GFI trips when turning on a computer with the monitor on but not when the monitor is off I have an unusual situation here. I have an older Dell computer that is plugged into an outlet. The monitor that I use with this computer has its own power switch and is also plugged into the same outlet.
If I turn on the computer first and then the monitor, all works okay. However, if I turn on the monitor first and then the computer, a GFCI on a different circuit trips. The neutral wire for this particular outlet is not shared anywhere with the wiring of the other affected circuit except, of course, at the box where all the neutrals are shared. There are additional outlets on this circuit where my Dell is plugged into.
A couple of things to note:

There are several individual circuits coming from the box and because the box is located in a shed away from the house, every circuit has its own GFCI.
Two of the circuits have GFCI breakers while the remaining circuits have GFCI outlets. One of the GFCI breakers is the one that trips.
The computer is plugged into a regular outlet downstream from its GFI outlet.
The separate wires for each of these circuits do run parallel to each other inside the wall.

Michael

If the GFCIs have a 5mA threshold, the reason  might be related to the cable capacitances. Domestic cables can accumulate 200-400 nanoFarad per kilometer, i.e. the GFCI could trip if the summed up downstream cable length is 500m , if the voltage is 120V, 60Hz. Without any devices plugged into the circuit.

The usual PI-filters of switch mode power supplies in PCs and monitors can add more capacitance, increasing the tripping probability. This is why those 5mA GFCIs seem to be too sensitive in some cases, thus providing not more safety then a 30mA GFCI, but instead are the reason for a safety gap if the annoyed user eliminates that 5mA GFCI if it tripped again just before he was to top his high score in the difficult PC game after weeks of failed sessions.


Angled step in staircase issue We just moved into an townhouse in Santa Monica, CA and one of the steps going down to the laundry/garage is angled down 5% as opposed to being completely flat (as the rest of the steps are). It is hard to see visually but you definitely feel it coming up/down the stairs. My wife is pregnant and it feels very unsafe. The manager says it is within code, and does not want to fix the issue (the step is made out of floating floor so I assume the cost to fix would be higher than he'd like).
Is this a common issue? What is the language I should be looking for in building codes that references this issue? Is this something we just have to live with?
Any help is greatly appreciated.

The only way to answer this is file a complaint with the local inspector for a safety hazard and have them come check it out.   There is no way stairs are exactly flat and 5% isn't flat but not extremely off.
You have already asked the manager and he told you he has no interest fixing it.   The inspector will either enforce the safety violation or OK it.   If he OKs it you can tell manager you will pay for it or you can let it go.   You just moved in - you should have checked this out prior to.
Just FWIW - I have managed many properties.   There are some people that would email me with suggestions and things I should do daily or weekly I kid you not.   The more you respond to them, the more they ask for.   They act like a house is a website you can just add stuff to.    Your manager may think you fall into that category.   My life is much easier now because everyone gets one of four responses.
1 - if it is broken or not code "I will fix it"
2 - if it is something small and no risk - "you can fix it at your cost" or "you can do it and I will reimburse materials up to $XX"
3 - "you can have a contractor do it and pay for it"
4 - "you cannot do it"
Maybe I need to feel the 5% slope (I have a step at my house that must be close to this) but yours would be in category 3.   If an inspector came out and told me to fix it, I would.   I wouldn't be mad, I would just fix it and also set expectation that for gray areas someone will tell me something isn't code on an official level.


Pros and Cons of buildings permits We live in a single family home and are doing a renovation of our kitchen and adjoining room. We are not making any architectural changes. For the kitchen, we are adding electrical circuits and sockets, adding a water line to the new fridge location, moving the gas connection to the stove, and adding venting for the exhaust hood.  For the adjoining room/space we are adding water lines, drainage, exhaust, and electrical for laundry. We are also changing the existing hot water heater to a tankless and moving it outside.

The contractor that we are working with is licensed.  Everything will be renovated to code.

Do I really need to get permits for all of the work that is being done?

What are the pros/cons for getting a permit?
What are the pros/cons for not getting a permit.

update
I checked the permitting fee schedule and there's basically a fee ... Examples:

Electrical
1. Clothes dryer - $14.70
2. Dishwasher - $14.70
3. Switches/Outlets - $3.40 each

Plumbing
1. Dishwasher - $22.60
2. Kitchen Sink with disposal - $22.60

Etc.

Where I live if you do not get a permit and the local authority having jurisdiction finds out about it, they could do any (or all) of a number of things:

make you tear it all out
impose fines
get permits after the fact
declare your dwelling uninhabitable

If you ever want to sell your home, you must declare the un-permitted work, which could affect the price.


Connecting an earth wire to distribution board I have an earth grounding pin outside my house and an earth wire running from it to my distribution board, however the wire is not connected to the earth rail (ground rail?) In the DB.

(The house is already earthed but a new earth pin was installed as part of a recent upgrade but never connected up for some reason)

I'd like to connect it. I'm thinking I can simply connect the earth wire to the existing earth rail and be done with it.

Does that sound ok?, or does there need to be a circuit breaker between the earth wire and the earth rail in the DB?

This is in New Zealand, btw.

Thanks

basically the earth path provides a low resitance path for safety and if supplier has supplied an earth already in the incoming supply should be sufficient . RCD protection monitors live /neutral and will trip when unbalanced ..connecting an earth spike to earth terminal if instalation already earthed makeslittle to no difference as it is the loop resistance path that is imporatant and a local electricain should be able to carry out a loop impedence (z) test to confirm path is fine.


How many fixtures can run off a transformer? How many twenty watt fixtures can run off a 100 watt transformer?

Is it less than five?

What overhead involved?

Provided you don't have ridiculously long runs of wire between the transformer and fixtures, a 100W transformer should be able to run five 20W fixtures OK.  Make sure you use the correct Voltage light bulbs in the fixtures.


3-way switch AND sgl pole dimmer in one gang I have a problem...I only have room for a single gang box.  Currently a 3-way switch resides there.  We need to add a single pole, dimmer switch to the box.  Isn't there a fan switch that would house what I need?  BTW, the dimmer is going to supply voltage to undercabinet LED lights.

It's not enough to get any dimmer. You need a dimmer that is compatible with your LED system.  That's a hard find, and diy.se is not a shop-for-me site.  We can help with how to navigate the limitations of the available tech.

Very often these under-cabinet LED lights are 12 volts from a power supply.   If so, that is the place to do the dimming - after the power supply, on the 12 volt side, with a dimmer for that purpose.  Especially if you want to jazz it up with RGB LEDs or variable color temperature LEDs.  Have the switch just be a switch, and have a separate LED-optimized dimmer control under the cabinets where practical.

That will make finding the right switch a lot easier.  All you need is a duplex 3-way switch.  A 3-way switch can substitute for a 2-way switch.  Just use the "common" and one other terminal, leave the other terminal unused.


Mount a fully articulated tv mount with only one stud Here is my issue. In my house I have a recessed area that perfectly fits my 60" LED TV, the issue is that the stud I would use to mount is directly center of the recess and radiates 16" On either side so a typical mount won't reach the other studs. I want to use a fully articulating wall mount so that the tv is mounted to the wall but also can be pulled out so not hidden inside the wall recess. Can I use a toggle anchor to bolt the ends of a mount into the drywall and then bolt the middle of the mount to the center stud? Thoughts, tips, suggestions?

Your best bet to assure that the fully articulated TV mount is secure and will operate correctly is to mount a large piece of 3/4" thick plywood across the wall in the back of the recessed area. Make sure this plywood spans across at least the three studs in the wall and even better if you put it full width and pickup the corner studs as well. Screw the plywood to the studs with heavy duty screws at least 3 or 4 per stud. The plywood can be sanded, primed and painted to match the wall. Behind the TV you will barely see it there, but when you do you will reset assured that you have the best secure mount possible.

Trying to use toggle bolts into just drywall is not a secure proposition. Fully articulated mounts can put a huge amount of torque on the TV bracket when extended and pulled out. This can rip the toggle bolts right out of the drywall. Use the thick plywood as described above and distribute the forces of the bracket torque across a significant portion of the wall structure. And by the way, plywood has fantastic screw holding strength when used with proper sized pilot drilling.


Small part of filler in furnace is stuck. Can I still insert a new filter? Bottom of furnace filter stuck can I still put new one in

I would say possibly. If you can get the new filter to seal you may be able to install a new one but probably not.
I say probably not because the piece of the old filter may allow air to bypass the filter.
When you run the system without the filter all the dust and debris that normally get stuck on the filter end up in the heat exchanger. An excessive amount of dust can even cause a fire on the breathing air side of the heat exchanger. The mammal dust burning is usually not hazardous. The problem is now the ash and other debris stuck in there shorten the life of the fire box.
If your system has ac coils in the air handler or is a heat pump the dust plugs the coils and quickly reduces the efficiency and in the summer months may cause icing of the coils.

For these reasons it is not a good idea to leave part of a filter that can affect the seal, I have a long 3’ pair of finger grabbers, you push a plunger and 4 metal fingers come out I then grab the part I cannot reach releasing the plunger and pulling the piece out. Many auto parts stores carry these, in some cases I have had to disassemble the duct to repair the channels that hold the filter.


Question re: Installing New Power Strip in Kitchen In my apartment's kitchen, I have a wall outlet on the wall on one side of the sink, but I'd like to add several more outlets on the other wall, on the other side of the sink.

I don't own this apartment, so it's not like I can start adding more wall outlets, but I'm wondering if there's some way I can add a nice looking GFCI power strip and run the cord along the wall, plugged into the existing wall outlet.

Anyone know the details of how and if this could be done? The only GFCI power strips that I've seen are big, ugly, and industrial. I'm looking for something a little nicer and cleaner (similar to what a normal power strip looks like- but I can't use that since it's near the sink).

You can plug a normal power bar into a GFCI outlet and get the same protection as plugging directly into the GFCI.

If the outlet you'd be plugging into isn't a GFCI, you might negotiate with your landlord to get one.

Or get something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/TRC-90265-6-012-Shockshield-Portable-Protection/dp/B000XVG72G?th=1


unfinished basement light recommendation about 45' long feet by 22' feet wide unfinished basement. stairs come down from the middle of the 45' long side into about the center of the basement.  the 2x6 floor joists overhead are all exposed, along with all the electrical wiring.  So adding anything and running wiring is very easy.  Height above basement floor about 7'.  I want to replace existing lighting but don't want to spend a lot.  The LED lithonia lighting 4' led (flourescent replacement) from depot is $45 each.  I figure I need at least 5 of those but I don't want to spend $250.  Are there cheaper lighting options?

$250 to light a huge room is, in the grand scheme of things, not that big a deal. That's about $0.25 per square foot. If the existing lighting is 4' fluorescent tubes (as basements have typically had for a very long time) and your issue is simply quality of the light, then you can do quite well with any of:

Replace the fluorescent tubes with LED tubes. But remember some tubes are better than others - compare CRI, lumens and power usage.
Replace the fluorescent tubes with better fluorescent tubes - particularly CRI can vary quite a bit.
Replace the fluorescent tubes and the ballasts - as Harper noted, newer ballasts can improve things in a number of ways.

With LED tubes and ballasts, or with a full LED fixture replacement, some manufacturers are much better than others. I have my own experiences with going cheap on LED fixtures - they tend to fail early - not all but a significant enough percentage. So if you go on the cheap side to save money (which is not necessarily a bad thing to do), make sure to buy from a store that will stand behind the products. If you order online then stick with well-known manufacturers as the "unknowns" are far more likely to give you trouble and returns are crazy on this type of product (easy to ship back small, high value, stuff; not so easy to ship back 4' light fixtures).

Personally, I have replaced my fluorescent & incandescent bulbs and/or fixtures one at a time with LEDs. Still have a bunch of fluorescents in place and will switch to LEDs as they need replacement so that the $ impact isn't so high.

On the other hand, if your existing lighting is a "mixed up mess" - 4' fluorescents in one part, hanging incandescent bulbs in another, etc. - then I would spend the $250 to get everything all new, up-to-date, bright and energy saving.


What are these orange outlets directly attached to my breaker box? I haven't noticed these over the years I've owned my home. Only recently I happened to look down and think "huh, that's odd, why are those outlets colored bright orange." I have, over the years, realized that color around electrical components matters.

So I Googled a bit about orange outlets but in most applications it seems to be used in hospitals. I've also found articles about it being a hospital-grade isolated ground outlet, but from a home owner's perspective, I have no idea why this is helpful. At the same time, the original homeowner clearly thought this would be a useful feature. So I'm just trying to figure out why.
Per request in the comments, I've added an image of the breaker panel open:

(without the zoom of the above picture)
Note: Ignore the yellow stickers / red arrows. This image is from my initial home inspection which was pointing out some issues with oversized breakers. Those issues are resolved and I assume they don't affect these outlets. Sorry about the image quality, the original image was not very high res.
Inside the outlet box:
I apologize, but this is as close to disassembling the outlet as I'm comfortable with. I understand if your first impression is "those pictures are worthless", but I figured I'd post them in the event that they help in any way.

Overall view of the outlet with the box opened.

Close up of the top of the outlet box.

Close up of the bottom of the outlet box.

That recep appears to be right next to your service panel, connected to the panel by a 1" conduit nipple.

That makes it the "magic electrician's outlet".

It's not required by Code.  It's just a "common practice" for an electrician to fit such an outlet, and place it on a dedicated circuit breaker.  This costs about $10 normally ($5 for the breaker, $1 for the nipple, $1 for the Handy Box, and $3 for a quality recfep and cover). This is generally the first breaker installed in the panel.  The electrician then runs extension cords off it to power tools and lights while wiring the rest of the house.  Alternately, the electrician can power down the whole house (except that one circuit) and do the needed tasks.

Since it is dog simple, only the two THHN wires to the recep (ground is via the steel conduit itself), it's very easy for the electrician to visually inspect that it cannot possibly be interacting with any other circuit in the house.  So the electrician can be confident that the entire house is powered down.

I'm not sure why your electrician would use an orange one.  I would look closely at how it is grounded to the ground screw on the receptacle.   Perhaps the electrician wired it intentionally groundless for some reason, in which case I would hope and expect to see it fed from a GFCI breaker.

Once, a person complained that they were having breaker trips trying to power a gaming PC, laser printer, and (not surprisingly) air conditioner in their home office on a single 15A breaker.  They simply needed another circuit run.  How far is the service panel? "It's actually in this room. Here's a pic." Et voilà, there was the Magic Electrician's Outlet, and on a 20A breaker no less. Problem solved!


If I want to expose the beams of my ceiling, is it sufficient to just install roofing insulation? I own a house built in the 1930s.  I live in San Francisco in the Bayview district where it’s fairly sunny similarly to the Mission District.  This house is all lath and plaster and because of which I notice they didn't use or have insulation at the time.   I guess the lath and plaster thick walls and a tiny crawl space above the ceiling is sufficient to keep the house insulated. Now I want to knock down the ceiling to expose the nice beams, but that is taking that ceiling layer off which possibly will make my house colder in the winter and hotter in the summer.  As someone noted, this is a “hot roof” which I’m not understanding what that means or the implications of which.  Now, I plan on getting insulation sheets installed on the roof (NOTE: I'm getting my roof redone so I'll just have the roofer install the insulation sheets).  Is this sufficient insulation to what I have currently?

Your climate is similar to mine...never too cold and never too hot. That’s why not having insulation in your attic to date, isn’t critical.  However, any insulation is a plus, but you’ll have several issues to overcome: 1) fastening vapor barrier to roof, 2) fastening of “roofing” on insulation board, 3) added structure height at eave and rake, 4) finishing of interior beams and ceiling material, 5) added weight to roof structure, 6) cost, and 7) Environmental issues.

1) A “hot roof” could mean a built-up roofing system. This means you have a low-pitch roof and you don’t have roof shingles. If so, tearing off the old roofing membrane and installing a new membrane on rigid insulation is easy and the vapor barrier is part of the system, including how the vapor barrier is secured to the roof. If not, it becomes a bit more complicated because you’ll need to add the proper vapor barrier on the old deck and secure it to the roof, then add rigid insulation, then add plywood on the insulation to hold the shingles, without any fasteners extending through the ceiling material.

2) The easiest method to fasten shingles to roof is with plywood. However, you may need wood stripping if you live in a “high wind climate.”

3) If you raise the height of the roof by a few inches, you’ll need new edge metal. Also, if it’s a historic district, like the mission district, you’ll need Planning Department approval for increased height.

4) After the ceiling is removed you’ll need to finish the beams and ceiling. All those nails / holes / etc. will need to be addressed.

5) You’ll need to calculate the weight of what is being removed and subtract the weight of what is being removed. Then, verify the structure is adequate.

6) $$$$$$$$ vrs. Potential savings from heating and cooling. Check with you local power company to see if they have rebates for adding insulation. They have people who can calculate the savings for 2” thick or 4” thick insulation and various kinds of rigid board.

7) That 1930’s plaster ceiling could have asbestos or those 900 coats of paint could have lead. You’ll need to have it tested.

Sounds simple...oh, and you are getting a Building Permit, right?


Are 38mmx72mm roof trusses sufficient for a 6m span? My roof truss timbers are 38mm x 72mm on 600mm centres with a 6m span.  What's that in good old inches?

It seems a little skimpy to me; is this normal for a modern house? I am trying to do a rough dead load calculation. All the information I can find is for 4"x2" lumber. Mine are more like 1 3/4" x 3".

I think I read that 4"x2"s are actually smaller due to shrinkage so I have even less clue as to what my size is!

Using Google you can do conversions. Type:

  38mm in inches

into Google and it will give you the conversion as the first result.

Your sizes come out at

  1.5" x 2.8" with just under 2' centres with a 20' span

Now, the reason these are smaller than the quoted sizes is because wood is not measured in the finished size but in the original size. So a piece of wood that's quoted at 4" x 2" will actually be something like 3.5" x 1.5". This isn't a problem because everybody* knows this.

The calculations should take this into account.

* for some value of "everybody".


How do I hang a round metal art piece on an exterior stucco wall? I have a round metal art sign I would like to hang on a stucco wall just outside my main door. What would be the best way to hang a sign like this?

This piece of artwork must be between 16 to 24 inches in diameter.  Yes?  Was this originally a barrel stave a ring or a keeper or similar?  They've flattened 3/4 of the band of metal leaving it canted at the bottom, yes?

I am thinking this is not more than 5 to 7 pounds?  You need to find out the proper weight and then be able to screw a weather resistant hanger into a wooden stud.  Screws, never use nails.  Galvanized hanger and screws or at least powder coated hanger.  Always black color, matt.

How have your outer walls been constructed?  From the stucco to the interior of your home?  How was your stucco installed?  Is there exterior plywood covered with tyvek or similar?  1/2" to 3/4" thick exterior plywood. I've seen stucco homes built over hay bales and chicken wire.

In any case, I would use a stud finder and ensure there was a solid 2X4 or 2X6 stud, use a block of wood with cantilevered edges at the top and sides to direct any water away from the stucco, then attach your powder coated hanger hardware that has a short hook or hanger to hold this metal art work away from the stucco but not so much it is able to blow in the wind and move around.  Look for black powder coated hardware. Use pressure treated wood for the blocking and I would paint with black matt exterior coating...if you go that route.

Main thing is to use galvanized SCREWS never nails.  Powder coated hardware.  Screws meant for the weight of this artwork and screwed in to the supporting wall studs or plywood under the siding.

What metal is this artwork?  Is it meant for exterior use to be allowed a natural patina?  I am thinking it might also be best sprayed with a black, matt, Rustoleum spray so it doesn't rust, unless you want rust which looks great.  Make sure the bottom of this piece is secured also so that it doesn't touch the stucco.  If you use a pressure treated block or backing you HAVE to use powder coated hardware as well as screws.  The pressure treatment will dissolve any other hardware within a year.


Is this consumer unit wired safely? Each of the two devices with yellow test buttons are marked '63A'. My assumptions:

The set of devices to the left of each of these are connected to them
The markings on each device in the form BNN denote rated current, e.g. B6 is 6 Amps.

The right-hand bank of devices goes 6 + 32 + 40 = 78A, which is clearly greater than 63A.

Furthermore, the sum of all the rated currents is 132A, which is clearly greater than the rated current on the main switch of 100A

1) Is this how the markings and the layout of this consumer unit are meant to be interpreted?

2) Is this a problem?

1) Yes, your interpretation of the layout and markings seems to be correct.

2) No, it's not a problem, it's a very typical setup. You can have breakers totalling more than the total capacity of the unit, on the ground that you are unlikely to be running each circuit at or near capacity at the same time.

A MCB (or RCD, fuse, etc) is designed (and sized) to protect "downstream" of it, not those "upstream". Ie the 6A breaker on the left of the consumer unit above is there to protect the 1mm^2 or 1.5mm^2 cable that is connected into it, as those cables can safely handle a 6A load. They aren't there to protect devices further upstream.


Mounting a projector screen I'm looking into mounting a motorized projector screen in my home theater room.  I measured that the screen needs to be approximately 120" diagonal, so I'm looking into buying one of:

Elite Screens Spectrum Electric Budget Projection Screen
FAVI 16:9/120-Inch Electric Projector Screen (HD-120)

The problem is that I cannot mount the screen flush with the wall.  This is because the screen will be above my fireplace and due to the height of the picture, it'll need to come down in front of the mantle and cannot sit on top of the mantle.  In other words, the screen will need to descend approximately 8" off the wall.

Does anyone have any experience doing something like that, or any advice on how I could go about accomplishing it?

Judging from the specs the screen would weigh approximately 30 lbs, and since the chimney and flue is behind it, I would be nervous to try supporting the screen from the middle of its base, and ideally would only want to put supports from the sides.

Finally, the ceiling for the room is high and vaulted, so I'm not sure if it would be possible to mount the screen from the ceiling (nor do I have any experience on how to do that).

Get yourself some shelf brackets and attach them to your wall into studs. Work out the spacing of the brackets for your screen. The brackets look like this:

Attach some 3/4" hardwood (oak, maple, etc.) planks to it to make a nice looking shelf. Attach the screen underneath the shelves which should conceal the hanging brackets and give you the clearance away from the wall you're looking for. You may want to drill a hole through the shelves and attach the screen using bolts and nuts instead of screwing directly into the wood shelves. You can also use the shelf to display some cool movie knickknacks.

You could also build something fancy using a French Cleat if you have the skills and tools.


Water leak between sill and concrete pad I'm repairing a three season room.  I took it down to the studs, put in new sill plates and sliding glass doors.

For the sill I put down Protecto wrap, latex caulk, a pressure treated 2x4 and secured to the pad with tap con concrete screws.  I used a latex caulk on the outside of the 2x4 after it was secured.

Water is getting through during heavy rain in two places.  It appears to come from under the sill, at the center post and the door on the right.

The latex caulk appears to be cracked.

There's no gutter so all the rain water ends up at the edge of the pad.  But it is on a hill so the water should be draining away fairly quickly.

I still have to put the bottom trim on, under the door frame, in front of the sill.

Should I make sure there are no leaks before putting the trim on?  Or, will the trim make it water tight?

With the latex caulk cracked, can I go over it with a silicone all weather caulk?

Although you may not see any water penetration after installing the floor molding it would be wise to first repair the source of the water entering the room.     The initial step is to divert as much of the rain water away from the wall. Gutters, as you mentioned, will help a lot to do this. Extend the downspout several feet from the wall base to ensure all water sheds away.    Next, applying a 100% silicone or urethane caulking along the sill or bottom plate/floor seam may prevent any water the gutters can't handle from seeping inside. You should try to remove any latex caulking first. Then apply the new caulking and press in to seam with a putty knife.    If you can pinpoint the precise entry of the water and open the wall to access the sill, it may be possible to surgically remove the section of treated lumber (if not above a stud). Once removed apply a copious amount of silicone and secure the plate and the edges of the existing plate with TapCons.    I've noticed when I use TapCons that it help to drill a slightly over-sized pilot hole so that the screw grabs the concrete rather than the wood first. This prevents the screw from raising the wood slightly before securing to the concrete. Also, a light tap with a hammer on the wood after the screw is set will ensure the board is completely flat against the concrete.


Furnace heat duct for basement I'm trying to install a heat exhaust vent on the side of the drywall in the basement, see pic. The issue is that the the register is too small for the boot. This is normal if the exhaust is in the floor but not so great on the side of the wall.
The question is how to attach the boot to the register to avoid air leaks... Basically to do it right.

You should be able to find a piece of duct at the big box store to extend the boot to the wall. You'll need to trim it with a good set of tin snips. When you trim it leave some tabs so the register screws have something to bite into instead of just drywall. Get a larger register that better matches up to the duct. If you can't get the duct to line up with the register then see if you can rotate the boot and cut the duct at an angle. If you don't do a great job then get some foil duct tape to cover any gaps.


Is high temperature an issue with underfloor heating? I have an underfloor heating installed and it takes significant amount of time (~2 hours) for the floor to heat up when pushing 30-35C hot water into the pipes
Is it a problem if I set a much higher temperature (such as 50-60C) and run it for a shorter time?

I have in floor heating (pex tubing in lightweight concrete) and it's inherently slow. You can't do normal "setback at night" sort of programming and expect 6-8 degrees of recovery quickly in the morning like you could with a forced air furnace.  My system also has an outdoor temp sensor that varies the temp of the water supplied to the floors. If you have a large thermal mass (like concrete), it's prone to overshoot the set point.
To be more specific to  your question:  Pushing the supply temp to 60c (140F) would not be wise even if the piping and flooring could take it.  The floor would get uncomfortably hot. 50c (122F) might be ok on coldest days.
Tell us more about your system. Boiler type? Control system? Flooring type? Type of tubing?
This may not be an answer, but I had too much to say to put it in comments.   I'll update this to be more consistent with an answer if you respond with more info.


how to drill a 2 1/2 in by 5 in long hole in wood? I am wanting to make my own tiki torches, by drilling a hole 2 1/2 in wide by 5 inches deep in the end of a small log.  I can't seem to find spade bits any bigger then 1 1/2 in, and nothing long enough to drill 5 inches deep.  Can any one tell me if this is possible?  Surely in this day and age it is!

You want a Forstner bit and an extension shaft.


How can we prepare a nicotine stained room for painting without dangerous chemicals? We need something that will completely cover up nicotine stains. The previous owner smoked in the house for probably 30-40 years before we bought it. The walls in the living room are severely stained. They are supposed to be white but appear more yellow than white

We initially bought a large amount of white paint at a cheaper price to paint every room in the house to just get fresh coats on the walls and decided we would add color to each room as we had the time/money. We thought this would be a good way to have everything fresh, and we got white ceiling paint as well.

However, when we painted in the dining rom and bathroom, nicotine began oozing out I a bubble like manner.

I realize I need to do something to deal with the staining before I paint again. Is there something out there better or safer than Kilz? I have a young child and don't want toxins in the house. Are there organic products that will solve this, but that do not contain VOCs or other dangerous substances?

I'm not sure you'll find a product to seal stains without any VOCs, especially if you want an organic paint. The organic solvents in paint must evaporate to leave the coating on walls.  The fact that they evaporate at room temperatures, by definition, means they are volatile, hence Volatile Organic Compound (VOC).  The least harmful stain blocker my be a shellac primer.  Its basic components are resin produced by bugs and alcohol (the drinking kind). It will seal the stains and keep them from bleeding through to the top coat probably better than Kilz. You will need to have good ventilation while the alcohol evaporates, though. Shellac primer does a good job of sealing, but it doesn't have much any pigments in it, so you may need two finish coats (which you will probably need anyway).


how many outlets and fixtures can I connect to 20 amp cicuit? can I connect one GFCI ,and one non GFCI, outlet along with 2 lights and an exhaust fan on a 20 amp circuit fed by a 12/2 wire?

I notice that some experts suggest a dedicated circuit for a GFCI outlet. Does this mean I must run a separate feed e.g. 14/2 to the lights in the bathroom?

The NEC requires 1 - 20A circuit for bathroom receptacles, and you can feed thru to the other non GFCI outlet, and you can connect up the lights and the exhaust fan in the bathroom if and only if the 20A circuit is specifically used in that bathroom. If the 20A circuit is used for multiple bathrooms then no you will have to find another circuit to connect your lights and exhaust fan.

I am assuming of course that you are talking about a bathroom.


special primer to use after skim coasting horsehair plaster We just had our dining room which has horsehair plaster skim coated.  We did not prime first as we were unaware we had to do that.  When i went to buy the paint, the service man told us that we had to use a special primer before we painted the walls. Is this necessary?

In my opinion, you did not need to concern yourself with the priming the wall before skimming the whole wall. Priming a wall before pointing up (touching up) a wall is typically done so when the wall is sanded, the pointing up is the only thing that gets sanded. The primer will endure a bit of sanding, so care is used on that step. That was for informational purposes, does not apply to what you are doing here. I am going on the premise that the whole wall was skim coated. BUT, if your wall was simply pointed up to cover cracks in the plaster, since it is plaster and another assumption will be made that it has a "white coat" finish, the white coat is already strong enough to withstand a bit of sanding too. At least what it would take to smooth the skim coat of drywall mud.

On to the answer, finally.

You can use a regular primer, or you can use a special primer if you want. Also in my humble opinion there are places primer should be used, painting metal or wood for example. That is critical for adhesion of the final protective coat. For walls it is more important to get the dust off the walls from sanding than using a primer. I heard a long time ago that latex paint was self priming. In my experience, when it comes to new work, I usually apply a primer coat. On existing walls that were already painted I did not prime, just painted the color coat, two if needed to cover, giving thought to the self primer notion. On my remodel of my home, I had a lot of paint from other projects left over and used regular paint that was close to the color of the finish I wanted as a primer, although it was not primer paint.

This was probably more than you wanted to know but I was on the subject anyway....


Installing chain link fence gate, need advice on terminating the existing fence top rail I'm installing a fence gate in a chain link fence (with neighbor's permission, of course) I would like to use the existing fence post as the terminator post for that chunk of fence, rather than replacing it.
I have been unable to find the right hardware to terminate the top rail at the 1.75" post. Everything that I've found has been for a 2 3/8" terminating post.
Can I just cut off the horizontal pipe, put something over the end, and leave it in the existing cap? Is there another way to terminate the top rail?
[Edit] new picture to show the location of the terminator post that the gate will be hung from.

What if you used a rail end fitting and cut the connecting lug off. File it smooth and your done...


How to seal PVC-U and copper pipes together How to seal a gap between hard PVC pipe and copper coil as visible on the picture below? It needs to stand small vacuum (45 mmHG = 1.8inHg = 6kpa = 60mbar = 0.87psi).

What is the best way to do it? Is there any special PVC mass / epoxy suitable for that?

At the moment I used tick layer of white silicone and it stills cures (after 15h) and not sure if it was a good idea in the first place:

I too have struggled with gluing copper and PVC for certain experiments. Silicone is an ok choice, depending on the pressure, but white silicone just happens to be less effective for sticking to stuff than clear silicone... I don't really know why, I just know that it is.

It's kind of too late to use anything else now that you put silicone on it (actually PVC cement seems to stick to silicone, but it's a poor glue overall); but chances are the white silicone will separate or peel off after a while. If (or, after) that happens, you will have another chance to use another glue. The main thing to be concerned with is gluing to copper. I think that Just for Copper epoxy would be a better choice. I have not used this before, but based on round-about experience, I think it would be good to try. In general, copper oxidation (patina) is a problem for glue on copper (in the long run). Gluing to PVC is probably not going to be as much of a problem... at least for most kinds of glue, silicone, and/or epoxy. Maybe the the answer is to use something like a copper putty to adhere to the copper, then use silcone or another epoxy to join the PVC to the copper epoxy.

Something else that might help would be to use a piece/sheet of plastic or rubber over the area (like a shield). Use something, in which you can cut tight, accurate holes to help seal the deal. Some plastics don't stick to some epoxies. So if you decide to try this, test the plastic for compatability first.

Edit- See where I think a weak spot could be; unless maybe another pipe is inserted which helps support this area.


How to troubleshoot "refrigerator power goes off occasionally but comes back on when I cycle power switch off and back on"? Refrigerator power occasionally goes off (lightbulbs are off, and apparently everything else though I haven't tested with a multimeter or anything) but comes back on when I cycle power switch off and back on. (Added due to comments: Yes it has a switch; along the top, where the compressor, condenser, etc. are, behind a panel.) It is a KitchenAid brand "built-in" style side-by-side fridge-freezer, about 12 years old.

I don't know if it has ever come back on by itself, but it has remained unpowered as long as a few hours.
By "occasionally" I mean I've found it unpowered 3 or 4 times in a few weeks.

How can I find  the cause or determine what will fix it?

It's probably just a twitchy power switch (spoiler: it was). Replace it or, if it can be cleaned, cleaning might fix it. For sake of completeness:
Try to determine if the power switch is a simple switch or if it is connected to some kind of built-in circuit breaking device. If a circuit breaker somewhere in the refrigerator is being activated, and reset when the power switch is cycled, the breaker could be faulty else it is receiving out-of-specification power from somewhere "upstream" (e.g. house wiring or a faulty component in the appliance).

Otherwise, use a multimeter to check for electrical fault in the refrigerator: If there is not continuity across the power switch when the fridge has "gone off," repair or replace the switch. If there is continuity, test voltage and continuity "downstream" from the AC plug until you find a fault. An electrical diagram of the appliance may help.

Thanks to mjohns and jPhi1618 for comments that formed the bulk of this answer.


Making a small drain/vent/hole in a glass box I've got a glass box that measures 900mm x 450mm x 450mm.

The width of the glass is about 6mm thick.

If I drill, cut, or grind a small hole in/through one of the faces; will it significantly affect the structural integrity of that piece of glass?

I'm concerned it might become prone to flexing, and cracking; if I pick it up to move (or transport) it, for instance.

Is there some kind of ratio, or formula that I can use to determine a relatively safe size, and adjacent edge distance for an aperture?

If you're wondering: It's basically a small indoor display garden / vivarium type situation, which needs at least a single outlet point through which gravity can be allowed to drain the excess fluids from the soil.

While I cannot cite any specific sources for this, I'm going to posit the following answer:

Yes, structural integrity will be affected, but not enough to be concerned about.

The box you describe is not suitable for carrying any kind of load anyway, and as you state above it's for display purposes.  Drilling a tiny hole will not cause any cracking - in fact it's a technique used in windshields (particularly aviation windshields used in small planes) to STOP cracks from continuing to spread.  (Small hole drilled right at the leading edge of an expanding crack relieves the stresses in a sound manner)

Granted aviation glass is different than what you've got but still - I think you're fine.  I'm curious though why drill a hole in it?  That will have a tendency to trap moisture.


HEPA filter for GE portable air conditioner? I have a GE portable air conditioner like the one shown below and am trying to determine whether there exists (OEM or otherwise) a HEPA air filter I can install in/on this device.  I am unable to locate anything from GE's accessories page, so perhaps there are some aftermarket solutions someone is aware of?
My rationale to utilize this air conditioner for filtering, as opposed to buying  a separete HEPA filter, is to potentially save on the cost associated with an outright HEPA filter and leverage my existing air conditioner instead.

A HEPA filter would be far too restrictive for a portable air conditioner. Use only the filters that are specified for the a/c. If you want to HEPA filter the indoor air, then use a separate device designed to do that.


Found cabling in junction box with ground cut I have a junction box in the garage that has cables with 12-2 with ground. However, the ground wires were clipped back to the sheathing.
Background: This is an older house with a fair amount of old cabling. As we’ve done projects and replaced fixtures, I’ve updated the cabling and in many cases also fixing circuits that didn’t have a ground.
With that said, why would the ground be cut back? Was this ever standard practice in certain cases? Is there ever a time nowadays that someone would do this?
Thanks in advance.

When you're extending old ungrounded circuits, Just randomly hooking up grounds higgledy-piggledy can create an interesting problem.  I call it "Islanded grounds".
When a device has a ground fault, it's going to energize the ground wire.  It's trying to return that ground fault to source (the panel and its N-G bond) so it can trip the breaker.
But imagine there is no ground wire back to source.  If the ground wire just stops there, then it energizes the chassis of the machine.
But what if all the grounds in a circuit extension are connected to each other (but not the panel)?  The "islanded" ground wire carries the ground fault around to all the other devices in the island. So now all their grounds are hazardous, even the cover plate screws on the light switch!  That's the very opposite of a safety improvement!
So someone extending a non-grounded circuit might do just what you see.  I'd prefer to coil it up and insulate it, myself, for the happy day the original wiring is replaced.


Shower Base over or to the side of tiles I am tiling my bathroom floor and putting in a new shower base.
What do i do first?
Do I put tiles on the whole floor and then but the base over it?
or put the base and then put the tiles to it?

You should put tub and tile backer board down on the floor where the shower will be and then once the tub is installed tile up to the edge.  You dont want tile underneath as it may or may not end up level, it may or may not come loose after weight is put onto it, and most importantly grout is not waterproof...it will absorb water and you definitely dont want that under the shower.


Should I choose PVC or aluminium window frames in a hot, humid climate? I live in Bombay (Mumbai), India. I'm planning to install sliding sound-proof windows in a room. There are two common types of window frames manufactured here; one is aluminium, and the other is PVC, which is some kind of plastic. I've had conflicting information about which is better. I was told one the one hand that plastic deteriorates under local conditions, which is mostly very hot and humid (the location is a stones throw from the Arabian Sea), except during the monsoons, when we get torrential rain.

On the other hand, I talked to someone who works for a company called Beautex, and the person insisted there was no problem, and that PVC is actually better from a sound-proofing perspective, though they did not offer any reasons why. They do sell PVC windows in India, as can be seen here.

Personally, I'd incline towards aluminium without further information, since I've never heard of aluminium deteriorating, and it is quite strong and durable.

So, the question is, which is preferable and why?

Addendum: Reading the question How can I prevent aluminum window frames from heating up when they're in full sun? made me wonder if sunlight heating up the aluminium will be an issue. The window frames will certainly be exposed to direct sunlight for part of the day, though I'm not sure how long. The windows do have small roofs above them, to help keep of the rain, which may help.

NOTE: This is the same room as shown in The best kind of tiles for using on floor and walls, though it now no longer looks as it did in this photo. Since that time the wooden windows have been removed, and the small roofs over the windows have also been replaced, though the new ones are of a similar size.

UPDATE: I eventually went with uPVC windows, not aluminium. After research, I discovered that there are uPVC windows which are manufactured that are suitable for Indian climate conditions, and they seemed to offer better soundproofing than the aluminum ones did. Possibly better insulation too.

Soundproofing as it relates to windows is all about mass -- the denser the materials, the more sound reduction you'll get.  PVC is, indeed, typically more dense than the far more lightweight aluminium and so will will resist noise transfer more.  However, the amount of surface area made up by the frame is absolutely dwarfed by the glass itself.  Any differences in the frame will be massively overshadowed by the properties of the glass, make it a moot point.

PVC/Vinyl windows do a far better job of restricting conductive heat as they are a much better insulator than aluminium.  Aluminium is really one of the worst materials to use from an insulation standpoint.

However, PVC/Vinyl will eventually "melt" in a hot environment.  Recycled PVC will do so far faster than virgin PVC, but even the latter will eventually sag enough that opening and closing the window will be tricky.  Assume maybe 15-20 years.

Aluminium will last indefinitely.  That and the price are typically the two big selling points of that material.

In short, neither has a true advantage from a soundproofing perspective (the glass does quite a bit, though) but PVC is a better choice from an insulation standpoint if you are willing to replace the window every 15 years or so.  If you don't care about the insulation value and don't want to replace the window, then aluminium is the way to go.


When is it necessary to do two coats of paint over a primer? The existing walls are various colors in different rooms. They range from light brown, to yellow to pink!

We are using a white primer on our walls.

The consultant at the paint store recommends priming and then painting two coats.
The skeptic in me thinks that want us to buy more paint by suggesting two coats.

Realistically, when would I need two coats?  If the walls look good after one coat  do I need another coat?

You should add another coat if you don't think it looks good enough. If you think it looks good with one coat, don't put on a second.

In more concrete terms, you generally add another coat if the color or finish is not even. That may come with one coat, or it may take two, three, or even more. It depends on the surface, the primer, the paint, any existing finish, technique, thickness of the coat of paint,  etc.

Covering up dark colors with light colors generally requires more coats, but a good primer can reduce the number of coats of paint needed. Using a tinted primer generally means fewer coats are needed.


Self leveling showing popped bubbles and small chunks I did self leveling concrete in my basement as below

But some spots showing small holes, potentially from popped bubbles

And some have little pieces like chunks not mixed well

I plan to install underlayment and engineered hardwood floor.

Is this a concern?

I just did my concrete floor for vinyl plank, and I would be concerned more for the flatness the the floor that it is within the tolerances needed. The bumps can be scraped off, at worst ground off. When I poured mine, I had high spots that needed ground down, quite the dusty job. The holes in  the mix from the air bubbles will be of no concern, the flooring will span over them with no problem.

You may also find that the lumps are just unpopped air bubbles.


Workshop Outletts on Metal Conduit Im putting outlets into my new Shop, planning for a 1" EMT conduit containing three circuits running  from the panel box:  A 20A 120V, B 30A 240V and C  50A 120/240, so 7 conductors plus the conduit ground.
The outlets will be attached to the conduit and mounted similar to the installation in this photo.

One difference is my shop has the continuous hoop connections up at the 3 foot level allowing more bolt holes (like the lowest part of this picture).   The Conduit will be hung on P Clamps every 2' attached to the existing metal bolts holding the building "hoops" together.
I Plan on putting 4"x4" boxes every 4' with either a 120V dual outlet or an appropriate 240V single outlet (either NEMA 6-30 or 14-50 for the two circuit types).  Since each circuit carries different size conductors it should be easy to keep them straight (12AWG, 10AWG and 6 AWG).  Two different sets of circuits will run  one clockwise and one counterclockwise out from the panel for 6 circuits total.  Additional individual special circuits will be run for lighting (120V), a 240V compressor, and a 240V cooler. Total of ~15 spaces in my 30 space panel.
I'm in Tucson AZ under the 2017 NEC for this.  Is there anything I'm doing here which seems concerning to the experts online or any additional advice I should consider?

After-report: Some more detail on How I ended up running along the Quonset hut interior.  (The small handy box is just for splicing to make the pull easier)  And yes there is a ground wire even though its not supposed to be required using EMT; however My inspector wanted it in  [see this question: https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/207090/conduit-for-ground-in-metal-shop ]

I ended up riveting the boxes to brackets and bolting those to the existing "grain bin" bolts holding the Quonset Hut Hoops together.  Then ran EMT through them anchored to other bolts via P-Clamps.  An important note:  The boxes need to be secured rigidly, not merely hung on the conduit and supported by conduit (this would not be allowed)
I posted a picture of the final configuration in the question.


Why do screw thread diameters vary from their nominal values? I'm trying to identify several screws. Guides online are fairly straightforward - measure the diameter of the thread part, and pitch if possible. However, none of my screw measurements make any sense. I've ruled out my caliper as the cause.
Here's some of my measurements (Suspected screw: Expected -> Actual):

Known M2.5: 2.5mm -> 2.43 mm
M3: 3mm -> 3.38 mm, 0.5mm pitch
M4: 4mm -> 3.88 mm
Known 5/16": 0.3125" -> 0.305", 18 threads/inch

My measurements seem to be off my 2% to 10%. Am I missing something? Is my M3 screw actually M3.5 or M4? I can't find, say, 3.38mm on any screw charts (example)

Metric screw diameters are always below nominal.
The nominal size is as if the thread came to a sharp point, and it doesn't.  For the exact amount see Wikipedia, from where I lifted this drawing (thanks to user Inductiveload).

Note the P/8 (i.e pitch/8) flat on the outside (top) of the external thread.  This means the outside diameter (roughly doing the trigonometry) is about 0.2×pitch less than nominal.  Taking your M4, with  a pitch of 0.7, you'd expect an OD of 4-0.2*0.7=3.86, an almost perfect match to your 3.88.  Similarly for you M2.5.
So your 3.38mm OD screw isn't M3.  The diameter is good for M3.5, but that has a 0.6mm pitch.  I don't know how you measured the pitch, but that's a fairly easy error.  Without a thread gauge I'd measure the length of 10 (or more) turns, and divide to get the pitch.
M3.5 is rare, but common in British and some European electrical hardware, usually slotted (e.g. it holds our sockets and light switches to the back boxes).  I have seen socket head M3.5 on a metric version of an American product, where a UK engineer would have used M4


Can I fit hardboard of two different thicknesses? I'm fitting hardboard on my bathroom's floor in order to glue vinyl on top of it. However I'm using 2 kinds of hardboard. One is 3mm thick, and the other 2mm. Is this a problem, and if so is there an easy solution for it?

I don't think using two different heights is a good idea. For one, you'll introduce water pooling, depending on where the heights vary. For another, you're ensuring that the vinyl is always under the risk of stress where different heights meet under the same sheet.

The easy solution is to use only one height of hardboard - stick to either 2mm or 3mm.


Master showerhead has electrical current, what to do? Good morning,
I purchased a home last month and have been in the process of updating/renovating. My first night in the home was Saturday night. I went to take a shower, turned the water on and got in. I went to adjust the showerhead and felt a slight "shock" I thought I was going crazy, so I of course being the genius I am grabbed the shower head and yep, sure enough it had an electrical current going thru it. After going thru the process of elimination I found the circuit that was causing the issue, however its a circuit feeding the other end of the home.

What could cause this? Its a single story home, the plumbing should be coming from ground up and the wiring should be going up thru the attic to feed the house. The bathroom is probably about 5 feet from the breaker box (thru a wall) both bathrooms and the laundry room are clustered in one area and the breaker box is in the laundry room.

I had someone suggest its a grounding issue. I'm thinking its more of an exposed wire issue. The current didn't feel like it was 110 (I've taken that hit a few times) it was slightly more intense than a static shock. I left the breaker off overnight as I didn't need it to be on (its the breaker that feeds the den lights and receps). I turned it on midday on Sunday and went back and checked and there was no current at that time. I even went thru the motions of taking my shoes and socks off and turning the water on to try and duplicate the original circumstances.

As far as wiring goes, I haven't messed with anything in the house other than change out a couple receps and eliminate some piggy backed track lights in the kitchen.

This is how some of our troops got killed overseas. Simply taking a shower delivered lethal doses of electricity.

The problem is grounding.  It is certainly possible that the ground in the breaker box has become separated from a real earth ground.

So first, the breaker box ground needs to be fixed at the very least.
Even if it requires driving in a new ground rod and new wiring.  Then make sure all ground connections are tight.

Highly recommend a qualified electrician to look at this one.


Three way circuit powering a GFCI outlet I have two light switches, one at each entry to a room, that are set up three way to power a standard outlet (for a lamp).  I replaced that standard outlet with a GFCI outlet.  I noticed that the tiny, green GFCI status light goes out when the switches are in the off position and that if the switches are in the off position, the GFCI outlet will not RESET after testing.  This all seems logical to me but it got me wondering if there anything wrong with using a GFCI outlet like this?

You can switch a GFCI outlet like you describe. Obviously the green LED indicator is powered from the power coming to the outlet so it stands tor reason that it would go off when the power to the outlet is switched off.
It is possible that some loads that you plug into an outlet like this could cause nuisance tripping of the GFCI when the switch is turned on and off quickly. This would only be likely to happen with devices that do not have properly balanced front end AC EMI filters that are tied into the safety ground.


How to terminate wires? I'm trying to terminate some wires after removing a light fitting. Will it be fairly safe to terminate the wires using screw terminal blocks like these?

Will it be fairly safe to terminate the wires using screw terminal blocks like these?

Permanently

Although UK connector blocks of that type are rated for 400V AC 30A. As far as I know, any unused wires should be either removed completely or alternatively, disconnected at both ends, and connected to ground at both ends. This is so that a circuit breaker trips immediately if the wires are ever accidentally made live. All connections must remain accessible via a cover plate, you can't just plaster over where the light fitting used to be.

One important objective is to avoid creating an invisible and illegal lethal electrical hazard for the next family that move into your home.

Temporarily

What you propose is perfectly sensible for a temporary arrangement during painting of a wall or ceiling. Temporary in the sense that normal arrangements will be restored within a day or so.

You don't need a 30A connector for a lighting circuit, a smaller 6A connector is fine for a typical UK 6A lighting circuit. This is enough to ensure that the breaker trips before the connector catches fire in the event of a mishap such as accidentally flooding the connector with conductive paint.

The purpose of the covering is to keep the liquid paint out, so it probably doesn't need to be electricians tape. That would probably be convenient though.


Three way switch circuit leaking voltage I have a hallway light fixture controlled by three switches (panel -> 3 way -> 4 way -> 3 way -> fixture). Lights in this fixture routinely burn out within 6 months (incandescent, cfl and led -- all name brand).
The other night I noticed the LED lights had a very faint glow even though the power to the lights had been turned off for hours. I've removed the bulbs from the fixture and measured around 40 volts of stray power at the socket with the power turned off. Flipping a switch returns the voltage to 120. I tried all 8 combinations of switch positions and had the same results.
All three switches are non-illuminated "dumb" switches.
I then removed each of the switches and tested resistance with my multimeter. These are regular n-way switches, not smart or illuminated. The wiring in the boxes is textbook. They each show near 0 and '--' for resistance depending on the switch position.
I'm nearly certain each of the switches are still good but don't know where to go next in troubleshooting. What would cause the stray voltage? Is this likely what is killing light bulbs? Is this dangerous? How can I fix the extra voltage?

The 40V you are measuring is a typical value for a "phantom voltage". It is caused by capacitive coupling between wires, through the insulation, and usually in long runs of parallel wires AFTER the switch.
These couplings are high impedance and usually when connecting any load, the voltage will read 0. However, LED units (bulb & regulator) are high impedance loads at voltages below their operating voltage (e.g. 40V), and so it is possible they consume a bit of power even when the source is a phantom voltage. Regulators are notoriously short lived if they don't have enough voltage to work properly. Ironically, the transistors can overheat.
You can confirm this effect as follows: replace one of the lights with an incandescent (or add an incandescent to the load), and the voltage with the switch OFF should drop to 0.
Also, what voltage do you measure at the socket, when you disconnect the 3-way switch? And the other 3-way switch?
Your other point about the 6 month longevity with all bulbs usually suggests they are running at 240V rather than 120V due to mis-wiring somewhere. So to be sure: you are measuring 120V at the socket, between live and neutral (not live and ground), right?
And another check: you don't have weird issues when switching a 240V appliance on that suddenly lights get brighter, or circuits that don't work start to work? (This means that one of your two phases is not working correctly)
Update based on your 20V measurement: Yes by adding a load the voltage would drop, and since it drops by half (which is a lot), the phantom voltage remains suspect number 1 for the "faint glow". If you screw in something of higher wattage (20W...40W) like an old inc. bulb, I would suspect it to drop to 0V.
Are your LED bulbs dimmable? I appreciate that with your simple on/off switching the bulbs don't have to be dimmable. But, dimmable ones deal better with under voltage, they deliberately switch entirely off below a certain threshold, and that might help you here.
Update based on the LEDs being dimmable: The last thing I can think of is to try a different bulb / unit. Without cutting new holes for recessed/regulated systems, you could try a replacement just by wiring it up without installing it just yet. Not all LED bulbs and drivers are made the same, and you could get lucky (electrically, I mean).
The next solution would be to add a dummy load to the circuit after the switch. This is silly if you are trying to save power, but inc. bulbs are impossible to find. This is why we want to check the voltage (n OFF position) with a regular bulb (if you have one), to make the load a bit higher than with just under-driven LED lights.
Can you measure the voltage between the neutral and the ground, or the neutral and a neutral elsewhere in the house (use an extension cord). Let's eliminate a poor neutral as a possible cause too, since you have mixed problems.
The phantom voltage seems to be coupled after the switch, and so far we have the following possible solutions:

Move the wiring after the switch: this is lots of work, likely involves drywall repair, so definitely a last resort
Replace the lighting: this is a bit of a draw of luck, but some LED bulb & box regulators or integrated LED bulbs may have a threshold shutoff below which the LED switches itself off, rather than leaving it on, "leaking" and leaving a glow.
Insert a relay in the circuit right at the socket.

The relay has 120V switching poles (say 5A) and a 120V coil, and must be placed inside an electrical box. It will be wired so that the switch side of the relay simply connects the relay's feed to the bulb. It works as follows: if the voltage is too low, the relay is off, and the LED is cut off from the low voltage. If the voltage is high enough, the relay is on, and the bulb is fed the hight voltage.
There is the possibility that the relay too will switch on as a result of the phantom voltage. Should this be the case, we can experiment with a resistor placed before the relay, so that the relay's feed voltage (but not the LED's) is lowered enough to not trigger on the phantom voltage. It requires a bit of experimentation. Should you like this option, I can sketch you a diagram.


Water seeping through stained concrete in slab foundation - during heavy rain only I bought a house in north Dallas, about a year ago, the house was built in 2000 and it is a single story house. There were no problems reported or found during the inspection for the foundation or the roof. The roof was replaced in 2012 and it appears to be in good condition, it has 3 tab shingles. The gutters have not been cleaned, but water does appear to be coming down just fine into the drain blocks all around the house, the house has all the terrain sloped away from the foundation, and I checked during this very heavy rains that we have had this week and there wasn't a single puddle of water anywhere near the house. There are zero indications of foundation issues, all windows/doors close perfectly and there are no cracks anywhere.

I haven't done the leaking test by turning off all water and looking at the meter yet, because it is still very rainy outside and with tornado warnings. However it does not appear to me that this is a pipe issue given the fact that it has only happened twice this week after very heavy rain that lasts over 10 hours, regular rain doesn't show this symptom at all.

During the year we have been living here I haven't noticed any foundation/roof issues and going to the attic appears to show no moisture or water coming in. This is the first time we notice this, it happens in a room close to the flower bed that happens to have stained concrete as its floor, there are other rooms with stained concrete, as well as rooms with hardwood floors but I could not find anywhere else where water was seeping thru.

The water appears to be coming through from the corner in the room with stained concrete that corner does happen to be the closest one to the flower bed, in which I found zero puddles of water outside. I did a small test and put some paper this second time, in the corner area where I saw the puddle of water the first time, I fell asleep unfortunately but I checked at 7:30 am all clear, at 10, the sheet of paper was completely soaked with water, at that point I very thoroughly inspected the whole perimeter of the paper it appeared to be bone dry, implying the water is indeed coming from underneath the stained concrete, next I grabbed a stair and very carefully touched the whole ceiling - it is completely dry no water stains either. That same corner is now completely dry and it has stopped raining for now.

This room and the rest of the house sits on top of a slab foundation. I should mention that during raining I inspected all the gutters drains and one of them was not properly going to the block, once I lifted the block, there was a puddle of water underneath the block, I simply moved the block closer so that it drains there. The soil here just like anywhere in north Texas is all clay basically, which I know does not absorb water well.

At this point I am not sure what the issue is, other than it seems like the water is coming through the stained concrete only in that corner in that room, and it has only happened twice since we moved a year ago, it happened yesterday and it happened today it has been raining almost non stop for 3 days now. Could anyone point me in the right direction as to what the problem might be?, or who should I call that could help me investigate the issue? roofer or foundation expert?.

Thanks.

You may want to take a look at your roof vents (stacks). There's a plastic boot around the vent that cracks over time. Rain water can leak through & travel down the pipe to the slab. If this seems likely, there's something called a Perma-boot (Home Depot, Lowes, etc.) that you can install yourself. It fits over the existing roof vent boot. Good luck!


Dishwasher Power Cord has Two White Wires. Isn't the wide one neutral? A contractor hooked up our dishwasher this way (see image), but I believe it's wrong. The dishwasher's hot (black) and neutral (white) wires are the ones going into each wire nut from the left side. The power cord he used has two white wires, though, one of which is wider than the other. Those are going into each wire nut from the right side.

As you can see, he connected that wider white wire to the black hot wire. Isn't that wider one the neutral wire? If so, that would mean those two wires coming from the power cord should be switched! Sorry if this is a dumb question. I don't know much about electrical, but I'm suspicious about this.

Thanks

That looks like a standard appliance cord.

Look closely at the cord and you will notice one conductor is ribbed. Follow it... It should lead to the neutral side of the plug and the white wire on the dishwasher.   The ribbed side being neutral is an industry standard, if the plug is molded on to the cord it will follow this convention.

You are correct about the wide BLADE being neutral, but wrong about how to follow it.

I think I can see the rib in both pictures, when enlarged, and it appears correctly wired, but you should double check this.

Edit addition:

There are different type of rib on SPT cord, the picture shows a single rib.  There are also versions with multiple small ribs, which is more obvious.

On the straight cord picture in the question the ribbed conductor appears to be the one without the writing.


How often should our septic aerator run during a day? Our vacation home has a pump on the septic and an aerator.  Our electric bill seems high even when we are not there.  How often should the aerator kick on?

The aerator should run 24/7 nonstop and should not cost more than 10 dollars a month to run. If you electric bill is high something else is causing it or the system is not correctly hooked up.


What is the type of this light bulb? I need to replace this light-bulb. It is very slim and I have never seen it anywhere else. What is the light bulb's type?

Looks like a Linear Halogen R7s but you need to measure it to get the right length eg 78mm/118mm.


Can I use mulch as a driveway covering? I'm about to put a driveway down. Is it possible to cover the driveway with mulch instead of gravel?

Context:

In the woods. I want to keep the woodsy feel.
Long, mild winters. January average temperature is 38 deg F. Not much snow, and no plowing.
19" rainfall each year, in the fall/winter/spring.
Glacial till subsoil.

You could, but it strikes me as a bad idea for a few reasons.  First, you'll have to replace it every year (or at least every 2-3 years).  Second, you'll get much better traction on gravel, especially when wet or snowy.  Finally, mulch is much more likely to wash out in the rain, especially if it's only a shallow layer.


Can anyone identify this track lighting fixture? I'm looking for more light fixtures like this one. Can anyone identify it?

It's a Progress Lighting Gimball ring track head.


Hose came off washing machine The hot water hose came free from the washer last night. Do I need to replace the inlet valve? Is this a simple thing to do?

The threads appear to be slightly damaged due to cross-threading or impact during transport or installation. This doesn't warrant a valve replacement, however.

Use a triangular file or other tool to trace the threads and remove any material that prohibits proper alignment of the hose threads. As a last resort, simply cut off the first few threads with a hack saw or rotary tool.

The rubber washer in the end of the hose makes the seal, so the condition of the threads isn't critical as long as it allows you to tighten the hose. There's no doubt in my mind that the threads shown in the photo are up to the task.


Doorbell transformer is this it? I am going nuts trying to find my doorbell transformer.  Someone suggested it may be this.  But doesn't look like one to me. Is it?  If not any suggestions where it may be?

As indicated by Ecnerwal the picture you show is an old style telephone line hookup. When you go looking around for your doorbell transformer it may look like one of these:

Mounted on cover of an electrical junction box similar to the following. Liable to be found in garage or basement fairly close in distance to the bell button and bell unit.

Picture Source

Mounted to side of a ceiling light fixture junction box in garage or basement:

Picture Source

Mounted on the side of the service entrance box / distribution panel.

Picture Source

Mounted in some obscure place in your attic on a junction box.

Picture Source

And finally it is possible that you may find a plug-in style door bell transformer that is secured to some electrical receptacle someplace. One would look similar to this.

Picture Source


How do I protect my new roof while working on siding? I recently had new shingles installed on my home. Now I find that I need to remove a section of vinyl siding and replace a large window on front dormer.

I am concerned about damage being done to the new roof during the process involving ladders and lots of foot traffic.

How should I protect my roof during the process?

Yes. You would want to protect the shingles if there is to be a lot of foot traffic on the roof. A good way to provide that protection is to get a couple sheets of 1/2" plywood which you lay over the shingles. You can also cut the plywood to size in the case that whole sheets do not cover the work area. The plywood does need to be secured in place so that it does not slide off the roof slope.

One way to secure the plywood is to install some roofing scaffold brackets at the lower edge of the roof.

These brackets are secured using two or three roofing nails through the angled slots. Ideally on a warm day a shingle tab can be carefully lifted up and the nails installed under the tab. Later when the bracket is removed it slides off the nails and then they are hammered down flat and covered over with a dab of roofing sealer and the shingle tab folded down flat.

The plywood can sit down against the bracket directly or a flat 2x6 is laid across the brackets and then the plywood sheets are placed just above the flat 2x6. One advantage of the 2x6 is that it is thicker than the plywood and provides an additional edge for security when getting onto or off the roof from/to the ladder.

Even better than a ladder would be to stack some regular scaffolding brackets from the ground up to the roof level edge and use that as the means to gain access to the roof.


What is the feasibility of an elevated home extension - versus adding a floor inside a 16-foot high basement? Following on from my previous question: Can I have two storeys in a 16 foot space?

It looks like the "best" use of that crawlspace area would be to build a new floor inside the 16-foot crawlspace/basement - a large livable/usable finished day-basement room with a somewhat unfinished storage area underneath. But I'm wary of the cost involved in inserting a new floor into the existing house structure.

Another option for adding more square-footage to the house that I'm looking at is extending the top floor of the house by having an elevated extension (on legs/stilts). It would not surprise me if it did end-up costing the same because while more "new" work is needed (i.e. adding new exterior walls) I believe it would be less hassle - "greenfield vs brownfield".

Here's what I'm proposing, via MSPaint:

So the top-floor would be extended northwards by about 2-3m, greatly increasing the floor-area of the two bedrooms, as well as adding a walk-in closet for Bedroom 3 and a Jack & Jill shower-room (or two separate shower-rooms). I think adding a deck/balcony that stretches the length of the house would be nice (as the north face of the house faces a wooded area) - it could be covered too, and then the bedrooms would both have their own french-door access to the deck/balcony.

Of course, note the problem is that it's essentially 30-feet from the west-end down to the ground below. I'm assuming a builder can source structural timbers long enough for that.

But an advantage is that the entire foundations don't need to be massively-extended, a set of pile-driven single foundations would be all that's necessary (would you even need a pile-driver?).

Is my proposal feasible? And if so, how much is this likely to cost in comparison to installing a floor into, and finishing, the basement?

Based on your drawing, and the picture from your previous question, your basement/crawl space does not appear to be a good candidate to turn it into living space.

The only thing that basement is really good for is storage. It would not make a good living space because there appears to be a moisture problem there. Any kind of construction material placed down there would get damp and moldy. It also doesn't appear to have many windows, so those would need to be added.

An addition would be a good way to add some additional space. However, that would be very expensive. That is not a DIY job, and it will require you to hire an engineer/architect, general contractor, carpenters, plumbers, roofers, etc. You would also need to have accurate architectural plans drawn up and submitted to the local building inspector just so you can get a building permit. If you are building close to the edge of your property, you may also need to have a survey done to make sure it is set back from the property line far enough.

Unfortunately, it is not like the old days where a home owner can just slap up an addition by themselves. There are a lot of rules and regulations that need to be followed. If you do build without permission, the town or city can force you to demolish the entire addition. Another thing to consider is that you would also have an increased tax liability. When the construction is complete, the tax adjuster will reappraise your home, and the amount of taxes could jump significantly depending on the extent of the renovation.

So the bottom line is how much you are willing to spend to make your home larger. It may be more feasible to make better usage of your existing space, before making the leap.


Why is neutral not connected to earth terminal? In a 3-pin socket there are 3 wires: phase, neutral and ground. Neutral is taken out and grounded and earth wire is also taken out and grounded. Is it possible to short the neutral and earth terminals and then grounded?

That's horrible.    Neutral and Equipment Safety Earthing (in mains electrical service, ground) must not be crossed, bridged, shorted, or biased.  They must remain completely separate, (except in one specific place defined by your Electrical Code, which is a place you will never be unless you are installing main electrical service.)

Noting that you came over from the Electronics stack, we are changing terminology on you.  In low-voltage DC electronics, "ground" is the normal current return: Vss.  In mains electrical, the normal current return is called neutral.

The equipment safety grounding system is only there to take accidental shocks that would otherwise shock a human or start a fire.  For instance, if a frayed wire contacts the metal chassis of a machine, instead of energizing the chassis and killing the next human who touches it, massive current will be carried back to source, causing the overcurrent breaker will trip. Current should never flow on it unless something has failed.

If you dislike this safety-ground feature, or do not understand it, or do not want to use it properly, then don't use it at all. Use a 2-wire cord to a 2-prong plug.  You may find that the western listing agencies, UL, TUV, CSA etc., have some extra requirements for your product, e.g. double-insulation.

Why not short neutral and ground locally?

What happens if a neutral wire breaks upstream?  Everything else downstream of the wire break is trying to return current via neutral.  So all that current from all those machines travels the neutral wire to your illegal short, hops to ground, and takes ground back to the main panel, via the official neutral-ground bond, back to source.  This means many amperes of current are coming through your little plug.  Neutrals don't have fuses, so this burns your house down.

What if a ground wire breaks upstream? Normally if a neutral wire breaks, current can no longer return to source, and this has the effect of "floating" the neutral wire at line voltage.  If you have also bridged it to ground, now you are also floating the grounding system at line voltage, at least on your machine.  Anybody who comes in contact with that gets shocked.

What if both neutral and ground take a hit? Similarly what if all wires are cut, and the machine has capacitors, or inductive kickback as it spins down?  Again neutral floats up toward line voltage which the system would  be able to handle normally.  Your bootleg bonding means ground floats too, and shocks people.


How to remove dried hot glue from a closed door? Ok so in my room someone used hot glue to close off a small passage way to the attic above. I have searched all over the internet for ways to remove the glue, but none of them seem to work. So basically my question is how do i remove dried hot glue from a closed door?

Useful info:
-Both the heat gun and drier method didnt work
-Tried heating up a metal rod with a torch and using that to burn the glue, but that resulted in alot of smoke everytime the rod touch the glue, and gave me too big of a head ache to continue
-there is only about a 1/4cm between the wood

Carefully cut as much of the glue as possible with a utility knife. With a small pry bar, cats paw, or flat bar gently pry at the gap. If you can, cut some more glue while prying. you may also consider wedging  a paint scraper,( not to be confused with a putty knife) in the gap, then hitting it with a hammer.  At this point you have to weigh the risk of damage to the door opening against maybe burning down the house melting the glue.


Why does my Thermo Pride oil furnace need constant restarts? We have a Thermo Pride oil furnace that requires frequent restarts to run. We just purchased the house and had the annual service/safety check completed as it was neglected for several years. When the issue started two weeks ago it would run several days after being reset but today it will only run for about 5 minutes.

Any idea why the need for the constant re-starts/resets?

Brand probably has nothing to do with it. You'll need a service call, and should already have made one (yes, you had it serviced - but it's not behaving correctly, so you need another one.)

Clogged nozzles are a common issue, but not the only one - bad or dirty flame sensors, bad high voltage ignitors, bad control systems are all possible issues. You may need a new filter as well - if there was a lot of crud in the tank the new filter could be clogged.

If you have a power vent rather than a traditional chimney, the possible causes of abnormal shutdown increase.


Is this foyer (wall) load bearing, in a condo I live in a 5 story condo, on 2nd floor.

I wanted to remove this foyer (in picture labeled as ENTRY). I see joists running across the room, left to right in the picture. The structural engineer came out and said it seems to be load bearing. He calculated for the room to be too wide for joists to span from wall to kitchen wall, so the foyer must support them. However, he's confused as to what is holding up the joists past the foyer, into the room. (towards the balcony)

As you can see in the plans, only a few walls are designated as structural. I am no expert, but this seems too few. Is structural wall the same as load bearing ?

I am still trying to find actual structural plans and not architectural ones, but I wanted to ask the community and what people think.

Thank you for your time.

Yeah, that plan is of no use. If anything it's just depicting where 2x6's were to be used, which doesn't mean they were used. ALL exterior walls would have to be Load Bearing. If all of the floors have the same layout then everything's Load Bearing.

The place is broken up into, roughly, 3 14-foot spans, with of course just the Linen Closet to the Entry portion having 16-foot sticks under it. And, your "Engineer" is a moron. Simply put. What's above you & what's below you is what matters & solely determines Load Bearing or Connecting. Not whether he "only knows" of 14-foot sticks ever being as the longest lumber. Laughable.

You'll have to get a Carpenter, but I think the only thing you could possibly remove would be just the wall across from the Entry Door & removal of the shelf's half-wall only, between the dining room.


Where can I move my electric panel March 15, 2018 -- I have lived in my tiny, 1 ½ story house in Boston since 1994, and I want to upgrade my electrical panel from 100 amps to 200 amps.  The current panel is located in my basement, which floods every few years.  In fact, the constant flooding became so vexing that I moved my washer and dryer upstairs to a small room off of my dining room.  I also got rid of my traditional water heater and replaced it with a tankless water heater that is also now located in the same room as the washer and dryer upstairs.  May I move my electrical panel to that room, too?  The only spot available would be on a wall that is about 3 feet wide between the door and a window that has pretty cotton curtains.  Would there be enough clearance?  Would the curtains be considered a fire hazard?  How about laundry detergent and bleach bottles about 4 to 5 feet away?  If not the laundry room, can I put an electrical panel outside?  Would I need to build a little side structure?  If so, how large would it have to be?

Take a look at the image below. Code requires you have at least 3 feet in front of the panel, 6.5 above, and 30 inches side to side. There is a trick with the 30 inches that it can be measured from either side of the panel, dead center, etc. so you get some wiggle room there. Based on what you've said about your laundry room, it sounds like code-wise it will probably work. (Although bear in mind some regions apply additional codes)

However, you also need to take into account what's in the wall. Between a door and window you'll have king studs and who knows what other load bearing stuff that could interfere with box placement or getting wires to the box. There is also the issue with wires being short when rerouted so now you'd need to make additional splices which could require water-proofing if they are still below flood level.

You can purchase outdoor breaker boxes which are rated NEMA-3-ish which means they are suitable for outdoor use and protect from rain, but as Harper mentioned, they don't protect for dust, bugs, etc. I would also agree with Jim that moving the panel would not be a cheap option. My guess is you could pop some concrete in the basement, dig a hole, and put in a good sump pump with a failure alarm for far less that moving the panel will cost.


Can I block large open vent in basement Fairly new to this house and I have a large open vent in our basement that is letting a lot of cold air in. The diameter is 8-9 inches. The inside duct is connected directly to the outside vent screen in the second image.

It is in the furnace/utility room. The furnace and water heater both consume gas. Will blocking it impact carbon monoxide levels in the basement?

Here is what it looks like inside and out.

I believe the vent is for combustion air. If there is no fresh air to the furnace and water heater this could create serious problems both with carbon monoxide and inefficient operation. If you block the large vent air may be pulled in from the vents on the water heater and furnace causing a buildup of carbon monoxide and because of the reduced fresh air the gas may not be completely burn. Plugging the fresh air vent could be quite hazardous and cost in inefficiency.


Is it ok to cut an access panel into the drywall above my service panel? I recently purchased this house so have inherited what is here.

My main panel is located in the attached garage. It is built into a semi-finished wall.
The previous owner cut a small "door/window" ( see photo ) in the drywall above the main panel - presumably to make fishing wires easier.

The "door" of drywall is only removable when removing the cover of the panel.

There is a similar situation below the main panel - with a section of what i think is MDF that is not attached.  The way the MDF is situated I could not remove it without breaking it, but I can flex the top of it to see behind it.

I am updating some of my circuits so will need to have an inspection in the near future.

I'm curious if any of this is cause for concern?

Thanks for any help!

Code requires the wires to be covered it doesn’t specify anything other than 1/2” Sheetrock or plywood. I do create access points in my home and some jobs that need them the only difference is I have a piece of trim over the cut usually held in place by Velcro. I can see an inspector having an issue with the cut especially if the wall is common with a living space , if an outside wall I doubt they would say anything.

Added for more info:
Note sometimes these flaps are cut so the clamps can be installed. I use a plastic clamp called “insiders” Raco brand, punch the knockout feed the wire through the hole then slide the insider down the wire into the hole and it clamps the wire. I used to have to cut those flaps but with the insiders I just have to fish the wire through the hole.
Note I have no links to these other than I love them and have been using them for quite a while saving time and $ even on new installs.


How to fit things to a Bungaroosh wall The walls in my house are made of Bungaroosh which means that attaching anything to them is most likely to hit some issues.  Recently I've been trying to fit a floating shelf to the wall, but no matter what I do it ends up coming away.

The steps I've taken so far are:

Drill hole
Place vacuum nozzle up against hole to get all the fallen bits out
Fill hole with filler and put wall plug in
Wait for this to dry and then attach item with screws

This approach seems to work normally, but this shelf has turned out to be fairly heavy so it's pulling itself off the wall.  I also tried some Gripfill but not sure if this is appropriate for this job - it also didn't work.

Can anyone suggest any alternate approaches I could try?

Accessing any substrate as jamietre suggests is probably the best bet if possible. Otherwise Tester101's epoxy will be best. The sort of shelf you want places fasteners in withdrawl, which is a difficult load to resist in marginal materials such as bungaroosh. If you attempt an epoxied anchor, you should attempt to undercut the hole with a small hard chisel to further help resist withdrawl forces. This way, you are not entirely dependent on the epoxy bond strength. Unfortunately, you still need to depend on the shear strength of bungaroosh anyway, which is marginal at best.

The deeper the hole, and the greater the undercut without damaging the surrounding wall material will yield the strongest anchorage.


Best way to affix EPS insulation panels to interior plaster walls? My house was built in 1957 and there is little or no insulation in the exterior walls. To increase the R-value, I plan to put up 1-inch panels of expanded polystyrene, then use adhesive to attach 3D tiles made of plant fiber. For the insulating panels, should I use construction caulk, a special adhesive, double-sided gorilla tape, drywall screws, or something beyond my scant knowledge? Thanks.

Better check with the codes in your area.
Also check with your insurance company as EPS board is not recommended or approved for interior use due to flame spread and smoke.
If it is approved you can use a dispersion adhesive for attachment to the plaster walls.
Also you may cause a moisture problem between the plaster and the backside of the EPS.


Up-to-code install of under-cabinet electrical outlets I'm planning to install some plugmold multi-outlet strips hidden under my kitchen cabinets like this:

However, I'm trying to figure out how to hardwire these in a way that passes code. Looking at another similar product from legrand, the instructions are to just drill two holes in the wall and pass Romex wires through. Then the wire-nut connections are made in the outlet strip itself.

I always thought wire nut connections need to be made inside an electrical box-is that right? For my install I'll need the holes to be behind the cabinets, and the romex will run down through a hole in the bottom of the cabinet to the power strip:

Do I need the electrical box in my drawing? Or can I just pass the romex cables through the wall with no box and make the connection in the outlet strip?

Thanks!

Plugmold or similar products are marked for use as a wireway and you can make joints inside them as long as they are accessible after they are installed.

Meaning you need to be able to take the cover off and access the connections.


How can I paint a wooden desk with a rubberised feel? I've acquired an old wooden desk that is just varnished wood. I would like to paint it but with the rubberised feel I have seen applied to some metals. I'm not sure if this paint exists for wood, but maybe it's possible to mix it manually? I've seen rubberised paint advertised for industrial uses like railings etc

I would prime the desk and then coat it with Redgard.   Sand after your prime.  Put the Redgard down in thin coats with a foam roller and it will turn out very smooth.  After 2 days it stiffens and will become very durable (and waterproof).


A professional to test asbestos safety in furnace ducts We live in a rented house with an old furnace duct system (probably 1960's). There is asbestos-containing duct-wrap all around the ducts, and it starts to crumble in some places (it's located in the attic).

I want to make sure that it is safe to use the duct system.

My question is: what type of companies / professionals should I be looking for in order to do this kind of inspection? (we live near San Jose, CA).

Thanks in advance!

Background:

This question,
and a breakdown of professionals that I have spoke with:

HVAC cleaning companies: don't want anything to do with it.
Asbestos companies (like Benchmark environmental, EnviroCheck): propose to take samples and see if the material is asbestos or not. They don't do an overall evaluation, or even promise to look at the entire duct system.
Other HVAC companies: "we don't clean ducts" / "We won't touch anything with asbestos" etc.

Based upon the description, the hazard of asbestos has been present on the property for many years and most likely through multiple owners. To date the current owner has not moved to mitigate the hazard, either through ignorance of its presence or due to disregard for the potential harm that may result.

As renters, the meaningful options are really:

Convince your landlord to deal with a hazard.
Stay and live with things the way they are.
Move.

Perhaps your landlord remains unaware of the asbestos containing materials, in which case they should be promptly informed so that they may take appropriate action toward abatement/encapsulation. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is the agency responsible for regulating construction related activities in your area when asbestos is involved.

Given the level of resources often entailed in proper removal of friable asbestos containing materials, proper removal is likely to be the source of substantial disruption to activities in your home.

A typical residential rental agreement may not allow a renter to contract for the scope of work required for abatement of the HVAC duct system. It would be wise to have your attorney review your lease before hiring a company to disassemble or partially demolition any building systems.

In the end, the home may not provide the sense of safety that people commonly expect without meaningful action on the part of your landlord and should it be necessary to consider forcing the landlord's hand as an option, the end result may not be worth the energy required.