Stranded wire in light switch To finish installing a new light switch I had to buy some 14 AWG wire to pigtail from the neutral wires to the terminal on the switch because the switch I have requires neutral but the one I’m replacing did not. When i got home from Lowe’s I realized the wire I bought is stranded. Is this ok to use?

The screw terminals on standard switches are easy to wire with solid wire, more difficult with stranded.

It's easy to make a loop in solid wire that fits nicely under the screw head.  With stranded you have to wrap the wire around the terminal and tighen it without it coming out from under the screw head.

Me?  I'd hunt up a scrap of solid for the pigtails if at all possible, but I would not make a trip to the store if all I had was stranded.

The push in (aka "backstab") terminals on standard inexpensive switches are for solid wire only, and most agree that they are marginal at best with solid wire.  With stranded wire, totally unacceptable.

However...

This switch does not have the usual terminals

The terminals on this switch accept the wire like a backstab, but they are not a simple push in;  there's a pressure plate inside the switch that applies pressure to the wire when you tighten the screw, similar to the mechanism on most breakers.  It's easier to use and makes a better connection than a regular screw terminal with either solid or stranded wire.

In fact, I'd go as far as to say this type of terminal makes a better connection with stranded wire than with solid.

Now at the other end of the pigtail,

where you're splicing to the existing solid wires - it can be tricky to get a really good splice with a mix of solid and stranded, especially if you try to pre-twist the wires before putting on a wire nut.  With push-in type connectors, it's easy to mix solid and stranded.


Discovered 10/2 wired 3-prong receptacle for dryer. Is it ok to leave as is? We removed a drop ceiling in our 2nd bathroom and discovered that some previous homeowner/DIYer had run wiring for a new dryer through the drywall ceiling into the wall, and hid it with the drop ceiling - rather than drill through the top plate of the wall.
We shut off the breaker, unhooked the receptacle, drilled, and ran it through the top plate.
The wire is 10/2. I am attaching a photo of how it was wired. Ground is screwed into the metal box, and then into the neutral prong. When we reconnected it, we re-wired it exactly as it had been.
Dryer came with the house when we moved in 2 years ago. We have never had any problems with it.
Dryer is on a 30A breaker all by itself.

Is it ok to leave it as is?

Replace it with a homerun of 10/3 and a NEMA 14-30.  It's the only way to be sure.

The original installer was a massive cheapskate with no understanding of the NEC -- even if the install was old enough to be grandfathered in under NEC 250.140 and friends, it still was a violation at the time of install as using an uninsulated wire for the neutral (grounded conductor) is only allowed when using type SE cable, not type NM as the original installer did:

  50.140 Frames of Ranges and Clothes Dryers. Frames
  of electric ranges, wall-mounted ovens, counter-mounted
  cooking units, clothes dryers, and outlet or junction boxes
  that are part of the circuit for these appliances shall be
  connected to the equipment grounding conductor in the
  manner specified by 250.134 or 250.138.

  Exception: For existing branch-circuit installations only, where an equipment grounding conductor is not present in
  the outlet or junction box, the frames of electric ranges,
  wall-mounted ovens, counter-mounted cooking units,
  clothes dryers, and outlet or junction boxes that are part of
  the circuit for these appliances shall be permitted to be
  connected to the grounded circuit conductor if all the following conditions are met.

  (1) The supply circuit is 120/240-volt, single-phase, 3-wire;
  or 208Y/120-volt derived from a 3-phase, 4-wire, wye-connected system.

  (2) The grounded conductor is not smaller than 10 AWG
  copper or 8 AWG aluminum.

  (3) The grounded conductor is insulated, or the grounded
  conductor is uninsulated and part of a Type SE service-entrance cable and the branch circuit originates at the
  service equipment.

  (4) Grounding contacts of receptacles furnished as part of
  the equipment are bonded to the equipment.

So, replace this abomination with a fresh homerun of 10/3 and a NEMA 14-30 receptacle -- you'll have to change the power cord on your dryer to a four-prong one, but that's a small price to pay for never having to worry about getting bit by your dryer again.


Mounting TV on Thick Drywall + 1" Stud + Concrete blocks I am trying to mount my 55" TV to the wall in our basement. It is an old (~1930) semi-detached house and I am a mounting it to the shared wall. As best as I can figure out, we have 1.5" drywall mounted to 1x2" wood studs (1" thick, 16" apart) on top of the concrete block wall. This means I have to drill through 1.5" of drywall and 1" of stud just to get to the concrete. I can't tell if the studs are fixed to the concrete.

What is the best way to mount this TV? It's a tilting mount.

Thanks

I don't think it's safe to assume the firing strips (what you are calling studs) were installed in such a way to properly hang a TV. Unless you know for certain otherwise, you shouldn't mount the TV to the firing strips.

I think you have three options.

Find a fastener that can go all the way through your bracket, stud and drywall, and anchor in to the concrete block. Is your concrete block hollow? If so, you can get pre-packaged toggle bolts that are that long.

PROS: Minimal damage to drywall.

CONS: You need to be able to drill a fairly large hole in the block very deep. If you don't have a powerful enough hammer drill or appropriate bits, this can get pricey.
Remove the drywall down to the concrete and firing strips, and install plywood. Use easy to install fasteners like concrete screws (Tapcons) to mount the plywood to the concrete, through the firing strips. And then put drywall over the plywood to get the wall back to the correct thickness. Mount the TV bracket to the plywood using lag bolts.

PROS: Easy to do, comparatively. A regular drill can handle this, but a hammer drill would be better.

CONS: Messy and time consuming. Large drywall repair job when you take the TV down.
Use a spade bit or Forstner to drill a large hole in the drywall down to the firing strips. Then use concrete screws (Tapcons) to securely fasten the firing strips to the concrete block. Your TV bracket can then be screwed using lag bolts directly to the firing strips.

PROS: Minimal damage to drywall. You might be able to do this without a hammer drill.

CONS: You have to use exactly the right lag screw. Too long and the screw will hit the concrete before it's holding the bracket tightly; too short and you risk pull-out.


Tips to Remove Kitchen Cabinets and Countertops without Damage for Donation? We're taking on a project to upgrade our kitchen cabinets and countertops, but we think that the current cabinets are quite new and usable (just not our style).  We'd like to remove them while minimizing the damage so that they retain their value when we donate them.  Any tips/info on how to do this?

Any ideas on the best places to donate kitchen cabinets would also be appreciated.

First, take off all the doors, drawers and counter tops. Many times, counter tops are glued to your base cabinets, and are bolted together at the seams with pocket bolts. Try to take these off carefully if you plan on re-using them, or donating them too.

Then, look for a board near the top of the base cabinets, this is the board usually used to screw the cabinets to the wall. Take the screws out that are being used to secure them to the wall, and it's likely that they'll can just be pulled away from the wall. Be careful though, sometimes, the base cabinets are screwed to each other too, so look at the insides of the base cabinets to see.

The same basic process can be done for the upper cabinets as well, except that you should make sure that they are not screwed to each other before trying to take one down. This is almost always a two-man job.

As for donations, I suggest looking for a Re-Store in your area. They are operated by Habitat For Humanity, and I personally have purchased many things (including cabinets) from them. All the proceeds from the sales of donated items goes to help low-income families earn the pride of home ownership!


Do washing-machines provide a AC connector which is live when the machine is working? I am considering to install an electrical valve between the water outlet and the pipe bringing this water to the washing machine (I have some traumatic memories from a pipe breaking and water flowing in an apartment for a week).

This valve would need to be open when the washing machine is working and closed when it is not. One of the ways would be to power it from the washing machine, at some place which is live during the washing cycle.

I do not want to experiment too much but was wondering whether is was usual to have such an output, probably for cases like mine.

Since I suppose not, would there be another way to control the valve?

No, they don't generally have such an outlet.

Perhaps you are looking for an Automatic Washing Machine Shutoff Valve? These devices sense when the washing machine is using electricity and open the water supply valves. Once the machine stops using electricity (i.e., the cycle is done) then the valves shut. Many models also include additional features such as water sensors for the floor, and timers that close the valve after x minutes even if the washing machine is still pulling current.


What is the silicone-like coating on CREE LED light bulbs? I recently bought some CREE LED bulbs, the kind pictured below, and while they are the same shape as glass incandescent bulbs, they seem to have some sort of cloudy and sticky rubber coating, as if the whole bulb had been dipped in silicone. What is this coating? What effects does it have?

It's done for anti-shatter, the silicone keeps the glass shards together.

According to their product sheet, "Safety coated glass for shatter resistance provides a protective shield to safely contain the glass if the bulb should break"

It first came out being used on incandescent bulbs for mechanic's trouble lights.


Digital Switch for Gas Fireplace I have a Lennox MPD3530CNM-B fireplace. It is controlled by a standard toggle switch on the wall. I can turn on and off the fireplace even when there is no power. It looks like my fireplace uses a thermopile. As a result, the switch on the wall does not have electricity coming from the electricity panel. The switch on the wall is connected directly to the fireplace.

I am concerned with the fireplace. I understand the Lutron Maestro is an electronic switch. Based on my research, I am not going to be able to use a Digital Switch to operate the fire place.

How do I replace a standard toggle switch with a Lutron Maestro 'Digital Switch'? If it is not possible, does anybody know if Lutron has a mechanical switch with look like Lutron Maestro and would do the job?
If I ever replace successfully the switch to a Lutron Maestro, will I still be able to turn on and off the fireplace with the switch?

I am in the process of changing the standard toggle switches in my house for Lutron Maestro Digital Switch. My goal is to have Lutron dimmers, switches and wall plate to have a consistent look across the house. That's why I am trying to find a way to power on and off the fireplace with one a Lutron Maestro switch.

I would really appreciate if someone could help me figure out how this would work! Thank you!

This answer assumes two things; first your #1 priority is a consistent look and second, it's important enough that you are willing to get creative.

Thermopiles generate a small electric current using heat from the pilot light. This current powers an electromagnetic valve that controls the gas. It has been rightly stated that this low-voltage circuit cannot be controlled using the desired digital switch. The circuit requires a single-pole, single-throw mechanical switch.

Here's my solution. Take your brand new Maestro switch and gut it. All you need is the visible exterior and the case that houses the digital goodies. Once the guts are removed, you will need to mount a latching push button switch in the case. This must be done in such a manner that pushing the touch plate will actuate the switch.

I recommend securing the switch into position by filling the case with hot glue. Take a section of open-cell foam that is slightly thicker than the distance required to actuate the switch. Foam is often used for padding in packaging of electronics and optics and such. You have to be resourceful here, find some foam about 1/4" thick. The purpose of the foam is to hold the touch plate in position while allowing the plate to be pushed, actuating the switch. Cut a hole in the foam where the pushbutton will be, glue the foam to the case, then glue the touch plate to the foam.

The finished product will look identical to your other digital switches while allowing operation of your fireplace without external power... all with a simple push on, push off function. Good luck Martin, I hope this helps.


Light switch/light problem Just installed a new light at the bottom of the stairs ,this is connected to a 2 gang down stairs (1 feed to the light itself & 1 to outside light,upstairs it is connected to 3 gang switch (loft light upstairs light & downstairs light).

The switches were put in by a qualified sparks not my bag,the thing is if you turn downstairs light on downstairs you cannot turn it off upstairs also on position upstairs is off for the light downstairs to get the light to turn off you have to go down stairs,any help would be appreciated many thanks for reading this post.All other lights on the switches function normally.

That is simply a mis-wired 3-way.

On each switch you'll have a "common" terminal and two others. Typically a black screw and two gold. You need to confirm that the "travelers" are on the gold screws. Look at this diagram to see what I mean.

In this case the black/red pair are the travelers, but could be any colors depending on how it's wired. Just keep in mind, the same two wires must be on the travelers.


400 amp meter base combo I plan on using a 400 amp meter base combo with a 200 amp QNR breaker for a 200 amp sub panel, a 100 amp QP breaker for a sub panel, a 70 amp QP breaker for a sub panel and a 20 amp AFCI/GFCI breaker for an outlet mounted on the meter rack. Are there any issues with this setup?

For clarification; I want to use a 200A breaker for main house panel.
100A breaker for guest house panel. 70A for well house/pool equipment panel and 20A for outside outlet. (can the 200A and 100A breakers feed (2) separate panels in the same dwelling?)

The combo panel is Siemens and comes with (1) 200A breaker that feeds the installed bus (which has feed through lugs). It also has a provision for another 200A breaker.

Question: Is there a requirement for the bus on this type of panel to have a dedicated breaker -OR- can the feed through lugs be used directly from the meter side to power the bus (as shown in the picture), then the breakers on the bus (100, 70, 20) used as disconnects for the respective panels/outlet? Can a breaker be used as a disconnect?

The reason I would not want to power the bus with a dedicated breaker is that in the event the VFD needs to cut power to the panels, they could still leave the well house powered and have use of the water.

That would violate the listing of the equipment

The meter-main you are looking at (the MC0816B1400RLTM) is configured so that the factory-fitted 200A breaker is fitted into the panel interior, with its lugs connected to one of the two sets of jumper wires from the meter base to the breakers, in effect being used as a backfed main for that interior.

Changing this factory configuration would void the equipment's listing, which would cause serious AHJ heartburn in just about all cases, and calling UL/ETL/... out to your place for a field examination is generally cost prohibitive for anything that's not a piece of heavy industrial equipment.  So, you can't make the changes you propose.

However, your concern is addressable in other ways

I would not call your scenario a huge concern in the grand scheme of things, though.  Unless it's the well pump house itself on fire, then the FD can just as easily cut power to individual buildings with your meter-main hardware as they can to the whole lot.  Having a main disconnect for the panel section makes it much easier to work on the equipment safely, as well.

The one caveat, though, is this means that the sub-feed lugs in your meter-main can only be used to subfeed a panel on the meter rack that sources feeders through breakers, not to provide a tap or feeder to a separate structure.  The practical implications of this are that the house cannot have any more than a 200A feeder without restructuring the metering hardware; this is not normally an issue in configurations like this, as long as no massive current hogs such as oversized heat-pump auxiliary heaters or large electric tankless water heaters show up.  (There are better solutions to the problems one would try to solve with such hardware, as well.)

The resulting configuration

The configuration that results is basically identical to your existing configuration, save for the fact that the 200A panel section is fed via its factory main breaker instead of its lugs, as depicted in your second illustration.  This provides us with two means of disconnect (well within the rule-of-six), and allows for independent shutoff of any of the feeders or loads, as well as a global cutoff for everything aside from the main house.

The bad news, though, is that if the 100A breaker feeds the main house, it would violate NEC 225.30 about the number of supplies to the building.  Having it feed the guest house (ADU) is fine as it would then count under either 225.30(B) point 1 or 225.30(D), but that feeder cannot feed anything in the main house as a result of feeding the ADU, at least under a strict interpretation of NEC 210.25(A).

Since you are able to get the house to run on 200A, though, that means you can go ahead with what you are describing as long as you maintain a strict electrical separation between the circuits for the main house and the circuits for the guest house.  Note that grounds lighting loads cannot be fed from either the main house or the guest house under this strict interpretation of 210.25; they would have to be fed either from the pumphouse panel or directly from a breaker in the meter-main.

Go big or go home!

As to the subpanels involved, there is no reason whatsoever to skimp on them; for a house this size, I would consider a 200A, 42-space, main breaker panel a bare minimum, with 54-space or 60-space options readily on the table despite their extra cost over 42-space units.  If space allows, you could even "go for broke" and do two 42-space panels (one main breaker, the other main lug) daisy-chained together with a subfeed lug block and a short stretch of feeder wiring, giving you 80 spaces for about the same price as 54 or 60 costs.

The pumphouse and guest-house/ADU panels, then, can be 30-space, 125A, main breaker panels; these are relatively inexpensive and provide plenty of room for expansion.  The main breaker, by the way, simply serves as a shutoff in this case, so it can be larger than the feeder breaker in the meter-main without raising any issues.

As to those feeder wires...

While the factory wiring inside your meter-main is THW, and likely copper as well, this has no bearing on what types of wires are legal to terminate on it in the field; it simply needs to be treated as an integral part of the equipment in this case.  The 20A circuit is probably best run as THHN/THWN in a short conduit (nipple?) run.  However, for large feeders, the wire of choice is XHHW-2 compact stranded aluminum; it's far cheaper than copper at these large sizes, does not pose the hazards that aluminum branch-circuit wires did back in the bad old days, and is more robust to temperature excursions, water, and such than THWN is.

Of course, you need something to protect the wires as they are run underground, and for this we use conduit.  In easy soil conditions, PVC can be trenched in to about 22-24" deep and will last basically forever underground.  If trenching is difficult, one can use rigid metal conduit in a 12" trench; this saves a wire in the conduit, at the expense of more work, and some vulnerability to corrosion.  Either way, you want to use fat conduits here.  A 3" conduit to the main house would not be at all out of place, if only to leave room for a future upgrade to 400A, and I would run 2" conduits to the guest-house and pumphouse as well if I were in your shoes.

TORQUE ALL LUGS TO SPEC

One new requirement for the 2017 NEC is found in 110.14(D), and it requires that a calibrated torque tool (wrench or screwdriver) be used on all equipment that has torque values for its screws or lugs labeled on it.  Even if your local authority having jurisdiction does not enforce this, it's still a very good idea so that your electrical system doesn't give you the loose lugnut.

Postscript: What if it turns out the main house does need over 200A?

In a case like this where the main house did need over 200A, we'd have to turn to a different set of hardware than what you propose in your question, especially given that you have a remotely located meter-main, which takes the typical way it's done (with 2 200A breakers in the meter-main feeding independent subpanels) off the table.

Instead, I would use a 400A meter-loadcenter with a single main breaker, and then use two subfeed lug blocks in parallel to feed a 400A disconnect for the main house. Since breaker coordination is generally not feasible without specific engineering study anyway, you don't lose much by not having a 400A OCPD dedicated to the main house feeder. This also gains you the ability to disconnect the main house without losing power to the pumphouse, or the ADU for that matter, while still having a single "kill all the power" switch available if need be.

If we are to stay with your theme of Siemens hardware, I would go with a MC2442B1400SDL for the meter-main to provide a single main disconnect as well as spaces for the subfeed lugs and the remaining feeder breakers, and a HNF365RA for the disconnect for the main house.  With this, we use a KO punch to put a 2" KO in the bottom of the right side of the meter-main box and the bottom of the left side of the switch enclosure, and connect the pair of ECLK225 subfeed lugs in the main panel to the line lugs on the disconnect switch with a 2" rigid conduit nipple and 4/0 Al wires, two per pole, run lug-to-lug.  The switch also gets a HG656A ground bar kit to provide a place for the feeder EGC to land, by the way, as it needs to have its bonding screw pulled if present.


Washing machine sound coming from top springs My 8-years-old washing machine (Siemens WM14E442BY) forced me to replace its worn shock absorbers as well as all bearings. Once done, the washing machine finally stopped the sounds which were generated during spin cycle.
However, new sounds were introduced during slow spinning. I have managed to figure out the reason - the top springs on whose the drum is hanging. If I move the drum by hands, in certain angles the springs rub against the metal pillar making a vibrating metal sounds, which - amplified by the machine body - are quite loud and sound like the drum is hitting the machine's metal body.
I have extensively greased the connection between springs and the metal pillar. However, after a few washing cycles it is back.
Does anybody solved such a problem? Not really sure what is wrong. The only idea I get is that the metal pillar is worn out and even the grease does not prevent it to rub against the springs. I.e. the spring does slide to sides without friction, and once the friction is overcame it behaves like a guitar spring.

One approach is to slip a shim of some softer metal (Al, Cu, or brass) under the hook. You could form a groove in the shim before placing it. Maybe the friction would be greater and the hook would not move.

Another approach is to completely immobilize the spring on the support. That would be a clamp of some kind. The simplest would be to screw a plate on so that it immobilizes the top of the hook on the spring. If the spring is moving relative to the support I think it will wear through the spring or the support or both.

Is it slipping by 'swinging' in the plane of the hook or by shifting back and forth perpendicular to the plane of the hook?


What is the difference between double glazing and triple glazing? Noise reduction is touted as the best attribute but isn't this down to glass pane thickness and spacing? So, is a triple glazed install better than double glazing?

Triple glazing is usually touted as the best for energy reasons.
Sound reduction in triples can be better than doubles, but it's not dramatic.  Asymmetric glazing (different thicknesses) can give triples an edge by blocking (attenuating) different frequencies, but these are special features not on the average triple.  The larger air gap of a double is a better sound insulator.

Your best comparison, insulation-wise, is to compare the R-value / U-factor of 2 units.  The U factor is nothing more than the reciprocal of the R value.  A window with a R 10 rating will be a U 0.10 (a great window currently.

Triple glazing is the darling of superinsulated homes and has a price to match. They typically only make sense in colder climates where heating costs would justify the expense.  Windows must be paired other areas of energy conservation: air sealing, ceiling insulation.  An energy audit that does a blower door test, paired with a thermo imaging analysis, should be done before upgrading to triple glazing. Some local utilities have discounted energy audits.


Hot/Neutral Wired Together? I have a junction box in which a neutral from one 2-wire cable is spliced to a hot from another 2-wire cable. Is it possible this is right?
I am currently learning about wiring as I try to untangle the problems in my new house. So idk if this is ever a thing that would legitimately happen. The thing is, there are two fixtures that I know of connected to this breaker (even though there are 3 cables) : one receptacle that works, and one that doesn't. So I want to say "eureka!" and just fix this box so it's all black-to-black and white-to-white. But I want to be sure before I do, especially since idk where that other cable even goes.
My voltage tester tells me that 1 and 2 have power, but 3 does not. To me, this looks like #1 is wired correctly, #2 is incorrect but works b/c it has a complete loop thru #3, and #3 is incorrect and does not work b/c it has no hot wire. So I suspect #1 is my working receptacle, #3 is my non-working receptacle (and I have no idea what #2 is).
Bonus question: That dead receptacle has worked in past, and died without explanation. Is it possible that if whatever is connected to #2 is switched on, that the receptacle on #3 would temporarily have power?
Thanks!

Cable #2 is a switch loop, so try turning that switch on
What you see here is the origination point of an old-style switch loop that controls a receptacle.  Cable #1 feeds power from the breaker onward to some other box, so we can ignore it and focus on cables 2 and 3.  From that white-wire-to-black-wire splice and the fact cable 2's black is spliced to the always-hot black, we can tell that cable 2 is an old-style switch loop, carrying always-hot to and switched-hot back from an ordinary light switch somewhere.  Cable 3, then, feeds a switched receptacle with the switched-hot from the switch loop, as its neutral connects into the main neutral bundle.
As a result, turning the switch at cable #2 on should get your receptacle to work.  While you're in here with the breaker off, there are a couple things you can do to clean this box up for the next person working in it, though.  First and foremost would be to use black tape or Sharpie to remark the white wire in cable #2 as a hot wire; that way, it's clear that it's hot, not a neutral.  Furthermore, Code says that that white wire in cable #2 should be carrying the always-hot down to the switch, with the black wire in cable #2 used to carry the switched-hot back up.  Once you have the relabeling done, swapping those two wires around should be a simple matter -- once you're done, the relabeled white wire from cable #2 will join with the black wires in the incoming feed and in cable #1, while the black wire in cable #2 connects to the black wire in cable #3.
Note also that since this switch loop controls a receptacle, it's exempt from the NEC 404.2(C) requirements for bringing neutral out to the switch location.


What are the external airflow requirements for portable and window AC units? I have a window well in a basement where I'd like to setup a portable AC unit (~10000 BTUs). There is a cover that I need to keep in place to avoid water collecting in the window well, but I could possibly keep this open a bit. How do I calculate the threshold for the exhaust of this hot air?

You would be far better off building a roof type structure over the window well that is well above the window well and projects far enough out around the edges of the well that rain water does not enter the well.

Trying to jury rig a scheme to keep an existing lid open "just enough" sounds like a recipe waiting for disaster. Either it will be left closed with the AC unit on and it will overheat and kill itself due to inadequate air flow. Or the lid will be left open an flood of water will enter the well and try flooding through the AC unit creating a potential safety hazard.


Can't figure out where leak is coming from When we moved into our new house I saw a faint water spot on the ceiling and made a note to keep an eye on it. Couple of days ago the water spot appeared more noticeable and wet to the touch. Today I opened up the ceiling, but everything is completely dry. In the attached photos the water spot is directly below the elbow connecting to the sewer line, the u-trap is connected to the toilet. I flushed the toilet above couple of times, even let the water run through without collecting in the tank - no apparent leaks. Any ideas what might cause this water and spot and what else should I try? I should note that there is a 2x4 to the left of the pipe that touches the ceiling and water spot continues there as well, may be I should open up ceiling there as well? Thanks for your help.

Leaks are almost never directly above the wet spot. They are somewhere above the wet spot (water does not run uphill), but can be a long horizontal distance if there's a way for the water to run along.

If you suspect the toilet, dye is one way to check, but presumably the toilet has been there all along, and if, say the recent reappearance of the wet spot coincided with wet November weather, I'd be looking at the exterior surfaces of the house and water intrusion there more than the toilet, unless it got clogged and overflowed recently, or the bathroom was enthusiastically wet-mopped, or tub-splashed, or something like that.

Could, for instance, be the flashing on the vent pipe letting rain down the outside of the sewer pipe. Could be a roof leak or window flashing leak running along and dripping off here. Well-nigh impossible to diagnose with as little as you've looked at so far, but where-ever it is, is up. Just might be 20 feet sideways, too.


Uneven paint on a smooth and primed wall I am attempting to paint a tuff wall using  a latex paint.

It's actually a repaint, so I stripped the old (water based, possibly whitewash) paint using steam and a scraper, allowed the wall to dry and then sanded it with 120 grit sandpaper where it felt rough, then I applied an acrylic primer and a water based (latex/acrylic) paint. The results? Frustrating!

As you can see there's litterally voids in the paint, as if it never touched the wall, or the wall itself had holes or cracks! This happens both with a paintbrush and with a roller, both on smooth primed and smooth non primed walls.

The primer is an OK one, the paint is too, but pretty thick and used following the manufacturer's instructions, thinning it doesn't help either.

What could I possibly be doing wrong? This doesn't happen on pine and MDF boards, so there must be something wrong with me, the paint or the wall... the paint I stripped was brushed, I could see brush marks but no holes.

Paint will not fill holes, voids, etc very well.  It CAN do it, but it takes many coats and will still never look right.

If you want a smooth surface when you paint, you need to start with a smooth surface.

For a wall like this, go over the whole wall with medium grit (120ish) sand paper to knock down any high spots and roughen up the surface a bit.

Then, using a very wide blade trowel, apply a very thin "skim coat" of joint compound (light duty will be fine) to the entire wall.  You're not looking to build up the wall - instead you're looking to fill in all the voids without adding to the overall thickness.  Hold the blade of the scraper at a 45° angle, apply the compound evenly but with a fair amount of pressure where the edge of the blade meets the wall to keep it very thin.

Once the compound is mostly dried (not soft to the touch but not bone dry), take a SLIGHTLY DAMP, LARGE (big as you can find) sponge and go over the wall lightly to -- well think of it kind of like buffing the wall.  Only don't do lots of circles...  just go over the wall to take down any ridges/lines left behind and get that nice smooth surface.

Finally PRIME the wall, then paint.


What should I do to increase the dimming range of LED bulbs? We  started doing most of our homes in LED last year.  I am a big dimmer fan and would pretty much put a dimmer on any light switch.  One thing that I haven't gotten down is the dimming range of the LED vs what I am used to with the incandescent lights.  To me when I have LEDs all the way at the lowest setting they are still at 60-70%.

I understand that most new dimmers have an adjustable switch for the dimming range and I have tried setting these to low.

What I would like is a recommendation on the type of bulb (or what to look for in dimmable LEDs) and the type of dimmer switch?   The end game is to get the LEDs to react more like the traditional dimmed bulb so that you can go from mood lighting to flood lighting.

Note:  I have done an array of testing over the past week with 3 different dimmers and 6 different bulbs.  I found that the dimmers made little to no difference.  The bulbs made a bit of a difference but not close to an incandescent.  What is funny with the bulbs that did the best... they blinked when turned all the way up.

I'm in same boat.  When I redid the house I'm in, I installed as much LED lighting as I could and the rest is halogen.  What I've learned is, dimming range is based completely on the driver in the LED bulb.  And most LED bulbs will only dim to about 20-30% of there maximum.

I'm sure you know how dimmers work, but for those that don't it is basically a super fast switch turning the light on and off very quickly.  In incandescent bulbs, this works perfectly providing a nice smooth dimming range.  In LED/CF's it is a nightmare for them to deal with.  To get around it, they actually have to have extra circuitry to interpret the on/off pattern and then use that to control the brightness.  During the on phase they pull extra power to provide power to the light during the off phase as well.  For LED's, the driver reduces the voltage to the LED elements but never actually turns them off.  So what normally would be dimmed to almost nothing for a incandescent, is pretty bright for an LED because it's pulling 2-3x as much wattage during that on phase to keep the capacitors charged and the light going.

TL;DR; For LED's, you have to look for high end bulbs that actually list their dimming range.

Now hopefully we will not be stuck for long with incandescent analog dimmers driving digital bulbs.  There are a couple of standards trying to gain traction for pure digital dimming.  These work by actually never dimming the power but instead sending a digital signal on the power line to tell the bulb to dim.  Think philips hue bulb being controlled by a light switch instead of a wireless hub.  But right now none are on the market for consumer level products.


Remove and replace kitchen window with just caulking outside I have an old kitchen window and like to replace it with modern double pane glass. Here is the look from inside:

Here is from outside:

Do I just remove the caulking from the outside (red box)? Then pop it out or something?

This is an old window so I don't know how it is mounted.

Thanks.

It most likely has a window flange on it that you'll need to remove as well which is probably buried behind the siding. If you have a reciprocating saw you'll probably have to cut the flange off. An alternative that I've seen is to to remove the glass and then collapse the frame pulling nails and all with it. If you don't mind putting a frame around the window then you cut a section of siding off just wide enough to get to the flange, remove everything and then put a frame around the new windows to cover the siding that you removed. You could even save the siding piece your removed and put it in place under the frame.


Is it safe to splice these cords with tape instead of a terminal? In the image below, you can see that I have two cords spliced together with a terminal block, all covered in a black piece of plastic. As the cover is not very attractive, and too bulky to easily hide, I'd like to just get rid of it, tape the individual cords together, and hide them in a small cable tray.

On the right side, there's a 60W lamp, on the left side is a three-way splice with the power source and another lamp.

I'm a complete beginner in this area, so my question is simple: is this safe to do?

No, I would not do that.

First the one cord has a ground wire apparently not being picked up by the second cord.
They both should have the ground wire.
Secondly it is not a safe procedure to splice a 120 VAC line without
it being protected in an approved box.
Third the splice should be made with an approved connector, such as a wire nut or crimp.

The best way would be to replace the entire cord with one continuous wire.


Is it typical for a roofing contractor to inspect roof framing and quote repairs? I just got an estimate for a new roof on my home for $23,000.00.  The roofer did an inspection inside and stated that there was sapping on the wood beams at the highest point on the roof.  He stated that this is caused by poor ventilation.  I also have a crack that goes the whole length of one of the rafters.  My roof is large about 3425 and has high pitches which is why it is so expensive.  The price includes proper installation that would provide the proper ventilation that is needed and they would also repair the cracked rafter.  I am just sick about this and don't want to be ripped off. They would also remove the sap which he said is not necessary because the new roof would prevent further damage. But they would still remove it.

My question is: Do roofers normally check the inside of the roof as well as the outside or is this a sales pitch? Is it the norm for roofers to install a new roof with regard to ventilation? I could get a cheaper roof, but don't want to put a band-Aid on a roof if it's not properly ventilated
Thanks.

isherwood is correct. Some so called roofers don't normally inspect anything under the sheathing. A Roofer is not a carpenter by definition. But then they are not being asked to build a wall or staircase now are they? A Roofer makes all decisions as to the structure of a roof. That means a Roofer works on, makes decisions on structure, load bearings, ventilation, truss or rafters, sofettes and anything related to the structure of the roof which is from the attic ceiling joists up to the ridge line.
isherwood may be referring to so called Shinglers working under the guise as a Roofer. These are Roofers that only want to work on replacing a piece of sheathing and laying shingles. Commonly known as shinglers. All they do is essentially remove and replace from the underlayment up. Sadly this is common practice amongst roofing contractors. And not what most home owners need when it comes to roof inspection and repair.
You have to be wary of Roofing contractors that are actually just Shinglers that will claim they will make all repairs, then when the roof is opened up, they don't actually fix anything but rather just cover the damage over with sheathing and shingles.
A true to the term Roofer will indeed do a full inspection of the roof structure, and walk the roof itself to look for damage, roof structure integrity, inadequacies in ventilation, code violations and so and discuss all their findings with the homeowner so the homeowner can make a informed decision when it comes to repairs.
Another option is to hirer an independent licensed roofer/roof inspector with experience in roofing and up to date on building codes to do a full roof inspection. This is a person that doesn't work for a contractor and is not trying to sell you a roof. You have to be equally as careful as to who you hire as not all independent inspectors are the same. You want one that specializes in roof inspections. Not just general building inspections.
Equally you can get three licensed bonified Roofers to inspect and give detailed bids as to the work you want done, which you should do anyway.
Never sign anything that gives them the authority to negotiate with the insurance company - it's illegal. You wouldn't be in trouble, they would. It's felony in most states.
Never sign anything that states they are to receive all monies before they start work. Or all claim money goes to them. Known as an AOB these can be worded differently. It's not illegal, but very commonly used in scams. It means all claim money they get, including for any other damages to the property included in the claim. You more than likely will end up with a subpar roof if any at all, and find it very difficult to get claim monies over and above the repair cost returned once they have it. They know push come to shove, you'll have to sue them to get it back.


How to remove a tree from a roof How do I remove this tree that fell down? It is partially on the roof.

The conventional way to deal with this type of serious problem is to call in some tree service professionals. They know all the proper techniques to safely remove a fallen tree and may even have a crane truck that can be used to hoist pieces of the tree as it is cut apart.
Tree removal is dangerous work and you should not attempt this on a DIY basis unless you know exactly what you are doing and have experience.


How can I waterproof a hole in my vinyl deck to fit a downspout? I am wondering if anyone might have some suggestions on solving this drainage issue with our vinyl deck.
We used to have 2 separate decks but upon rebuild we have them joined with a narrow walkway. There was previously a downspout where the new walkway currently is. Initially, we were going to redirect this downspout to the other side of our roof gutter as our deck builder didn't think having the hole through the deck would look good. But after having a roofer and a gutter company here, we were told that due to the current slope of our roof, redirecting the downspout to the other side would not work without the risk of having our gutters overflow. We have temporarily attached a piece of downspout across our deck that then drains down into river rock for the time being, but of course, it cannot remain this way.
As a result, I now have to cut a hole in our deck for the downspout to fit through so that it can reach the storm drain below.  The deck surface is the Deksmart vinyl product. I want to make sure that I do this as least invasively as possible while also being accurate. The last thing I want is for water to seep under the vinyl and potentially cause bubbling or rotting, so I want to shield the exposed edges in the subfloor once I cut out the hole. Almost all water will be inside of the downspout, but I want to protect the subfloor in case some water on the deck itself runs into the cut-out. I have attached some photos for reference.
Gutter Fix 1 - This is the current layout, as well as the proposed plan outlined in red.
Gutter Fix 2 - An alternative view from under the deck.
Gutter Fix 3 - This is a mock-up of how I was hoping to potentially protect the subfloor edges (the green tape represents vinyl decking that I would heat weld to the existing vinyl.

I have also been searching online for options, but I'm not sure that I have found a viable solution. Our gutters are 2x3" rectangles and the only PVC coated drain openings I could find online are 1.5" or 2" circles.
Could anyone suggest a product or PVC insert that will work with a 2x3" downspout? Or a better way to heat weld the vinyl to protect the cut-out opening? Or any other suggestions or ideas on how to accomplish this?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I wonder if you could use a Low Profile Dryer Vent like this one?  (google that phrase for more options).

You might be able to seal it using the stuff they use to glue PVC pipes together but that might ruin your deck.   Probably caulk is the way to go.


Proper material or method for making water tight seal on ceramic soap dispenser? Background: Hi all, I have this ceramic soap dispenser seen below. After using it for a bit, it has started to leak soap where the plastic pump is screwed onto the ceramic body. I've tried screwing it tighter and it did not solve the problem. I also tried adding some rubberbands to see if I could make a better seal, buy it still leaks.

Question: What material (or method) can I try to form a better seal and prevent the soap from leaking? Most products I have seen (like caulk) seem to be for forming permanent seals, but in this case I still need to be able to screw and unscrew the pump to refill.

Any tips appreciated, thanks!

The problem may not be related to a leaky seal.

Pumps of this sort would pull the liquid soap into the vertical tube and push it out the spout of the dispenser. If the pump mechanism is working correctly, it will also allow air from a designed-in vent somewhere in the cap.

For the top to be leaking in the manner you describe, it would be a failure of the pump to transport the liquid soap from the vertical tube to the spout and into your hands, not a gap or poor seal around the opening.

You can confirm this by holding the pump mechanism over an open container filled with liquid. Keep the dip tube in the liquid and activate the pump. If the liquid appears other than at the exit spout, you have confirmed a faulty pump.

The above test will also show you that a sealed container is not required for a pump to work. A sealed container will cause problems if there is not an air intake. As the soap level decreases, air must be allowed in or you have a building vacuum which will prevent soap dispensing.


Adding a light fixture to an existing fixture I added a new light fixture by splicing into an existing fixture.   When I turn the light on, the existing light comes on, when I turn it off, the new light comes on.  What have I done wrong?  I want them both to turn on together.

The method for adding a new light fixture to come on when the old one does is this: You do not disconnect any of the existing wires (except temporarily while working on it). You add wires only, connecting one screw on the old fixture to one screw on the new fixture, and the other screw on the old fixture to the other screw on the new fixture. This is called connecting the fixtures in parallel. Any method that does not connect the fixtures in parallel will not work.

Now -- exactly how you connect these screws together depends on what your fixtures look like, where power is supplied to the old light circuit (at the fixture or at the switch), and where (in what country and state) you live.

I strongly recommend that you continue to communicate on this site until you have a complete answer to your question, before doing any more work on your electrics. Judging by the mistake you describe, if you continue without guidance you may do much worse than make something that doesn't work properly. You may hurt yourself or damage your residence.


How can I best divide a connected two room into separate bedrooms? Renting an incredible apartment with two other friends, catch is that it is 2-3 bedrooms 'depending on disposition'. The room/s in question are shown in the photo. What's nice is that each would have a door to the hallway in the event that they are closed off. I'm just looking for recommendation on things to put in between for privacy and sound insulation (if possible)

If you are considering separating the alcove in the first picture into a separate room, you may have a problem with building codes, and more importantly, safety. Even if the alcove has access to the hallway, it does not appear to have a window, which may be considered a hazard, both as to air and alternate egress in the case of a fire or other emergency.

You need to check with the housing or building authority before separating space.

You also may have a problem with your landlord, depending on what your lease says. Usually renters are not permitted to erect anything structural without permission.

If you are merely asking about a curtain for the archway, there are sound insulating curtains you can find online, but they are likely to reduce noise, not eliminate it.


Identifying a cast iron hub Our house is on a concrete slab. We are planning on installing a second-floor full bathroom, and hoping to connect the new bathroom 3'' PVC waste pipe to the below-grade drainage system at this point:

I think that this (oakum/lead filled) fitting connects the visible 2 inch pipe to a 3 inch, cast iron pipe buried below the concrete:  on the one hand there is  '3-2' molded on the exterior, and on the other hand, a few feet downstream, there is a WC that must feed into that very same submerged cast iron pipe.
But  I could not find this fitting/hub on the web to be absolutely sure.
Does a) anyone recognize the fitting to identify it? Well enough to provide a specific reference? [I have no guess as to the meaning of the XH molded in high relief on the fitting.] And b) do you agree that it is fitted to a submerged 3 inch pipe?
Assuming some positive answers to the preceding, my follow-up question is: will I have to remove the hub/fitting to connect the new 3'' PVC? Namely, does this fitting constitute the equivalent of a 3 inch diameter 'long radius 90 degree elbow' or (better) a 45 degree elbow?
I am assuming that the fitting will have to go, and I will have to break up enough of the concrete to join to the hoped-for, 3-inch cast iron pipe.
To be clear: we are replacing/removing the 2'' DWV pipe in the image above.
FWIW - I am drawing up plans to submit to the town, and would like them to correspond somewhat to reality.
Thanks in advance!

Edit: As Ecnerwal points out in the comments, the 'XH' surely means 'extra heavy.'

Pull this out.

Charlotte Pipe 3-in x 2-in dia Reducer Cast Iron Fitting, Lowes
And put this in.

Fernco 3 in. Hub x Cast Iron Service Schedule 40 Weight Donut, ferguson.com
If it doesn't connect to a 90 degree elbow hooked to a wye laying on its side, it was done wrong in the first place. That's the only situation you should have to bust up concrete.


Roofing solution for "dead valley," where one plane goes into side wall? Problem

I am reworking my roof on the front of my house.  The previous roof had been leaking down the corner of the house where the garage and porch roofs come together.  The previous roof had a sort of false roof added to create a plane moving away from the sidewall, although this seemed to move the problem down.

1. Roof Valley Before

2. Roof Valley Before Showing Corner Damage

Question

I have seen some references to low slope roofing membranes like these: http://www.gaf.com/Roofing/Residential/Products/Low_Slope_Membrane/Liberty, is this the way to go?

I just want to make sure water flows out of this area and over the corner without leaking as shown in the pictures.

3. Roof Valley Now

Solution I ended up with:

I extended the shingles well over the edge (not shown) and also added some kick out flashing (not shown) to further divert water away from the side wall and to the roof plane below.


MC Cable through double 2x4 top plate I'll be newly wiring a room on the second floor, in this case putting in outlets. The house is old, balloon frame 2x4s, with a double 2x4 top plate that the rafters rest on.
I have 250 feet of 12/2 mc cable that I was going to use to do the electrical that I got from a friend for free.
I am presently planning on running the cable along the rafter ties, down the rafter, through the top plate, and then back up and along to the next outlet. This means two holes in the top plate per outlet.
I'm just a bit uncertain about drilling through the double top plate. These are true 2x4s, but even so, the mc cable has an exterior diameter of around half an inch. That means 5/8 or 3/4 holes. Do two holes of either size present structural concerns that warrant a reinforcement of some kind? I know for notches in the top plate(s), you need to put steel reinforcement on, however I can't find a clear answer with holes of this size. Is there an optimum place to put the holes? In the middle, equidistant from eachother and from the studs?
Any assistance(or general advice) would be welcomed.

I would be placing a junction box in the attic and only running 1 line down to each receptacle.
Running up and down is a waste of wire and if the walls are not open a lot more work fishing metal clad can be a pain in the back side especially if there is insulation.
Having a 4x4 box makes a great junction box get a deep box with all 1/2 or 1/2 -3/4 TKO and you will only need 1 box for most rooms.
When I usually do this I many times add a raised single duplex cover and add a convince outlet it can be handy to have if there are no outlets up there.
With balloon framing you need to reduce the amount of damage (drilling) I don’t work with balloon as often as it is somewhat rare but you need to be aware additional holes will compromise the structure.
Make sure to use the insulating bushings that came with the MC inspectors look for this if your roll doesn't have a bag get some they are only a couple of $ for 50 or 100 I cant remember how small the bags come.


How can I fill a hole in wood so that it can be redrilled? The original strike plate for the deadbolt is mounted with 2 screws on top and 2 screws on bottom.  I'm replacing the whole deadbolt and the new strike plate only has 1 screw on top and 1 screw on bottom.

So if I were to screw in the new strike plate down the middle of the old holes, it will probably merge together into one big horizontal gap.

I want to fill up the holes, should I use Minwax Wood Filler for this?

I also heard of a method to use a bunch of toothpicks with wood glue to fill the hole.  Which method would be stronger?

Wood filler alone may not fill the entire depth of the screw holes.  I would use a piece of dowel, toothpicks, golf tee, or a carved piece of wood covered in wood glue and fitted tightly into the holes.  Using the wood and glue method will give you a nice dense fill so the new screw will not split the remaining original casing.


Ways to mitigate safety risks with double cylinder deadbolts on enterance/exit doors? While double cylinder deadbolts (those deadbolts on house doors that require a key from both sides) can be good for security, it could be a trade-off with safety if needing to get out of the house in a hurry. In some places housing safety code requires entrances and exits can be operated from the inside without any special skills or equipment (eg. a key), while in other places this is not required or it is only required for X amount of entrances and exits.

In cases where these types of deadbolts are permitted and chosen for their security benefits, what are some ways to make that entrance/exit safer for those indoors in case of fire or some other need to get out of the house?

The way to mitigate the safety risks is to not use a key inside.  It doesn't provide any protection, anyway, so there is no good reason to use that type of lock; it is inherently unsafe even if locally allowed.

The vast majority of break-ins don't involve picking locks, sawing through deadbolts, cutting arm holes in the door, or using other fancy, slow methods.  The goal is to get in and out as fast as possible, and burglars look for easy opportunities.  Your real protection comes from encouraging the burglar to look somewhere else.

Doors that are not security doors, that have locks with short deadbolts, and don't have any reinforcement at the weak points, take only seconds to simply break the door open, deadbolt and all.  That's what burglars look for and try; an inside key is irrelevant.

If you make that difficult, your typical burglar will look for another house that's an easier target after a couple of unsuccessful tries.  If they've specifically targeted your house, the door isn't the only, or necessarily easiest, route in.  For example, they can bust out a window.  Focusing on an inside key is looking in the wrong place for security.

There are lots of ways to make a door more difficult to break open.  There's tons of advice online on simple things you can do.
There's only one type of door where an inside key might even be a consideration -- a door with decorative glass within easy reach of the lock mechanism.  That invites breaking the glass to reach the lock inside as an easy first step.  If they find no lever on the inside, step 2 is the brute force option they would have tried anyway.

If that's the type of door you have, and why an inside key seems relevant, the better solution is to get a different door.  The appearance of a potentially easy way in might be what makes your house an attractive target in the first place.

Keep in mind that your property is insured against theft, and burglars rarely break in when someone is at home.  So an inside key jeopardizes your own safety, doesn't offer real protection against break-in, and would be there to protect property that's insured.


How should my third-generation Nest thermostat be connected? I have an old Honeywell Q674 thermostat with mercury in the house we just moved into.

I'm attempting to upgrade to  the nest 3rd generation thermostat, however the wiring labels are VERY different. I believe I have figured out that:

W2=w1
G=G
O=OB
Y=Y1
E=aux
X=C
R=RH or RC

Does there need to be a jumper from  rh to 3rd? Does W2 go to W1?

Amy I do would be helpful. Here are some photos.

Based on this wiring diagram, this looks like a multistage heat pump thermostat (provide control of a two-stage heating/one-stage cooling heat pump system).

From left to right in your picture:

W2 = Aux. Ht. Relay
G = Fan Relay
R = Power
X = (Note says terminal labeled C/X on some models, and based on
diagram, I think your assumption of common wire is correct)
E = Em. Ht. Relay
Y = Compressor Contractor
O = Cool Changeover Valve

Based on those wires, and this wiring from the Nest Pro Installer Guide, I think you'll wire it as a 1 Stage Heat Pump with Aux heat and Emergency Heat

So if we link up your current wiring to Nest:

W2 -> W2/Aux (Auxiliary Heat Relay)
G -> G (Fan Relay)
R -> Rc (24VAC power)
X -> C (24VAC Common Wire)
E -> * (Star: E)
Y -> Y1 (Compressor Relay (Stage 1))
O -> O/B (Heat Pump Changeover Valve)


Alternative sewer line in basement I have an unfinished basement in a 1920s house. This weekend we had our second stoppage that required someone to snake the sewer line that the kitchen sink, dishwasher, washing machine, and basement sink all drain into (all drain to one stack).  The part that is stopped is cast iron and in the slab.

question

I was wondering what the pros and cons would be for running a new pvc (or equivalent) sewer line from that end of the house to the front of the house along the wall rather than tearing up the floor.

There is a toilet near the front of the house that is already tied back in to the sewer line. I will get rough dimensions and pictures tomorrow, but any initial advice will be appreciated.  There is also no intent to finish the basement as it leaks in nearly every decent rainstorm.

I think that is a viable idea.  I know that the cast iron pipe can present some serious issues, cracking, collapsing, etc. Quality control in manufacturing of pipe has improved dramatically over the years.  That old cast iron pipe had thin spots.  Also, I would be concerned about the original grade as in pipe slope; was it proper and or adequate.  If I had two serious clogs in a relatively short period in a metal pipe nearly 100-years old,  I would surely be looking for a better solutions than to call the rooter man again. Use a pump for the basement sink. Good Luck. P.


Running Cable Underground in PVC Conduit - Do I bond the PVC segments before pulling the wire through? I have the PVC segments with the flanges at one end, and a relatively short (under 50ft) run, but its very bendy at the ends.

My initial thought was to pull the cable through the pieces one by one, get them in positions, mark a 45deg twist, uncouple them, put on the binding material and put them back on and twist them into position.

But I have read conflicting information on this method being up to code.

Is there a simple, definitive answer to this?

Is there a simple, definitive answer to this?

Yes
It may seem more convenient to install the wire as you go in a very few cases but the National Electrical Code prohibits it and is quite clear.
From the 2017 NEC:

300.18 Raceway Installations.
(A) Complete Runs. Raceways, other than busways or exposed raceways having hinged or removable covers, shall be installed complete between outlet, junction, or splicing points prior to the installation of conductors.

Most electricians would normally just use a fishtape to pull the wire in after installation. It really is a whole lot easier than trying to stuff the conduit over the wire and then glue it together.
An alternative is a pull string vacuumed into the conduit with a piece of plastic baggy on the end. (Make sure you pull slow and easy to avoid the string cutting through the 90ºs.)
Good luck!


How do I measure the leg positions for a three-legged table with a circular top? I am creating a three-legged stand for a monitor (not really a table, but whatever) and am not sure how to conduct the measurements so that all three legs are accurately spaced in an equilateral triangular shape such that the weight of whatever is sitting on top is evenly distributed over all three legs.  How do I go about calculating this?

An equilateral triangular set of legs is easy for a circular top.

Take a pair of dividers (for those who do not know what I mean, this is just the standard school compass used by kids), set to the radius of the circular top.

Step around the perimeter of the table top using the dividers. There will be EXACTLY 6 such steps until you return to the start point if you had set that distance carefully. Mark the steps you take with a pencil around the perimeter. (Adjust the dividers if you do not return to the start point, then redo the steps.)

Once 6 points are located around the perimeter, choose every other mark. Draw a line from the center of the table top to the corresponding mark on the perimeter.

Finally, with that same compass, draw a circle around the center point. Where that circle crosses the radial lines you have just drawn will be the location of your legs, so choose a reasonable radius here. Stability can be increased if the legs splay out a bit, but not too far as you don't want people tripping over them. Rungs that connect the legs can make them more robust.

The process I described above works because a regular hexagon can be inscribed inside a circle such that the vertices lie on the perimeter of the circle. The length of the edges of that hexagon are the same as the circle radius.

Theta = 360/12 = 30 degrees, Sin(30) = 1/2  So the chord length is R.

Edit: You often have the center of the circle from when you made the table top. Some circle cutting jigs will actually leave a hole in the center.

But, if you don't have that mark to use, that compass will come again to your aid. Set that tool to mark a distance larger than the radius of the circle. With one point at the perimeter of the circle, draw an arc across the rough center of the top. Now repeat, but from the opposite side of the table. Those arcs will cross at two points. Draw a straight line between them.

Now, rotate the entire process by approximately 90 degrees, drawing a second line between a pair of intersections of circular arcs. The two lines we have drawn will intersect at the center of the circle.


Router bit suitable for straight cuts in pine 1/2" deep; Dutchman door patch I'm replacing Mortise locks with contemporary levers on solid wood doors in my apartment. The doors are pine, 1 3/4" thick. I've removed the Mortise locks, leaving behind two large holes and the Mortise cut-out in the door (first photo).

My goal is to stain the doors, so I want to patch the entire area and avoid using fillers for a nice, clean look; I believe this type of patch is called a  Dutchman Patch (second photo).

I purchased a low-end plunge router to cut out the area, but I'm not exactly sure what size bit is suitable to cut 1/2" deep; the area is about 4" x 7". In the video they mention "upwards spiraling" bit, I'm assuming this means "up-cut", I'm just not sure what shank size and bit diameter is suitable for cutting this area effectively, cleanly, and without me standing there for an hour; I have to make 9 of these, correction, 18 (doors have two sides :-D )

Question

What shank size and bit diameter is suitable for cutting out the area for the patch?

If you don't want it to take a long time, why did you purchase a low-end router? You won't be routing anything 1/2" deep with that thing successfully, I'll predict. Indeed, it's generally not a smart idea to try routing that deep in one pass with any router, but you'll be limited to nibbling away in tiny increments with a small-shank underpowered tool. If it's additionally plagued with poor bearings it will work even less well. And you'll be stopping to charge batteries on a regular basis.

More directly to your question:
Since you are using the tool you have purchased, and it only takes 1/4" shanks, you'll be looking for a 1/4" upcut spiral bit. And you'll be "standing there for hours," except when you are sitting somewhere else waiting for batteries to charge.

Or you'll buy a half-decent (or decent) plug-in router with a 1/2" shank and be done a lot faster.


How do I level a pipe with the ground? I have a drain made of PVC pipe on my back porch.  The PVC pipe sticks up from the concrete about an inch or so.  What is the best way to cut the pipe down so that it will be level with the concrete?  What tools do I need?

One of those oscillating tools would be perfect for this.

But before cutting it you might want to figure out what it's for, and if you'll need it in the future.  Cutting the pipe should be fairly easy; but if you ever have to, making it longer is more difficult.


What could cause a tap to flow well, then spurt? I fitted a new tap to a sink, single cold water tap. When I first turned it on the water ran fine. If I  open the tap further, the water flow becomes jerky with constant gaps in the flow.

Is this the tap that is malfunctioning or the delivery?

I presume you turned the water off to install the faucet.  This usually means that air is introduced into the piping, and can cause spurting as it bleeds out.  Leave the water running for a few minutes and see if it stops.

Also, ensure that you've turned any shut-offs all the way back on.


Is a water pressure booster pump with an induction motor suitable for kitchen tap use? The water pressure in my kitchen is too low to achieve a reasonable flow rate through the kitchen tap. For many years I have fitted a series of booster pumps which are activated when water is flowing from the tap. This fixes the problem with poor water pressure and allows the kitchen sink tap to function correctly (it has a fancy spray head).

The booster pumps have all had universal motors with a commutator and brushes and this results in two problems:

They're quite noisy in operation
The motor brushes wear out every 2-3 years

I am considering replacing the pump with one fitted with an induction motor. These should be a bit quieter and hopefully last considerably longer.

Will a booster pump with an induction motor take too long to spin up to be practical on a tap (rather than say a shower)?

I don't see induction motors as being particularly slow to start, so the answer is yes, it should be suitable.

There is no reason from a plumbing point of view why the booster pump has to be under the sink.  It can be anywhere on the supply line to the kitchen sink.  This may allow you to put the pump where it's noise is less of a problem.  Oh, wait:  If you are boosting the mixed water, it would need to be near.  And if you aren't, you are going to pump water in circles through the mixing valve.

I dont see why an induction motor would be any quieter either.  Noise may be due to resonance between the pump and the plumbing.  This can be markedly reduced if you can use rubber hoses for the linkage instead of metal pipe.  Mounting the motor on a resiliant pad can help too.

In general a more massive motor tends to be quieter, better bearings tend to be quieter.  Induction motors may have better bearings.

Can the pressure in the whole house use a boost?  Would a house sized booster pump and a pressure tank for the entire house be appropriate?


What do you do with the toilet brush after you clean the toilet? I mean, it’s wet and I don’t want to put it back in it’s holder until it’s dry to prevent mold/bacterial growth. And also it’s dirty. Am I supposed to rinse it in the sink?

You rinse it in the bowl once the bowl is clean. Flush once or twice as necessary to rinse all the cleaner out.
We usually put the handle flat across the rim of the bowl (with the brush over the bowl) then put the seat down to hold it there while we let it drip dry for an hour or two (or until someone needs to go). Don't put the lid down - it'll smash the top of the brush and get the lid wet.
You can get a fancy little holder for it that sits in the corner of the bathroom, or you can keep a metal or plastic bowl under the vanity that you can store the brush in. Either of those should accept the brush still lightly damp and contain the drips (of what should be just clean water at this point), preventing them from spreading and causing damage.


Frigidaire Refrigerator water dispenser water flow too strong Frigidaire Refrigerator model FRS6LR5EM8 water dispenser water flow too strong! most online items refer to low or no water pleasure. I am not sure if replacing the water inlet valve will correct this issue.

You can reduce flow to the fridge by tightening the valve that supplies it. Trace the water line from the back of your fridge to your plumbing. If you find a valve that looks like this:

you can simply turn it clockwise a bit to restrict the flow. If you find a saddle valve like this:

then you will not have much ability to adjust flow at the valve. Your best bet then would be to replace the saddle valve with a proper tee and new valve with a compression outlet. While normally I'd recommend ball valves (sometimes called quarter-turn valves) for durability, they are not great for limiting flow, so here a multi-turn valve would be better.


Should I apply a second coat of primer when I have a high contrast in colors and the new paint is thin? I am using Sherwin Williams Cashmere paint in my finished basement. The prior owner painted this god-awful flat baby blue paint that has a lot of stains from contact and glues and other things.

The new color I am painting is called "Obstinate Orange". It is a very bright color that will bring more light to the room. I have already done a section where I did one layer of primer before painting.

Unfortunately it took 3 layers of the orange because it is so thin of a color (not a lot of solids/tints in the paint due to the specific color).

Would it be advantageous to do two coats of the white primer I am using? This is the first time I have ever had to use primer as all the other colors were thick enough to go on just fine with two coats on their own (and come with primer in them).

The best thing to do is have the primer tinted close to the paint color you are using.  For a bright orange paint, the best they can do is probably a pastel sherbet orange color for the primer, but that will still be better than just plain white.

Primer tends to cover well, because thats what many people use it for, and it also tends to be a little cheaper than paint.  Use as many coats of primer as needed to completely cover the base coat before starting with the final color paint.

Another point - some colors cover better than others because of the pigment used.  Colors in the red family (including orange) tend to have very bad coverage. Blues and browns cover much better, so you may not have as much trouble with other colors.  In your case I would strongly recommend taking the primer back and having it tinted.  Many places will do this for free - for instance, at Home Depot they don't even have a way to charge you for it if they wanted to.


Ungrounded outlet indicates grounded when an UPS is plugged in I moved into an old apartment that has a mix of grounded, ungrounded, and GFCI ungrounded outlets. My computer is plugged into an ungrounded GFCI outlet. Plugging in a tester indicates open ground. But when i plug in my uninterruptible power supply (opti ups 1000c) the tester indicates "normal". I'm wondering what's causing the tester to indicate ground. Is this safe the way it is? Is the setup still capable of protecting my equipment without real ground?

Edit: to clarify, the tester alone plugged into the outlet indicates open ground. When I plug the UPS into the remaining outlet, without touching the tester, the tester indicates normal.

The cheapie 3-light testers work by connecting 3 lamps in a triangle fashion across the 3 outlet pins.   The hot-neutral lamp works in the obvious way.  The hot-ground lamp works if the ground pin can find a path back to neutral, presumably via a ground wire correctly bonded to neutral in the panel.  But not necessarily.

It sounds like the UPS is connecting neutral to ground in some way.  Perhaps with its own onboard ground tester.

All of this is idle amusement.  If you know there's no ground wire, then that's your answer - the tester's output is irrelevant.  These testers are a little bit hokey and are not the last word on the subject.


Are hydraulics stronger against compression or tension? I would like to use a pair of hydraulic pistons to raise and lower a surface that will hold about 150 lbs, and be capable of remaining in either fully extended or fully contracted modes for long periods of time. Should I mount them so that
A: expansion pushes the surface upwards, causing gravity to act as a compressing force,
or
B: contraction pulls the surface upwards, causing gravity to act as a tensional force?

Why? Or am I worrying about nothing with such a small load?

They are still working in compression - the only difference is the extra weight of the base, which hopefully is negligible compared to the load you are lifting.

Edit: Assuming you have a dual acting system - where hydraulic fluid pushes against either side of the piston (rather than just an air jack where atmospheric pressure pushes it back) then there is no difference - other than the weight of the outer cylinder.


How to clean and maintain a rusted charcoal grill? I have a charcoal grill that's basically a 16 gauge metal box that used to be painted with high heat black paint.  Over the years, the paint has come off and the metal has started to rust.  I would like to take it apart, clean the rust, and then treat it so as to prevent (or at least slow down) it rusting again.  I have already done this once.  I took it apart, cleaned it a little, and painted it with Corroseal Water-Based Rust Converter Metal Primer, and then spray painted it with Rust-oleum High Heat paint.  The grill was rusted worse than before within a year.

Is there anything else I could do better on my next attempt?
Should I bother with rust conversion or just try to get it really clean?
Any suggestions on how to clean the grill better? It's fairly large but also has areas that are hard to reach.
How should I treat it once it's clean?
What can I do during day-to-day use to extend the time it takes for the grill to rust again?

Thank you

Whenever you are painting something high-temp, ALL the coating must be high-temp-rated.  More than that, a grill must be food-rated - you don't want it off-gassing stuff that will poison your steaks!

The way rust CONVERTERs work is they have a chemical reaction that turns rust into a supposedly inert compound, and then, this stays under the paint permanently as a "primer".  In my experience that trick works for about a year, then it blooms even worse.  And that isn't even on a grill, where the heat and condensation will greatly accelerate that!  So I refuse to use rust converters except on things that will live indoors going forward. And as said, this stuff is not high-temp rated.

They make rust removers where they do the same chemical reaction (basically: phosphoric acid) to remove the rust, but then, the magic juice washes away so you are painting bare metal.

By the way, when using any anti-rust chemical, it's best to use physical removal to get rid of any rust possible - that way the chemical isn't wasting its limited energy dissolving rust that's already separated.

The most reliable way to remove rust and get to bare metal for painting is to media blast.  NASA has done a lot of work on this, because somebody (Nikita Khrushchev?) placed the Kennedy Space Center right on the beach in Florida, basically corrosion hell, and they have millions of tons of nationally important steel latticework there.  Naturally, they science'd the heck out of it, and they have a whole website on that at http://corrosion.ksc.nasa.gov ...

Primers make a huge difference, but there is no good answer for primers on hot metal. Even galvanizing, the activity in a grill will melt the zinc, and  you do not want zinc vapor on your food! When we have to hot-work galvanized, we drink milk afterward to help our body attach and dispose of the toxins.

Really your best bet is simply to prep the metal as much as possible, and use grill paint as directed.

As far as how to stop it rusting again, don't leave your toys outside lol.


What type of common materials can I use to detect water infiltration/leaks? I am trying to find the source for a water leak in my car when it rains. The answer here should also be good for hard to find water leaks in a house.

Is there a material I can use which tells me the material got in contact with water in the past? I mean it changes color, or deforms or does something visible permanently even if it gets dry later? I want to know that some area got water before even if it's dry now. I want to know this after the fact. I hope I explained what I am trying to do and know.

(For those interested: I did run the hose over the car for a while and saw no leaks. I think it takes time and it's happening under the inside panels)

What you're looking for is called "water contact indicator tape".  It's used in cellphones and other electronics to detect when damage was caused by water for warranty-rejection purposes.  You get it wet, and it turns bright red, as shown on page 2, and stays that way permanently.

Though it's generally only sold by the 100-count reel.


Can my floor support Kitchen Island? I am installing a 5' x 3' kitchen island consisting of two base cabinets.  Once I've installed the two base cabinets, SilestoneUSA will install a quartz counter top.

My plan is to screw two parallel 2x4 blocks/cleats to the floor, then screw the cabinets to the cleats, as pictured here:

  source: Step #6, photo #11 of Installing Kitchen Cabinets

Given the layout of our kitchen, the cleats will run parallel and in-between joists.  This way the screws I drive through the cabinet into the cleats will be hidden by the toe kick.  These cleats will be screwed 8" to either side of one joist.  Once everything is finished, I think most of the load be distributed on a portion of the hardwood floor ultimately supported by three joists... although full weight of the cabinet & counter will mostly be distributed in-between one joist!

The kitchen has a hardwood floor supported by 2x8 with 16" centering.  The 2x8's span 11'6".  The 5'x3' (15 sq ft) quartz countertop weighs about 18 lbs/sq ft.  Can my floor support the weight of the counters?

Here's a picture of my plan:

  2x4 cleats will be drilled into floor.  Masking tape marks approximate location of 2x8 joists spaced 16" apart.

The counterop weighs less than 300 lbs. The cabinets probably weigh less than 100 lbs.  This is about 400lbs spread over a floor area of almost fifteen square feet. this is less than 30 lbs per square foot.

An adult standing still is about 150 lbs on one square foot.

You should have no problem with the load regardless of the placement with regard to the joists.


Why would i have 20 volts a.c.running through my plumbing I am living in  a 1964 mobile home and replacing plumbing from city line up. I cut the galvanized going into trailer and got sparks placed meter between two lines and read 20 volts give or take a couple .had replaced under trailer outlet for heat tape but that breaker was off. i ran a jumper from galvanized to city copper for time being .followed ground from breaker box to plumbing to under trailer attached at cross member [rusty cross member ]. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated it is getting cold and i need water badly. Bob

Presumably the metal plumbing was your ONLY ground connection (from both the behavior and your description of the ground wire run.) You might want to have an electrician take a look at the system. In any case adding some driven ground rods tied into the grounding system would be a good idea.


I want to replace this old shutoff valve under my sink, but I don't know what kind to get or what precautions to take I have this valve under my sink that is meant for a dishwasher, but it has a weird size to the outlet and its old, and I want to replace it. The two lines above this one lead into the sink (hot/cold)
A few specific questions:

Is the water supply line going into it a PEX supply line or pvc? I'm not sure how to tell.
Is what is there currently there compression with a ferrule? What can I expect to see when I remove it?
Can I, should I, reuse the ferrule (if that's what is under this old one)? If not what is the safe way to remove it without damaging the pipe?
What should I do if I reach some point of no return and can't attach a valve? I don't want to leave my house's water off forever, and because of covid calling a plumber CAN happen but I want to try and prevent that. Can I cap it off temporarily if something goes wrong?
Is there a specific type of valve I should get? I know quarter turn are preferred. I also don't want to get the wrong kind of connection for this kind of supply line

Edit: I realize I have another question about this same valve,  but that question was "what kind of outlet fitting can I get" and the answer was "you probably can't get it, so replace it". This question is about replacing it without making a mess of things, because its hard to tell what kind of pipe is there (appears to be painted copper)

I can't say I have seen those before. Does it looked like they are glued on? Then it would be PCV or CPVC (if its hot water). You could try going to home depot (yes, they can help) during the day when the best plumbing associate will be there. Also you could try a plumbing supply store.
Have you heard of the SharkBite system? Those may help you out. You can get a valve that will slide onto to the pipe if you can get the old one off. Also, you can get cap that will slide on. I recommend buying the sharkbite removal tool if you put on a cap and want to take it off.


Why is my water well tank staying at a constant 40psi even when faucets are turned on? I have a older style bladder tank that is about 6ft tall. Pressure gauge always reads 40psi, it never gets above or below 40psi. The pressure switch never kicks on or off because the pressure never drops. Pressure in house is good excepts every so often there is lots of air in hot water line.

Option 1: the well is uphill (about 92 feet vertically) and a pump is entirely optional.
Option 2: the well is textbook artesian, (water comes out the top under pressure equivalent to being 92 feet uphill, unless a pressure seal is in place) and a pump is entirely optional.
Option 3: the pump is running all the time, and is worn out, and can't make enough pressure now to ever turn the pressure switch off. Can't be doing your power bill any good.
Option 3a: There's a leak in the pipe from the pump to the house. If the pump is submersible and the leak is in the part of the pipe inside the well, you would not see a wet spot, but you'd be pumping water in circles. If the leak is the right size, it might be holding your pump from ever getting above 40 PSI (But I consider worn out pump more likely, usually.)
Option 4: the pressure gauge is broken and stuck at 40, but "pressure in house is good" trends away from that.


Why doesn't my outlet switch switch any outlets? I recently bought a 1951 home.  There is a switch in the living room that appears to have been intended to control one or more outlets in the room (the switch affects no lights and all lights are controlled by other switches).  However, the switch does not affect the outlets either: whether the switch is on or off, all outlets are on.
The outlets are all wired with either two black and two white wires or one white and one black.  There are no red wires like you'd see with a typical newer switch-to-outlet configurations.  The switch, which is a new replacement, is wired with two black, and the two white are capped off together.  The bottom black wire for the switch does receive electricity.  But again, no red wire at the switch box.
Other than incorrect wiring, is there a possible explanation in an older home as to why the wires would be configured and would function this way?  Is it possible that it is in fact correctly wired to operate outlets but the outlet being controlled would have to be installed a specific way (eg, removing the bridge between the two hot terminals)?

Yes, most older houses were wired with half-switched outlets because they did not have switched overhead lights.
It's entirely possible that someone replaced the receptacles with new ones and did not break off the tabs between the 2 halves of the outlets, thus both top & bottom outlets are always live.
Using red insulated wire to go to the switched receptacle was a convenience, but I don't believe it was ever required by code, thus there's no reason for you to be concerned about the fact that there aren't any /3 cables leaving your switches. Actually, in 1951, most (all?) wiring would have been individual wires with cloth insulation, not the modern NM cables with multiple, individually insulated wires within a sheath, so it's even less surprising that you're not seeing a red wire.
The outlets with 2 pair (white/black) of wires are somewhere in the middle of the run - power comes in on one pair, provides power to this outlet, then carries power on to the next outlet in the string.
The outlets with 1 pair (white/black) of wires are at the end of the string. Power comes in and is provided to the outlet, but doesn't need to carry on to another outlet.


Miter Saw tripping breaker, but I bought a new DeWalt 779 Miter Saw, rated at 15A. Worked fine for a few days in the garage, then I added two more outlets on the same 20A circuit that I had been using. After a few cutting sessions, the breaker started tripping when using the new outlets (20A also). (I have two refrigerators and a laydown freezer on at all times on that circuit too.)
In order to finish a project, I ran a 100ft extension cord to a outlet on the front porch and the saw worked great. Because of this, I decided to add another outlet in the garage, running 20A Romex from the porch outlet to the inside wall of the garage to use for the Saw. Lo and behold, when I found the breaker to shut off the circuit to the porch, I discovered that that outlet is on the same circuit as I was using before. However, the Saw and a huge floor fan both work perfectly from the new outlet, even with extension cords.
Any ideas why it seems all these things can coexist on that circuit at the same time, except when the saw is plugged into one particular outlet? I guess it could be a problem with the  one or both of the new outlets, but what would I look for or test before I plan on replacing them?

This is an interesting situation and the problem you have could be for more than one reason. I am going to try and explain it without getting too deep into the science behind it.
First you have simply too many pieces of equipment attached to your circuit. Since I don't know specifically the name plate ratings of you refrigerators or the freezer I have to use generic amperage's. A standard 20-25 cu/ft refrigerator uses 3.5 - 4 amps when it is running and a 10 cu/ft freezer uses about 2.5 amps. Your 15 amp miter saw will run about 1700 watts or 14 amps under full load. So if you add this altogether 3.5+3.5+2.5+14 it comes out to 23.5 amps.
Logically speaking you should be asking why doesn't it trip all the time? Well to start refrigerators and freezers only run about two hours a day, and your Miter saw pulls 14 amps if it is under full load. If you are cutting smaller softer wood then there is a good chance your Miter saw is only running at about half of full load or more like 7 amps. So when a any of these appliances are coming on there is a start up surge and if any other equipment is running it may be enough to trip a breaker.
That explains why you are tripping a breaker, but why doesn't it trip if you put the miter saw on a 100' extension cord?
That would have to do with voltage drop, demand amperage and fault current. Very basically it means that when you add a 100' of extension cord you get a situation where when your miter saw starts and it calls for 14 amps, the length of the circuit creates so much voltage drop it can't deliver 14 amps. Instead it is delivering say 10 amps. This causes the motor and the circuit conductors to heat up causing more resistance causing less amperage to be delivered to the load. So there is not enough energy being passed through the circuit to cause an overcurrent situation which means the breaker wouldn't trip. This could also be true of the old circuit if there were corrosion or loose connections causing more resistance in the line.
Even though it appears that adding an extension cord fixes the problem it really doesn't. Compressors and motors don't like low voltage situations. They heat up and overwork and eventually burn up. That is why major appliance manufacturers specifically state not to use extension cords, otherwise it will void their warranty.
As I stated earlier I don't have specific information about your situation so I can't make a definitive conclusion, but based on generic information and the situation you have given, this would be my best guess as to what is happening.
I would suggest you investigate this particular circuit and check it for loose fittings and corrosive wiring and verify correct wire sizes. I would also suggest you add a few circuits to distribute the load a little better.
Hope this helps and good luck.


Interior Door Stopped Latching As the title suggests, an interior door has suddenly stopped latching as it should.  Previously, the door would close just fine, though perhaps you had to apply more pressure than most doors, it would latch and lock just fine.  Currently, you can push it closed, but the knob is basically just a prop because you can push or pull the door open without turning the knob -- the latch just doesn't catch anymore. The major issue with this is that the door currently separates the half bath from the full bath.  Strange design, I know, but basically if this door is open, you're staring at the other toilet.

Can anyone suggest a solution or explain why this change in latch function has occurred?

My guess is the door has warped, touching the top or the bottom or both top  and bottom of the door jam. If you remove that jam and reinstall it to follow the curvature of the door, when it is properly closed, that should fix the problem.


LED downlights glow when switched off we have an issue were our downlights have a dim glow when switched off.

electrician has been back to replace downlights but no success. glow doesnt happen every night, often a big gap in between glowing.
tested the wiring and shows anywhere up to 3 volts through the active wire when switched off.

is it normal to have up to 3 volts running through the active wire? and is this enough to cause an LED downlight to glow.

cheers

"Smart" switches use solid state (electronic) switching devices called "triacs" in most cases. The problem with triacs is that they don't completely turn "off" because the solid state nature of them has a very tiny amount of "leakage current" through them. When used on incandescent or even CFL lamps, that leakage current is irrelevant because the circuit can't really do anything with it. But LEDs take so little energy to illuminate that this tiny amount of leakage is enough to keep them glowing a little bit. The only way to stop it is to have a hard "contact type" switch that makes an air gap to isolate the LEDs off line. But those are typically not your "smart" switches. I have heard people say they can add one incandescent lamp to a fixture and that problem goes away, but I've tried it and it causes other problems if you try dimming.


Should I avoid ground loops in branch circuits through conduit? I've got some outdoor conduit within which are three separate branch circuits:

A general purpose, 20A outdoor receptacle circuit
A 15A HVAC circuit
A 40A EVSE circuit

I am using NM-B for each circuit on the indoor segment that connects the breaker to the conduit, at which point I transition to THWN. The NM-B has a ground wire included, and I know that I only need to ground the conduit to the 8AWG wire from the EVSE circuit. My question is, should I not connect the ground wires on the 15A and 20A circuits to avoid creating a ground loop, or does it not matter?

The "ground loop" in question does not matter one bit -- the NEC assumes all involved EGCs are connected together at all junctions, even.  (It's impossible not to have them all connected together in a metallic conduit system, for one.)

Note that there are a few exceptions for isolated grounds for certain sensitive equipment, but the benefits of isolated receptacle EGCs are unclear. (Note that the redundant earthing requirement in patient care areas is not an isolated equipment grounding requirement!)


Accidentally cut the bottom chord of truss Accidentally cut the bottom chord of truss. It happens on the corner of the stud and not fully cut through as picture showing. If I would like to fix it, which contractor should I contact? And would the repair make it even worse since there may need to use screws?
Great thanks.

No contractor needed. Cut a piece of 1/2" plywood 3-1/2" X 12", drill 10 screw holes in it, slather it with glue and screw it on there. Might be overkill, but should do the job.


How do I remove this fitting on water heater T&P relief valve? The fitting threaded into the T&P relief valve does not seem as though I can turn it counter-clockwise to remove it since it s joined to PVC pipe below by cement. In order to remove it, do I simply cut the PVC and later use a coupler to re-join the PVC to another PVC fitting attached to the new T&P relief valve?

Is there a way I can improve this connection for future replacements of the T&P relief valve?

You will need to cut the PVC pipe. Because of the shape of the elbow you will likely need to make a cut just below the male adapter where it screws into the relief valve, and another on the horizontal pipe, to facilitate removal. Make sure your cut on the horizontal leaves room for gluing a fitting to the downstream side.

It might be a good idea to investigate whether or not it is feasible to cut the horizontal farther downstream on the other side of the wall, as it appears this is the second repair on the line and you will soon run out of room for future repair.

To make future repair easier you might be able to use an elbow union, you will need to assess if there is sufficient vertical distance. Also, union elbows are not very common; you may need to visit a specialty plumbing shop or order one special.


Wrong oil in my lawn mower I put 2 stroke oil in my 4 stroke mower. Is that what is causing it to smoke? I have emptied it but there'll still be traces of it in the engine. Can I still refill with the right oil and use the mower? Or what else causes smoke?

Refill it, the trace amounts won't be an issue. Hopefully it should stop smoking after a couple of minutes running with the correct oil. If not you can shut it off and look at other causes.

It may be worth your time to inspect the muffler and replace it if needed. They do corrode over time which leads to noise along with the possibility of trapped combustion byproducts which can smoke or be smelly. If you've got one of those torpedo style ones it's also a plus if you can replace it before it crumbles and becomes much more difficult to unscrew from the engine.

Checking out the spark plug won't hurt either, since a fouled plug doesn't help combustion. It's not a big cause of smoke, but it's a real minimal amount of work to check.