Replacement or retrofit listed smart switches Most smart (WiFi remote) light switches available online say "neutral wire required".  For example, this Gosund dimmer.   In some older houses, this requirement for a neutral in the switch box is problematic. (I understand the NEC has been updated to require a neutral in switch boxes for new construction.   Cool.)
Reading online, I found this NEC quote:

2017 Code Language:
N 404.22 Electronic Lighting Control Switches.
Electronic lighting control switches shall be listed. Electronic lighting control switches shall not introduce current on the equipment grounding conductor during normal operation. The requirement to not introduce current on the equipment grounding conductor shall take effect on January 1, 2020.
Exception: Electronic lighting control switches that introduce current on the equipment grounding conductor shall be permitted for applications covered by 404.2(C), Exception. Electronic lighting control switches that introduce current on the equipment grounding conductor shall be listed and marked for use in replacement or retrofit applications only.

My understanding of the exception above is that allows for replacement or retrofit smart switches which use a ground rather than neutral to power the electronics.  Have I got that right?
Are such retrofit devices available?  Listed?
P.S. I understand the listing requirement to be satisfied by an ETL listing, such as the Gosund seems to have.

I see nothing in the installation instructions that indicate that it is listed or "marked for use in replacement", the instructions show a neutral connection, and do not show what to do when the neutral is missing.
Occupancy sensors that satisfy the requirement like the Leviton ODS10 state "intended to replace a standard light switch" and the instructions show connection without a neutral and indicate it "requires a ground wire to operate".


How can I make my bed non-box-spring frame stop squeaking? I have a foam mattress which rests ontop of a wooden frame (no box springs, just wooden framing).  I have had it for over 6 months and now, even the slightest movement causes the wood to squeak.  Is there a simple way to remedy this?

The frame is squeaking because two pieces of wood are rubbing against eachother.  The first thing I would do is start tightening any screws, nuts and bolts on the bed frame.  If this does not improve it you will need to locate where the squeak is coming from and determine if you can do something to hold the two components together better, such as driving a screw through the affected area.


Ceiling fan replacement motor amperage difference, is it a problem? I have a fan in my bathroom, but it appears to be dead. I took the fan apart, the "fan" is a motor piece which has a standard (US) two prong plug that you just plug into the fan outlet. The outlet works fine, I plugged a wall lamp into and it's ok.

I'm trying to get a replacement motor piece now, the unit has the following written on it:

Broan NuTone LLC
99080351
SP-61K20
120V/60Hz 0.9A

There are some other numbers on it that just look like serial numbers, I did a search for "SP-61K20", and there are some matching results. The power section is a little different though, they read:

120V/60Hz 1.2A

Is there amperage difference a problem? I figured since it's plugging into a standard outlet it shouldn't matter, but wanted to check.

Thanks

In this case, the amperage does not matter.
What you've got there is a slightly more powerful fan.

A typical outlet is on a 15 or 20 amp circuit.  You can safely turn on devices adding up to 80% of the capacity.  Thus even with your fan running you've got 90% of the capacity of a 15 amp circuit left for other devices.


Fire Extinguisher 6 year maintenance I have presented fire extinguishers to be tagged to a Florida Fire company.  They indicated that the devices are old and need a 6 year maintenance inspection.  What exactly is tested?

This seems to be a well documented maintenance procedure. I don't know much about fire extinguishers, but a quick internet search presented the following information:

Six-Year Maintenance
Every six years, stored pressure fire extinguishers that require a
12-year hydrostatic test (e.g. dry chemical extinguishers) must be
emptied and proper maintenance procedures performed [see NFPA 10(98),
Sec. 4-4.3]. The exception to this rule is nonrechargeable
extinguishers, which are required to be removed from service 12 years
from the date of manufacture. Again, this maintenance must be
performed by an approved extinguisher servicing company.

So it seems if the extinguishers are of the type that require a 12 year hydrostatic test, this appears to be a legitimate maintenance requirement. I guess it would also depend on if your locale requires you to follow the above referenced NFPA standard document or not.


Electric heat pump water heater with solar power vs. gas water heater I am getting ready to replace my current hot water heater - it is a ~15 year old tank gas water heater so I want to be prepared in case it breaks. In the summer (when I am not using gas to heat the house) I pay on average $20 per month for gas, so as a first-order approximation I pay ~$240 a year for hot water.
I also have solar panels, and currently pay nothing for electricity except for the connection fee. My electrical provider offers net metering, so excess electricity made in the summer months count towards the winter months. I haven't had the panels for a whole year so I cannot be sure that I generate a net positive amount of electricity yearly, but it is trending that way at this time. So, for the purposes of this comparison, electricity is currently either free or very cheap, but the addition of an appliance that uses a large amount of electricity could change that.
I am trying to decide whether I should replace my current tank gas water heater with a heat pump electric water heater, or with another gas water heater (of some type).
Everything I have read about electric heat pump water heaters is that they offer significant energy savings over conventional electric water heaters. I have not been able to find a direct comparison of energy used by a heat pump water heater compared to a gas water heater, so it's not clear to me if I would see any savings (either money or energy) over what I currently pay/use. In terms of potential gas water heaters, I am pretty open to any of tank, tankless, or condensing - my primary interest is saving energy and lowering monthly costs, and am OK with a large up-front cost if need be.
Taking into account that I have solar power (e.g. cheap electricity) but also have gas already set up, which of heat-pump electric or gas water heaters is likely to be the most efficient and least expensive to operate?
Update
Answers to some questions

Current water heater is in the garage, and that is where the replacement will go
Home heating uses gas
I am looking at hybrid heat pump water heaters.

Basically, my question boils down to the following: it is known that going from conventional to heat pump electric means savings, and going from conventional electric to gas means savings, but it is not clear to me in what direction the savings flows when going from gas to heat pump electric.

Is your water heater inside the home or outside? I ask this because heat pumps use heat transfer using the heat of the area they are in to create heat.
Ok to put it more simply if the water heater is inside the home when the water heater is extracting heat to store in the tank it is cooling that area just like an air conditioner would.
So are heat pumps more efficient inside the home envelope barely when compared to electric but compared to gas it will cost more. Also remember that 15 year old gas water heater that is still running , you now have a fancy electronic controlled thermal transfer system with a compressor to pump the process, do you think that will last as long as a new simple gas water heater?
I would gladly go back to gas, faster recovery and less monthly cost.
I you might think well I don’t like electric stuff.  I am a professional electrician that also has universal 608 and 609 (HVAC&R  & MVAC) licensees and I like gas better.
The only possible advantage is your electric utility may have incentives to go heat pump usually electric to electric but check.
My utility paid 99% of me installing my unit but I am licensed so most of the install cost was just my time.  Edit they gave me most of the cost of the heat pump unit.


What's wrong with my painting technique? I'm struggling with paint. I've been using a high-gloss Behr enamel for our trim work in our house.

This photo shows a door on the left that was rolled on, and the casing on the right, which was brushed on.

I don't mind brush strokes (not that they are intentional, but I do find they give a bit of interest) but rather it's the light/dark spottiness I get everywhere.

I can't tell what causes it. I don't think it's coverage, as all surfaces were primed (white) and then got two coats. It's as if the paint, as it dries, splotches like this. I'm about to apply a 3rd coat, but it's frustrating to paint trim with 3 coats.

It seem like every coat I give it, the problem persists.

Any ideas as to what the issue is? Can I improve my technique? Lousy paint? Something else?

(Ignore the blue tinge...that's just a side effect of the iPhone's camera).

Latex paints have a known attribute that allows certain things to persistently come through the paint even though you try applying multiple layers.

I once had a problem of a wall that had a poster glued to it by a previous owner. I removed the poster and apparently the glue residue, however small it was, kept changing the paint I applied over that area.

Another time I was trying to paint a door that had been finished with an oil based product. I had worked diligently to strip and sand off the old finish before painting. Unfortunately the old finish had penetrated the wood to varying degrees in different spots. The paint I applied to the door was not uniform even after four or five coats - hard to remember exactly how many as it was 25 years ago.

The fix for both of these problems is to apply a sealer / primer product  like Kilz before applying the final paint. One needs to make sure the surface is properly prepared before applying the sealer / primer. Light sanding can help and washing with a strong solution of hot water and TSP can help.


Why did I need to switch several appliances in order to power my electric stove? This is a bit more theoretical but I am confused as to how this may have happened. I own an electric stove that is plugged into one of those large 240V sockets on the wall. Yesterday when I switched on the oven the appliance completely shut off but did not trip the circuit breaker so no other devices around my kitchen switched off. In order to turn it on again I tried to reset the circuit breaker but that didn't work. Then someone suggested that I power off some of my AC's which consume about half a KW, I did and after I reset the circuit breaker once again sure enough, the stove turned on. Needless to say I was completely dumbfounded.

So question 1) why would only the stove itself switch off without tripping the circuit breaker? It is simply connected to the socket without any sort of surge protector. 2) Most importantly why would I need to unplug some of the other appliances in my house just to turn the stove on? this is what confused me the most. I thought things just scaled, I am sure the power grid can carry much bigger loads than whatever my house was consuming.

I'm assuming you are in the United States for this answer. A stove is normally on a dedicated circuit which means it alone is the only load wired to a particular circuit breaker. This means nothing else would have been affected if your stove's breaker tripped. The breaker for your stove will be larger than a normal 120V breaker in your panel so you would have had to reset this if the breaker indeed tripped. If your stove was still on, resetting the breaker may have been difficult; the switch may have been difficult or impossible to switch to the "ON" position.

I am assuming you unknowingly reset the breaker when you were switching things in your breaker panel. If you are certain you didn't, then you may have never actually tripped a breaker and have some other electrical problem.


How do I get even temperatures in my two-story house? There is only one A/C system in the house. I noticed there is at least several degrees difference between the two stories.

How do I get both stories to have the same temperature?

If you have forced air, running just the blower fan to recirculate the air may help. Most thermostats have a way to manually set the fan to "auto" or "on", and you can also get thermostats where you can program the fan to come on at regular intervals.

Beyond that, there are changes you can make with varying levels of difficulty and cost:

Plant trees or install blinds to shade windows where sun is coming in and heating the room more than the rest of the house
Check for poor insulation around the house (this can be done with an IR sensor or camera).
Check for and fix drafts and air leakage
Install a multi-zone heating system. This requires some potentially major work to the house -- varying from installing dampers and separate controls to installing a second HVAC system -- but it would give you complete control over heating/cooling in two (or more) areas of the house.


Does my new soil pipe need additional venting? I'm moving my bathroom to the adjacent corner in my house, and would like to know if I need to vent my soil pipe with my planed system before it reaches the existing external soil stack. Going directly through the floor is not possible as drilling holes through the joist will weaken them. Also, I can not exit out the rear of the property.

So my plan was to allow my toilet to connect directly down into a manifold so sink and shower can connect too. From there the pipe will travel vertically for approx 2.4 meters, then to a couple of 45 elbows to bring the pipe work to horizontal and to offset no more than 200mm, then it would run for approximately 4.5 meter before connecting into the external stack.

Does this branch require venting from the bathroom end?

If so can it be done internally with some kind clever vent?

Cheers

The plumbing code and good common sense requires that you vent every fixture somehow.

I am not a plumber but in my reading of their code this branch would require a minimum of a 2" vent for the bathroom group run up to the attic and through the roof or terminate in an air admittance valve a minimum of 6" above the flood rim of the highest fixture (sink). (Some people hate AAVs, some say they are fine.) The waste line would have to be a minimum of 3" to the toilet and the shower and sink should have their own vents joining the main vent. These need to go vertical until they are at least 6" above the flood rim of the sink.

I am sure there are some finer points a real plumber could show you but the gist of it is: every fixture needs to be vented or you will siphon the trap and have sewer gas backing up into the house and boy will you be sorry then. A little plastic pipe now will save you from being very unpopular later.

Good luck!


Optimize insulation cost / benefit I have roof made by scheme from images. Both should be same, just different angle.
I have 20cm of space yet to fill. How can I calculate conductivity in W/m2K if i fill missing 20cm of space with 20cm of mineral wool or if i fill just 10cm and leave 10cm of air. I would like to know this because i want to know heat loss ratios between walls, roof and windows to rationally spend same amount of money to get best insulation for my house. Maybe ill leave this empty and buy better windows, or maybe take thicker insulation for walls. Notice that some insulation already exists, 12 cm of glass wool and 2 x 2.5cm of wood. My question is about remaining 20 cm of space.

[Update]
Several facts that matter here, this object is in Croatia, see temperature graph below.
It will serve for 4-seasonal living, insulation required to keep heating bill lover in winter and to prevent heating during summer when temperatures can be sometimes 35-40 Celsius.

Where are you located and is this for a 4-season living space?

You want to insulate your ceiling to keep the warmth in (if in a climate with a heating season) or keep the heat out (if in a climate with a longer cooling season).  Assuming you are in a region where you need to heat your house.

You will lose more heat through an uninsulated ceiling than you could ever recover through better wall insulation or better windows.

Make sure you extend your insulation over the exterior walls to the edge, otherwise you will lose a lot of heat through the corners at the exterior wall.


What besides smoke might trigger a hardwired smoke detector? Sometimes my hardwired smoke alarm goes off for a few seconds for no apparent reason.  For example I am not cooking or burning any substance.  It is 3 years old and has a new battery.

Other than smoke, are there unusual gases or particles that will activate it?

The ionization type detector in question is a BRK First Alert Model No. 9120B

My hard wired smoke alarms go off for no reason once in a while. I noticed it often happens during sudden weather changes so it might be humidity. I also wonder if small insects might get into the alarms and trigger them


Sanded wall rough after brushing / rolling Kilz Original -- should I sand or is this normal? I'm remodeling a pantry space in my home that had glossy dark purple paint on two walls and more matte gray paint on the other two. After removing shelving and wall anchors and completing wall repairs with spackle, I completely sanded the surface with an orbital sander using 120 grit to prepare for primer. I then swept, vacuumed, and rinsed the walls with a wet rag to remove dust; the walls were smooth to the touch. Last night, I rolled Kilz Original primer onto the walls. Today, the surface looks like this:

I'm not sure if this is what it's supposed to look like, but I painted some finish coat (Ben Moore Regal, Eggshell) over it and it still seems to have the same rough surface qualities:

Is this what Kilz Original primer is supposed to look like when applied? Should I sand the walls again before applying top coat? Could this be because I used the cheaper "Best" roller from Walmart (I think not, because the brush marks are also pronounced)? I tried sanding a small area today, but it clogged the paper. Am I overthinking this? I've never used Kilz Original primer before, but I have used BIN, and it didn't really look like this (but it was over a light color).

Could it be that your roller is a TEXTURED roller and not a smooth roller.

Many rollers that are available for purchase can have a texture by design and others by fault that they will leave on a smooth surface even 3/8 knap rollers, and some paints because of how they are made might be more susceptible to roller defects especially primers as the intent for a primer is coverage.

Search for a roller that has a very small knap or if the area is small enough prime it with a spray paint or a smooth flat style brush - typically a flat style brush is used for knockout work. I have used it on a small wall before with nice results.


Possible New Cracks in basement of 18 year old house My mother moved into a ranch house in August. House was built in 2002 and sat vacant for probably 8 months before she moved it. In August the roof was replaced, in October shrubs torn out all around and soil added to slightly slope from house with grass planted.
Starting about 2 months ago my mother says she's hearing loud noises from the basement and thinks there are more small cracks in the wall than before. I don't think this possible but want other opinions.
The inspection mentioned a few small cracks, nothing to worry about. There might be 15 cracks, all hairline, some vertical, some more diagonal. I don't see why this would suddenly start nor that anything should be done, whether the cracks are new or not.
On the first floor there's one place where the drywall tape at the ceiling/wall has separated for about 4 feet since she moved it.
Would these cracks make any noises? We've discussed if it's the ductwork contracting, etc. without resolution. I was there about 6 hours today for the first time in months and we didn't hear anything.

Cracks in walls mean movement due to external forces. Noises are usually from settlement of the structure (from lumber drying out and shrinking).
The narrow vertical cracks in the block wall are probably caused by foundation settlement or sol movement. Unless water is leaking through them they shouldn't be a serious problem. It would be wise to monitor them to ensure they don't increase in size.
This is probably the noise your mom hears in the still of the night. Creaks and groans are common with a house trying to get situated.
Fill the cracks with a urethane caulking. If cracks are active you will see new gaps along the caulk.


How to determine what caused this crack on the wall? All of a sudden this morning I saw about a 14 foot crack on a wall facing the outside (no neighbours) and I'm freaking out. I'm sure I would have noticed it before.  The fact that it probably appeared overnight worries me. Should be I concerned or is just a cosmetic problem?

Background: it's a condo which is only 1.5 years old on the 17th floor.  It's been -14 to -20 °C (7 to -4 °F) for weeks if that helps.

It seems to be a very superficial crack in the paint but I have never seen something like it.  The crack is a straight line starting 2 feet below the ceiling and goes in a straight line down.  I'm  used to seeing cracks that are crooked.

Is this type of crack common and what is the cause?  Does it require professional help?  Is the place going to crack?  How do I find out the cause?

Cracks are almost always caused by shifting, vibrations or impacts.  Cracks in walls that are perfectly straight usually follow a seam where two pieces of drywall meet.  If the crack is just in the paint or the drywall then its unlikely itself to be a structural problem though there might be a more serious underlying problem.

Assuming it is drywall here, repairing it is the same as any other drywall repair - mud, sand, paint.


Sill Pan for Exterior Door - Importance VS. Requirement I am installing a new secondary entrance door and deciding whether to use a plastic sill pan from HD or Lowes. Neither store, nor any lumber yards around me, carry these in stock. That leads me to question whether these are required by code (or by the building inspection department, who sometimes have "favorite" items they look for, whether code requirement or not). Some places we called said that we should just use flashing tape, which we were gonna use anyway, even with the sill pan. The door will have minimal to no overhang for protection from the elements.

Any ideas?

The Code does not require a sill pan for doors or windows.

However, I live in a high wind area and wind will drive rain up hill between every crack and crevice in siding, thresholds, etc.  Here it would be silly not to use a sill pan, but we use a one piece stainless steel pan AND set it in roofing mastic. We even use it at deep overhang areas like porches, because the walls, windows, doors, etc. are washed from time to time.


how to remove ALKCO flourescent L40 bulb I've got ALKCO "Lincandescent" flourescents in the master bath in a house built 8 years ago.  They apparently discontinued the fixture around the same time.  One bulb has burned out, I can't figure out how to remove it, and the mfr can't help.  Here's the product:
https://rexel-cdn.com/Products/84825A51-8E8A-441A-B16B-8D0CB23D2E6F/84825A51-8E8A-441A-B16B-8D0CB23D2E6F.pdf
Most flourescent tubes have pins on the ends and you twist out the bulb.  But these tubes don't have end-pins.  The tubes apparently look like this:
https://www.rexelusa.com/usr/Root-Category/Lamps%2C-Bulbs%2C-Ballasts/Bulbs---Incandescent/Incandescent---Tubular/Lamps---T10/Alkco-L40-Incandescent-Lamp%2C-T10%2C-40%22%2C-150W/p/206983
Any advice on how to remove it?  Thanks!
.
.
Thanks for the great advice.  Yes, it IS an incandescent, even though it's a long tube and has what looks like a ballast.  And quite right, when I pulled it straight out, very very firmly, it did come out, without breaking.  I replaced it with an LED, which is brighter and a bit harsher.  Now I need to decide if that's OK, or if I'll look for one that matches the brightness and color of the other three.
Thanks to all for the accurate advice and guidance.

The bulbs pull straight out, there are spring clips on the back sides at each end making the connections. If you grab the bulb at the ends and pull straight out from the fixture, it will come out. Sometimes, because these were often used as vanity lights in bathrooms, the spring clips and connectors on the bulb will corrode, making it tough to remove them.


Connecting Wood/Electric Furnace to Smart Thermostat UPDATE:

I spoke with an ecobee tech and they pointed me to an alternative solution.
If I get an adapter called a "Fast-Stat Common Maker", all I need to do is figure out where to connect the C-Wire at the furnace board and it should do the trick.

So question now is: Where can I tap into this wiring setup to get my 24V C-Wire feed?

Original question:

We'd like to install a smart thermostat in our home which is heated by a central Wood/Electric furnace (Wood being the primary heat source).

Currently, there is a group of 4 wires running from the furnace's command block to 2 thermostats on the main floor.

2 of the wires go to a simple mercury-tube thermostat which controls the dampers for the wood heat. (We keep this one at 26C so that it's always open if the fire is burning).

The other 2 wires had an identical setup (with a mercury thermostat) for the electric heat source, but a few years ago we replaced it with a programmable Honeywell thermostat so that we could program the electric heat when we were away for a few days (when we obviously couldn't make fires to heat the house).
I've got this one wired very basically: 1 wire to 'R' and 1 wire to 'W'.

What we're hoping to setup now is a smart thermostat so we can see/control the electric heat from our phones when we're away. (We don't need the Alexa/Siri functionality)

Only problem is every smart thermostat I've found requires a "C-wire" which isn't present in the current configuration.
The Ecobee3 Lite comes with a Power Extender Kit, but the instructions still reference control board wiring letters that aren't present at the furnace.

The wiring diagrams for my furnace can be found in the manual here: Page 18 or Page 23 (I'm just not sure what blower motor I have, but it's the PSG-4000 Wood/Electric Combo).

Is it even possible to hook up one of these thermostats?

Are there alternative thermostats that have the Wi-Fi functionality but don't require the C-Wire ?

Bonus question: For the thermostat that controls the wood furnace dampers, is it ill-advised to convert that to just a simple on/off switch?

EDIT:
Here is the wiring diagram:

You have two 24VAC transformers here, and that's where the fun starts

Your system is unusual in that it has two 24V control transformers within it -- one for the electric side that powers the relay and contactor, and a second for the wood side that powers the servo motor.  Furthermore, the transformer for the servo motor is half the size of the transformer for the electric side of this furnace (20VA vs 40VA), limiting its ability to power a power-hungry WiFi thermostat as well.  Given that the wood-side transformer has its C wire exposed at the control terminal block and the electric side transformer doesn't, that leaves you with two options:

Replace the 20VA 24VAC transformer with a 40VA version (40VA HVAC control transformers are utterly bog standard) and then tap C at terminal 6 on the furnace's control terminal block, using a 24VAC SPST relay to allow the thermostat to control the electric side.
Tap the electric-side C terminal, likely at terminal 7 on the relay, and then use a 24VAC SPST relay to allow the thermostat to control the wood side.

Something like this would suffice for this application as far as relays go (technically, it's not UL listed for standalone use, but for mounting into a furnace, that's not a big deal).


How can I visually conceal a crack in my concrete driveway? There is a crack on the sidewalk and front of my garage. I want to repair or cover the crack so that everything looks even and uniform.
Any ideas on how to approach this problem? Thanks in advance.

There are really only two solutions from a aesthetic standpoint:

Coat the entire slab with a surfacing product (which may or may not conceal the crack for the long term--depends on seasonal/traffic movement)
Replace the slab

You can't visually "fix" cracks like that in concrete. The color and texture will never match well, making the situation much more conspicuous than it is now.


Do I need an outlet box to install an outdoor light fixture? We're getting a sliding door and deck installed this week and the town inspector said I need to have an outside light by the door.  I'm ready to tackle this part myself.   Most of the howto stuff I find online says "It's easy, just remove the existing light fixture..." and I have no existing light fixture.

Do I need to cut a large hole in the aluminum siding and mount an outlet box to attach the fixture to?  If so, how do I secure it?

Or is there a very low-profile outlet box I can put flush to the siding that won't stick out too much and won't require a huge hole?

Some of the fixtures in my house (not sure about the outdoor ones) have been installed without boxes altogether.  I'm guessing this is not code, and I'm further guessing this is a corner that one shouldn't cut for outdoor lighting.  Especially since the wall cavity has blown-in cellulose insulation--I feel like I should avoid having splices in contact with that.

Edit Thanks for the help.  In the end I went with the large hole and retrofit light box.

Electrical code requires that all junctions be accessible in a box, so you definitely need one here.  You have two choices (that I know of at least):

cut a large hole in your siding and mount a retrofit light box into the wall cavity.

drill a small hole in your siding and mount one a weatherproof box on the outside:

The exterior boxes come in a range of depths and colors so you should be able to find one you like.


How do I patch up this cracked corner (plaster walls)? I have this cracked corner.  To the left is door molding.  To the right is a built-in closet.  I believe the wall is plaster.

How do I fix this corner?

Caulk.

But before you do that, ask yourself what the reason for the crack may be, and if it's a symptom of something more sinister.   Dry rot?  Termites?  Foundation shifting?  Someone with anger management problems slamming the closet doors?

Of course it may be nothing, in which case you can either patch the entire wall from trim to trim, or just dig out the crack, remove as much dust as possible, paint with white glue to seal the surface and put in several layers of common painter's caulk over several days.  I don't recommend plaster patch in this case, because this seam is likely to move again.  You want something with some flex.

If the plaster is starting to separate from the walls, then Bill Wally has your answer over at : https://www.plastermagic.com/FAQs.html

If the crack opens up again, use a more flexible caulk (not just painter's caulk).


Will my tub drain properly if I create a P-trap by running it under a 4 inch floor joist? Remodeling bathroom in old house. Water always backed up in the tub. I've replaced the waste lines and pitched them properly. The original line from the tub went under a double floor joist and across 3 others. Should I do something different?

If the drain is sloped correctly per your local building codes (mine state for  drain pipes under 2 inches the slope be 1/4 inch per foot) and it is connected to a stack of the proper size (usually no smaller than 1 1/4 inch pipe) then your drain and trap should operate trouble-free. Also be sure the distance from the trap to the vent or stack is correct (in my county any run over 40 feet will need a larger diameter vent).  As far as running pipe through framing members and joists you must be selective on the location to drill a hole through. This depends one the size of the joist and if it has existing openings already drilled into it. If you plan to use a non-drilled joist one opening (again, depending on the size of the joist)is safe. Be sure not to deviate from the starting slope.


1" x 4" tongue and groove How much weight will 1" x 12" x 4' tongue and groove hold if it's supported on both ends? I am building a wheelchair ramp at a private residence and wonder if the tongue and groove will hold that weight. Should I use 2" x lumber instead?

Wheel chairs increase the psi due to smaller surface area. You need to have more supporting members and a thicker decking material. I would go with 5 total supports (two on outside and three evenly spaced in the middle; members should be 2” wide) and go with two layers of 3/4” plywood if used inside (outside would be pt 2” board). Those would support pretty much anyone. You also should think about transitions as well as maybe non-skid strips on the deck depending on the overall placement and usage.

You don’t say if it is inside or outside nor the length nor the pitch. These are important details as well as landing considerations.

This might help:
https://www.disabled-world.com/assistivedevices/ramps/ada-specs.php


How to set-up a shelf in a tiled bathroom? I am contemplating installing a shelf in my bathroom, and have set my sights on Ikea's Brogrund (number 304.089.79 in France, not sure is those are worldwide).

The screws to set it up on the wall are not included, and I have no idea of how to proceed.

My bathroom walls are tiled:

The left-hand side wall is an outside wall, so its tile|drywall|insulating foam|concrete.
The right-hand side wall is an inside wall, so its tile|drywall

Should I drill in a tile, or between them?
What kind of screw do I need? It is the same kind for both walls?

You have some nice tile there. It would be a shame to drill holes in it.

If you look at the customer reviews on the IKEA product page you can see this. You might want to consider that.

Review Source

If you do decide to use 3M Outdoor Mounting Tape some things to consider:

This tape is considered a permanent mounting system.
Make sure that both rails of the assembled shelf fit nice and flat against the walls on both sides of the corner where you intend to mount the unit.
You will want to make sure that the walls and rails are clean and free of any soap or oil film. I recommend a final cleaning with alcohol.
Attach the tape to the rails after you have fully assembled the shelf frame.
Attach the tape to the rails full length. If two runs fit the width of the rail then cover the full rail width.
Push the shelf unit into the corner carefully so that the two rails come into contact with the walls at the same time.

I have used this tape in the past and it adheres like crazy. Using it to mount metal rails really does mean that it will be there for the duration.

The tape seems to me to offer an advantage over the recommended two screws at just the top. It will hold the shelf securely in the corner without the bottom end being able to pull out from the corner.


What type of concrete foundation do you pour for sand? I have a piece of beach front land that is sand (sometimes wet), what kind of foundation do you pour for a home constructed on sand?

What kind of considerations do you take in if its water front and could get wet?

I cannot find any info on this at all, anywhere... so if anyone has an example codes page I'd also love to look at it so I can know what to ask for here.

Cheers

There are multiple options for building on sand, but much of the answer depends on many other factors. Compact sand (to say sand cannot be compacted is erroneous, it just doesn't require much) can be a very stable base. We have built many homes, cottages and garages on land that is sand for 10s of metres deep.

Screw piles are one solution that works, but all that does is point load your home onto the piles, so you need a lot of them. We have had no problems with thickened-edge slabs, frost walls on reinforced footings and even full basement foundations further from the lake. Just talk to a local engineer to get your footings and or piles appropriately sized.


Adding couple outlets from portable generator wiring to house I want to add a couple of outlets from a generator to inside of the house to avoid having extension cords running through the door when the power is out.
Similarly to this product.
I’ve got a small portable generator with a 30a L5-30r plug on it.
I’ve ordered a L5-30r inlet box plug and 25ft cord to connect generator to house.
My plan is to get some 10/2 wire. 3/4” conduit to run the 10ga into the house to a pair of receptacles.
The generator is fused @ 30a. But the receptacles aren’t rated for 30a. I’m thinking I should run 2x 20a GFCIs to protect the outlets from being overloaded. It’s just for emergency power, fridge, sump, a light or 2 etc.
Is this correct? I was told I should fuse it separately. Do I need a subpanel?

You need a subpanel to do this correctly/safely.
You also need an L5-30P inlet to take an L5-30R cord. Plug goes to Receptacle, and the side that has power needs to be R, while the side that gets power needs to be P.
Since you are not proposing "dual-use" inside receptacles, a small sub-panel that takes your 30A input and has a couple of 20A breakers to feed your receptacles would be sufficient. GFCIs are not breakers (though some breakers are GFCIs) so using 20A GFCIs connected to a 30A input without a 20A breaker in between is not safe nor code-compliant.


Water hammer arrestor location (vertical vs horizontal) I installed water hammer arrestors at the exact location where I had "old school" air chambers, right behind my bath tub faucet. After doing the job, I realized that the water coming from below is coming directly to the hammer arrestors (see picture). After some googling, I noticed that most water hammer arrestor are installed using a T and are somehow connected horizontally on the problematic water line.

I would like some kind of confirmation if the location of my arrestors is correct or not. If not, Feel free to advice how I should update the layout of my lines.

Straight into the arrestor is ideal. The cause of water hammer is the mass of water traveling towards the valve that was shut - the more directly that connects to the arrestor, the better.

They are often only applied after a problem is noticed, in which case getting them in any which way is common.


GFCI Showing Reverse Polarity My home is older, and while 1st floor is grounded, basement has older 2-prong outlets. I decided that at a minimum I should put in a gfci in the laundry room. Inside box there are 3 wires however it does not appear the the ground wire is actually grounded. Test wires, black is hot, white is neutral as they should. Hook up black wire to the HOT LINE side GFCI, and hook up white wire to the other. But it says hot and neutral are reversed on my tester.

If I flip them around, which I can tell is wrong from the screw colors and directions, tester shows it's technically correct with open ground. That just seems off to me.

What could cause that false polarity reversal reading? Dont think it's the tester, I've tried it on other outlets and it's fine. Would no ground throw off the reading? Or just a bad GFCI?

I determined it was a faulty gfci. I exchanged and reinstalled and it checked out correctly, reading "open ground". Then ran a ground wire from some conduit about 12" above the outlet. Everything checked out correctly with the testers. Voltage checked out correct H-N at 118V, N-G at 0V. And it tripped the gfci when I did H-G.

When I returned the first one to ace hardware, the cashier said I was the second person that returned a gfci the same day for the same reason, so they must've gotten a bad batch that somehow had reverse polarity.


Why does my Ring doorbell keep repeating the chime? I installed one of those fancy new Ring doorbells (the video / WiFi connected doodads) and it keeps repeating my doorbell chime. When you press the button to "Ring" me, the doorbell chime rings and the the app initiates a video call to my phone. Until I accept, reject, or let the video call timeout... my doorbell chime keeps repeating (dingDong, [pause], dingDong, [pause], dingDong, [pause], dingDong, [pause]. ... ). This is a huge annoyance if I'm at home and just walk to the door. Until the call times out I have to shout overtop of the "dingDong dingDong dingDong...".

I confirmed it works as you would expect it to with an old fashioned button + diode. (e.g. 1 press = 1 dingDong... hold the button down = repeating dingDong). In a nutshell, the Ring is acting like I'm holding the button down.

I drew a diagram of the circuit, and as far as I can tell everything is correct.

Circuit is: Transformer > Ring > Diode > Ring > Chime > Transformer
Transformer is a 16v transformer, chime is for 16v transformers
Transformer reads 19.4v without load... but I understand that to be expected after some research on the net

I've tried a new transformer, a new chime, and a new diode... all do the same thing. I have the diode wired up so the stripe faces the chime... which the Ring instructions say to do.

Any thoughts? I can't be the only idiot in the world who can't figure this out.

OK, this may be a side-effect of the way the Ring powers itself.

The Ring is in series with the chime.  In series circuits, the same amount of current (amps) flows around the loop through both devices.  And by the way,  this problem crops up with Nest thermostats and dimmers too.

How does the Ring power itself? By deliberately letting a little bit of current flow through the circuit, including through the chime.  The Ring (like the Nest and dimmers) is betting that a small enough current won't make the chime (furnace, lamp) activate.  And it is guessing at how much current it can get away with.

So my guess is: you have a chime which is more efficient than most.  Sure, when the visitor rings the bell, the Ring shorts the two wires to simulate a doorbell push, and then it lets go of that correctly.  And then, it needs to recharge its internal battery - transmitting video over WiFi is hard work.  So it allows current to flow at that lower rate.  Unbeknownst to the Ring, that is enough to ring the chime.  The Ring isn't timing out when it stops; it's just finished charging.

Now like I say, smart thermostats have the same problem: they charge by sending some current down the W line, hopefully not enough to engage the furnace relay.  If that doesn't work, they give you an option to hook up the "C" line to power the thermostat directly.   Unfortunately it does not appear the Ring has an option like that.

TLDR: Your chime is too efficient for the Ring to vampire-charge itself.  Get rid of one.

Well, if you're in love with that chime, there might be another option, but it's definitely not UL-approved.  You could alter your chime to be less efficient... by putting a resistor of appropriate size in parallel with the chime.  Finding the appropriate size would take some measuring or experimentation.  You would not want one which gets too hot, worst case someone holds down your doorbell button for a long time.  A fellow shouldn't be able to burn your house down by holding the doorbell button.


Refrigerator intermittently making loud clicks with compressor banging and shaking Facts:

9 year old Whirlpool refrigerator has been operating quietly for 9 years. Refrigerator has two doors and is top-freezer/bottom-refrigerator configuration.
About 3 months ago, it would intermittently - like a few times a day - start making a loud click. That was new.
Then about 2 months ago, the compressor, a Panasonic DG51C69RAU6, started vibrating violently for about 15 seconds at a time, intermittently (a few times a day). It's very loud, like someone striking a cymbal.
This violent banging lasts for 15 seconds, and almost always ends with that new loud click, and the compressor falls silent. I'd say maybe 20 percent of the time, the banging episode ends on its own, without a click. But then a click typically sounds 30-90 seconds after the episode.
The click also happens when the fridge is quiet (as I noted in the 2nd bullet), but it almost always happens when the compressor starts banging violently, and ends that episode.
I have freezer and refrigerator thermometers which show the temperatures are in the correct range.

Any ideas what would cause this?

That loud click is probably an overloaded compressor relay. When compressor components start going bad it can cause all kinds of issues. You can do some reasonably priced troubleshooting by installing a Hard-Start Kit. Here is a link to a video that shows in more detail how to install it.


Can anyone identify this heating timer? So, It's getting quite cold now and my central heating is just going on and off randomly. There is what seems to be an unbranded heating timer below the combi-boiler (Baxi). However I have no idea how to program it. I'm looking for a manual or some sort of instructions for programming it.

Here is a picture of the timer and of the boiler:

Click on photo for full size

This appears to be a Grässlin switch.

Model FM1 DIGI14-120

Here is the manual (and another similar model)


What are the standard dimensions for fridges in the US? I just want to know whatever I can about the (seemingly) existing efforts to standardize fridge sizes.
I found this question (Refrigerator enclosure dimensions), but I'm looking more for a list of logical potential sizes.
I also found this link to "thor kitchen":

....the standard size for a professional-grade refrigerator falls between 30 to 36 inches width, 67 to 70 inches in height, and 29 to 35 inches in depth.
....some smaller kitchens may consider a smaller size refrigerator to be more standard. In fact, it is very common to find smaller refrigerators in places such as condos and rental apartments. These smaller sizes, however, are not the standard size.

So this is a basic range for the width and depth of normal medium-sized fridges, but the article does not yield a very technical or professional understanding.
I'd like to know from someone who deals with this a lot: what dimensions do you snap between when you design a kitchen around a fridge?  And are there standard sizes for smaller fridges?
I don't want to choose a fridge size that is non-standard and hard to replace in the future.

There appears to be no real standards.  I found this website which has a table with dimensions:  http://www.rempros.com/dimensions/refrigerator_sizes.html
But the best thing I found is just Home Depots search filters.  From the images below you can deduce some things.  There are a total of 1,161 items, these are the percentages each dimension make up of that total.
Common Widths:

22 in - 3.6%
24 in - 11.6%
28 in - 10.1%
30 in - 9.9%
33 in - 12%
36 in - 30.8%

Common Depths (tolerance up to +1.5 inches):

22 in - 4.7%
24 in - 10%
26 in - 9.7%
28 in - 15.6%
30 in - 20%
32 in - 23.4%
34 in - 8.1%


Fill drained rocks or gravels around tree base surrounding by deck I am building a low level deck around a tree that is  almost 7 feet diameter. This is the framing right now:

Originally I wanted to build a bench around it but I ran out of time and decking boards; BUT now, since I have tons of extra 1" drained rocks / gravels I am thinking about filling it up like below photo (from someone else):

My questions:

Would this be bad for the tree? Will the base be harmed and kill the tree?
Is 1" rocks too small? I could put something (like lumber) to prevent them sliding down and out.

Thanks.

UPDATE

Based on some answers below, I am thinking about a way to solve stump rot and drainage issue. What if:

I staple landscape fabric / metal mesh in the bottom.
Then fill with >5" rocks instead of gravels
Leave like 1-2" of gap between rocks and decking boards if the rocks sit below the boards.

The reason I am sorta wanting to do this is because we have kids running around on top and I am afraid they fall or get their legs stuck around the tree. It will be a year before I get time to build the bench around this tree (due to work).

Thought?

The tree will continue to expand as it grows. If you completely fill that space, it may start to push the rocks against the deck.
More important, whatever you do make sure there's plenty of drainage. The trunk will be at risk of rot damage if you surround it with materials that hold water -- and remember that it only takes a couple years for dust & dirt to fill in the gaps in coarse gravel.
Personally, both for the tree's health and for aesthetics, I'd leave the area open.


How to replace stripped faucet stem? Weekend warrior here. Watched some YouTube videos, but my set up looks different and don't want to mess it up.

The handles to my tub faucet use a plastic connection. This got stripped. So I believe I need to replace the valve stem and get a new handle.

In the picture below I've taken apart as much as I could. I don't see how to remove the stem. There is no access behind the wall unless I open something up. Anyone know the best way to proceed?

I've done exactly this, including stripping the valve stem. You can remove it!

Most valves require a special wrench to unscrew. This is a cheap single-purpose tool; you probably won't be able to use an adjustable wrench or general purpose socket. Here's an example.

You'll slip this wrench over the valve stem and onto the valve body, then unscrew using a screwdriver stuck through the other end of the wrench. Make sure you have a snug fit with the correct size; there are two sizes in common use in the US and most valve wrenches have both.

As an alternative, it is possible there's a retaining nut holding in the valve. If this is the case, there would be a small ring just on the inside of the outer valve body. It would have notches to allow you to unscrew it using snap ring pliers (though you might be able to manage with a pair of needle nose pliers held at an angle). If this is the case, you should be able to see and move the locking ring. On the other hand, if you see a hex outline when you shine a flashlight down past the valve stem, you'll need the valve wrench.


How to remove tap with too much tape i think i've screwed this up and put too much tape on and can't for the life of me, turn it the other way round so that the tape isn't exposed so much. Anyway ideas?

The fact that you can see the tape has no bearing on the success of the job. If it doesn't leak consider the job well done. If the exposed tape gives you worry that someone will see the tape and say it is a bad job, tell them that is how much you had to use to get a tight seal. If you really want to remove the excess tape, take a wire brush and carefully use it to remove the excess tape.


Can I use corrugated metal roofing panels as soffits and paint them? I have several sheets of Corrugated Steel Roofing (see picture) from a replaced roof, and I would like to re-use them as a soffit under a porch, and paint them white or black.
How should I prep the sheets, and what type of paint should I use?
The soffits are obviously outside but not directly exposed to rain/snow or sun/UV: they are mounted with the "exterior" side down, not up as would be the case with a roof.
The panels/sheets are from a used roof and after some scrubbing/power washing they seem to be in good condition.
My thoughts were:

power wash & scrub moss etc...
light sanding to scruff the surface
maybe muratic acid, maybe primer?
paint with exterior acrylic, but maybe interior latex would work too?
to apply paint, use a roller? or brush?

No rain/snow, no sun/UV, but wet climate.

How should I prep the sheets, and what type of paint should I use?

power wash & scrub moss etc. YES
light sanding to scruff the surface YES
maybe muratic acid, maybe primer? NO to both. Neither is necessary assuming those panels already have paint on them, which looks to be true. If your "light" sanding creates any bare metal areas, spot prime those.
paint with exterior acrylic YES
...maybe interior latex would work too? NO why would you use interior paint for an exterior application?
use a roller? or brush? YES either/both, or spray


Different hot circuits connected together After 30 years, just found out, I had in a bedroom, two hot  different 14 gauge circuit  wires connected together in a 3 wire hot nut connection. I have a double gang box- one for the fan and the other light switch to control a receptacle.  Originally each bedroom had a light switch only. Until I had an electrician out in fans into each of the three bedrooms a few years back. Yet I had to shut off five or more breakers in my bedroom (to ensure all electricity was off to the room) to hopefully replace with new new tamper resistant receptacles.

What is the best way to trace each of these different hot to the panel (should I use a breaker finder with alligator ears or multimeter) and once I determine that, what is the best way to rewire my bedroom without disrupting the whole house without calling an electrician in.

I used a sperry votage tester--are they reliable and could it gave me a false reading with why I'm shutting off more than four circuit breakers. Or should I check it by just shutting off each circuit breakers.

Just to let you know I have traced most of all of my house wires (diagrams) back to the panel. Your advise would be appreciated? Hate to call in an electrician since I have a feeling he did this. Thank u Larry

Hmm. If you have two hots connected and they are connected to the same buss bar in the service panel, then the result will be... 120V. You could end up with more amperage on the neutral or neutrals than the circuit breakers are rated for, though. A picture might really help, here. If the hot wires come from different buss bars, you'll have 240V on the wire because that's the total potential from one pole to the other on the transformer outside your place. The voltage won't hurt the wire, but it could cook connected equipment. Plus, you'll also have a direct short resulting in lots of amperage, so it should trip the breakers and nothing would work at all.

It sounds like if indeed you have hot wires from two different branch circuits connected together, they are on the same leg (same buss bar). The easiest way to see which one goes to which breaker is probably to undo the wire nut, flip breakers off and use an electrical tester to see which breaker cuts the power in which wire. If they're disconnected from one another, each wire should be energized at 120V.

While it is conceivable that an electrician made a mistake, I wouldn't hesitate to call in an electrician on that basis. Licensed electricians are professionals, by and large in both name and practice, who have had enough training and hands-on experience working as a journeyman for a licensed electrician to qualify for their professional license, plus the subsequent experience and continuing electrical education as a licensed professional. If you're worried about one particular electrician, call a different one.

If the one you think screwed up is a personal friend and you're worried about hurting their feelings or not getting invited to the next wedding, then call in the "replacement" when the original guy is really unlikely to just stop by, like during the middle of the day when both electricians are likely to be busy with business.  :-)


Would missing check valve make it seem like heat is always on? We had an extra zone added to our hot water heating system.  The installer used a Taco 007-F5 circulator pump but did not install a check valve like the other zones have. I have verified the pump does turn on and off correctly but it feels like the heat is always on in that new zone.  Would this be because there is no check valve?

there may be a thermal siphon feeding hot water to the new zone and a check valve could stop that flow.  but it really should be an anti-siphon valve, not a regular check valve. (anti siphon valves have increased back pressusre compared to regular check valves)


Why is ENT rarely used for electrical wiring? As best I can tell, the National Electrical Code 2011 allows electrical non-metallic tubing ("smurf tube" or ENT) to be used for running 120 V electrical wire. But everywhere I look, I see remarks to the effect that its use is mostly confined to low-voltage wiring (communications, alarms, audio/video), and some localities forbid its use for 120 V electrical purposes. Why?

I am planning to install a couple exterior weatherproof boxes. The wires will be run from the basement, through the sole plate, into the wall space, and out through a hole drilled through a brick veneer into the back of the box.

To make the bridge from wall to box watertight, I plan to run the wire in conduit. Options here seem to be liquidtight flexible metallic/non-metallic conduit, PVC, or some of the heavier metal conduits like intermediate metallic conduit. All of these seem like a pain to run through finished walls aside from the liquidtight flexible stuff, and that seems like a pain because of its weight and fittings.

ENT seems very attractive next to these: lightweight, easy to flex, easy to attach, works great with non-metallic boxes. It's allowed in damp locations (362.10(4)); the conduit run will be entirely within the wall and terminating in the rear of the box, so none of it will be exposed to the exterior or direct water. What am I missing here?

I am not an electrician, but as I'm currently in the middle of some renovations myself, I was curious and did some searching.  I came across "Mike Holt’s Illustrated Guide to 101 Essential NEC Rules" (that's chapter 3 in PDF form), which, in article 362, it explains that it can NOT be used for wiring systems over 600V.  To me, that appears to be saying that it is fine for 120/240V.  The main concerns appear to be leaving the conduit exposed, particularly to sunlight, as UV can cause it to become brittle.  I also came across a forum post discussing using ENT for 120V, and they were discussing how many wires you could run in a specific size of conduit, so it appears that it's done.  Given that it meets NEC code, I can't come up with a good reason why specific localities might forbid it, other than possibly politics.


Patio gate not at right angle to the house I am currently building a fenced in patio, and the entrance gate will not be at a right angle to the corner of the house. My question: should I angle the post that sits beside the house to be square with the gate, or square with the house?

I intend to have a header above the gate. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

you should angle the post that's by the house. It will increase the functionality of the gate hardware.

If you're worried about looks, you can always take a piece of fence plank and install it from the post corner over to the house wall.


how do i troubleshoot a substantial AC volatge neutral to ground? I've been having some problems with my computers at home. Today I decided to check voltage from the receptacles. I have 120VAC hot to Neutral, as I would expect, but then I have 50VAC Hot to GND, and Neutral to GND. I had a heat pump installed a month ago, Im not sure if that is part of the issue, the guys who installed it, were the last people in my panel. I have also noticed a higher than normal electrical bill for the past few months.
I tried unplugging nearly all the devices (not the heat pump), but I still observe the stray 50VAC. It seems to fluctuate between 20-50VAC.  Im not sure how to trace out what is causing the issue, I get the 50VAC nuetral to gnd at every receptacle in the house.

Could be a dangerous condition!  You may have lost the neutral or partially lifted in the heat pump,  and it it returning the current over the ground energizing the whole house ground.  One possibility is the new heat pump needed 4 wires with 240 and 120 loads and the installer used the ground as neutral... Just a wild guess...  How many wires in your panel box run to the heat Pump?
Prob a good idea to get an electrician in especially if it's effecting your electronics already.


Generator wattage via their breakers OK everyone. 1st time on Stack Exchange here and I’m looking for a few answers on wattage and not the simple stuff you should already know before going off half cocked buying a gen set. OK.

First.—- I have a generator that’s 12000 watts surge and 9,500 watts running. However the AVR is only good from 7kw-9kw plus the alternator/genhead has a sticker when disassembled that says 9.0kw. Now for the kicker.... if I didn’t tear it all down or load test it etc would an easier way be to find the 2 pole breaker on the generator and find the rated amps and multiply by 240volts?

If that’s the case my max (rated) output would only be 8,880 watts at 240 volts from my 37amp 120/240 volt 2 pole switch at the 50amp plug on my generator.

Am I wrong or can I just find the amperage of the 2 pole breaker and multiply that by 240 instead of hooking up my meter etc etc??? I’m just trying to find out the easiest way before buying. I’ll only be using a 9,000watt or more (running watts) with a 50 amp outlet to run my home off a interlock.

Ps does the same go for amps on the 2 separate push button breakers  for 120/240 volt 50 amp outlets? I’d simply assume half the total on one 120 leg and half on the other 120 leg.... any help would be HUGE thanks guys n gals.

First no mater what the generator’s alternator has stamped on it this means nothing! You do not know the test conditions in either case for the alternator or the complete gen set. And taking things apart probably voided warranty.

I maintain very large gen sets and to provide an example one is a 350kva this gen set is certified for life safety equipment and I have loaded in one extreme case close to 500k it was not a life safety issue but we lost a secondary and we needed that amount of power 490a for close to an hour and the owner said to try it. It did fine.

I have small 5-8k gen sets that can maintain 25% overload conditions but these were designed for heavy duty use

My biggest home generator is similar to yours and I would not expect it to be able to pull more than full surge load any longer than ~15 seconds (the amount of time for most large fans to come to speed) why do I say this because the windings and slip rings are 1/2 the size of my smaller heavy duty models. Without knowing the testing that gen set was certified to it would be best to keep your loads to 80% of the values unless they are stated for use at 100%, my gen sets only the life safety ones are certified for 100% full load (3 + hour run time) with a 15 minute cool down after loading required.

Added per op comment:
The breakers are inverse time and will allow more amperage to be drawn than there listing based on the curves for that brand. 50*240= 12000w  the breaker will hold for a short time well beyond this value normally allow 3-5x for a short time.

code requires the wiring to be sized 125% for motor loads and continuous loads most home loads of any size are not continuous but let’s do a standard de rate of a 50 amp device .8 x 50 = 9000w  that is close but all the loads that are non motor or don’t run for 3 hours or more are rated at 100% so real value is someplace will be in between 9-12kw

Code allows / requires the mfg values instructions to be used per NEC 110.3 in the U.S.  as I have explained some alternators may have some value that may have a different capacity than what is stamped on it. My gen set also has additional 120 outlets to fully load my gen set the fine print shows these receptacles must be used on loads that are isolated from the main, are they cheating ? The total it can output meets specifications.
 Most of the small generators play this game.

This game is just like shop vacuums and air compressors. If you have either of these things that are not true commercial units don’t look two far or you will get really mad because they don’t even come close to the HP rating they advertise.
The only way to know on your gen set is to use a load that is within the testing requirements of the generator and measure the output.
I did this and following there requirements mine passed on a real 100kw testing system at my plant. But I had to have 12 amps on the 2 separate 120v receptacle sets.
You can ask as I did for testing conditions (they even state sea level and 72 deg f temp and premium fuel  (no methanol) the methanol in the fuel I was using was the difference well that and having to pull 12 amps on ea leg through the receptacles. So it may sound funny but it’s not what you see it’s how things are measured.


Can Closetmaid wall clips be reinstalled after painting? I have Closetmaid wire shelving in my laundry room. I want to remove these so I can paint the walls.  Can I re-use the clips to re-install the shelves once I finish painting?

Thanks for any help!

It depends on the clips used for the install. I already am sure the large clips for the forward edge of the shelves have the wall inserts as part of the clip, and when you pull the pin and remove the clip the drywall will never be the same. With care, you can reuse the clip. The clips for the back wall, if they have the inserts as part of the clip, the situation will be the same as the larger clips, the drywall will not take well to having the insert withdrawn. If the back wall clips have separate drywall inserts and can stay in thew wall while removing the support clips, have at it and paint away.


Found hole with water under house Today, while in the crawl space under the house, I found a large hole that has water in it. Now I'm trying to figure out what to do about it.

I had noticed a depressed area under the house in the past, possibly starting four or five years ago. Since I rarely go under the house, I didn't pay much attention to it; but, over the last year I'd noticed it was larger.

Today, I thought I would fill it in with some old concrete block pieces. That's when I realized how big a hole it is. It's about 4' wide.  And, it about 3' deep.

I hooked up a light and took a picture (below) and discovered that there are spiral steel/iron rings in the hole.  The rings appear to be three or four feet in diameter. The water is cloudy, but there's no smell. And, there is no perceptible movement of the water. The photo doesn't show the water; but, it's maybe 3' deep.

I think this must have been a drainage pipe built before our subdivision was constructed in the 1980's.

Anyway, it's clear that about 3 cubic feet of soil has washed away so far.  So, I have to do something.

Should I phone the local county storm drainage folks and ask them to check it out? Or, is this a problem I'll need to hire a contractor for? If so, what type of contractor?

Will appreciate advice from someone with knowledge of this type of problem.

Update 4/24/14: Received sump pump today and used it to pump out a lot of water: my guess is about 90 gallons. And, not done yet. Further, while running the water hose for the pump over to a vent another hole appeared. It's smaller, but right next to a pier. And, shining a light down in this hole, similar spiral metal coils with water below were visible. The spirals rings are on line with those in the first hole, about 15 feet away.

What I'm planning on doing is: keep pumping the water out of the first hole; move pump to second hole and repeat; dig outside the crawlspace and try to locate the water tunnel  and pump it dry there too. After all water is removed, wait a few weeks to see if water returns, and from which direction. Finally, after stopping the source of the water, fill the complete tunnel with dirt.  But, if anyone has any better ideas I'm flexible.

Wow! What a surprise. I don't think it's related to any county storm drainage system. Wouldn't hurt to contact them though. My best guess is someone acquired some spiral reinforcing somewhere and used it to construct a dry sump for some purpose. It was then forgotten until the cover collapsed and you noticed something amiss. The water probably means you have a shallow water table.

If my assumptions are correct, you just need to fill it in. If there is no nearby foundation structure, you just need some manual labor to haul in fill material. If it is near a foundation, at least some of the fill may need to be compacted. Depending on access, this can be difficult. You could probably hire any general contractor willing to take on the job.


Microwave door switch comparison I have a built in Viking microwave that works but does not heat. I took it apart and tested the door switches and sure enough one of them is no good.

My question is the following: the part listed for Viking costs $25.00, I have seen the part (switch) for as little as $3.00. How do I find out if these switches are compatible?

We paid close to $1000.00 in 2004/05 but did not install it until 2007, once the kitchen was finished. Also, Viking discontinued this model, vmos200. Absolutely not worth to pay hundreds of dollars to fix it, but because it was so expensive I can't just give up on it.

The switches common on the doors of microwaves are called "micro switches". Probably due to there small size. They are made to function so that when the switch is activated current flows (normally open 'N.O') or when switched no current flows (normally closed 'N.C'). The group that rates and test these switches is the Underwriters Laboratories. They establish how much voltage each switch is able to safely tolerate. These are the numbers you should try to match to the new switch. They are embossed on the switch in very minute detail. Usually something like: 5A 125-250V AC.


Temporary toilet installation I need to install a toilet in a my house while it is being built. The floor isn't ready yet and won't be for at least a couple of months and right know it is a rough concrete slab.

Since the soil pipe goes down from the toilet I cannot cut the pipe to size now as it will be too short after the floor is done.

I thought about making a base about 10 cm tall using brick and mortar and install the toilet on top of it (later I can remove the toilet and break the base). Does that work? Should I put plywood over the brick to keep the toilet more level?

Any "temporary" installation of a toilet should be treated as a permanent one.  That means if you need to temporarily build up the floor, the temp floor needs to be securely anchored to the sub-floor and the toilet securely anchored to that temp floor.

If you do not install the toilet as if it were permanent you risk the release of raw sewage onto your new construction materials.

Brick and mortar, as Chris said, seems overkill.  Secure some wood to build up the floor to the proper level and secure the toilet to the flange as well as the flange to the pipe.

This may result in you having to redo some plumbing around the toilet, if, for instance, you find you need to remove the flange to install the floor, although generally you'll cut the floor around the flange.


Can I replace the factory installed common wire on a GFCI circuit breaker? I purchased a used hot tub and the previous owner decided to cut all the wires in the spa pack instead of simply disconnecting them with a screwdriverver.  Therefore, the common wire (pigtail) is now cut off at about 1" from the breaker.  Obviously, I'd prefer to replace the wire instead of buying a new $250 breaker but I can't figure out how to do this.  Does anyone know if it's possible?
Thanks!

What a fool. He owes you $250 now.   (although I don't see that breaker costing anything like $250 unless Canada is somehow involved.)
You could try getting a 2-void Alumiconn lug connector, that only requires you strip off about 3/8" of the wire length to go into that.  And then pigtail from there.  This is allowed in panels (unless Canada is somehow involved).
You are probably better off just replacing the whole pool panel with some other brand which has cheaper GFCI breakers.


What is the maximum wattage LED bulb that can be used in a 75 watt fixture? What is the absolute maximum wattage LED bulb that can be used in a fixture rated for 75 watt incandescent bulbs?

The issue is heat.  The fixture is rated for a bulb using 75 watts and turning essentially all of it into heat.

You could put a 75w heating element there and be within limits of the fixture.

Seriously - you would not want to put a 75w (actual) LED there.  It would be like a Boeing 747 landing light.   Google some youtube videos of "100w LED flashlights" which people homebrew - they are portable suns.

In any case, the fixture may not mind the heat, but LEDs and CFLs do not like heat and need to cool.   This is rather unlikely to be a problem for "75-watt-equivalent" LEDs of 7-12 watt range, or even a somewhat bigger 100w equivalent.

But for our hypothetical 75-watt-actual mega-bright LED, cooling may emerge as a serious issue.  Or not.  There's a lot of thermal science involved which depends totally on the design of the particular fixture and the heat sink of the particular LED.  For instance a chandelier is not going to have the problems a weather-sealed fixture would.  But again we are talking about an extreme case of wanting vastly more light (lumens) than the fixture manufacturer ever imagined, and extreme projects take extreme risks.


What should I do before re-painting my skirting boards? I'll be painting the skirting boards in my room as they are in bad condition. The paint is cracked and the surface uneven and blotchy. What I would like to know is how should I treat the skirting boards before painting them. From some googling I've got a rough idea of what I should be doing:

Strip the previous layers of paint using a paint stripper or heat gun, then apply a primer and then paint over this
Sand down the skirting board, apply a primer and then paint over this

The first seems quite a laborious task and i'm wondering if the returns are worth it.

Which of the above methods is better? Are there any other methods that are better?

The second seems more manageable however I'm wondering what kind of sand paper I should use? I'm aware that there are different grades, which grade of sanding paper is appropriate for sanding down paint on skirting boards so as to get the surface ready for a primer? Also is it even necessary to apply a primer to a wooden surface that has already been painted?

The paint I will be applying to the surface is of an eggshell finish.

What else can I do to ensure I end up with a good result?

Thank you.

If you want the boards to look brand spanking new again, you will want to go with method one. I'd use a heat gun to do it, and not the harsh chemical strippers. Either method takes about as long as the other and the heat gun method is less toxic, and, you either already have a heat gun and don't need to spend money, or you'll buy one and have it for a long time - they come in handy. You'll want a good organic vapor respirator for either method still, and a variety of scraping tools.

Method two sounds more appropriate if perfection is not important. Going this route, you'll want to start with various putty knives and scrapers and knock off any obviously loose and flaky paint, and then use 120 grit sand paper not to remove all the paint, but only to rough up the surface of any remaining paint that is sound and knock down any really high spots. This will leave you with patches of bare wood, and patches of sound, old paint. I don't recommend trying to sand off all of the old paint. If this is your goal, then go with method one. Also - buy expensive sand paper. Cheap sandpaper is a false economy as you'll burn through it so much faster than the good stuff.

Either way, you should use primer whenever painting bare wood, or a combination of bare wood and sound paint. You don't need primer when only painting over sound old paint.


Why does this load bearing stud not extend all the way to the floor? In the center of the below picture, I recently had a cable installer come out and they drilled a 1" hole (effectively cutting the stud) right through the middle of the stud with the electrical box on it! Since this is a load bearing wall, I'm trying to figure ways to repair that stud.

I can see that there is a sistered stud on the left of the damaged stud, but it doesn't extend all the way to the floor. What is the purpose of this stud? Can I fix the damaged stud by mending the sistered stud to extend all the way to the floor?

The load from the discontinuous stud is transferred to the adjacent stud through nails between the studs. (The other stud is also reinforced due to a notch for a light switch box or something.)

You should check this by counting the number of nails between the studs. They probably used 16d nails and each valued at about 106 lbs. of shear. (I’d expect about 5-6 nails.)


How do I seal my baseboards from drafts? Some rooms in my house have a pretty bad draft along the edge of the floor, where it meets the outside walls. But I am less than thrilled (to put it mildly) about the prospect of ripping out carpeting and moldings just to seal the draft. Is there any simpler solution out there?

Wait a minute...  that may be a very, very bad idea. sorry kacalapy.  All I can see is messy carpet after that try.  If this carpet is laid on concrete, then the tack strip is fastened with masonry nails, and if installed properly is chiseled over the edge.  No way caulking is going to seal the gaps causing the air leaks. If your leaks are that bad, then do the right thing. Take off the baseboards, see if you can access the sills, if not,  pull back the carpet, and caulk the gap between the sill plate and the slab. Reinstall the baseboards, then re-stretch the carpet to the tack strip. It sounds like no sill seal foam or sealant was installed under the sills.  There is really no quick fix to a problem like this.  BTW, foam padding and carpet carry and "R" value of about 3 to 5 max.  Carpet is never even considered as an insulating material.


How do I keep my well pump connections from leaking? Well, I asked the question at the end of last season on which hoses to get.  The new Summer season is upon us and I've located some comparable hoses (could not find the exact ones mentioned, but found some with the same specs).  Having a super hard time getting them installed as they're so tight, but did finally get them on.  However, even with 2 worm gear hose clamps on each end, they leak.  Drips a little water while priming, and sucks air when pumping.  What's the trick to getting these things to seal?

From my answer before:

  When you connect this pipe to the fittings, you'll need to heat it up (I prefer MEP gas but propane works as well) just enough so it can go on (you still need to apply a bit of force). If you heat it too much to the point it stretches, you'll weaken the pipe and probably cause a leak - if you do this, cut the end off and start over. Use two stainless steel gear clamps to ensure a reliable connection (you can usually get away with one -- but in an outside location like a well, an extra couple gear clamps is probably cheaper than the pain of having to do this repair again).

If it's leaking, then:

You heated it up too much.
There is something wrong with the barbed connector (eg, a cut through the barbs). Brass male adapters are usually better than PVC. I personally don't like nylon, nylon fittings seem to wear out really quickly after attaching/detaching just a couple times.


How to prevent outdoor wall touching concrete fom getting moisture issues? In my house the drywall is contact with the concrete. This is putting lot of moisture in the drywall and eventually it will start to rot. What is the best solution in this case to isolate the wall with concrete moisture. Pictures attached.

The first issue is the moisture in the concrete - where is moisture coming from? Is the foundation sealed correctly? Even if you're dealing with drainage, you need to make sure that the basement has a proper incline (and make sure that the floor is sealed) directing the moisture towards the drain. This is a good place to start: http://www.everything-about-concrete.com/basement-floor-sealer.html

The second issue is that wood is resting on concrete. That has to change. Not just because it's kind of ugly, but also because it's going to be a repetitive source of problems associated with moisture. Exposed concrete in itself isn't terrible, but you shouldn't have any organics or drywall in direct contact with it. You could remove the wood and just have a concrete wall, or create a proper raised floor, or raise the wall with a metal separator. Painting a bare concrete wall isn't a terrible idea either - it may end up looking better than that wood, too.

I would remove the wood, seal the floor, and paint both the concrete wall and floor.


DIY skylight sun-block, fire hazard? We have two skylights in our master bedroom that get quite a bit of light during the day.  Normally this wouldn't bother us, but we have a one-month old now sharing the room with us that gets enamored with the light coming from it at 6 AM, making it very difficult to get her back to sleep.  I picked up two black foam boards from CVS and put them up to block the sun.  It works, but I wanted to make sure this is not a fire hazard.  I'm open to other affordable suggestions.  Just fyi: the house is 40' high, so getting to the roof and doing something on the outside of the skylight is a little beyond my capabilities right now as I don't have the appropriate equipment.

Question is: are these foam boards a fire hazard if they see sunlight for long periods of time?  Pics below.

The make shift sun-block using black foam boards:

Skylight without the boards

Have you placed a thermometer to see what the temp is?  I can't imagine it would be hot enough up there to cause any problems. It's no different than any large window with dark drapes or blinds closed and sun shining through.

There is a nice lip on that crown molding that would be perfect to hold a pull down,sun blocking shade.


How to install a chandelier onto a pancake box? We removed a ceiling fan that was installed on a pancake box that is mounted directly to the joists in the ceiling/attic. The bolt on the new chandelier is too long to be fit inside the pancake box and have the canopy rest flush to the ceiling. We considered cutting the threaded bolt that the wires pull through but we'd have to cut it so short it felt like there may be another option?

My suggestion is to find a different fan rated pancake that does not have the mounting holes directly inline with the beam. Alternatively, go buy a new pancake and drill holes to mount it where the holes aren't inline with the beam.

Either suggestion shouldn't cost you much.


What size is an ice maker connection? The ice maker line to my refrigerator currently has no shutoff valve and I'd like to add one but I can't figure out what size the connector is. I purchased a 1/4 inch valve since the ice maker connector I have says 1/4 FCM on it but it did not fit. It looks more like 1/8 inch, but a 1/8 inch valve doesn't fit either, although it is very close. Where can I find information about water pipe sizes, there must be some standard?

My fridge is a GE CFCP1NIZSS:
http://products.geappliances.com/ApplProducts/Dispatcher?REQUEST=SpecPage&Sku=CFCP1NIZSS

The copper water line I am connecting it to has the exact same measurement as the fridge.

This valve was extremely close in size, and just barely didn't fit:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005C0J3XI/ref=oh_o02_s00_i00_details

UPDATE:

Okay I thought that searching the internet for 1/4" OD Valve Male Female would get me what I need but I am getting no results so I've reopened the question! Can anyone give me a web link to a product that will fit? I've added a photo of the current connection where I'd like to add the valve. Thanks!

There are different standards to pipes and threads. Your issue is that you are trying to mix two different threaded standards.

The ball valve that you linked to has national pipe threads (NPT). NPT are tapered and it is that taper that makes the seal between a male and female joint. No washers are required.

What is shown in your photo is compression fittings which have a straight or running thread. The seal is made by either a ferrule or a rubber washer.

In your case, the connection between the copper tube and the supply hose has been made as follows:

1/4" Copper Tube > 1/4" Compression by 1/4" Compression Coupling > 1/4" Supply Hose

The seal on the copper tube is made by a ferrule that is located under the nut. As the nut is tightened, the ferrule is compressed between the coupling and the pipe.

The seal on the supply hose side is made by a rubber washer which is usually built-in the the nut of the supply hose. (The compression coupling would have come with two nuts, one of which has been discarded as the supply hose has one built-in.)

So, to answer your question, you simply need a 1/4" compression x 1/4" compression valve that will replace the current coupling. Here is a link to such a valve.


Can I use one 3-phase circuit to power 2 separate machines? NYC. We have 208V "Wye" 3-phase.

I have two devices - a dryer and a water heater.  Each takes 208V single-phase.  I am also considering an air conditioning unit that will also take 208V.  All are 23A draw for a 30A breaker.

But the conduit to their location already has 6 wires I cannot change, and only 3 wires remaining before we'd have to pull out all the wires and upsize for a 310.15(b)(3)(a) derate -- and the conduit won't physically fit that.

My question is: Can I run a single 3-phase circuit (3 wires, neutral not needed)... and wire the dryer from pole L1 to L2, and the water heater from L2 to L3?

I know how to do that with a subpanel... my question is how to do it without a subpanel.  Can I put those 2-3 loads on one circuit?  How would I size the breakers?

I can't comment on whether your code has anything specific to say about this but looking at this from a generic safety/functionality point of view.

The currents in each shared live conductor will partially but not completely cancel.

Assuming the loads are resistive, the currents to the loads are 60 degress out of phase, so assuming the loads are equal the total current in each shared live conductor is.

23A * 2 * cos(30°) = 39.8A

If the loads are non-resistive then the calculation gets more complex but 40A is probably still in the right ballpark. AIUI with the way American breakers are rated, if these loads count as "continuous" then that would require a 50A breaker.

The main question IMO is are the appliances suitable for connection to a 50A breaker? or do they require a 30A breaker to operate safely? In the latter case it would seem you need a subpanel.


How to repel pigeons so that they don't loiter behind my windows? I live in a apartment in a multistory building. Pigeons often sit onto edges of window openings behind my windows and leave excrements which is rather annoying.

Is there some simple, preferably without violence, way to repel pigeons off my windows?

Many buildings in my area have the same problem. I have seen many clever items, but the one that seems to work well is a strip of plastic with stainless nails extending up from under the plastic sill covers. These are constructed with strips of acrylic plexeglass cut to fit over the exterior window sill, then drilled every few inches all over with Stainless 3 inch nails protruding up from under the strips.   The birds will not land on the sharp points.


tiles getting spongy and water coming up between the cracks I have press-on tiles in my bathroom. We noticed they are getting spongy near the cooling vent. When I press it with my foot, I can see little bit of water coming up between the cracks. Duct work is underneath that floor (I believe).

Is it because duct is getting too cold and leaving moisture or there is some sort of pipe leak? I cannot see the pipe or anything from underneath but it could that duct is hiding it.

Do I need to worry about it and get it checked or is it normal? Do I need to call plumber or a handy man?

It does not sound at all normal to me.  I would call the handyman first, since you haven't pinpointed the problem to piping.  If you have to rip up flooring you'll need a handyman to put it back together anyway.


Installing vertical EMT conduit crossing a horizontal eletrical run The room i want to install some vertical EMT (for data cables) has a horizontal electrical wire (romex or something like it), about 8 or 10 inches from the floor, going across the entire wall as near as I can tell.

Now there is enough give, that I could push the romex to one side and install the conduit, but there is more tension than I would like. Is there any issue with pushing the electrical off center, and rubbing directly against metallic conduit?

If you use conduit hangers like these:

If will hold the conduit ⅜" away from the wall giving the  NM cable plenty of room behind it.

Good luck with your project!


What steps do I take to painting a brick wall mural? I'm about to paint a mural on a school playground wall. the wall is brick and has already been primed. I drew a sketch on paper and am considering the grids technique. I need to know how to outline the grids and the drawing itself...do I use chalk? charcoal? pencil? how do I rub off mistakes?? then, what paint should I use? should I buy all colors or mix- will I be able to make them again if I manually mix them?

where do I start?

where to buy brushes and what kind? where to buy paint??

Thank you for any help!!!

I would avoid using chalk or charcoal for laying out the grid and/or sketch lines as it could cause finish-coat adhesion problems. Assuming this is a large scale project I would use a carpenter's pencil (hardware store) to lightly mark the grid and to sketch your design; no need to rub off as the paint will cover over the pencil marks.

Don't draw solid grid lines, use a straight piece of lumber and draw intermittent marks for the grid.

As for paint, it depends. Pre-tinted exterior house paint might be a good idea if large areas of the design are a single color (they can be duplicated with fair accuracy). If the design is intricate with many hues required then it would probably be more economical to purchase smaller containers of acrylic paint (art/hobby supply store) and mix them yourself (colors will not be easily duplicated though).

Large area brushes: hardware store, and do not skimp on the quality; good brushes= good coverage and finish.

Intricate design brushes: art/hobby supply store.


How do I correctly wire a new light/switch from an outlet? I’m installing an LED strip and would like to run a switch from the existing outlet.  I’ve made a diagram that I believe is correct.  Anything I’m missing?

Electrically, this will work and your diagram is correct. You're lacking a bunch of construction concerns though. How are you getting from outlet to switch?, from switch to transformer, where will tx be mounted, what type of wire, etc.


Should I replace the plywood subfloor when replacing the ceramic tile? If I remove (break) the existing ceramic tiles with the intention of replacing them with new porcelain tiles, there will be hardened thinset left on the subfloor. I suppose I should just remove the entire plywood subfloor and replace it with a new one, instead of bothering to grind off the thinset?

No, unless the surface is so severely damaged (or you can't remove enough mortar) that installation of new tile would be difficult.

You might find that a commercial floor sander with a coarse grit works well to smooth the remaining mortar, which is not terribly dense.


Can I install laminate (Pergo) flooring over previous underlayment? I tore up laminate flooring and the underlayment is still intact and in very good condition.  Can I install the new laminate (which has the underlayment attached) on top of the existing underlayment?

I am sorry I don't have time to research this right now but I will give you a quick answer and maybe edit later.  First - call Pergo and ask.

Second, I have installed 4 different types of Pergo+underlayment and all of them say to take out old underlayment.  I think there is first an issue with the floor becoming too spongy and second if there is spongy/vertical movement it could could splintering or disconnecting of the tiles.

If your old underlayment is "padding" I would remove.  If it is just a thin vapor barrier then keep it.


I have a flooded basement and have an electric cord plugged into an outlet. How can I unplug the cord without getting shocked? We recently got a lot of rain and my basement has standing water.  The water is about a quarter inch deep.  I have a freezer that is plugged in with an electric cord that is submerged in the water.

I want to clean the basement up but am afraid to with the electric cord being plugged in and submerged in the standing water.

The circuit breaker is also located down there. Thought about setting up chair and walking across room to shut breaker off.

Whatever you do, do not stand in water and try to unplug or use any electricity. This is one of the main causes of electrocution. You can kill all of the electrical or individual circuits at the panel then unplug all appliances. Then if possible leave all of the circuits in the basement turned off until professional remediation crews can come in and inspect, repair and replace all damaged devices and equipment.

Sorry for your loss. Good luck.


Is it a problem to have water around a tub drain flange? I just replaced my 30 year old tub drain flange with a new one. I have made sure that the flange is tightened.

Water goes down the new configuration just fine - it is not clogged. However, after draining, there is a tiny bit of water around the flange, and I'm wondering if this is something I should be worried about.

Here's a photo of the new flange, with standing water:

I don't remember if, after draining, there was standing water around the old flange. I did take a look at it (the old flange) and noticed that it has a concave lip, while the new flange has a flat lip.

Will the standing water cause any problems, such as:

getting underneath the flange "lip"
corroding the flange
some other problem that I haven't thought of

However, after draining, there is a tiny bit of water around the flange, and I'm wondering if this is something I should be worried about. ...
  Will the standing water cause any problems.

It is not a problem if all other aspects have been implemented correctly.
Because:

It's a "feature" of the geometry plus surface characteristics of the materials. The latter will change with time and may change the result (but it still doesn't matter regardless).

The "head" of water or pressure is so close to zero that the joint 'does not even know the water is there'.
In some circumstances you could get 'wicking' of fluid into a boundary between two materials by capilliary action - but a tub joint is designed to not be an example of this.

The water will evaporate in under a day in most atmospheric conditions.
Maybe not at about 0.5 degrees C and 99% humidity but in most others - and the materials used are designed to be permanently wet without other than cosmetic degradation.


What could cause dishwasher waste water to back up into the bathtub? A friend of mine says when they run the dishwaser at her father's house it backs up into the BATHTUB.  What could be causing that?

Clog or Restricted Drain
The most likely cause of this would be a clog, or restriction in the drain line. When the dishwasher discharges, it's too much water too fast for the drain to handle. The water likely backs up into the tub, because it's the easiest escape for the excess water.
If there is a clog, it would be somewhere in the drain line after the tub (which is why it backs up into the tub). Without actually being at your house, it's nearly impossible for me to be more specific.
I would start with a liquid clog remover (like drain-o, liquid plumber, etc.), which I would pour down the tub drain.  Make sure you select an appropriate product. for example if you have a septic system, choose a product that is safe for septic systems.
If that doesn't work, you could snake the drain (or have a plumber do it).
Full Septic Tank
If you have a septic system, it may be time to have it pumped and inspected.  When septic tanks are full they cannot leech water fast enough, often times the result is waste water backing up into other fixtures.
The only solution here, would be to call in a professional to service the tank.


Using powerline adapter over 3 floors I have been using a powerline adapter without a hitch for a few years now, but I am moving from a ground floor bungalow, to a 3 floored house.

Will the powerline adapters still work over the different floors, or is it likely they are on a separate loop?

The fact that you're on different floors is mostly irrelevant. It's often the case that different rooms are on different branch circuits even on the same floor.

This type of system relies on simple continuity of two or more of the three legs (hot, neutral, ground). In a properly wired system they should work, but you'll have to try to know for sure.