Are glass textiles with PTFE coating used as vapor barriers for installation under the roof? In construction in Central Europe are in use vapour barriers, in special cases more precise as vapour retarders. These enable the drying of building materials such as insulation, if moisture has coming in. On the other hand, these prevent as second barrier the penetration of water from the outside, such as dripping water by rain. The effect is analogeous to some outdoor clothing. A common installation in Central Europe is, from outside to inside: roof tiles - laths - air layer (2...4 cm) - vapor retarder - insulation.

Nowadays, predominantly is used for that polyethylene or polypropylene textile with a plastic coating. The problem is that the resistance of that plastics decreases with increasing temperature. The vapor barriers may decompose on the time.

There are materials available with a significantly higher stability such as glass fibers and PTFE. These materials are already used in building construction. But, to my knowledge, not as a vapor barrier.

My question is therefore: Are glass textiles with a slightly open-pore PTFE coating also used as vapor retarders in buildings?

If not, why not? Or what are other suitable alternatives?

One reason could be the important general insulation/anti-mold rule for moderate climate zones like Central Europe:

A vapor barrier should be close to the warmer inside layers.
The insulation layer should be close to the cold outdoor side. And the inner window glass should be the coldest surface in a room, enabling condensation on a well defined suited surface.

That way the dew point most likely is not inside the wall or on the wall paper/plaster which has organic material to feed fungi.

To get precise information, this web site may help:

Ubakus.de

It contains many construction/insulation material, foil layers can be inserted everywhere to see the difference.

Possible problems will be shown in a second.

Experimenting/researching is easy by switching on/off of layers.

R-value can be shown by clicking on the spanner/tool icon next to the U-value.

It is free for private use.

Fastest way is to choose an adequate example (menu) and to edit the layers.


Metallic drip tray for fridge The drip tray of my fridge broke down, which causes the water condensating in the fridge to drip on the compressor, which is not a good thing.
While waiting for the replacement part, I've replaced the drip tray with a can (which fulfills the same purpose, e.g. recovering the water from the fridge and evaporating it using the heat from the compressor).

However, all the drip trays available on the market are made of plastic, and not of metal. To me, using a metallic drip tray may not be an issue, but I may be overlooking some key parts regarding heat transfer in the cooling system or something. Hence my question: it the use of a metallic drip tray located above the compressor in a fridge potentially dangerous or not?

If it's not stainless steel it might rust (or generically corrode for non-steel) sooner than plastic would break. Manufacturing-wise, the plastic part is no doubt less expensive to make.


Voltage detected on gas pipe The gas company technician has turned gas off to the gas meter because he detected .4 volts coming off the gas pipe leading to our furnace.  The meter was disconnected when he tested the pipe.  He stuck a screw driver in the soil to use as a ground and then put the multi meters red lead on the pipe to show .4 volts.  However, when tested at the furnace using its ground there is no voltage at all on his multimeter.  Any ideas on what the discrepancy is caused by? I have done my own tests at multiple different properties and consistently get .3-.6 volts on gas meters using a Fluke 117.  So, is this normal?

I agree with Ed Beal. The technician had no idea what they were doing.
The gas pipe is required to be bonded yes, but the equipment ground that serves the electrical circuit for the furnace is allowed to be the sole means of that bonding.
From the 2017 National Electrical Code (also in earlier versions)

250.104
(B) Other Metal Piping.  If installed in or attached to a building or structure, a metal piping system(s), including gas piping, that is likely to become energized shall be bonded to any of the following:
(1) Equipment grounding conductor for the circuit that is likely to energize the piping system.
...

You said --

However, when tested at the furnace using its ground there is no voltage at all on his multimeter.

This tells me your equipment grounding conductor for the gas furnace circuit is in good condition.
A millivolt signal to a screwdriver stuck in the ground is not a reliable way to do earth ground testing.
The Utility should immediately restore your service and that technician needs to be properly trained.
Good luck!


How far from the foundation and how deep should a French drain be? My wife and I bought a house recently but sadley the rainy season has come and I noticed a bad smell coming from the crawlspace I went under neath and found standing water about a inch deep running along two walls of the house.

The rain water is sitting on one side of the house and will take a few days to actually drain away/ evaporate so I've decided to install a French drain to help it run.

I was going to use 4in corrugated piping and hook the gutter system into it

And I just had a few questions

How far away from the foundation should I be?

With the soil being a majority sand should I dig shallow or deep? Or deep with a lot of stone on top?

And with the soil be majority sand should I use small stone, or large?

Thanks in advance for any advise you guys have!

Location

Since the water generally comes from outside the home's footprint, drain tile is usually installed along the footing (inside, outside, or both, depending on the situation). Whether you need interior circuits in your case is uncertain.

Depth

You don't want your drain to work harder than necessary, so it shouldn't be deeper than necessary. They're typically installed slightly below the underside of a basement slab, for example, or just below the top of the footing along which it resides.

Drainage Media

Clean (washed) rock is important, but size isn't so critical. More critical is that you protect against silting. Fabric either wrapped directly around the pipe or laid over the washed rock medium helps prevent the surrounding soil from infiltrating the pipe and clogging it over time.


Can I use foil bubble insulation inside the house on exterior walls? I am retired and on a very limited income and this house needs some insulation! The walls are cold in the interior (the walls that are not interior type walls but on the other side is the outside.). Would tacking the radiant reflective foil bubble insulation to the wall and covering that with fabric be a good solution? Would that present vapor collection and mold problems on the walls themselves under the radiant reflective foil insulation?

Although it is technically possible, doing so will be a waste of time and money. The radiant barrier itself is only effective if it is facing open space; if one side is touching the wall and the other is covered in fabric, then there is no benefit. The bubble wrap itself has an insulation value of maybe R-1, so it will offer very little insulation for the cost and effort required.

Even if you leave the foil exposed on the interior side, the added benefit is pretty small. There are very, very few scenarios where a radiant barrier provides cost effective insulation compared to traditional alternatives.

In your case, assuming you're in the US, I would recommend contacting your local  Weatherization Assistance Program. If you have a very limited income and a house with no insulation, it's likely you'll qualify to receive significant insulation improvements free of charge.


Does the combustion air inlet for a 95% HE furnace need to be sloped down the same degree as the exhaust? I'm determining if existing 2.5" PVC furnace vent pipes can be moved inside an existing soffit box in my garage ceiling.  To do this the exhaust outlet pipe could keep it's existing grade from the terminal on the external wall to the furnace, but the inlet grade would be less.
From here:

All condensate formed in the vent must run back toward furnace for
proper drainage. Install vent pipe with no less than a 1/4 inch per
foot slope from furnace to vent terminal.

AFAIK condensation isn't a problem on the air inlet and I'd have bigger problems if water was dripping down the inlet into the furnace.
Does the grade of the air inlet need to conform to the same rules as the exhaust outlet?

I would slope it the same, as while it may not be condensate, there are other possible moisture sources (rain, snow) that could get in and a slope away from the device seems sensible to avoid issues.


inside brick chimney I have a house, weatherboard, which has a chimney that, i think, used to service two adjacent rooms.The fireplaces have been closed in and the interior wall removed leaving a triangular shaped wall around the chimney. An old wood heater has been fitted into the triangular shape on one side.I'm told this is very unsafe.Has anyone heard of this before and any suggestions re making it safe for a wood burner?
Thanks in anticipation
Karyn.

Unfortunately, some questions are not for the innerwebs.  This is one of them.

Find your local LICENSED chimney sweeper. He needs to check your chimney, make sure that not only is the chimney ready for fire, but that all additional openings that may be hidden are properly sealed off.


Why do clothes washed with my new Samsung top load washer have an odor? New top load washer that we purchased about 5 months ago is putting off a bad smell to washed clothing.  I wouldn’t think the washer is dirty already. Any help would be great.

We had the same issue with our new top load Kenmore. There's too much moisture staying inside the machine after a wash cycle.

Our solution was to buy washing machine cleaner and run a clean cycle, then simply leave the lid open unless we were doing a load of laundry.


Removing stickers from the door My kids put some stickers on the wall.

I am thinking of using De-Solve-it to easily take off the stickers.

https://www.google.com.au/shopping/product/15260427858274158749?lsf=seller:100794174,store:13368512415747446475&prds=oid:6742449688119855807&q=sticker+remover&hl=en&ei=vrsJXpWkKs29rQHdzoOgBw&lsft=gclid:CjwKCAiA3abwBRBqEiwAKwICA4VH6ef0y5fDkUbtgLgK1Rp0mv9KAL8uUHyjbZyo3yJ0D6XoXichmhoCo6kQAvD_BwE,gclsrc:aw.ds

but worried if it may affect the paint

Is it safe? is there another easy way to remove the stickers without buying special products?

I use de solve it it is good stuff, I have not had it affect any surface I have used it on but I am usually working on removing adhesive from painted metal.

I would try an area out of site first and rub a little to see if it affects the paint, it will definitely help clean the adhesive off but the only way to know for sure on your paint is to try it in a area that would not be noticed.


Tiny leak in soldered copper 1/2" pipe joint I have recently completed a solder joint using a repair coupling (1") for 1/2" copper pipe for my washer. However, it appears that there is tiny leak - less than one bead of water / day. Is there a simple and easy way to fix this without a full cut/replace? NB the pipe is in the wall.

We are hoping we can gently reheat the joint and allow the existing solder to melt a little and reset itself. Other than that, we could try adding more on top (although usually a bad idea), or finally we could cut out say 2" and use a repair sleeve. It is not possible to disconnect both sides as there is no movement in the pipes.

If you can drain the pipe (heating it with water in it is mostly an exercise in futility), then yes, you could try heating it and adding more solder in place. (Which, contrary to your assertion, is not an especially bad idea.)

If not, and you really don't have space to move things, usual practice would be to cut it out and install a "detour" loop -- two L's to bring it out of the plane of the existing pipe, two more L's with a piece of pipe between them to bridge the gap, and two more short pieces of pipe to connect the L's in the old pipe to L's in the new pipe. That gives you the play in the system that you need to bring things together, by letting you make the final connection at right angles to the old pipe. (Of course the downside of this approach is that you have to make eight good soldered connections, not just two, and it costs you a bit more for the extra pipe.)

       _____
 _____|     |_____


Can 1" thick planks take (vertical) shear loads of 200kg through bolts without splitting? I am extending an aluminium ladder by bolting the lower ends to 3" wide, 1" thick struts. I am concerned that the (6mm) bolts may split the wood when loaded.

As a Structural Engineer in Training I advise to add the extension to the top of the ladder so there is no axial load through it, only shear and moment. I would recommend a minimum of a 2" thick piece so sister two 1" thick boards together nailing them every 6" together. I would advise that you match the length attached to the ladder with the length of the extension with a minimum of 12" overlap on the ladder. Add two bolts on each end with a 2" (50mm) spacing between each bolt and the edge of the ladder. Also make sure to match the rung distance if your extension is that long. Hope it works out for you!


Can a toilet on concrete slab be moved about 4 1/2 inches? My toilet is situated such that it doesn't allow much room to get in and out of the shower. I'd like to move it back to the wall as close as possible, to allow more space. The toilet is on concrete slab. Is this possible? I saw this similar question (http://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/6123/can-a-toilet-be-moved-6-inch-to-the-right) was asked but that is for a toilet over subfloor. Also, I know there are different sized toilets but is the distance from the hole on bottom of toilet to the back of the toilet a standard size?

In the US, the typical toilet rough in size is 12", which I believe goes from the toilet bolts (center of the drain) to the studs (so subtract 1/2" for drywall). You can also find toilets made for 10" and 14" rough ins. But, to get more clearance, the easiest thing to do is swap out the style of toilet from an elongated bowl to a round bowl. If you're a man visiting the library, it means you have less space to hang free, but it gives you a lot more space to get around the bathroom.

To answer your first question, you can move the drain, but it involves taking a jackhammer to the concrete. Not a fun project if you don't like messes.


Can I prime/paint these walls? I suspect I may not be able to prime and paint these walls as is. I have a few sections that still have the original sheetrock paper and some where I had to remove everything up to the brown/torn/rough paper when I was scraping the old paint off.

I did a lot of reading and I am of the opinion that I must apply a thin layer of joint compound to these brown/torn/rough paper spots and then sand them down to a smooth surface. The rest of the walls I should be able to prime and paint after wards.

I would like to ask if I am on the right track or should I be doing something else.

Can I prime/paint these walls?

YES, if you do not care very much about how flat and smooth the wall looks when you are done.

The primer will help knock down those rough paper spots a little, and using a thick nap roller to apply your finish coat will hide a bit of the rough areas. But your picture shows some unsanded (or poorly sanded) patches of mud, and nothing will make that look better except for more sanding and more mud and more sanding... ad nauseum.


How do I prepare a ceiling for restomping? I had to cut access panels in the ceiling of a 7' x 11' room to make several plumbing repairs.  The ceiling has the slapbrush/stomp texture:

I have patched the drywall and I plan on restomping the whole ceiling as opposed to trying to match a patch.  After knocking off the brittle tips with a knife, can I simply roll on another coat of mud and stomp?  The patches I made are smooth.  Do I need to wet the ceiling down and knock it down with a knife or a sponge before I restomp to get the best results and hide the patches?

I would dampen the areas you patched, any areas that were/are painted won't absorb enough to matter.

If you are thinning premixed joint compound you should be able to roll it on and stomp. Cool pattern.


Chimenea/Outdoor Fireplace Crack Repair Mortar-type I was trying to repair a cracked chiminea ( outdoor fireplace). I have "Quikkrete" quick-setting cement. I was wondering if this would be okay to use to patch and seal the cracks and hold against high temperatures when I have fires. Could someone please offer any advice on what type of pottery/clay sealing bondage product that is fire resistant, if I should not use this stuff and what maybe I should be using?? I'm not that knowledgeable with this kind of DIY home fix.

No, Portland cement products do not tolerate much heat. Hardware type stores should have some products for use on flue pipes .


Why is my hot water baseboard heater not heating? I have classic cast iron radiators in my house and then one "modern" one pictured below.  It was installed in the 80s from what I know.  It doesn't seem to produce much heat at all.

It is properly bled and the incoming pipe is hot but the outgoing pipe is only slightly warm.  The radiator itself is only a bit warm on the incoming side.

BTW, it is on the second floor of the house where I also have a cast iron radiator which works great, so it's probably not a matter of water pressure or anything like that.

I'm not familiar with these radiators, are they not supposed to be hot when you touch them?  Or is something wrong with this particular one?  What could be wrong?

Should I change it with something better?  What?  A modern radiator?  Used cast iron one?  What would you do?

(Edit: changed the title, because these seem to be called 'hot water baseboard heters')

This type of radiator should be warm to the touch, not hot like an cast iron radiator. If you touch the fins with two or three fingers it should feel hot enough to be very uncomfortable. Lastly, go to incoming pipe  coming up through the floor again, it should be very hot, too hot to touch for more than a few seconds. Usually the water moving through the pipe is 150F to 180F. Then feel the outgoing pipe again, it should be almost as hot as the incoming side. If the outgoing is not hot you have a blockage or bad circulater. You should not be able to hold your fingers on either the in or out flow side these pipes for more than a few seconds. If you have a automatic bleeder on the radiator get rid of it and install a manual bleeder. Then run heat and bleed again. Then again one hour later.


Connecting 120/240 receptacles on the same circuit breaker I want to add a branch circuit to the control panel using 12/3 wire and protected by 20 amp double pole circuit breaker. Is it safe to connect multiple duplex receptacles 120 volts and 240 volts on the same circuit? In this setup, I'd use black, red, and ground for the duplex 240 volts 20 amp receptacle and I'd use black, white and ground for the other 110 volts 20 amp duplex receptacle.

I live in Ontario, Canada.

This works, as long as your breaker is common trip (most are)

The mixing of 120 and 240V loads/receptacles on the same multi-wire branch circuit is permitted, provided the breaker is common trip (so that a fault on one leg can't be backfed by the other leg of the circuit via the 240V load(s)).  From an electrical standpoint, this is no different from a range or dryer circuit, and the resulting imbalance is not an issue from a safety standpoint.

This is permitted (in the US at least) by NEC 240.4(C) Exception 2:

  (C) Line-to-Neutral Loads. Multiwire branch circuits shall
  supply only line-to-neutral loads.

  Exception No. 1: A multiwire branch circuit that supplies only one
  utilization equipment.

  Exception No. 2: Where all ungrounded conductors of the multiwire
  branch circuit are opened simultaneously by the branch-circuit overcurrent device.


Dehumidifying Basement in vacant house We are selling our house and just moved about 30 mins away.  The finished basement had a dehumidifier but no hose because we don't have a drain.  Unfortunately due to distance it is not feasible to go and empty the dehumidifier regularly and the basement is getting a musty smell.
We do have a window in the finished area and I'm wondering if it makes sense to get a window AC?  Any other suggestions?  The only other thing I can think of is a dehumidifier with  a hose that routes to the window but I'm not sure if that is a good idea?

If you can run a small hose out the window, get one of these Little Giant pumps.

I have my AC in my basement and it dumps the condensate in there and then gets pumped out via small hose.  Works great.


Reduce sound transfer through doors My wife and I share a bathroom with our 2 year old son.  His bedroom is on one side and ours is on the other.  We'd like to reduce the amount of noise coming from our bathroom so we don't wake him when we shower.

I have already replaced the doors with solid core soundproofing doors. But I'm trying to figure out the best way to further seal off the doors.  There is still light and air leaking through the frame of the doors when they're closed, and along the bottom, which means sound is probably transmitting too.

Is there a good style of weatherstripping that would help? Stick on felt?  Compression weatherstripping?

Would an automatic door bottom be worth the effort or would a simple door sweep suffice?

Rubber air seals along the bottom will be your best bet. An automatic bottom seal may work slightly better, but its a very slight difference over a properly installed gasket seal.

Make sure your door is perfectly balanced in the frame before installing a gasket. You need to make sure the gap is uniform across the entire bottom of the door.

Foam tape would work just as well across the top and sides, and may be cheaper depending on what bottom seal you choose.

Its worth mentioning, unless you have an inch or more gap, its unlikely this extra gap-seal is going to solve the underlying issue. So much of the sound is still going to be transmitted through what are most likely uninsulated interior walls. Soundproofing tends to be a project that just keeps going.


How is this screw head called? I want to disassemble a broken hair dryer (just to see what's inside), but I just found out it uses a weird tamper-proof screw I had never seen in my life. Trying to google for it doesn't help much; I still could not find its official name.

It's like a standard flat screw, where the central part has not been cut, and looks like this from above:

It looks a bit like an "H", so I tried looking for "H screw" and got a few Google hits, but I find very few of them, and they look mostly related to watches.

I find it appalling that Philips (the hair dryer manufacturer) needs to put such tamper-proof protection on such a common household appliance, but I suppose they have their legal reasons to do so. However, without knowing the name of the screw, I can hardly find where to buy a screwdriver for it!

If there is an official name for this screw, please enlighten me. I found a screwdriver photo on the Internet, but it seems to be small and related to watches. My screw is a "standard small appliance size".

It's known as a Spanner Screw. It sometimes is slots, other times two small holes.


How plausible (and how hard) is it to modify a billy bookcase to fit a gable-end corner, floor-to-ceiling, with an impinging 45deg roof I'd like to build a fitted bookcase into the corner of a gable end, such as in this mockup.  Excuse the poor attempt, I've never used SketchUp before.

Obviously they should show shelves/dividers etc and a 45deg angled corner section between the two walls, but I figure this is good enough for this question.

I'm undecided at the moment whether the units would stop in line with the edge of the door, continue over the door (as depicted) or (very possibly) go down the other side of the door as well.

My semi-plan is to buy an Ikea Billy bookcase unit or two (probably the large corner unit they do), and see if I can fit it into the corner by cutting bits off and melding other bits on.

Maybe that's too ambitious and it'd be easier to work with two separate units and forego the 45deg unit between them, and just have them butt up at 90deg and have some wasted space hiding behind.

I have a "can do" attitude, am happy to buy some tools, but a decided lack of woodworking skills/experience.

Is this quite trivial?  What tools and techniques are the best way to cut laminated chipboard (or whatever Billy is constructed from) without chipping and ruining the outer layer?

I've never owned a Billy before so at the moment I have no idea what they're made from or fasteners Ikea use and how easy it'd be to relocate them, etc etc.

Thanks!

None of this would be considered trivial.  For example, just to do the left bookcase conversion for the 45-degree top.
After cutting off the top of the cabinet to make the 45-degree angle, you would not have a top piece to place on top.  The top board is now too narrow because it is at a 45-degree angle.  The first issue is how to replace or extend the depth of the top to fit the top of the case.  The new cut on the sides no longer have the holes for the cam screw.  You would have to replace the original cam screw with other fasteners to join the new top to the sides.
The corner unit adds further complications.
If possible, I would look to find a wall unit that fits up to the gable.
I just modified a full-size pantry cabinet to fit under a stairwell with the angle going across the full width of the cabinet, and it is not trivial.


Is there a way to build interior walls that are easy to change? As my family grows (birth) and shrinks (adulthood), and as kids' needs change (puberty) I'd like to be able to change the floor plan to match.

Conventional 2x4 studs + drywall is a bit messy to move.

Is there an alternate way to build walls that are easier to move?

(One idea was 2x4 studs + 1/4" plywood held with screws. Maybe a urethane   finish.)

I've seen manufactured ones for use in offices, but there's different fire codes for home vs. offices, so I don't know they'd necessarily be allowed.  In those cases, a track was mounted to the floor & ceiling, then the wall panels and doorways were installed.

the panels were fairly lightweight (I'm guessing, they used metal studs, insulation for sound dampening, and possibly lauan or other thin plywood.  Some of the others were just large window segments.

I also remember hearing of a company in um ... Norway / Sweden, some Scandinavian country, where they had a mostly pre-fab house design w/ all load on the exterior walls, and some way of re-arranging interior walls.  I found "A House for all Seasons", an article in a 1990s Popular Science that describes something similar.  One thing they mention is that the wall panels are relatively narrow, which likely cuts down on weight, so they can be easily re-arranged.  (and they're using drywall, it said).

...

If I were doing it, I'd do :

attach a 2x4 to the ceiling and floor where I wanted the wall to be.  (and if it wasn't on an outside corner, leaving enough space for one section out, likely where they doorway was to be).
Make a series of panels with plywood sheeting, extending about 1 to 1.25" past the base of the wall at the top and bottom.
Slide the sections into place, then screw the wall sections at the top & bottom into the 2x4s.
Install the doorway (although I'm not 100% sure how to secure it).
Install baseboards & crown molding to hide the gaps at the top & bottom.
Cover & seal the gaps between panels with battens.

... although, I'm not even sure if it's legal due to fire codes.  (there might be issue with using plywood for walls, particularly in a bedroom).

If you needed electrical in the wall ... I'd probably go low, instead of high, and build a long chase first, then drop the wall sections on top of it.  (I don't know if there's any codes to keep you from having all outlets being inches from the ground; they allow 'em in the floor, so I'd think it would be okay).

... and that makes me think ... another good place to break the wall would be at chair-rail height, if you wanted to cut down on the weight of panels, as you could hide that seam, but I'd be worried about keeping it rigid at that point so the whole wall doesn't flex.

update : and I'm assuming this is for bedrooms only, not wet walls.


How do I keep the door jamb moulding from pulling away from the wall when hardware is screwed in? Total novice here. My wife wants one of those security door guards (a hinged arm that swings open to a point) on the door. I had bought the hardware, but put it off when the provided screws turned out to be for wood only, unable to penetrate the front door, which was painted metal. I finally got around to buying metal screws. The latch bit went in fine, but when I tried to attach the bolt to the jamb, the moulding started pulling away from the wall. It went back a bit when I finished screwing it in (after a brief panic, thinking that I'd just ruined our door in the start of winter), but not all the way. Is there any trick to keeping the moulding down? Or is this cosmetic and I just need to bridge the gap with a little caulk and paint?

Where the jamb moulding is pulling away

A section which hasn't yet pulled away a little below

The security door guard, in case it's relevant

I have since removed the jamb part of the door guard because it only had one screw and we're expecting company later tonight. The jamb is still a little bit off of the wall, enough that the door squeaks up against it when opening. I'm beginning to suspect that the moulding has probably been this close to pulling away for a while now, possibly due to expansion over the years, and I just lucked into it. I think I have some nails downstairs that I can probably use to try to tack it down.

I tried wood screws on the jamb after tacking it down with finishing nails and drilling guide holes. No dice. At this point, I think I must be hitting something harder just past in the door. Given the sheet metal screws didn't go through, I'm not sure what to do short of maybe trying concrete screws.

Did you pre-drill the holes for the screws?

It seems as though the screws have hit something solid (screw/nail head, etc). Which is causing the molding to be pushed away, instead of the screws penetrating deeper into the wall.

This might be a sign that the hardware is only held in place by the molding, which isn't going to be very secure. You'll want to make sure the screws are held securely in the studs, and not simply in the finish materials (drywall, molding, etc.).


Moist sandy gravel between frost-proof monolithic slab and insulation. Is it going to freeze and expand? I’m planning on pouring a monolithic slab with insulation beneath to prevent frost heave of the ground below. It’s a somewhat common technique, there’s just not many folks I can find in Massachusetts with experience.

The contractor that came out first filled the bottom of the forms with a very sandy gravel mix, maybe 60/40 sand/gravel. The gravel was kinda moist, and then water was used to compact it, and then some water got into it when it rained the other day. This is in the layer that, see above, is called "non frost-susceptible fill." On top of this fill goes the vapor barrier, and then the concrete. The moisture under the vapor barrier is between foam insulation and plastic sheets: the moisture is trapped there for life.

I’m a little worried that with all the effort I’m putting in to mitigate my slab breaking in half, that water is going to freeze and break my slab in half. Contractor's already been fired for a myriad of other offenses, but should I go ahead and replace the gravel he's got down with pea gravel?

Quoting from "Common Questions and Answers about Frost-Protected Shallow Foundations" on page 29 of the Federal HUD guide on constructing frost proof shallow foundations dated June, 1994:

  Question No. 1:  How does insulation stop frost heave from occurring?

  Frost heave can only occur when all of the following three conditions
  are preset:

  1) the soil is frost susceptible (large silt fraction),

  2) sufficient moisture is available (soil is above approximately 80
  percent saturation), and

  3) sub-freezing temperatures are penetrating
  the soil.  Removing one of these factors will negate the possibility
  of fromst damage.

  Insulation as required in this design guide will
  prevent underlying soil from freezing (an inch of polystyrene
  insulation, R4.5, has an equivalent R-Value of about 4 feet of soil on
  average).  The use of insulation is particularly effective on a
  building foundation for several reasons.  First, heat loss is
  minimized while storing and directing heat into the foundation soil --
  not out through the vertical face of the foundation wall.  Second,
  horizontal insulation projecting outward will shed moisture away from
  the foundation further minimizing the risk of frost damage.  Finally,
  because of the insulation, the frost line will rise as it approaches
  the foundation.

  Since frost heave forces act perpendicular to the
  frost line, heave forces, if present, will act in a horizontal
  direction and not upwards.

So you are OK as long as your non-susceptible fill does not contain much silt.


Baseboards or Laminate flooring first? I'm laying down new laminate flooring in a small condo and the current baseboards have got to go. They're old, ugly, dirty, and installed plain wrong. My question is: Do new baseboards go on before the laminate flooring? Or lay laminate planks first, then baseboards? It will eventually be a rental property, so I am thinking of baseboards, laminate planks, then quarter round to hide the gap. This way in the future it'll be easier to change out the floors if necessary. What do you guys think?

If you put baseboards first, you'd have to tuck the laminate under them. Flooring first, baseboards second.


Odd ceiling fan wiring, white in hot side of outlet While replacing some old wall outlets, with new TR outlets, i came across a white wire connected to the hot side of a wall outlet...  the black wire in this 14/2 pair is simply capped off in the receptacle box.
There are 3 pairs of 14/2 wires in this receptacle box total. see picture...

In this particular 14/2 pair, the white wire is always hot and the black "capped" wire is only hot when the wall switch to the fan is turned "on".

The single pole wall switch that controls the fan has a single 14/2 pair in the receptacle box.  The white wire in the wall switch receptacle box is connected to the top brass screw on the switch, the black wire is connected to the bottom brass screw on the switch, and the ground is connected to the ground screw.

The ceiling fan also has a single 14/2 pair in the box.  the white is capped with the white from the fan, the black is capped with the black and blue of the fan, the ground is capped with the ground.  see picture...

My question is, why is there a white wire in a wall outlet that is always hot and somehow mixed in with the ceiling fan??
Removing this white "hot" wire from the outlet appears to kill all power to the switch and fan.
Is this normal/safe??

A little more information... my house was built in 1981 and i'm 90% sure the wiring is original.  There was a reno job at some point during those years before i purchased the house.
I replaced a ceiling flush mount light with this ceiling fan years ago.  It was a simple wiring job as the ceiling receptacle box had one 14/2 pair cable in it, nothing out of the ordinary there... although i wasn't aware of this particular wired outlet then.

=====UPDATE May 7th @ 1:55pm=====

I found the mystery junction box in the attic.  I would post a pic but the forum won't let me until i get 10 reputation points....

so this is what is in the junction box: (the 14/2 wire from the wall receptacle box (where the WHITE is HOT), the 14/2 wire from the fan, the 14/2 wire from the switch)

--all 3 black wires are capped together.

--the white wires from the wall and switch are capped together.

--the ground wires are all capped together WITH the WHITE wire of the fan...

Is it safe to leave it like this???  At the very least i think i will replace this old junction box with a newer box that has a cap/lid.  This one was simply buried under the insulation with no cap/lid.

I am still 90% certain this is original wiring/configuration from when the house was built as it is all "type NM 14-2 with ground cirtex plastic 600 volts cerro (ul)".  If it was changed as part of the reno i would think there would be some newer romex in the mix.

======another update====

well, i was really hoping i wasn't going to have to change this but it looks like i will...  to make this a "normal" ceiling fan switch, this is what i think i should do...

Re-purpose the 14/2 wire coming from the wall receptacle box (since it's already there) straight to the switch.  Correcting the connection to the wall out (black to brass, white to silver, ground to ground etc.).

Then run the current 14/2 wire from the switch directly to the fan.

Since these wires are not long enough to make the runs i will have to junction them into their own separate 14/2 romex.  I'll make these new junction boxes visible in the attic.

I really wish i could post another picture but it would essentially be this (www.do-it-yourself-help.com/wiring_diagram_ceilingfan.html) diagram, scroll down to the "Source at the Switch", 2nd picture.  As i said, my "source" wire would be the current "white/hot" 14/2 set as seen in my first in my original post.  Although I will correct the connection to the outlet receptacle box (i.e. black to brass, white to silver, ground to ground etc.)

does that make sense?

This white wire feeds a switch loop that provides power to the switch for the fan.  Unfortunately, there are several problems here:

This white wire needs to be tagged with black tape to mark it as a hot
It's not clear where the neutral comes from, but it's clearly not coming from the same box as the hot.  This is at minimum a 300.3(B)/310.10(H) violation due to the wayward neutral (and a great way to screw up things sensitive to magnetic fields), but may also be a much more egregrious violation due to someone abusing the ground as a neutral.
There's another junction box somewhere in this scheme that's doing something odd.  You'll want to find it before doing further fiddling with the circuit.


Is it worth having two locks in exterior doors? I've noticed that some places have a lock in the knob and a deadbolt in the exterior doors, and some places have a knob without a lock and just a deadbolt.  Is there a benefit to having a lock in the knob I'm missing?

The lock in the knob can be set to be locked when the door is closed.  In other words, you do not have to do anything extra to lock the door, just pull it closed.  This can be good or bad depending on how you look at it (it can be easy to lock yourself out this way).  The dead bolt on the other hand always requires an extra step to lock the door (put the key in, lock it, and remove the key); this forces you to have a key in hand, preventing you from locking yourself out.

Depending on what you are doing/replacing, also check your local building codes.  Some types of deadbolts (the ones that require a key on both sides) may not be allowed in certain situations.


How is a finish sander different than an orbital sander? Other than an orbital sander being circular and a finish being square, I was wondering if there are any other differences.  If I already own an orbital one, does it make sense to add a finish one to the portfolio?  I am currently doing some antique doorway and window trim restoration, I chemically removed the paint and now doing final polishes before I stain and lacquer.

Anything that sands across the grain on wood puts scratches in the growth rings that can be hard to remove.

Orbital sanders are good for removing homogenous materials like paint where you don't want a pattern to the marks left by the sand paper. As you use finer paper, the random action leaves finer scratches till the surface is smooth.

Finish sanding on wood is a bit different, you want a straight line sander so the abrasive cuts parallel to the wood grain so you can get a smoother surface.

Also, Finish Sanders are available with Random Orbital Action. If you've ever been in a car paint shop, you know it as a DA or Dual Action Sander. The pad is loosely coupled to the orbital mechanism so it doesn't produce spiral cuts in the finish but has a random combination of straight and orbital motion.


How do I make bevel cuts to form a ring with 2x4's? I want to make a round wishing well. I have 12 2x4's @1'h. What degree of bevel do I need so they fit into a tight circle?

15˚ (360 / 12 / 2) on each side of each 2x4.


Portable AC trips circuit breaker The portable ac in one room trips the 15 amp circuit breaker after about 45 minutes, can the breaker safely be changed to a 20 amp breaker?

No
The breaker size is dependent on the wire size. If the wire was 12 AWG then it would most likely already have a 20 Amp breaker. Since it has a 15 Amp breaker, most likely at least some of the wire in the circuit is only 14 AWG.


Stuck bathtub faucet stem tried spraying PB blaster, WD40, warming it, and it just will not turn. Think I may cut around the whole thing so I can get a monkey wrench on it

It looks like you have been wrenching on the wrong piece (the stem). You need to unscrew the entire assembly at the valve body. The body is deeper in the wall, if you shine a flashlight in there you will see where you need to unscrew it. It takes a special deep socket made just for that purpose:

The picture shows the person using a rod to turn the socket; you may need to put a pipe wrench on the socket to get it to break free. Ensure the water is shut off before you do this.

Pictures shamelessly grabbed off of the internet.


Identifying my trip-lever drain stopper to buy a replacement I inherited a rented apartment with a trip-lever drain stopper in the bathtub with the stopper itself missing (see attached images). The maintenance told me that they cannot replace the missing part and gave a generic rubber cover instead, which is both inconvenient and hideous.
Ignoring the fact that this apartment is some 60 years old and the entire thing is in pretty bad condition, what would I need to know to order a replacement myself? Presumably, installing it would be as simple as sticking it in the sinkhole once I have it.
I can see that the lever handle was made by Kohler, but I am unable to find any similar-looking products on their website and their customer support told me that I have to replace the entire bathtub which seems a bit excessive. I am worried about ordering a plug from a different manufacturer as I have no way of knowing if it is going to be compatible (although presumably the only thing that matters is the diameter, but I am not sure).
I was hoping to get some advice on finding a suitable replacement for the missing component that I can buy and install myself without getting Kohler to replace the entire unit.
Unfortunately, I know absolutely nothing about plumbing and have never had an issue like this before.

If you're not adamant about keeping the side-to-side lever on the overflow here are some choices for a replacement.
You may be able to install a simpler drain stop with this device
finally, if you just want to install the missing piece
Below are the (2) most commonest drain stopper types which may help you with choosing a replacement or part.


Excess dishwasher water I have noticed there is approx. 12mm of water left inside my dishwasher after the cycle is complete. Have check the filters and they are all clean and clear. Any suggestions as to what the problem is?

Many dishwashers use a float switch to kill the pump when the water level drops, these can get crusty with mineral/soap deposits and start acting up. Check/clean the float switch.

They also can lose pumping efficiency when the pump, pump volute, or/and discharge passages including hoses and air-gap are affected by sediment/scale/soap deposits. When the float switch tells the controller that the water level has dropped, the pump runs for a few seconds to remove the last of the water. The "few seconds" of run time does not remove as much remaining water with an occluded pump/volute/pump-out passage.

Remove, take apart, and clean the entire pump and macerator (yes, most have a macerator which is like a mini garbage grinder to break up materials that get by the screen) assemblies. And check your discharge hoses, air-gap, and drain for obstructions.


Attaching a towel hook to a glass shower door We have a glass shower door. We have nowhere else to hang our towels in our tiny bathroom except on the back of the door. We've tried Command hooks, and we've tried using them with what we were told was an "industrial" adhesive for them, but they keep coming off.

What's the correct way to permanently attach a towel hook to tempered glass?

You could use over door hooks, such as this, on the bathroom door.

Google suction cup hooks for hooks that attach to glass.

Supermagnet hooks are also available. You could attach a decorative metal plate to the bathroom door for them. Or use a supermagnet hook on one side of the glass door and an non-hook supermagent on the other side

EDIT:
Here is a link about attaching metal to glass.
What type of adhesive do I use to bond metal & glass?

The accepted answer recommended epoxy.


What should I do after mistakenly using moldy paint on drywall? I was painting my basement and used a six year old five gallon bucket of paint.  It had about 4 gallons of paint in it.  The surface was black, but it didn't smell bad.  I thought it was the dye separating out.  It mixed well.  I used it on the wall and went to the second bucket for my finish coat.  The first bucket was a flat paint and the second an eggshell finish.  The second bucket was clear on top before mixing.  I now realize the terrible mistake I made.  I painted mold onto my walls.  I don't know if I am going to have a problem, but my gut feel is not a good one.  What can I do to fix this?

Mold need two things to create spores, water and air.  You probably killed any active mold when you mixed it in the bucket.  However, don't fear. Once that coat is dry, recoat with fresh paint. It will seal over the original coat and any surviving  mold should be encased and die. I think you will be fine, just repaint.


Is it legal to torque-seal terminal screws on electrical equipment? Torque seal is a lacquer-like product used in critical applications after a screw is tightened to provide a visual indication if the screw comes loose.  Considering that a terminal screw on an electrical device coming loose can give you a Bad Day™, is it legal to use torque seal or an equivalent product (nail polish is said to work in a pinch) on electrical device terminal screws to visually indicate loosening?  Or is there something in Code that would prohibit such a practice?

I don't know of any restrictions for the use you are proposing. In fact I have used it myself. Mostly for time clocks so if we can tell if someone is jacking with it.


How can I make a bluish "white" LED less blue? I recently bought this white LED reading lamp. I like it a lot, but the "white" light produced is significantly blue; I'll guess its color temperature is about 5000K.

I've noticed that, when this is the only source of light, printed text appears slightly fuzzy, and is more difficult to read than with a standard incandescent reading lamp. My guess is that this is chromatic aberration causing color fringing in my eyes, making it harder to read with this new lamp.

Is there a way to make this lamp less blue using some sort of transparent/translucent filter over the lens? This could filter out some of the blue end of the spectrum, or include a phosphor to convert some of the blue to yellow (as most "white" LEDs do). The fluorescence idea would be better, as there'd be less light lost. I don't want to go too far, though; a strongly yellow lamp might be worse for reading than this currently blueish lamp.

Chromatic aberration interfering with reading would be a very unusual complaint (so says an ophthalmologist I know).  On the other hand, cataracts do block and scatter blue light more than the lower end of the visible spectrum.  So, if one has cataracts then it can be harder to read under blue light.  Most "white" LEDs use a monochromatic blue source (not UV), which is then fluoresced to the lower frequencies with phosphor.  Good phosphor is expensive, and more fluorescing hurts efficiency. Consequently, cheap LED sources tend to be blue and have a poor CRI.  Practically speaking, an LED with poor spectral characteristics cannot be improved once manufactured.  You need a different lamp.


Walked on new grout too soon So a certain someone (my husband) “accidentally” walked on our newly grouted porcelain tile floor about 3 hours after it had been finished. While nothing looks disturbed, are we destined to have cracks emerge sooner rather than later?It was TEC grout, although I’m not sure which type.

Thanks for your help!

The tile had already fully set for at least 24 hours before grouting I expect. So walking on it would be safe. The only damage that walking on uncured grout would cause is deforming the grout itself. If you see no evidence of smushed grout either your husband did not step on the actual grout or the grout had hardened enough to not be deformed by his steps. In any case I would not expect any trouble with the grout if it looks fine now.


How do you install a thermostat if you don't have Y or C wires? My thermostat is a LuxPro LUX PSP511LCa. I looked behind the thermostat and I see the following:

A red wire connected to RC
A jumper connecting RH and RC
A white wire connected to W
A green wire connected to G

I see no Y or C wires.

Now, I have a new Honeywell RTH6580WF WiFi thermostat. The instructions tell me I need an R, W, G, Y, and C cables.

I have a few questions:

Can I assume that my current RC cable is the same as the R cable, so I just plug it into the R slot?
What do I do about the C and Y cables? I don't have either. I read that Y is for cooling. My house has no cooling, nor do I want it. Can I just ignore the instructions that tell me to connect the Y cable?

Attached is a picture of the thermostat wiring:

You have
* power(R)
* heat (W)
* fan (G)

(note that on some furnaces R and W are reversed).

Standard answer is that either:

you have more wires in the thermostat cable that are not connected behind the thermostat one of which you can use as a C wire
you have some the willingness and ability to pull more cable to pull a c wire
you can get a 24v transformer near the thermostat and wire it to Rc and C, and wire your thermostat to Rh, W, and G.

You won't need to use the Y wire.


Video / audio ground on ungrounded equipment There is a great question regarding reversed polarity wall outlets which gives me pause. I recently moved my mother-in-law's television and DVD player, and I noticed that both use ungrounded C-style plugs. The two devices are connected by three RCA cables.

How is the cable ground handled on these two ungrounded devices? Additionally, how dangerous is it to connect one 'backwards' in the socket? I am concerned that the C-style plug is not directional.

Relax. There really isn't a problem here.

Don't confuse signal ground with safety ground. For these signals, what matters is shared signal ground, and with RCA cables that's provided by the cable shielding. In fact there are good reasons for NOT having signal ground tied to safety ground.

Safety ground is generally not needed in nonportable electronic equipment for the same reason it isn't needed in small electrical appliances outside the bath or shower: they're generally safe by design unless you do something foolish like pouring water into them or running them with the box open. Hence, a two-wire plug is fine.

Similarly, "backward" connection is pretty much irrelevant. The AC is going to a transformer, and the tranformer's output runs the rest of the device. Transformers don't care which way the plug is flipped. the only difference that makes is whether turning off the switch leaves the transformer hot or not, and unless you have the box open that makes zero difference.

Everything is designed correctly. Your mother-in-law is safe.


How do I install switches in this box? I have a bathroom that has two lights, both had dimmer switches.  Next to the bathroom is a bedroom which is on the same circuit.  So, for the sake of simplicity, let's say there are three lights:

Vanity
Shower
Bedroom

Recently I noticed that the Vanity light was throwing out a lot of heat, and the face plate for the bathroom light switches was hot to the touch.  So I replaced the Vanity light and thought that I would replace the dimmer switches (which I don't like anyway) with regular light switches.  I flipped the circuit (which I do every time I work with electrical), removed the plate, and was greeted with a rather confusing setup.  There are four separate wire bundles going into the box.

Here's a picture of the box:

Being the smart sorta guy that I am, I did not keep track of which wire went where on the old dimmer switches, but they struck me as odd in that they had two wires coming out of the back that were wire nutted onto various black/brown wires in the box, and all of the white wires are tied off in a single wire nut.

I started with regular old single pole light switches and have attempted various combinations of wiring, leaving the white/neutral wires bundled in the box, unconnected to the switches.  Each combination has yielded one of the following results:

Vanity light works, Shower does not, Bedroom does not.
Shower works, Vanity does not, Bedroom does not.
Bedroom works only when one of the bathroom switches is on, Vanity and Shower do not.

So my questions are: do I need 3-way switches here?  And how in the world do I wire these things?

Sounds like you have one black hot wire coming into the box (probably that bottom one), which passed through a hot over to your bedroom switch.

So my guess would be that you should have two of the blacks wirenutted together -- that would be the hot wire coming in to the box, and the passthrough to the bedroom light. Also in that bundle should be two pigtailed wires that go to one pole of your 2 switches.

Then the other pole of the switches would be connected to the remaining black wires. The white neutrals should remain bundled together as they are.

It looks like the ground wires also have loops in them for connecting to screw terminals, you should make sure that all of the ground wires in the box are connected together with a wire nut so you have an uninterrupted ground even if there are no switches connected, then pigtail off of that bundle to connect to the ground screw on your new switches.

Here's a diagram showing my guess at how the hots should be connected:

Though this is only a guess -- an easy way to identify which one is the hot wire would be to tape or wirenut the exposed ends of the wire and leave them hanging out of the box, turn on the breaker, then use your non-contact voltage sensor to see which one is hot.

There's no easy way other than trial-and-error to identify which ones go to each bathroom light and which one goes over to the bedroom.

Oh, and do remember to connect the ground to the new switches since you have a plastic box (even if the previous switches were not grounded) - I think it's required by code now, but even if not, it's a good idea -  especially in a bathroom where wet hands will be touching the light switch.


How do I remove a brick patio embedded in concrete? How can I remove a brick patio set in concrete and on a concrete slab? Is it possible for a woman to do this herself?

If you have plenty of time, and don't want to hire power tools, you can do it a bit at a time over several weeks (months?). It will be hard work but anyone can do it.

That's a brick bolster and a club hammer, which is what I had to hand when I needed to break up some brickwork. You could try some other type of cold chisel or hammer. It depends what you can borrow or what advice you can get from the local store.

The brickwork I was attacking was set with mortar. If your concrete turns out to be too tough you may have to try power tools instead.

It so happens I have an old cheap Chinese-made SDS hammer drill that had been used to break up a large heap of set asphalt (you can buy these very cheaply, they won't be very durable but OK for occasional light use). These things usually have a rotation-stop lever and come with a chisel. I'd probably escalate to that before considering hiring a jackhammer.

A tool-hire shop should be able to advise.


How to paint a wood house? I'm looking for good resources for painting a wood house. I'm looking for the proper tools and techniques.

I don't want to hire somebody to do the job, I would like to do it myself. I just need to know:

What kind of paint is best to use on a wood house: Oil, latex, something else?
What techniques are there to give the house an aged look?
What other important information should I know before painting a house.

Q. What kind of paint is best to use on a wood house: Oil, latex, something else?

A. Being taught old school by my professional painter & decorator grandfather, I should say oil based paints, but I think he might even agree that modern top-quality 100% acrylic paints are the way to go nowadays. Mind you top-quality 100% acrylic paints are not cheap.

Q. What techniques are there to give the house an aged look?

A. I think you referring to the art of "Distressed" effects. Takes some practice and skill, and will most definitely add additional time and money to the project.

Q. What other important information should I know before painting a house.

A. Preparation. Preparation & preparation is everything to achieving a high quality paint job that will last for years...

For the most professional and longest lasting paint job (but will add great cost to the project), remove all paint ie Get back to bare wood, then prepare the bare wood for painting - filling cracks, holes, sanding to a smooth finish...

To save some money on the preparation stage you can leave existing paint on (but only the paint that is still well adhered to the wood). Remove all chipped, loose paint. Fill cracks and holes. Sand to a smooth finish, including the existing painted surfaces. Paint any bare wood with wood-primer...

If you encounter any damp, rotten, etc wood during the preparation stage, I highly recommend removing it. When doing so, cut 150mm (6inch) past the last sign of damage ie Get back to good, solid wood. Preferably re-patch with the same wood species.


Lever for hot/cold water not turning to full capacity The cartridge for my rental unit was recently changed by a plumber. However my water pressure is weaker than it was with the original 15 yo worn out one.
Also the lever to adjust the temp is stiff and does not move all the way to full capacity on the hot side. It should go all the way to the end of the red color and it’s maybe 3/4.
Also when turned on to cold the water itself barely comes on until I turn it counter clockwise closer towards warm.

are you talking about the shower mixing valve?  if so, they have an internal bushing with teeth that can be pulled out and turned, then put right back in to allow for hotter water.  check the instructions that came with the new valve for adjusting the water temp. you'll just need the appropriate size allen wrench to take off the handle and a philips screwdriver to remove the bushing to turn it.
low pressure could be a number of issues.  If you have a pressure reducer, a couple turn to shorten the screw could add some pressure for you.  also could be solder stuck in the pipes if he didnt flush them out.


Replaced outlet, no power to that circuit I am not electrician. I am a DIYer and have some experience with replacing breakers, doing basic electrical work, but nothing really "advanced".

An outlet was recently cracked, and my roommate went to replace it while I wasn't home. I am told he didn't turn off the breaker, but when I came home nothing on that circuit was working. I had assumed the breaker was broken from not turning it off, so I replaced it with a new one. Still not working. I checked to make sure the new outlet was wired correctly, and it was.

It's the second outlet in the circuit, I think. It is second closest to the breaker box, so I assume it is second in the circuit.

Anyway, does anyone think I should get an electrician, or can I at least rule out some other causes, or fix this myself?

If you are correct that nothing on that circuit is working (including an outlet closer to the circuit breaker panel) then something would appear to be wrong at the panel.

I wonder if perhaps you got the wrong breaker and the actual breaker for this circuit is sitting in the tripped position? Sometimes it can be useful to flip each breaker on and off one at a time (of course that can play havoc with whatever else is on those circuits, such as computers wot don't have a UPS).

If it was only that outlet and ones further down I would suspect that the incoming wires are not correctly connected or the outlets have been separated by breaking off the tabs between the two receptacles.


Why do my lights stay on after adding one to a three-way circuit? I have a two-year-old home with an unfinished basement that I wanted to add a few recessed LED lights to an existing run of four traditional light bulb fixtures.
When I completed the wiring and flipped the breaker, the lights work fine, but now the switches don't turn the lights off.
The original run was 14-2 from power to light fixture, 14-3 from that light to another light fixture and split of 14-2 to lower switch and 14-2 to the next light with two additional lights before terminating at the top of stairs switch.   The lower switch has a 14-2 and a 14-3 running out of it.
In the new run, I removed the 14-3 between the two lights but did not change the original wiring from the box to the first fixture or the wiring from the switch to the middle of the run.  Basically, my four lights replaced the first two in the run. I'm not sure why there was 14-3 just between two lights at the start of the run.
Also, I did tie the 4th light into just one of the lights in the middle so not in series, but not sure if that is the issue or the 14-3.
I do have a book on wiring but didn't see my particular problem in the discussion on 3-way switches.  I truly appreciate any help.  Thanks.

OK, I notice that in the "junction" box, you have matched up all black wires and all white wires. As if you expected that all wires just come naturally color-coded like that.  No, that does not happen, unless you do it yourself.

Designing a 3-way+lamp complex is not that hard.  Certain wires have to go certain places, and they have conventional color codes.  But the wires don't come that way by default, so you must forcibly "take over" the wire colors by remarking.
And by "must" I mean for the sake of doing sure, steady and efficient work when you are a novice. Code doesn't actually require re-marking, unless the wire is white.
Further, the topology of the cables must be "Tree" or "Vine".  It cannot ever be "Loop".  For instance your drawing shows a 14-2 running from the light to the upstairs switch.  Nosirree, can't do it.
The 3-way rules (and conventional colors)
You can take a blank sheet of paper, draw the boxes, draw cable routes connecting them, and then add the wires to this diagram as needed.  Draw each one:

two (2) Travelers YELLOW must connect all switches, in string fashion. 2 wires here. There's no need to distinguish one from the other, so they are both yellow. They go on the brass screws of 3-ways.*

Always-hot BLACK must connect the power source with one of the 3-way switch "commons".

Switched-hot RED must connect the other 3-way switch "common" with all of the lamps.

Neutral WHITE must connect the power source with all of the lamps.  Switches installed or wired post-NEC 2011 also need neutral wired to one switch (see dashed line here), that's for smart switches.

So draw all that out.  Once you do this, it will become perfectly apparent which cables need how many wires, and how to remark them so they are colred by function.  You can also see what went wrong in your junction box.
Most of the time it will work out "nice and neat" in the sense that no cable will need more than three wires.
Sometimes, you get into a jam where you need 4 or 5 wires in a cable.  (for instance, if we were trying to deliver switched-hot (RED) and neutral (WHITE) to the upper right lamp via the 3-way switch cable, we'd need 5 wires - whoopsadaisy!)  The solution is to rearrange the cable topology so the 3-way switches are a "spur line" - a branch that contains all the switches and only switches.  This sometimes means running a /3 alongside a /2, but them's the breaks.  I believe your setup came to you that way.  The wires up the spur need to all be /3 cable (the first segment to bring neutral to a 3-way, and the other segment for 2 travelers and a common).
Other times you'll get a happy accident where you need black, red, white and by golly, that's what's in the cable!
When you build it for real, use the tape to mark the wires. Believe me, you'll thank me next year when you're trying to troubleshoot it.
Marking rules for white wires.
A wire which didn't start hot can never be re-marked to white.   However white can be reused as a hot wire if neutral is not present, but there's a pecking order to it.

White must be neutral if neutral is in the cable.
Otherwise, if always-hot (black) is in the cable, white must be always-hot.  Often you have a black-white cable and you need black-red, and you can't mark the white to red, you must mark the white to black and the black to red.
White can never, ever be switched-hot (red).
If you have 2 travelers and always-hot, white must be always-hot (and must be marked).
If you have 2 travelers and switched-hot, white must be a traveler (and be marked).


Type of insulation for flexible aluminum duct? I’m replacing an undersized bathroom exhaust fan with a larger one that has a higher CFM.
When switching the fan out, I want to add insulation to the flexible aluminum duct that goes from the fan to the roof. The duct is roughly 3 11/32” in diameter and 10’ long.
All the articles and videos I’ve seen online on insulating ducts tends to show a plastic-like flexible duct with a fiberglass insulation wrap, which makes me wonder whether there is some issue I haven’t thought about related to adding the same kind of insulation to a flexible aluminum duct.
I was hoping someone could confirm that the same methods apply for flexible aluminum ducts, and also any recommendations for insulation to use.

Insulated flexible plastic ducting is a common item available at any big box hardware store. Unfortunately not so much for preinsulated flexible aluminum ducting.
Sometimes code prohibits the use of non-metallic flexible ducting (for example often with range hood exhausts)
First I would check whether non-metallic ducting is allowed for your bathroom exhaust. If it is, then just purchase the insulated new ducting. This will be the easiest
If you are required to use metallic ducting, and the run isn't too long, then I have had good luck buying the insulated non-metallic ducting one size larger. You can then sleeve it over the metallic ducting. Sometimes it fits straight away, but sometimes you need to pull the inner ducting out leaving just the fiberglass lined sleeve.
Secure along the run with occasional zipties, and tape and tie at both ends.


Replace window with New Construction window I am looking to replace some windows. The current ones are quite old and the wood trim/etc around the windows are decent..but a low decent. (not great). Now I do know I could just replace them with the 'pocket' or 'builders' version which uses the existing trim and just fits in place. My only concern is that the windows and trim is not the greatest and I don't trust that those are in good enough shape to keep.

Now the question is if I replaced it with a new construction, what would I have to do to install them without needing to replace siding? My Concern is if I replace the windows, they will be too small that I will need to add siding to fit them into their previous opening.

You almost certainly can't use New Construction windows without at least removing some siding. This type of window is intended to be installed before the siding is on, so you can integrate its built-in flange with the wall's water-resistive barrier (tar paper or Tyvek housewrap, usually) using tape and good lapping, all of which requires several inches of space on all sides to work. If you're not planning to remove the siding to expose your wall's WRB, then there is no advantage to using a new construction window.

With Replacement windows, you can order them in whatever size you want, so getting a window that's too small shouldn't be a concern.


What type of screws should I use in framing an area for a drywall patch? As is evident in my previous posts, I'm in the process of framing an interior wall for drywall patch repair. I'd like to know what types of screws to use for connecting new 2x4's.  When I visited our hardware store, I was surprised at how many different types there are (exterior, deck, drywall, etc).  I also wasn't sure what kind of thread size the screws should be.

Any thoughts?

-M

It sounds like you need a screw primer.

Strength is of very little importance here. There will be no serious loads on these screws. So anything that goes through the 2x4 into the existing framing. Since 2x4 stock is only 1.5 inches thick, you need a screw at least 1/2 inch longer than that. A really long screw is a detriment here, since it takes longer to drive, more friction, etc. So is a thick screw. I'd buy 2 or 2.5 inch screws for this. Since you will be drilling at an angle through the wood, 2.5 is probably better. Again, you don't need the holding power of a 3 inch long screw here.

Wire size is important. This defines the thickness of the screw. You will see numbers like #6, #8, and #10. Bigger numbers mean a thicker, stronger screw, that will displace more wood fibers. So thick screws take more effort to drive, but they are stronger. Requiring more effort to drive means it wears out your arm and the battery in your driver more quickly. Typically, you will be able to buy screws in a length of at least 2 inches as #8 screws. Even a #6 screw would be entirely adequate here.

Next, I'd go with square drive (Robertson drive.) A square drive screw is nice, in that you can stick it on the end of the bit, and it will stay there without you needing to hold onto the screw. It is better when you are working in tight places. Square drive screws are far less likely to strip out the head (cam out) than are Phillips drive screws. Believe me, once you use square drive, you won't go back.

There is no need to pre-drill holes for these screws. Pine 2x4 stock is soft as screws go. If I was putting a 2 1/2 inch screw through that much dry white oak or rock maple, a pilot hole would be necessary, even mandatory. Not here.

How will you drive these screws? A manual screw driver will work to drive a couple of screws. But I'll quickly grab a battery powered drill or even a powered screw driver for a job like this. 12 volts is nice, but 14.4 or 18 volts is better, but heavier. Remember, smaller batteries mean occasional recharges and battery swaps, but a lighter tool.

Finally, there are many stainless screws you will find on the market. Stainless steel is great for some applications, for example exterior decking, driven into pressure treated wood. But stainless is relatively soft. I can tear off the head of a stainless deck screw if I over-torque it. Just get a basic steel screw, made for general construction application.


Do I need to fill the gap of a wide tv mount hole? First time mounting a TV here. The Mounting Screw Holes at the back of my TV is wider than the M6 screw that it takes. I was wondering if I need to fill the gap with a spacer or something else when mounting the brackets. Any help will be appreciated.

This is how it looks:

As long as the mount bracket is secured solidly to the TV, and not putting lots of pressure on one particular spot of the plastic chassis, no, you don't need spacers.

I've had mounts that come with spacers but it really just depends on the design of the TV and mount. If you can notice the plastic flexing while you put the mount on, then you should probably consider spacers or a different style mount.


Framing interior non-bearing wall with 24" on center for sound proofing I'd like to sound proof a few interior walls in my house using the techniques for the 52 STC here (http://www.soundproofingcompany.com/soundproofing-solutions/soundproofing-walls/) which is basically 24" o.c. framing with R13 insulation and doubled 5/8" drywall with green glue product in between and acoustic chalk and putty pads.

My question is can I build a 2x4 stud wall with 24" on center and meet code? I'm in North Carolina.


Ground rod for detached sub panel My contractor sunk a length of rebar in the footing of my shop to be used as ground rod for the sub panel.  I'm not sure but I suspect its just a 10 ft. length of rebar, and isn't tied into the rest of the rebar.

Can this be used as the only ground rod for my sub panel, or will I need to add another one?

You didn't say where you live, but the National Electrical Code applies to most areas of the USA. Check your state and local codes for any modification to this. The NEC is clear on this subject.
If the re-bar is not connected by tie wires to the rest of the re-bar and is less than 20 feet long you will need another grounding electrode. It also needs to be in the concrete footing or slab that is in direct contact with the earth, it cannot be separated from the earth by a vapor barrier (plastic) or insulation. Check the informational note.
From the National Electrical Code 250.52(A)

(3) Concrete-Encased Electrode. A concrete-encased electrode shall consist of at least 6.0 m (20 ft) of either (1) or (2):
(1) One or more bare or zinc galvanized or other electrically conductive coated steel reinforcing bars or rods of not less than 13 mm (1⁄2 in.) in diameter, installed in one continuous 6.0 m (20 ft) length, or if in multiple pieces connected together by the usual steel tie wires, exothermic welding, welding, or other effective means to create a 6.0 m (20 ft) or greater length; or
(2) Bare copper conductor not smaller than 4 AWG
Metallic components shall be encased by at least 50 mm (2 in.) of concrete and shall be located horizontally within that portion of a concrete foundation or footing that is in direct contact with the earth or within vertical foundations or structural components or members that are in direct contact with the earth. If multiple concrete-encased electrodes are present at a building or structure, it shall be permissible to bond only one into the grounding electrode system.
Informational Note: Concrete installed with insulation, vapor barriers, films or similar items separating the concrete from the earth is not considered to be in “direct contact” with the earth.

Good luck!


What is indicated by a well pump temporarily recovering when shutting off the power for several hours? We have a water pressure issue in all fixtures of the house. We first replaced the whole-house water filter which helped right away, but the next morning there was almost no water (10 psi instead of the usual 30-35 psi). After making a few calls to local specialists, we tried one suggestion that seemed to help: turn off the well pump power for a few hours (more than 20 minutes seems to be required, but the shortest we've tried is 2 hours of leaving off the power). This gets us water pressure back to about 30 psi after about half an hour, but soon after it quickly drops again.
Any suggestions on what to do in this situation, or what might be happening, would be appreciated.
Other information

We are the only house on the well, in the finger-lakes region of New York State. No new houses immediately near us.
After turning the pump back on, the pressure will go up to 40-45 PSI in less than 5 minutes, and then start to drop (usually 30 PSI after half an hour or so) and down to 8 PSI overnight. However, it certainly drops faster with use. The main issue seems to be that it never seems to go back up, unless we turn off the power for a couple of hours and then back on.
House was built in 1983 or 1984, we purchased 5 years ago.
We have a submersible pump  (at least I'm pretty sure). I've attached photos below of the system, as well as the well head, though I didn't open it up yet, so I'm guessing that photo is not very informative. And it has a snake on it for a bonus!

I'm not really sure what the box/unit in the lower left corner of the first two images is, though probably not relevant.
Other information 2

This is a new problem, though this is the first time we've had 4 people at home all the time, and during a drought.

In this particular case, when the well drillers came over, they agreed with many of the comments: it was either a bad pump, or a leak. They ruled out the leak after testing the water pressure directly at the well head. The submersible pump was over 275 feet down (at the very bottom of the well). The pump was determined to be as old as the house: 36 years old, and only 0.5 horsepower.


water heater bottom element not functioning after thermostat and element change This thursday, we realized that we have a lot less hot water than before, so I went to check out the tank and sure enough, the bottom element was not heating anymore.

I did a few tests with my multimeter (granted, I really don't master its usage) and it looked like the element itself was faulty.  so I went and bought a new element and replaced the old one... no luck

So I figured the thermostat was the issue.  Bought a new one, replaced the old one, still no luck.

Now, there is one little piece that I forgot to put back when changing the element and it's basically a small bracket that links both things together which I figured was only there to hold the thermostat in place better.

To put that back in I have to unscrew the element (which means emptying the tank or having a lot of towels nearby).  Could this bracket really be what's preventing the element from heating?  Otherwise, what could it be?

PS: I know for a fact that the electricity reaches the bottom element as I got shocked a few times while poking around (I know I should be more careful)

EDIT: look at Page 10 Figure 3, TWIST-LOCK flange element part #2
http://www.giantinc.com/tech-data/manual_residential_electric.pdf

The manual you've provided doesn't show as much detail as I'd hoped, but it appears that your thermostat is identical to mine. To condense many weeks of fruitless service calls, I figured out my problem and it may help to resolve yours.

The temperature adjustment indicator may be out of kilter. The manual doesn't reference how to put it back into kilter, however.

Consider for a moment that the water temperature at the thermostat is lower than you want it. You should be able to rotate the indicator and hear as well as feel the click as the thermostat engages. You may also hear a bit of sizzling as the element heats up.

What I discovered is that the technician who installed the second thermostat showed me how to calibrate it, by turning the indicator a number of times beyond the limit of the plastic needle, then turn it back to the desired temperature. It's a hit and miss sort of thing, but if you know the water temperature at the thermostat, you can get closer.

I used an IR contact-free thermometer to get in the ball park.

Unfortunately for me the second thermostat failed and the same tech who installed thermostats three, four, five and six forgot to perform the calibration. I'm not a water heater technician and also forgot the process until all parties involved were unhappy.

After hitting the tank area with the IR thermometer and trying to understand the disparity, I had an epiphany. Cranking away on the indicator put the thermostat on the mark.

Try the turn and click method to see that you are getting a response. If you turn and get no click, turn more!

If you have to drain the tank, there should be a port on the bottom to which you can attach a garden hose to minimize the mess.


KitchenAid dishwasher not responding/requiring cold reboot I recently purchased a KitchenAid dishwasher (model KDTE334GPS0) to replace my old dishwasher. It is on a dedicated 15 amp circuit.
It randomly will not respond to button pushes. When I check the breaker, it isn't ever tripped, but I need to manually trip the breaker (cold reboot) in order for the buttons to start responding again. I would like to troubleshoot the issue a little before I reach out to an electrician. What could be causing the dishwasher to stop responding but not trip the breaker?
EDIT
I checked the power going into the appliance when the buttons are unresponsive, and there is power.  I believe that rules out the breaker being bad.

How old is the circuit breaker? I had similar problems in the past where an outlet or appliance wasn't working and the breaker appeared to be open, only to find out it in fact was tripped. I could reset it, but in a short time , I would have the same problem. It turned out that the breaker was old and weak. It would appear to be open, but with the slightest touch, it would trip. Does it take a bit of effort to trip (turn off) the breaker when you reset it? If not, then a new breaker may be the solution.


How can I remove a screw driver bit that is stuck in the chuck of my drill motor? Go ahead and laugh....
Does anyone know how to release this little screw driver bit from the chuck?
Pulling the chuck out to release doesn't work and I can't grab it with pliers.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
...yes I know...I should have used a bit extender.

Yeah, you're going to have to pull the black knurled collar forward to release the ball detent holding the bit into the impact driver.

Were it me, I'd look for a powerful magnet to touch the bit to while I pull the collar forward.


Outlets not working in bathrooms Is it possible for a fuse from the main breaker box to go bad? I have 3 outlets not working 2 in 1 bathroom and 1 in another bathroom all on the same floor. In the bathroom with 2 outlets had 1 GFCI the test or reset button wouldn’t do anything I figured if I changed it out with a new one that would fix the problem. It did not. So I changed all 3 outlets and they are still not working. They are getting power they are connected correctly. When this first happened last Sunday the breaker that all 3 lines are on felt spongy for lack of a better word. You could flip the breaker back and forth and there was no tension in the switch. After changing the outlets out the breaker feels normal it clicks when moving it back and forth. This is definitely above my basic knowledge and We do have an electrician coming to check it out. Just curious if anyone knows what this could be based off of my description.

Yes, it's entirely possible for a breaker to go bad.  The symptoms you describe are consistent with such a problem. You should replace it immediately as in this condition it may not perform as it was designed to and you could be at risk for a fire should a short-circuit occur.  When in doubt, change it out!


Replacing existing and working 3way with smart switch I m trying to replace my old 3way switch with new one, Zooz Z-Wave Plus On Off Wall Switch ZEN21 (White) VER. 2.0

Here is how my wiring looks, the color of the wires is wrong(my guess as traveller should be red):

That's why assumed what every wire is. This is how the other side of the 3way looks like :

I don't have the photo of the switch I m trying to replace but it looked exactly like the opposite side switch. Neutral was connected on one side, and line and load on the other. Assuming I was correct that white wire is Neutral.

This is the back of my new switch :

This is how I wired it now, put traveler in traveler, and neutral in neutral, as well as line and load on the other side. Again this is assuming my assumptions were correct in the first image :

I hope it does not matter in which hole I put the wires in, upper or lower ones on the backside of my new switch. As every type(neutral, traveler, line and load) has 2 holes to put the wire in

The LED light on the new switch turns on when the other side of the switch is turned off, indicating that something is not wired right :

Also turn on/off on the new switch does nothing. What am I doing wrong here? What can I try to wire this right. I mean the old simple switch worked just fine, did I buy something I can't really use on its own, or I messed up the wiring?

Edit 1:
The old switch did not make use of the 'traveler' wire, and it worked. Again provided that my guess about traveler wire is actually accurate in image 1.

Edit 2:

The light is now constantly on in this scenario, and I can turn it off and on from the other switch (black wires are touching). That would probably mean one of the black ones is traveler wire right? I think I m really close here, any ideas?

Edit 3:

Since Harper pointed to me earlier in comments guessing isn't productive. So I watched this short video to figure out configuration of my switches, there are two. I managed to have these both switches working after watching the video using 'old' switches :

1) Switch A with hot wire, and two travelers. I used exact same steps as explained in video. I do not have any red wires like in video, but person in the video said 'once you disconnect both switches and you find a switch where there is house current, thats a hot one, others are travelers'
2) Switch B(I m trying to replace this switch) with load wire, and two travelers. This is my current setup :

Two travelers into two traveler sockets, neutral from the wall into neutral, load into load. I really don't get why is this working especially because I managed to get the old switch to old switch re-wired and working. Its just how to 'map' existing working wire configuration into this new fancy switch with different labels. For example there is no socket called common, here is a photo again:

https://i.stack.imgur.com/D17GF.jpg

I think your wiring situation looks like this

I believe it is a 3-way circuit, and the lack of any red wires, indicates the person used a cheat: using two 14/2 cables paired when he should have used 14/3 (with the red wire).  So this accounts for two cables in both boxes.  This leaves only one cable in the "smart switch" box.  With only one cable remaining, that can only go to the lamp, meaning power is coming into the lamp, not the switch.  The entire 3-way complex is a switch loop.

Since all your wires are black and white, I took the liberty of adding tape to color-code the actual functions. Where a wire is taped, think like the tape color is now the wire color.   Now in any of these cables, it may be used the other way around, e.g. white for switched hot.  In the 2-cable segment, any wire  can be any of the functions.   I am guessing.

I use yellow for both messengers because they both do the same thing, are both interchangeable (you can swap them and it won't do any harm).  However they are not the same, landing both messengers on one screw terminal will not work.

Note that in the first (right) switch box, there is always-hot and switched-hot.
There is no neutral in a switch loop.  Ergo you will not have much luck making that smart-switch work.


How to tell what brand a door lock is? For rekeying locks, how can one tell what brand the locks are?

As far as I can tell there are no indications on the outside of the locks and I haven't taken them apart yet to check inside. Any tricks to this? The locks I'm interested in look pretty generic and are likely fairly old (though still working well) so it may be a lost cause and I'd need to pull them out and replace them or bring to a locksmith.

Here's one lock I'm interested in. Exterior, side, and interior view:

And another, also exterior-side-interior views:

Take that last photo to a locksmith to be sure, but my money's on a Kwikset-compatible keyway

The last photo you provide (head-on shot of the outside, with the keyway clearly visible) tells me that whoever actually made the lock is probably irrelevant -- the keyway strongly resembles one of the de facto standard Kwikset keyways that are used on low-end door locks across the USA.  (It can't be a Schlage due to the "squared" shape of the upper warding piece, and it can't be a Yale either because of the lack of a "tail" at the top of the keyway.  The warding is also not nearly paracentric (across the middle of the keyway) enough to be found on a higher-end lock -- even Schlages are a fair bit this way, never mind an Abus or some other European make.)

Of course, IANAL (I am not a locksmith), so if you want to be sure, take that last photo and your keys to your friendly local locksmith and they'll be able to tell you far more confidently than I can what you've got.  They almost certainly will be able to rekey a Kwikset-compatible lock as well, as they're compatible with most "generic" lock pins out there.


How does decalcifying work, and is it something I need? We recently had to replace our water heater because of lack of hot water, age (12 years to the day almost) and sediment build up (it was higher than the lower element; we purchased the home 7 months ago). While the plumber was here (we had extreme difficulty getting the elements out to initially change that we opted to call in a professional) he told us that our pipes are most likely in need of decalcifying, which is a product they sell for just over $2000. We are not handy people, nor do we know a lot about plumbing which is why I am asking lots of questions to get some answers before going forward with such a large purchase. Can anyone tell me about this process, if it is needed, if it is something we can sit, etc etc.

There is no relationship between tank sediment and pipe calcification. Unless he was able to show you how your pipes are actually constricted, such as where they connect to the water heater, there is no way anyone can know there is such a problem.

Unless you were shown obvious evidence of build up, this sounds like a complete scam to me from what little information you've provided. I would never call these people again.

AFAIK, calcium build up only occurs where very hard water is exposed to air, it does not build up inside of pipes. You may recall seeing elaborate calcium formations near commercial hot springs built up over decades by spraying hard water out of a small pipe. Despite the huge build up outside, the pipe continues to flow without evidence of obstruction after decades of use.


Is it possible to relocate my water heater? I'm planning a complete refit of my bathroom, hopefully converting to a wet room, and I just wanted to get some idea of my options.

The bathroom is (sadly) very small, around 1.7m x 2.3m. This is not helped by the fact the hot water tank with immersion heater takes up one corner of the room. (0.7m square)

I'm also assuming the fact I wouldn't be able to damp proof the cupboard (and hence would have a second perimeter door) would make it more tricky to convert to a wet room.

I'm fairly sure the boiler in the kitchen is not a combi boiler at present.

What are my options, how difficult to achieve, preferable for decent hot water supply?

Can I move the hot water tank into the loft?
Can I move the hot water tank into the garage? (Kitchen wall partially shared)
Can I remove the hot water tank if I go over to combi? (or have I misunderstood what I need to change over to hot water "on demand"?)
Something else?

I'd love to get the space back into the bathroom, and I really would like to go wet room with walk in if at all possible.

UK based if it makes any difference for the building regs etc.

Regulations, Regulations, Regulations. However, your existing boiler should have been installed under some previous regulations so changing over to a combi and getting rid of the tank stuff shouldn't be a problem for a qualified gas safe engineer. One of the safety aspects is "Ventilation", but you already have a boiler in place so spend a bit of money on getting legal/professional advice and then invite 3 companies to quote you. Good luck


We painted new drywall before it was primed. Now I am painting a few years later and some of that paint peeled off. How do I fix this? A few years ago we painted some drywall without priming it. Currently we are redoing the room with different colors. I am a novice painter so I put masking tape on that wall to have a clean Edge on the adjacent wall. When I pulled the tape off a lot of that paint on unprimed drywall came off. Are there any options besides removing all of the old paint? I have scraped some of it and got it to a point where it's on a little better. It seems to be the worst at top of wall.

Additionally, as I scrape the paint off the drywall have noticed that the drywall seems to be powdery. The guy that did the drywall is extremely anal about dust so I don't think it's from when it was originally done. Soft maybe a better way to describe it. My scraper easily digs into the drywall.

Paint that has not properly adhered to the surface below could definitely peel off with the slightest touch. Depending on conditions, any masking tape might cause this; however I would suggest using high quality painter's masking tape to minimize the chances.

The soft material you have encountered under the peeling paint is the drywall joint compound used to cover edges, corners, and joints when drywall is installed.

I am afraid that you are in a tough spot now that it has begun to peel. You need to make sure the paint that is most unstable is removed, or it is likely to peel off in the future, including when you repaint the wall. Then you will need to:

sand the areas where sound paint meets substrate until the interface is smooth, then prime and repaint.

OR

use a wide trowel/mud knife to apply one or more coats of drywall finishing mud (sometimes called topping compound) to the peeled area, sanding after each coat, until the wall is smooth and free of visible imperfections. Then prime and repaint.


How can I put a drain hose through a basement wall or window? I am putting a dehumidifier in our basement, but need to drain it to the outside.

Purely anecdotal, and I'm not claiming it's necessarily correct: When I put in a permanent "exhaust" for my sump pump, I did so essentially the same way the exhaust for my drier vent had been installed: I found an appropriate spot on the outside wall between the basement ceiling rafters, well above the sill and several feet above ground level. I ran a foot-long drill bit through from inside to outside; that gave me alignment marks. I then came at it from both sides with a Forstner bit, using that alignment-mark hole as the centerpoint. I believe I needed an extension on the bit's shaft to reach deep enough to complete the hole. Ran the pipe (with appropriate mounting brackets) from pump to outside, installed the outside bend and the adapter to a flexible hose to route water away from the house, and air-sealed the hole around the penetration.

As with the dryer exhaust, another alternative would have been to sacrifice a pane of a basement window, replacing it with plywood and running the pipe through a hole in that. I didn't like that solution. (The basement gets little enough natural light as it is.)

Note that a dehumidifier doesn't have to drain to outside. Mine drains into the sewer via a hose to the washer's drain pipe. (Actually, in its current location it drains to the same pump that my boiler's condensate drains to, which moves the water to the washer drain, but it comes out to the same thing.) Using the city drains isn't legal for sump pumps in my area, but it's entirely legitimate for the dehumidifier -- just as if the dehumidifier was filling its own tank which you periodically emptied into a sink.


Can flies get in the house from the septic tank? I recently bought a house which is completely empty, no food or anything, but a constant source of dead house flies is found on the floors. How can they be getting in?

I checked all the windows and doors which are tight. The chimney damper is tight. The house has no attic. All the windows and and sills in the basement are tight. Also, there are tight doors in the basement and no dead flies there, so I do not think they are entering through the basement.

The only thing I can think of is that they are coming through the septic tank, but I thought all the drains are supposed to be sealed off with P-junctions. Is there a way I can test to see if there is an air pathway from the septic tank into the house?

The flies could be getting in from the septic tank if one or more P-traps has dried out. If a P-trap that has completely dried you could check it by pushing something flexible down the drain a few feet and see if it is wet when you withdraw it.

Unfortunately a P-trap does not need to have completely dried out to in order to lose its effectiveness in blocking the drain of updraft from the septic tank. So in this case you may be better off to simply run a good bit of water down each drain in the whole house and then re-evaluate the fly problem sometime later.

Keep in mind that flies could be entering through:

Furnace vents.
Chimney/fireplace.
Plumbing vent stacks (also related to dried out P-traps).


Name of Blunt Tip Sheet Metal Screw I was replacing the heating element on my old Jenn-Air and I lost an important screw. It is a #8 3/8" long blunt-tip hex head screw holding two pieces of sheet metal together. The head fits a 1/4" socket.

Does this type of screw have a name?

Worst case, I will find a sharp-point sheet metal screw and grind off the tip. I can't see what is on the other side, but it might be important not to penetrate too far.

A hex head is desired since they are fairly inaccessible (without further disassembly).

That would be a Hex head #8 3/8"  sheet  metal screw.

Take your photo with you to the hardware store and find one.

I am not sure that having a blunt tip is a necessity. It is ?

Maybe you can steal one from elsewhere on the unit where it is not critical.