use the a gas stove with a supply bottle right under it. This is the last option (maybe easiest) but safety is a big concern though.
propane(gas) bottles or cylinders.

Propane tank


Attic Venting of Knee Wall in Cape Cod I have a cape cod style home, pictured below.  The second story living space on the back side of the home is created by having a lower pitched roof.  So, the front and back sides of the roof have different pitches.  I have large eaves overhanging the exterior walls with plenty of soffit vents already installed.  I recently found that these soffit vents on the lower level were rendered useless when I discovered that the space formed between the roof sheathing and the sloped interior wall was stuffed with insulation.  I plan on placing baffles in those spaces to allow the colder air to be pulled into the attic space above the second floor living area.

I currently have 8 soffit vents; four in the lower eave which is the floor of the knee wall space, and four in the eave of the second floor, along with a ridge vent to be installed with a new roof coming in a month or so.  My calculations call for me to add 2 more soffit vents in order to balance the system, 6 if I want to go 60/40 intake/outtake.  Installing the additional soffit vents in the lower eave is obviously much more attractive to me and with that in mind this is my question:

Will the air pull from the second story eave vents more so than the lower level vents?  Do I need to take this into account when making my decision?  The last thing I want to do is to go through all this work only to short-circuit the system and have little air pulled through the knee wall at the front of the house.

The lower vents will indeed be less effective than the upper ones. In addition, you are reducing the effective insulation of the wall/roof in order to install baffles. With effective cross flow ventilation and a proper ceiling vapor barrier, you only need a total of 1/300 of the attic area in open free area ventilation. IMO, getting at least 1/2 this minimum area from the soffit is the important part. Actually balancing the areas when you have more than adequate ventilation is less important.

If you can achieve this 1/2 minimum area in the upper soffits alone, then forget about the lower ones all together. Only if you have no choice would I attempt to bring in air from the lower soffit. I'm fairly dubious on just how effective these would be.


What is this metal bookcase component called? I have partially assembled a tree bookcase and have discovered that I have been supplied with an incorrect part.  I was supplied with the part shown in the attached picture.  The pictured part is 76mm in length, yet the assembly requires the same but at 71mm.  I have contacted the vendor, who do not know the part's name, but assure me that I can find them in any hardware store.  No hardware store I have visited has been able to identify it, though.

Please, can somebody tell me what is the name of the part, and where can I find one that at 71mm?

Thanks.

I'm tempted to call that a double-ended dowel for a cam connection.


Is using a shielded industrial cable a bad practice when used as an outdoors AC mains cable? As a part of a project I have noticed that some are using this cable for powering a smartphone on the top of a 120 meter mast. This cable goes from the ground all the way to the mast to power the AC/DC adapter of a smartphone in a box.

The cabe is defined as "Industrial Cable Screened". And it has a shield not an earth wire. Although according to its specs it can pass uto 2.5A current, Im not sure whether it is okay to use as a mains cable.

My questions are:

1-) Is it okay to use such cable instead of a 3-wire(phase neutral earth) AC mains power cable outdoors?

2-) The cable in the link has a shield. Does the shield have any advantage to use as an AC mains cable in this case?

Im wondering what were they thinking when using this cable instead of a typical AC mains power cable. Or maybe just a wrong thinking?

(I hesitated to ask here but I thought maybe some has experience on the matter.)

It depends on your jurisdiction, but it is unlikely that that particular cable meets all of the code requirements for mains wiring.

I would recommend using an isolation transformer for the mains connection, and use a 1A fuse in series with this cable.

There's nothing wrong with using shielded cable per se — it probably brings some benefit in radio applications.


Why won't my portable generator start? With a storm bearing down on the mid-Atlantic US and robocalls from the local power utility warning of the possibility of extended power outages, I figured tonight would be a good time to check the status of my 5700W portable generator. After turning the fuel valve to 'on' and engaging the choke, I pulled the pulled the starting cord, and pulled, and pulled. No luck.

The generator is fairly new -- I bought it at the end of June '12. I last started it a few months ago -- around November I think -- and since then it's been sitting in a dry shed with half a tank of treated gas and the gas cap closed tightly. The gas appears to be okay -- it's not cloudy, doesn't look separated. I get a whiff of gasoline after a few pulls, so I think there's some fuel flowing. The spark plug wire seemed firmly seated, but I pulled it and reseated it just to make sure.

What else should I be looking at to get this small engine started?

I would replace the spark plug and remove the air filter to make sure it isn't plugged up.  Then, while the air filter is still removed, spray a little starting fluid into the carb through the hole under the air filter and start it up.  If it runs for just a couple seconds and dies, that means the gas in your carb was probably bad.  Starting it with the starting fluid a couple of times will work that out, and it should start running fine.  Keep your face and other body parts away from the hole you spray the starting fluid into so you don't get burned by a backfire.  Put the air filter back on after you get it running.

Other common fixes are pinched or clogged fuel lines or a clogged fuel filter, but if you're smelling gas, that probably isn't the problem.

You should also check that the spark arrester in the exhaust pipe isn't clogged up with carbon. Undo small bolt adjacent to exhaust pipe and remove insert. All small holes should be clear.


How to sound-proof a room with minimal budget In my house, I have a room upstairs in which I frequently do videocalls. The problem is that when I talk my family can hear everything downstairs, which is very annoying for them. So I would like to try to make it so my voice isn't hearable outside the room.
This room has a wooden floor, through which I think the sound goes through the most, so maybe carpets? It also has wooden door.
What measures can I take to improve the situation with minimal budget?

EDIT: I wouldn't like to build a structure around me, but to improve the room I'm already in

I would start with an area rug to cover most of the floor.

Hanging tapestries on the walls and door can add to the decor and help deaden the sound.

Do you have access to the underside of the floor from below? This would be the spot to add insulation.

The problem with lower frequencies (male voices) is they resonate the building itself and are more difficult to block.

Good luck!


J bolt protruding through wall We have a j bolt protruding through the wall of our concrete foundation after only 1 year. What is code for fixing this. According to our builder the steel isn’t needed and they can just patch the concrete.

The “J” bolt is required. The size and spacing is determined on where you are located (seismic zone, wind loading requirements, etc.).

This problem is caused by carelessness. That is to say, the anchor bolt was placed too close to the edge of the foundation wall, (and the wall seems to step back which was not accounted for in the placement of the bolt.)

Depending on the load on the bolt, you’ll need a minimum of 2” of concrete cover over the bolt.

Anchor bolts are sized based on unusual and extreme loads...not normal loading. That bolt may be just fine until you have an earthquake or a wind storm. I’d have an architect or structural engineer (not a civil engineer) review it.


How to attach PEX pipe to plaster walls in laundry room? I replaced the iron pipes serving my clothes washer with PEX. PEX was chosen to allow flexibility in the placement of the pipes during demolition of cabinets, etc. I had been thinking I'd build new cabinets and attach the PEX to their structure, but decided to go with standalone metal shelving instead, leaving me with a dilemma about how to secure the PEX pipes. Here's what it looks like now:

I think my options are:

Replace PEX with copper pipe, which, being rigid, would require less support.
Frame out an interior soffit with 2x4s and drywall to secure and hide the PEX.
Surface-mount PEX to plaster walls using a plastic bracket like the one on the right:

I expect I'd have to use screws and plaster anchors instead of nails. I'd like the hot side to be offset from the wall to leave room for insulation. I found copper "bells" (shown in photo above, on left) that do this for copper pipe but haven't found anything similar for PEX. I could use small pieces of wood to offset I guess.
Another option would be to install 1 or 2 horizontal 1x2 lumber on the wall and attach the PEX to that.

I'd like to avoid the effort of Options 1 and 2 since this is a utility room that will be filled with shelving, so it doesn't have to look perfect. Is there anything I'm not thinking of?

If it were me, I would go with #4 but use 1X6 instead, placing both pipes on the single horizontal piece. If it is plaster and not sheetrock, use screws to hold everything in place. You could even use it as a shelf ledger in places where appropriate. Use the black plastic device for all of the holding, except use longer screws where there is pipe insulation. The clamps hold the pipe without the screws drawn tight and the longer screws act as a standoff.


Recommendation for mounting transfer switch to vinyl sided exterior wall I need to mount a Generac automatic transfer switch to my house beneath the meter base. The construction of the wall I need to mount to is (from outside inwards):

30 yr old vinyl siding (for which I cannot buy new siding to match)
R7 foam-board, 3/4(?) thick (a regrettable decision in retrospect--wish I had used 5/8 plywood for all walls)
2x4s 16" o.c.
1/2" drywall

I think I have basically two options:

cut and remove all material that'd be behind the automatic transfer switch, mount 1 or 2 layers of 3/4" plywood to studs on either side

or

mount the plywood directly over the vinyl siding--making sure it is large enough to fasten to two (or more) studs. I would use long lag bolts and washers to ensure that they didn't pull thru the plywood. I estimate lags will be 3/8x3". The thing I dislike about this option is maintaining/painting the plywood and preventing the need to ever have to replace it.

Option 2  would be easiest and I am not convinced that Option 1  is sufficiently more structurally sound than option 2.
Is it worth the risk of damaging the irreplaceable siding?
Are there better options I have not considered?
and are there any electrical related concerns (with either approach)?
The wall is east-facing and sees little direct precipitation although lots of direct sun.

The first option that comes to mind is U-strut. (Channel strut or C-channel)

Photo from fireequip.com.au
The first two struts would be mounted vertically  on studs with at least  three points. Use   double ended lag screws, (wood threads on one side and machine threads on the other)

Pilot drill through the siding/foam board and into a stud. Drive the appropriate length lag in so that a nut on it will be proud of the siding. Then on each lag goes a nut, big flat washer, U-strut, washer nut. Now you have two solid vertical rails to work with.
You can mount horizontal U-strut to these or a board, You have many options.
A YouTube search will give many sources of info on U-strut.


How to connect fan coil (condo) wiring with Google Nest My old thermostat wiring looks like this:

So its good I have a C wire and its running on 24v.  The hard thing is the fan control.  It's a proprietary 3 speed fan - where do I wire those 4 wires to?  What is Fan "Com"?
I plan to purchase a Google Nest Thermostat but the compatibility tool is not complete as I have MORE wires than they need for fan control.

From the Google Nest Support Page at:
Nest Support Page

It's not clear what the tech will do but I suspect they have some additional hardware that controls the fan.


Lot of cracking noises in the attic I bought a house about a year ago and ever since there has been a ton of cracking noises coming from the attic. They sound like thermal expansion noises, but they happen all day and night, in any weather or temperature. I notice them the most in the master bedroom. When it happens, it's never just 1 pop, it's 3-4 back to back and they appear like they're in line, like the noise is moving across the ceiling. It happens several times a day, sometimes within the same hour. There are no cracks in the drywall that would indicate structural problems, but this is my first house so I'm not exactly sure what to look for. Is this something I should get checked out?

They could simply be thermal expansion and contraction, delayed due to the large heat capacity of a home. It takes quite a while for the solar gain that has soaked into an attic to be released, for example.

I'd stake out your attic Columbo-style and give it a good listen and feel. Chances are it's not a sign of structural problems, but it's surely an annoyance.


How do I go about leveling out streak marks in my wood stain? I used knotty alder wood and sanded to 320 with a random orbital sander.

Knotty Alder
Min-Wax Pre-Stain Conditioner
Min-Wax Oil-Based Stain
Applied with t-shirt rag

I see streak marks in my staining method and I am curious as to the tactics I will need to use to get them out. Do I need to re-sand through all the grits? Should I try and apply another coat and even it out? Or am I out of luck?

Have you ever used Rubio Monocoat?  It is an interesting an unique one application product - oil.  Solves issues like the one you are experiencing.  At this point, assuming your wood is properly dried and doesn't have some strange grain pattern causing inconsistent absorption, you can try another coat of evenly applied stain.  If it still is darker on part of the plank. either the grain is different, the stain is unevenly applied, or there may be something that seeped deeply into the wood causing parts of the wood to adhere differently.  If the latter is the case, ponly sanding beyond the absorption point would likely work.


Did I do a shoddy wiring job on a ceiling fan? I just installed a ceiling fan at my mother's house, and in hindsight, I think I might need to go back and re-do the wiring.

The ceiling fan came with a bracket that screws into the outlet box in the ceiling, then the instructions say to attach the fan motor itself to that bracket -- BEFORE doing the wiring.  So, I did that, then attempted to do the wiring, attaching the white to white, blue to black, and ground to ground using the supplied wire nuts, however I ran into challenges getting what I felt was a good connection, since one wire was solid (and VERY stiff) and the other was stranded.  The instructions then state to "gently" (ha) stuff the connected wires up into the outlet box.

The opening in the bracket that the wires are to pass through is no bigger than a quarter, and with the wiring already coming through that hole, inserting the wiring up into the ceiling was literally, impossible.  So I left the wiring as close to the ceiling as possible but it's currently inside the fan housing, instead of in the ceiling outlet box.

So here are my two concerns:

1) I now realize, after researching, that code usually requires that the spliced wiring be inside the outlet box

2) I should have used more bare stranded wire than was stripped by the factory.  I simply trusted the out of the box stripping of the wire, but there was less length of stranded wire exposed than there was solid supply wire.

The fan works fine, no dimming of the lights, or arcing sounds, or anything.  But, to add to my concern about this, my mom's house uses fuses... to say nothing about AFCI or anything like that.

Should I just go back and re-do it?  Or stop messing with it?

To answer your concerns:

The reason the National Electric Code requires wires to be contained in an approved enclosure/box is to protect them from being damaged, but also for any arcing that might occur (the resulting spark and heat are restricted inside the box. From experience having installed more than 15 ceiling fans: wires should be no shorter than 4 inches exiting a box, wire them in this order grounds, whites and hot last; this is also how they should be placed back into a box. If the box is full with other wires unrelated to the fan I will try to at least push the wire nuts into the enclosure and tuck the leftovers out of the way.

Also, for your own peace of mind, try this: after tightening a wire nut give the wire a gentle tug. If it doesn't pull free it most likely will remain so. For even more peace of mind (and because its mama's) wrap the wire nuts with a few turns of vinyl electricians tape in the same direction that the wire nut was tightened. I would double check your work since you expressed concern (and because it's your mom). As long as you have sound wire connections and the box is rated to support the fan you will be fine.


Why would I have two wires feeding one smoke detector? I found a smoke detector in my house that appears to have two wires feeding it from two different circuits.  Is this OK?

If your smoke detector was 240V, then you would have a hot from each leg of your service powering it from two breakers.  There may or may not be a neutral, and there should be a ground.  The two breakers would need to be on top of each other (most breaker panels alternate legs) and should be tied together so they can't be operated independently.

If the smoke detector is 120V then I doubt it's being fed from two circuits and might have made an error in tracing.  The best way to know for sure is to measure the voltage with a multi-meter.


How can I fix a wall-mounted toilet that keeps running? Our wall-mounted toilet keeps running. It is easy to "stop" by removing the plate with the push-buttons and pressing down the cylinder (valve?) inside, but I'd like to find an actual solution :)

It's hard-ish to find out what the issue is for me as I know nothing about these things, and it's inside the wall: hard to just take apart and look around.

The toilet is a 'Duravit', but I couldn't find any specs on the flushing mechanism itself, so this can be 'anything' I suppose.

Any idea how to fix it, or what I can check? Or just call a professional?

Now for some visual clarification:

First the button. When pressing it halfway it doesn't keep on running, but it's not a good flush like that. Pressing it all the way makes it stuck in 'open' or so it seems.

Inside of the button-set (seems like air-pressure makes it work?)

So this blue-topped cylinder keeps stuck in the 'up' position

About to press it down to make it stop flushing. An easy fix, but annoying obviously

We had a similar problem with our Duravit toilet.  We followed the instructions above, and after pulling out both the intake water controller portion, as well as the flush control, he didn't find any calcium build-up: just some rust stains.   As a final check, my husband reached down into the toilet tank and felt something stuck in the bottom stopper valve. He felt what he thought was a broken piece of rubber, and after tugging on it with some force, he pulled the foreign object out in his hand from the access hole in the wall, and found a perfectly intact, but dead scorpion]2  It must have died just that morning when the toilet started running. Luckily he wasn't stung.


how to clean up black paint that spilled on exterior bricks My upstairs neighbor (well she said her cat did it) spilled black paint on her deck/patio last summer.  It dripped for 10 minutes down the side of my exterior wall of my unit (outside).  It's spilled all over the light fixture and on the bricks.  We've had power washers try and get it off, but they weren't able to clean it up.  What are my options for cleaning this up?  The condo association is responsible for the exterior of the building, but they are not too diligent about cleaning this up.  I'm more concerned about the bricks.  The glass/metal light fixture can be replaced.  What are my options for getting this cleaned up correctly?

You might consider soda blasting.  It's like sand blasting but uses industrial baking soda.  One of the suggested uses is for removing graffiti from brick.


I have a combi boiler and since yesterday the radiators are getting really hot even when thermostat is turned right down Radiators getting hot even when thermostat is turned right down. Its a Worcester combined boiler

Check if a zone valve is stuck open.
Check if there's another thermostat (e.g. behind furniture) calling for heat.
If the thermostat is battery operated (e.g. on a timer), check that the battery is OK.


How do I fix a wooden retaining wall? I need suggestions on how to fix my retaining wall.
Is there a quick and cheap way to fix it? Unfortunately, I don't have the money right now to spend on replacing everything.
You will notice that there is rot and a hole in the lumber:

You will see that above my retaining wall is our fence:

Although it looks to be functional at this point eventually the bottom tier will rot away causing the retaining wall to fail. You have a legitimate concern. There is no simple answer to this because the right answer is to rebuild the wall. I'm assuming here that the wall has compacted soil on the other side. Since the bottom tier is rotting, and if you're willing to invest some sweat equity in this project, one less expensive option might be to cut out the bottom landscape log with a wedge and sledge or axe. This will be labor intensive but not expensive. Remove one section of the log at a time, removing soil by hand and shoring each section up with pavers/landscaping blocks of the same height as the log. Work along the entire length until you have replaced the entire log with landscaping blocks.
You will mostly have vertical pressure on the bottom log from the weight of the retaining logs above it and whatever structural material is above the logs. The bottom log will not have a lot of lateral pressure from the soil behind it. The main thing you need to do is make sure that as you remove small sections (a foot or two at a time) that the pavers you put in its place fit securely and are on a solid base so as you transfer the load to the pavers there is no compression of the course of pavers. If you do that you'll be fine.
Any soil under that bottom log should be well compacted but you could put a layer of pea gravel under the pavers before you insert them. If you tap them in with a hammer be sure to hold a wooden block over the side of the paver as you tap it in so you don't crack the paver.
The blocks don't have to be flush with the logs above. It will appear to be a base for the wall.


What should I keep in mind when altering the drainage around my basement? My back yard has some wet spots near the corner of my house. Because of property lines, fences, and window wells for my basement, it's hard to dramatically change the surface drainage of the area. I'm considering putting in a plastic drain box and perforated pipe that will tie into the storm sewer system.

What things should I be careful of when doing this? Should I consider just doing a French drain which does not tie into the storm sewer? Should I dig a trench, line with small rock, then lay in the corrugated, perforated pipe?

I'd really hate to do all the work of burying the pipe only to discover I didn't do it right.

I've only done the french drain thing; I have no idea what would be required with tying into a storm sewer; you'd likely want to contact the local government and/or water company to ask.

Anytime you're digging, you'll want to be aware of where underground utilities are.  In the DC area, you call 'Miss Utility', and they'll mark out everything.  (I think technically, you're not required if you're digging by hand, but it's still a good idea).

You might also want to take a look at what large trees are nearby, as you might have to deal with roots -- you can cut them as you go, but that might end up killing the tree or weakening it so it sheds branches, and large branches falling on your house or car is not a good thing.  (especially when you have no power, so get trapped in your (damaged) home).

You'll want to look at what's down-slope of the area you're dealing with, and how much area you have to absorb the water once you move it down there, if you're going the french drain route.  If it's an area that already gets pretty marshy after a rain, it's not going to absorb anything, so you'll need to go far enough out 'til you find somewhere that'll take the water.  You also don't want to try to force it out near the property line, or you might piss off your neighbors (and if they're lawyers, or just happen to like suing, it could get messy).

...

And after all of that, you might want to look into if the area's abnormally wet -- one of my friends had problems for years, and dug up his yard multiple times, trying to get everything fixed, redid his basement at least twice because of water damage.  And it turned out that there was a broken water pipe next to his house that was saturating the lawn, so any significant rain couldn't be absorbed.


How much heat loss through bathroom fan vent? My master bathroom did not previously have bathroom fan, but I installed one and have had wonderful results with keeping the steam from building up and exhausting the moist air.  I am using both a fan and a roof vent that have pretty weak metal flaps to reduce the cold air from making its way into the house.  I can hear the flap on the roof vent at times during very windy conditions, but not often.

I have taken showers without turning the fan on and the warm, moist air finds its way out of the vent very easily.  It is amazing how much just having the air path in place helps the exhausting compared to when a fan was not present.  This does concern me though, as I wonder, if air can leave the bathroom that easily with the fan off, could I be losing heated air when the fan isn't turned on?  I plan on insulating the pipe that is in the attic now, though I am not sure if this would affect the rising of the warm air/dropping of the cold air.

Any thought or opinions?  Do I need to be concerned about this?

You probably want to install some kind of a damper or louvers that will minimize air exchange through the vent when the fan is shut off, right? I would expect that the fan assembly itself might have a damper built into it, but maybe the housing is binding the damper. Or maybe it doesn't have one.

http://www.batticdoor.com/bathfandraftblocker.html

http://www.askthebuilder.com/bathroom-exhaust-fan-leaks-cold-air/


How far should a CAT5 cable be from a power cable? In a few days, we will be having a small tower set up so that we can have internet connection in our rural home. We need to trench a cat-5 cable from the tower to our house but we also want to, in the same trench, run a power line out there so we are able to go farther with electrical items such as weed-eaters. What I wish to know is, how far down should the power cable be from the cat-5 as to not interfere with data signals? Both cables will be in separate conduits.

There is, in fact, an applicable standard.

National Electrical Safety Code (NESC), Section 320 (B) (2),

  Separations Between Supply and Communication Conduit Systems: Conduit
  systems to be occupied by communication conductors shall be separated
  from conduit systems to be used for supply systems by 75 mm (3 in.) of
  concrete, 100 mm (4 in.) of masonry, or 300 mm (12 in.) of
  well-tamped earth.

Only one of those is practical and affordable for a project on a budget, so I bolded it. You can be 12" apart at the same level, 12" above (power deeper, communication shallower) or a diagonal that works.

Type of conduit makes no difference - only the material separating the conduits changes the spacing required.


How do I fix a good size gouge in my faux wood vinyl floor? We have faux wood laminant through out our kitchen.We had to move the refridgerator and when doing so we gouged(with a crease) the flooring.We are trying to sell the house and would like to try to repair it as easily and inexpensively as possible.I heard that you can take a blow dryer to it to smooth it out,is this true?

Obviously the best bet would be to replace the tile, if it's tile, if it's sheet vinyl well...
If you have ANY of the material left over, you can cut out a patch and replace it, use a liquid seam sealer to make it look good...

You can purchase a vinyl sealer, that will basically attempt to fill in the gouge, use of lacquer thinner is required, as this is going to clean the area first...

You can purchase wood putty, or a wood crayon at your local hardware store. I used to work in Lowe's flooring department. They also sell repair kits, but you would probably be better off matching it yourself, start low.
So clean it up, broom and mop. Neutral cleaner if necessary,

Apply the putty or crayon or whatever you will use to fill the gouge. They sell markers that help you fill in the extra stuff colorwise...You can set and let dry this way, wipe it clean and repeat the process, if necessary...OR...

you can apply wax to the whole floor, this will seal up and if you go low-gloss, you might be able to mask up the imperfections in a similar process as would be handled by a flat paint on an ugly wall.

Minwax has a reputable putty here


Replacement water shut off valve stem is too short to protrude past the wall board In my condo, I replaced my old, crusty, main shutoff gate valve with a brand new ball valve.  The only problem is that the distance from the base of the gate valve to the end of its stem is about two inches longer than the distance from the base of the ball valve to the tip of its stem.  So, while the gate valve's stem protruded through the sheet rock wall that covers it, the tip of the stem on the new ball valve is below the sheet rock's surface.  I've seen some valve extenders on-line but they appear to be for a specific brand of valve--I got mine at Lowes, it's an "Everbilt"--and I cannot tell if the one on-line will fit my valve.  Does anyone have a solution?

Make the drywall hole a lot bigger or just big enough for your hand to operate the valve & put one of these Access Panels (left) over the drywall hole. Preferably glued or caulked & drywall anchor screwed, since you need to pry these open with a flathead screwdriver. Or, 1 or 2 (hot & cold) of these 2-gang electrical outlet covers (right). These just need 2 screws in the drywall at opposing corners to then just slide up & off...a shot of spray paint to camouflage.


What should I cover gap with below stair banister I am looking to install a cable rail banister when an older banister was. Unfortunately there is a gap in between the stairs and wood floor that was previously covered. Thanks in advance for your help!

Since that area of the floor will be under the new cable banister/rail, there would be no fear of creating a tripping hazard by covering the gap with a decorative wood strip. I would use a low-profile oak "carpet transition bar" type of strip, stained and varnished to match.


Can a connection be established from copper wire to stainless steel bus for power connection? I have this question.

A copper cable to be connected(either crimped/ soldered/ pressure/screw fitted) to stainless steel bus bar and the bus bar is to be connected to the power supply of 12 V DC.

Now I have the following queries:

Can a connection be possible from copper wire to Stainless steel bus bar ? If yes, what are the factors need to be considered ? Can copper wire be connected to copper coated stainless steel bus bar ?
What type of connection between copper wire and steel is feasible( crimping,clamping , screw etc).
In my case, coating of stainless steel with any metal will make the connection feasible? if possible also the electric transfer efficiency of the connection in various cases?

Thanks in advance...

I think you are way over thinking this. Take your copper cable and crimp an appropriately sized copper ring terminal onto the end. Then drill and tap a threaded hole in the stainless steel bus bar that takes a screw of a size to fit nicely in the hole of the ring terminal. Simply screw the terminal to the bus bar and be done with the job.

Obviously it is up to you to select the proper sized copper cable, crimp terminal and screw that are rated for the amount of current that you want to transfer into or out of the bus bar.


Cutting off the tips of roof sheathing cap and metal screws so they don't show? I am replacing a flat carport roof with PBR metal sheets over 5/8" inch plywood sheathing with underlayment. I know 1/2 inch is strong enough, but I was thinking more of the nailing.  Anyway... it's installed.
I plan to install Tyvek 200 underlayment using 3/4" cap nails, and 1-1/2" cap nails where the joists are.
For the PBR I have the same, 1-1/2" metal to wood screws for the joists, and 3/4 for the metal to metal ribs, so I don't see any protrusions there unless I don't hit a joist which is possible.
Since it's a carport, of course when you look up at the bottom, you will see any screws protruding out.  There will be quite a few.  I guess I could live with them if I had to but I don't really want to.
Question:  Is it OK to cut off (either with my cutters or rotary tool) the tips of any protruding screws or nails?  Will it hurt the "holding power?"
FYI i am in Los Angeles.  We don't get hurricanes etc.  I looked at the high wind history for the last 20 years and it never got above 35 MPH.

The portion of a screw sticking out into space doesn't have anything to hold onto, so it's not doing any good. Once the wood has been compromised enough for the threads to pull out, additional threads will just pull through the larger hole.
A nail, OTOH, will continue to provide friction resisting pull-out for its entire length, as the hole generally isn't enlarged much due to "natural" causes pulling it out (as opposed to being broken up during intentional removal). This can be proved by trying to pull a 3" nail - it takes nearly as much effort to get the last inch out as it does the first inch.
This is a long winded way of saying "go to town cutting them off".
Also, if you take the time to measure where the joists are and snap chalk lines on your roofing, you'll have about a 99.99% chance of getting every screw into a joist, so you won't have anything to worry about in the first place. Getting the screws right up front will probably take less time than cutting off the ends later anyway.


Reverse osmosis water saddle doesn't fit waste pipe The reverse osmosis filters waste clamp (40mm) doesnt fit on my waste pipe (50mm)
I ordered a 6mm compression fitting to use an npt taper
The compression fitting took 3 weeks to arrive and I'm trying to measure the male end its maybe 9mm
In inches this comes at 0.35
I cannot find an npt taper size for this
I cannot find a 50mm waste clamp
Please help, what can I do?
Edit:

As you can see the original U bend is 40mm but too short with no space for the clamp
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6mm-28mm-Brass-Compression-Fittings-Straight-Elbow-tee-plumbing-copper-pipe-/233205545815?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292
This is the 6mm elbow compression fitting I have
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BSF-Taper-Plug-3-16-1-2-Carbon-Steel-Thread-Cutter-British-Standard-Fine-/123818093525?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292
I ordered this because I feel 3/8inch is the closest to the size of the compression fittings thread size
Should I order "pvc cement" incase it is a bit loose?

I ran into a similar situation and not being able to locate the correct sized part (saddle) I successfully installed a hose barb fitting

Looking at your photo I can't easily find an acceptable location for a threaded barb fitting. Ideally it should be oriented vertically and on top of any pipe section. And obviously before the trap.
If it's possible to add a short extension of pipe to the connection where the flexible hose is attached so as to allow an attachment point that would facilitate connecting the new fitting.
Installation is a simple matter of drilling a slightly undersized hole and forcefully turning the fitting into it after wrapping the threads with Teflon tape.


What tools or technique to use for cutting hinge and dead bolt recesses? I have to hang several new six panel interior doors. Since these are not pre-hung they don't have the recesses cut away for hinges or the bolt or the door handle. I have the jig to use to cut out the hole for the handle. However, I don't know where to begin to cut away the recesses for the hinges. I suppose I could just use a chisel but that seems slow and likely to result in rough corners and uneven depth. I thought about using a routing tool as well.

What is the correct, professional way of prepping the door to be hung on an existing frame?

You'll find good resources on the web that have already been written/video'd with a search term like "How to Mortise Hinges on Interior Door".

If I wasn't using a purpose-built jig for this task, I'd use a router freehand to get most of the hinge mortise cut, and finish the edges with a sharp chisel.

It's not clear if the existing jambs are already mortised for hinges, but if they are, I'd make a story stick** to mark your door.

Pay attention to how plumb/square the jamb is, as that'll affect where the door will sit within. (Just as an example, if the head of the jamb is sloped, you'll either accept an uneven reveal across the top, or custom cut the top of the door to fit the opening. Either of these will affect where the hinges go.)

When you've cut your mortises, be prepared to play around with the fit... sometimes strategically loosening a few screws to get the hinge leaf to sit right will be all it takes to get a door to fit well.

I'm not going to lie to you: doing new doors in old construction isn't easy. Take your time. Do the least visible one first and learn from it.

** story stick (story pole) -- a stick (1x1 or 1x2 works well) around 78" for most interior door applications but ymmv. Simply hold it up to the top of the door jamb on the hinge side, mark about 1/8" for the reveal, then continue down the stick and mark where the existing hinges start and stop. ((This is where you need to know if the top of your door jamb is level! If it isn't, you should probably cut the door first, then lay out your hinges.)) Carry the stick over to your door; set it aligned to the 1/8" mark and the top of the door, and transfer the marks for your hinge locations. If you're lucky, all your doors are the same, and you'll only have to use one set of marks.


How can I protect my (engineered) hardwood floor from scratching? I have engineered hardwood that scratches easily (be it from furniture being slid on it, a kid playing with hard toys on it, or simply from regular wear and tear). We currently mitigate the scratching by coloring the wood with some Old English. However, we would like to treat the floor with something to keep it from scratching so easily going forward.

Unlike, this question our wood is relatively new, is not brittle and dull, and definitely does not splinter. I am also not looking for spot treatment, I am open to something that I do to the entire floor.

I read of a few possibilities, that I'll put here for discussion.

Would oil or water based polyurethane work?

Would applying non-slip wax do the trick?

What about some type of varnish?

Note, the idea would be to avoid having to sand down and refinish the floors, but if thats my only option, please say so. The wood layer is thick enough that it could be refinished if need be.

I really doubt you can sand your floors.  Some engineered floors can be but this is a very small percent.  And this would be a diy because pros won't want to be responsible for the thin top layer sanding through.

One of the things I have found with engineered hardwood is the clear coat varies drastically from different types.  I have tested a lot and some scratch by pushing a penny across it and others I have had to stab full force with a screwdriver.  I am guessing yours scratches with a penny.

So the only cost effective thing that would definitely help would be to add a couple layers of poly.  You may need several layers.

http://www.clarkeus.com/clarkerental/~/media/029C45196DC6413FAC0CCF1922BD1BFA.ashx


How do I take apart this shower control? Our shower mixer is leaking (dripping from shower head and from the mixer when running) so I want to take it apart to replace the seals

However I can’t get the white cap off to expose, I hope, a screw or bolt holding it all together.

Am I going about this the wrong way? Is the thread left or right handed, if threaded at all? Should i just take the back plate off first?

The white handle sticking out on the right-hand side, which turns on the water by rotating anti-clockwise, can be unscrewed from the centre shaft. So I'm thinking of cutting the silicone around the back plate to see if that can be pulled off; the size of the hole in the back plate would just go over the "tap" handle on the front.

Any help would be most appreciated.

Eventually, with more force applied, the front cap did unscrew (standard right hand thread) to reveal a 16mm hex insert.

However, this was misleading, as inside the tap handle is a screw. Removing the screw allows the handle to be pulled out.

Inside, the next stage is held on with a washer and C clip. They have already been removed in this picture - you will also notice the tap is no longer in the wall!

Removing the tiny C-clip, and the temperature limiting button, allows this section to be pulled out; it required some force to get it to move. The next stage had another C-clip behind the toothed wheels.

After removing the clip I could not get the final stage out of the valve. Here's a picture of all the clips (sorry they are not in the correct order!)

It was at this point I gave up trying and decided to extract it from the wall. This also proved difficult as it had been installed before the false wall was put in. This resulted in a number of tiles needing to be removed and the plywood "wall" chiselled to get access.

With no knowledge of how it was fixed to the wall I levered it off - not pretty. Once removed I noticed some small grub screws holding the two parts together. Even if I'd known about them I not sure I would have been able to get a hex key in there to take them out.

I then set about removing and capping the pipes, rebuilding the wall with a ply insert, and tiling. I did not have any of the original tiles but managed to find some in a local shop, even though they are a bit of a darker shade. Job done!

I hope some of this information helps others trying to remove old shower valves.


What diameter of Metal Gate posts are needed for a 10' x 4' tubal gate I want to install a 10' tubular gate using a steel or aluminum gate posts.  My question is what diameter do I need to use to keep it from sagging?  I guess I should purchase a 8' length for my 4' fence but what diameter?

Any steel post of 3 or 4" (2" if it is a light weight gate) sunk in the ground 3 ft with concrete poured around will hold a steel gate and not bend. However, in my experience the real problem is, depending on your soil type and moisture, the weight will gradually pull the post over.  Two solutions:  1) On the hinge side use two posts 4ft apart with cross bracing.  2) if the area is reasonably level, buy an wheel to put on the free end.  It will take all the weight save you a lot of potential problems down the road.


Should I caulk the gap between a wood threshold and concrete? I want to sand down and paint the threshold to my front door, pictured below. The wood itself is fine (not rotten).
There is a small gap between where the wood sits on the concrete steps.
I assume I should seal this gap - can anyone please advise what I should use?
Should I seal it before or after painting?

I would use Quad sealant. It is paint-able or comes in colors.
I would use a paint stripper to remove as much paint as you can,  I like the citrus based strippers. Mask off the door jamb and the wood floor inside and apply the stripper, use gloves and a disposable brush.  After it does it's job of loosening the old paint you can scrape it all off. (It may take a couple of applications) You could also strip the brass threshold piece, it is removable, and polish it up.
Once you get as much old paint off as you can you sand smooth, fill any voids and sand again. Use a  the pointy end of a 5in1 tool to clean out the gap, you do not want any old paint, stripper or debris left in there.
The Quad can be applied before or after painting, it depends on if you can get it in the color to match your paint or you need to paint to match.
When you apply the Quad you need to mask off the concrete and the wood, it is tenacious stuff. (* The key is to practice first so you can get a feel for how much to apply, not to much*)
They recommend that you do not tool it, but i find you can smooth it if you dip your finger in a soapy water solution, or better, mist it with a spray bottle) and gently run you finger over the surface. Remove the tape immediately.


Can anyone identify this shower door rubber gasket? Can anyone identify this rubber seal or recommend an alternative? Its old and mildewy and needs replacing
https://imgur.com/a/eejjQrW
https://imgur.com/a/MogzFD3
sincerely,
overwhelmed first time homeowner

Try searching this Pemko Catalog. I think they are the largest manufacturer of weatherstripping, etc.
https://absupply.net/pdf/PemkoFullCatalog2012.pdf
If you find something close, you can get it (or order it) through your local lumber yard. Amazon has some of the most popular styles, sizes, etc. too.


Best room for egress window? I have a basement with a partially finished bedroom (currently used as storage) on one side, a gas furnace and tankless water heater at the foot of the staircase in the middle, and a newly finished family room and art studio on the other side. I need an egress window to complete the project and am trying to figure out the best place for it.

Local code here in Portland, Oregon says an egress window should be installed in the bedroom if the basement has a bedroom, and otherwise in a room you spend significant time in. I might complete the finishing of the basement bedroom in the future (say 2-3 years), so it would be nice to locate the egress window there to meet that requirement. But currently, we spend more time in the other rooms.

Another factor is that the best place structurally to put the egress window is in the bedroom. That has an existing window that could be enlarged, while placing it in the other rooms would require creating a new opening and modifying a load-bearing wall. So current practicality and future planning would point toward locating it in the bedroom, while the utmost consideration of current safety would point toward locating it in the family room.

One factor I don't understand is what kinds of situations an egress window would help in. Is a fire likely to occur near the furnace or the staircase, blocking a path from the family room on one side of the basement to the bedroom on the other side? Or would an egress window anywhere in the basement be accessible in most emergencies? I have a contractor to do the installation, but he wasn't sure about the relative safety benefits of the two locations.

In short, I think one option is to locate the egress window in the bedroom, even though that isn't used as a bedroom now, so that it will be ready if we ever want to use it as a bedroom in the future. And the other option is to locate the egress window in the family room, knowing that if we ever want to use the bedroom as a bedroom, we would then need a second egress window there. What would you do, and why?

It goes in the bedroom because it will have a door, and that door may become blocked or might be inadvisable to open during a fire.

If there's no walls yet in the basement, or at least no doors, anywhere in the basement will serve your current requirement. There's no reason to not put it where it eventually belongs.

The idea is that the entire rest of your house could be on fire and when you wake up in that bedroom you have somewhere to go. In an open floor plan, consider the basement as one giant bedroom that needs two means of egress: the window and the staircase.

Proximity to gas fired equipment isn't really a concern (I don't think). It might be best if it wasn't near them but not if that's where it should go, which is situation dependent (this may warrant further research, see *below).

IIRC most home fires stem from electrical faults and from open flame or space heaters. So you need to be prepared for anything.

*This is all off the cuff, your codes may be quite particular about these things and your contractor should be well aware of them, or they shouldn't be your contractor. IMO that is the difference between a handyman and a contractor.


Found an old tool - What is it? I found this with a bunch of other old tools. This is the only one I can't figure out what it is. I wonder if it's a home made tool for some unique purpose. Or maybe it was just for made for fun out of random available parts. Or was this something mass produced in the 1800s? I'm curious. The two black bulb handles rotate and the metal piece on the bottom also rotates. Kind of looks like a door handle. Also looks like it could be a spool of some sort. Any ideas?

If I can think on this : while it looks like a military field operators wire spool for a communication link or possibly demolitions (not as likely).  This is neither of those items.

The clip at the handle actually is the wire holder (or shall I say Fishing Line Holder). Hook the Line there and then you can spool it onto the reel and catch the fish with out losing your line. Yours is in rough shape ..used well..must have had lots of fish..

What you have is a Vintage Surf Fishing Reel .. here are several pictures and a link to ebay ..

Links - this link in time will fail so I am posting it for the op ..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/192292267334?vectorid=229466&lgeo=1&item=192292267334&rmvSB=true


Furnace third burner won't come on I have a Trane furnace and the third out of three burners doesn't want to come on.  The surface ignitor will light, the gas to the first two burners kicks on, but the third burner that that shoots flames into the flame sensor doesn't come on and then the furnace will shut off in a couple seconds and then will try to repeat this for a few times.  Sometimes it will eventually light, but sometimes it won't.

Do I just need to take the burners apart and give it a good cleaning?  I'm a self admitted cheapskate and like to do the work myself to save money but when it comes to anything that has to do with gas, sometimes I'll fork over the money to hire a technician.  Is this something that's easy enough to do myself or just go ahead and get a hvac guy out?  I've done many home repairs successfully with the help of youtube but this particular one I'm having a hard time finding a detailed video that goes through steps.

I agree with the response above it is imperative that your gas pressure be right. Manifold pressure is 3.5" in our area. Although if you pressure was significantly down I doubt if any of the burners would light. Let me tell you what I ran into one time.  I basically had the same thing, three burners would light just fine but nothing on the fourth.  I checked my pressure, all good.  It was also the first start-up in the fall.  I pulled the manifold out and started looking at orifices.  I was checking the bore on the orifices.  I looked into the #4 orifice and I saw what looked like a white film.  Now I'm totally scratching my head.  I unscrew the #4 orifice.  Out comes a family of I mean tiny spiders.  I had never seen spiders so small, like half the size of a period on the end of a sentence.  They were so small that they could easily crawl through the orifice.  The white film was actually spider web.  They had webbed across the orifice opening from the inside.  The 3.5" of gas pressure was not enough to break through the web.  It totally blocked the gas.  I asked the customer for a Que-tip, swabbed out the opening, put it all back together and away she went.  Good Luck!


What type of Drill should I go for? I am planning to build a new Computer table and a book shelf by myself.
I will require a drill machine that can drill a hole into wood and that can also drive a screw into this hole (using the drill, not manually). Would I require an Impact drill / Hammer drill / any other type of drill machine?

I would also occasionally use it for drilling into brick (not concrete).
I have created a filter based on budget and Brand in the shop where I would be buying. A suggestion of the product here would be even more helpful: Click Here

First you need to decide if you want one drill to do everything. It isn't always the best choice but it can be a good choice if drilling into brick or concrete is rare.

Functional types

Drill Driver - should include separate settings for drilling and driving.
There will be a variable torque setting that avoids tearing the heads of screws.
Combi Drill - Adds a hammer-action function for more efficient (faster) drilling
into brick and concrete using masonry drill-bits.

It is worth saying that a separate impact driver is probably a good buy if you do a lot of driving of screws. It also saves you from having to frequently swap between drill-bit  and screwdriver-bit.

You can get hex-drive drill-bits for drilling small holes. They are more expensive but this quick-change ability might be useful if you have only one tool for both drilling and driving.

Power

You also need to choose between corded and non-corded

Battery portable - much more convenient, especially for outdoor use.
Batteries need replacing every few years and are not cheap.
The drills themselves are not cheap, though budget brands exist.
Corded - Generally much cheaper and more powerful.
You have the obvious inconvenience of a lead. A Corded drill and an extension lead
will probably be more effective for drilling brick and concrete.

If you pick a battery drill, you'll need to consider voltage and capacity (Amp-Hours or Ah). For lightweight occasional use a 10.8V drill is adequate. The newer models are very good. If you really need more power and don't care so much about weight and handling qualities you could go for a higher voltage system.

You sometimes get a choice of battery chargers, the more expensive ones monitor battery-state and prevent overcharging. I've ruined a battery by accidentally leaving it on-charge overnight instead of for 3 hours. A plug-in timer-socket can help. More recent battery types (i.e. not NiCd) may be less prone to this issue.

If you buy a corded drill, it is worth considering ones with a standard 43mm collar. This would let you later use it with a drill-stand.

Masonry

If you really want to drill deep, wide holes in masonry as easily as in butter, buy a corded SDS drill. Also good if your main objective is to impress friends and passing females†. I suppose you could use one to drive screws in much the same way you could use it to hammer in nails.

Brand

Note that most manufacturers have both home-owner and tradesman brands (e.g. Bosch have "green" and "blue" ranges, DeWalt is the more tradesman-oriented brand of Black&Decker). Unless you can get a special price or expect to use the tool many hours every day of every week -- you should probably buy a non-professional brand.

There is considerable range of quality in drills. In my opinion, the cheapest stuff is only worth buying if you don't need precision or reliability and expect to write-off the investment and throw it away after a single project. If you want a tool to last ten years I would buy the better-known US, European or Japanese brands - who are likely to care about their reputation. A lot of big-box store-specific brands seem to be custom-badged cheap very low quality products made in anonymous factories in China.

Me

My first drill was a Black & Decker corded two-speed drill. I still have it (it is ancient) but nowadays it sometimes makes a nasty shrill noise on the high-speed range so I replaced it with a Bosch corded combi-drill that was on special offer. I don't use this often

I have a Bosch blue 10.8V combi-drill that has 2Ah batteries. I am very impressed with this. It replaces a heavier Black & Decker 12V combi drill that I broke. This is what I use most.

I have a small Bosch 3.6V screwdriver for convenience (saves swapping bits and is v small) - I wouldn't expect it to drive hundreds of screws in a session!

† It won't. They might humour your self-deception a little though.


Can I charge my Electric Car from two 120v home circuits? I'm in the USA. I'm wanting to use two different 120v 15A plugs that are on different circuits at the same time to charge my car. I'm thinking of creating a hub adaptor that is the inverse of what is below.

Where there would be two male NEMA-5 plugs reconciling one female NEMA-5. Since current always flows to the female, I would plug my car's charge cable like normal (which is rated for much higher loads than I would ever encounter).

Should this work? Is there anything I'm failing to consider?

No one is focusing on the code we should be saying we need to be referencing the national electric code.
NEC 625.40  electric vehicle branch circuit . Each outlet shall be a dedicated circuit and have no other outlets.
So simply stated the answer is NO it cannot be done the way you want. This reason and about 20 other different reasons as others have indicated.


Can anyone identify this device, attached to roof in living room corner? A friend of mine found this device in the corner of the ceiling in the living room of his recently purchased house. The previous owner has no idea what it was.
One of the KDU connectors goes into the roof and the CON3 cable was just hanging loose inside the box.
Given the SPEED, PUMP and DUMP LEDs, we suspect it has something to do with air conditioning but we're not sure.
Any ideas would be most welcome.

My best guess is a controller unit for a HVAC system with an (optional) humidifier.
AGA is a well-known manufacturer of heating systems and ovens, but they used to make HVAC systems as well in the past.
The salinity sensor solder-pads (unused on this PCB) lead me to the humidifier part guess. (Salinity only makes sense of you have a connected water-supply somewhere.)
The KDU (Keyboard Display Unit ?) connectors most likely were hookups to a controlling keypad/thermostat.
The wires on the bottom-left probably go to the actual HVAC unit in the attic. (Or go were that unit used to be.) And this controller would get its operating power from the HVAC via those wires as well.
Having a 9V battery clip inside such a unit wouldn't be unusual either. Typically so it retains its settings during a power-cut.


Cannot find the common wire in "box #2" on a three way circuit I have a three wire circuit wired incorrectly and it doesn't work the way it should.

If the switch with the hot wire is switched on (Box #1), the other switch works as it should (Box #2).  However, if the switch in Box #1 is switched off, the Box #2 switch doesn't function at all.

I have a multimeter and was able to locate the hot wire in the first box, and found continuity on the two traveler wires in box #2.  The problem is, the remaining wire is not black, it's red and there is ZERO continuity between the hot wire and this remaining red wire.

In this same box (box #2) is a single pole switch that controls the fan motor.  I tried taking the not-hot black lead and switching it with the red lead that should be the common for the fan light, but then nothing worked.  Not the fan, not the light.  I am stumped at this point.

The switch with the hot wire almost works like a drop leg circuit instead of the way it should.  Should I take ALL the wires out of box #2 and test each one until I find one that has continuity with the hot wire from box #1?

You may be confused as to how 3-way circuits work, since you seem to be expecting certain colors, and are discussing "on" and "off".   3-ways do not have "on" or "off", they merely have "traveler 1" or "traveler 2".

The two travelers are interchangeable, and always run together in the same cable (with a third wire to complete the circuit).   They are almost never yellow, but I recommend you mark them with yellow tape on both ends - it makes it a lot easier to understand and work in 3-way boxes.

They can be any combination of the wire colors in cable - red/white, black/red, or black/white. This can even change in the same circuit!   That's why I recommend re-marking them.

I am fond of picking the traveler colors so that the remaining wire is the color of its function: white if neutral (in fact this is mandatory), black if always-hot, and red if switched-hot.

Once you are clear which wires are the travelers, make sure the travelers are landing on the brass screws on the 3-way switch.  The black screw goes to the always-hot or switched-hot.


Bonding CSST to electrical ground system I had a licensed natural gas tech/plumber install a new branch line using CSST to a new fireplace.  When I am asked him about bonding it, he said he had never heard of that before.  From everything thing I've read, bonding seems necessary (to avoid damage to the CSST from lightning strike or otherwise stray electrical charge).  What I can't wrap my head around is this: If the gas line is bonded to the electrical panel (circuit breaker service entrance) which is bonded to the water supply from the street (just a lead pipe (yes, we still have lead here) that runs through the ground), how is this different from the gas pipe which already is a metal pipe running through the ground?  It seems that the gas pipe is already grounded by virtue of being buried.  If I put what seems like an additional ground on the gas pipe, don't I run the risk of other charges on the grounding system running through the gas pipe to discharge instead of the water pipe?

The pipe only needs to be bonded at 1 place, usually this is at the meter. If it is bonded there the entire system is attached to a grounding bond and would be legal.

The gas pipe is bonded to prevent it from becoming electrified by a short. It cannot be used as a grounding electrode but the grounding electrode system needs to be attached someplace after the gas meter. I would check there as that is where the bond is usually located.

If you have lead pipes I would want to drive supplemental ground rods and get rid of the lead pipes (I hope you don’t drink the water). The reason to have a pair of additional driven grounding electrodes is a good idea for what happened to a tract of homes in my area. All the old pipe was removed and new non metallic pipe installed. A customer called because getting shocked. I discovered she had no ground and the pipe was plastic up to the house. Their utility did this to every home and the only grounding electrode was the water pipe. After installing a pair of rods she quit getting shocked. If that same case happened to you your gas pipe would end up being your electrode not safe and a code violation.


Connecting LED strips lights under outdoor stairs Hey guys I'm looking to install LED strips lights underneath the  tread of our outdoor garden stairs. I have 5 rows of stairs and each row is 1.5wide. I will need to install 5x 1.5m led strip's under each tread. My question is what's the best way to connect these strips to a power supply, in series? Or run dedicated wires to each strip and connect multiple led strip's to one power supply? Is that even possible? 12v or 24v and I'd like to have a PIR as well. Thanks in advance for any solid advice to this complete novice!

In parallel.  if you connect them in series, the last one in the string will be a lot dimmer than the first.  It's up to you whether to use fat cables running from string to string, or separate thinner wires to each.
Get an appropriate LED supply for the number of strings you're using.
You can buy standalone PIR units.  Connect your power supply to one of those.