how to unscrew faucet valve stem when it's stuck? I'm trying to replace the valve stem of a 2-handle bathroom sink faucet. All the instructions I've found online say to unscrew the nut atop the valve stem.

But my nut, when it turns, also turns the entire assembly. I assume the stem has gotten stuck to its housing.

UPDATE: I ended up removing the entire valve assembly. Then I wire-brushed off lots of gunk to get a closer look at the parts. But I still can't remove the valve stem from the rest of the assembly. I'm starting to wonder whether it's supposed to be removable.

I don’t know the model number because the faucets were installed long before we moved into the house, but the markings on the outside of the valve assembly say this: "GROHE A 98 01 R 90".  A Google search yielded nothing useful about replacement parts or service info, nor did Grohe's website.

Question for anyone with experience with Grohe faucets-- are the valve stems removable?  Know any tricks for unsticking a stuck stem?

I attached a new picture.

Here's the old picture from before I removed the valve assembly from the sink:

As Steven says, hit it with some penetrating oil first (WD-40 should work for this). Give it some gentle whacks against a piece of scrap wood in all directions to help break any bonds. Then clamp on to the bottom square part and try to torque the nut on top with a socket. If you still can't get it, you may find it easier to replace the entire thing.


Pex Plumbing System w/ Manifold (Entire House) I am redoing a bathroom and while I have access, I would like to do my entire house in Pex. It looks like I will be able to get to all supplies and had a few questions. My main supply is 3/4 and will run to a Viega 30 port system (2-3/4 supply and then 1/2 for all outlets).

Should I run each fixture its own line or is that overkill?
Will the 1/2" lines suffice for shower pressure?
All upstairs will be run through a kitchen soffit, does it matter they will lay in there unsecured?
Lastly, do I have to use 90* bends if I have enough room to give it an easy turn into the soffit?

My current plumbing is the standard 1980's copper tubing with 3/4" and 1/2" lines that are branched. I did not know that you could get away with the 1/2" as which most Pex Manifolds come.

Pex is typically installed as home run, not trunk and branch. The central manifold gives (mostly) equal pressure to all fixtures, so temperature won't change when water pressure changes like on trunk and branch. Because water pressure variation won't scald or freeze you, home run also allows more latitude with pipe sizing.

Home run pex also gives you the other advantage of pex, freeze protection. No fittings in walls, attics, or crawlspaces means no hidden damage if a freeze occurs, that's probably worth the added $100 in pex tubing.

1/2" pex will have no problem delivering enough water to any standard fixture. Test have shown that pex will perform almost identical to copper in standard household systems at 60' or more: http://www.homeinnovation.com/~/media/Files/Reports/pex_copper_pressure.pdf

You may be able to outrun your 3/4" feed though. If you have 20+ outlets you probably have laundry, showers, and hose bibbs all sharing that 3/4" feed. Turn on a garden hose and do a load of heavy laundry on warm and you'll be approaching maximum flow through that 3/4" line, which I would guess also supplies your water heater, with no pressure for your upstairs shower. That's an extreme case but you should be aware of it. I have done retrofits on 2 houses that I lived in where I ended up with that scenario, but I never experienced the problem because I rarely water the garden and shower at the same time. On my most recent remodel (with 34 total hot and cold lines) I have run a 1" trunk to 2 closets with manifolds, and put the hose bibbs and laundry on their own manifold just in case (using 1"x1"x3/4" tees to feed 6 way manifolds). That may be overkill though.

You can combine lavatory and toilet cold lines. You'll notice the water pressure change but it will only affect your hand washing. It only saves 1 line per bathroom though, so may not be worth it.

Pex should be secured every 32-48", but in retrofits you can't always do that. I have not had any tubes that bang around where I've had to run unsecured pex, but you may. Less slack in the line will give it less opportunity to move too. Long sweeping curves are fine, elbows are to be avoided for flow and freezing concerns unless you absolutely must use them. There are 90 bend supports that hold the pex in a 3" radius if you need tight turns, usually used to make the upturn into a wall. In your soffit you should be able to do sweeping turns except for maybe the upturn into the wall.


Can I use spackling to repair this damage between wall and celing? This is the spackling I have:

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1308097&KPID=961778&kpid=961778&pla=pla_961778

Forget the spackling.

Fiber joint tape should never be used in a corner - use Paper Joint Tape instead. It has a seam down the middle, so you can fold it into the corner.

Scrape out the old joint tape, removing any loose compound along the way. Ensure both surfaces are securely attached, to their framing members. Sand any high spots if needed and apply paper joint tape in it's place.

You can use an Inside Corner Trowel to aid in making a smoother joint, while having fewer steps between coating and drying.

If it is a long run, you don't have to do it all in one shot either.

90 minute Lightweight Setting-Type, works great for repairs like this, due to a stronger joint, and quicker turn around while working. You just mix up what you need, and as long as you keep the remaining unmixed powder dry, you can store it for quite a long time.


Pipe drips water on my exterior porch? So, there's this pipe sticking out of the wall between my garage and the front porch. Occasionally, an amount of water seeps out of it, enough to pool eventually though I've never seen any water "running" out of it, unrelated to any weather, seems clear (though when the pool dries, there seems to be some residue left behind).

I have no idea what it might be draining from. There is nothing on the garage side of the wall (though the water heater/furnace is along that same wall in another corner, maybe 15' away).

Any input would be appreciated, and most importantly - does the draining indicate some problem that I need to deal with?

Thanks]1

Thanks to all who provided input. It looks like a lazy contractor pushed the drain line out the wall at the point of the concrete patio, instead of running it another 10' where it could have been pushed out the front-facing garage wall (where the drip would have landed on dirt).

I'll get a HVAC/plumbing guy to come and answer the question (what appliance is being drained, whether the amount draining indicates some kind of soon-to-be problem). But yes, management of any outflow will be dealt with via a planter of some kind, rather than redirecting the line at this late date.

For those who might be curious, I captured outflow for the last 7 hours (0630-1330): 26 oz of clear water, no visible residue. Over that period, used water heater (hubby ran a large bath, I took a long shower, ran dishwasher) and the furnace (relatively briefly after being off overnight). What that might tell anyone, I have no idea (!) but there it is.

I would bet against this being the regular drain for the air conditioner/furnace.  The A/C creates a lot of water, and only the most inept remodeler would allow that to drain on a finished porch like that.

I had almost the same situation in a house and the dripping pipe came from the water heater's temperature/pressure relief valve and that had to be replaced ($20, not bad).  The other option would be that it is from the A/C but its the secondary "overflow" drain that drips when the main drain is clogged.  These are sometimes placed in visible areas so that you can see them dripping.

To answer your last question, I would assume that yes, dripping from such a conspicuously placed pipe does indicate a problem that should be addressed.


How to turn a cut component video cable into coax? I need to use a component video cable whose connectors have been cut off as a coax cable. Is that possible?

Here's the story: My TV is at location A). The OTA signal arrives by coax to location B) in the same room about 20 feet away. There's no coax cable that runs from location A) to location B) inside the wall and I'm not OK with running it outside the wall.

However, there are a few cables that run from location A) to location B) inside the wall. And old HDMI cable, 2 cat5 cables, and a component video cable with a red, green and blue wires. Thinking that I would never have use for it, I cut off the connectors so I could tuck the cable away into the wall.

Question: is it possible to adapt this cable the bring the OTA signal to the TV over the remaining 20 feet?

OTA DTV antenna cable is commonly RG6 (replaced RG59). This is a 75 ohm coaxial cable with an F or BNC termination (probably F). The better quality component video cables use 3 separate RG6 cables with RCA connectors at the end. They are simply attached together in a bundle. My original answer assumed this is what you had.

With the picture you've added it appears you have the more compact 3-way coaxial cable. Each conductor of this cable is 75 ohm and suitable for (composite) video over short runs. Whether it will support the higher bandwidth of OTA Digital is not certain. There's only one way to find out . . .

Solder on a BNC connector F-type coax connectors are crimp or twist on since they don't supply their own inner pin. BNC is fairly common for antenna connectors and has the right bandwidth for the signals you are trying to pass. Only expose as much of the conductor as you need to do a good solder job.

Given that your cable does not have the more common dimensions of an RG6 or RG59 cable it may be difficult to make a mechanically stable connection to a male cable connector.

I inferred from your question that the antenna cable is already in the living space (not in the wall, per se). Your best option to terminate this cable is a wall plate.

Connect the antenna and component cable directly. If both cables are already in the same wall cavity you can connect them directly (otherwise use a jack as below). Cut off the existing connector on the antenna cable, strip it back a little bit, and connect the inner conductor to one of the component cable conductors and the outer ground sheath to the component cable ground sheath. I would use a small heat shrink tube to insulate the inner conductor and a larger heat shrink tube to cover the ground sheath and give the joint some mechanical strength.

Install single-BNC wall plate jack(s) You can find these for BNC fairly easily (link). This allows you to make a clean and mechanically stable connection at each termination of the component cable. Or one side only if you directly connected to the antenna cable.

Plug the antenna cable into the wall jack at location B Assuming your antenna cable has an F-type connector use a BNC Male to F Female adapter. These are fairly rigid so probably no need to cut off the connector and replace with a BNC Male connector. You might even find one at a right angle so you cable hugs the wall.

Use a patch cable to connect your TV at location A Use an RG6 patch cable and another BNC Male to F Female adapter.

I should emphasize that I really don't know if a single conductor of your component cable can pass an OTA Digital TV signal. In fact I'm somewhat skeptical. Most OTA Digital stations are UHF so 400 - 800 MHz. NTSC video (single 480i signal) runs at 4.2 MHz. HDTV (single 1080p signal) runs at 25 MHz. We moved from composite video (one conductor) to component video (three conductors) to handle a single 1080p signal. And the connection I proposed above may only support the bandwidth of a composite video cable. Caveat emptor


I'm wondering if these two things were allowed by the electrical Code in 1981 in California My wife an I bought a house built in 1981 located in Lake County California.

I've been switching out receptacles and switches and found some "interesting" wiring. Now, these all look like "as built" items, not where the new owner hacked in a new circuit.

First: Stripping the middle of a wire to avoid a pig tail: Several 2 gang outlets are wired like this. The hot and common wires run to the first outlet, where a section of insulation is removed from the middle of the wire. This is then wrapped around the screw terminal and the rest of the run is attached to the second outlet. (Sometimes the screw terminal, sometimes the stab connector.)

Second: Using an outlet/switch as a splice junction. Here was another odd one. The switch is wired normally, but a hot and neutral running to the next box in line is not pig tailed, but taken off the stab connectors on the switch. In another, the two gang box with double outlets are wired as above, except a next in line circuit is taken off the stab connector on the first outlet. (And, to make it extra weird, the common is pig tailed.)

As I am going through, I am correcting these with proper pig tails, but can't help wondering how it ever passed inspection.

Thanks.

There is nothing wrong with striping a wire in a box and attaching it under a screw then feeding a second outlet. I don't do it but have seen it done quite often it saves a few cents for the installer but makes updates tougher.  If the circuit is a multi wire branch circuit this would require the neutrals to be pigtailed and that may be why they are pigtails.


What is this device connected to my cold water pipe? Our house has an attached greenhouse; under the sink there is a device connected to the cold water supply that then goes into the slab.   There is a floor drain in the slab, so it's possible it connects there.   What is the device called, what is its purpose?

Suspicion coupled with an image search says yes, it's (almost certainly) a trap primer for the floor drain. Makes sure the floor drain trap does not dry out when disused and allow sewer gas to vent into the space.


How to test grounding in AC outlets? How I can test that the ground cable of my AC power outlet is really grounded / correctly grounded ?

Is  a quick test that I can do or an instrument that does just that ?

Also, how is grounding rated if it's rated at all. Some x amount of charge discharged per each second?

I'm well aware that most buildings basically have a ground wiring for each power outlet, and all ends up linked to a metal stick in the ground, but how do I check the grounding when I'm near a power outlet and I don't know anything about the blueprints of the house or anything else ?

There are two, somewhat related problems that can happen to the earthing system in a house

Your earthing system isn't connected to earth well enough (or at all)

This is mainly a problem due to lightning etc. inducing surges on the power line -- the earthing of your house's power grid limits these surges to a manageable value for other things (like surge suppressors).  Ed Beal's answer covers testing for this, although it's not a terribly high priority to fix.

Your earthing system isn't connected to the neutral/return well enough (or at all), or is connected improperly to the neutral/return

This is the main issue people complain about when they say their house has "no ground".  The bond between the neutral (return) and ground (earth) systems at the service entrance is what allows the ground system to serve as a safety mechanism against exposed metal parts becoming energized.  However, it can be defeated by being absent altogether, or by an improper cross-connection between earth and neutral.  There are two tests to perform here, in addition to a visual inspection of the neutral and earthing systems:

The energized yoke test -- this involves seeing if a non-contact voltage detector held near the normally earthed yoke of a receptacle is set off.  This test catches a very dangerous situation where the neutral and earth contacts on the receptacle are both inadvertently hot while the hot contact is connected to the neutral -- in North American practice, this is called a "reverse polarity bootleg ground".
The earth bond/ground loop impedance test -- a specialized tester called a "ground loop impedance tester" is used for this.  It plugs into a receptacle and measures the impedance it finds between ground and neutral -- this catches other issues like an open ground, or a "bootleg" connection between neutral and ground located at the receptacle.  If one is not available, a voltmeter measurement from neutral to ground with the circuit loaded can substitute -- this should read half a volt to a few volts on a properly wired and loaded circuit due to voltage drops in the loaded neutral wire, but will read nearly nothing if a bootleg ground is present at a receptacle.  Unfortunately, bootleg grounds may be present in other places in the electrical system as well, and are far harder to catch when they are, often requiring a lucky visual sighting of the errant wire to find.


how to vent an electric dryer when outdoors isn't option We have a building on the 3rd floor of a 4 floor building that we are building a loft in,  It is in an historic area, we are in the middle of the block downtown.  size 21'wide x 180'long, left and right walls are 18" of brick with plaster overlay. venting through the roof isn't an option.  do they make a ul rated dryer lint box or can a vented electric dryer be vented to a converter of sorts to stay in code for indoors.  I am at a cross roads I have a brand new electric washer and dryer I bought a year ago.  I cannot take it back and I am trying to find a way to complete this project so the building inspector will let us move in.  Do you have any info or options.  Thanks so much

The proper answer for this, and certainly the one the building was built for, is to use a condensing dryer. This is a special dryer with a dehumidifier built in, which then overboards the recovered moisture into the drain  intended for the washer.

I suppose you could do the same thing with an actual dehumdifier.  If you can find a way to install it above the washer drain, almost any model will let you  route a hose from its output,  so the bucket never fills up.   Some dehumidifiers also have a water pump to push the drain water uphill if needed.


I want to improve my concrete basement floor, but not too much Our 100-year-old home's basement floor is very thin (1/2"?) concrete. A friend once called it a "rabbit floor", only intended to keep critters from burrowing up into the basement :)  It is uneven, cracked in places,  and it appears to have been poured directly onto the dirt.

The basement walls are also concrete, about 7' tall (5.5' under grade, 1.5' above). They aren't perfectly smooth and flat; it looks like they may have been poured into trenches dug into the ground, without forms, or perhaps someone simply did a very rough job of skim-coating them in the past...

The basement walls seem strong: the house doesn't show any signs of settling problems over the years.

I want to smooth out the floor and make it nicer.  I'm envisioning covering it up with more concrete and/or leveling overlay.  I don't intend to finish the basement because it sometimes gets wet in the winter and taking care of the water intrusion is far down on my list of home improvements :)

The water issue is seepage from the joints between the basement walls and the floor. It usually is just dampness, but some years I'll get small puddles (a foot or two long) that last a day before drying.  As far as I can tell, these puddles are formed by the joint seepage and not from water coming up through the floor.  There is a drain along one wall, but never enough standing water to make use of it.

So, my questions:

Is it OK to pour new concrete over old?  Do I need to prep the existing stuff first?
What thickness of concrete would be appropriate as an overlayer?  I don't want the new concrete to break away from the old...
Should I put some sort of water barrier between them?
How do I interface the new concrete to the walls? (Expansion joint, etc)
Is this just a bad idea??

Oh, I forgot to add:

There's a washer/dryer in the basement.  Other than that, I'll use it as a shop and for storage.

Get a contractor to take a look at it for sure. But I suggest to you that you will really need to rip out all the old concrete, re-prep the substrate and level it before putting in any new concrete. This will be the only good way to get a decent long lasting floor. Make sure to include heavy gauge wire mesh (5x5 or 6x6 inch grid) and re-bar if called for. When the slab is the proper thickness (3.5 to 4.5 inches) this can really help keep it together in the case cracks develop.

While you have it all opened up you should strongly consider adding drain lines along the bottom of the foundation over to a sump in one corner to help divert water from coming in on your new floor.

The type of patch up fix you asked about is really a waste of money because it is unlikely to last. Especially if you intend to use it for a shop floor.


Replacing main lights throughout house I'm replacing the main lights throughout the house and was removing a wire from the junction box the light came with.

The wire was 100% jammed in and this metal casing came off. See pictured below)

Can I place the barewire into the junction box or will I have to struggle getting the casing off the old light wiring and put onto new light?

The real question is the rating on that terminal block.  Is it rated for bare stranded wire?   If so, just discard the ferrule (that's a ferrule), strip the wire back and go.

Fixture makers are required to supply those things on new CE rated fixtures, and I can see where they play well with Euro style terminal blocks. It's not clear to me whether the installer is required to use them; if so, that would be "basics" and every shop would sell the ferrules and correct crimp tool.

In America, we just cut them off.  I get fixtures all the time from China with very flimsy ferrules, and they are incompatible with our primary splicing method: the wire-nut.


Why is my dryer taking longer to dry clothes? I know nothing of dryers... but my dryer is taking longer and longer to dry clothes.  I've heard this is very common among dryers and I was wondering what it might mean.  Is there a specific part I should take a look at?

I've heard the lint-catcher thing might need to be washed with soap and water, so I've done that with no affect.

This usually happens because the dryer vent is getting clogged with lint (the lint-catcher isn't 100% effective, so some does escape).  You should clean it out regularly because a clogged vent can cause fires.  If the vent is short enough, you may be able to use a vacuum cleaner to clear it; otherwise use a dryer vent brush (can also be called a dryer duct brush) to reach the places the vacuum can't:


Can cable splice devices be concealed? Devices exist that claim to be able to splice nonmetallic sheathed cables together outside of a box, and in concealed locations. Are these types of devices allowed by National Electrical Code?

Here's one example device.

Tyco Electronics Romex® Splice Kit

The use of these devices is limited to specific situations, which are described in 334.40(B) of the National Electrical Code.  The 2011 version of the code had this to say.

National Electrical Code 2011
334.40(B) Devices of Insulating Materials. Switch, outlet, and tap devices of insulating material shall be permitted to be used without boxes in exposed cable wiring and for rewiring in existing buildings where the cable is concealed and fished...

Which means the devices could be used in exposed locations, and concealed in existing buildings, but only when fished.  Adding the "fished" requirement, meant that the device would not be fastened in place. This would allow for the extraction of the device, for inspection, maintenance, and repair.
In the 2014 version of the code, things changed a bit.

National Electrical Code 2014
334.40(B) Devices of Insulating Materials. Self-contained switches, self-contained receptacles and nonmetallic-sheathed cable interconnector devices of insulating material that are listed shall be permitted to be used without boxes in exposed cable wiring and for repair wiring in existing buildings where the cable is concealed....

Now the devices can still be used where exposed, but the concealed use has changed.  The device can be concealed, but only when used in existing buildings for "repair wiring". Which means that they should only be used where a cable was damaged, and replacing the cable is not practicable.
This quote from the IAEI Magazine article Enter the Nonmetallic-sheathed Cable Interconnector, sums it up quite well.

One of the major things to remember about this product is that the device is for “repair” purposes only. If an electrician has the accessibility and availability to replace existing wiring with new wiring, there would be no need for a device such as a nonmetallic-sheathed cable interconnector.

These devices are listed in the UL White book as Nonmetallic-Sheathed Cable Interconnectors (QAAV).


How to dig out behind retaining wall? I'm looking to extend an existing water line. The only problem being that I need it to go under an existing retaining wall. I've included a quick side sketch just to get an idea of what I mean.

The red is what I need to add. The wall is really old and built from river rock and natural stones. As well, it's a little over 5 ft tall from the lower level to the upper. I'm not sure how deep the wall was buried when built, but I'm guessing I've got 6-7 ft (?) to dig on the back side to add the new line through.

Going around, through, or over is not an option here. Likewise, there is an outbuilding on the upper level mostly blocking access from getting any sort of tractor to the location (we do have access to a backhoe - just not sure it'd work here without possibly tearing up the wall)

My only guess was maybe attempting it with a post hole digger and a lot of shovel work, but I'm hoping for some better ideas as we only just a straight shot down. Fittings and such at the bottom can be completed after digging out under the wall.

Oooo!  That's a challenging problem.

An idea that springs to mind is try renting a pneumatic gopher: variously called a hole hog, underground pneumatic piercing tool, air hog, etc.

There is a (crummy) Wikipedia article about them.

Those bore in a straight line, so I expect starting it some distance back from the wall and point it downward at about 45° to miss the bottom of the wall.  You'd then have to dig a hole to find the borer.

Here I show digging a big hole at the left for device access.  Bore a hole for the new connecting pipe (magenta).  Dig a hole at the lower right to intercept the bore and provide access to connect to the lower line.  (I should have erased your red line.)


Woods 59104R pro timer issue I installed a Woods 59104R pro timer on my pool pump. It works partially and can shut down the pool pump at the specified time, but it also shuts itself down at that time. The clock stops rotating and of course, doesn't start back up by itself. I thought I followed the wiring instruction correctly, but I guess I missed something or as one user on amazon mentioned, his electrician had to adjust the contacts manually, whatever that means. I have attached a picture of my wiring, along with the wiring diagram that I used. The red wire is a jumper wire between the neutral port and the 3rd port. Any idea what could be wrong?

First, if this is a 240V device, ALL those white wires (on both ends) must be marked with black tape to indicate they are actually hots.

The crux of your problem is you confused supply side with the load side.  Perhaps you assumed "this is a switch, doesn't matter on switches".  Yes, but it also needs power to run itself.

What's universally useful anytime you are dealing with a Line and Load side, is to not hook up LOAD until you have LINE hooked up and everything working with the device/timer/GFCI/whatever.

So figure out which side actually does go to the pool pump, unhook it, and cap it off.  Leave it unhooked.  Now wire up the unit so it behaves normally - is able to cycle on/off, keeps running normally, etc.

This will expose all possible errors - confusing Line and Load, connecting the timer drive to the wrong wire, etc.   It will force you to "get it right" and you won't be able to continue until you do.

Once the timer is sympatico, then finally hook up your Load.


What is the blower HP needed for a 12ft column of water? In lieu of buying an actual air pump to use just once a year to close a swimming pool before freezing, I'd like to use the blower feature of a wet/dry vac.

I'm trying to choose between a 5HP and a 6HP (both peak) wet/dry vacs. Will the extra 1HP make any difference in the strength of pushing a 10-12ft column of water?

How do I determine the HP needed for a given column of water?

I don't think this is going to work.

Shop-vac posts their specs here:
https://www.shopvac.com/specifications/quiet_series.asp

Even their most powerful vacuum only has a sealed pressure of 64 inches. I would presume that the blower would have the same pressure.

I don't know specifically what you are using an air pump for to close a pool but I think you may need to use a compressor or some other device.

Good luck!


How to secure opening to prevent access? We have a 14" space between our garage and our neighbor's block wall.
It leads to an alley in the back of our house.
It's just wide enough for someone to fit through if they want to enter from the alley.
This little opening was,  I believe, originally intended to allow water drainage away from our backyard. So, our backyard I kind of graded so that water exits via this side opening, and I need the ground area to still help with this function.
How do I secure this gap so that it prevents intruders from coming in AND allow me to access this area to remove debris and weeds?
This side of the opening is just the backyard. The other far side is my alley driveway.

I'd put a single 4x4 fence post at the alley end (or the other end, depending on your aesthetic preference), set flush on the face with the building wall(s) or recessed slightly and centered. This essentially leaves you with 5" gaps on either side--too small for most people to pass. Paint it to coordinate.

Plan view

|             |
|    gap      |
|             |
|    ____     |    garage
|    |   |    |
|    |___|    |___________________________________
|
|      ^ --------- post
|
|

I'd then lay heavy landscape fabric (not plastic) down the entire length of the gap and place 2" landscape rock on top. You should have very few weeds and it'll look finished.


I have building that is on a 20 amp breaker along with outside lighting I bought my house almost two years ago and there is a building off to the side that is on the same circuit as an older security light on the side of my house and the breaker is a 20 amp, the breaker tripped a few time now i can not turn it on now. can i put a 30 amp breaker in place of the 20 amp?

No!

The wire is (almost certainly) only rated for 20A.  If the breaker is tripping because more than 20A is flowing, then uprating the breaker will mean more than 20A flows through the wires, your wires heat up, and your house burns down.

(If the breaker is tripping because it's a GFCI breaker and there is a ground fault, then a 30A GFCI breaker will also trip, and a 30A non-GFCI breaker will ignoring a serious fault.  A fault which can kill you.)

tl;dr: You need to find the fault which is causing the breaker to trip and fix it.


Do I need to do anything at the base to support deck steps? I want to add some wood steps off my wooden patio deck (which is in Iowa).  The deck surface is around 30 inches above the ground, in which the steps would go from the ground to the deck.  At the ground where the base of the steps would be, it is fairly level and currently grass and I plan on leaving it grass.

My question is, do I need to do anything at the base to support the steps, like either concrete footings or support posts under the steps that are buried below the frost line?  Or can I just put the steps right on the ground with nothing else supporting it?

One contractor I talked to said the steps need additional support (footings) at the base, while another contractor said the steps are so small that they don't need footings at the base of the steps and the base can just sit on the ground with no additional support (he said this is standard practice).

It would be nice to put the base of the steps directly on the ground with no footings or additional support, but I would like to get a second opinion on this and whether or not this is okay or if I should have additional support at the base of the steps.

If you want to land on grass you need footings below the frost line in Iowa.  Just two at the bottom.

The other option is to put in a solid stone or concrete pad.  Needs to be on compacted soil with gravel under.  Most importantly it needs to be level.  Note that this does not officially meet code but I have never seen a deck not pass if doing this.

To clarify on what an inspector would want in a pad - it needs to run the width of your stairs, the stair bottoms should be resting firmly on pad (pad should probably extend out a few inches width wise), and pad should support a reasonable human step from the lowest step you create.  I have done this in your exact situations with a variety of large stone.  I think with a short stair case the only reason I wouldn't do it is if the soil is disturbed.


Longevity Stamped Concrete vs. Normal Concrete? I have a backyard and have a planned 950 sq. ft. patio to be poured.  In the past, I've had normal broom swept concrete for a patio and this time I'm thinking of going to a stamped concrete with integral color.
I'm planning on being in the house ~8 years.   Cost of the patio for normal conrete is $9,000 and cost of the stamped concrete is $14,000 (Chicago, IL - 2021).  That seems to be about market in the area in the patio-Covid-boom cycle right now.
I prefer the look of the stamped concrete, but in my house price range (~$500k), I don't think I will recover the extra cost vs. broom swept concrete when we go to sell the house in the future.  But in 8 years, I've never seen a broom swept concrete patio not look a bit worn so I'm on the fence to pay the extra.
I've always "felt" like looking at older stamped concrete that it does not get as stained and worn as broom swept concrete.
Is that actually factual or is that the stamped concrete just gets resealed much more often and you could maintain the broom swept patio as well and keep it looking as fresh?  (My old patio had burger grease stains dog pee and whatever other abuse you get).

Stamped concrete won't be any less durable than broom finish or smooth finish. Many people that do stamped, stain it artistically with various colors to make it look more like natural stone. But if you do that, it does needs to be sealed. It looks great, but you do have to re-seal it every few years.
I supervised a large driveway replacement project for my mother that included adding a patio area. We made a boarder of stamped concrete about 12" wide.  I suggested staining it to make it more prominent and the concrete guy (VERY knowledgeable) said that if we did that, it would need to be sealed every couple of years.  The problem is, while the pattern (grapes & vines) is great, it's just not very visible without any stain.
So at the end of the day, it's a matter of opinion/personal choice. So here's my opinion:  If I planned on living in a house for another 8 years I'd go stamped. According to your estimates, the cost diff is $5K. That's $650/year or $52/month.
Life is short, use the good china and silverware. This is of course totally opinion based, which I may get snipped for, rather than "How do I do stamped concrete?". But I do believe you'll recover your cost diff. when you sell.


Leaky windows: How to know where the leak is? Our rented apartment has double pane windows in PVC frames. They are of good quality, I think. However, during the current weather (lots of rain and heavy winds), two windows let in some water. It seems to be coming from the bottom of the frame. How do I figure out where the water is actually going through?

On the outside there are these little inlets -- I guess for allowing air exchange and letting humidity out? I have actually no idea. The inlets are tiny: about 2cm x 1cm and have a little rain cover.

Could the water be getting in through this? Can a carpenter/window maker repair this?

I would suggest the opposite of wallyk. Instead of trying to back track the leak, which probably goes through sealed off areas, try to reproduce it. Dry it, then use a hose on different parts of the outside window, once you have identified what part of the window is admitting the water, look for any ingresses. You basically need to divide the possible areas the water could be coming entering into zones, and then test each zone separately. Once you KNOW which exterior zone is responsible, then you can look for cracks.


Tying together multiple 14/2 I have my live wire coming into a 2gang switch box. I'm splitting off from their; one wire for two pot lights which one switch will control, a separate wire for the middle one which will be solely controlled by the second switch; then down to a receptacle.

So ultimately I have 4 black and 4 white wires to configure.... i don't think tying all 4 blacks with pigtails (one for each switch and one for the receptacle) is the "right way to go about it?

Thoughts?

If I understand your plan, it's correct. You need to split the incoming black three ways--to the two switches and the first outlet in the chain.

From the switches you'll run blacks out to your lights. Each switch will have two black wires connected. The white switch loop returns will bundle together with the other whites, including the one from the outlet chain.

The devices merely indicate wire purpose. Where in your boxes you make the connections is discretionary within the constraints of each box's limit.


Bathroom vent pipe going down instead of up? Is it OK? I'm considering connecting the vents of two bathrooms to the same inline fan.

See my previous question on inline bathroom fans.

Does the fan and the exterior vent grille really need to be above the level of the bathrooms or can they be lower?  I have a bath in the basement and one on the main level.  I can't go with the fan above the first level for various reasons and it's hard to do it on the first level as well.  Would it be a good idea for that inline fan and the exterior grill to be at the level of the basement (between the floors essentially)?  This means that the upper bathroom vent pipe will have to go down to that level.  Is it a bad idea?

It's not ideal but will probably work.

Hot air rises so the fan would be more efficient if it were in the ceiling or high up on the wall, but even if it's lower down the wall it should be able to remove most of the moist air satisfactorily.


Why would a dryer take 4 hours to dry after we cleaned out the vent? Our place is 17 years old and apparently no one had cleaned out the dryer vent before now.  It was extremely clogged up.  While the vent was clogged, the dyer worked great - dried an average load in 45-60 min.  Ever since we cleaned out the vent it takes 4 hours to dry a load.  Coincidence? What could cause this?  Any tips of suggestions greatly appreciated.  Thank you

After cleaning the dryer vent you should be seeing shorter drying times per load. A restricted dryer  vent limit's (reduces) the amount of warm, moist air being exhausted; slowing drying time. As already mentioned check again for lint blockage. If the thermostat is defective it will not fully heat-up. Put your hand on the exhaust duct; it should  be warm. Dryers employ a blower to circulate the warmed air. If the blower's drive pulley is loose it can't blow air. If the dryer uses electricity to dry clothes the heating element could be damaged.


Can I use an air gap faucet as a standard faucet? I recently replaced my RO filter system with a simpler water filter system. I did not get a new faucet since I figured that I could just use the existing one that was installed with my RO system. Once I started tinkering around, I discovered the 2 extra drain hoses on my RO faucet (an air gap faucet). The faucet looks like this: https://www.freedrinkingwater.com/support/wp-content/uploads/all-ro-faucet-installation-figure1.jpg

Referencing the image, I disconnected the orange line and just left it uncapped under my sink. I left the black line to the drain saddle where it was. I plugged my new clean water line where the blue line is in the above image.

As I understand the 2 drain lines in the air gap faucet just connect to each other inside the faucet and to a vent hole in the faucet base.

Is this a bad idea? Are there any possible problems I should be aware of? I'd rather not replace the faucet because it's in a really tight spot that's hard to access. Any insight would be appreciated.

I think the air gap in an air gap faucet is separate, mechanically speaking, from the actual faucet. It's just in the same mechanism because both need to be in a similar physical location. Leaving both the drain and waste lines disconnected should be appropriate, and shouldn't give you any surprises.

To expand on that:

The air gap in a RO system exists because it needs to flush itself with water to clean up every so often. That water is waste water, and is not drinking quality. So, it goes down the drain. The air gap has the same purpose as on a dishwasher; to ensure that any blockages result in water overflowing into the sink instead of backing up or damaging any equipment. (Note the overflow hole in the faucet.) Because this mechanism relies on gravity, it needs to be placed above the level of the drain. None of this interacts with the actual faucet, but the faucet also goes next to the sink, so you might as well reuse the hole. You could have a dishwasher-style air gap and a regular faucet, and that would also work.


Why am I getting an high limit switch error code on my HVAC when the switch is working? I have a Goodman gms9 and recently it has been not starting intermittently, then giving a high limit switch code. I have checked the high limit switch and it is functioning appropriately. If I leave it alone the furnace will eventually start, or I shut off the power for a minute and when I turn it back on it will work. The filter is clean and all ducts/registers are clear and open. What could be causing the intermittent problem?

Check for an intermittently bad fan relay (i.e. the blower sometimes fails to start, causing the furnace to overheat when that occurs).


Sub-panel wiring, grounding, disconnect I have about a 180' run from my house's main panel to my shed. I've installed a SquareD Homeline 70A sub-panel which has no main breaker, and has two breakers within.

I have installed a ground bar in the sub-panel and connected it to a ground rod at the shed. I have wired the circuit (one for now) with the neutral to the neutral bar and the ground to the ground bar (neutral and ground are not bonded).

I'm looking to clarify a few final things before I complete the installation. Sorry for all the words. I've highlighted the important parts.

I've seen conflicting information regarding whether or not I need to run a ground from the main panel to the sub-panel and bond it to the sub-panel's ground bar. Is a ground from the main panel required or is the ground rod at the site enough?
The run is 180' and the sub-panel is rated for 70A. I was going to run 4AWG 3 conductor (plus ground if required). I may go with 1AWG in case I want to upgrade to 100A service at the shed in the future. Using separate THHN wires, not UFB. Sound good / suggestions?
If I run 4AWG, and ground is required, what size ground would I use? What if I run 1AWG?
I am planning on running the wire in schedule 40 conduit. I think I should run 3/4" conduit if I go with 4AWG, or 1" conduit if I go with 1AWG -- probably might as well run 1" regardless. Sound reasonable?
Since the sub-panel has no main breaker (again, it has two beaker slots), do I need a disconnect before the sub-panel?
I will be using GFCI / AFCI breakers for both circuits, so do not need to use any GFCI outlets -- correct?

Anything I'm missing?

Update / TLDR

Run ground from main panel; use 2 ground rods at sub-panel, 10' apart.
For 100A @ 180', use aluminum XHHW-2 1/0 1/0 1/0 2.
Aluminum XHHW-2 2AWG for 100A @ 180'.
Use Schedule 80, 1 1/2" (33% fill) or size up to 2".
No disconnect is needed for a panel with only 2 breakers, however, it would be wise to upgrade the sub-panel to include a main breaker and more breaker slots.
GFCI breakers, no GFCI outlets.

There are so many mistakes here that I'm very concerned about the fact-finding process which led to them (or lack thereof).  Because "writing a book" is not the SE format here, I'll be lightly touching on each.

But speaking of "books", and going back to that fact-finding process, I'd strongly advise hitting the library for some reasonably current books on electrical, and read them through - the goal being to get a well-rounded primer on the subject.  Google gives you swiss-cheese knowledge because it only asks questions, and without a primer you don't know which questions to ask.  Home-improvement store clerks know worse than nothing.

Anyway on to it.

Voltage drop - the first question on a 180' run.  Here I deviate from stock advice, which is keep rigidly <3% of breaker trip.  Actually, 3% isn't in Code anywhere, and it's a very coarse rule of thumb - 5% isn't wrong.  And you should be computing voltage drop based on practical loads, i.e. what you expect to be actually pulling on a regular basis.

Aluminum wire - you didn't mention aluminum but you should be using it for large feeder >=4AWG.  That means a size bump from copper.  I often see people take dangerous shortcuts to save $30 on a project only to spend $800 more than they needed to because they're afraid of aluminum. Aluminum didn't work for small wires like #12 using alloys made for high tension lines.  Feeders were always reliable in that alloy, and they've improved the alloy too.

The service panel.  Everybody does it the first time.  First get a huge panel - when you're buying a panel, spaces are cheap.  Regrets, however, are expensive - and believe me when the power is there, you'll want to use it. 240V heaters, on-demand hot water (30A/240V is fine), electric car, prosumer shop tools that are 240V, these things chomp up breaker spaces 2 at a time. A 30-space breaker is only 15 loads.  A 42-space is not uncalled for.

Honestly a 70A subpanel that's only 2 spaces makes no sense as a product.  It could only serve as a shutoff switch for one single 30-70A machine.  It is wholly inappropriate to power a variety of circuits, as it sounds like you want in this shop.

Second, you need a "main breaker" because that's your shutoff switch/disconnect (5). The most economical way to buy a disconnect is simply select a panel with a main breaker.  Amp rating? Nobody cares, it's a disconnect.  So feel free to get a subpanel with a 150/200A main breaker if that'll give you a sensible number of spaces.

For aesthetic reasons, I strongly prefer panels with an obvious, separate main breaker/disconnect, not one where the main is in the rows of regular breakers and only found with a "main" label. I want a visitor to be able to find the shutoff in a hurry, in half-light, in smoke.

Separate Ground bar - correct.  Neutral-ground isolated - correct.

Ground rod (1) - unless you've done the arcane wizard measurement to affirm <25 ohms on the ground rod, you need two rods some distance (10'?) apart, unless your local code says otherwise.  Code often has local amendments based on local conditions.

Ground wire - the only conflicting information there is "All the Codes say this is required" conflicting with "I don't want (you) to pay for it" (because I want to quote you a better price than my competitor, who is following the law).  You need a wired ground wire back to the house.  Period.  Dirt doesn't conduct electricity well enough to serve as a substitute, if it did, we would just put THHN insulation jackets on dirt.

Ground size bump vs. voltage-drop size bump (3).  When you make wires bigger for voltage drop, you must make the ground wire bigger in proportion to cross-section. That math sounds hard, until you realize wire gauge already works that way.  So if you do a +2 AWG size bump for voltage drop, simply do a +2 AWG size bump for the ground also.

THHN wires inside conduit (2) - correct. You use THWN-2 wires inside conduit. (almost all THHN wire is dual-rated THWN-2, so people don't bother distinguishing them).

Don't push the limits of conduit fill. (4)  Those limits are intended for pro electricians with experience, special pulling hardware, lube, and a winch on their truck.  As a novice doing your own pull, be generous with conduit size, or else you could find yourself boxed into a corner and having to bring out an electrician to finish.  In this economy electricians are not hungry, and won't return your calls unless you give them most of the job (and let them bill for that). Also if there are any defects in your work so far, they won't touch the job with a 10 foot pole unless you hire them to fix it all. So pencil in $1000+ for that.

No need for  GFCIs downline of GFCIs (6) unless you want to play a "Yo Dawg" joke on yourself.  There's no penalty for doing so; it's just wasteful.


AC continues to run for several minutes after shutting off When I turn off the AC it continues to blow cold air for several minutes. I realize this may be an energy savings feature, but I'd like to know if it is possible to disable it. In other words, what I'd like is for "Off" to be immediate off. I realize this is not something I may be able to do on my own, not really expecting to. I want to know if an HVAC technician would be able to modify this setting.

I apologize in advance, I have very little HVAC knowledge, but I am able to list the following installed components:

Carrier Split-System Condensing Unit - 38HDR
Carrier Gas Furnace - 58MCB
Nest Thermostat (Airwave is disabled)

Btw - I have the same problem with heating, not just cooling.

This is basically a safety feature.  In the case of heating, if the fan turned off immediately after turning off the thermostat, the heat buildup in the heat exchanger could cause it to eventually crack and leak carbon monoxide into your house, so the fan continues to blow until the heat exchanger sufficiently cools.  In the case of the A/C, there's no danger of carbon monoxide. But if the various coils in the A/C were allowed to heat too rapidly, that could also cause their premature failure, so the fan continues to blow air across them until they're within a few degrees of ambient.  If this were able to be disabled and you could find an HVAC tech to do so, I wouldn't hire him or her, nor the company for which they worked.


How can I remove old tea stain from carpet/rug? I once accidentally spilled some tea on my carpet, and since I was in hurry I couldn't clean the carpet at all. The stain is now dried up, and my landlord is asking me to replace the whole carpet. How can I remove the stain?

Sorry to hear about your stain, but here are two options.

Tea should be fairly easy to remove.  You can try blotting it out with very hot water and an absorbent cloth, or borrow a carpet cleaning steam machine and give it a try. Another option would be to hire a commercial carpet cleaning service. I use this type of service all the time in the apartments I manage. In this area it only costs me about $80 per room and the results are amazing. If you talk with a cleaning service, they can tell you if your stain can be removed before you hire them. Some will guarantee that the stain will be gone. This option is certainly a lot cheaper than paying to replace the entire carpet and padding. Good Luck.


Low water pressure in one part of the house The house that we are renting has decent water pressure inside and out the house, except for the en-suite bathroom to the main bedroom.

From what it looks to me, I think that the en-suite was an add on at a later stage to the house.

The water pressure is very low from all taps/shower/toilet in the en-suite.

Any idea as to how I can resolve this?

Without knowing anything about the plumbing, and simply going by the fact that you said the bathroom was an add on. I'd have to guess that there are low flow fixtures installed, which are restricting the flow.


Do breaker trip curves ever begin BEFORE the load printed on the breaker handle? It's commonly accepted that the continuous load of a circuit should usually not be more than 80% of the rating of the lowest ampacity link in that circuit.

Do breakers ever 'enforce' this de-rating by being designed to intentionally trip at a load lower than the number printed on the handle?

For instance, if I put exactly 20 amps of electric heat on a 20 amp breaker, using conduit and all quality components, should I expect that to trip at some point, or not?

19 amps I would expect to trip never.  21 amps I would expect to trip 'eventually'.  10000 amps (dead short) should trip more or less instantly.  Correct me if I'm wrong.

Do branch circuit breakers work the same as mains in this regard?

For that matter, do any breaker's trip curve begin before it's displayed rating?  Are such breakers in common use?

First, I don't know about those charts.  (actually I do know; I browsed them on Friday as part of other research; but you need to look at context and notice they are and NOT for breakers in your home.)

The only trip curve that matters to you is the one published in the catalog for the breakers that are in your own panel.

It's possible to get breakers with trip curves like that, but they don't fit your HOMeline panel lol, and they don't cost 5 dollars!   They do, however, let you deep-dive into the arcane subject of breaker selective coordination, i.e. the fine art of reliably and reproducibly having the local breaker at the hydraulic press trip before the feed breaker back at the main panel 3 floors down.

  For instance, if I put exactly 20 amps of electric heat on a 20 amp breaker, using conduit and all quality components, should I expect that to trip at some point, or not?

They don't guarantee it won't.  In fact, since the thermal trip mechanism will be in play, it will matter greatly whether the Arizona sun is blasting on your outdoor panel vs whether it's buried in a snowdrift.

  19 amps I would expect to trip never. 21 amps I would expect to trip 'eventually'. 10000 amps (dead short) should trip more or less instantly. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I wouldn't expect that kind of precision for $5.

  Do branch circuit breakers work the same as mains in this regard?

My view is that, if anything, main breakers are more tolerant (to the vexation of anyone trying to use a main-breaker subpanel as a disconnect with hopes that the local breaker trips first)... However, they are cut from the same basic stock.  In fact, when a "main breaker" is actually a backfed breaker, they are the same basic stock.


How should I go about connecting a switch's ground wire to this apparent grouping of ground wires? We have an old dimmer switch in a two-switch box (next to a regular light bulb) (in California). The old dimmer switch's button no longer works right, so we wanted to replace it with a new one. We got a Lutron switch to replace it, and I looked over the instructions, but when I saw the wiring of the old switch it made me hesitate. The main thing I'm concerned about is the ground wire.
From the old dimmer switch, there is a capped off (unused) black wire and it has a red wire and a black wire connected to white wires in the box. This is a little different from the new dimmer switch which just has two black wires (besides the ground wire), but as far as I know I would connect the two black wires to those two white wires. Feel free to comment if that is right or wrong.
But for the ground wire, what I expected was that the box would have a green or copper wire coming out of the box with the old dimmer switch's ground wire connected to it. Rather, the old dimmer switch's green ground wire looks to be almost grabbed onto by a group of wires like fingers.
So what should I do? Is this normal wiring? Is it safe? Should I mimic it with the new switch? Should I leave it to an electrician? Are there particular instructions that I should follow, or would I need any special tools to open/close the fingers around the ground wire if I were to do the same thing for the new dimmer switch?
As it is, I pushed everything back in the box and screwed it back in (I hadn't disconnected any of the wires). Thank you.

The old dimmer is not properly connected to ground (an attempt was made, but it's not good workmanship...)
The grounding wires are crimped (which seems to be a popular method at some places and times for grounding wires, I assume because someone felt it saved 3 seconds per box or something) but the old dimmer grounding wire is not in the crimp, it's just jammed between the crimped wires.
If one or more of the grounding wires that are in the crimp stick out far enough on the other side of it you can use a wire-nut to properly connect your new dimmer's grounding wire. Can't see if that's the case since they appear to be behind the other switch in your pictures.
If not, you can cut off the crimp and use a wire nut to connect all the grounding wires and your new dimmer grounding wire.


What's going on with this switched outlet wiring in the middle of a run? Help me figure out what's going on here and come up with a way to turn this into a half-switched outlet?
I have a late 1940's house, and some of the circuits are not grounded. I recently replaced all of the switches and outlets in the house, putting GFCIs in the first receptacles on each of these circuits to protect the ungrounded outlets.
While I was doing this, I thought I'd change some of our switched outlets to be half-switched. The first one I did this for was on the end of a run, so it was pretty simple because there was just one cable running from the outlet to the switch. But the second one was in the middle of the run and is set up in a way I don't understand.
Here's a diagram of the outlet and the switch:

The switched outlet has two wires connected to the neutrals and one to the hot. One of the wires connected to a neutral (D) is hot whether the switch is on or off. If I disconnect this wire, none of the outlets further down the run work, so that's definitely my hot line. The neutral from D's cable (E) is connected to one of the three wires from the other cable in the box (C). The other two wires from that cable are connected to the outlet, one to the hot and one to a neutral.
In my switch box, I also have a 3-wire cable, which I assume is the one from the outlet box. One of the wires is directly connected to the switch (1), one is connected to a wire from the other cable in the box (3), and the third is connected to the other wire on the second cable, with a pigtail to the switch (2). Whether the switch is on or off, a non-contact voltage tester beeps at the wire 3/5 connection, so I'm thinking that's what's carrying power to the remaining outlets in the run.
Two questions:

How do A, B, and C line up with 1, 2, and 3? Seems to me like C/E are neutrals, connected to 2/4, and A/D are hots, connected to 3/5, which would leave B as 1, completing the loop for the outlet.
Is it a problem that there's a hot wire connected to a neutral terminal on the outlet, and how should it be instead? Maybe A/D should be attached to the hots and B to the neutral?
Is there a way to make my outlet half-switched with the existing cables?

Did not ultimately get a lot of help here, but I figured it out myself, so posting in case there are others who run into a similar situation.
The first key was figuring out how the wires in each box matched up. I connected D, the hot wire, first to A, then to B, which helped me figure out which two wires in the switch box they matched up to. C I knew was the neutral, so it was the third wire; whichever one I didn't hit by hooking D up to A & B.
Then I essentially did this:

Knowing that D was the hot coming in and G was the hot going out, E was the neutral coming in and F was the neutral going out, I figured I had to connect the two of those
Realizing that I had a third wire, B, in my cable from the outlet to the switch, I determined I could use it as the second hot for the switch

So the top outlet is switched, the bottom is not, and I no longer have hots connected to neutrals, which to reiterate, is how I found it, not how I chose to wire it.


Removing a window from 1930s era building I’ve broken a pane in one of my windows and am being quoted ludicrous amounts of money to replace it because it is an old style window on the third floor with a tree blocking access.
I figured it would be simpler if I took the window off it’s hinges, however I can’t figure out how to do this. The windows have been coarsely painted including all the hinge parts. There seems to be a couple of round headed rivets holding the window to the hinge.
Is there any trick to removing these other than drilling out the bolts ?

I haven't worked on vintage metal casement windows but have some experience restoring vintage wood double hung windows.
First, don't replace the entire window unit, I'm sure this window can be repaired for much less. Did you contact a company that sells new replacement windows? I would avoid those companies and try to find a company that can re-glaze the existing window. Maybe search for a local glazier that specializes in window glass replacement.
Are you able to open the window that's broken? If so, maybe there is a way to remove the brackets from the frame instead of removing the brackets from the sash. Sounds like access from the exterior would be challenging, so if you have to do this from the inside then you'll need to be careful to not drop the sash if you can get it loose.
It may be possible to replace the broken glass and re-glaze the sash with new glass without removing the sash from the frame. Since the glass is broken you could try removing all of the broken glass and then use a heat gun to remove the old glazing putty from the metal sash. Once that's done you just need to install new glass and re-glaze with glazing putty designed for use with metal window sashes. I've used Sarco Dual Glaze putty and would recommend it for this. Do not use DAP 33 glazing putty that you will find in home improvement stores since it takes forever to dry and is messy to use.


Can I kill this mold? An old house is in the process of being signed over to me.  The house has been neglected for several years and I have begun trying to fix the place up.  The front of the house has been victim of a severely leaky roof for several years and the water damage/mold problem is pretty severe.  The roof has just been replaced and the leak resolved.

There are two bedrooms affected and the whole front wall of the house in these two rooms are moldy.  I've begun striping away all of the materials I can, such as insulation, paneling, window frames, ceiling tiles, etc., but some of the materials I cannot remove, because it's the front of the house and I can't tear down the whole front of the house.

That said, would it be acceptable to spray mold killer (or rather, soak) the affected areas and paint over it with a mold preventative paint?  I'm worried this will not be sufficient, as the affected area is severe and I'm not sure I can even access everything.  Finances are limited, so I'm unable to pay a professional to complete the project for me.  Not sure how fast mold spreads or how long it takes to grow, but would this be an acceptable remedy for a few years to come?  How reliable ARE these mold killing chemicals I see online?

Sorry such a long post, but since I have eliminated the source of the leak, will this help kill off the mold?

I really don't have time to write a good answer, but I have and others have written some good responses that would answer your question.  Look at the tags for mold.  ID is important before remediation can be done. You have to know what kind of mold you are dealing with. Some minor mold can be dealt  with DIY, but other toxic molds need professional attention. Samples need to be taken and IDed by a lab. Don't take chances, get it right.


Hubbell-raco receptacle and switch boxes Why doesn't Hubbell-Raco receptacle metal boxes (double gang, single gang, handy boxes--most of their boxes) do not have an 1/2" inch protrusion when affixing it to wood studs to rough in basement or new garages or adding a new room.  Then adding 1/2 inch drywall would fit perfectly. They have a brackets in some cases attached but it does protrude. For example Garvin boxes do have them. The only time that i would think you would have a double gang or 4x4 square box flush with the stud is if your adding mud or raised rings. Would appreciate any insights! Just curious.

How many boxes would you have to manufacture in order to cover everything we use a 4 sq box for. It's just not financially feasible from a manufacturing standpoint. Plus, it would be hard to mount and work inside the box from interference of the plaster ring. So when you say "most of the boxes" you are using them in situations you are working in and does not consider the uses in other types of construction. In fact I would debate that more boxes are used commercially and most of the boxes there are blank covers and you would finish out devices on 5/8" drywall.


How do I search for a mixed smart-normal switch plate? I want to change only ONE of the switches to a smart switch. I am confused about what I need to buy. Can I just use one of these smart switches? What confuses me is - how does the cover plate work? Do I need to change both to smart switches or do they make a cover plate with one of each?  How do I find that on the Internet, i.e. which search terms to use?

The large rectangular opening is called "Decora"
There are only 3 popular shapes:

Small slot:  the traditional switch, like you have now.
Two ovals: for traditional receptacles (also dual switches)
Large rectangle aka "Decora": which covers your smart switch, AND all Decora switches, AND all Decora receptacles, including all GFCI and AFCI receptacles and switches.

The big three. "blank" not pictured.  There are others, but they're rare.
Any competent hardware store will stock 2-gang cover plates of every possible combination, including "1 side blank" and "both sides blank".  Typically in at least 3 colors!

They also make plain switches in Decora, so if all else fails, you could replace the other switch with a "Decora plain switch", wired exactly the same.  And then you could use a 2-gang "Decora both sides" cover plate.  Those are so common Walmart stocks them.

graphic courtesy Kyle Switch Plates
source of graphic


What is a quieter alternative to gas forced air heating? My small 1BR apartment has an old gas furnace that works great, but costs my landlord too much to insure. He plans to install gas forced air, an in-unit upright furnace. I'd love to suggest a comparably priced alternative that will make less noise. What's out there?

edit: Maybe a few self-contained baseboard heaters and\or quartz infrared heaters could do the trick, for a small enough place? Mine is only about 700 sq ft. A similar unit in the building got a Rheem Criterion II gas furnace, so (@HerrBag) I'm afraid 90% may be overly optimistic.

The multi-stage burners are much quieter at low burn, as are multi speed/variable speed blower motors.  These features are available for most 90% and higher furnaces.

A nice co-generation water heater (hot water for heat and a super storage unit for potable hot water) would be very quiet, but conversions costs to add radiators would not likely fly.


Is 3/4" OSB a better soundproofing material than 5/8" drywall? Assuming the construction was done properly, would 3/4" OSB (oriented strand board, it's like a particle board but better) a better soundproofing material than 5/8" drywall?

This OSB has an R-factor of 0.90, which is really good. 1/2" drywall of course is abysmal at 0.45, but actually 5/8 drywall isn't much better with an R-factor of 0.5625.

Compare this to common brick. Brick has an R-factor of 0.80, so the OSB has even a brick wall beat.

1" plywood actually has an R-factor of 1.25, just a side note.

Soundproofing has several elements:

mass (weight, density)
airtight
absorption (e.g. foam [good] vs thin steel [bad])
damping (e.g. green glue)
resonance (e.g. foam [good] vs metal [bad])

Mass is non-negotiable. If you put two sheets of 1/16" plastic together with green glue and make it airtight, it still isn't going to do much. And because plastic has little absorption, the sound may well pass right through. So that's an example of a poor design.

OSB seems to kill it with mass. Not only is it nearly the same price as drywall, but it has nearly double the R-factor of 5/8 drywall. In fact, it's similar to having two sheets of 5/8 drywall (without green glue).

That's not the only benefit of OSB. If I wanted to put it on a hinge or screw something in, OSB is a lot greater material since it can hold a screw, and not crumble under its own weight. It's possible with drywall but you also need to build a full frame for it which not only increases the cost and resonance (both bad) but is a ton more work.

The downside of OSB is finishing it, but for some applications it doesn't matter. The best way is to seal it with resin, or sand and paint before install. If you don't need to finish it, there isn't much downside to OSB as far as I can see.

Also, cutting to shape is easier and less messy. There is some sawdust but drywall has drywall dust which is way more messy for install.

The only thing I don't know about is resonance of OSB. However, being strands of wood held together with glue, I'm guessing it should be at least comparable to drywall if not better - but this is just a guess so don't take my word for it.

You could even put two layers of OSB with green glue, and anectodal evidence says it is about the same benefit - except that the 3/4 OSB will have double the mass of the 5/8 drywall, so possibly far greater sound reduction.

So, can 3/4 OSB be a better bet for soundproofing than 5/8 drywall, for the same installation?

3/4” OSB board is better than 5/8” gypsum board.

Sound control is measured in STC ratings (sound transmission coefficient).

Here’s a website that tests various materials:  https://www.ecopacificinsulators.com/uploads/4/7/1/6/4716609/sound_transmission_stc_rating.pdf

Gypsum board is not as good as OSB board. 1/2” OSB board equals 5/8” gypsum board.

As you can see, 3/4” OSB board is not listed, but OSB board increases by +1 for each 1/8” thickness. Therefore, you could surmise that 3/4” OSB board would be +6, and 5/8” gypsum board is +4 and fire rated gypsum board is only +5.


Concrete porch demolition I'd like to demolish concrete porch.

I’d like to demolish:
- the concrete stairs (it’s about 3’x3’x3’)
- the slab (about 3’x5’x5", all cracked with rusty rebars)
- the 2 brick columns
- the metal rebars and the T-shaped metal pieces on top of which the slab is placed
- the upper part of the wall (I think it’s made of cinder blocks) that’s behind the stairs (in pic 6)

Here is a Dropbox link to the pictures.

The whole porch is going to be re-done in wood so no need for any of the pieces.

I'd like to keep the concrete step underneath the door if possible.

How this can be done?  What tools to use?  What approach?  How long would it take?

I'd budget two or three days if you're by yourself. The stairs will likely be the most time consuming. The slab is going to be obnoxious primarily because it's over that hole. It doesn't look like you can fit staging in there, and a ladder is problematic because falling debris can knock it over. I assume the dangers of demoing the slab while standing on it are self-evident. It's hard to say without a good look, but I suspect working backwards and into the door may be the best bet.

The Tools

Three pound hammer - You're going to want a short-handle sledge for chisel work at some point, and three pounds is a good compromise. Nailing hammers (12-26 oz) are a bit too light and five pound hammers are a real workout if you're not used to them.
Masonry chisels, two - You'll want flat and pointed, the exact sizes and shapes depending on budget and what's in the store.
Goggles, not optional - No way a chip doesn't hit you in the face at some point.
Long-handled sledge, optional but pretty damn handy
Angle grinder, a big help - Really the cheapest tool to reliably cut both masonry and steel; something in the 4" size with both metal and masonry cutoff wheels. The fibrous disks wear out quickly, but they're probably a bit more forgiving than the diamond wheels if you run into steel accidently. Otherwise you'll want at least a hacksaw or reciprocating saw to deal with the rebar.

In addition to the short list you'll probably want to rent an electric demolition hammer for one day. Apart from the obvious labor savings it's good insurance for the stairs; you won't need to buy more tools if they're exceptionally difficult to break down.

The Plan

Bar the upper door. You really should put a railing on the outside across the opening, but I get that it's brick and you don't live with an OSHA inspector. You should still consider at the least a sawhorse inside blocking the door so nobody marches out forgetting that the deck is gone.
Score the slab along the house. Make a shallow cut parallel to the wall to encourage the slab to break rather than drag bricks out of the wall.
Carefully remove the slab. It looks like your best bet is to work carefully from the stairs, ground, and doorway to chip away at the concrete. Just don't work underneath or on top of it!
Once the slab is reduced enough that you won't kill yourself, cut off any large remaining pieces of steel. At this point the stairs and columns should be freestanding.
The stairs look to be free of the house so removing them is a simple matter of breaking them into small enough pieces to lift. Electric hammer, cuts and a long-handled sledge, judicious application of a pointed chisel are all valid approaches.
Score and smash is your best bet with the partition wall, though it looks like a pointed chisel in any of those cracks would brink half of it down. If you want to save a portion it's best to work your way down carefully removing small pieces.
The brickwork can be dismantled with a masonry chisel applied to the mortar. Running a cutoff wheel along the bed joints can help if the going is too difficult.


What is a better base for skid foundation, gravel or crushed stone? Building a skid foundation for a shed. What is the best material to put under the skids for stability/leveling. Uniform gravel (like this) or crushed stone like a 5/8 minus?

Thanks,

Tamped gravel uniform or not, big or small, rounded or jagged with thin concrete pads (home-made or store bought), retaining wall caps or path pavers set into the gravel. Like doing a walking path really. You can even do a peanut brittle type setup by pouring in a lot of real soupy cement. But, the 4-inch carve-out of the ground you'll do should retain the gravel quite well.


can I turn a spa panel box into a circuit breaker box I got rid of the hot tub and have 60A spa panel.  Can I purchase guts that would make it a breaker box?

Or should I just replace it with a circuit breaker box?

I want to run power to my shed.

Is it feasible to leave the spa panel in place and run a sub panel inside the shed?

I would like to not burn down the house/shed/neighborhood.....

Thanks!

Most spa panels have 2 spaces for auxiliary loads, often they are inside the coverage of the built-in GFCI.

However you don't want to run multiple circuits over to the shed, you are only allowed one circuit per voltage.  (One 240, one 120+240, one 120). Any further division of circuits must be in a subpanel in the shed.  Don't get too small a subpanel, go for 3x what you think you need.

The subpanel can be of any current rating >= the supply, e.g. a 30A breaker can feed #10 wire to a 125A subpanel. It needs to have its own "main" breaker but it can be of any size >= supply rating, since it is only a shutoff switch.  This main breaker must bolt down, you can't just backfeed a breaker that only clips in.

If you use rigid conduit, the stuff is hella expensive, but only needs to be buried 6” instead of 12-24”.


Location of a new electrical sub panel I am installing a 125A sub panel (fed with 60A breaker from main panel). Am I allowed to install it directly below the existing panel? Are there minimum height requirements for a sub panel? Is there a minimum distance between sub panels?

There is no minimum mounting height for electrical panels.

There's also no minimum space between panels.  However you do have to provide enough space that the covers don't interfere with each other.


What does "No Other Outlets" mean for a kitchen 20A branch circuit? I'm trying to wire my kitchen up to code, which means (based on the outlet spacing rules) I need 6 counter-top outlets. How many branch circuits do I need?
When the NEC talks about the 2 "appliance" branch circuits required to be installed on kitchen counters, it says in 210.52(B)(1), the two or more 20-ampere small-appliance branch circuits required by 210.11(C)(1) shall serve all wall and floor receptacle outlets covered by 210.52(A) and then immediately follows that with:
210.52(B)(2)

No Other Outlets. The two or more small-appliance branch  circuits specified in 210.52(B)(1) shall have no other outlets.
Exception No. 1: A receptacle installed solely for the electrical supply to and support of an electrical clock in any of the rooms specified in 210.52(B)(1).
Exception No. 2: Receptacles installed to provide power for supplemental equipment and lighting on gas-fired ranges, ovens, or counter-mounted cooking units.

I can see two possible ways of understanding "other outlets" in context, and I don't know which is correct:

It could mean, "Outlets besides the receptacles 210.52(B)(1) described aren't allowed on the appliance branch circuits," in which case I could do however many receptacles can be on a circuit normally.
But it could also mean, "the appliance branch circuits must have exactly one outlet each," in which case all 6 outlets would need to connect directly to 6 individual breakers in the panel.

Which is it?

210.52(B)(2) is saying you should install 2 small appliance loads specifically for small appliances and are only allowed kitchens, dining rooms, and other specified locations. Usually they are circuits installed around the countertops of a kitchen. So you may not use them for general purpose receptacles in other rooms. They should not be used for disposals, dishwashers, etc.

Remember you can install more than two small appliance circuits if you see the need.

In your second comment you are misreading Table 210.24. It refers to circuits with a single receptacle. You can only connect no more than 10 receptacles on a 20A circuit or 8 receptacles on a 15A circuit. And all of that is for general power receptacles.

Remember you are installing small appliance receptacles. That means you may be connecting up an 1100W coffee maker and then say a 860W countertop Microwave and running them at the same time. Then you decide to pop on the toaster. If these are all on the same circuit, you be trying to get back to your panel to try and find the breaker you just tripped. And you haven't even had your first cup of coffee. Generally I would never put more than 4 duplex receptacles on a small appliance circuit.

Hope this helps.


Why is the water vessel overflowing on my air conditioner? The ac keeps on  leaking and now there is a bubble formed underneath it. Is there any way to fix this right now?

I have a similar model pump. About once a quarter I need to take the clear basin out and the float and clean all the gunk off of it then it works fine for a few months. Those mini pumps are really finicky. You could also check the outlet to make sure it isn’t clogged.


Help understand what's in the electric box Recently moved into a house and found that one switch in the kitchen doesn't work. It looked like the switch to control an overhead light.
I replaced bulb but still no luck. The switch seemed to be broken.

I originally doubted that the switch would break thinking it was extremely unlikely. However, I have seen (and replaced) other switches in the house after similar doubt. All previous switches I replaced were in the upstairs of the house which was an addition and had nice and easy wiring to work with.

When I removed the switch in the kitchen I was surprised to see rope insulated wiring and what looks to be no grounding. Now, unfortunately I didn't take a picture of how the old (seemingly broken) switch was wired. But when I removed it inside the wall I saw 2 wires completely tied together, and two free wires. It looked like in the back of the box there was more rope but I really couldn't get to it.

I took the volt-meter and found that I had 120 volts going from each free wire to the two tied wires. Going between the two free wires I got 0 volts.

Long story short, I shorted the new switch I bought. Im am going to call an electrician to do the job but I want to understand whats in there.

Are the two free wires hot runs? And the two tied together common? Or is the one tied together hot and the two commons? I had originally thought the two free wires were travelers to another switch in the entrance into the kitchen that has a switch that doesnt control anything. But using the voltmeter and toggling that switch has no effect on the readings.

Either way I carefully taped up the wires and put them back in the wall and covered the panel. Probably the electrician will come when I won't be home so I won't get the lesson (and I'm not sure how keen they would be to have me over their shoulder while they are working).

Any thoughts? Anything I should have checked out also?

Put it back together the way you found it.

I don't really care if you substitute a new switch when you reassemble it. I'm more concerned with the wires being where they belong.

The #1 mistake people make in situations like this, is they take too much stuff apart because they're curious, and then they end up with a mess. And it's even harder to troubleshoot because remember, it started broken.  This is gravely misguided.  Not least because what's installed may be wrong.  It is certainly broken, and my guess is not there.

Do your learning from books, and read the whole book. Not online, because online is like looking through a keyhole: you need the big picture, the entire landscape.  Without that, you can't even know which questions to ask.


How to fix ceiling which squeaks when door is opened The ceiling in my bedroom creaks when I open and close the bedroom door which is annoying. Is there any way to easily stop this from happening?

I have never had or heard of this happening before, but it sounds like the framing needs to be tightened up somewhere. The squeak will need to be isolated, as in pinpointed to the actual joint or where 2 pieces of wood come together, is squeaking, then with some care, screw the framing together so it draws the joint where the framing meets is tight again.


Fixing a (possibility) incorrectly wired 4 way light I started a project to add a 16v line for a video doorbell and, as always, ran into some trouble.

Split level house was built in the 70s and has a 4 way switch and a single pole right by the front door. The siblings to the 4 way are top and bottom of the stairs. The single pole controls the porch light.

I've identified the source line and the leg running to the porch. However there is something wrong with the 4 way.

As you can see in the picture, this is a 3 way switch, which led me to believe that it is either the first or last switch in the line up.  When I looked at the other switches, the top of the stairs is a 3 way switch. The junction box only has a single 14/3 with red to bottom right, white to top and black to bottom left. Too dark to confirm without disconnecting everything, but it looks like the same style as the middle switch with the travelers on the bottom and common on top. The bottom of the stairs has a 4 way switch, but it shares a junction box with another circuit that I couldn't shut off so I didn't take it all the way out.

Back to the one that I'm working with,  I've tested it with the circuit on and the only live wire is either the bottom red or black, depending on the state of the other 2 switches. That matches what I know about 4-ways. However, it has two lines going into the common. That, and the dead end on the switch upstairs, I don't understand.

Is this up to code? If it is I don't need to change anything expect add a spur from the line feeding the porch light to a transformer.

Edit.

I think I figured it out. Fixed my typo with 18/3 vs 14/3. Mixed up because I ran the 18g for the doorbell. Also had to resize picture to be under 2mb. Attached now before I took anything apart. All markings on all wires are from me trying to figure it out.

Bottom of the stairs has a 4 way switch with line voltage coming in. Middle of the stairs has a 3 way, with separate line voltage coming in for the light outside, with a single pole. Top of the stairs has a 3 way switch.

Does that make sense? I can't figure out why the top switch can turn off the light if turned on from the middle or bottom switch. It must run from the middle switch, up to the light then back down to the top switch. Yikes. I've previously replaced the fixture above the ceiling and I don't remember seeing anything up there that set off alarm bells but now I want another look.

Whatever, it works. I just very carefully marked each wire with what terminal it is connected to and didn't mess with it. Replaced the double gang with a triple, but forgot to get the divider plate for the low voltage side, so I haven't put the transformer in yet.

Edit 2. The brown wire is 18g that is going to the doorbell. In the picture I already took out the plastic 2 gang already, but you can still see the metal bracket in the back it was mounted on. Hate those things, take forever to get out. I've replaced it with a 3 gang box but haven't been able to find anywhere local with divider plates so the transformer isn't hooked up yet. I want to put the transformer inside the box so it doesn't make contact with the foil from the insulation.

Wow, this is a tangle.  Here's what's really going on here.

There are 2 lights!

Your photo doesn't document which (non-visible) terminal on the 3-way is common. But we can figure it out for 2 reasons: a) we can see one traveler, and both travelers are always in the same cable.  And b) the upper right has 2 wires, and there would be no earthly reason for another cable to tap one traveler.  So confidence 100% on that.

When the non-traveler in the cable is white, it might be neutral. But this one doesn't go to  the one neutral bundle. This one joins two other blacks.  That doesn't tell us whether it's always-hot or switched-hot.   But given that there are 2 wires on the 3-way common, that leaves only two possibilities:

The 3-way common hosts always-hot and the other wire carries power onward to some other point of use.  However, that means the other switch is "slaved" to the 3-way system, and only can be turned on if the 3-way system is on.  That might make sense for an "add-on" light, but is insane for a stairway vs porch light.
The white wire is always-hot, and the suppply hot (the black wire) serves a) the 1-way porch light via the pigtail, and b) the 3-way stairway complex via this white wire.  That feels more correct. However, the 2 wires on the 3-way common mean that this is being distributed to 2 lights, both from here.

The second one makes sense to me, so I'm going for that.  Here, I've installed "colored tape" and a tracer line on the appropriate wires to designate their function (I forgot the switched-hot for the porch light; tag that blue).

Black for always-hot
Red for switched-hot
Blue for "alternate" switched-hot (i.e. second switch)
Yellow for both travelers (no need to distinguish them).
White for neutral and when a white is used for non-neutral, marking it is mandatory.

If testing proves out this guess, I strongly recommend physically marking the wires as such.  Given the complexity of this circuit, it will save you or the next person much head-scratching later.

Really, wires should be marked the same on both ends, but I don't see a need to get out the fancy ladder to access stairwell lights just to mark the hot red; it should be obvious to anyone that a lamp's hot wire would be switched-hot.  The 4-way, on the other hand...

Colors mean nothing in 3/4 way circuits

So what we know, is if black and red are travelers on this cable, then that must also be true for this cable - this cable only - at the 4-way switch.  So if  you can measure the 4-way and figure out which terminals change when this switch is thrown (i.e. do not change when the 4-way is thrown), you can mark those 2 travelers yellow also.  You MUST mark that cable's white black. (red is legal, if it proves out to be a switched-hot after all, but you can't leave it white).

Now with half the 4-way switch's wires identified, the other 2 wires from the other cable must also be travelers.  Mark those yellow as well.  (as long as you can see how they're grouped in cables, introducing another color doesn't really benefit; travelers from one  cable go to the black screws, the travelers from the other cable go to the brass. Not hard.)

The remaining wire in the other /3 cable must be whatever this remarked-white proves to be. (presumably, always-hot).  Note that aside from marking reused white wires, Code says that if neutral is absent but always-hot is present, white must be used for it - that way it always tests as hot, leaving no doubt it is not a neutral.

Well, that was hard.  If you remark wires as I advise, it won't be hard the next time.

Y'know, old Code used to say you could skip marking the neutral if the usage was obvious - Code meant "like in an old style switch loop, 2 wires, no question".  There is nothing obvious about this setup!!! But obviously the electrician got in the "habit" of just never marking white wires ever, and this is the result.

By the way, marking is mandatory.  Marking for different kinds of hot (black red yellow) is entirely optional. For all Code cares, they could all be black.  I disagree, sincerely: I own 11 different colors of THHN wire, all #12 stranded. Taste the rainbow!

Which of these wires doesn't belong?

Speaking of colors, I note a brown wire in there.  Nope. Nope. Nope.  That is thermostat or doorbell wire, and it does not belong with the others.  I gather you're bumping this junction box out to a 3-gang box.  Make sure to install a divider to separate the low voltage in the 3rd gang from the mains voltage in the first 2 gangs.  You cannot mix low voltage and mains wires.

Unless all the low-voltage wiring and equipment is entirely contained within Class I wiring methods; i.e. if you used #14 Romex instead of that thermostat cable, and the doorbell was mains rated and housed in a Class I junction box, and so was the doorbell.  The reason for this restriction is a low voltage wire coming in contact with mains and being "lit up" at mains voltage, causing wire meltdowns, shocks and fires in the equipment not rated for contact with mains.

Most plastic box makers offer some sort of divider; however I'm a big fan of steel boxes because they will dissipate arcing heat instead of burning through. You can get dividers for some of those too.

I don't know how you removed the old box, but you will need to disconnect the wires so the cables can properly enter the new box on a cable clamp. That wire marking will really pay off!


Help with replacing 3 way switch with a smart 3 way switch I'm trying to replace existing 3 way switches with 3 way smart switches to control the lights of my light/fan combo. The current set up is a dimmer in 1 location and a toggle switch on the other side of the room. The switches I'm trying to install are Leviton DW1KD-1BZ and its matching remote, Leviton DD00R-DLZ. The short of the issue is the wiring configuration in each box is baffling and I'm not sure how to make this work with the new switches. The current set up is functioning fine.

This is what the existing, "dumb" dimmer switch currently looks like. It's connected to a black, red, white, and copper wire.

And this is what the toggle switch looks like. It is the middle of the 3 switches. It has 2 reds, 1 of which comes from the bundle of wires connected to the fan switch that is the far left of the 3 switches. The 2 reds are capped off with a yellow wire which is then connected to the switch along with a black and a copper.

Here is the setup at the light/fan fixture. The pictures are taken from the opposite sides in an attempt to show everything. What is inside is: 2 whites capped, 2 greens and 1 copper capped, 2 blacks capped, 1 red and 1 blue capped.

Best view of the inside of the light/fan fixture box I can get, from 2 different angles. There's a romex with black, red, white, copper. There are 2 green wires grounded to the fan mount. There are 1 blue, 1 black and 1 white wires traveling up from the fan itself.

2 additional photos of the light/fan fixture with wires pulled out of box.

Any ideas on how to get the smart switches working or is it not possible?

The DW1KD goes in the box with the switch and the funny yellow jumper

The funny yellow jumper wire was part of a scheme to convert the switch at the line/load location (the "main" location) to a single pole switch to be used with the 3-way functionality in the existing dimmer (at the "dimmer" location), given that the dimmer was installed as a switch loop from the "main" switch box where both the line and load connections are present.  However, the DW1KD has the downside that it must be on the load side of the circuit, and the current dimmer location is on the line side of the circuit.

So, you'll need to install the DW1KD at the box where the switch was, and the matching remote at the box where the dimmer was, as follows:

Remove the white wire in the top center cable from the bundle of black wires in the switch box
Dimmer black to the extant bundle of black wires and the black wire going off to the remote location (black wire, top center cable) as the remote needs always-hot and neutral to function, in addition to the communications line, instead of relying on traditional travelers
Dimmer white to the existing bundle of neutrals (it's in the top right rear of the switch box) and the white wire in the top center cable (making it a neutral instead of a switch-loop hot)
Dimmer red to the red wire going off to the fan (red wire, top left cable)
Dimmer red/yellow to the red wire going off to the remote location (red wire, top center cable)
Dimmer ground to the existing grounding pigtail
Remote black to the black wire in the remote box
Remote white to the white wire in the remote box
Remote yellow/red to the red wire in the remote box
Remote ground to the bare ground wire in the remote box


How can I lift the latch of the battery compartment in this smoke alarm detector? First of all, I'm a bit embarrassed I cannot figure this out myself.
I have looked up Youtube videos, Google searched but I didn't find any exact video.

Plus I have tried pressing it hard, lifting but it seems very hard - just hurts my thumb.
I don't want to call an electrician or tell my landlord but I can't sleep with this chirp going on as well. Can anyone help?

Push the tab toward the arrow and then lift it up. Good luck