Inspector told me to match breaker size to appliance questioning what an electrical inspector told me and hoping for a bit more detail.
Back story:
I installed a hot tub in my backyard (NYC, NY) and hired an electrician to run a 208V circuit out to it. I asked the electrician to run 6AWG cable in rigid conduit. The heater + pump only pull ~32A, but I wanted some wiggle room in case I want to add extra lights, audio system, etc to the hot tub. Since 6AWG can support up to 55A, I've got a 50A GFCI breaker
guarding this circuit.
Inspector comes, and says we need to swap the breaker to a 35A breaker because he needs to "match the breaker size to the appliance current". The inspector says this is a code requirement. Is this true? Seems incorrect (but what do I know). I'm pretty sure the breakers protect the wire from frying (not the appliances). I fact, I could install a circuit and have nothing plugged into the recepticals...how is that not in violation of "matching the breaker size to the appliance current"? Maybe the difference is that the hot tub is hard wired in (not plugged into a receptical)?
Anyways, I cannot contact the inspector again since he told me he will not answer any follow up emails. I called the electrician who did the work and the
electrician told me, yes, it is a code requirement, but told me he does not have the patience to tell me which code it is and hung up on me (great).
Can anyone shed some light here?

The usual setup is:

Large breaker, matched to wire size, in the main panel.
Wires (protected by breaker) to a subpanel
In the subpanel, a separate breaker & wires matched to each appliance.

GFCI is both code and critical life safety for hot tubs. The wonderful thing about GFCI protection is that it can be at almost any level - breaker in the main panel, breakers in subpanel, combined with receptacles. You generally don't want to (if available in that size) use a GFCI as your actual main breaker, because then power to your whole house would go out when there is a ground fault, as well as some other possible problems. And in the case of a hot tub, you don't want to put the GFCI any farther than the subpanel for a bunch of reasons. Since you already have a 50A GFCI breaker, you can go ahead and use that for the feed to the subpanel and you don't need any GFCI breakers (with their sensitive electronics) out in the subpanel.
32A for one appliance would normally get a 40A breaker. If that is really two loads - e.g., heater 24A, pump 8A (making up those numbers) then you would have 2 breakers - 30A for the heater, 15A or 20A (since that is normal for most small loads in the US) for the pump. You would also have either a shutoff switch or, often easier/cheaper, a main breaker in the subpanel which could be any size (since the individual appliances are protected by individual breakers and the subpanel and its wiring are protected by the breaker back in the main panel). The subpanel can have additional circuits - e.g., a separate lighting circuit, a convenience receptacle, etc.


Key stuck in door lock My key is stuck in the door lock and won't come out. I have tried numerous ways and it just won't. Any ideas on how to get it out or what can be done?

Don't laugh, this may work as I have used it on stuck or cross-threaded bolts and locks. Remember that heat makes metals expand, while cold makes metals contract. Looks like the usual 5-pin tumbler lock. I do not know how the key is stuck, but brass is a soft metal. After long term use the surface can becomes rounded and not move the tumblers correctly. The tumblers could be stuck from dirt or other contaminants. Try oiling the key first by forcing WD-40 or a light motor oil into the lock and tap the key lightly with a small hammer. This will normally loosen a stuck pin tumbler. Next step is to by freeze-spray and freeze only the key. This will make the key shrink a tiny bit. Wiggle the key and latch to try and jar the pin tumblers loose. Brass is not brittle when cold but do not use enough power to break the key. I am assuming someone did not play a dirty prank and put super-glue inside the lock. Even so, oil, freezing and heating will make the key loosen up, even if it takes a few hours.


Do I need to seal the gap under shoe molding on new floor? We are getting new hard wood flooring installed and I expect to be putting shoe molding around the edge of the flooring. I am expecting a half inch to one inch gap between the back of the molding and the wall underneath.
Am I supposed to fill the gap behind with caulk or spray foam or something? I am afraid if I don't, I will have a gap that will be a freeway for insects and mice. If so, what kind of caulk or foam?

The gap is no different than before assuming the original install was good. Is this going over another floor or stripped down to the subfloor? You can use a backer rod stuffed into the back of the gap but generally you do not caulk the floor to the baseboard/shoe molding to allow for expansion and contraction of the floor


Cost to replace "wall of glass" with sliding doors? I'm considering buying this house, which is in need of pretty significant renovation.  The one area I can't even ballpark an estimate on replacement cost would be this wall of glass with large sliding glass doors.

What would be a reasonable range of costs to replace these, not using top-of-the line hardware?  I assume thermally broken storefront glass would be appropriate.  Below is an interior and exterior view.  Following these two photos is another fairly expensive looking section without sliding doors.

I'm also pretty clueless about the cost to replace this other "wall of glass."  Again I'd assume thermally broken storefront?  Is ~$10k for this section right?

I called a well-regarded Chicago-area window company and gave them the specifics.  From our discussion, it sounds like replacing the hardware might be a possibility depending upon the manufacturer.

Otherwise, the wall from the top two pictures should be about $8,000 to replace just the lower sliding glass doors and the stationary panels to the left and right.  I didn't get the impression that replacing the upper panels would be terribly costly in comparison if we decided to do those.  It sounds like the fact that there's a structural beam in place (above the doors) helps keep cost down.


Halo effect sanding floors I've used a drum sander and an edging sander to sand a floor. This has left the perimeter of the room a little different from the rest.
What's the best way to blend both the regions ?
I used 36,60,80 and 120 grits with the drum and a 60 grit on the edger.

When re-finishing wood floors with drum and edge sanders one of the last steps is to blend the two areas with a floor machine sander. The floor machine is set-up for 100 and 120 grit sanding disks. Sanding this way between the two zones will even them out and blend in appearance.


Moving panel from crawl space I’m wanting to move my main electric panel from my tall crawl space to a hallway that leads upstairs but not sure if it’s allowed it has 41 in of space in the front it’s the only good wall for it to go because the exterior wall is a kitchen to a bathroom it will only be 7 ft from the meter base that sits behind bathroom wall.
I’ve replace panels on exterior walls but haven’t moved one

You will have to store your vacuum, etc. elsewhere if following the letter of code.
Working space for a panel: not to be used for storage, can be used for passage (ie hallway is good, closet/clutter is not) Clear space, 30 inches wide (with the panel in it, but need not be centered in it), 36 inches out, 78 inches high.


Waterproofing Roof Fan Flange I installed this turbine exhaust vent on my 1/12 (almost flat) roof.

As per the instruction, I used roofing nails to attach the bottom half of the flange while the top half is tucked under the roofing material (modified bitumen).
Do I need to waterproof these nails? If yes, can I just use roofing cement or should I use roofing patch tape (brand "Eternabond") like this:

Or is it better to use patching material like I had a professional apply for some repairs while ago with a propane torch, which looks like this:

or something else?

Because of the low-slope, I would seal all around that flange rather than just dabbing roof tar on the nail heads. You are just one plugged scupper away from a bad rainy day...
Torch-down is great if you can get a small piece to cut up for this small job. Maybe beg a piece off a roofer you know or at a roofing job in your hood.
Elastomeric patching and coating compounds work good too, use a reinforcing fabric/mesh.


Remove Trim/Baseboards Installed Prior to Hardwood Floors (No Leverage) I am having a difficult time trying to remove the trim/baseboard in my walk-in closet. We have painters coming and a custom closet install in a few weeks. Neither of those teams can/will remove the baseboards for us. I purchase a trim puller and have the standard DIY kit for pulling round moulding and trim. However, I discovered that the trim must have been installed prior to the hardwood floor installation when the home was built. The trim is slightly sunk below the floor boards. The trim is also not nailed just at the middle or top. It is nailed toward the top AND bottom of the trim, horizontal with the floor. The bottom nail is actually slightly below floor level. I cannot get leverage to pry the top nails out because of this. I get zero movement on the bottom nails either. We were trying to keep the trim in one piece, but I don't even know how to remove it even if I were to break it given that the bottom nail is below the top of the floor boards. I've heard that a jamb saw would be useful to cut it at the floor level and then an oscillating blade to cut the bottom nail from the walls. I'm not competent enough to use a jamb saw.
I've attached a few images showing the problem. Any suggestions? I really don't want to bring a carpenter in. We're already paying a ton for the customer closet and painters. When something simple becomes complicated...

************* EDIT ****************
You've all been extremely helpful. I was able to get the trim off using a combination of suggestions provided and a lot of cursing and sigh breathing. I've discovered what I feel might have been a shoddy installation job. Perhaps one of you can educate me on whether or not the floor was installed correctly.
So I pulled the quarter round off of another section of wall and discovered HUGE gaps between the wall and end of the hardwood floor boards. I realize wood expands but I always assumed wood typically is installed right up to the drywall itself, or has a minimum gap for expansion. The gaps I'm seeing are .75, 1, 1.5, 1.75 inches from the wall to the end of the floor board. Does this look like a skimp job by the builders or is this pretty typical? Here's a few more pics.
Gap 1
Gap 2
Gap 3

An oscillating tool is your friend. It looks like it would reach to the bottom nail. Looks like you were able to pull the top of the board out enough to get to the bottom nail. You also may be able to break it with a chisel, but nails are hard.  Get some good blades for the osc tool, I found that a cheap blade only cuts 5-10 nails.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-4-Amp-Corded-JobMax-Multi-Tool-with-Tool-Free-Head-R28602/206824272


Which type of paint for a surface with slight imperfections? Hi guys I'm planning on repainting my door its plan but it's slightly textured from previous paint I was wondering whether I would need to use a primer on this door and which type of paint ?
As I've been searching around the consensus is not to use oil based paint any suggestions much welcomed

I wouldn't use oil-based paint. More expensive and harder to clean up. I'd use acrylic latex (water-based) paint.  No primer is required. Make sure the door is clean, (I.e.: no oil, grease, crayon marks, etc.). Quick drying and easy clean up.


How can I replace my main water shutoff valve? I just recently purchased a house that was built in 1979 with galvanized plumbing. The water main just outside the house looks like this:

I'm planning to replace it, but I want to make sure it's done right. Disassembly isn't going to be that tough (cut the PVC, spin the tee off the stub), but when I put it back together, I want to make sure I have the right fittings in place.

My thoughts are to do the same thing, but I'm wondering if I should have at least one union in there somehow. I was considering having one between the stub and the tee, then one between the shutoff valve and the tee, but I have a feeling that may be overkill.

Any advice on this would be much appreciated.

I don't see the need for a union, just one more expense. I would replace the shut off valve with a ball valve, it will give better flow. Also I would go with copper pipe, not the galvanized.

EDIT:
Normally the Electrical Breaker Panel needs to be grounded to the water main. Because you have a non-conductive PVC water main, I believe NEC code requires that there be two ground rods connected to the Breaker Panel ground-Neutral bus bar. You should check your local codes to see if your's is up to date.


How to shut off water from city meter with no customer shut-off valve I want to shut off the water from the main city supply in order to repair my main water valve inside the house.  But there doesn't seem to be any shut-off valve, Please refer to pictures

If you do not have a shutoff below the dirt level or at the house you can pack dry ice around a short section of pipe and that will freeze the water and make a plug .
I have done this with galvanized and copper never tried plastic . Only an inch or 2 being frozen will plug the pipe and not break it. I have had to do this when I had to replace the main shutoff valve.


Oven 40 amp breaker tripped, replaced with like kind, no 240 volts I was sold a tandem breaker. It looks like I needed a double-pole circuit breaker for my range top/oven. The tandem breaker shows 120 volts at each line, but together there is zero voltage, instead of 240 volts. How did the old tandem breaker power my oven for all those many years?

Because your panel is a GE Qline

The original breakers was their 1" wide 2-pole breaker. The type straddles two spaces, leaving 1/2" above and below.

You took it to the store, I am guessing a big box, and looked for breakers like that.  They didn't have GE 1"  2-poles. But you or they mistook it for a duplex.

GE does not make duplex breakers.

But you found a BR, HOM or Murray duplex. Close enough. The clerk swore it would fit. He "knows" all these types cross-fit  (wrong).

You got it home. It wouldn't fit directly, because it couldn't clip on to those little Qline cruciforms on the bus bars.but did fit if you moved it to a different location.

Moral of the story is don't use alien breakers.


Wifi light switch needs neutral wire. Why? AND Can that wire be a skinny one? What does the neutral wire do on a light switch that responds to wifi?

My suspicion is that when the switch is in the off position, the electronics in the switch need to still be powered, so the neutral wire allows a tiny constant current through the switch so it can respond to a wifi instruction to actuate the switch.

If this is so, could the extra neutral wire going to the switch be a very light gauge wire?

Because unlike a normal switch, the wifi switch needs power, so it needs a neutral wire to complete a circuit at the switch between the unswitched hot wire and neutral for that power.

The neutral wire to the switch cannot be a light-gauge wire (at least if you are in an area subject to NEC codes; likely similar elsewhere in the world) because codes are based on what the circuit breaker protecting the circuit can supply when choosing wire size, so for 15A circuits the wire must be 14 Ga or larger, and for 20A circuits the wire must be 12Ga or larger. Smaller wires could overheat to the point of causing fires (without tripping the breaker) in the event of a fault condition, even if the normal current in them might be a matter of a few milliamperes.

I regard wifi switches (and thermostats) with the baleful gaze that only a network admin can view such things askance with, but I gather that there are units arranged in such a manner that the actual switch/relay can go in the ceiling where the light fixture that the switch loop originates from is, and the switch loop wires can (without adding any) be repurposed to operate the remote switch in the wall, no longer actually running the power for the lights through there. This type of unit will probably be much easier to install than to attempt to add a neutral wire to a switch box without one.


How can I cut copper water pipe to add a fitting? I am used to working with PVC and CPVC, but these are copper pipes that I am thinking about adding in a water cooler that needs a water line.  My question is, obviously I can't use the CPVC scissor like cutters to cut copper piping, so how would I cut the copper piping to add in a tee with 3 connections - one that goes up, one down to continue the flow as normal, and one that will come out that I can connect to the water cooler?

Thanks in advance all!

All depends on you. You can cut the pipe with a hacksaw, Sawzall, a copper tubing cutter like these:

You might have to cut a length of pipe out to fit your valve.
You could also use a piercing valve.
I don't endorse these products although good.


Drilling into wall opposite an ADT control panel — voltage detector going crazy, is this a no-go? First, I’m very inexperienced. I’m trying to hang a mirror on a wall, but the opposite side of the wall has a newer “smart home” ADT control panel. I figured there’d be some wiring to avoid, but my Fluke VoltAlert pen (2AC/90-1000V) just lights up every place on the wall within about 3 feet from the panel on the other side. Similarly with my voltage detecting stud finder - beeping along every spot on the entire section of wall I was going to drill into, with no distinct pathway of wires that I can detect.
Is there maybe a giant electrical panel in the wall behind the ADT Smart Home interface panel that could be causing this? Am I SOL or is there another way to determine if/where I can drill?

If that ADT control panel is recessed into the wall between two studs then you will likely need to avoid drilling anywhere behind it from the other side of that wall. I would leave a working margin of an additional 3 to 4 inches along the sides and tops.


New florescent fixture install I just purchased a new florescent fixture with  a fancy plug connector, and I will be replacing an older fixture that is connected (twisted with wire nuts), so I have no place to plug the new fixture.  Can I just cut the fancy new plug off, and twist the fixture wires to the house wires, like the old fixture?
Thanks

In the same situation , I put a receptacle in the ceiling fixture so T can simply plug in the new light and it would be easy to change fixtures in the future.


Connecting RING Video Doorbell to Friedland 454 chime unit I have a Friedland 454 unit, with a front and rear bell push, mains wired in (no batteries).
It is correctly wired as per Haggis post with a front and back bellpush.

The terminals are numbered, clockwise from top left: 3, 0, 2, 1, 4.
Front-door bell-push connected to 0 and 1.
Back-door bell-push connected to 0 and 2 (which I've disconnected and you can see taped up on top left).
Mercury tilt switch connected across 1 and 2.
Transformer jumper wire connects 2 and 4

If I wanted to connect a Ring Video Doorbell WIRED to the front bellpush (I don't care about rear bellpush) what do I need to do?  There is a jumper cable in the box but not sure which terminals to connect together to override everything and push power to the front bellpush wires (in order to power the Ring unit).

PS. I don't mind if the chime no longer works when doing this, I just need the power running to the door button.

two options:
Connect 1 and 3: that will send power to the button location,  the chime will no longer work.
Connect 1 and 2: that will defeat the repeat mechanism, other than that the chime will continue to work the button location will see continuous current.  I don't know if that will be enough for the Ring.


Adding a indoor concrete ramp to existing concrete My plan is to build a mold (by building a shallow wooden box, made to support putting a sheet of aluminum inside to create the curve) and fill it (upside down of course) with concrete to create what is shown in this image:

The idea is to install it (flat side down) in a doorway, adhering it to the existing concrete floor as well as filling in any gaps on the sides between the ramp and the doorway with concrete (the walls are stone covered in concrete).
The purpose being to stop any water from flooding from one part of our basement (laundry room) to the other (where we have our home theater)
Any advice would be very helpful as every part of this process is pretty new to me! Thanks in advance!

As I understand it, your laundry room connects to another room with basically a smooth level concrete floor.... and you want to create a "lip" in the doorway to prevent water escaping the laundry room.

To state the obvious:  the real trick would be to prevent the flooding in the first place.  Why does it flood?  Is there a drain that could be improved?

Aside from that, let's turn the conversation around.  What you're describing is kinda like a very low shower-stall enclosure.  If you can shift your thinking to 'how would I make a 1-inch lip to enclose a shower', you might start thinking about other options:

something made of tile (grouting into place to get a good seal on the sides and bottom)
some plastic pre-made shower seal that might be cut to length (link: https://www.amazon.com/Wide-High-Acrylic-Frameless-Threshold/dp/B0031Q4DF8 )
even enclose the 'flooding area' (like a washing machine) with a water-catchment basin (like many people do for water heaters) might be a solution

Hopefully this is of some use to you.  Good luck!


Water softener installation I want to install a water softener for our house and the company that I am dealing with told me that the unit must be installed outside unless I only want to soften the hot water.  Is this true?

The main water line will go in the house far enough to get a good spot to tie in a water conditioner. I had mine in the crawlspace, it was 3' tall and I dug it into the dirt to get the height needed to fill and maintain it, also to protect it from freezing (Maryland at the time). Since I did not want it in the living space taking up room, that is why the crawlspace. Most conditioners are placed in the living space perhaps the laundry room, or at least the garage, depending where the water main is accessible. Any competent installer can run the pipe where it is needed to install the system.

My suggestion is to get or try another installer. Always good to get more than one estimate. My conditioner was for the whole house, not for just the cold or hot. I did not have the outside hose bibs tied to it, no need for that.


How can I fit a face plate to two devices in separate single-gang boxes? I ran into an issue when changing an outlet and switch in what I thought was a double gang box.  After opening it up I found it was 2 single gang boxes next to each other.  The previous switch and outlet (non-GFCI) fit in there fine so I thought no big deal and replaced them.

Well after replacing them I found that my wall plate is a ways off from being able to fit.  Has anyone ran into an issue like this before?  Is there a way to make this work?  I would prefer to not have to cut them both out and put in a double gang if at all possible.

Thanks

The gap you are seeing is well within the normal limits of adjustment for standard yokes (the metal thing the screws go through).

You just tightened down the yoke screws and let them land where they may.  You'll need to back them off, shift the outlet and switch around as needed, and repeatedly try the plate until it lines up.

If the yokes don't give you enough horizontal slack in their slots, you may need to change to different devices that do.

If all else fails, roll back to the original receptacle and switch, figure out from where this location is supplied, and install the GFCI there with this part of the circuit on the LOAD terminals. If there's already a GFCI there, then this one is redundant.


What are the names for a light-duty hoist/pulley system components? I'm planning to create a storage rack for tires in my garage, similar to this one:

Only that my garage has high ceilings, and I want to hang it way higher. It's not safe to climb up the ladder with big SUV wheels in hand, so I'm planning to install a simple system of two pulleys to help me raise and lower the wheels (Raise them one by one to the needed height, and then just pivot them into their place on the rack by hand).

So basically I need something like this bike lift, but only with one hook:

What are the proper names for the components of this system? I think I need one pulley with hook, and one pulley with a brake and a bracket to attach to the ceiling. I'm not asking for a product recommendation, I'm just asking for correct names for these things because using these terms I can't find anything.

A related question is, would it work to buy a bike rack like this, and only install one hook on it? It lists capacity of 100lbs, so should be enough for one tire.

You could search for something called a block and tackle. This is a rope and multiple pulley system that gives you a mechanical advantage over a single pulley making it much easier to hoist the tire into place.

You should consider mounting four hooks on the ceiling overhead so that the block and tackle can be moved to the position where the tire will be resting on the shelf. The upper "hook" could even be a bar or pipe affixed to the ceiling in such manner that the top securing point for the block and tackle can be slid back and forth so that it can be pushed into position before hoisting each tire.


Intuitive blinds roll up/roll down mechanism By all means a "champagne problem", but half of the time I try to operate roll-up blinds, I get the blinds moving in the wrong direction. The cord is completely outside of the blinds, and it can easily twist, so I can't tell which of the two sides at the bight of the cord to pull.

What mechanisms for opening and closing blinds eliminate this guesswork?

I'm happy with this solution, which separates the up and down runs.


Gronding requirements for standby generator I'm installing a standby generator for my son's new home build and have questions about grounding, bonding the genset.

We are installing a Kohler RXT 200 amp transfer switch between the meter base and the main panel servicing the home. The generator is Kohler 14RESAL genset.   I've asked a question about this subject one other time and comments were made about the relative wisdom of switching the entire house to the generator.  That's water under the bridge at this point, so lets focus on the grounding question I have.

My question regards bonding the neutral to the ground at the getset. There is a label saying the ground and neutral are bonded and there is a jumper on the connections factory installed.  The transfer switch doesn't switch the grounded neutral conductor, so from what I understand, the generator isn't a "separately derived system"...so no GECs needed at the generator.

I planned on running 2 hots a neutral and a ground to the genset, but now I'm unsure.  My instincts say disconnect the bonding jumper and connect the neutral to L0 (unfortunately labeled), the hots to L1 and L2 and the ground to GRND.   See pictures.

Comments?

That is correct

You are correct that the bonding means in the generator should be pulled in this case since your transfer switch has a solid neutral; in this case, since you have a service entrance transfer switch, your bonding means will be in the transfer switch, with the "main panel" wired as a subpanel from the transfer switch.

You are also correct that a grounding electrode conductor does not need to be run to the generator location; the equipment grounding conductor from the transfer switch to the generator is sufficient to bond the generator to the grounding electrode system.  (There's no requirement for local ground rods at the generator, by the way: NEC 250.32(A) says "building(s) or structure(s) supplied by feeder(s) or branch circuit(s)" need a grounding electrode system of their own, but your generator's not supplied by anything.)


How can I complete these repairs to my sprinkler system? I have two (hopefully small) repairs that I need to do for my system. Luckily most of it is in a control box, so it is easy to get at. Here's the setup:

At the top was a valve that was broken, and at the bottom was (what the guy Lowe's said was) a backflow preventer:

Last relevant picture, is just outside of the control box on the left side:

It's still a little covered, but you can see that there is a T joint close to the box.

Replacing the valve

The valve that was in place had male connectors, but the store only had valves with female connectors. I bought one of those valves and two adapters, but there isn't quite enough room - the valve plus the two adapters is about 2cm too wide to fit. These are 1" pipes. The two parts to connect to are swivel connectors somewhat like this.

What are my options here? I thought of three possibilities, and would like to know which one would work best as a long-term fix and if there is a better option that I haven't considered.

Cut off about 1 cm from each of the two adapters until the valve+adapters fits snuggly in there. This should leave a little more than 1 cm exposed on each side. I'm concerned that this wouldn't leave enough to screw onto to get a good seal. I also don't trust my ability to cut the adapters cleanly enough to have it be absolutely flat against the other parts of the pipe.
Cut off one of the swivel connectors and put a new one on. I could cut off enough pipe to get a fit as snug as I need and also get slightly longer adapters to make sure that the fit isn't too loose.
Cut out a section of pipe and get a connector to rejoin the two new ends, effectively shortening the pipe.

General question - how tight does the fit need to be? Will it leak if there is even a small gap between the adapter and the pipe inside of the swivel connector?

Replacing the backflow preventer

As you can see in the pictures, there was an adapter at the end of the pipe coming into the box, but it was cracked and the threaded part came off with the backflow preventer (which was also cracked, hence why I needed to replace it). After I cut off that broken adapter there will still be 1" of pipe coming out of the T joint. There will be 6" of space from there to the threading of the valve that's still in there. Here I'm working with 3/4" pipe. I already have a new backflow preventer with female connectors on both ends, and it's not quite 5" long.

How do I replace this? There's not enough room in there for an extendable repair piece. I figure that I should put the new backflow preventer in first, and that will leave about 1.5-2" of space and then 1" of pipe to connect to. What parts should I get and how to I get them all in there?

Well, I think you have some remodeling of your sprinkler system to do. Here are some things that you need to think about.

There needs to be an anti-siphon type valve on each controlled sprinkler circuit.
These anti-siphon valves need to be mounted at an elevation that is 6 to 12 inches above the highest level of the sprinkler heads on each circuit. Not in a box buried under the ground.
Since all of the controlled valves will feed off of the same pressurized main water line it is convenient to install all of the valves at the same elevation.
If you want to hide the valves then build a wood cover that is above grade to hide then and blend in with the side of the building structure.

So if you understand the above most of your questions become moot. Pull that box of the ground and toss it away. Then re-pipe the main water feed line to above grade and create a manifold arrangement that can feed to the number of anti-siphon valves that you need (number of controlled sprinkler circuits). The manifold is best placed closer toward the building foundation. Then re-pipe the various sprinkler circuit pipes so that come up right in front of the manifold connections. The valves will affix above. When it is completed it can look something like this:

or like this:

The advantages are many. It is much easier to repair and replace things that you can get to. The anti-siphon type valve, properly deployed, is the tried and true method to provide the isolation between the pressurized potable water service and sprinker circuits. Placing your control valves high like this is also an advantage if you live in a freeze climate zone where it becomes necessary to use pressurized air purging of the lines to clear out all the water before winter. The air can be applied to each circuit at the control valve. Lastly your low voltage control wiring is above grade where is stays much dryer and less chance of wiring corrosion.


Fix broken basketball pole I have this basketball from previous owner of the house and it's concreted to the ground. Now after many years (I assume), it's rusted and broken on top.

I am wondering what is the best way to connect the two pieces without replacing it:

Is there some metal bracket that I can wrap around and bolt into both pieces?

Any idea? Thanks.

I see a number of choices:

Remove the whole top half of the pole by separating at this joint and replacing that top half. You would drill new holes and mount the backboard brackets to the new pipe section.

Find another piece of pipe that just slides inside of the two pieces. Secure in place using new drilled through holes and bolts. You already have to deal with this as the rust off break is at the lower cross bolt for the backboard bracket. This slide in pipe would want to be a pretty close fit and would want to be a good 2.5 to 3 feet in length.
It would be a bit more work to secure and attach but you could also acquire two pieces of 2" angle iron that were the similar 2.5 to 3 feet in length. Lay these up along the sides of the existing tubing and secure in place using large size band gear clamps all the way around the outside of both angle irons.


How do I separate these wires? My ceiling fan stopped working and I want to remove the light box from the fan so that I can replace an in-line fuse holder.  In order to separate the light box from the fan rotation device, I need to unhook/disconnect/unsnap these wires from each other.  I don't know what these are called otherwise I would have performed some more thought out searches online.

Does anyone have any idea how to separate these wires?  It looks like there's a little snapping piece that locked them in, but before I start messing with it too much I thought I'd ask.  Help.

You should be able squeeze one of the connection heads and pull them apart. Some light kit also have a little tab on the side of the connector that have to be push in or pulled apart to release them.


Is it possible to put a resin shed on a slope in the garden? my question is in the title, i've just purchased a new resin shed but I have a sloping ground on my garden. So is it possible to lay it like this or do I have to dig the ground to adjust it.

It either should be dug in or supported on the low end or a little of both. You could perhaps let it slope a little if you have to, but it will not let the door or doors act properly after a while. Besides it would look pretty hokey, but that's just my opinion...(insert smiley face here)


Is it worth it to upgrade a solar system to get power from partially obstructed panels? So I did a 7K solar system in 2009. A year or two later I was reading about a new converter that removed the penalty for partially obstructed panels. In other words, if one of the 4 panels in a row is in shade, you still get some power generated.

Has anyone done a retrofit on an existing system to add one of these or does it not make any sense? If you have to replace the inverter, probably is not worth it.

What you are hearing about are called "micro-inverters". Instead of one large inverter, you have separate, small inverters, one on each panel. I believe you can get them both sepatate and already integrated into panels.

This would require rewiring your PV system, removing the old inverter and installing micros at each panel. as you say, probably not cost effective.


Bypass Thermostat Heating UK I have a Smart Thermostat installed called Tado, with a pretty standard UK heating and hot water set up. In my airing cupboard there was a timer that controlled when the hot water and heating was to be on, and down stairs there was a old Honeywell thermostat.

I replaced the timer with a unit from Tado, and bypassed the Honeywell thermostat by crossing 2 of the wires in the actual thermostat so it was always on. That way the new Tado box could control when to turn the heating on or off based on its own wireless thermostat.

This all worked fine, until our decorator removed the Honeywell thermostat, capped of the cables and then boarded, plastered and painted the hole. Now the circuit is no longer complete the heating obviously doesn't work anymore.

Is there anyway for me to do something at the Tado box end in my airing cupboard to complete the circuit again, or am I going to have to tear open the hole in the wall and join the cables again? I have attached some pictures of the wiring below:

This is the thermostat.
To make the circuit always on I placed the wire from {3} in to {1}

This is the Tado Box in the airing cupboard, this is how it currently looks;

And finally this is the small diagram in the Tado box if it's helpful:

Is there any configuration of wires I can do at the Tado box end to get the heating back on. Or am I going to have to rip open my wall.

Figure 1. Most likely original circuit.

If you were really fortunate the live feed to the thermostat would have originated at the original switch. You could then have connected it directly to your new controller. Judging by the photos there is only one live wire so this isn't the case.

Figure 2. New live feed.

Options:

Get a new live feed from the original breaker to the controller.
Break through the wall and restore the original connection.
Try to find the wires above ceiling by lifting floor in the room above or in the attic. Isolate the power, cut the wires and join them together again.


Attaching hose bib to masonry? I have a relatively new house and idiot me forgot to unscrew the hose from the back hose bib over the last winter. I finally got a plumber out to replace it but he just left it flopping around in the wall. I have pex plumbing in the house so what he did was put a pex to copper fitting and bent a soft copper tube at 90 degrees and fitted that to the silcock. The problem is that without it attached to the house there is no counter resistance when i turn the valve on the hose bib. The whole silcock twists and I am sure that is putting stress on the fittings.

I know I have to attach it to the house but I have natural stone decorative masonry and the plumber warned if i try to drill into it that i could crack the stone. This was why he wouldnt attach it to the house because he didnt want to be liable.

Are there any tips for how i can secure this to the house without cracking the stone? Is there something i can do when drilling to prevent this? Could i potentially use adhesive to the masonry to hold it in place?

This thread is two years old, but these 2 links may be helpful.
The first is a clamp that can be fastened inside the basement or crawl at the point that the pipe goes out:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005G8UTUC/?tag=stackoverfl08-20 . If that link breaks, google a Pasco 5023 Hose Bibb Anchor.  See here also:
http://www.pascospecialty.com/faxspecials/june10_fax_special.pdf


What is the best type of door/barrier for a 96" H x 48" W uncased opening? We have an uncased opening measuring 96" H x 48" W which opens to a room we would like to convert to a home office. What kind of door or other barrier would best serve this space?

We're planning on engaging with a contractor for the work but are still exploring feasibility. I'm concerned about negatively affecting home value by taking a more open plan, adding a doorway and converting it to a new room.

We've thought about something like narrow double doors which open inward that could be removed by a future homeowner if they want to leave the doorway open. Would the depth of the wall affect the feasibility of this option? We've also thought about a higher quality accordion door which could be added without too much modification to the opening. Being a home office reducing noise would be a huge benefit.

Pocket doors aren't an option due to the angled wall. Barn doors would be cool but I can't find anything about mounting them where they slide on an angle like this. One 48" door would probably be too big as it would eat up a lot of interior space with the door sweep. We think that changing this to be a regular doorway would look funny and inhibit the open concept for future owners too.

See pictures:

Easy reversibility, awkward walls and sound deadening lead me to suggest heavy (probably multi-layered or quilted) drapes/curtains. Do be sure the material is fire-treated (or else fire treat it yourself) since that is one easily preventable issue with this approach.


Drying out my flooded kitchen I came down this morning to see that a water pipe burst underneath my sink and there was an inch of water covering the whole of my kitchen floor. Oh no! I think it must have been spilling out water for at least a few hours before I came down in the morning.
After I turned off the water main the standing water drained into cracks in the tiled flooring after about 5-minutes, so there must now be a lot of water inside the flooring. I've opened all the doors and windows and turned on the central heating and put a fan heater down, and cleared out the remaining standing water.
I spoke to a local company for a quote for a professional drying service. They've told me they think I need a large industrial dehumidifier and an air mover for a week to dry everything out so I don't get damp, mould, rot etc. They quoted me £552 for this, and made clear that I pay for the electricity also! This was a lot more than I expected.
Any advice on whether this is a reasonable fee, how necessary this service is, whether I can do something myself (ie. if I keep the heating on and windows open for a couple of days and the fan heater is that likely to be enough?) etc. would be greatly appreciated.

(I notice you were lucky enough to get a sneaky peak of my toes in the last photo, haha)

Big fans and heaters (heat).   That's basically all you can do at this point.   If you act quickly the dehumidifier isn't really needed.   You can open up windows as it gets drier to do that.
The two issues I see is the water potentially holding (and not drying) underneath the cabinets and getting the carpet padding dry.
We do not know how your cabinets were made but if you could pop out the toe kick that would be ideal.   It does look like you do not have tile under your cabinets... And normally water would find its way out through the grout line, here it could be trapped.   So either you drill a couple of small relief holes at the very bottom - which still may not be the "real" bottom - or you just leave it and risk it.
A couple of hours of clean water is not a huge deal.   It's not like it sat there for days or was sewer backup.   I would just raise heat and buy/rent an industrial fan (or like 6-8 box fans).
The carpet... easiest way to get up water out of a pad is using a steam cleaner vacuum (hoover makes an $80 variety in the US).   These suck up water the best on carpet.   Note that you want to move this thing around because water will drain to probably one spot and it could be 10 feet away from your kitchen.   Drying out a pad is easy and relatively little chance of ruining the carpet and pad as long as it is dried in 1-2 days.   After you aren't getting any water in steam vac you just make sure a fan is pointed at the wet areas.


fireplace is a bit rusty - is it safe to use? The back wall seems to still be solid, though I can't take it apart to check for sure. I don't have a sense for what this means - how essential is the inner wall? Seemingly it was never meant to totally keep the fire enclosed, as the inner sideplates seem to have always had a small crack between them and the inner backplate.

We've just moved into this apartment, so I can't say what it was like new.

The comment by Tyson could very well in itself be the answer.

We should not say "Yes" or "No" to the question "Is it safe to use?" because we do not know. We are only seeing one photo. There are much more important things to be inspected before using a fireplace. You can hire a service, and in some areas the local fire department will do the inspection. The fee is typically reasonable.

Is this the main source of heat for the apartment? Has the landlord exclusively included *(or exclueded) its use in the lease? Give the landlord a call to inquire if it is available for your use, and inquire when it was (if it was) inspected & cleaned last.


Bathroom fan/light wiring help I have old switches at home for the fan and lights.
In short, 2 switches to control fan and lights separately.

Recently, I've been trying to add a timer switch which requires neutral and it doesn't seem to work as expected.

The wire setup, which worked with regular switches,

on left, there is black, red, and white and copper
on right, there is black, white, and copper.

Red(left) + black(right) = light on
Black(left) + black(right) = fan on

My old switches didn't have ground connected and only had the above two connected. Copper ones and white ones were connected to each other- which I don't quite understand why.

Anyways, what I tried was
- For light switch, have red(left) and black(right) connected.
- For fan switch, have black(left) and black(right) as hot and load, and use white one from connected white wires as neutral.

What happened was initially, the switch seemed to work (well, at least the light indicator was on), but as soon as I touched any buttons, it died. light switch continued to work.

Was hot and load possibly flipped? I still don't quite understand why the switch behaved/died the way it did even with this assumption.

Any help here would be tremendously appreciative!!

You believe the multiple neutrals are spare

It's real common for novices in electrical to see extra wires, and just assume they are spare wires waiting around for you.

That is not the case.  It is quite rare for electricians to install "extra" wires.  Every wire has a job.

Electricity flows in loops

Hot is available at the supply wire, and there's a second wire in the supply line - neutral.  Those ultimately go back to opposite sides of the supply transformer - that's half a loop.

Electricity flowed out the hot wire, went through the switch, out the fan cable and on to the fan where it did the work, and then where?  Not the ground, that's for safety.  It came back on the fan cable's neutral wire.  Then did it just end in the box capped off?  No, the neutrals were connected, so it went onto the supply neutral wire, completing the loop.

You attached the supply neutral to the switch so at least it would power up.

... or not

As for the fan, power goes to it, tries to come back on the neutral, and can't... which raises the voltage on the fan's neutral wire to 120V, as voltage is simply backing up with nowhere to go.   Tell me you insulated it and capped it off.

If you just left this "spare" neutral loose in the box, then it's a 120V time bomb. If the wire manages to short to either neutral or safety ground, the fan will power up momentarily, but the connection will be poor, causing a series arc fault.  If it shorts to ground, it also creates a ground fault, a particularly bad thing in a bathroom.

Double especially if there is another problem with the ground, because that ground fault could electrify all the grounds between here and the problem.

You wouldn't have expected a neutral to be hazardous (it's connected back to the panel, right? Oh wait...) Anyway, yeah. Electrical tends to be full of minefields.

So.  The right answer is to rejoin the neutrals, and add the smart switch's neutral to that bundle of neutrals, so all are connected.

Also, I would say that if you want to do any future electrical, I recommend getting a primer on the subject so you can get a well-rounded understanding of how things work.  A book on electrial that feels accessible to you is a good start.  You can't really google it; the subject is too broad.


Coupling two 15 Amp circuit breaker for 20 Amp My Bosch micro/oven need 120 volt 20 Amp receptacle. I do not have a 20 Amp circuit breaker for this purpose. Can I couple two separate 15 Amp breakers as a dedicated source to provide higher Amperage limit (20 Amp)? Theoretically this will increase wire cross-section area for a higher Amp. limit. Is it permissible by code?

Paralleling is NOT Allowed
You can't do this (except under very limited circumstances that don't apply to your situation). The problem (ignoring the code violation) is that if one of those wires breaks (disconnected at any point between device and breaker) then all of the current will flow on one wire, which is not safe as it would put all 20A on one wire. If the wire that breaks is a neutral wire then things are even worse because then the breaker will never trip because it is protecting the hot wire with the assumption that the neutral will carry the same current as the hot wires. (In a 240V-only circuit, the neutral carries the difference between the hot wires - as little as "0", but in a 120V circuit it carries the same as the hot.)
You also must NOT simply replace the 15A breaker with a 20A breaker. Almost definitely the existing wire is 14 AWG, rated for 15A, and not 12 AWG (or larger) rated for 20A. So upsizing the breaker without upsizing the wire will also be a real fire hazard (and code violation).
The only real solution is to replace the wire and the breaker (i.e., a new circuit) or to find an oven that is rated to run on a 15A circuit.


What are my options on location of a bathroom fan vent in Wisconsin? I just put in a new bathroom fan and noticed the previous one was vented into the attic.  I understand this can cause mold after awhile.  I live in WI where we see a lot of snow. I was told the roof exit style ventilation can cause an ice dam, blocking the vent. I assume that the snow melting from the hot exiting air refreezes making the ice dam.  So, I'm supposed to run the duct to a soffit vent.  But, the area in the attic where the soffits are have very little room to work.  I think I'll have to force myself to work in the small space but what are my options?

You should not vent out the soffit if you have soffit vents.  The moist air will be sucked into the soffit vents, and cause just as much (or more) trouble as venting directly into the attic.

The best option is to vent out the gable end of the attic. Make sure the ducting is sloped slightly back towards the fan, so condensate can drain. Use rigid metal ducting, not that flexible plastic junk.


What will happen if I feed a device with two legs from the same phase? What will happen if I feed a 208v baseboard heater with two legs from the same phase?  What will happen if I feed anything that requires two legs with the same phase?

It will simply not work. You need two different phases/legs to get 208/230/240V.

How in the world could you even do this though? 208/240V circuit would require a two-pole breaker so theoretically you cannot wire these circuits with two wires on the same phase.


Adding sockets to a ring circuit in the UK I have recently moved into a house that has had very little work done on it since it was built in the early 60's. There are a total of 3 plug sockets downstairs and 4 upstairs. This may have been plenty for 1963, but is a little low for today's lifestyle.
The house does have a fairly new consumer unit so I'm not worried about having to replace the old fuse box that had one big on/off switch for the whole house.
I do want to increase the number of sockets, how should I be adding new sockets to the ring circuit, adding a spur from the existing sockets or extending the ring circuit to include new sockets?

Before you do any adding of sockets, you should check the size of the cable used for the ring main.
If it is 2.5mm^2 and still in good condition then extending the ring is not a problem, but don't just add spurs to the ring. It is  better to increase the ring loop to encompass the new sockets and, while you are at it, add more than you need ie be generous - it is very annoying to have to come back yet again...
Also check the breaker supplying the ring, if as you state the consumer unit has been recently changed then all should be fine.


2 unknown pipes in garage, one dripping/leaking These pipes are about 4' tall.  The one on the left is dripping water, it appears to have a valve to turn it off....Can anyone tell me what these are for and if I should turn the valve off?

Agree with the comments that it's assuredly a connection point for a water softener that's since been removed.  The top plastic handle provides a bypass for the softener (either when it's broken, or in this case removed).  I would anticipate that if you turn the shutoff valve off, you'll turn off water to a significant part of your house, or possibly all of it if this is on the incoming water line to your building.  Sometimes there will be a separate cold water feed to the kitchen (so you don't cook/drink with softened water) or to outside faucets, but that's not universal..
If you have plans to install a water softener, then keep it there.  If not, then have a qualified person replace that leaky plastic with new permanent copper piping of some sort.


Why does only half of my outlet work? I just moved into a new place. I plugged my vacuum into an electrical outlet, my vacuum won't turn on. So I tried the other side, my vacuum turns on. I then plug in a lamp to the side that won't work for my vacuum, lamp turns on.
Is the outlet defective?

Maybe it is wired that way on purpose. Two receptacles in our bedroom are wired like that. One side is normal,always on. The other side is operated by a wall switch so you can turn on a plugged-in lamp with the wall switch and have a radio always powered by the other side.


What specific fitting do I need to connect a 1/4" copper refrigerator water tube to a 3/4" steel water line that's already in use? I recently bought a new refrigerator (Samsung RF263BEAESR) and am trying to connect it to my house's water supply line (under the kitchen sink).  The prior owner of the house ran a copper line from the sink area to the general location of the fridge but neither end was hooked up and our prior refrigerator didn't have an ice maker.

I carefully reviewed the instruction manual for the new fridge but Samsung only provides instructions for applying a saddle valve on copper pipes. This won't work because my house has steel pipes that aren't easily accessible (besides, I'm not a fan of saddle valves to beginwith).

Here's a picture of the current water supply valves under the kitchen sink:

I'm hoping that I could replace this valve with something that will support a single 3/4" threaded steel input and have multiple outlets (one going to the sink faucet -- threaded 1/2" I think -- and another going to the copper compression fitting).  Do this approach make these?  Is this a bad idea? Does the refrigerator line need to be on a completely separate connection to the house water?

I think kitchen sinks are 3/8" (but I can never remember). So you'll want a 3/8" female, 1/4" male, 3/8" male tee. You should be able to find one at the local big box, or hardware store.

Something like this

Shut off the water using the shutoff valve.
Remove the existing supply line.
Attach the tee where the supply line used to be.
Connect the sink supply to the 3/8" male outlet on the tee.
Connect the refrigerator supply to the 1/4" outlet on the tee.

NOTE: Use your preferred pipe dope method (tape or goop), however, since it's a brass fitting dope should not be required.


Trying to figure out 'C' wire I'm looking to upgrade my programmable thermostat to a wifi thermostat.  I purchased a basic Honeywell wifi thermostat but upon installation could not find a 'C' wire.  I started to investigate more closely to see if I had an extra wire or if I had to run a new one.

From the pictures attached, I investigated further and at the furnace there is a 'C' wire hookup with a wire, but I can't seem to tell where it ends on the thermostat.  if the 'red' 'C' wire from the furnace is the same 'red' wire down at the furnace that is split with the 'white' wire, you'll see that it connects:

Thermostat:
red -> blue
white -> black

Its a bit confusing since I would think the red wire is the 'C' wire but I don't know if I should disconnect it or run another wire to hook up to the thermostat.

help!

I'm not sure exactly what's going on with the wiring, since in the one photo there's a giant ball of wires and cables, and in another there's extra wires hooked up. Here's what I see in the photos you've posted.

In this photo, you'll notice the cable with a red and white wire. That cable should go between the furnace and the A/C unit. The white wire from the cable is connected to Y, while the red wire is connected to C.

The other cable I've labeled should go to the thermostat. The wires from that cable should be connected as follows:

White to W
Green to G
Yellow to Y
Red to R

It's difficult to tell if that's what's going on, due to the big mess of wires and cables in the middle of the photo.

Also take note of the blue and black wires, that are wrapped around the thermostat cable.

In this photo, the cable coming from the furnace looks completely normal. However, there seems to be an extra cable that comes from who-knows-where. It appears that the wires from this mysterious cable, are connected to the blue and black wires that at the furnace are wrapped around the thermostat cable.  Which if that's the case, they're doing nothing.

It's possible that you might be able to attach the blue wire that is wrapped around the thermostat cable, to the C terminal at the furnace. Then attach the blue wire at the thermostat, to the C terminal on the thermostat. Though without knowing what the mysterious cable at the thermostat is, there's no way to be sure.

I wasn't able to decipher the diagram on the wall behind the thermostat, so I'm not sure what that's all about. I'm sure it meant something to whoever drew it, but it's not helpful to me.

I'm not sure if you have multiple A/C units, and the extra cable is used to control that. You'll have to investigate further, to determine what exactly is going on with that.


Tandem/twin circuit breakers installed where not allowed? I decided to read the panel's diagram today and IF I understand it correctly, you can only use tandem/twin breakers in designated slots.  Referring to the diagram, it looks to me like circuits 11-17 on left can use them, but 1-7 can't.  However, if you look at the picture of the box's breakers, you'll see there are twins where they shouldn't be, like circuits 1 & 3.

Am I reading this correctly?  If not, could someone please set me straight?  If I am reading this correctly, then how "bad" is it?  Even though I plan to get an electrician's recommendation on replacing the panel (because it appears they no longer make those breakers), I want to know.  Perhaps it affects the load balance on the neutral vs hots?  (It seems odd to me they didn't key them so you couldn't use one where it wasn't allowed).

I'm adding a hi-res pics of the panel & some of the spare breaker.
Thanks,

Jim

The existing tandems are of the correct model for this panel...
Your existing panel appears to be a very old GE panel, of a style that predates the current THQP half-width GE breaker, as well as the formal introduction of Circuit Total Limiting panels.  These ancient panels use type TR tandem breakers instead, and the spare breaker you photographed indeed is a type TR, in addition to looking identical from the face.
...but are indeed misplaced
This means that while the panel labeling only permits tandems in certain slots, neither the breakers nor the panel are keyed to enforce that, and thus you can get your current situation, where the installer slapped tandem breakers in wherever convenient.  This, while not an issue at the moment, can lead to problems with heat down the road if more tandems get shoved in there, stuffing the panel beyond its 20-circuit limit.  This is possible if 240V or multi-wire branch circuits are present, as those mean that the number of neutrals will not match the number of hots, rendering the 20-hole limit on the neutral bar irrelevant.
A millstone about your neck, if ye wish to keep it
Furthermore, the age of this panel means that it is one of the few cases where new production breakers of the labeled type are not compatible with the panel's busbar system. In other words, if you bought new-make GE THQL breakers for this panel, expecting them to fit and work, you'll be in for a major disappointment, as they likely won't even fit, as per this DIYChatroom post (pertinent parts quoted below for posterity):

GE changed the way they set the breaker's seating height. In my panel, you push the breaker down until the top of the molded slot rests on the stab. TQL breakers, THQL Issue UOxxx (probably MJxxx, NExxx and others too), and also Siemens QP and Eaton BR, can work this way, because they all have the same slot profile.
Recent panels have a ridge of insulating material next to the stab; the bottom of the breaker's case rests on the ridge. The stab is not as tall. It doesn't penetrate the breaker as deep. All the above breakers (except TQL which somehow doesn't quite fit) can be mounted. Also Issue RT-xxx of THQL, which doesn't fit the old bus because it can't accommodate the tall stab. Issue RT-xxx is all you will find in retail stock.

This means that your breaker selection is limited to NOS (new old stock) THQL breakers of Issues that will fit the panel, which is a dicey source of breakers at best, or to Eaton CL breakers that have been UL classified for use in GE panels (among others).  However, while the latter can be obtained reliably from any electrical supply house that deals in Eaton products, the UL classification process limits you to a small subset of possibilities.  Namely, using CL breakers limits you to a maximum of 50A branch circuits, and means you can't get double-stuff breakers, two-pole arc or ground-fault breakers, dual-function (arc fault/ground fault) breakers, or other exotica for your panel, either.
Nonetheless, if you wish to keep this panel, you can, provided it is in good condition on the inside still.  You'll have to rearrange this panel so that the double-stuff breakers are in slots designated for them, though, and replace that BR120 that currently sits in the bottom left with an Eaton CL120.  Note that you'll want to keep the spare TR breaker if you do this, too, as they are extremely difficult to find nowadays, since they have not been made in roughly half a century or so.
Replacement options
If you do decide to blow the money and replace this panel, you have a couple of options.  First, you could replace the whole panel with a 100A, 24-space or 30-space, main breaker panel.  This gives you a brand new panel, of a manufacturer of your choice, and plenty of room for future expansion as well.  Note that you'll have to replace the breakers wholesale to go with this panel swap, which may mean you have to put AFCIs in.
The other option would be to use a retrofit interior kit (mostly an Eaton thing, although Siemens now offers a retrofit interior as well) to replace the existing bus structure in the panel.  This would also require a wholesale breaker replacement, and requires costlier parts than replacing the panel outright, but has the advantage that the existing enclosure (cabinet) can be left in place.  This is useful if removing the old cabinet is impractical, something that is often the case for flush-mounted panels, or if rigid conduits come into the panel from both sides or the top and bottom.


Almost perfectly flat Chair Lug Terminal I noticed my chair lug terminal doesn't have perfectly flat bottom surface. This can prevent full electrical contact between it and the terminal.

What brand has almost perfectly flatness at bottom (Milspec)?

I understand that the StackExchange is not a product recommendation service, which sort of invalidates your question for a specific brand.

A quick search of ground lugs returns many results of rectangular shaped lugs identical to the one in the photo you've provided as well as a few variations. If the one in the photo does not have a perfect flat bottom, one might expect that it would flatten under the force applied by the bolt through the hole in the tab.

Alternatively, one might expect that the application for which this product is designed takes the non-flat aspect into consideration and allows that the surface area which will make contact is sufficient for the level of current expected for this product.

If your application is non-compliant with these factors, consider that you may not wish to use this specific product.

If it is necessary to absolute flatness, filing, sanding, grinding or machining may provide the results to match your requirements.


Should I vent my kitchen range vertically or horizontally? In a planned kitchen remodel, one upgrade is to install an outside vented range hood. My choices are to vent vertically up through the roof or up and then horizontally (8') out the kitchen wall. The vertical option is considerably more difficult and costly. Are there drawbacks to the horizontal option?

The vertical option is not simple as it will need to go through a second floor and an attic in a 1934 house. Provided that building codes don't force that option, I'm hoping for the horizontal option as long as there are no serious drawbacks.

It shouldn't be a problem to vent the range hood out the wall, just make sure you check your local codes before doing so.  I wouldn't think this would be a problem, but there could be different laws in densely populated areas as apposed to rural regions.  And laws/codes can vary depending on your locale.

Make sure you install the vent properly, and include a back flow prevention device (unless you like cold/warm air coming in from outside).


Power outlet that works off a switch no longer shuts off after replacement There is one power outlet (double) in my room where the top outlet turns on/off from a wall switch and the bottom one is always on. I just replaced the outlet with the new one, making sure all the wires go into the same holes in the new outlet as they were in the old one, but now the top outlet is always on as well as the bottom one and the switch does nothing to it. This is my first time replacing outlets (learned off youtube :)) and I have no electrical experience (just using common sense) so I can't figure out what might be wrong. Did I need a special electric outlet, or did I somehow mess up the wiring? Where do I start?

You didn't break off the tab between the hot screws. There's a small metallic tab that normally connects the two hots to allow chaining of outlets (line and load) along a circuit. For a half switched outlet, you need to use a pair of needle nose pliers to break off the tab.


Replace single pole light switch with 12 gauge backstab I would like to replace a single pole light switch in my family room, but the configuration is not one that I am familiar with.  Other than the ground wire, there are 3 12 gauge wires in the following configuration:

12 gauge black wire to the top backstab
12 guage black wire to the top screw terminal
12 gauge red wire to the bottom backstab

From the research I have done it looks like backstabs are generally frowned upon and if you are using the backstabs you should only be using 14 gauge wire (at least in a residential install).

So what should I be using to replace this switch and what is the correct way to wire it?  An interesting point is that I have never found what this switch is actually controlling, but since I was in the box replacing another switch I thought it best to replace this one as well.

You have a single pole switch

It is wired in a way that lacks quality workmanship, to save a moment's time, and a wirenut

The top backstab (i like that much better than push-in) is connected electrically to the top screw. The backstab has almost no contact surface area, and this is the reason that they are frowned upon.

So rather than making a pig-tail to but under the screw, they just used both attachment points.

Any device that is rated at 20 amps must allow for 12 gauge wire, and I have never seen a 15 amp device that will not take 12 gauge.

Take the 2 Black wires together with a 6" or so piece of 'spare' 12 gauge Black wire, and put a red or yellow wirenut on the 3 wires. The other end of the short wire will connect to the top screw on the switch. The Red wire moves from the bottom of the old switch to the bottom screw on the new one.

I have been wondering who has been turning on and off my light - so stop flipping the switch, thanks


How big a hole can I drill in a top plate? I've got a 2nd story home theater room under construction. The framing has been done, but I'm going to be doing the wiring myself. I want to pass some conduit up into the attic space over the room for speaker and network cable.

I've been reading the IRC 2015, and the wording for drilling into top-plates isn't clear. Seemingly all it references is if the hole is over 50% in width, then I need a galvanized metal tie on the side (both sides?) for support.

It's a double top-plate, and I don't think it's load bearing, but will have to double check.

Can I run a 1 1/8" hole through the top-plate without the tie?
How close can I get to the side of the top-plate?
Do the R602.6 rules rules for drilling/notching studs apply to top-plates?
If yes, does that mean I can go up to 2" hole for conduit as that's under the 60% limit as the top-plate is doubled (obviously needing a tie)?

Edit: I read elsewhere that NEC 2017 would also apply and they state holes should not be drilled closer than 1 1/4" from the nearest edge, unless a metal plate is installed OR the cable is housed in rigid nonmetallic conduit. I'm using PVC so it sounds like I can safely go over the 1" max size (3.5" - 2 x 1.25") without any extra plating. I don't know if this even applies though as it's all low-voltage cable I'm pushing through.

Found an image and it does look like it might be load bearing, although the space to the left of that picture is completely open to the attic with the same roofline for another 15 feet, so I don't know.

Architectural plans:

That size hole in that location is not a problem.

First, it’s not at the perimeter of the roof. It appears that a covered area extends beyond the wall in question. (Exterior perimeter walls, beams, etc. transfer roof loads to walls, etc.

Second, those jogs in the building design allow bracing to transfer from the roof to the walls.


Is it possible to fix a leak in PP-R piping by injecting some type of substance? I have a central heating system based on PP-R piping and radiators. The PP-R piping goes under the floor. The problem is that the pressure is droping 0.2 atm / week and I am sure there's a leak somewhere under the flooring.

I was wondering if anyone has heard of some sort of sealing substance that could be injected into the system? I've read about something similar for copper piping, but can't find anything related to PP-R, don't know if it would be even possible.

I really don't want to remove the flooring in order to fix this, due to costs, so I am considering this as the ultimate solution.

As Steven mentioned how do you know you've fixed it? Also, do you want to circulate sealing compound through your boiler?And damp under a house can cause a lot of problems. If you want to know the exact location of the leak and under the floor is totally inaccessible you could consider using a thermal imaging contractor to find the leak to localize damage to the flooring and [this site] (http://www.ekoplastik.com/?download=ekoplastik_ppr_mont_en.pdf) has information on repairing of PP-R pipe in page 27.


Is there a reason I shouldn't use an oil radiator to heat a 1400 sq ft (130 sq m) space? (Why do commercial buildings use electric air heaters?) I moved into a studio apartment in a commercial building turned residential. It has this kind of heater—

—which I believe is an electric air heater. It's loud as hell.
Everything I'm reading says oil-filled radiators are far more cost-efficient for larger spaces, despite being slower to the heat the room (which I don't mind).
So I had 2 questions, actually.

Are there any caveats to running 1 or 2 high-capacity oil-filled radiators? Like safety concerns, especially considering the apartment is equipped with a sprinkler system as also shown in the photo. (Is a building fire + oil-filled radiators + cold water potentially extra, extra bad?)

I'm just curious, why would cost-conscious businesses want to use the kinds of heaters pictured, on top of all the noise? Why did commercial buildings opt for them instead of oil-based tech in the first place? I don't imagine quick warmth and comfort for industrial employees would have been the reason.

Well, first off, you're wrong about the heat source.
See the gray insulated pipes?
Those are carrying hot fluid from (and cooler fluid back to) a source that costs a LOT less than electric resistance heat.
That flows through a coil, and a fan blows air through the coil.
You have a fan-coil unit.
Or, possibly, those only carry chilled water for cooling in summer, and the black iron pipe carries natural gas to the unit - again, much less costly than electric resistance heating. That would be a "Gas unit heater" though I can't see where the exhaust is if that's the case. OK, based on comments, the gray pipes appear to be intake and exhaust for a "sealed combustion" high efficiency condensing gas furnace.
So, oil-filled (or any other kind of) electric resistance heat will cost a great deal more to operate.
Noise may be able to be reduced somewhat, but is generally not a major consideration for industrial heating, and strong air movement is required (with associated noise) to distribute heat in a high-ceilinged space like that. Your oil-filled radiators would give you a nice warm ceiling. The warmth might not even reach your head level.
If the "conversion" from industrial to residential was as minimal as this implies, you probably have a much larger heat load than you would expect. Such factory buildings were insulated somewhere between minimally or not at all, when built. There was penty of excess heat available from steam power needed for industrial processes, and fuel was cheap.


Is converting a BSW to Ethernet jack ends possible? I have a spare ex. 5 pair, gel and armored BSW between my home and my shop app. 120’ away. Range ext. don’t work. Can I convert BSW to Ethernet jack ?

You can certainly put some ends on the cable and find out what happens. Chances are it'll be CAT3 cable at best and the Ethernet may link at only 100 Mbps or 10 Mbps (if at all). But maybe that's good enough for you.
If it's not good enough you might look at some of the G.hn equipment. The G.hn standard can be used to bridge Ethernet over AC powerline, coax, or twisted pair cable up to 2 Gbps. Most G.hn devices I've noticed support only one or maybe two of these physical media.
Failing that there are of course a multitude of wireless options in 2.4, 5, and 60 GHz unlicensed spectrums, or of course fiber.. But all of that goes well beyond the scope of your question.


How do I go about determining how to wire a breaker box in a cargo trailer I'm about to wire a cargo trailer with construction equipment, table saw, miter saw, air compressor, drill press, and a few other small tools. Only one tool and lights will used at one time.

So here are my questions. If I plug the trailer into a house with a 110 volt 20 amp circuit, then does it really matter what amp breaker box I use in the trailer? I figure I'm already at the 20 amp rating by doing this.

Otherwise, how do I calculate the breaker panel box that I should buy. I guess I'm asking how should I go about this project at the breaker box?

If all you are planning to do is plug it into a standard 120V receptacle then you don't need a breaker box in the trailer at all. The plug and cord are your means of disconnect.


Advice on what kind of paint to use on metal fire pit I'm in the process of building this fire pit made of 4x4 angle iron and rebar.  I know I will have to use some kind of hi temperature paint, my questions are what kind of hi temperature paint?  There is engine enamel, hi heat flat and fireplace paint. Which one would would be best suited for my purpose?  Will I have to cure the paint?  I'm sure there will be a few fires that will get hot but most will be mild.  Thank you.

Use "Stove Black" paint:

Image stolen from internet and not an endorsement for any particular brand.


How to screw the edge of a sheet of drywall where there is no stud directly behind it? wall A
old wall ________________ edge of frame
new wall ________________|
                         |
                         | Wall B
                         |

I recently floated a new wall over wall A which brought out the wall by about 3 1/2 inches.  I am now about to put a second layer of drywall over wall B.  Normally, you'd just screw the edge of the drywall into the frame of wall B, but, because wall A has come out further from the frame, I can't reach the edge of the frame so I can screw in the new drywall on wall B.

My first guess is to use a very long screw and drive it in diagonally so that it goes into the edge of the frame.  However, do they make 4-5" drywall screws?  I can't use adhesive on the drywall because I am using Green Glue between the layers.  Green Glue is not so much an adhesive as is it a soundproofing compound.  I've already installed the second layer and am just looking for a way to screw in the edge.

Unfortunately you are past the point where you could have installed a stud in that corner as a nailer. What you are saying is that you have unsupported drywall butting into the corner now. You certainly can try a longer screw, but be careful not to bend the drywall as the screw tightens. There is going to be a tendency for that corner to wave if you screw it to wall "B" diagonally. Can you still remove that piece of rock and put in even a small 1 1/2 X 1 1/2 nailer, then reinstall the drywall?

Regardless, use fiberglass tape in this corner if unsupported and the seam will have less tendency to crack. I can almost guarantee the corner will crack if you use paper tape.

I really think you should take the time to install a corner nailer now. It may take a couple of hours to fix the situation, but that is better than  looking at a cracked, wavy corner after you have invested your time and money, knowing that you could have done right the first time.


How can I determine which equipment in my basement is beeping periodically? I have a few pieces of equipment in the basement and one of them is beeping every 2 hours (approximately) or so.

1) Sump Pump

2) Radon Mitigation System.

3) Verizon Fios - Optical Network Terminal (ONT).

4) Furnace

5) Water heater

How do I identify which one is making the beeping sound?

It's almost certainly your FiOS ONT. The power supply contains a battery, and it beeps when the battery dies. You can take the battery to a hardware store and buy a replacement for a couple of dollars, or call FiOS and they will send you a battery.

Those other deices you listed usually don't beep, except for the sump pump if it's got a water level alarm or a battery backup, but usually the water level alarm is constant. It may have indicator lights to tell you what's wrong.


Cannot figure out wiring of most basic Honeywell thermostat (heater only) I live in an apartment with central heat.  It's controlled by a round Honeywell thermostat.  The heater ticks really loudly and annoyingly when it heats up and cools down (probably a topic for a separate thread), and the Honeywell thermostat causes it to heat up and cool down too frequently for my liking.

My plan is to replace the Honeywell thermostat with an Arduino board that'll have better hysteresis, plus show a more accurate temperature readout.  (The Honeywell thermostat's current temperature reading is way off.)

There are two wires going to the Honeywell thermostat: a red and a beige.  From my research (http://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/8019/is-there-a-standard-wiring-scheme-for-ac-heater-thermostats), that should be the standard hot and common at 24V.

However---and this is why I am writing---when I measure the voltage between those wires with a voltmeter, I end up with 0 V.  The heater works fine with the Honeywell thermostat, so I cannot explain this.  I have not tried closing the circuit manually, since now I don't know what to think.

Any ideas?

That will be a fun little project.  I wouldn't get overly concerned about the voltage on those wires.  You're safest bet is to use a small relay to isolate that part of the circuit.  Choose a relay with contacts rated for 120V and 1A and you should be good to go.  This will allow you to be very flexible in your choice of coil voltage and how you drive the load with the Arduino (there are plenty of examples about how to do that).

If you really do want to measure voltage, make sure the thermostat is not requesting heat (set it all the way cold), and set your meter for AC first... if you do get a reading, you can test again with DC to see whether you have an AC or DC source.


What would cause my filtered water to have a thin transparent film suspended in it? I have a filtered water dispenser in my Whirlpool refrigerator door.  Lately I've noticed when dispensing water into a clean glass, that there are patches of a thin transparent film suspended in the water.  The filter cartridge is about 3-4 months old.

I suspect that I'm seeing a thin layer of mold, slime, or other growth peeling off from somewhere within the refrigerator's water line.

I'm looking for guidance on what this film is, and how to deal with it.  The filters are rather expensive and I'd rather not drop a new one into the refrigerator if that's not likely to eliminate the problem.

Are you on a city water system, or a well?  Do you get the film from your tap?  If not, then it's something in the water line to the fridge, or in the filter.  In my whirlpool fridge, the "reservoir" for the chilled water is simply a coiled up roll of the plastic tubing.  Clean out the fridge, and take a look at that to see if you can see any obvious discoloration or contamination - it should be clear.  You could try replacing the tubing if you're suspicious.

If there nothing else obvious, then I'd try changing the filter, and run water through the new filter for a bit to clean everything out of the lines.  The filter, after all, is designed to collect gunk from the water, and if it's been a while, it could simply be full.


Melted neutral wires in a junction box When I came home from vacation I found electrical outlets on one wall not working, so tested them. Found no neutral situation. I pulled them out but they looked good. I found a j-box in attic, opened it and found neutral wires wire nut completely melted. The hot wires and ground wires looked good. What happened?

A badly made connection that deteriorated over time due to heat-cycling and then arcing.
Ditto with aluminum wires?


Mount for a drill with 50 mm collar Having just moved into a house (from a flat) for the first time in my life), I am about to buy a corded drill. I would like to get something "universal", suitable for drilling the walls to hang a TV or get a cable through the wall into the garden, and also to drill in the laminate and wood. I have a screw driver that I'm using to assemble furniture and do some very simple drilling. But it was already not powerful enough to drill the laminate plate for the heating pipe, I had to borrow a proper drill.

With this in mind, I thought of buying a Metabo UHE 2450. It does just about everything I can think of. It's an SDS-plus hammer, so good for drilling walls and potential garden works. It also accepts both an SDS and a quick-release chucks, to hold all bit types (I have quite a few non-SDS drill bits already). It has two gears, for normal SDS operation and for faster drilling. So a perfect choice.

However, I've just realized it has a 50 mm diameter collar. I've never seen one before, the standard being 43 mm. I'd like to be able to use accessories, something like this drill stand. So I wonder: what can I use such collar for and is there anything like a 50 to 43 mm converter? Or is maybe the path I've chosen wrong for some other reason?

Update: I am in Europe, the walls are apparently from brick (at least outside, potentially concrete inside judging from the first pair of holes I had to make with the borrowed hammer drill, but I've never had brick walls before so I could be mistaken). Drilling concrete ceiling and floors is also a possibility.

You don't want an SDS plus chuck, that drill is going to be mostly for drilling masonry.  You could get an adapter to use regular bits with the SDS chuck but it's not what you really want.

There are drills with a regular three-jaw chuck that have a hammer setting for masonry, they aren't as good as the SDS chuck drills in masonry but more than adequate for general DIY use.

I have a Bosch that's been great, but if you like Metabo, I think these are under Impact Drills on the Metabo site:

https://www.metabo.com/com/en/machines/drilling-screwing-chiselling-stirring/impact-drills/

edit:  the SBE 900 IMPULS (600865590) IMPACT DRILL actually looks super nice, it has the 43mm chuck you want, apparently its set up to be a good driver as well as drill / hammer drill - that looks pretty versatile, I wonder if there's a US version...


Schlage passage lockset, unable to remove either handle I have what I believe is a Schlage passage lock-set that I am unable to uninstall.
I tried the sharp pin in the hole trick (actually I used a small drift pin). I am attaching pictures. Please notice there are 2 holes in each lever. I applied the drift pin to all 4 holes, even while turning the handle. Nothing works.
I called the Schlage company and spoke to a friendly and polite man. I sent him pictures of the lock and he replied with a totally useless canned installation instruction (So much for the manufacturer being the expert).
Any ideas on  how to remove this doorknob would be apriciated. (If not my next trick will be a Sawzall).
[![Inside view<img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/hkp23.jpg" alt="
" />.

The round escutcheon should just be pressed on. There should be a very small slot that you can get a thin, small, flat blade screwdriver into and pry it off. (away from the door).
Once the escutcheon is off, the two screws that hold the mechanism together will be accessible and you can UN-install the doorknob.


What are some methods to align switches in a multi-gang box? The most difficult task I encounter when wiring switches or outlets is getting multiple devices within a multi-gang box to align properly so I can put the cover plate on.
What are some tips to get them lined up so all the cover plate screws will go in?
Note: I'm not talking about wiring the switches or outlets themselves, just getting the devices lined up within the box since the device mounting screw goes through a hole in the box, but a slot in the device. This makes it easy for the devices to not be perfectly vertical or for 2 devices to be too far apart or too close together to match up with the holes in the cover plate.

I know this is rather broad and there will likely not be a "best" answer. If there's support, I'll happily make this community wiki and would recommend the answers be made such, as well. Except that I don't see the "make wiki" check box that I thought I'd seen before.

Vertical alignment is rarely an issue if you've installed your box level. There's not much play in the mounting holes of the devices. You can usually work a row of switches into a plate without a problem, for example.
To get them horizontally aligned:

Always start by centering the mounting screws in their slots.
Make adjustments if necessary.

Optionally leave the mounting screws just loose enough that you can slip the devices sideways as needed to fit the plate.


Adding permanent bolt holes in a sliding door I need to cover 3 large windows in a sliding door every winter. I want to be able to use the same mounting holes every year. The outside of the door seems to be aluminium with wood between.

Tee nuts are one possibility but are there better options?

Threaded inserts are often used where repeated removal is needed.

They come in a variety of types, sizes and materials. The door core is likely softwood, and stainless or brass fittings are probably needed for exterior use. Some inserts come in a kit with drill bit and insertion tool.

Images and links are illustrative only, not an endorsement of goods or sources


Central Air condensate is pumped into a hole in the basement floor? I’ve tried to do some research on this topic but am a little confused and would like to know if I’ve got a problem here that I need to remedy.
I think I want to install a self-draining dehumidifier in my basement. My only reason for doing this is the presence of efflorescence. Not sure if this helps that issue at all or if it will be a non-issue after I seal all the concrete, but I digress. Because I want a self-draining dehumidifier with no sink in the basement, I figured I could see where the AC condensate is being pumped and have the dehumidifier do the same, so I followed that line and found that it just empties the condensate into a hole in the floor. (Picture attached)
Some googling lead me to reading up on slumps but I’m really confused. This hole currently has water in it and I’m not sure how deep it goes. There’s no pump to pump it out of the house if it gets too high
Is this normal? Do I need to do something about it? Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated

It's just a typical floor drain, and it's the ideal place to drain your dehumidifier. What you see is the water trap, which prevents sewer gas from escaping. It presumably connects to your sanitary sewer, so be conscientious about what you dump into it.
Here's a modern drain just to illustrate the trap concept:

image source


How do I deter drain flies? I have a small garden and beside it there is a small toilet. There are always many drain flies stuck on the door and inside the toilet walls. Somebody gave me a suggestion to make soap water and spray it on them, but it did not work.

How can I make them fly away for ever? What solution or chemicals can work on them?

You could try pepper extract. Crush very hot peppers in water, let soak, then filter. Wipe this onto a test area and see if this repels the flies.

Or just use pesticide spray on the walls. Use one of the fairly non-persistent products that contain chlorpyrifos or chlorpyrifos-methyl or permethrin. If the flies are getting in around a loosely fitting door, you might get some control just spraying the edge of the door and the jamb.


pressure in boiler getting too high The pressure relief valve on the hydronic system boiler is releasing a little water every time the boiler cycle is almost done and I looked at the gage and its rising to about 30 psi, But I can't figure why the temp is always rising.   I already changed the expension tank and TPR so whats now?

Do you have an automatic fill valve? Is there a manual valve in line with it? Try closing the manual valve if there is one. If that solves your problem, adjust and/or replace the automatic fill valve.

If you have a (domestic/potable) hot water coil, that could be leaking into the boiler, too. Shut off the domestic hot water supply on the cold side of the boiler to diagnose that possibility.


How to get a new tumbler pattern to re-key existing locks? I suspect I don't know what terminology is correct which is why I can't find any information on this via google.
Say I have standard door locks (Schlage or Kwikset) that are fairly new and I have deadbolts and doorknobs that are all set to the same pattern (so one key will open two doors).
Now, say I need to get a new master key or key pattern or tumbler pattern or whatever it's called because my key was stolen or a copy was made and now I don't trust that my locks are secure.
My problem might be that I don't have another factory-cut master key (or pattern) that I can use to have the locks re-keyed to and to cut blank keys to.
How would I go about getting a new key that I could get the locks all re-keyed to? Do I have to buy a new lock-set to install or use to re-key the existing locks?
If anyone thinks they could improve the vocabulary in this post, that'd be awesome, because I don't know what words I'm looking for, even after looking through lockwiki.
Summary

The key I have is compromised
The locks I have, I'd like to keep
I don't have a new key to re-key the locks to

How do I get a new key that doesn't match any of the existing locks? And can I then re-key the locks to that key?

You can have a locksmith rekey the locks, or you could even do it yourself with a rekey kit. To do this the cylinder will be removed, and the pins within it either replaced with different ones, or in theory they could just be swapped around. After this, the old key will no longer open the lock. You will need a new key. This must either come as part of the rekey kit, or one could be cut based on the new pin arrangement in the cylinder.

Do it yourself rekey kits are available for some lock brands online.

Schlage has a rekeying manual online that you can read and decide if it is a task you want to tackle or to leave to a locksmith. I would expect a locksmith to do it fairly inexpensively if you're able to bring the lock sets into the shop.


Insulating a Detached Garage Ceiling Currently the detached garage walls are insulated with batts of insulation, however the ceiling is not, so here in Illinois, the garage is pretty much unusable most days in the winter. I use this garage as a woodworking shop.

The obvious approach would be to drywall the ceiling and just add more batts between the joists. However, the joists are spaced at 32", so Id have to install more joists if I wanted to drywall as well moving electrical that has been installed on the surface of the joists, so that option is last.

Another approach that would be cheap is to just staple down rigid foam boards on top of the joists.

Additionally, the roof does have 2 vents.

All in all, is there a better approach that wouldn't require drywalling?

A quick & dirty approach is to simply staple plastic sheeting on the underside of the garage rafters, and cut holes for the electrical fixtures.  It isn't pretty, isn't nearly as warm as actually drywalling & insulating the space.  But it's surprising how much warmer it is then just the open joists.


Radon in water mitigation I need to install a Radon in water mitigation system. Is there a Do It Yourself way to do this with a simple aeration or filter system. I already have a pH adjustment system in my basement ( Calcium Carbonate). Can I piggy back a filter or Aerator on it?

Do you have well water or do you get your water from a public water supply? If it's the latter, then I would certainly contact the water company. If it is the former, there are two main methods of treating for radon in water: granular activated carbon (GAC) and aeration.

I recommend this link for more information...

https://archive.epa.gov/water/archive/web/html/basicinformation-2.html


Why isn't my electric hot water tank producing hot water? We just bought a trailer and had the water turned on. We have cold water coming out of hot water side in kitchen and bathroom. What could this be? Also we have good water pressure in the bathroom but very low pressure in the kitchen. What could cause this? We checked the breakers and it is on. HELP!! We are not knowledgeable at all on home improvements.

Hot water will depend on the recovery time of the heater. Being off, it will take longer than normal since there is no residual heat. Does this water heater have any adjustable settings, an off, vacation or hold, or adjustable thermostat? I suggest waiting about half a day and see what it does. If it still is cold water temp, you have a wiring or element issue. If it is warm, wait until the next day and test again. If it's hot, you're good, still warm? Check elements or settings (if it has any).

As for pressure, have the water off, and I assume drained from the plumbing, you may have sediment washed into the aerator or valves. Pull your aerator of each sink, if it can be, and check for sediment. Clean and reinstall. If that doesn't help, try to open and close the valves under the sink a few times, check the aerator again.