How can I install soffit vents from the outside? When we moved into the house we live in there was literally no insulation in the attic.  We have a 4 1/2 pitch roof.  We live in Texas and our first electric bill in a 1450sf house was almost $500.  Of course, this sent us reeling.  The only attic ventilation is through gable vents.  A friend blew in 3' deep insulation.  Our electric bill dropped over $300 the next month to about $150.  Now, due to hail season we are going to replace the roof.  I have had as many ideas on how to best accomplish attic ventilation as I have had contract proposals from roofers.  I understand the best way to ventilate is with soffit vents all around the house.  I have a problem with this.  The pitch of the roof together with the depth of the insulation make any attic access from the inside impossible.  The depth of the insulation comes to the bottom of the gable vents.  The soffits are closed.  I hate turbine vents.  I am looking for a balance of cost effectiveness and the best way to accomplish correct ventilation.

Given the small cubic footage of attic air, is it more feasible to install a ridge vent (roofline is about 45' long with two 15' ridges in the front of the house ... gable vents only on the 2 ends of the house) or power vent(s) since there is not much airflow moving upward naturally.  Also, is it possible to install soffit baffles from the outside of the house?  As I said, it is impossible to access the attic to staple the edges.  The decking is shiplapped planks not plywood.  Would it be possible (and not too much trouble) during the tear-off of the roof to temporarily remove planking and install the baffles by reaching through the openings from the outside, or does anyone have a suggestion on how to poke some kind of baffle up through a hole in the soffit from the outside (maybe something like pcv pipe or something similar?  I have been told that without some kind of power ventilation in the center of the ridgeline or soffit baffles there will be stagnant air in the center of the house and the overall ventilation will not work properly.

Today the outside temperature was about 90°F and the attic temperature was about 150°F.

Are you planning on replacing the roof? If so, are you redecking the roof or just replacing shingles? If you're only replacing shingles then there will be little or no additional opportunity to install soffit vents. If you are redecking, make sure to use radiant barrier decking. It adds about $2 a sheet to cost and has a large impact on attic heat. No roofer will tear off and reinstall old decking.

Soffit vents vs gable vents vs whirlybirds vs vent fans will make little difference in attic temperature in Texas. I have had houses with all combinations, and no vents at all, and the effectiveness is as follows:

Soffit vents (almost no effect)
Gable vents (little effect)
Attic fan with gable vents (some effect, still easily 140+ in summer)
Turbine vents with soffit and/or gable vents

I made the mistake of replacing turbines with attic fans on one house and the temp in the attic went up!

You can definitely hire someone to install soffit vent channels, and they will come rake all of the insulation out of the way and install the channels, then move the insulation back. The impact of soffit vents will be minor though.

Honestly, if you are are not having moisture issues in your attic (i.e. you don't live in Houston) and you have a house built before 1970 in Texas with a $150 summer electric bill then you probably want to stop worrying about the attic and start looking at other systems for improvement. If you had no attic insulation then you probably have no wall insulation. Having insulation blown into the walls will have a noticeable effect. Have you replaced the windows with low-e vinyls, esp. on the south and west walls? That will also have an impact on cooling costs. After all of those, start looking at A/C upgrades, pressure testing (most utilities will do this for free or low cost). Soffit vent channels and retrofit radiant barrier will have negligible effect if you already have several ft of insulation in the attic.


Covering knob holes in bathroom tile I have recently replaced an old leaking shower manifold (three handle) with a one handle model. In hindsight I should have used an adapter plate like this one to cover the two outer holes and expose one larger hole in the middle. Instead, thinking I would cover two holes I might as well cover three, so I moved the new knob up to a more comfortable height and cut a new hole, installing the new manifold and knob there. This is now all working.

I still have the three holes from the old knobs. I'm wondering the best way to cover them. I was thinking about finding a few pieces of decorative tile (each slightly larger than a hole) and affixing them over each hole. If I do this, how would I affix the tile? I'm assuming I would caulk around them after doing so, but would caulk be enough for hold (This thread gives me pause)? Can you think of other ways to cover the holes? Note of course that the tile is old and certainly cannot be found.

If you do choose to use tile, you could use silicone caulk as the adhesive. It will bond well and is waterproof, you will need to secure it with tape and perhaps lean a heavy object against it to hold it in place until it cures. Make sure the surfaces are clean and dry, and use apply a bead of silicone caulk around the entire perimeter of each piece to prevent water intrusion to the underside.


What is this pipe coming out of the basement floor? I’m finishing an old (1930) empty basement and have a random pipe coming out of the floor. I have no clue what it is or what it went to as it sits alone in the space. It is metallic (tested with a magnet). It’s currently capped off and did have threading. I would say it is 3/4in thick. I am wondering if I can cut it off and recap or if it’s not able to be cut, if I should build it into a wall?

Thanks in advance!!!

In a basement, galvanized pipe like that could have been a pipe feeding oil from an underground tank to an oil heater that has long ago been removed and replaced with something else. I had one like that and figured it out by looking at where an old chimney had been removed by looking at the sub-floor structures made to accommodate it. I didn't know exactly where the pipe lead until I accidentally found the tank one day in my front yard while digging holes to plant trees. That was an unpleasant surprise, cost me $10k to have the tank removed and the soil cleaned from leaks.

If it was natural gas, it would be black iron pipe, not galvanized. unscrew the cap and smell it, the smell of fuel oil never completely goes away. If water starts to leak out when you loosen it, tighten it up again right away!


Is it safe to remove risers from stairs? I have removed the risers from my stairs (currently halfway up) and I am wondering if they are safe? They seem sturdy enough, and since they have been like that, I have had a massive water tank removed and carried down them. But everyone keeps saying the stairs will collapse, so I am at a standstill. I do not know how to proceed.

I have been adding another tread on top of the original tread to make it meet regulations, and I like the chunky look it is giving them. I am also going to be getting them carpeted.

Any help would be appreciated!!

Risers are not a structural part of stairs. The stringers carry all the load. Risers prevent things (including heads) from slipping between the steps.


Fix caulk along inground vinyl pool liner and plastic seat I converted my inground pool to salt a month ago. Chemicals have been balanced and it’s great. About two weeks ago I noticed the water level going down more than usual.
I inspected the vinyl for any tears and found nothing. But I did notice today the caulk where the vinyl liner meets the walk in steps and the “seat” looks separated and in one spot the caulk pulled away.
Is this bc of the saltwater or is it just old caulk.

I believe it is old calking salt water is really hard on metals but I have not seen problems with salt water systems and the seals or calking, I have had god luck with salt water only 1 failed wire loop but that was after 7-8 years.


Dimmer switch back to normal switch Original wiring

To wire to this new switch

Hi all, I'm trying to convert an existing switch back to a normal switch but it keeps tripping. Can some one give me some suggestion. I used the black (3 bunched together ) wires in terminal 1 and the red 2 wires in the common terminal. It keeps tripping doesn't matter what combination I tried.

Sorry photo didn't show earth  wires  and 3 black wires in the background. which are not connected to the dimmer switch.

Thanks in advance....

Regs,

You see how the new switch has 4 terminals: C for common, 1, a covered-up 2 that you won't be using, and "Loop" which appears to be merely for convenient splicing.

You also notice the old switch has 4 terminals that appear to be in the same position. I will assume they are labeled the same.

So.  The two red wires from the wall that went to "1" on the old switch.  They need to to "1" on the new switch.   Easy peasy.

The one red wire that went from "Loop" on the old switch needs to go to "C" on the new switch.

And we're done.

Oh wait.  You also messed with the black wires.  That was not constructive since they never went to the old switch in the first place.  Put them back exactly the way you found them.

In the future, if you are replacing something, and you see wires that do not go to the thing you are replacing, leave them alone.  They are not part of your project.   You made your situation worse by messing about with those black wires.  We see this all the time; at extremes one fellow wanted to change a light fixture and instead of touching the 2 wires that went to the fixture, dismantled all 12 wires in the box.  He knocked out power to half his apartment and his neighbor's lights, and wound up having to throw himself at the mercy of his landlord's electrician, that wasn't cheap!   I call this "trying to learn electrical by dismantling your house".  I recommend a book.

Now if you're wondering what is the deal with those color codes, look at the cables available for sale at your home improvement store.  Now, your working theory is that the color codes are there to help you hook up the wires, and therefore they designate the function/purpose of the wires.  There would need to be a variety of color combinations offered buy shops, so you could use black/red for power, black/blue for lamp, red/blue for switch loops, etc. But no.  The shops only sell red/black.

With all cables looking identical, position is everything.  Position gives us the information of what the various wires do.  That's why it matters which two red wires were together in the previous config.  That is why the guy I mentioned got in so much trouble.

Myself, I either work in conduit or color-code my wires with tape. So in my boxes, yes, you just join all purple wires. But that is because I go out of my way to make it so.  It's not automatic.


Making an extension cord I went into home depot to get an extension cord that was 5 foot 14 gauge. I couldn't find anything that small in that gauge and I asked the employee for his recommendation. He told me to just make my own and he proceeded to cut me 5 feet of 12 gauge wire and hands me a female and Male plug.

I've wired outlets and Ethernet before so I'm not too worried about it I just want to confirm some things before I do it so I don't blow the house up.

Green is ground,
Black is hot,
White is neutral.

Black goes to the gold contact and white to the silver contact. Green meeting green. Is this correct?

Yes, building your own cords is fine, as long as you use UL-listed plugs and sockets, and use them correctly according to instructions and labeling, e.g. with right size cable and using the strain reliefs.  Make sure they gave you well-fitting ones.

And you need to use correct cordage, one of several types including SJOOW (off the top of my head).  It is always stranded wire.  UL-listed plugs aren't even listed for solid wire.

I don't agree with their advice of build up both ends out of line cord; I prefer to start with a pre-made extension cord and cut one end off, leaving one end a factory end. Factory plugs are more durable than field-fitted plugs, or, you can preserve a triple socket end.


Are there any issues with having a garage and a washer on the same circuit? Background
My project this weekend is to get my garage repowered so my tenant
will be able to plug his car in during the winter months. When I
bought my house it was recently renovated by house flippers who made the
basement into a suite and I suspect they used the circuit that was
going to the garage to power the new bathroom's lights/fan.
The Problem
The circuit to the garage has no power and I have a few options to connect it up but I'm not sure if the easiest option is bad.

Proposed solution
It looks like the there used to be a light fixture immediately outside of what is now the basement bathroom's door. The only other thing on the circuit is the washing machine. (Not the dryer it has it's own circuit) I am thinking I simply connect this wire to my garage wire and presto my garage has power. As a bonus, my garage circuit has a switch in the laundry room so if there is an issue with having both on, one could easily switch off the garage and do their laundry.

Question
Is this a bad idea? Could putting both on the same circuit lead to damaging something or safety issues?
Solution
It turned out the "hard" solution wasn't that hard at all. I added a 15amp circuit breaker to the panel and ran a new 14/2 cable to the switch. Easy peasy.

In general, all fixed appliances are supposed to be on their own circuit.

Thus, by code, you can't have something else on the same circuit as a washing machine.  You can check your local building codes but I'll bet that's what they say.


Why is this 50's junction box so immobile? This 50s Junction box does not budge. I want to replace both the box and the wire, but neither is moving.
The wire won't move because it runs horizontally before the vertical. I'd like to remove the box so I can replace the wire.  There appear to be no screws, bolts, or any fasteners attached to the inside of the box. What's keeping this box in place?

There's a connection that you can't see or get to without opening the wall. Like this:


Patio natural gas fireplace with 1/2" pipe I am looking into building a patio with a fireplace. I'd like the fireplace to run off of my home's natural gas. When I built the house they ran a natural gas line from the furnace to a place that we could put it outside for a patio (about a 30 foot run). Now I'll need have someone run an additional 25 feet to the fireplace location on the patio. For a total of 55ish feet with a 1/2" pipe, my very basic understanding is that the pressure is going to be very very low and that I'll never be able to get a fireplace to output anywhere close to 150,000ish BTUs that I desire. Is it even worth me testing out the pressure of the current 30 foot run, or should I just move on and build something using propane tanks?

You want a 150,000 BTU firepit? That's like a gas bonfire! Most gas fire pits I've seen are in the 30-50k BTU range, a few are 100k.

1/2" pipe run 55ft is good for about 70 cu. ft. / hour, assuming 2 PSI or less supply. At 1100 BTU per cu. ft., that will get you 77,000 BTUs, somewhere in the upper end of what I've seen for fire pits.

For 150,000 BTUs, you are going to need about 136 cu. ft. / hr so for 55ft you would need a 3/4" pipe, all the way back to your trunk line (I'm not counting your total demand on that trunk line)..


What are the potential hazards of converting to a saltwater pool? We are thinking of converting our pool from chlorine to saltwater, but we've heard and read some things about possible issues with the lining or other things breaking down over time due to the salt. Not sure if this just counter-marketing from chlorine pool people, or if it is legitimate. Does anyone have any info on real problems encountered with saltwater pools or if special material is needed to encase saltwater in a saltwater pool.

From my personal and professional experience with Saltwater Pools with "Salt Chlorine Generators" on them has always been positive. I will bullet point some information to help you ensure it's a positive experience:

Correct Installation:
The Salt Chlorinator Systems have 2 main parts.

A "Salt Chlorine Generator Cell" that is spliced into the return side of the PVC usually directly after your filter or heater. (Important Note: Ensure that the salt cell is installed as the last place in the PVC that returns to the pool. If you install it say before a heater or before the filter, then when the salt cell converts the salt to chlorine, you will have a high concentration of fresh chlorine (which is very corrosive). Chlorine is basically double the strength of Bleach and is used in your pool to sanitize and eat up/destroy organic matter in your pool. Remember, that single cell has to create enough chlorine to sanitize and be useful in a, say, average pool of 15,000 gallons. So the chlorine level directly after the cell is well over a "readable" level (20PPM+) but once it gets to your pool, it instantly dilutes to a more preferred level of 3 PPM - 5 PPM.
A "Salt Generator Control Box" is usually installed by your pool equipment on the wall and is connected to your pool's power source (so that it only runs when your pool is running and circulating water) and it also connects to your "Salt Chlorine Generator Cell" (which is what provides the electrical power to turn the salt into chlorine. There is also usually a built-in flow meter to ensure that there is water flowing at a minimum rate to protect the system).
EXPERT TIP - A final part of the installation is not included with your purchase of a Salt Chlorine Generator system for your pool, but I recommend it for ALL pools that have some type of automatic chlorinator on them. That part is a Standard PVC Check Valve, which you have installed Just Before the Salt Cell. A Check Valve is a simple PVC adapter you can get at any local hardware/plumbing store (Home Depot/Lowes) for $1 and what it does is allows water to only flow ONE WAY through the valve; if water tries to flow the wrong way the check valve stops the water. This is important for many reasons but, on this topic, this will ensure that when your pool equipment turns off each day, the Very Concentrated Chlorine water made by the Salt Cell does not "drain back into your pool heater, filter, pump, etc. and basically sit there and corrode your o-rings, gaskets, etc.... I've seen the damage countless times from this. You can Google "PVC Check Valve" to understand it more if you want, but it's a very simple part to be installed during installation of the salt chlorine cell and should only be at most $10 extra for installation & the check valve. If you're doing a personal install, pool equipment uses 1.5" or 2" PVC pipe; ensure you know which you have to get a check valve that fits.

Salt Chlorine Generator Facts:
These simple facts that compare the amount of salt your pool will require for a salt chlorine generator vs a tear from a human eye vs Ocean Salt Water.

The average Salt Chlorine Generator requires 3,000 PPM of salt in your pool to operate correctly (Check instructions for exact amount of the system you buy).
Everyone has probably cried enough before to get a tear on your lips or in your mouth. A human tear normally has 9,000 PPM of salt
The Salt Water from the Ocean such as the Gulf of Mexico has 20,000 PPM of salt

We sell Thousands of Salt Chlorine Generators A Year All Over The World. To this day, I'm not aware of ONE single customer who was unhappy and wanted a refund after they installed it. In my last house, I had a pool built and I used a salt chlorine generator from day one. I can say that the 3,000 PPM of Salt Required in the pool makes the pool water feel "soft" on your skin vs the normal "dry" feeling from a liquid/powder chlorine pool. I also only had to clean the cell 2 times in the 8 years I lived there and it ran every day without any other issues.

Common Issues:

Ensure You Clean Your Filter Often - There will be times that you may see that your salt chlorine generator isn't on due to "flow" (some systems will just turn off). Always check and clean your filter as a dirty/old filter will slow down the water flow enough to make your salt system not work. Do this before dishing out $300+ for a new "Salt Cell".
Clean Your Cell* - Basically every pool requires calcium for proper water balance. This calcium with time will start to collect on the salt cell. When you remove the salt cell (which should be installed on **Union PVC Connectors so you can easily unscrew the salt cell for cleaning vs having to have a pool repair tech out to cut into your PVC again) use the manufacturer's directions on cleaning your cell. To clean the salt cell on my pool required a mixture of about 70% water and 30% Muriatic Acid in a bucket in which you place your cell and you will start to see it bubble and foam, which is the acid eating the calcium deposits off the metal blades of the cell. EXPERT WARNING - Muriatic Acid is VERY dangerous and if poured onto concrete or your body it will eat a hole right through it, so be very careful when handling Muriatic Acid. EXPERT WARNING - Muriatic Acid if mixed with Chlorine creates "Mustard Gas" and is deadly if breathed in. So don't think of adding chlorine to the cleaning bucket like I've heard of people recommending before.

Well that's my 2 cents and facts I know from selling tens of thousands of salt chlorine generators over the past 10 years online and it's still one of our top selling product lines.

Happy Swimming!


Honeywell WiFi thermostat install My old honeywell thermostat did not have a C wire as it was ran on batteries. I did find a light blue wire when removing the old thermostat that was not being used. Looking at the furnace circuit board, there is a dark blue wire connected to C, but another group of wires that run to the thermostat with the light blue wire is not being used. My question is can I connect the light blue to the C terminal that already has the dark blue to see if I get power to my thermostat? I am guessing maybe the other set of wires are from the AC unit outside?

Furnace:

I tried to upload the wiring for the thermostat but it was too large. But it is a white, red, yellow, green and light blue.

Yes, you are right on track here

Simply connecting the light blue wire to the C terminal on your furnace control board (with the furnace turned off at the service switch or breaker, of course) will get you a C wire for your new thermostat.  You are also correct that the cable with the yellow and dark blue wires connected in it goes off to your air conditioner (outdoor unit); it is what carries the signal to the air conditioner that calls for it to run the compressor.


5 hp air compressor wiring 5 hp 80 gal 208/230 volt air compressor, amps 18.6-17.5, LR amps -95, KW- 2.98
Located 80-100 feet from panel--looking for wire size and breaker size    thanks   John
on 230V circuit
hp listed on tank is 4.7
no FLA

Do they provide the FLA?
Air compressor vendors lie about horse power!!!
Going by code we would use the fla book value 5hp or 28 amps plus 125% because it is a motor load or 35 amps requiring a 35 but probably a 40 amp breaker and #8 wire.
In reality your fla is probably going to be closer to 13 amps ( 2.98kw /240v) and that will be fine on a 12 awg circuit with a 20 amp circuit breaker.
Why do I say air compressor (and vacuum cleaner) companies lie?
With locked rotor no work is being done and the definition of 1 horse power is the work of 746w. They put the LR value and at locked rotor no work is done.


How to clean pine wood floor (kitchen)? I bought an older apartment with wooden floor, so I have no idea what kind of wood is it, what protection was used for it and what actually is that dirt. I was trying to clean it with soap water.
Result of "cleaned" kitchen floor.

Something was cleanable (great)
Yellow arrows, I was dark spot which I cleaned but I still have this stains which looks like wet
Red arrows, I could not cleaned it at all. This mess seem to be inside of the wood

How can I clean the floor and not hurt it? I prefer solution without sanding.

Its rubbed in oil, dirt and small particles of metal. There is no way on the planet you can get it out. Sanding deep is the only option.

You can use oxalic acid, which will bleach the wood and significantly lighten the stains. Oxalic acid is powerful stuff, so be careful.


How large must the air inlet tube of the sewage be? A friend of mine lives in the last floor of a building with 4 floors. One of his bathroom syphons keeps being emptied each time he or a neighbour flushes the toilet. The water is simply drained out. I think the problem may be related with the small size of the air inlet at the attic of the building (around 2.5cm). Needless to say that an horrible smell comes with the empty syphon.

The strange fact is that this only happens in one of the bathrooms. To be sure I closed all the sewage pipes in this bathroom. The water in the other bathroom syphon is stable when flushing the toilet.

Any other ideas?

Install an air-admittance valve on the sewage side of the trap.


Where can I find a garage door (slot) mail basket? I'm looking for a place I can buy a garage door mail slot basket. I had one in my old (rented) house and I'm looking to install one.
It should look something like the image below, and keep upright when the garage door is opening.
This site was selling them, but as you can see on the top of their page, not anymore :(
If you have a suggestion where I can buy the basket itself (need to have round edge to act as a hinge when the door opens) and assemble it myself, that would be a good start too.

This guy crafted his own.

This site sells mail baskets.

You could always use a priority mail box and attach it with a few bolts and screws. Hot glue a dowel rod to the box and use the same type of clips to get the hanging effect.


Correct way to attach 3 layers of subfloor? I am putting new tile in bathroom  which has 1x6 planks diagonally across joists. I need to raise this floor  1 3/4" to match the toilet flange, door jambs etc.
What’s the best way?
Currently  I am thinking to double up 1 1/8 ply (in strips to save on cost) with 3/4 T&G ply on top.
What’s the best way to screw all this on top the existing planks?  First layer to joists second not? Both to joists?  Both not?
Having all these layers worries me but i need the height.
I am putting ditra + tile on top of this stack....

Given the amount you want to raise the floor I'd suggest 2x1" planks screwed to each joist (+0.75") with the 3/4" on top of that (+0.75"). You should then put a sheet of 1/4" ply on top. This way if you ever need to remove the tiles / ditra you only need to tear up the 1/4" ply and can leave the 3/4" floor intact.
Also, make sure you stagger the plywood joints.


How effective are DIN 985 self-locking nuts? They're DIN 985 self-locking nuts

that have a plastic ring inside that is meant to cause extra friction and prevent self-loosening of the nut.

How effective are they against self-loosening?

In the General Aviation aircraft industry, AN365 / MS20365 full-profile Nylon insert self-locking nuts are an important staple. Use them with the appropriate washer and in appropriate locations.

Nylon insert self-locking nuts major weakness is heat, they are recommended to only be used in areas that never exceed 250°F (~121°C). The heat softens the Nylon, reducing its gripping power.

For high temperature use, metal construction self-locking nuts are used. Nylon is a little more gentle on the threads, the full metal nuts either have one end ovaled or have the end castellated and compressed to grip the threads and can be like running a thread cutting die on the bolt if disassembled multiple times.

Straked Top Lock, Nylon Insert, Torque Nut


Frost Free Silcock - At Grade - Problem in Winter? I'm installing a frost free silcock which will be pretty much at grade (I might even have to dig a little under it for the hose attachment!). I pretty much expect this to be covered in snow all winter, but don't really think that will be an issue, but I'm looking for feedback. I live in Yukon, Canada FYI.

I will of course disconnect the hose and make sure the silcock is drained. I'm debating in if winter I will bother draining the pipes as the silcock is 18" and my pipes will likely have insulation/heat tape and I have a heater in my crawl-space (overkill, but it gets -40 where I live sometimes, but not usually for more then a few days!).

The frost free or freeze proof part keeps it from freezing outside the house envelope. If the pipes in the crawl space get below freezing for a few days they could freeze but I would not be worried about the Silcock as snow actually acts like insulation.
 Ever heard about people sleeping in snow caves? I have done it at -20 and been quite warm.
It sounds like you have the crawl space well insulated and heated so I would not be two concerned about the Silcock freezing at all.


Is there any NEC code requirement for how far off the floor Category 5 wiring must be run? I am currently running conduit for Cat5e cable in the home office I am finishing off.  Are there any rules in the code for how far off the floor Category 5 wires in conduit must be run?

No.  Cat 5 cabling can be run on the ground or underground.  If you are worried about it working just make sure the coating isn't torn/cut and it is capped properly.  If you are worried about code violations - no inspector cares unless the cable is interfering with something else he cares about.

My experience level - ran communications cable for large internet provider for 4 years both in the field and in-house.  If you run cable underground there is code specific sheathing needed.  Not really sure this would apply for cat5 because that wouldn't be used for long runs.  I personally have buried cat5 cable 1 foot under by 50 feet to set up a link in a shed that now works just fine 8 years later - without piping. Hillbilly but works perfect.

If I were doing my house I would run it 7-8 inches off the ground.  Just because that is usually a spot that has little chance to be nailed/screwed.

Actually I wouldn't run cabling in my house.  You run cables now and in 2-3 years wireless is faster.  Seriously what could you be doing at your house that wireless wouldn't work?  They make 1GB wireless routers for under $100.  Soon 10GB will be the norm.  Your internet speed - if it is blazing blazing fast - goes at 100 MB.  That is 10 times less than your 1GB wireless throughput.  Also your computer will only be able to process so much data being saved to it.  I have my house teched out to the max (video/music hub server, print server, 10 devices online, virtual servers, mac/pc) and I haven't thought for a second running cables.  Unless you are looking at selling your house soon to a couple in their 40/50s (the only demographic where cabling was known to) I see this as being pointless from a pure tech standpoint.  My advice - take all the money that you were spending on this project - read reviews - buy a good router, buy a repeater if you are worrying about reception to devices, buy a central hub device (NAS) to store and share your stuff and enjoy.


Simple construction for trunk-or-treat I'm sorry this is slightly off-topic, but I was hoping this might be a fun brainstorm for some folks who are more construction-minded than I am.

Our church is taking part in a "Trunk-or-Treat", where you decorate your car, and serve candy out of your trunk.  We decided to go with a pirate theme for our car, and our trunk is like a big treasure chest.  To pull this off, we need a way to construct a mast that we can attach a bed sheet as a sail, and somehow attach it to the car without causing any damage.

The car has a sunroof, if that makes setting it up any easier, but I'm basically looking for ideas on materials and basic construction.  Ideally, this would involve relatively cheap materials that we could pick up at Wal-Mart/Home Depot, and fairly simple setup.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated, thanks so much!
-J

A simple mast looks somewhat like this:

   |
-------
   |
   |
   |
-------
   |
   |
  XXX  <- Christmas tree holder

So, I think you could get a few 2x4 and make one.  Then just place the mast through the sunroof going in from the top (2 people).  I think duct tape is your friend.  Where the mast is resting up against the sun roof, just duct tape it in to hold it in place.   Remove tape when finished.

A christmas tree holder could be used to add stability.  Just screw in the bottom of the mast to the holder and then the holder sits in your car.  Optionally the same setup could be used outside if you don't want to put it through the sunroof, just put a blanket on your roof to avoid scratches.  Good luck.


Can I convert ONE 3 phase connection power supply to become TWO 3 phase connections? Currently I have a SINGLE 3 phase connection power supply. I intend to convert it from ONE 3 phase connection to TWO 3 phase connections. Is there a way to do that?

Assuming you mean receptacle, yes you can split a split a three phase branch circuit into multiple receptacles the same way it is done for regular 120V circuits. It's rare though as most three phase machinery draws a lot of power which warrants dedicated circuits. But, if you have a small shop and you only use one machine at a time, then it's fine.

My grandfather had a mini shop inside my fathers shop and he had a single 20A 208V circuit that ran to three twist lock outlets. He had a mill, lathe and surface grinder. All of which could easily share a single circuit because he never ran more than one at a time.


How can I mitigate low frequency reverb in a bedroom? Outside my bedroom window, there is a store air conditioner which runs 24/7. It's noisy in general, but closing the window takes care of most higher frequencies. My issue is with a specific low frequency (around 50hz I think) which obviously does not yield to my windows or curtains.

Now, when sleeping with my head against the back wall of the bedroom, this low frequency noise is very noticeable and is generally an issue for sleeping well. However, if I turn around and sleep with my head towards the center of the room the noise is barely noticeable.

I accept my lack of options in regards to blocking the noise getting into the room, but I'm wondering if there is a way to mitigate it even when sleeping closer to the wall. Would a acoustic foam on the wall by the top of the bed help at all?

And in general, is what I'm dealing with here the waves reverb in the room? do reverb solutions (foam, soft surfaces, etc.) help at all with such low frequencies?

Cheers.

Read about bass traps.  There are all different types; you can build your own or buy one pre-made.  It sounds like for your situation, a correctly tuned Helmholtz resonator will accomplish the task in a small package.  It's supposed to be cheap and easy; try this calculator.

You can determine the frequency of your noise with this app or similar.  Make sure that you see a clear low frequency peak because your phone might have a high-pass filter.  If you don't see one, then try putting your phone against the wall or against the AC unit, or try another phone/tablet/etc.


Propane HVAC system - convert to use wood burning stove? is it possible to remove the propane part of the HVAC and replace it with a wood burning stove? If so what would I have to change - eg the chimney etc etc?

It's possible, but unless your furnace is way over sized, you can't just stick a heavier box in the same packaging and burn wood in it. You can reuse the duct work and blower, but everything else would need to be replaced. Depending on how much heat you need, it may not make sense to place the fire box where your furnace is. Further more, you may want to keep the propane as a back up. Don't discount how convenient it might be once in a while to turn a valve, strike a match, turn a switch and have instant heat.

Heating 100% with wood in any cold climate takes a huge volume of wood. If you don't plan for easy transport of fuel from storage into the firebox, as well as good storage convenient to vehicle access, the scheme is doomed. Because of this, many serious wood burners have a boiler system to move heat from the firebox to the air handling unit (or directly to radiators). It's much easier to move heat stored in a fluid than to lug blocks of wood through the house and up and down stairs.

Consider carefully if you're ready for this. Every part of wood burning is dirty, hard work. When you factor in all the costs and effort, propane can be a competitive alternative. Another option many people take is to leave the HVAC system and install a wood stove in the main living area at a central location. The wood stove is capable of heating much of the house. The HVAC system is used to keep the outer rooms heated. This will typically involve re-balancing the duct system and moving the thermostat.

There's a lot of different possible solutions, what's best will depend on climate, house size, lifestyle, personal habits and preferences, etc. Locate contractors that specialize in wood fired heating systems, not just simple stove installations. It takes someone with that experience to make a reasonable recommendation based on your particular situation.


Do I need a ground for a 2-wire BX cable to a stove? I am installing a new electric stove in a 20 year old condo. The existing BX cable has only 2 wires and both are hot legs. Do I need a ground wire or can I use the BX armor as the ground??

2014 NEC 250.118.10 all 3 examples of using Metal Clad include the use of a grounded conductor. In the 2014 NEC handbook 330.108 states. "the interlocked sheath cable construction is not recognized as an EGC." so it would not be lega. A discrete conductor is needed for the Equipment Grounding Conductor.


Can I use #14 wire pigtails on a 20A circuits? I’ve used 12 gauge wire and 20 amp breakers in my basement.

They go into a shallow box and the 12 gauge is difficult to work with.

Can I drop to 14 gauge in the receptacle boxes and pigtail the connection ?

You can drop to #14 gauge but you must change your breaker to a 15 amp breaker. Can you replace the shallow box with a deeper one and stay with the #12?. You really don't want to lower the circuit rating in a basement. Still pigtail the connection but use the #12. It might make fitting everything back into the box easier. You could also use a box extender to get a bit more room. Some food for thought: outlets in an unfinished basement need to be GFCI protected.


Coating copper with aluminium powder I am about to install a copper weathervane which will also work as lightning conductor (it will be mounted on top of an earthed aluminium flagpole).

Because:

exposed to weather, copper will corrode and become looking like
the Statue of Liberty; and
I want the weathervane to look white/silver/metallic

— I am looking for options to coat the weathervane with conductive metallic layer which will:

Protect copper from corrosion
Be electrically conductive
Look white/silver/metallic

Products like EMI/RFI shielding would perhaps be ideal for the purpose, but the problem is that they are not available in New Zealand, and they are classified as dangerous goods to be shipped here by ordinary mail (except for water based, but this won't be weather resistant).

I am therefore looking at making conductive coat myself from aluminium powder.

What kind of base/resin should I use?

You are way overthinking this.  First, ever hear of companies doing chrome plating? Yes. Zinc plating (galvanizing)? Yes. Aluminum plating?  No. And there's a reason for that!  Aluminum corrodes horribly in the weather, it would be somewhat less desirable than manure plating.

Just buy cold galvanizing compound. It is paint that's over 90% zinc,  designed to repair/restore things which were galvanized.  The remaining 10% is the resin that holds the paint together, and the solvents which evaporate.

It weathers to the appearance of a galvanized tin roof.

The solids are heavy and really want to separate.  It takes a long time to stir it up. It wants to separate in the paint cup while you are painting, so you must constantly stir it up from the bottom.  Also, it's liable to break a paint shaker unless the shaker is designed for much larger cans.

Seriously, the can is so heavy you want to heat it up to see if it says "One ring to rule them all".

If you must make your own paint, don't use epoxy as a base. Sunlight destroys epoxy.  But there are several other things like epoxy which don't have that problem, and they are widely used by shops that make skateboards and surfboards.  An example is polyurethane, which comes in 2 parts, you mix it like epoxy, mix in your powdered metal base, and off you go.

Also before you say "not available in NZ", do make sure you've done some genuine detective work. Industrial procurement is never easy.  I need a custom crankshaft for an obsolete industrial diesel, they don't sell those at Walmart and it isn't on the Internet.  You have to dig, dig, dig through the industrial supply network.


Why do I have low voltage and backfeeding between circuits throughout my whole house? If I plug a hairdryer or anything else into a outlet, I lose voltage in the whole house. If I plug the iron in, the stove surges. This is a nightmare. I can't run the fridge; I can't even get the TV to come on. This just happened all of a sudden.

Also I have backfeeding on multiple circuits. No breakers have tripped.  On my main breaker I'm pulling 170V with nothing on. Also I can shut all circuits down and still loose voltage on that circuit.

What could be happening?

Very very dangerous. First, all your electrical equipment is at risk.  Shut off the mains, call an electrician.  Or wait a bit longer and call the fire brigade.

If you have a shared neutral, or multiwire branch circuit, the neutral could have broken.  Or the house was miswired (see
http://www.homeinspector.org/resources/journals/Multiwire-Branch-Circuits.pdf ). Or what should have been a double breaker flipped, leaving the other half hot.


What are pros and cons of magnetic and mechanical door latch? There such small latches that can be screwed up to cabinets wall and door.
There two types: magnetic ones and mechanical (with a spring).
Like this (magnetic):

And this:

Magnetic ones seem to be very strong and seems don't lose strength over time. And prices are approximately the same (in general). So, why would I prefer one before the other?

The magnetic ones are simpler imho, and don’t have so much to catch a sleeve on. Also, the tongue on the mechanical one can deform over time.


Why, in the same light bulb, three of the six leds flick, and the other do not? As the title of the post says:

What could be the reason to have three of the six leds of the same light bulb, blinking?  while the other three don´t ?

Thanks so much for your help.

Tyrus.

The reason this happens is that in some of the cheapest and crappiest LED lights large batches of the LEDs are all wired in parallel with each other. Each of the LEDs that are in parallel has a slightly different voltage threshold at which it lights up. Due to the parallel connection of all the LEDs the circuit causes the same voltage to be applied to all the LEDs. The LEDs with the lowest thresholds will be the ones that light the brightest whilst the ones with the highest thresholds will be the dimmest or will not light at all.

Flickering will happen with some LEDs that are on the very edge of being turned on. This flicker game is the fact that as those LEDs right on the edge that are turning on will have slightly increased temperature which changes the LED's threshold voltage some. This change in turn causes the current to change a small amount which pushes the LED on other side of the on/off edge. This results in a temperature decrease in the LED and starts the cycle over again. The relatively slow nature of thermal changes is what makes the flickering at a visually detectable frequency.


Wire two switches to one neutral? I have two wall switches side-by-side.  There appears to be only one neutral wire.
I'm trying to install WEMO wifi enabled wall switches.  My WEMO switches require a neutral wire.  Can I wire both WEMO switches to the same neutral wire?

If both switches are powered by the same breaker you can wire both to the same neutral. From the wad of wiring I would expect the hot,neutral and ground to be in the box but it should be verified and that there is only 1 hot going to the box. If there are 2 separate circuits or power from more than 1 breaker the switch needs to be wired to the same neutral that the power comes in on.


Proper method to wire through different surfaces I have added a 6" deep bump out with a TV and an electric fireplace in the center of a  wall. There is a receptacle behind the feature wall which the tv and fireplace plug into. I am also creating a removable panel to access the receptacle and coax connections. Complexity was heightened when we decided to add some puck lighting under the mantle below the tv. These are 120v hardwired pucks with a dimmer on the side of the mantle.

My plan was to tap into the receptacle and run power to the dimmer. My question is that I'm going through a couple of surfaces and not sure what the proper technique (plain romex, conduit, junction boxes, etc) I should be using to keep all this as safe as possible.

The TV and fireplace are mounted on the outside of the feature wall and their cables run inside down to the receptacle. So I only go through the feature wall surface.

The puck lights & dimmer need power from the receptacle line. So I need to have that romex attached to the receptacle inside the wall, come out of the wall, go through the front of the feature wall into the hollow center of the mantle to get to the dimmer.

I know code varies by jurisdiction, but I'm looking for some best practice advice here.
Is a junction box safe with no cover? There wont actually be any wiring junctions in it, its more there just to give me a pass-through the drywall. I can have the romex come up to a junction box and simply extend to the dimmer through the front of the feature wall and into the mantle but is that ok or do I need metal conduit from the receptacle all the way to the dimmer?

You can't run power cords through/inside the wall, so you'll have to install a receptacle behind the TV and fireplace.

You can run nonmetallic sheathed cable (romex) inside the wall, so there should be no problem running it from the receptacle through the wall and to the dimmer.


Adding fiberglass batts on top of cellulose; should I remove some cellulose? I am adding unfaced fiberglass batts atop existing cellulose insulation in my attic.  Currently, the cellulose is about 7 inches thick between/atop my 2x6 joists.  I am wondering if it is worth removing the extra ~1 inch of cellulose before installing the new batts so that the latter won't compress the cellulose and reduce the R-value.  Is this a good idea or should I just add the fiberglass right on top?

I would not sweat it. The amount of compression versus what it would take to remove the 1" of cellulose, with all the wires, unseen framing blocks, and whatever else is concealed, to me is not worth it.

Usually what I am used to seeing in attics is insulation heaped up in places and thinner in others. I would take a push broom and pull or push the high spots and move them into the low spots, then add the fiberglass batts.


Can I use shorter screws to mount my blinds? I've bought a pair of blinds that came with 1 1/4 inch screws; I'm unable to drill deep enough into the frame to fit the screws, the screws are sticking about 1/8 of a inch out . I end up hitting something pretty solid while drilling. Can I just go to the store and get slightly shorter screws?

The blinds are 69 inches long, and there's 3 brackets each with two screws, it probably weights 6-7 lbs at most.

Using plain screws into just about any material other than wood or metal will not provide a strong support, especially if the weight that the screw is supporting is trying to pull the screw shank straight out (rather than pulling across the shank of the screw).

From your pictures, the surface appears to be plasterboard (or less likely, plaster), which has to be attached to a support structure, either wood, steel or concrete.

Wood
To test if it is wood under the plaster/plasterboard, remove a screw and insert an awl until it just stops.

With some force, try to push the awl in further. If it is wood, the awl should sink in a bit, but not too easily. There should be enough wood to allow you to drill into it and seat the screws fully. You probably need at least 1/2 inch of screw thread in wood for a safe hold on blinds. More is better. Remember that the plasterboard/plaster doesn't count. Try to guage how thick it is (probably either 3/8 or 1/2 inch) and add that to the depth into the wood.

Steel
If the awl doesn't sink in, it may be a metal stud or a metal beam. If you hit something hard and the point can slide easily side to side, it is probably metal. Try to drill a small hole through it with a sharp drill bit. If it is a steel stud, you will be able to with a bit of pressure. You can then use a sheet metal screw to hold the bracket up. If it is a steel beam, you will not really be able to (it is too thick and hard). You will need a whole different mounting system.

Concrete
If the awl stops but can't be slid along a hard metal edge, it may be a concrete support structure.  The awl should feel as if it is digging into something a bit gritty. You can mount into concrete but need to use a masonry anchor.

To insert the anchor, you first need to drill a properly sized hole with a special masonry drill bit.

It has a carbide insert in the tip. It is slow going and should be much harder than the plasterboard/plaster. The dust probably will be greyish or tan in color.  Be sure not to drill a hole too close to another hole, or the concrete between them may crumble. You then need to insert the anchor and screw the bracket into it.

While it is theoretically possible to get a good enough mount in concrete like this, it is hard. This is especially true when the load is dynamic (moving) the way blinds are.

Plaster/Plasterboard
While it is possible to hang light to moderate loads on plasterboard or plaster, it is really only safe when it is a vertical surface, not an overhead one. You can use various anchors, but not when the force is pulling directly out from the surface rather than down along the surface.


How do I turn off the programs on my White Rodgers thermostat? I can't find anything on the internet about this issue. Sites like this: https://www.hunker.com/12279552/how-to-program-a-white-rogers-thermostat
explain how to set up a program but they don't explain how to turn off programs.

Many thermostats are always running a program, and you can adjust the times & temperatures (varies a lot, but typical is 4 changes per day x 7 days per week) but can't actually say "don't run any program". In that case you generally have two options:
Override/Hold
Most thermostats I have worked with have a "override" or "hold" setting, typically by pressing & holding a particular button for a couple of seconds and then adjusting the temperature. In some cases, the "hold" is set & forget. In others, there are two "levels" of "hold" - temporary and permanent (but terminology may vary, or one may be "override" and one "hold", etc.). With a "temporary" hold, at the next program set time, the program resumes. With a "permanent" hold, the hold stays until you manually release the hold or change the thermostat mode (e.g., heat vs. cool).
Constant Program
Let's say you want 72 degrees all the time. Set the thermostat program for each day:

6:00am 72
9:00am 72
5:00pm 72
10:00pm 72

The thermostat will continue to cycle through the program - doing exactly what you want!
One other problem you might find:
Occupied/Unoccupied
I had a commercial customer years ago that wanted constant 72 degrees since their offices and/or warehouse were in nearly constant use (midnight to 7pm or longer) and they didn't want to worry about people coming in at different times and finding the place too hot or cold. But they also wanted the fan running all the time to keep from feeling "stale" when the ambient temperature didn't require much actual heating or cooling. But the fan would only run 1/2 the time (plus when the heating or cooling was actually running). The HVAC people couldn't figure it out.
It was actually quite simple. I read the poorly written manual and figured it out: The programs (which could not be turned off) alternated between occupied and unoccupied. In unoccupied mode, the fan would NOT run constantly, even if set as "On" instead of "Auto"! The solution was quite simple: I changed the times of the programs so that unoccupied was 2 15-minute chunks (smallest possible) at odd times of the day (so as to affect the fewest people). Problem solved.


What's the difference between XX Volt and XX Volt MAX on rechargeable lithium ion batteries? I was looking at battery power tools and their different battery voltages. Some of the voltages are listed twice, with and without "max". An example for mowers is "40-volt" and "40-volt max". What's the difference between the voltages with "max" and without "max"?

There is one brand of "20-volt Max" tools that reasonably clearly state on their packaging something to the effect of:

Battery provides 20 volt maximum starting power. Provides 18-volts in use.

As a matter of fact, they'll sell you a simple physical adapter (and some wiring between the contacts) that will allow you to use the "20-volt max" batteries on their older 18-volt line of tools.
TL;DR:
"Max" is 98.475% marketing because "Max" sounds, well, like more than "not-max". (And 99.238% of all statistics on the internet are made up on the spot.)


How do I get utility lines marked on my property? In Michigan, there is a service called Miss Dig for identifying buried utility lines. We've just moved from Michigan to New Hampshire, and we would like to know where our utility lines are buried. What service should I call?

A list of "Know Before You Dig" services, by state, is available here: 811 Website

For New Hampshire, contact Dig Safe Systems, Inc.


What is the "wobble" adjustment on a jigsaw for? Every jigsaw I've used had an adjustment knob with an illustration that looked like back-and-forth "wobble" in the blade.

What is this adjustment used for? I've always just set it as what I figured was "least wobble"

It has to do with how far back the blade goes on the down (non cutting) stroke.  It's usually called the "Pendulum Stroke adjustment."  The idea being that it will move the blade back, out of the way of the material on the down stroke.

It reduces the load on the saw when cutting thick materials, at the cost of a bit more splintering.   Use a setting of 0 for fine finish work, and go slow, and 4 for more aggressive cuts where a bit of surface splintering isn't an issue.


Shed foundation piers are not square Basically I've constructed a raised shed foundation using piers concreted into the ground, however they are out of square by 2 inches in opposite corners, so the shape is a slight rhombus. See below circled in red, the same has happened in the opposite corner.

The parallel piece on top is square, so I could either continue building on top of this and leave the overhanging piece visible (how could I hide/cover it?) or potentially add sistered joints on the shorter joists to bring the structure square (best way to do this?).

Repositioning the piers at this point isn't really going to be possible.

Please suggest anything else I haven't considered.

Cheers

It rather depends on your shed construction, but can't you just have the wall overhang the beam by 2" (or even 3")?  That way the overhang will cover the error up completely.


Installing porch light An outdoor porch light has SPT Wire and the wire to which it is attached is an NM WIRE.  How do I know which wire goes to white & which goes with black or does it not matter.

One of the SPT conductors will have ribs running along it's length, that is the neutral and will connect to the white.


What type of wire to use in underwater applications I live in the San Diego County (CA) and I am trying to resurrect a well and I have a question about the type of wire that I need to use from the control box down the shaft of the well.  From the research I've done to date, I need to use submersible wire, but I am seeing conflicting information that UL direct burial would work as a substitute.

The question is, to be up to code, what type of wire do I need to run down the well to the pump?

Use submersible pump cable -- it's what's listed and tested for the job

Submersible pump cable uses a different jacket and insulation composition than other wet-location cables, as it must meet standards for potable water use (NSF/ANSI 61, to be precise) as well as the applicable electrical standards.  The downside is that it must be run in conduit if it exits the wellbore, as it does not have quite the mechanical durability of a direct bury cable.


Baffled by 3-way switch wiring I am the new owner of an old, WWII-era home. The previous owner rented the property out for many years, and upkeep seems to have always gone to the lowest bidder. Among other things this means we have encountered many "interesting" examples of electrical maintenance work. For example, since the house is old and does not have grounded wiring, every three-pronged outlet in the house was wired up with what I eventually learned is called a "bootleg ground". (I removed those.)

Currently I am trying to fix a non-functioning three-way switch in the kitchen. I have looked at what feels like every diagram of three-way switch wiring on the entire internet and still cannot make heads or tails of how ours ought to be wired up. The basic situation is two wall switches on either side of a track light. There is standard 12/3 Romex running from one switch to the other. I have verified using a the continuity tester on my multimeter that each wire in the Romex is connected to the other outlet as expected.

The continuity tester indicates that the older, braided wire shown in the photo with the white arrow connects to the hot rail on the track light. Continuity tester doesn't give any more beeps if I check any of the Romex wires against the ground, neutral or hot rails of the track light. If I connect the black wire to source, the white wire becomes hot relative to ground. If I then connect the white wire and braided wires, the lights turn on.

I'm confused for several reasons. If white becomes hot when I connect black to source, shouldn't there be continuity between white and black? If so I'm not able to measure it. Also what is the role of the braided cable here? This wiring set up seems unlike anything I have found online.

Other outlet. The bottom four wires are the Romex coming from the first outlet. The two wire nutted bundles are a separate circuit (there is an outlet on the other side of the wall for the dining room). I have no idea what the black wire in the upper left is for. Seems to be part of the other circuit as well but I have verified that it is dead.

Electricity travels in loops

In utility electrical, every hot must have a return wire partnered with it.  They must be in the same cable.  All the currents in each cable must be equal: the current coming down as hot must return up as neutral. With 3 or more wires, the currents added together must equal/cancel out.)

When a neutral is disconnected, it will light up as hot. Electrons are trying to return, and they can't. So this "floats" the neutral up to 120V.  This is a really good reason not to bootleg ground -  nor use 3-prong dryer/range outlets, which "legally" bootleg ground.

Get some colored tape

3-way circuits will make you ape crazy, because the physical topology of your wiring, and the equal-currents rule, forces some strange routings sometimes.  Here's what is happening electrically, and note each wire has a different purpose, and in this diagram, each purpose has its own color.

There is no reason to distinguish travelers from each other; they are interchangeable.

Of course this does not match either your wiring topology or your colors.  I would make it so using colored tape or shrink wrap.

So assuming your /3 cable rings out alright...

Figure out how you want to wire your 3-way circuit.  I would take always-hot down to the remote 3-way and bring two messengers back.  Black is a good always-hot color, so I would tape the red and white wires yellow.

Your neutral from supply is already tied to neutral up to the light. Done.

Your hot from supply is easily tied to the /3 cable black.

On both 3-way switches, the yellow wires go to the traveler (brass) screws.

Each box has only 1 wire left, that goes to the common (black) terminal.


What technique should I use to remove rubble from earth, using a small excavator? I've a patch of earth - mostly fairly sticky Gloucestershire clay - which our previous builder has left  mixed up with bricks, larger lumps of concrete and who knows what else. I want to level this and leave enough earth on the surface to let wildflowers and perhaps grass grow.

I'm not expecting this to ever turn into a beautiful lawn, so I'm quite happy to have a go myself with a smallish excavator. The particular bit of land will end up hidden behind a coppice so it needs to be made tidy but not perfect. It's about 30' by 70' in all, with a few trees, and on a slight slope.

Can anyone share techniques on how best to approach this? Should I consider hiring a driver with the digger, or is this feasible as a DIY job? I've used a digger for a weekend before on a lighter job but nothing quite on this scale.

My yard is of similar size, and I had the same problem: rocks, concrete blocks, and trash.  With no previous experience, I rented a Toro Dingo with a few different attachments.

(source: toro.com)

The attachments I used were:

Soil cultivator.  I used it to till old grass down into the ground, since I was planning to lay new sod.  It tilled grass and weeds far enough into the ground that they did not resurface.

(source: toro.com)

Leveler.  I used it to, well, level the ground.  As a side effect, it brought rocks and trash to the surface so I could pick it up easily.

Standard bucket for enlarging a large hole (in order to bury concrete blocks), moving large concrete blocks and rocks, filling the hole, and otherwise moving larger amounts of dirt.

(source: toro.com)

It took me about eight hours for a yard of about the same size as yours.  That included adding 20 cubic yards of new loam on top.  The rental charge was about $400 including delivery and pickup.  It was reasonably easy to make the yard flat, but much harder to make it level because I didn't have any level ground to start from.  If you need your yard to be level, I would recommend hiring someone.


Can I make a post and baluster railing terminate into a wall? I have a railing that starts at the first floor with a post, goes up the stairs with balusters and ends with another post. But space is extremely limited on that 2nd floor landing and the post position makes it hard to grab the railing when going down the stairs. Also the post can not be moved further because of a bedroom doorway.

My question is, can I remove that second floor post and turn and terminate the railing into the wall giving much needed extra room to grab the railing?

I've attached a couple sketches to show what I mean.

You can attach the top of the railing to the wall with a handrail bracket:

You should consider that a safety railing must do its best work during accidents and emergencies. At some point during its lifetime a stair railing will suddenly be subjected to over a hundred pounds of force in some random direction, and it will be because someone is already in trouble and is counting on the railing to save his bones.

Of course you need to locate the bracket on a wall stud.

But even with hefty screws driven into the stud, the bracket will eventually loosen and wobble because it will crush the plaster or wallboard behind it.

You need to cut a plug out of the wall material and replace it with wood or plywood patch to support the bracket. A bit of spackling makes the patch invisible.

Proper installation is a bit of work but necessary for complete safety.

I mounted the stair rails in my house this way and they have not shifted a millimeter in thirty years.


How do I achieve required torque when using an impact driver? There's such tool called impact driver (like this one for example). The manual says it uses a special mechanism to produce a series of torque impulses to fasten/loosen nuts and screws.

The tool has only two adjustments - the forward/reverse switch and the On/Off switch. The deeper the On/Off switch is pressed the faster the tool motor rotates.

There's no clutch to adjust the torque value after which the clutch would disconnect the motor. How do I control the torque without a clutch?

Suppose I need to assemble a section of fence that will require say one thousand screw/nut connections with nuts of the same size (that's not an imaginary task - I did such job without an impact driver). Obviosly I need to tighten all nuts to more or less the same torque. If I overtighten a nut it can just break or cut the screw or bend the parts it connects - that's bad. If I undertighten a nut it will soon loosen and fall out - that;s bad as well.

So let's pretend I use nuts that need to be tightened to approximately 70 Newton-meters and the driver I use is said to produce torque up to 100 Newton-meters.

And of course I need to drive those nuts fast - otherwise why would I use a power tool instead of a screwdriver and a usual wrench? So obviously I can't time the periods of applying torque or count impacts or whatever else - I need some reliable way to achieve more or less the same right torque for all nuts.

Please note: I don't care of achieving exactly the right torque. I only care of achieving more or less the required torque - so that the nuts don't loosen on themselves and parts are not damaged while the nuts are being tightened. The primary concern is that the driver works very fast, so if I hold the switch pressed for just too long I can easily overtighten the nut and cause unintended damage.

How do I achieve roughly the same torque repeatedly for multiple nuts when using an impact driver?

"How do I achieve the same torque repeatedly for multiple nuts when using an impact driver?"

Short of manually using a torque wrench like woodchips recommends, you don't.  The point of an impact driver is not to apply a consistent torque.  It is to apply more torque than can be obtained from a traditional driver.  One of the more common uses is to loosen seized up, or over-tightened bolts/screws.  I also use mine quite a bit when driving screws into wood when the final torque doesn't matter (e.g.- I just need the screw head to be slightly below the surface of the wood..  rough work).

In other words, if your need is consistent torque, an impact driver is not the tool for the job.  A traditional clutched driver is going to be more appropriate.


fluorescent lamp messing with voltage in the house I got a cool lamp from a yard sale, its an arm mounted desk lamp that has a giant magnifying lens in the head and a circular fluorescent tube around it so its really nice for zooming in and illuminating whatever I place under it.

The downside is that it appears to be messing with the power delivery to every other electronic device connected to the mains in the moment when I turn it on. Some are more, others less affected but most annoyingly - it causes my stereo to black out every time I turn the lamp on. The stereo will come back on in like 10 seconds or so but still, can't be healthy.

What can I do to prevent this? Is it supposed to be happening or is the lamp broken somehow?

The lamps previous owner told me she had no issues with it, she was using it to zoom in on pimples in a beauty parlor haha.

Change it to an electronic ballast

There's nothing wrong with fluorescent lights inherently.  However the early fluorescents relied on a design which was before electronics (and therefore, before anyone cared about line noise).

Fortunately, electronic ballasts came along in the 1990's, and they made things much better.  It isn't hard to make an electronic ballast that has very little line noise and an excellent power factor, and also drives the fluorescent tube much closer to optimum conditions.

So, identify your tube type, identify the physical location of the ballast inside the lamp, and shop for a ballast that is a) rated for that tube, and b) physically fits (there are standards for fitment, so it will typically have screw holes in the same places).

If that proves difficult, then shop for an LED replacement "tube".  Those come in 2 varieties: Plug-and-play (does not require ballast to be wired around, BUT depends on the ballast being there) which is stupid.... and Direct-wire, where you feed it mains power directly and the ballast is bypassed.

Mind you, I am biased; I think real fluorescent is a perfectly fine technology and I continue to invest in it.  You may disagree when that tube burns out and you have to spend €30 to replace it!  However if you don't see dark bands on the ends of the tube, that'll be a long time, especially with an electronic ballast.


Need help for ice maker line splitter to be used for coffee maker We have a coffee maker that keeps needing to be refilled. I had an idea to split of the ice maker line (which is easy) to supply the coffee maker. The only issue is, is there any attachment that with a press of a knob or nozzle water can be dispersed?  This would have to fit the regular sized ice maker lines. Thx.

The problem with your idea is the risk of damage of the line and associated leakage.

While ice makers use thin copper or plastic lines, they are permanently attached and not handled once installed. The valve that controls the filling is built into the ice maker, and is automatic.

A similar approach to your coffee maker would require that you have a fixed mounting for the valve that is substantial and protects the line and attachment from rough handling. There are such systems used as pot fillers, like this one

These are permanently mounted on a wall very close to the point you fill pots, such as a stove.  The risk is spilling water in an area with no drain. These units are usually installed with standard plumbing (copper, pex, etc.), not lightweight tubing, although adapters probably could be used to accommodate small tubing.

While there are small plastic valves that are used on things like water jugs, these are also intended for fixed mounts of the valve.


Insulating ducts in unfinished basement? Hi I am looking to insulate circular metal air ducts in my basement because the air reaching some of the farther rooms (from furnace) on the second floor of my home is comparatively much cooler.

I was planning on wrapping r12 blanket pink fibreglass insulation I bought it in a 40ft roll.

However I am wondering if I can use this since it does not have the shiny reflective coating on the outside of the insulation that normal duct wrap insulation has. I do not know what that reflective coating is for or if it is even necessary.

In addition I have read that insulating the air ducts will actually trap heat into the insulation(remove from air) if not wrapped at a proper CLEARANCE, is this true or can I wrap the insulation right up against the metal ducts?

There are products specially made for wrapping the metal HVAC ducts.  Its not recommended to use wall insulation (your 40-ft roll) with HVAC because it isn't designed to handle the temp changes.

Before you insulate the ducts they should be properly sealed with mastic or foil tape.  This basically means cleaning the dirt/dust off of the duct before sealing.


Power in my house is not all working,only half How to tell what's wrong  with power in my house from the meters outside. Half house power is off and on with no tripped breakers

Call the utility, and have them come check the service drop.  If that doesn't resolve it, contact a local licensed Electrician.

There's not much troubleshooting a DIYer can do in this situation, especially if the problem is with the service.


How can I separate two panels bonded with urethane glue? I glued a painting wood panel back to another small piece of wood to add hanging wire with gorilla glue.  I now want to take these two wood pieces apart.  What can I use?

A saw, a chisel, or brute force. Cured polyurethane glue is largely impervious to solvents, and if there are any exceptions to that, they are probably absurdly hazardous to people.

If you don't actually want the small piece, setting up a router jig to plane it off the painting would be a relatively tidy/controlled way of removing it.


Will installing a beam under my shed's floor framing eliminate the bounce? The previous owner of my property built a roughly 16x12 outbuilding on posts. Besides doing many things in slightly stupid ways, the building overall isn't awful. I've converted it into a manhut where I drink beers and butcher deers.

The floor bounces, and when I crawled underneath, I could have punched him. He used 2x6 floor joists, 19" on center. I dont have much working room under the building and am on a budget.

Here is my plan: cut holes in subflooring. Using auger or post hole diggers, bury 6x6 posts (3) in concrete, shoulder cut 6x6 and use 2x10s to create a beam in the middle of the joists. Think this will be enough to take out the bounce and be strong enough to have a couple of guys standing, along with lots of outdoors gear/equipment in there without risking breaking joists?

Grade of soil shown in diagram. In the footprint diagram, the lowest clearance is in the top right corner.  The ground slopes from top right towards bottom left.

If footings must go below the frost line, then I'd dig them at the edge, one on each side of the building in the middle of the 16 ft long side, and fill with concrete. Then use the truncated pyramid blocks, or other blocks on top to support a beam. Attach the beam loosely on to the joists above, then put jacks under each end and raise the beam (and the shed) until you can slide supporting blocks under the ends of the beam.

The particular footing I use from Lowes or HD has slots at a right angle for 2x lumber and a square for a 4x4 in the center. Here I am using one to support a cedar post (6" x 3.5") so I laid in a piece of PT 2x4 with notches cut out on the corners.


What height concrete gate posts do I need for a 4 foot high gate? The gate is 4ft high by 4ft wide for a garden path and is a standard quality metal gate, so not very heavy.

The post should be 4 feet high above ground and deep enough to be set into concrete below the frost line.  A 4' hole (8' post) should be more than sufficient.  Probably overkill, in fact, but wouldn't go any less than 6' total, 2' below grade, and if you're in the north, definitely go deeper.


Can I add unfaced insulation on top of faced insulation which is on top of cellulose? I want to roll out some additional fiberglass insulation in my attic.  Currently there is loose cellulose with faced fiberglass batts placed on top of the cellulose.  The facing is facing out as in the picture.  My question is, can i just roll the insulation out on top of this without a vapor issue or do i need to remove the facing (if that's even possible).  Thanks for you thoughts.

The facing shouldn't be there in the first place.  The facing/vapor barrier should always be on the inside. ("Warm side")

Having the facing on the outside creates a moisture pocket - moisture that gets between the ceiling below and the facing above becomes trapped, and encourages rot and mold growth.

Remove the facing and then you can pile on more insulation to your hearts content.  Lay it perpendicular to the existing layer.


Can I strip a neutral wire and use it to pigtail ground wires? I need to ground outlets in my house and need to pigtail the ground wires. Just wondering if I can salvage the old neutral wires, strip them, and use them to pigtail to the outlet instead of cutting off extra ground wire.

Yes, as long as they are thick enough (thicker is always OK) and you must strip the whole wire because grounds must be green or bare, not white or any other color. If you are concerned about the ground wires shorting against screws, put tape over the screws, not over the ground wires.

From Grounding Conductors size (PDFP:

For 15A - 30A, the sizes are the same as the hot & neutral for the same size circuits:

15A - 14 AWG
20A - 12 AWG
30A - 10 AWG

Above 30A, you get to downsize:

40A - 10 AWG
50A - 10 AWG
60A - 10 AWG
100A - 8 AWG
200A - 6 AWG


How do I install a countertop with a large overhang without using a corbel or post? (Note: I don't think this is a duplicate. Most questions like this are about supporting an overhang using a kneewall, which is very different than a counter side.)

I am having a new granite countertop installed on an existing kitchen island. The counter is planned to overhang the cabinet at the end of its length (so the short end, ~36" wide) by about 18". The installer told me that it would need support brackets, and recommended that I get metal ones rather than the wooden corbel I have on an existing overhang in my kitchen.

I went to Lowes and asked four different associates - not one had any idea what I was talking about, but one was kind enough to show me the regular L-brackets that they had and sold me the strongest one. (I bought two, since the overhang will be about 36" wide.)

Is this the right thing to use? In this question, the asker was told to use corbels instead of brackets and that those would be fine to install on a cabinet wall. Is my installer incorrect that brackets would be stronger than wooden corbels? The cabinet wall is beadboard, but there seems to be another layer underneath. I have another counter in the kitchen with a smaller (~10") overhang supported by a wooden corbel.

UPDATE:

After a discussion in the comments to @dmoore 's answer, I am wondering if a t-brace (like this) might work without any additional support, since the best option suggested by dmoore might be difficult to implement in my specific case.

I have gone through this on about 20 installs and have gotten better from my first ones.   The thicker the L-bracket the better.   A lot of time the big box doesn't sell ones that are made for countertop jobs.   This is something I usually order online because I get these cheaper and better quality.

I am going to give you pointers based on you making these as invisible as possible without the granite company scribing for them.   For the granite installer to do this you would have needed to be set up during their measurements.   They could have a "wide" scribe but I wouldn't go this way.

Steps:

Take current countertop off cabinet.
Take drawers or anything else out and out of the way.
On the top of your cabinets where the L bracket is coming out cut out a indentions so that your L bracket is level with the top of the cabinet.
Even with the bottom of the cutouts you are going to install a 2x4 (or 6) across the back inside of the cabinet.
Great to get screws on this but I have used liquid nails before.   (prop it up while glue dries if you go this way)
Test it out.  Make sure that L bracket is level and lines up (you can do this before glue dries if glueing) - you are installing the L bracket inside the cabinet.
Do not screw in L brackets!!!
When countertop guys arrive set the L brackets in place and let them install counter on top of them.   This will assure they are positioned to support the counter.   You could be microns off and will need to support that with a shim on the 2x side.
Use a rubber shim if needed (seen wood shims fall out), and screw it in.
Your installers may want you to epoxy the counters to the L bracket... don't.   This does nothing but make it harder to uninstall.

Note for your install you want it out about 10-12 inches - I will say 12 to be safe.   12 inches plus 1.5 inches for 2x plus .5 inch misc.... means you need a 14" L bracket.   I suggest you hit the side of the L bracket with an angle grinder on the corners facing the seated people to curve them out.

Also you want these about 6 inches from edges - can get away with 8 inches - you are really right on the edge of needing three brackets and someone doing a conservative install would use three.

Edit for one-off challenges:

  It is on the end of the island.

This should be installed the same way if possible.

  I have a sink that is going to take up a lot of room.

I have installed A LOT of undermount sinks...  If I install them the way I want to I brace them with 2x4s.   I could take a picture of my kitchen undermount in my home and I have a 2x4 on each side.   Why?   Usually you have about 2" of play on each side (I actually put the 2x4 after install/caulk - so about 2 days after).   For normal big double basin undermount you will get that 2 inches.   Given your sink is big if you put a lot of stuff in it (water) the caulk will not be able to hold it up.  Caulk is a really a lazy way for granite guys to hold sinks up anyway.  I actually first thought of doing this on one my installs after one of my sons was born the wife wanted to use sink to wash baby...

I calculated about 40-50 pounds in the sink.   So being paranoid I added the 2x4s.   I have done this is 20+ kitchens with zero failures when before I had people calling up about caulk failing and shaky sink.   So get these in there if you can, helping you brace your L bracket is just a plus.

  I really don't have room because of sink or drawers.

This is OK and have ran into this issue because of drawers.  Time to get your creative juices going.   What we have done in the past is router a 2x4 with beveled edges and some patterns and installed it as a decorative edging to the top outer part of the cabinet.   You won't even see it unless you bend down and look under the island and it is basically the exact same install as up above - albeit you will have to chisel out the top for brackets, you will need 1.5" less length on L bracket and your island actually isn't overhanging as much.   I would say the minimum depth here is 1" plus island backer if you don't want to go with 2x4 - the "deluxe island L brackets" might call for 1.5" though.

  Can I use a T bracket?

Yes yes yes.   T-brackets are better than L brackets because they do a better job innately at making sure the supported material is aligned to the bracket.   Like I mentioned above you will probably have to shim to get your L bracket aligned.   You would have to do the same thing with the T-bracket but it will force you to shim where the L-bracket will just move to whatever is pushing the most.   The reason it was not mentioned is that the question involved installing a sink, and you would not be able to use a T-bracket.   Also it is much harder to find a quality T-bracket for countertops, especially longer ones.


Is it possible to have a room protected from outside GSM microwave radiation? How can I reduce the GSM signal coming from outside into my bedroom, knowing that it's impossible to create a perfect Faraday cage because of the windows & door.

All you need is a Faraday cage, with the proper size holes.

The Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) operates at 2100, 1900, 1800, 900, 850, or less commonly 450 or 400MHz.

The diameter of the openings in a Faraday cage, should be 1/10th the wavelength of the wave you want to block.

Wavelength (λ) is equal to the speed of travel, divided by the frequency of the wave.

Electromagnetic radiation travels at the speed of light (c).

So the formula would be.

Diameter mesh size (mm) = (c / f) * 10,000

So to block a 2100MHz GSM signal, you'll need a Faraday cage with ~1/2" (12.7 mm) diameter openings.

D = (299,792,458 m/s / 2100 MHz ) * 10,000
D = 14.2758313333 mm

As you've mentioned, you'll have to integrate the mesh into the windows and doors of the room.

This colander worn as a hat, should effectively block GSM signals from melting your brain.


Connect 5w 100k ohm resistor between neutral and hot to prevent LED light blinking when switch is off I have touch operated light switches operating LED lights throughout my home. The switch manufacturer claims that I must add a device to circuits containing LED bulbs of 5w or less to prevent flickering. They show their device connected between the neutral and hot wires before the driver and after the switch. Some of the devices "popped" - they suggested to replace the device with a 5w 100k ohm resistor bridging the hot and neutral wire before the LED driver and after the switch. Does this make sense? Is this correct? Is this not a short circuit when the switch is on?

First, you are not allowed to use electronic components in mains electrical wiring.   You must use "equipment" which has been tested and certified (listed) for use in mains electrical wiring.  Equipment may simply be an electronic component in a safe housing built to a certifiable spec and run through the independent testing lab to test for fire and health safety.  TUV or UL are testing labs, CE is not.

A resistor is a resistor, as long as it is made for this purpose and the ohm values are within 50-70%.  If Moon Rune Importers there can't provide a Listed resistor, get a resistor from another manufacturer.

If that doesn't work for you, change the smart switch to one that does not have the resistor requirement.  Electronic ballasts/drivers are not a surprise.   CFLs have been on the market for over 20 years, governments have been expressing their intent to deter/ban incandescents for almost that long, to warn manufacturers to stop making things that aren't compatible with electronic drivers.  So they have no excuse.

A 100k resistor on 110/120V will draw as follows:

E=IR   120V = I * 100,000ohm    I = 0.0012 amps
W=EI   W = 120V * 0.0012A       W = 0.144 watts

A 100k resistor on 220/230/240V will draw as follows:

E=IR   230V = I * 100,000ohm    I = 0.0023 amps
W=EI   W = 230V * 0.0023A       W = 0.529 watts

Either approach seems reasonable.  I'm not sure where you get a 100k resistor that's listed for use with mains electrical, but 0.5 watts is little enough energy that cooling won't be a big factor.

It will be a short, as you suspect, but it won't be a dead short.  Current will be limited to 0.0012 amps or 0.0023 amps, depending on your voltage.  This will result in watts of power consumed being under 1 watt.

The only thing that surprises me is that such low current flow would suffice.


What's the proper way to leave extra length of wire going into electrical panel? I'm remodeling my fixer house, and I plan to install an electrical panel in an unfinished basement. At some point (hopefully in the near future), I'll finish the basement space.  This will add thickness to the walls (insulation and framing).

If I want to move my panel from the unfinished wall to the finished wall, what's the proper/correct way to allow for the extra length of wiring I'll need to account for the change in depth (about 4-6")? I'm interested in both accounting for extra length in branch circuits as well as the feeder cables coming into my house.  Citations of relevant sections of Code are appreciated.

The Code requires "neat and workmanlike" work.  A lot of people interpret that as nipping back all extra length of wires so there's the minimum wire clutter possible.  I don't at all.  I leave enough wire so I could move the breaker almost anywhere in the panel, and I use stranded wire so shaping them in clever ways doesn't work.

One very easy way of leaving extra space is intentionally choosing breaker locations that are farther away than needed, i.e. wire all the left-entering cables onto the right breaker bar, and the right-entering cables onto the left breaker bar.  Remember don't cross the buses with wire, go above or below the buses.

  110.12 Mechanical Execution of Work. Electrical equipment shall be installed in a neat and workmanlike manner.

That's it.


Why does the voltage drop when my office circuit (115V) is under load? 3 circuits (red, blue, black, neutral white; approx. 100ft in metal conduit [ed: alongside 2 other similar 4-conductor MWBC]) feeding several outlets in a couple rooms.  Voltage tests 110V(ish) on all three, neutral-to-earth voltage is around 9V.  Plug tester says everything's fine.  (Y'know, that consumer plug with 2 yellow LEDs & one red LED.)

[ed: light industrial +office location, all work professionally done ~10 years ago, main is 250A 480V/3  but this is off a 208/120 3 wye transformer, 12AWG solid copper wires, 20A breakers, boring office loads (few computers, router, 802.11 switch, a small printer, alarm, a space heater, micro-fridge)]

However, I plug something in, and get no juice.  It's a verrrry localized brownout.  Other circuits on the panel are fine.  Does this sound like something obvious?

The first symptom we had was a short between blue and neutral, giving 210V on red and black outlets.  (Yikes.)  After dis- & re-assembling all the outlets and conduit junctions, the short disappeared, but (as above) the circuits are still not usable.

This seems like the most appropriate forum, but if this question goes somewhere else please let me know.

Thanks!

You have a lost neutral. Stop using the circuit until fixed.

This is a classic "lost neutral" we get all the time either on main panels or multi-wire branch circuits (MWBC, which is what this is).  The whole thing is one large circuit since they share neutral. MWBCs are complicated and have special rules that need to be honored if you don't want things like this happening.  Given the casual nature of speech and this question blowing over from ee.se, I suspect you may be out of your depth, no offense.

Particularly if "melting wires together" is a thing that is happening to you, it's really time to put the tools down and call a pro, or else "get religion" about doing good electrical work to Code and then read a book on electrical cover to cover and not skip through it as people with "smartphone attention spans" are prone to.  Google cannot substitute for a book because it only answers questions,and your field knowledge is not sufficient to know which questions to ask.

This is a 3-phase MWBC, implying New York City residence. My advice on MWBCs here applies.  Particularly the part about pigtailing neutrals. You are 3-phase so where it says 2, read 3.

The "symptom" for this problem is that if you plug a bulky load into one leg of the MWBC, say a resistive heater, and measure voltage at other legs of the circuit, it will be other than the expected 120V.  Another giveaway is a high difference in voltage between neutral and ground, on a 100' run, 1-2 volts is to be expected but no more than that.

It sounds like you did not fix (or find) the problem with the neutral.  If you insist on continuing to work on it, and you follow my advice, you'll be revisiting a lot of it, but also look in the service panel at the neutral termination there. The overcurrent may have fried it.


Using Patch Panel for CAT6a wiring from attic to closet We have run CAT6a cable throughout our house and will be placing the network switches in a closet.  The wiring will enter the closet from a wall backing to the attic space (we aren't coming down from the ceiling).  Currently the cable is running through conduit within the wall.
Should we run the cables to a patch panel in the network cabinet OR I was considering placing a patch panel on the wall so the front facing into the closet and the back is the attic space?
I like the idea of a patch panel in the wall as I can simply plug from there into the switches (seems convenient enough) but interested in validation if this is really prudent or not.  Another consideration would be the heat exchange from the attic space to the closet (via the patch panel).

My standard procedure:

Put a big piece of plywood on the wall - in this case, the wall shared between the closet and the attic. Make sure you get screws through the plywood into two studs.
Mount patch panel(s) on the plywood.
Feel free to mount other small things, as appropriate, directly on the plywood.
Bring all your cables around one side (top, bottom, left or right - whatever works for your particular setup) of the plywood and into the patch panel(s).


Best method up to code to project an existing electrical outlet to a interior media built in cabinet face 3 1/2" farther out I am constructing a media built in and due to the framing one of the interior walls of the cabinet will lay across an existing electrical outlet and will be 3-1/2 inches out from the existing wall.  I was wondering what the best method would be to do this to meet code. I am considering installing a new second box (attached to the frame of the built in) outward from the first box that is flush with the existing wall, and using small extension wires and wire nuts to relocate the outlet flush with the interior of the media built in cabinet. Would this meet code? Is there a better or simpler way?

You'll have to move the electrical box

You can't entrap an electrical junction box behind built-in furniture like that.  Every box cover must be accessible without tools (obviously you need a screwdriver to remove the box cover itself, but those are the only screws you are allowed to turn).

Further, you cannot splice anywhere but a junction box, and again, junction boxes must be accessible.

So lining up the framing of the cabinet with the electrical box is not really an option. The framing must move, or the box must move.

If you have a flat space on your built-in cabinet that aligns with the existing box, you could just stack box extensions to get where you need.


Portable A/C unit used as dehumidifier I have an LG 7000btu portable a/c [LP0711WNR] unit that I would like  to use in a basement area solely as a dehumidifier.  Do I need to vent the exhaust to the outside or can it just exhaust back into the basement?  Specifically, does the water vapor condense inside the unit and go out the drain or is it turned into vapor and blown out the exhaust making outside exhaust necessary? Thank you.

In theory, this will work just fine if you provide a way to collect the condensed water from the evaporator (the finned heat exchanger where the working fluid is evaporated to take heat from the "indoor" air). However, note that the more efficient window units take this water and spray it against the condenser (the other finned heat exchanger where the working fluid is condensed to pump heat into the "outdoor" air). This increases efficiency by making it easier for the condenser to transfer heat to the outdoor air (see heat of evaporation).

This is great for an air conditioner, but if you try to use such a unit as a stand-alone dehumidifier, with both intake and exhaust in the same room, then you'll just be pumping heat AND humidity from one side to the other, with no net gain (except for heating your basement). It's possible that you could intercept this transfer of water from the "indoor" to the "outdoor" side, but that would completely depend on the design of the air conditioner.


How can I determine why my furnace is not blowing enough heat? During a cold spell last week when temperatures got down to -23f (-31C) my furnace started showing issues with blowing enough air and the air was not very warm. Last winter it did not have any issues at those temperatures. I've done a lot of DIY diagnosing the last few days, here are my observations:

There is not an air intake problem, air is getting to the blower and burners just fine. Filters are newly cleaned (electric).
Exhaust vent pipe near furnace is very hot, too hot to touch.
Out going ducts are moderately warm just after the furnace, definitely not hot and does not seems close to as hot as they should be in my inexperience estimation.
The blower seems to be working properly, it sucks air from the intake side strongly.
Burners are running fine.
Thermostat works, furnace will turn on and off appropriately as I change the temp on it.
I pulled the vent covers off most of the vents and that has improved things considerably.
Air coming out of the vents is not very warm but good enough to heat the house with the covers off (does not heat the house enough with them on).
The furnace is a York 8.T 80,000/64,000 BTU model from 2005, model number PT8A12N080UH11B.

The house is 30 years old and we have been here a year. Right now I'm thinking there is some kind of blockage inside the furnace which is causing air to go out the exhaust instead if the ducts. Or the inside of the furnace is getting hot but not enough duct air is moving through so the heat is going up the exhaust.

Is this something I should try to fix myself or should I hire a pro? I have a significant amount of experience with DIY over the last 17 years. Cars and electrical mostly however.

After posting this I noticed that the furnace control board has an LED that was flashing. Checked the manual and it was an error code saying the pressure switch contact did not close after the inducer was energized. This means nothing too me but before I was going to call a pro I wanted to take a look inside. Pulled out the blower motor and everything looked spotless. Heat exchanger pipes are very clean and there is plenty of room for air flow, no need to worry about internal blockages.

After putting it all back together the error code went away and the LED is green (everything working). Maybe cutting the power caused the electronics to reset and everything is fine now. Seems to be working but who knows. If the issue comes back I will be having a pro come take a look at it.