Installed Ceiling Fan, Now Light Switch Not Working Properly Last night I switched a ceiling light fixture with a Ceiling Fan. Before it was just a light fixture and it was controlled from a switch on the wall; one of two switches on the same switch plate/panel (so a double switch). The two switches controlled two different ceiling light fixtures.

Now that the Ceiling Fan is in, one of the switches does nothing and the other controls both the Ceiling Fan and Light Fixture. I've tried researching the issue however my search terms always resulted in tutorials on how to have a Ceiling Fan with Lighting controlled by two separate Switches.

There were only three wires in the ceiling box; red, green, and white. The green is the ground ostensibly (given how it was connected). There is a remote control kit installed for the fan. The red and white cables are connected to corresponding red and white cables on the kit box; which in turn has three wires which connect to the actual Ceiling Fans wiring.

Any and all help appreciated. The unit is a Harbor Breeze (0152426). I strongly suspect the problem lies with the wiring for the wall switch unit. Some pics for clarity:

Here is a picture of the switch with the panel off (original wiring); it is the switch on the left that does nothing and the one on the right which now turns on and off a ceiling light and a then the Ceiling Fan which itself was a ceiling light prior:

Here is the wiring for the Ceiling Fan:

Another thing that seriously needs to get corrected is the totally unacceptable workmanship of the wire attachment at the switches. The wire insulation should be right up at the screw head. The tail end of the wire should only extend out from under the screw heads by a very small amount.

If this wiring was prepared by someone that you paid to do the work you should take proper recourse to get them back to correct this extremely shoddy work.

If you have no recourse then you owe it to yourself, for safety and peace of mind, to get this mess cleaned up.


Bath room exhaust fan not working. The light is working on a separate switch right next to the fan switch I tested the fan and there is power. However the switch to the fan has no power. The light switch next to the fan switch is working.  Could there be a problem between the exhaust fan and the switch to block the power?

I have repaired dozens if not hundreds of bathroom fans, flick the fan if it doesn’t spin for at least 5 seconds it needs lubricant, most are sleeved bearings and some wd40, or 3 in 1 oil may bring it back to life , I get slammed for suggestions of wd40 but it works to free things up in oil light bearings, a few drops of 15 to 40 weight motor oil will also work but it may take longer. I have got vent fans going many times with light oil or penetrating oil and even wd40 has lasted for a year or2 but a light oil is better


How can I run plumbing from house to a nearby new office 1.5m away? I am building a new office next to the house; it is about 1.5m away.  I need to run, from the house's upstairs bathroom,  1 hot, 1 cold, and radiator with return (all of which I believe are 28mm to the bathroom).

They need to come down the outside wall (2.5m ish), under the path (1.5m ish) and then back up to the office (0.5m ish).  My problem is making sure they are both insulated for heat lose and frost damage (south of England, -5°C is about the worst).

I was going to go out of the bathroom into a pipe (something like a 110mm waste); in this pipe I was going to use pieces of wood to brace the pipes in the middle of the pipe (think of a large button that would wedge itself in the waste pipe and the water pipes run through the thread holes).

I was going to use some kind of plastic pipe (what is best?).  I was also going to wrap rubber or foam around each pipe, and to top it off, fill the voids of the "waste" pipe with foam chips or beads.

In case of upcoming long nasty periods and the building not being in use, I was going to put stop valves (with stop and "bridging" valves for radiators) in the house bathroom and then draining valves in the office.  In fact, I'm not sure I will ever do this as I do not want to do the  massive bleeding task after, probably easier just to keep on low heat all winter.

Does this sound like a viable idea?  Has anyone done something similar or have another (better) solution?

I enjoy plumbing but I am in no way trained, so…

This is a very localized question.  If this situation happened in Africa it would be perfectly fine to run the line straight to other house.  The whole point is to have the pipes running through an area that won't freeze.

It will really be up to your local building code.  You want to ask your local inspectors.  I have set up plumbing for exterior garages in the midwest and I have been told between 2-3 feet deep.  But I am not sure they cared that much since everything external I have done was garage related.   The whole point is to get the water lines below the freeze line.  I would think that the UK would have similar requirements as midwest US (maybe we are colder for longer periods).


Why is my furnace blower noisy when it starts? The blower of my furnace makes a loud noise every time it starts. I understand that a large fan and the movement of large amounts of air will produce some noise. What I am puzzled by is the noise that sounds like a "starter." The noise only lasts for about a second or two; then there is just the expected sound of blowing air.

Could it be a motor failure problem at its infancy, or could it be related to the capacitor start on the motor? The blower pushes air without a hitch. Is this a normal condition that is heard on all blower motors?

Additional details:

My system is a direct drive motor driven, "squirrel cage" type fan, hot air, oil fired furnace. I am aware of the sounds of the fuel pump and then ignition of oil rumbling in the fire box (I don't know if that's the right term) but anyway the sound that I am trying to troubleshoot is the noise when the fan motor starts (my best description is that of a car starter) It may be spelled RRen-nen-nen-nen and then just the sound of moving air after the fan gets to full speed. There is a capacitor on the motor, could it be a malfunctioning capacitor? I have lived in an apartment building for 30 years and now in a single family dwelling, and have never heard any heating system noises. My concern is in what to replace; motor & capacitor, or just motor, or just capacitor or is that just a noise that I am going to have to get used to?

Maybe you have a belt that is slipping. It might make noise until the blower starts spinning. It you have a belt, check the tension.


How do I mount a TV bracket to a plasterboard/drywall ceiling? I'm really just looking to confirm what I assume is the best way to do this.

I don't know what the total weight will be but the bracket is rated for 30kg (66lbs), so let's assume the TV is the heaviest possible for the bracket.

My understanding is that I need to find a (wooden) joist above the plasterboard using a stud finder, and then mount the bracket to this. I don't have any screws with the bracket though, so is there anything specific I should buy for the actual mounting? Are a few heavy duty, long wood screws going to be sufficient?

If it helps this is on the top floor so I can access the joists from the attic.

Thank you so much for the help.

If you are able to mount enough screws into the joists then that might be sufficient.

However, you'll inevitably find that the joists aren't in the right place to match the screw holes in the bracket properly and using bolts will be more secure, as your tv is pretty heavy.

Having access above is great though. Personally I would mount some study batons from above attached to the joists exactly where you want them, then bolt the bracket through the ceiling into the batons.

So...

find exactly where on the ceiling you want the bracket to go and mark on the ceiling where you want the bolt holes to go.
drill small holes through the ceiling at the marked points (you can then shove something like straws or bbq skewers into the holes and leave them there to make finding the holes easier from above).
go into the attic, find the holes and note their position.
get something like some 2x4 and make batons/a frame that will go between the joists, directly above the holes (making sure that the holes won't go at the edges of the batons).
Securely attach the batons to the joists, making sure that they are pressed right down against the plasterboard. (Exactly what the last two steps look like will depend on the positioning and alignment of your joists relative to the holes. Play it safe and go sturdier than you need, it'll be ugly but hidden in your attic).
go back down and drill the holes again going through your new wooden supports and wide enough for your bolts.
bolt on the bracket. Get a friend with one of you above and below. Alternatively you can use something like coach bolts on to, but this will be trickier.
mount tv. Sit back, relax and realise there's nothing on anyway.


Wiring up a switch for recessed lights using only 1 ROMEX pair Forgive this crude diagram

Is this allowed in the US?

Can I use the white and black wires of a ROMEX wire as the two ends of black wire to the switch and take the white (in red) wire to the terminal of the recessed light and in the metal junction box of the recessed light twist the black wires together using a wire twist on.

Otherwise, I would have to run 2 romex pairs to the switch and twist the white wires together there. This was would seem to save me some ROMEX.

Not any more. You are describing a two-wire switch loop that used to be allowed, but now is not.

First your diagram shows black and red wires. One of them should be white (neutral), the other black or red (hot).

Current code requires that switch boxes have a neutral wire, not just a hot and a switched hot. This is required, even if your switch doesn't currently need a neutral. The next device you put in that box might.

Standard practice now is to use 3-wire (black/red/white + ground) cable to the switch. Black and red are the active lines, and the white is capped off if not needed.


Does mirror like wallpaper suitable for a mini dance studio at home exist? I live on my own and because I'm a dancer I want to use one of my spare rooms as a good rehearsal space. What I want to do is cover at least one of my walls there in a mirror-like wallpaper or something so that I can see my reflection really well. I can't afford a lot at the moment. I cant buy a huge mirror because they're expensive so I was thinking about a huge mirror sticker.

You can get chrome mirror finish vinyl (with a self adhesive backing). To get an effective mirror effect on a wall though, the wall would need to be very smooth, or it would easily show distortion - think a "hall of mirrors" type effect.

Signwriter suppliers would be the place to look for it.


Would a normal ethernet cable survive the conditions in an air conditioning vent? I am currently renting a flat, which prevents me from making modification to the walls. However, I still would like to run ethernet cables between rooms. Between all the rooms, there are AC vents connecting them together. Assuming that the ducts are simple air ducts without any moving parts inside (need to check), would a normal ethernet cable "survive" the conditions? I think the maximum air temperature would not exceed 60 degrees celsius.

Lastly, the the building is located in Spain.

Outdoor rated cat5/6 has temperature ranges from -5 to -15 F to 160-170 F.  I know that I have seen cable ran through commercial ducts.  Do I know if it passed local inspection?  No.

That being said a home duct would come no where close to 150 degrees F - not talking about duct work from ovens.  I guess you would worry about the casing becoming soft and sticking to the duct.  I don't see the fire hazard though.

Basically the issue is - is this code or law abiding where you live?  In the US that is a no.  I don't know about other countries though.

I was just answering the question asked.  Not trying to start a controversy - would I run it in my home through ducts?  No.  If I did I would use a variant of fireproof cat5.


How to replace beam with supporting wall I have an old beam in my barn/garage. The building has a second story, so it is the main support for the center of the building. I want to remove this beam because its very old, and replace it with a supporting wall.
How do I do this?

I wouldn’t remove the posts. The posts have footings that support the loads from the beam.
If you remove the posts and build a wall, you’ll need to install a footing under the new wall.
I’d just build a non-structural infill wall under the beam.


Can you install a wall ontop of a travertine floor? Can you install a 2x4 wall that is 13' long on top of a travertine tile floor? Or do I need to cut the tile and mount the bottom stud right to the cement? This will not be a load bearing wall.

I am no expert but I am going to put an 8 foot high pantry wall on top of an oak wood floor. I don't expect to have any problem. I have no idea if it meets code. In the case of travertine this is what I think:

It depends on the load you expect and what your floor is made of. Since your floor is concrete it should work but you still need to drill through the tile to make an attachment to the concrete. Oversize the hole through the tile only. You may still get cracks from the drilling. I would also think it is a good idea to put some adhesive underneath the walls bottom plate to even out the tile/joint irregularities and reduce the stress on tile high spots. Keep in mind if you decide to cut the tile you might still get stress fractures in the tile from the cutting process. You can easily cover up any small cracks that run the length of the wall with molding. If it were me I would do it, but like I stated earlier I am no expert.

on the finehomebuilding forum they seem to agree.


Can I build a French drain with old concrete and brick instead of rock? Can I use old pieces of concrete (broken up cinder block) and old brick instead of rocks in the construction of a French drain?

I'm thinking of building a French drain that leads to a dry well to drain a small kitchen sink I'll be adding to a backyard studio.

If these materials are OK to use instead of rock, I assume they should be broken up nearly as small as rocks?

These materiasl will work. Lining the trench with landscape fabric and wrapping it over the top (of the rubble) will keep silt from clogging your drain.  For higher volume flow, I'd add a perforated pipe at the bottom, but it's surely overkill for just a sink.

Definitely make your rubble somewhat uniform, for best support for the overburden (assuming you are burying the drain).


How can I patch a hole in a painted wood paneling (or plywood wall)? We just moved into a ranch house that's well over 100 years. Unfortunately our family made some unusual improvements to it while the last five generations were living there (during various decades).

In the master bedroom it was decided that there was more than enough room to add a bathroom WITHIN the footprint of the master bedroom. They accomplished this by basically framing-out a closet with wood studs and using plywood instead of drywall.

HERE'S THE PROBLEM: I just removed the huge medicine cabinet/mirror/outlet-strip/built-in-vanity-light so I can install a modern mirror and light fixture. Underneath it, I discovered an unwanted surprise. It appears they had used a saw of some sort to cut a huge 6" hexagonal hole on the far left side of the plywood wall, then the exposed wires had been run out of this hole and spanned about 12" behind the "mirror" to it's hard-wiring source at the top.

So now I have a giant hole to patch/fill in a plywood wall that I can't replace.

The hole isn't going to be hidden by the new mirror and is too weird of a spot to hang a picture.

How can I patch this hole? It's going to be painted but I was told that spackle won't stick to the plywood and will crack when it dries. Plus it's way too big a hole to simply spackle.

The process for patching should similar to drywall, but with slightly different materials. I'd suggest using wood filler at the joint.

In more detail: first, get a new piece of plywood of the same thickness as the existing wall board. Then you need to attach your patch piece to structure. For this, you have two options.

Cut away more of the existing plywood until you've exposed some structure you can fasten into.
Cut some lumber to span the opening, and attach it using screws through existing plywood around the opening. Then cut your patch and mount it to the spanning pieces.

If the hole is only 6" wide, a small piece of 2x4 or even 1x2 and a plywood patch will probably cover you.

To seal the seams between your patch and existing plywood, use wood filler. Fill with a putty knife, sand flat, prime and paint. Assuming you can find a 4ft x 2ft plywood panel of the appropriate thickness, total materials cost should be around $20-$30.


What conduit and wire for an outdoor outlet directly to outdoor breaker panel? I would like to add an outdoor receptacle directly to my outdoor breaker panel for some simple string lights. The idea would be to install new breaker, run flexible conduit from knockout on bottom of panel up to just beside the panel and into an outdoor rated single gang box and outlet cover. The conduit run would likely be less than 3 feet.

Can I use 1/2" or 3/"4 flexible PVC conduit and will I need THHN or THWN rated 12 gauge wire, black/white/ground? 15 amp breaker and 15 amp GFCI outlet?

I have 12/2 cable but understand I can't run it through the conduit. I'm in Colorado if local codes differ greatly.

Open to suggestions!

Sure. What you're talking about is similar to the "Electrician's Outlet"... an outlet right next to the panel which is fed by a dedicated breaker. So the electrician can plug in portable lights etc. when the rest of the house is turned off for maintenance.   That's pretty much standard practice for interior panels.

The electrician's outlet just uses a conduit "nipple" (prefab short pipe) that gives you an inch or so of length, so you get far enough away from the panel so the covers don't jam.

One common trick I see is using an offset nipple, which is about 2" long and has a small zig-zag. The offset isn't used for anything, it's just a handy, pre-made 2" nipple lol.

But if you want to run conduit a little farther and make it 3' away, that is fine.   I recommend planning on water getting into the pipe, and exiting the bottom of the panel in a "drip loop" sort of deal.

Any outdoor recep is going to need an outdoor in-use cover.

You cannot use Romex (actually NM-B) in conduit because Romex (NM-B) is not rated for outdoor use.  Also, there's a size issue: you must treat any cable as a single round wire of the large diameter (because it twists), and that makes it too big for many conduits.  UF cable is allowed outdoors, but it's even thinner and wider than NM-B, and that makes it require HUGE conduit!

I'm not really sure what people's hangups are with THHN, it's really, really wonderful stuff, especially stranded.  You'll never want to alligator-wrestle Romex again!  The only snag with stranded is it's hard to hook over screws, but GFCI receps have screw-to-clamp terminals, and that makes it easy.

If you run #12 wire you are welcome to use either a 15A or 20A breaker as long as it's a dual 15A recep.  (a 20A recep is also acceptable on a 20A breaker).

All the THHN I own is 12 AWG (except for the larger stuff obviously). I don't see any reason to own it any #14. #12 works for #14 and now I only have to stock one thing.


Breaker trips immediately I am new to this site and appreciate all your help.  I tried to replace a light fixture in one bedroom with a newer, heavier one.  The house was built in 1971 and has 2 circuits for all the lights.  After turning off the power to the circuit that had the bedroom lights on it, I set about to replace one of the fixtures in a bedroom with a newer, heaver one.  I installed a brace and new box and then went up to wire it.

The old fixture box had 3 cables of 12/2 coming into it. With power on, I used my voltage tester on each wire coming into the old box and discovered that all neutrals were hot as well as the blacks in the other cables.  However, after I cut the soldered wires off and then checked again each wire with the voltage tester, I discovered that on one of the 3 cables coming in, the black wire was hot, the neutral was not hot (I'll refer to this as "sparky".  This neutral had been "made hot" by the soldering of it with a hot wire.

So, I went about to connect the 3 cables again, making all three of them all hot like the electrician before me did.  To do this it didn't seem to me to matter which wires were wired together since all were going to be hot anyway, right?

So I created two groups, each with one (originally hot) wires and an equal number of white wires and grounded all grounds together to the new metallic box, then made sure to pigtail between the 2 groups.  I wasn't particular which wires from which cable went to the 2 groups, since on the old box, each wire was hot anyway.  I then tied all grounds to the metalic box.

When I threw the power, the breaker tripped immediately.  I am not sure what I failed to understand.  But I obviously did something wrong.  Any advice would be appreciated.

Here’s 3 photos of the switch loop that I cut out.

Mistakes were made. It happens.

taking apart apart all the wires instead of just the 2 conductors the lamp was actually attached to (other than ground). This happens a Lot.
not taking photos before the fact.
"White" is a color.  "Neutral" is a function. Confusing them.  The trouble is, cables are manufactured only with certain colors (white and black), and you are stuck with those colors even though the wires will in fact have a variety of functions.

Ideally, you re-mark the wires with colored tape - black for hot, red for switched-hot, yellow for messengers, blue/purple/green/etc. for alternate hots, or whatever scheme you prefer.   However the vast majority of "in a hurry" high-production installers never do that.

Now in residential cables, there are special rules: white/gray can be reused/remarked as hot wires, but colored wires cannot be reused as neutrals.  Nothing can be remarked as a ground, and green/bare can't be remarked, so green tape on a black wire makes it still a hot.

In a switch loop, it's common practice (and now Code) to make the white the always-hot, to help the next guy identify it as not a neutral (since a voltage tester will reveal hot all the time, even if the switch is off.)  The other wire in a switch loop is switched-hot, neutral is not present, (but is now required in new construction to support smart switches).

"switch loop" is the word I want you to Google, because this is where things went wrong in this setup.  One of the wires coming back from the switch is actually "switched hot", as is the hot wire to the lamp obviously.  Mark those red.  Once you have done so, then you can match by color.


How to determine if a circuit breaker has GFCI I recently discovered none of the grounds in the three-prong outlets in my house are connected to anything.  AFAICT the only way this is allowed without GFCI outlets is to have GFCI circuit breakers and then a sticker on the outlets with "no equipment ground."

Is there anything on the circuit breakers that indicates GFCI, generally?

They'll typically have a test button and a pigtail that attaches to the neutral bus.

Image courtesy of Amazon.com. Not an endorsement of the pictured product or vendor.


Mold and Kilz question A Kilz type product was used over some wood with black stains which we now realize may have been mold. What should we do now? Can we treat the KIlz painted wood with a mold killer now?

I would be sure and get rid of the source of the mold as the kilz did not stop it.  I am not a handy person, but, for mold I would consider a thorough job is essential to the existing mold not just painting with kilz as there are future unforseen health concerns.


There are bare copper wires in the light box? I opened the light switches and electrical outlets on the walls before the painting job and found in the metal casing boxes there were two bare copper wires attached on the same screw, they were laid across and touched each other.   Will this cause fire?  I presume they are ground wires but why do they need to touch? The house is 60 years old.

You have at least two non-metallic (NM) cables coming into that box. Each NM cable (and other types) must now have a ground wire. In the US, most of these cables have a bare copper ground wire. Sometimes you will see ground wires with green insulation, and occasionally on fixtures you will see a bare stranded wire with tinned (silver) coating.

At least one of those cables leads back to the main panel box which houses the main ground connection. The goal is to have every fixture and device (including any metal boxes) connected to ground. This is accomplished by attaching the all of the ground wires of the cables and devices at each downstream location together. This is totally correct.

These wires don't normally carry any current. Ground only would carry current if there were a failure of the other wires, and then it would serve as an emergency connection to carry the current literally to the ground rather than letting it shock a person or cause a fire. In most cases, this would trip a circuit breaker.

To be properly connected, most modern switches and fixtures should also have a ground wire. These might be bare or covered in green insulation. They also should be connected to the bare wires from the cable.

While attaching bare wires to screws is acceptable, it is generally not proper to put two wires under one screw. Usually several bare wires are connected with a wire nut or a push-in connector and an extra short wire (called a pigtail) is also bundled in. The pigtail's other end is then put under the screw of a device, switch, or box. An exception is when the wire is actually continuous, and the  wire under the screw is really just a loop rather than two separate wires (which may be your case).


How can I increase the power capacity of a kitchen circuit? My small kitchen has two standard duplex outlets in one wall: one of the outlets is in a corner behind the fridge and it's exclusively for the fridge. The other outlet (this one) is the one I use for the three small appliances (a panini maker, a small electric oven, and a microwave) plus the electric part of the gas stove (clock, oven light, etc).
I've been using a simple power cord strip similar to this, but it shuts down if I connect a small oven or the microwave.
What alternatives do I have to increase the number of plugs? I can't break the wall to install another outlet.

Know your appliances
Every one of your appliances has a nameplate or something stating its power usage.  You are looking for any of the following:

Amps (typically 5-13)
Watts (typically 200-1500)
VA (typically 200-1500)

If you get watts or VA, divide by 120. That gives us amps.
Expect most of your kitchen heat-making appliances to be 1500W, or 12.5 amps.  This is because of the UL White Book, the safety standards for making appliances: UL only allows 1500 watts from appliances which plug in.  Sometimes a microwave will be permitted 1800W, since it is guaranteed not to be run continuously.   1800W is 15 amps.
Know your power source
Look closely at your power strip.  It will state a maximum amps that it is rated for (or again, watts; you know how to convert).   I would expect 900-1800 watts (7.5 to 15 amps).
Now, go to your circuit breaker panel. Look for the circuits which feed the kitchen.  There will be a number of funny looking switches, most of which say "15" or "20" on the handle.  See if you can identify the fridge circuit and the kitchen circuit you normally use.  The number on the handle is amps - that same figure we've been working with.   That is the absolute hard-maximum capacity of the circuit for intermittent use.   If you're running continuously (3 hours or more) you should only use 80% of that.
Balance your appliances.
The nameplate is accurate on hand-held plug-in tools.  It's not so accurate on certain appliances and I'll cover them.

Refrigerators take about 1 amp when running.  A bunch more for an instant while starting, but 1 amp once running.  That's not much at all, is it, compared to other appliances?
The gas oven takes even less - 0.1 to 0.5 amp depending on if the oven light is on.
A panini maker runs at the UL limit of 12.5 amps. PIGGY!
A small electric oven runs at the UL limit of 12.5 amps.  PIGGY!
A microwave runs 12.5 to 15 amps, depending on what UL has allowed.  PIGGY!

Now, if you're doing the math, you just noticed that the oven and refrigerator Do Not Matter.  However, the three "piggies" each take 12.5A or more.  There's no way to run 2 of them without pulling 25 amps, and  that's too big for everything - too big for the power strip, too big for a 15A breaker and too big for a 20A breaker.
It ain't gonna happen. You cannot run 2 appliances at once on one circuit.  A different power strip cannot fix this. The circuit breaker downstairs will just trip instead.
What about that refrigerator circuit?
Modern Code requires that every kitchen have two 20A receptacle circuits.  I don't know if your kitchen complies.  If it does, the other circuit might be that refrigerator circuit.  Find Out.  Turn off the circuit breaker that feeds the oven and range, and see if the fridge loses power too.
If the fridge is on a separate circuit, well, fridges take very little power.  It can easily share the circuit with ONE - exactly one - piggy.
The reason we prefer to dedicate fridge circuits is we don't want another appliance causing the circuit to overload or ground-fault, and trip out the fridge while you are away or without you knowing it.
Also, it is vital that small kitchen appliances have protection called GFCI.  That protects you if an appliance falls in the sink, or has an electrical problem of some kind. That protection is useless for refrigerators - you're not likely to drop one in the sink! And it can spoil food if it has a false trip, which happens a lot with refrigerators. So fridges are often not on GFCI.  So if they told you not to use that circuit, see if that is why.  If the plug is more than 6 feet from a sink, it should be alright to use.


Wood filler for rotted areas I have a complex fascia consisting of a 1x4 over a 1x6 over a 2x8 in a stepped fashion. We have some rot issues in some locations. With one of the worst offenders, I had to replace a 16 foot area of fascia which was no easy task as the drip edge was nailed to the 1x4 through the osb roof sheathing and the corner bevel/miters were difficult to make perfect.

Elsewhere around the house, there are a few pieces rotted but none as bad, mostly either the 1x4 or the bottom of the 2x8 in max 2-4 foot sections. As I really don't want to replace all this wood I was thinking of doing a dutchman patch in these areas using my multitool to remove the rotted material.

However, I was wondering if there was some sort of putty I could use to fill rather large areas that are rotted after removing the rot. The material would have to be rather stiff so it could be formed rather deep (3/4 inch) and sticky so that it could adhere to the wood. I was thinking of kitty hair, however, other suggestions are welcome.

Spackle and wood filler wouldn't work.

Durham's Rock Hard Water Putty is a great product. You can mix it as thick as you like using water. It sticks well, but can still be formed. Dries super hard relatively quick. Easy clean up and can be sanded and painted. The best part is that it doesn't shrink.


Is a 60 amp breaker adequate for a 240v sub-panel to my garage? 150 panel in house. I want to run a 240 (sub-panel) feed to garage 25 feet away for 10,000 watt electric heater. There's room in the 150 panel. Would 60 amp breaker in the garage meet the 1.25 safety margin?

You mention two different things:

A specific appliance - 10,000 W electric heater
A subpanel

Do you actually want/need a subpanel?

If you only need to connect the heater (i.e., you have plenty of power already available in the garage for lights, receptacles, etc.), just run a circuit (wire & breaker in main panel sized appropriately) and you're done. For a 240V heater, that would likely be just two hots + ground.

If you actually want to connect a subpanel, then:

The wire & breaker in the main panel need to match - breaker protects wire, but should be sized for a larger load so that you can put other stuff in the subpanel
The subpanel should (code experts can speak up as to whether this is "should" or "must" - I'm not sure) have a disconnect mechanism, which can be a main breaker ("main" of that panel, but in the subpanel, not the 150 main panel) any size equal to or larger than the breaker in the main panel that feeds the subpanel. So you might get a panel that includes a 125A main breaker and use that even though the feed might be 100A.
To connect a subpanel you should use hot/hot/neutral/ground so that you can have 120V loads as well as 240V loads in the subpanel.
The total of all the breakers in the subpanel can be more than the feed - e.g., you could have 60A 240V for the heater and 6 x 20A 120V for lights, receptacles, power tools, etc. for a total of 120A @ 240V but as long as you do not have everything running at full load all the time.


How can I fix a bayonet light socket without replacing it? I have a bayonet light socket, in which I have managed to snap off the "teeth" that hold the globe in place.

I'm not comfortable with doing electrical work, so is there something I can do to "fix" it well enough that the bulb will stay in place?

Not really. The "teeth" are an integral part of the design and if weakened won't hold the bulb in place safely.

The best thing you can do is find an electrician who'll change the socket for you. It's a quick job so you shouldn't be charged much, but get 2 or 3 quotes to make sure you find the best.

If you're having problems with bayonet fittings then it might be worth getting it replaced with a screw cap. Even in the UK these are becoming more popular so you shouldn't have any trouble finding bulbs.


What is the meaning of inverter on air-conditioing? I am going to purchase an air condition for my home. I noticed some types of air-conditioners are AC Inverter.

What is the meaning of inverter? What I should know about it?

They are using the term "inverter" to describe the conversion of Alternating Current to Direct Current and then back to Alternating Current.

Industry uses a device called a Variable Frequency Drive to control the speed of Alternating Current motors for various purposes.

These VFD devices have become inexpensive enough to now be used to control light commercial and residential devices such as air conditioners and well pumps.

This use of a VFD in an "inverter" air conditioner makes it much more efficient than a non-inverter air conditioner since it can run at slower speed for lower demand. An old style air conditioner is either on at full speed or off. There is no speed control.

If you are updating your air conditioner then inverter technology will pay for itself over the life of the unit and save you money.

Read the article here for an overview.

Good luck!


Can I build storage in front of heaters? We're in an NYC pre-war apartment building. Under every window, there's a built in radiator:

Each has a knob that supposedly shuts the radiator off but it doesn't always work. Meaning you can tighten it down and the radiator still gets hot.

I saw a nearby real estate listing where someone had built a cabinet below their windows, creating a bench and some storage. I'm interested in trying the same thing, but I'm worried that storage over and around the hot radiators would be a mistake.

Does anyone have suggestions on insulating the radiators so that we won't be melting crayons? Or for turning them off? Anyone tried this?

Note: these photos are both from real estate listings. The first isn't our actual unit, but does show how the radiators are flush against the wall.

If the radiators are still hot you'll have to get the shut offs repaired first. The heat and the resulting drying action will raise havoc with the wood. The issue isn't so much a fire hazard as a drying hazard. The wood is going to shrink in the winter and expand in the summer. The seams and joints will split. I would also make the design so that you have access to the radiator in the event of a leak.


What type of squeegee should I use when oiling a floor? I have a pine wood floor I'm about to oil. The recommended procedure (according to the manufacturer) is:

For about 5 boards at a time:

Apply oil using a paint roller. Leave it wet for 5-10 minutes
Use a squeegee to drag the excess oil to the next boards
Dry the boards with a cloth

I've heard from two sources that the rubber on the squeegees they've used has partially dissolved in the oil, leaving black stripes on the floor.

This makes sense, since oil can dissolve rubber, so I figured I might want to use another type (if there are other types available).

However, in the pictures used to illustrate the procedure, it seems the squeegees are made of rubber.

Has anyone encountered this problem? Any suggestions for how I can avoid this?

It's the type of rubber you use for the blade.

Neoprene or Viton will not dissolve in oil. We used a heavier form of Neoprene squeegee for cleanup after mopping the garage floor to remove oil and grease in our automotive shop. Squeegee'd floors dry a lot quicker.

It's necessary to use an oil resistant synthetic rubber compound for the squeegee blade in this instance, especially if this substance has mineral oil or paint thinner as an additive. Petroleum and natural rubbers don't mix.

So window squeegees which often are natural rubber or a mix of synthetic and natural rubber are definitely out. They work extremely well on windows, just not for situations where oils are present.


How do I cover up basement rough in Can I fill in or cover up the basement rough in that I don't need in a bathroom downstairs?

First take very accurate measurements of the rough-ins and draw a proper diagram showing each of them in relation to the nearest walls. A good diagram will help you in the future but also add value to your house on resale. If I was buying a house and someone mentioned they were covered up I would treat that as having nothing. If someone could show me a diagram and I find one that I can pour water down that may save a home owner a few thousand.
Cut each out below ground level and then fill with floor leveler. If during the cutting process you are opening or exposes a PVC pipe, cap it before the floor leveler.
The other option is to try to hide them in walls but looking at yours, probably won't work.
The pipes here were never expected to be used as-is. Sometimes, maybe, but not normally. So you cutting them will have little to no damage to future use. If people know where they are at and the pipes are in good workable condition under your flooring that is 98% of it.


a cheap (and landlord friendly) way to stick a large plastic sheet on a wet wall? I'm usually using removable adhesive putty to fix stuff on the wall (mainly plastic I'm writing on). But this time the sticks don't stick on the surface because of a condensation issue (rock issue).

I can't use pins (too hard and would damage the wall: thin layer of plaster on old rocks), I can't drill holes for that (I would need 10+ holes per plastic and the landlord...).

I need to find a cheap and removable solution that would stick on my wet wall.

Any idea?

ps: the question is not about drying a wet wall.

If you have sufficient space, and in this case, it's not all that much, you could consider a modified lean-to for your purpose. A horizontal pole from which the plastic is suspended with a vertical pole at each end. The vertical poles would be vertical referenced to the horizontal sheet suspension pole, but not-vertical referenced to local gravity. Orbital dynamics are not considered in this example.

The poles would be longer than the distance from ceiling to floor and would not have to have much of an angle to keep the horizontal pole against the wall. The bottoms of each pole should be braced or have a rubber/high-friction end to keep them from sliding out. If the span is severe, it may be necessary but possibly undesirable to have a center support as well.


How close can an electric water heater and an electric furnace be to each other? How close can an electric water heater and an electric furnace be to each other?

My water heater is 7 inches from my furnace. I need 4 inches so that I can install a water softener and wash sink. So I need to know if it is OK to move the water heater over by 4 inches, so that I can put them in.

Each appliance has a specification, available from the manufacturer, on various clearances.  This number is sometimes zero, usually not, but never more than a few inches.

That said 3 inches between the furnace and water heater does not sound risky.  Water heaters stay cool compared to furnaces: the clearance to the water softener may be the bigger deal. Your water softener counts as a 'combustible' surface.


Gluing metal and glass pieces of a lamp (Artemide Demetra) I need to fix a Artemide Demetra Parete (Wall) lamp. When it was hit by accident, its arm swung against a cabinet standing next to it apparently hard enough for its cover disk to come off. As you can see in the two pictures, the cover was apparently fixed to the base by six glue spots. For what I can determine the body is made of metal, the cover of glass.

My question is this: what sort of glue (or other mechanism) is used by best-industrial-design-practice in such cases? If it is indeed a glue, it has work with metal and glass, tolerate a heat source close by, and allow removal by repair staff without a hassle.

(Don't pay attention to the white traces visible in the 2nd picture: they stem from preliminary attempts at repairing with perhaps ill-suited material that was at hand.)

UPDATE Four of the six posts are slightly higher. Their tops are metal-colored (without paint), the other two tops are white (like the rest of the body). There are no traces of any alternative material on any post. If there was any such material, it may have come off when the cover fell off, but it would seem unlikely that this happened everywhere at once. There are also two small notches adjacent to the lower posts, perhaps their only purpose was for inserting the cover at the right angle of rotation.

I would repair this by using a flexible adhesive called E6000. This is advertised to be a strong adhesive for both metal and glass.

(Picture source at Amazon Product Page)

The flexible nature of this adhesive means that it will provide some isolation between the glass part and the metal posts. Before using make sure to do a very good job of removing any old glue debris, paint or finger oils. Rubbing alcohol and Q-Tip swabs are my go-to tools for the final cleaning phase.

The E6000 adhesive can bridge a small gap but it also has a tendency to spread itself out around the site where it is applied so make sure to keep you glass plate flat (horizontal) when you set it in place on the posts. This adhesive will hold on tight to non-porous materials and yet remain peel-able for removal. I have even used it to glue magnets to the covers of white board markers so I could stick the markers to the surface of a metal white board.


Tile on the side of shower base I saw this at a hotel where they tile on the side of the shower base which is fiberglass:

My question is: Do I just tile directly on the side of the pan? How do I make the thinset to stick?

Thanks.

The curb in this picture is about 3" wide. That is enough to put under the pan a piece of 2x4 (vertically) and screw a 1/2" thick hardie backer.  Then you can use thinset to attach tiles to the hardie backer.

Do not attach your tiles to a layer that can warp, expand, or shrink.  Your tiles will crack.


Will silicone sealant not be waterproof after 14 hours? I had to silicone seal a small gap around bottom joint of our shower screen, where it is attached to the wall. We realised that a small but steady drip was soaking the floor over time. I sealed it fully about 7pm and it seemed 'set' following morning. So I used it, but still a small drip was magically seeping through.

So, could this be because after 14 hours it had not cured properly, or more likely I simply did a bad job? If it was because it was not properly cured, have I now ruined it? EIther way, can I simply plug in some more or should I start again?

Thanks for any advice guys.

The silicone was probably cured enough to be used. The problem is probably either a poor bond due to surface contamination or a leak location you haven't found.

If you wish to re-caulk, peel and scrape the existing bead away and clean with alcohol.


Why is there a white wire connected to multiple black wires in my light box? I have a total of four receptacles a ceiling fan and a light switch. My line voltage comes in from the first receptacle, then comes out at the ceiling fan, then is wire nutted to the three other receptacles and the light switch at the ceiling. I have a total of four 12/2 wires sticking out the ceiling where the fan used to be.

When I took the fan down There was one neutral wire wired to all of the hots I believe. Would the neutral come from the switch or somewhere else? The light switch controls the ceiling fan and three of the four receptacles.

It goes to the switch, technically. You have a typical switch loop where the white wire runs to the switch and returns as the black in the same cable.


Washer in front or behind cabinet panel mounted with lag screws? I'm going to be mounting a network cabinet on some studs. I was advised to use lag screws. (Not really sure what these are but I assume they are for heavy things being secured to studs).

Should I be putting washers behind the mount in front of the wall, or under the top of the head of the screw but still on the front of the mount itself (so it'd be Top Of Screw|Washer|Mounting Bracket Metal|Wall)?

Washers are almost always to 1) spread the load of the screw head to a larger area, and 2) to prevent damage to the face of the component being fastened. They can also be used as spacers, but I don't see a need for that here.

In your case, the washers go under the screw head and over the cabinet mount.


Occasional use refrigerator problems? If I want to use a mini fridge for camping trips, but not between trips at home, and leave it unplugged until the day before the trip to cool it down. Will there be any detrimental effects to the life of the fridge?

It will be absolutely fine, so long as you store it clean and dry. We have had a few over the years, of various types, and they've all been fine.


Is plaster repair a DIY job? Existing plaster/lath walls in decent shape, 1920s farmhouse.
Lead/Asbestos?  Unknown but possible.
I actually like Plaster's sound-proofing and would like to keep.
Plaster has no decorative elements.
How challenging is it to learn to skim-coat these walls so they are less wavy?  Is it generally DIY-able or has someone done it before? Looking to actually use plaster.
Appreciate any guidance or help :)

I typically use confill ( concrete fill which is a setting compound with fiberglass fibers in it ) to repair plaster as my large gap and then put a sandable top coat like a 30 minute setting compound.
How hard is it to skim coat a wall?  You could learn.  YouTube is amazing.  Start with a small wall.  You'll have to worry about putting extensions on electrical outlets, dealing with trim elements ( do you accept them more recessed with your skim coat build out above ).  Tile Coach has some good videos on tile floating to get walls perfect before tile install.
You should be able to go overtop of paint with a setting compound some people add a wood/glue mixture instead of water when mixing to get better adhesion.
It depends a lot on how wavy the walls are, how close to perfect you want them and how much time you have to spend learning and fixing.


goodman furnace /ac no y terminal on board i live on a small budget and finally aquired an older goodman furnace (gmpn080-4)
and ac which were in very good condition out of a friends place and had only been used for 2-3 yrs. even the condenser outside was kept covered and secured when not in use . that said the units were in full working order together . they have been installed at my place all duct,furnace,a-coil,condenser (and charged) ,gas and main electric work is done .
but now i need some help on how to reconnect the low voltage wires .under normal circumstances i think i would have no problem but this furnace model has no Y terminal !!!
i only have 3 wires from the board W G R i bought a basic thermostat for heat/cool
ran a 5 wire of it and connected it at the thermostat as required also ran wire from condenser to furnace (airhandler). now i look at 5 wires from thermostat and the yellow and red from the condenser as well as the 3 wires red ,green and white from the furnace .missed the chance to be there during dismantling and i do not want to make a mistake and ruin what i have . where do they go ???
( i do not want to break the rules here by posting a link but pictures often tell more then words .there is an ebay listing that shows my exact board under the tittle : OEM Goodman Janitrol Furnace Control Circuit Board Panel B1809913S to see what i have )
i used to have grey hair but it turned white from googling this for days is there a way you could steer me to a wiring schematic that shows where i need to connect (assuming doubling up )the wires from the condenser to the board . the heat side i think i understand where to go. just not were i need to double the connection for the 2 wires from the condenser
any help be truly appreciated and thanks in advance !!!

The furnace doesn't need a Y terminal, and in a lot of cases when it does have one, it's not connected to anything in the furnace.  Connect the wires from the thermostat as follows:

Red connects to R in furnace and R on thermostat.
White connects to W in furnace and W on thermostat.
Green connects to G in furnace and G on thermostat.
Yellow connects to the Red wire to the condensing unit.
White wire from condensing unit connects to 24V common terminal of the transformer.

Notes:

The 24V common terminal of the transformer should be grounded to the chassis, as well as connected to PIN 6 of the Molex connector on the board.
*The "hot" 24V terminal of the transformer should be connected to PIN 3 of the Molex connector on the board.


Are blocking diodes necessary for solar panels In a residential solar array, bypass diodes are used when panels are in series to prevent a shaded panel from effectively becoming a large resistor. Blocking diodes prevent current from going back into a panel (or series of panels) in parallel with a load or other panel series. From what I understand, these were used in the dark ages (pun intended) of solar energy when people dumped the electricity from the panel straight into a battery bank and didn't want the reverse happening at night.

Do installers typically install blocking diodes for PV panels in parallel, such as with a string inverter?

The inverter obviously doesn't rectify current so the panels can't draw power from the AC-side, but I am worried about, for example, if Panel 1 is at a slightly higher voltage than Panel 2 and some current produced in Panel 1 being sunk by Panel 2 as a result.

In this case, I am working with "identical" (same manufacturer and model, and likely manufactured around the same date in the same facility) panels.

They are required.  If the panel becomes shaded it is considered DARK. If the panel is Dirty it is Dark. What happens is your produced voltage has a PATH to the other panel. The Diodes block that action - allowing current to flow in only one direction.

  These blocking diodes, also called a series diode or isolation diode,
  ensure that the electrical current only flows in one direction “OUT”
  of the series array to the external load, controller or batteries.

  The reason for this is to prevent the current generated by the other
  parallel connected PV panels in the same array flowing back through a
  weaker (shaded) network and also to prevent the fully charged
  batteries from discharging or draining back through the array at
  night. So when multiple solar panels are connected in parallel,
  blocking diodes should be used in each parallel connected branch.

 Excerpt above from here ^

Connecting Solar Panels / Cells


How can I remove residual adhesive that may contain asbestos from wood? Our house has two bedrooms in which the previous owners installed vinyl tile over wood flooring (how ironic is this: it's wood-grained pattern tile over beautiful, real wood).  We want to remove the vinyl tile, then refinish the floors.  The tile itself comes up without any effort at all, but there is residual adhesive still attached to the wood.  I'm concerned it may contain asbestos.  Assuming it does, what's the proper method for removing the residual adhesive from the wood before I refinish the floor?  The Residual Flooring Covering Institute's (RFCI) guide for removing residual adhesive from wood is to remove the wood - not my preferred option.

First, I agree with diceless, it is probably perfectly legal for the homeowner, to deal with this problem himself (assuming no part of the house is rented to a third party).

On the other hand, I agree with Mazura, you may be opening a huge can of worms here.  Since we are only talking about 2 bedrooms, I have to question the cost and time effectiveness of trying to rehabilitate the wood if the cutback contains asbestos.  I realize there may be problems matching the height of the bedrooms to the hallways or other areas, but if there is asbestos (and the floors are flat enough as is), just nail down new 3/4" hardwood or good quality 1/2" engineered hardwood over top of the existing floor.  Just use a heat gun to remove the excess cutback to ensure the floor is flat enough.

If the cutback does not contain asbestos, remove excess cutback and then go at it with a drum sander (rent it at Home Depot or wherever).

If a home sale is in your future, I realize you may not really want to know whether the cutback has asbestos since if you do, you'd be obliged to disclose such on sale. But until you know, you can't really plan the right course.  You should be able to scrape up a sample of cutback, mail it to a lab and get results in less than a week.  e.g. http://www.asbestos-test.com/


is this guy talking about the performance of green glue for soundproofing? It sounds like the tutorial is saying

  But this green stuff gives you another sound rating, believe it or not, above five, Five, just for the caulking ...

What does five here mean? some kind of measurement for soundproofing?

He's talking about "sound transmission class", often described as "STC". This is apparent from context, if you're familiar with sound reduction materials, but it's even made explicit earlier in the video. The host describes a variety of materials which are used to improve the sound blocking characteristics, and he uses the full name in those other sections.

That said, it would not be entirely accurate to say that the green glue caulking itself has an STC of 5. Nor is that what the host is really saying. The STC really applies to the entire barrier, after all the parts are assembled. So the caulk itself doesn't have a particular STC itself, but when used to join the two sheets of drywall, increases the STC of the assembled barrier by about 5 STC points, as compared to just doubling up the drywall.

See also a related measurement, "noise reduction coefficient". Useful references include:
http://www.acoustiguard.com/blog/414-stc-nrc-and-iic-what-s-the-difference.html
https://www.soundassured.com/blogs/blog/what-is-noise-reduction-coefficient-nrc
https://www.soundproofidea.com/difference-between-nrc-vs-stc.html


Replacing formerly half-hot converted to always-hot receptacles with NEW receptacles I have four receptacles in my family room that I just replaced. These receptacles used to be half-hot. One of the previous owners converted them to always-hot by removing and capping the wires in the switch box.

The switch is now a part of a 3-way that controls a set of pendant lights. They left the old receptacles in place when they bypassed the switch so with the tab broken off, the only way to make them always-hot was by leaving the switch wire (red in my case) attached to the receptacle. Because the new receptacles still have the tab in place, I no longer needed the (red) switch wire so I capped it and shoved it in the back of the box on each receptacle.

Now that the receptacles are replaced in this room, I’ve moved on to the switches. Although the receptacles are no longer switched, the line started in the switch box so the wires are still there (as expected) but spliced/capped and shoved in the back. Currently, the (red) switch wire is spliced with the receptacles’ (black) hot wire in the switch box since that’s how the old receptacles received power to both top and bottom without the tab in place.

Since I no longer need the (red) switch wire in the switch box anymore, can/should I separate the two and cap them separately? That way I won’t have a live wire capped in the back of the receptacle boxes, as it currently is.

Disclaimer - Not an electrician

If I were to do this as a professional job, I would surely verify the switch leg, or red wire in your case, was not supplying/disrupting power to any outlets or lights. Upon verifying, and since you've capped the line off at each outlet's junction box, I would likely cut the wire just long enough to cap it with a wire nut and wrap it in electrical tape.

This should make it clear to you, or future owner, that wire no longer has any purpose. I would also be tempted to go back through each outlet's junction box and repeat the process. You might remember a couple years down the road what you did today, but becomes more of a gamble as the years pass by.

Short of getting into the walls and pulling out that run, that's probably the next safest thing to do.


Cant remove brackets on underside of bathroom sink I can’t figure out how to remove (or even turn) these brackets.  Has anyone seen them or know how to work with these?  I’ve done a lot of searching and can’t find anything.

In both cases I see a U shaped metal foot that attached to the fitting by two spurs that pass through hole in it,
This is probably tigtened (and loosened) from above.
however if you spread the arms of the U apart it will let go.


multi-wire branch circuit breaker question i have several outside floodlights, and several outside outlets.

family member wired it

plugging into the outside outlets causes the breaker to trip

using a 4-conductor cable(1 black, 1 red, 1 white, 1 bare ground) he put the red (lights) and the black (outlets) on the same phase (breakers 4 and 8)

now it seems to me that this is unsafe, that the breakers should be next to each other on the opposite phase

i believe i need AFCI breakers for both. Do they need to have the bar across the handles so that when one trips, it trips the other

the wire is 14 AWG solid and the breakers are 20A

You're correct that there are several problems here.

First of all, if indeed breakers #4 and #8 are sharing the same neutral wire in a 14/3 with ground cable, then you're at risk of overloading that neutral.  Correct MWBC wiring requires either a two pole breaker, or two adjacent breakers connected with a listed handle tie.  Whether AFCI is required will depend on your local code, but it isn't a bad idea in any case.  GFCI is required on the outdoor outlets, and it's not a bad idea to do that in the breaker, but using a GFCI outlet (preferably weather-resistant rated) is also fine.

Additionally, 20A breakers are not allowed on 14 AWG wire.  When you're replacing the breakers, get a 15A.

However, none of this should cause the outlet breaker to trip when something is plugged in (unless perhaps if it's already a GFCI breaker), so it's very possible that there's something else wrong in the wiring as well.  Since your family member made so many mistakes already, it would be wise to open up all the lights and outlet boxes they wired, and check their work (or hire an electrician to do so, if you don't feel confident doing so yourself).

Edit: since you mentioned breaker #4 is a GFCI breaker, the fact that its sharing a neutral with breaker #8 is why it's tripping.  GFCIs function by monitoring the current on both the hot and neutral and making sure they're equal, and if not, they trip.  Since the circuit shares its neutral with breaker #8, the currents will not be equal, so the GFCI is doing its job and tripping.  To have a GFCI breaker protect a shared-neutral MWBC like you have here, it must be a two-pole GFCI breaker, so that it can monitor both hots and their shared neutral, and make sure the current on all three wires sums to 0.


How does framing a very tall non-structural wall differ from framing a standard height non-structural wall? We are looking at potentially building a barndominium (a steel building finished inside to use as a residence).  After erection of the steel structure and exterior, I will need to frame out exterior walls on the side of the insulation.  The steel building itself will be loadbearing and protect from wind and elements; the wall I'm framing will be purely for finishing (providing a place to attach drywall and running pipes and electrical wires)

Much of the house will be two stories and can be build with standard 8' or 10' 2x4s, but the great room will need to be approximately 20' tall leading up to a finished ceiling.  I am hoping to frame and install these walls with as little help (or machinery) as possible.

I had planned on 16" OC throughout the home, attached to the concrete pad using a nail gun.  For exterior walls I considered a 2x6 top plate attached to the exterior structure for support, though that creates a thermal bridge that I'd rather not have.

How does framing a wall of this size differ from framing a standard 8' tall wall?  I've seen 16' long 2x4s at Home Depot; does one simply build the wall the same as an 8' tall one using those?  If so, how do I reach the remaining 4' to the ceiling?  Is there anything additional I need to do to secure the wall given its higher center of gravity?

Structurally I think you have a bigger problem with the two story space than with the taller one story space.

If you put a lot of weight up in the air 10’ or so without anchoring it to something or providing some shear bracing, it could tip over by lateral loads or racking. If you put gypsum board on the walls that will help, but may not be sufficient depending on the upstairs load (weight).

I’d plan on about 20 psf to 30 psf horizontal force on the walls, depending on where you live, because if you open an exterior door during a wind storm that force will transfer to your new walls. The same force will be applied to the 20’ high walls, but it won’t have the weight of the second floor furnishings, people, etc. acting as a high center of gravity.

Even without the wind, you’ll have a tendency for the second floor to rack.

Gypsum board has some horizontal resistance when nailed properly. However, even when it’s nailed properly, it’s horizontal resistance is not close to plywood. If you use the plywood shear approach rather than the 2x4 wall brace approach, be sure to use adequate anchor bolts into the concrete slab floor.

I know you don’t want to install 2x4 braces over to the exterior structural walls because of possible heat transfer, but that is a minor issue compared to the horizontal structural issues.


Replacing Bath Fan Switch with Timer Switch I want to install a timer switch (it has four wires, red (load), black (hot), white (common), green (ground) to replace one switch in a 2-gang switch box having five incoming cables (see first photo). One switch controls the fan (want to replace with timer), the other switch (3 way) turns on the recessed ceiling lights. I made a diagram and attached pictures.

Which of the two common pigtails will I tie the switch common wire to?  Also can someone confirm that my black hot wire ties into the black pigtail? And that I create a new pigtail to tie the red source for the switch to the black of cable #5?
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

First, let's label these cables:
Please confirm that this is correct:

Incoming power
Travelers to 2nd 3-way switch
Always on - receptacles? lights in other rooms?
Either incoming power to 3-way switched lights or switched hot to 3-way switched lights
Fan

Note that if this diagram is correct, the power and neutral for the 3-way switched recessed lights is separate from everything else. That is perfectly fine, but you need to keep it separate.
Replacing the fan switch
"Top"/"Bottom"/"Left"/"Right" are to be ignored when it comes to old switch vs. new switch because each manufacturer (and even each model within a manufacturer) does things differently. In your particular case, the new timer/switch has colored wires so that makes it easy:

Black wire on top of old switch is hot. This connects to hot/black on the new switch.
Black wire on bottom of old switch is switched hot. This wire, black from cable 5, connects to load/red on the new switch.
White wire on new switch should be connected together with the 3 white wires that you show near cable 5 - connected to 1, 3 and 5.
Ground/green should be connected together with all other grounds. Typically you will have a bare ground wire coming out of each cable if these are typical NM (aka Romex) cables. If you do not see any bare wires and it is a metal box and the wires are coming through metal conduit (which may be hard to tell unless you have some other part of the wall open) then the ground is the metal conduit. If that's the case, you can connect the timer/switch ground/green wire to the metal box using an appropriate screw.


What prevents a toilet auger from fully extending into the toilet? I currently have a clog, and the plunger wasn't cutting it. I got a 3' toilet auger, but I can only extend it about halfway in, even when trying to extend it further by cranking it clockwise.

What could be the cause for not being able to fully extend a toilet auger?

You found the clog, and it's worse than you thought it was! A chlid's toy? bar of soap? Cell phone?


Diagnose 125v 20a receptacle voltage I am replacing a 20A 250V receptacle with a NEMA 5-20 and am seeing voltages I can't explain.

Hot-ground: 122v
Neutral-ground: 20v
Hot-neutral: 95v

What could be the problem here?

Details

Turned off main
Removed 2 pole circuit breaker
Capped red wire
Installed 1 pole breaker and connected black wire
Turned on main
Remove old receptacle, discover there are only 3 wires - white, black, ground (this receptacle is labeled 20A 250V)
Installed NEMA 5-20 receptacle - black to brass, white to silver, ground to green as per instructions.
Read above voltages

Where did my red wire go?

I am certain I replaced the correct breaker. No voltage when I turn the breaker off.

The wire appears to be 12 gauge.

My outlet tester is inconclusive because all three lights appear to be lit.

So in the breaker box, you have black, red and ground but in the outlet box you have black, white and ground.

Odds are that you have a junction box somewhere where the red wire is connected to the white wire. Since you capped the red wire in the breaker box, the white wire is not connected, just floating.

I’m also assuming you checked the voltages with a digital voltmeter. In this case, you’re seeing a phantom voltage, induced from other wires. The voltmeter provides very little load.

To test this, plug an outlet tester into the outlet, it should show “open neutral”. You can also measure the voltage with the tester plugged in. You should now see 120 volts (or nearly that) on the white, conducted through the tester.

Assuming all of that proves true, you need to land the red wire onto the neutral bus in the breaker box. I’d also suggest marking the end of the red wire as white, either with paint or tape.


How to fix flaking paint on a deck railing and make it last? Well, two years ago I painted my deck railing and now it looks like this.

(Peeling and flaking off)

My instinct is to sand it down with a random-orbital sander and then a wire brush and repaint, but I suspect this won't be good enough.  How do I paint over this to make it last?

Scrape, sand, prime and then paint with exterior grade products. Longevity of the paint will also be based on the moisture content of the wood at the time you painted it. A handy 'mini-Ligno' moisture meter is used to determine if the wood is dry enough to hold primer and paint. Consult with the paint manufacturer for moisture content recommendations.

See... Mini-Ligno    http://www.lignomatusa.com/meters/mini-ligno-md/
Long lasting paint... http://www.paintpro.net/Articles/PP503/PP503_CoatingsFailure.cfm


Are chainsaw helmets meant to protect you from the saw, or just falling debris? I'm trying to get the correct protective equipment for a chainsaw. I see helmets that look like this

being sold for chainsaw use, but it's not clear if they are meant to protect your face from the running saw in the event of kickback, or if they are just to stop woodchucks from getting in your face and protection from falling branches.

Are these meant to stop the saw from injuring your face/head in the same way that chaps protect the legs?

The helmet is designed to protect you from falling objects. It is also the mounting point for the face shield and ear protection.  The helmet will also provide limited protection from the saw in the event the saw were to kick-back or the operator lost control and the chain were to impact the operators' head.  It will not provide protection from a running saw being held against the helmet. This differs from safety chaps which are designed to actually stop a saw in the event of contact with the chaps.


How can I resurface concrete sidewalks for easier cleaning? Have been power-washing our associations walkways for 13 years and they are getting rougher and black algae is getting harder to get them clean.

What can we do to resurface the walkways that down the road will make our situation even worse?

The pressure washer erodes some of the surface.  The rougher surface is safer for walking (less likely to get slippery when wet), but it also gives mold, algae, and lichen a better foothold.  Once they get established, they embed themselves in pores, micro-cracks, and other imperfections below the surface.  Getting rid of it by pressure washing requires eroding more and more of the surface, which compounds the problem.

Independent of resurfacing, you need to first get rid of the growth.  Chemical treatment is a better long-term solution than pressure washing because it doesn't keep making the surface more susceptible, and some chemicals will help to prevent regrowth.

There are a number of disinfectant cleaners based on benzalkonium chloride, such as "Wet and Forget" or "Spray and Forget".  These are often sold as concentrates that you dilute to about 2% active ingredients.  Those products are pricey, but the same ingredients are used to kill algae in swimming pools, and is much less expensive.  For example:

This is a 30% concentrate that you dilute to 2%, so it goes a long way.  If the problem is mold or algae, you spray the surface to saturate it.  If there is also lichen, you respray the surface a second time while it is still wet from the first spray.

You don't rinse it off or scrub, just let it soak in and dry.  It is very slow acting.  It can take days to weeks to kill the growth.  Weather then washes away the dead material over time (months).  They recommend not pressure washing it because supposedly, residual disinfectant gets redissolved by rain and kills deeper layers of growth.  A treatment is supposed to prevent new growth for a year, so once you get rid of it, repeat a single treatment once a year.

There are lots of other chemicals that will kill it.  For example:

"Cloudy" (sudsing) ammonia diluted 1 cup per gallon of water will kill mold or algae.  Lichen will require 1 part ammonia to 4 parts water and scrubbing.  It can take a week for the dead growth to wash away and it doesn't leave any protection against regrowth.
Chlorine bleach 3% solution and some scrubbing will get rid of it.  It's the most common ingredient in fast-acting mold cleaners.  However, it doesn't leave any protection against regrowth and requires work.  Chlorine bleach will also discolor the concrete.
Vinegar will kill it but is less effective, will corrode the concrete, and doesn't leave any protection against regrowth.
Borax solution will kill it but requires scrubbing.  It will leave a protective residue, but it isn't clear whether that's good for the concrete.
Washing soda (sodium carbonate), like borax, will require scrubbing and will leave a protective residue, but again, it isn't clear whether that's good for the concrete.  It's the active ingredient in Concrobium Mold Control (1% solution).  It also isn't clear how fast the borax or washing soda residue will wash away in the rain.
Oxygen bleach, like OxyClean, is sodium percarbonate, which breaks down into hydrogen peroxide and washing soda.  So it's an expensive alternative to washing soda that adds some weak bleaching action (maximum hydrogen peroxide concentration of 3%, same as over-the-counter solution), but it won't discolor the concrete.  It's the active ingredient in Concrobium Mold Stain Eraser.

As Ecnerwal notes in a comment, don't randomly mix cleaning chemicals.  Some, like ammonia and chlorine bleach, create toxic gas when mixed.  Even when used alone in these concentrations, you should wear protective gear when spraying or handling many of these materials as they can damage or irritate your lungs, eyes, or skin, and at least the chlorine bleach will also do a number on your clothing.

I don't recommend trying to seal the surface.  I'm currently dealing with a previously sealed surface.  The sealant worked great for a number of years.  Nasty stuff is now growing under the sealant, and the sealant blocks all chemical treatments.

As far as resurfacing, you could polish the surface, but that would be dangerous for walking and wouldn't make a big difference at this point as far as growth.  You might be able to bond a new surface layer to the top that contains growth-inhibiting material, but that isn't likely to hold up long-term.

The "best" solution is probably to use chemicals to kill what's there and leave a growth inhibitor.  Then once a year, pressure wash at a low pressure to clean off the surface without eroding more concrete.  Let it thoroughly dry, then re-treat it with a growth inhibitor.


2 x 6's stacked VS 6 x 8s? The design for a retaining wall calls for pressure treated 8 x 8 posts, 6 feet on center and 6 feet below grade, with 6 x 8 pressure treated walls 4 feet in height. The retaining walls are a 26 foot x 40 foot rectangle for a sand filter septic system.

Can 2 x 6's, stacked flat be substituted for the 6 x 8's? Would they provide the same structural strength? It would be the same dimensions, but the 2 x 6's would be substantially less expensive and easier to maneuver.

Can 2 x 6's, stacked flat be substituted for the 6 x 8's? Would they provide the same structural strength?

You can create what's called a laminated beam from multiple boards (think plywood, but with boards). The key on laminated beams is you want those boards to work together. If the boards ever come apart, their structural support diminishes significantly, to the point that you could be looking at structural failure. As such, you want the boards to be both glued (use an exterior adhesive, since this is for boards that could get wet) and bolted (galvanized!) so they never come apart.

The catch here is that you're running the risk that some of those boards might not carry the loads you're putting on them. A 2x6 is more prone to develop some sort of serious crack than a 6x8. That is why the 6x8 is more valuable. This isn't to say it's an enormous risk (proper lamination helps reduce that risk), but it's a risk that is far more unlikely to occur in an uncut board.

There's also a math caveat. Finished boards lose half an inch, so a finished 6x8 will be 7.5" on the long side. You might be tempted to do this

8 / 2 = 4

That's wrong! A finished 2x6 is 1.5", not 2. So 4 boards gets you to

1.5 * 4 = 6

You need 7.5", not 6", so that's 5 boards, not 4. Be sure you factor that in if you go the laminated route. If the cost difference is not as great, go with the solid beam instead.


How do I take door hinges that have a pivot ending with two flat cylinders apart? I found a door with a pair of hinges that look like most ordinary door hinges but don't let the door to be taken off the doorpost. They seem to have a pivot that passes through the whole height of a hinge and has thick flat cylinders on each end - each has diameter of about 8 millimeters and height of about 3 millimeters.

I decided those were nuts that could be unscrewed and tried to grab them with pliers and turn counter-clockwise, but they don't seem to react, I only scratched them.

Detaching those hinges from both the door and the doorpost is not an option - I need to take them apart to apply graphite grease to them.

How do I take those hinges apart?

If you cannot get them apart, try spraying the hinge pivot with dry silicone spray. Do not use oil based products such as WD40 or PB Blaster, as they will stain and turn black with collected dirt.  Spray with silicone, work the hinge and repeat. Hopefully it will work it's way into the pin and quiet your hinge.  Good Luck


What does a Summer/Winter switch on furnace air ducts do? On some of our furnace ducts, there is a switch/valve for Summer/Winter or S/W.

What does changing this switch/lever accomplish?
Can bad things happen if I forget to switch it?
Bonus question: Pictured below, an Aprilaire humidifier control unit also has W/S written on it. Is this related?

I assume you are in a cold climate, like Minnesota (where I am).  I will address your question in three parts; the first two have to do with the humidifier.

The "winter" setting on the duct in your photo:  It appears from the photo that the duct in question goes from your humidifier around to the return (intake) side of your furnace's ducting.  This needs to be open in the winter to allow the humidifier to function, but closed in summer.  If you leave it closed in winter, then your humidifier will have almost no effect.  If you leave it open in summer, then your A/C's efficiency will be reduced.
The white control box in your photo is the controller for the humidifier.  On mine, the knob settings are "off" and 1-7 (1=less humidity added to your house, 7=max humidity added).  There is also a "test" setting past 7 that will turn on the water.  Someone appears to have labeled yours with a "W" to indicate what they think is the best winter setting.  If you leave this "off" in the winter, then your house may become uncomfortably dry.  It should be set to "off" in the summer.  There are no fans or other moving parts in your type of humidifier; there is a water valve that is either closed or open (the humidifier is on when water is running through it).
If you have other ducts in your house that are labelled "winter," then those are probably just changing which rooms get the most air blown in.  In my experience, people like to direct more heat into lower levels (e.g. basement) in the winter. (edit: Evil's response on this point is more complete).


Where should I start laying a nail down hardwood floor in this room? I am planning on installing a nail-down 2 1/4" hardwood floor in our great room. Each wall of the room has an "interruption", so I'm wondering where the best place to start is. One side has a large doorway into the entryway and a built-in bookshelf, another has huge sliding glass doors, another has a large brick fireplace, and the last wall has a doorway into the kitchen (see layout picture). Any idea on the best place to start? Thanks for any advice.

I'd start in front of the fireplace with a parallel line off the same wall. Work it out so that you have a reasonably-sized finisher strip at the wall.

You could also do the reverse and start at the bookshelves, but then you're travelling over your work for most of the job.

But this is a subjective question, so expect a variety of opinions.


Can I replace the permanent filter in my furnace? In my furnace (ruud ubhc-17j14sfa), there is a permanent, washable filter.  It was there when we moved in 2 years ago.  The house is about 10 years old now.  The filter is pretty simple, more like a strong mesh.  I don't just want to replace the filter as the it might effect the airflow going to the furnace and cause issues, or have the furnace work harder.

Does anyone have experience with this?  would it be ok to replace it with a higher MERV rating without causing any issues?

Thanks!

You can just order a new filter if that makes you feel better.  There is nothing wrong with replacing it.  However most of the permanent ones can be washed in the dishwasher.  I would look at the manufacturers guide and just clean it - as if something isn't broke why fix it.  I have found getting replacements can be off by a little and cause issues.  But you could always keep old one until you are sure what you ordered works.  I would not leave the furnace without a filter.


Why isn’t there a solution to detect loose neutral Loose neutrals in a house can easily cause house fires and are not always detected until it is too late. Why isn’t there main “smart” breakers that not only detect loose neutrals / phase imbalance and blow main breaker.

Are you suggesting to detect a loose neutral in final subcircuits, or on the incoming mains?

Loose neutrals in final sub-circuits will generally cause series arcing, which should be picked up by AFCI breakers1. As the fault is confined to one circuit, there is no reason to trip the main breaker.

AFCIs aren't mandatory everywhere for cost reasons, and because they are quite prone to nuisance tripping where there is no fault.

Detecting over or undervoltage in the incoming feeder is possible. Some more critical commercial sites in areas with frequent power outages have this protection, which is usually used as a trigger to switch to generator power. Typically a separate relay would be used, which could be combined with a shunt trip device.

Loose neutrals on the feeders are not necessarily any more likely to cause fires than a loose phase. Damages are typically only to equipment overvolted.


How to connect old garage with the new home addition I'm planning to build a home addition between the old house and old garage. I wanted to know what is the best practice to join an old building(garage) with the new structure.

Leaving an empty space asks for troubles and it looks weird. But I can't really use garage's wall as it has an old wood wall and hold the whole garage. That wouldn't right. So how is that normally solved? I don't want to tear the garage side down and let the home addition's new wall be part of the garage's wall either.

See image below:

There is absolutely no concern with a small amount of space between a new addition and the garage from the ground level.  In fact who is helping design this is smart for not attaching new structure to old, in that if garage foundation is poor you don't want an issue with new addition because of this and also vice versa.  A new addition's foundation may settle a little bit in the first 5 years - you don't want it pulling on your garage.

The main concern over this sort of practice is what happens to the roof line.  If done properly there are no issues whatsoever but you obviously don't want water going into an empty space, even if there is a drainage plan.  That is a different question you can pose on the site though.

So let's stick to the first level and how it looks and functions.  The gap you are pointing to - no one will even understand there is a gap there unless the doorway section from the garage is done really poorly.  Obviously you shouldn't be able to see into the gap from before the door threshold and this should be closed off.  So this would just be a thicker threshold to a person walking through it.  Only someone who is really thinking about it would even think there is a small gap between the rooms - because they can't see the bedroom wall from where they are.  A second point is there is nothing but good things to say about creating more of a barrier from exhaust fumes to a bedroom area.  Having exhaust fumes in a living room sucks but you are usually awake and can say wow that stinks let's open up windows, directly next to bedrooms poses a bigger risk.

On the outside behind the garage it should just be sided over continuously up to soffit.

The last part of this is just my personal opinion as I have done a bunch of additions. I would suggest jutting out the house a little further on the garage side before you angle it.  I would then create a full on mud room for the first 5 feet of the living room.  It will just be unusable space anyway as it will be filled with shoes and organizational things.  I would also rethink the exterior door.  If you already have an exterior door on that side of the house I would not put in a second one as I can't think of ever doing an addition where I had two doors going to the same room, and that close to each other.  If there was a for sure need I would feed them to the same mud room.  That way you are defining the living room as a "nice" living space instead of a cross-roads of bunch of doors.

And just more of personal opinion.  I don't like the floor layout.  Other than needing a mud room, I think having a bedroom and bathroom directly off a living area is a bit much.  I have never paid for this, although I have seen it done.  When I have seen it work is when this layout is on the corner of a house so that in effect you are creating a master suite space with its own living room.  Here this doesn't work because you have garage traffic constantly.  If your plans aren't 100% done I would get feedback on the site about a more effective layout.  (One where you don't have the ability to take a crap and talk to the guy watching t.v. on the couch)


Why would the neutral current be significantly greater than phase current? I am in India. The typical domestic supply here is 240v @ 50Hz 1phase.
The utility company recently replaced the old analog wheel type meter with a modern electronic meter capable of providing several readouts. Amongst these are Ip and In, which I assume are the phase current and neutral current, respectively.
I was under the impression current flowing out of the neutral is equal to the current drawn in by the device on the phase. Yet the readouts  differ by fair numbers as much as 200% as far as my attempts to test go; could be more if I try with other devices powered.
Why would the neutral current be significantly greater than phase current?

On a single-phase, Euro-style connection, neutral and line must be equal - if they were not, your RCD would trip, because looking for unequal line and neutral is how it detects ground faults.
If neutral is larger than line, then my only guess is one or more of your neighbors has a broken neutral wire, and their neutral is returning via their neutral-earth bond, their earthing rods, the earth, to your earthing rod via your N-E bond, to your neutral.  We see that in the US from time to time.
Check with the power company, and make sure you’re not paying for that.  If they bill you for Line current only, that’s fine, but if their bill is based on the average of L and N, then you’re buying your neighbors’ power.


Is there a way to fix a small plumbing leak from inside the pipe? During and after I have a shower I can hear a dripping inside a boxed-in area in an adjoining room where the drainage pipes are fed out of the bathroom and downstairs.

I think I am going to have to break the boxing-in to get access to see (and fix) a leak if there is one,  but I'm wondering if there is a way to fix a small leak from the inside of the pipe to minimize destruction; for example, pouring something down the pipe that would seep into any leaky joints and seal them?

Edit:   1)  Someone has changed the question title to a question I wasn't asking.  It wasn't my intention to ask "how to fix a small plumbing leak from inside the pipe".

2)  Today I experimented a bit.  I ran the shower cold for a bit, and listened out.  No dripping.    I then ran it hot and used it, and the dripping was present.   I think it might be water supply pipes expanding/contracting as a result of usage.  (I hope so anyway)

I have not decided yet but I may buy one of those probe camera things and make a small hole to have a look through.

I know a lot of industrial non-permanent fixes, and methods of investigation but there is to my knowledge no surefire way to do this permanently and solidly without opening it up, soldering, replacing or clamping.

An example of a temporary fix - you can maize it. That is what the mechanics at work do when there is a leak. (it is not easy, safe or practical to shut down a 50MW industrial furnace for smaller water leaks, but stop once in a while and fix them all)

I was astonished, I thought this was some high tech stuff, but it is quite literal. They add cornflour to the circuit. (a degenerate brandname of corn flour around my parts is "Maizena" - hence they call it "maizing"). If the leak is rather big-ish (like a faucet at full opening) they add corn flour and sawdust. If it is any bigger than that, people get nervous and the yellow-helmets start rushing about.

But, to reiterate - no, a leak should be mechanically investigated and fixed. You cannot know if the source is a pinhole leak, a bad fitting or even where the leak or fitting is that is leaking. Dripping only signifies where the water is leaving the surface of the pipe and hitting another surface. It could be leaking somewhere else. It could be leaking all the time, only dripping when you run the hot (running water has less pressure. Maybe it is spraying constantly). Water where it shouldn't be is a serious problem - it can cause a host of unpleasant second order issues (mold, rot, rust, cracks, bugs, electrical shorts... etc). There are plenty of temporary solutions, but few proper ones.


Are there durable peel and stick tile options that can installed on the drywall above a vinyl shower/tub? The drywall above the edge of the tub peels and cracks and I'm looking for options on how to protect it. I am comparing the cost, feasibility and appearance.

A 6" peel and stick stone look would be nice. Make sure everything is dry, scrape any loose paint off and clean the surface with some Tri-Sodium Phosphate to remove soap scum before applying the tiles. The tiles are easy to apply and easy to cut with common household tools. When you have all of the tiles installed, make sure to apply a bead of silicone caulking where the tile meets the tub and in the corners. You could use a color close to the tile color you choose in the corners first. Let that dry and then caulk the base with a white caulk for a clean uniform look. You might consider caulking across the top with the colored caulk if you are skilled at caulking. However, keep in mind that you can't touch up with paint as silicone caulk isn't paintable.


Is a corner roller or corner pad a good tool to use to cut into corners when painting? We are preparing to paint some walls, and want to know if a corner roller or a corner pad are good tools to use for cutting in the corners.  We are hesitant to cut in with a brush since it leaves a different 'texture' than the 9" roller we will use for the rest of the wall.

I've tried a bunch of tools for cutting in corners/edges (the worst part of the job, IMO), and always end up going back to using a paintbrush.  There's not enough of a texture difference to notice it unless you have your face ON the wall (once it's dry), and it's much easier to deal with.

My family helps each other with painting, and my sister has textured walls. In that case we did use foam rollers to cut in, just for the better coverage in the texture. As long as you have plain, flat, drywall, brushes are the way to go IMO.


What type of underlayment is appropriate for metal roofing? I'm building a shed with a metal roof. What underlayment material should go between my OSB roof deck and the steel panels?

You need to always follow the metal roofing manufacturer’s recommendations for installation, but generally you can use 1-layer of 15# building paper if the slope is 4:12 or greater and it’s standing seam metal roof with concealed fasteners.

You need a minimum of 2-layers 15# building paper if it’s a slope between 2:12 and 4:12.

Below 2:12 slope you need to follow the manufacturer’s recommendation for installation. (They’ll probably recommend a peel-and-stick underlayment.)


Removing old rusty single hole faucet - please help! We are trying to remove our old Kohler faucet.  We are running into issues on how to remove the stem on the underside.  I have a picture attached.
We are not sure which piece to take out?  There are three parts that we see: the rusty top part, the middle brass part, then the smaller ring.  Do we need to remove all 3?
Any advice appreciated! Thank you.

The brass ring piece with the two holes in it is the part that needs to be removed. It should be able to be unthreaded from the tubing part that the hoses go up into.

Generally a special spanner wrench with two pegs on it would be used to turn the brass ring. The pegs would engage the two holes in the ring. Alternatively you could use an adjustable pliers or plumbers sink wrench to grasp the ring on its outer edge.


Is this black mold/wall damage fixable without professional help? Renting an apartment, had a bad flood last year, restoration company came and left (and forgot about) an industrial fan for 6 weeks, afterwards they said everything should be fine. Bookcase was not moved. After moving the bookcase (roommate moving out), we found this seemingly significant damage. Is this fixable/cleanable without professional help?
Dimension from wall on left is 65", "blocky" section is 48"x18"

That section of the wall must be cut out.   The drywall and plaster and then behind it must be cleaned.  You would cut out about 12" over the molded area.   I see mold too next to it.
Fans help having a huge mold issue.   If you have a flood and standing water fans are not the fix though.   They just keep the issue from getting out of control.


Paint to protect schedule 40 black steel pipe running outside above ground Do I need to paint or otherwise protect black gas pipe running outside to the meter?
The existing pipe is painted gray, I imagine this is to prevent rust.
If paint is needed, is there a specific kind that is recommended?

I live near Denver if that affects the answer.

Given that you're painting metal, I would avoid latex paint (which is nearly every can of paint in the home-improvement store).

The #1 issue is paint prep, especially if there's rust.   Rust is very difficult to stop if it's underway under paint.  Any way you can remove it; sandblasting is not excessive.**   Paints that claim you can paint over rust are lying, sure, you can do it, but the rust will punch through in short order.

Then a good anti-rust primer (I've been surprised by the performance of plain old Rustoleum 7769 Rusty-Metal Primer, especially if the rust removal is less than perfect).   Then a quality oil paint.

Generally, colors will not hold up in hardware-store-priced paints, because mineral pigments like lead chromate (shudder) are illegal, and organic pigments that hold up are prohibitive ***.  Fortunately carbon black is a mineral pigment not toxic to humans, so you can get cheap good black paint. And that's a fine color for a "black pipe" gas pipe.

** In fact, in extensive testing by NASA (who owns more steel structures in corrosive environments than anyone in the world), sandblasting is proven to be the only method that really works, with significant performance gains over needle-scaling and heavy sanding/grinding.

*** To give you an idea, I normally use top quality LPU over epoxy primer. I'm used to paying $160/gal. for black or white (but mind you it covers 1000 square feet).  I ordered some burgundy, and it was $295/gal. because of the pigments.  I do not recommend using LPU over epoxy because the cost of initially getting set up in the primers, converters and other chemicals is north of $400, a bit extreme for a small job.


Electrical meter running through eves I had an electrician in to rewire my house and upgrade my electrical box. The electrician mentioned we needed to love the box from the original position.

When the box was moved, they cut a hole in my eves to run the pipe up. As a result, whenever it rains water pours straight onto the electrical box. Originally the wires run under the eves not thorough.

I am getting the eves sealed and the water re routed, but the contractor mentioned it may not be safe to have it this way.

Can anyone let me know if this is up to code ?

I am in Toronto

Thank you

You need to call a roofer and have him fix this.  That thing isn't an eave, it's a gutter.  It's supposed to catch the water off your roof and redirect it to downspouts.

Now you will be forced to cap off the gutter here, creating 2 segments of gutter where 1 resided before.  The new section will need its own downspout.

This is so incompetent that the electrician certainly would have been expected to mention you now need to do this. Perhaps it slipped someone's mind.