How do I determine if a wall can be removed? I don't know much of anything about load bearing walls so I can't really decide how necessary this wall is.

So the space for my fridge is 35" almost exactly. Less if you count the trim on the floor. As many of you are probably aware, most larger fridges are 35.5" in width. This makes it extremely frustrating as only about a half inch is keeping me from upgrading to a well needed larger fridge. So, I'm thinking that I can remove this wall.  I'd just need to relocate the light switch. But I'm wondering if this wall is important or not, and how I can go about figuring it out.

For the wall to be structurally important, it could 1) have a post located in it, 2) be a load bearing (vertical loads), or 3) a shear wall:

Posts can support roof beams or second floor beams. You’ll need to look in the attic to see if a post extends up to a beam. You’ll also need to see if there is a footing in the crawl space directly under the post...however, the load from the post could be transferred to the floor without a footing.
Likewise, roof joists or second floor joists could rest on this wall and you’ll need to look in the attic directly above the wall and in the crawl space directly under the wall.
Shear walls are tougher to identify. However, because of the height and width, I can assure you it’s not a shear wall unless there is plywood on one side or both sides of the wall.

Don’t forget to check for a plumbing pipes or electrical service lines in the wall that will need to be relocated.

I’d check to see if there is a duct in the wall that connects to the floor register shown in the pic too...but it could be re-routed.

You’ll also need to fill-in the floor material when the wall is removed.

BTW, if the wall needs to stay (for an electrical line, plumbing pipe, etc.) you could keep the wall by turning the studs 90 degrees and reinstalling the gypsum board. (It could make a nice visual barrier too so you don’t need to look at the side of the fridge.)


How to change waste pipe fitting with a small amount of male pipe to work with? I'm adding a 4th bathroom to my home and need to update the waste pipe going to the septic tank from 3" to 4". The pipe coming out of the foundation immediately transitions from 4" to 3" leaving < 1" of pipe between the foundation and the clean out fitting.
What would be the best way to cut off the 3" clean out so I can attach a 4" clean out fitting with such little room?
How much 4" pipe do I need to insert into a 4" fitting?

The bad news:
As already noted: you don't have enough pipe left inside the house to cut that clean out off and glue a new one one.
The good news:
It looks like they ran the 4" pipe through a 6" pipe sleeve, then packed it with (mortar?) to seal it. This means that instead of breaking up the foundation wall to replace the pipe, you "only" have to dig out the mortar inside the sleeve!
You'll have to:

Excavate on the outside down to the 4" drain
Open up enough of a trench that you can cut it off outside the wall, leaving enough exposed on the downstream side to put a new slip joint connector on
Cut off the clean out and 45° inside.
Remove all that mortar from inside the sleeve
Remove the section of 4" through the wall
Replace the 4" through the wall
Plumb in new waste lines as appropriate inside

Sorry, while it's simple it's not going to be easy...


Problem with toilet fill valve My toilet has started acting funny lately and I am not 100% the cause.

Basically after flushing water does not come back in through the fill valve. You can hear the water running but it is not going into the tank. I can get small amounts of water into the tank by pulling the float switch up and down about 20 or so times. When I pull it up and let it go back down a few small bubbles come up out of the connection to the fill valve.

It sort of sounds like I need a new fill valve but I am curious if there is something more that I should be looking at since there are bubbles coming out of the bottom of the valve.

I am not sure if this is relevant or not, but there is no water coming out of the tube going out of the valve into the overflow thing (the place where that tube connects to)

Sorry for the lack of technical wording!

I would just install a new fill valve. They are inexpensive and fairly easy to replace.

After disconnecting the old fill valve you can try turning on the water to see if you are getting water from the supply as expected. Use caution, as the water can shoot out all over the bathroom. If you are not getting water from the supply you likely have a different issue.


Cheap power tools for large number of cuts of aluminium profile lengths I need to make some 200 cuts of aluminium profiles. Examples of what I'll be cutting:

Hollow box profile, 40mm x 40mm x 3mm:

40 pieces of 400mm lengths
12 pieces of 1500mm lengths

Hollow box profile, 40mm x 40mm x 1.5mm:

40 pieces of 400mm lengths

U channel profile, 40mm x 40mm x 3mm:

80 pieces of 40mm length

I need the cuts to be within a few millimetres accuracy.

How could I do this without giving myself RSI or spending a lot of money on a tool?

Thanks

Any circular saw will cut aluminum, copper, or any other non-ferrous metal easily with a sharp carbide-tipped blade.

Keeping the cuts straight, square, millimeter accurate and not damaging thinwall parts will require some guides. My preference would be a radial arm saw, the length is easily handled with a clamp on the fence. If you don't have one, buy or rent a cutoff saw and build a jig. Time spent building it right is repaid tenfold when you cut all those pieces.

Use a new blade - the one that made your deck 5 years ago will make a mess of the aluminum. And get some earplugs too - cutting metal tubing makes noise roughly comparable to the Space Shuttle lifting off.


Conflicting contractor opinions on rebuilding steps using original construction method Is it appropriate to rebuild brick steps with sandstone slab steps and landing depicted with dimensions in the picture "Final Constructed Steps" below using the original construction method depicted in "Brickwork Construction Details"? I am getting conflicting advice from contractors I am looking to hire (two say it's good, a third says it's bad and destined to fail) and I cannot find good resources on whether this method will hold up in the long term.

Final Constructed Steps:

Note: Hand railings not depicted in this image, but will be present as required by code.
Also, the 16" width is the size of the stone slab, the exposed tread is roughly 12" because half bricks (8" length) are covering the rear of each 16" slab to provide support to the next slab.

Brickwork Construction Details:

Each sandstone slab supplies the base to support the front of the next stone slab. The middle and rear of each sandstone slab are left unsupported.

More details on why I ask:
My steps have deteriorated over the years using the depicted construction method. It has lead to bowing in the sandstone (Possible to salvage bowed sandstone slabs for porch steps?) over the 60 years of my home's existence. However, the front foundation wall for the first step was being pushed out by the earth and allowed the bottom step a lot of movement until I recently repaired it, so it may not have been entirely the fault of the original construction method.
That said, since sandstone is prone to bowing if left unsupported (as confirmed by discussion with several contractors), it seems like the original construction method may be weak in several areas. However, I have had two quotes from masons suggesting the same original method with new sandstone slabs and one quote from a more generalized builder who said I should have support the whole way across (build up the foundation and support each slab the whole way across with brick or equal sized material). I asked each about adding lintels to support the rear of each slab step and none of them thought that was a good idea (the masons thought it overkill and the generalized builder thought it insufficient). The method suggested by the generalized builder seems extremely sound, however it also is quite a bit more expensive. If the original construction method is truly adequate (provided no more foundation issues), then I would prefer to save some money to use on other projects and not needlessly overbuild my porch steps

Some thoughts:

Single stones that size will be ridiculously heavy.  Consider using three stones per step, similar size stones for the landing.
You don't need solid brick under the stones, but you need something.  You could compact fill dirt for bulk filling, then a layer of paver base, and top with a layer of sand under the stones at each level.  If you really wanted to get fancy, you could run a couple of rows of brick supports lengthwise, so they would support the seams if you use three stones per step (and fill as described in the cavities).
In terms of dimensions, the steps should follow a ratio of 2 x rise + tread = 26 to 27 inches.  If those are standard bricks, your dimensions will not feel natural, and people will have trouble walking them with a normal gait.  It would be closer if you rotate one brick on each side of the lower steps so that the tread is 12" instead of 16", then add a brick to the landing to maintain the total length if needed.  But it's only three steps, so it may not be a big deal.


How should a water heater drain pan be installed on a concrete slab floor? My water heater sits on a concrete slab floor in my utility room next to a wall with a bathtub drain, and a few feet over from my washing machine drain.  When I replace the heater I would like to install a water heater pan and have it connected to the tub drain (I haven't yet consulted a plumber about this--I assume it would be possible).

The issue I see is that if the water heater pan is sitting on the floor then the drain will--at best--be level.  Will the drain is effective in this scenario?  Would the heater need to be raised so that the drain could better be gravity fed?Would another option be altogether better?

Installing a pan under a water heater is always a good idea.  As a contractor, I have responded to many leaking tanks over the years and a drained pan would have made the situation a lot cheaper and easier for the customer. the leak is one thing, but the collateral damage is another.  If you have clearance above the water heater, you could raise the level with a few concrete patio blocks so it could drain down to the shower drain. If you have a sump hole in your floor, that is a good option. If using a shower drain, this assumes you can tap into it above the trap. Plumbing it into the washer drain might be tricky because you would need a pump to lift the water to the drain inlet.  Not seeing your set up makes it difficult to say for sure. There are also simple alarms that sense water and sound an alarm etc.  This would give you a heads up before the pan over flows and floods the floor.


Are water heater elements like light bulbs in that they either work or do not work? A relative indicates that the volume of hot water delivered has declined significantly and is becoming problematic when showering.   They claim the water heater thermostat set-point was upped from 120 to 140 degrees F, to increase the amount of heat delivered per volume of water and counter the issue, however, the issue persists.

Are heater elements like light bulbs in that they either work or do not work?  Heater has 2 electric elements.

Any diagnostics or questions are appreciated. Especially simple tests that can confirm a bad thermostat or heating element.  Thank you

The symptoms you describe are consistent with a failed lower element.

An electric water heater typically has two elements (and two thermostats). Only one element operates at a time.

Under normal operating conditions, the lower element will turn on when water is drawn out of the top of the tank and cold water enters the bottom of the tank. When this water at the bottom of the tank is sufficiently heated, the lower element turns off. The upper element is not activated at all.

If a large quantity of water is drawn, perhaps in excess of 50% of the tank capacity, the upper thermostat will detect cooling in the upper portion of the tank. This will cause the upper element to turn on and the lower element to turn off. When the upper element heats the upper part of the tank sufficiently, it switches back to the lower element to complete the heating cycle.

If the lower element or thermostat fails, the lower portion of the tank will never be heated. This significantly reduces the effective capacity, as only the upper portion of the tank will be heated.

If the upper element fails, you may continue to get hot water as long as the upper thermostat is not triggered. But once the upper portion of the tank cools and the thermostat triggers the upper element to come on, all heating ceases. The lower element will never come back on (because the upper thermostat is calling for heat from the upper element, which fails to provide.)

Another less-common possibility is a broken dip tube on the cold water inlet. Normally, the cold water inlet is at the top of the tank and just inside this inlet, there is a tube that extends to the bottom of the tank to direct incoming cold water to the bottom. If the dip tube has broken, cold water now enters the top of the tank, where it mixes with hot water and cools it off.

Before replacing the element, check the sacrificial anode. This is an aluminum or magnesium rod about 3/4" diameter with a steel wire core. It helps prevent corrosion of the water tank. If the rod is more than 50% consumed replace it along with the element. If it is completely consumed so that only the wire core remains, replace the entire water heater.

(If a sacrificial anode is allowed to be completely consumed, we can assume that the tank has begun to corrode and will need to be replaced soon. Better to replace the tank before it leaks than have to clean up water damage from a flood!)


Should it cost less than $12,000 to replace a bathroom and cast iron pipes in 1960s home? I need some advice please before I make a decision on hiring a contractor. 1960's home with walkout basement needs a small bathroom gut & cast iron plumbing replaced. All of the plumbing is visible on the ceiling of the basement except for what drains into the underground line of course.

Because of leakage there is flooring and a joist missing under the tub which all needs to be replaced. I have $12,000 saved for project, is this a reasonable expectation?

Impossible to know what is involved from the vague description. I can't even understand whether the bathroom is above the basement or in it from your description.

Generally speaking, minor structural repair on a house might cost anywhere from $500 to $2,500. Replacing free-standing sewage pipes might cost $400 to $800. If things (like the house itself) need to be lifted or moved out of the way, costs can go up. Usually minor structural changes can be made without lifting though.


Gas range has the wrong burner try to ignite When I try to light the front right burner, on my Amana first edition range, the front left burner sparks.  The gas turns on to the correct burner but it try to spark the wrong burner.  This problem just popped up out of no where after years of the range working correctly.  I would appreciate any help or advice anyone can share.

In my experience, most spark ignition ranges spark all the burners at the same time.

So, it's probably just an issue with that burner not sparking - spark gap shorted out with food is the usual cause. Broken wire is possible but much less likely.

Try looking at the left front burner spark (which you see when trying to light the front right) while lighting each of the back burners. I'll bet it sparks for both of them, too; and I'll also bet the back burners will spark while you are lighting the front ones - you probably just haven't looked for that before.


Can heat cause a GFCI to trip? I have a GFCI in the garage. There are several outlets downstream of it, most of which are outside, with covers on. Despite the covers, sometimes the rain can get in and trip the GFCI. Strangely enough, this pattern only happens in the summer. It rains in the winter too, so why is my GFCI not tripping when it rains heavily in the winter?
The circuit normally has two fridges connected directly to the GFCI, and a computer downstream, and nothing else. In the summer, once it trips for whatever reason, even removing everything else from the circuit, it will still trip afterwards. This is how I found that moisture could get into the outlets outside. Yes, fridges work hard in the summer, but the GFCI still trips with nothing on the circuit.
Note: The coil on the fridge (hot part) is facing the GFCI about a foot away.
I get that fridge compressors can trip the GFCI. I get the moisture tripping the GFCI with nothing else on the circuit. But why is the summer season a factor?
Edit Aug16 2020: I found the source of the tripping. I found a mystery box on a wall with a blank plate and a vertical PVC pipe running into the ground. The pipe had broken, allowing rainwater to get in. Although the wiring is insulated, there might be a knick in the romex further down, or some underground junction. It is possible that the heat difference between outside/underground caused some condensation to form somewhere bad. I prevented large droplets from being able to get in the gap, and the tripping has largely stopped.
I was also confused by the color of the visible wiring, as the sun caused the yellow wiring jacket, used elsewhere on the garage circuit, had faded and appeared white, making me think it was an unrelated circuit.

No they are not temperature sensitive. What may explain this:
Are the GFCI receptacles rated Weather Resistant? WR receptacles have the electronics potted so moisture is not a problem.
 In summer with higher humidity non WR GFCI receptacle’s May trip from moisture but not heat.


GFCI outlet and breaker I recently bought a house. In the dinning room, the previous owners added a gfci outlet connected to a gfci breaker. What might they have used this for? I can’t seem to find any relevant case. Location is Lafayette, IN.

With a GFCI breaker no other GFCI device is needed and sometimes a second GFCI device can cause nuisance tripping. I have seen a DIY person that did not understand put close to 50 GFCI outlets in his home that only had 5 or 6 branch circuits and thought he had miswired because now he was constantly tripping them. So why was a GFCI outlet added to a GFCI protected branch circuit? Probably because the person did not understand how they work.


Anyone have any idea what cable is this? This is apparently a network cable of some sort which I couldn't figure out what it is. Here is the damaged end:

And here is the other end:

It was chopped off accidentally by the contractor and he wasn't sure what is it exactly. Anyone is aware of such cable and how do I reconnect it back? Appreciate it. I tried asking in the network section. Someone suspect that it's a telephone cable?

From my point of view, looks like an optical fiber from isp. Not very clear on the core view.

The elaborate connector on the other end probably will explain it, if you took that photo to an electrical supply house.


US Toilets and clogging So I am from the UK and will be moving to the US soon.
Now, everytime I am in the US I seem to be, embarrassingly, clogging up the toilet. I honestly have no idea how.

I tried different techniques to try and make sure it doesn't clog such as the following:

1) flush after every wipe or every... "event" (if you get my drift)
2) flush right before I am about to make an "event" so with the pressure of the flush doing the sucking, it will suck away what will drop.

At some stage, I still seem to clog it but back home in the UK - no such problem.

Not only is it embarrassing especially when you are staying at a hotel but makes me wonder if the system here is different than the UK and what can be done (from my view) to improve it and avoid this embarrassment every time.

When I eventually get a house where I will be staying, what modifications can I make to ensure that this is not an often problem?

I know the question sounds stupid but... I am totally genuine on this matter.

The Environmental Protection Agency has standards in place for a program that is meant to help conserve water.  The current standards for "performance" of new toilets in this program (pdf) are as follows:

4.0 Flush Performance Criteria

4.1 Toilet model performance is identified as either a Pass or Fail depending upon
whether it can successfully and completely clear all test media from the fixture in
a single flush in at least four of five attempts. Only toilet models that Pass qualify
for EPA’s WaterSense label. Flush performance testing shall be conducted in
accordance with the test protocol provided in Appendix A.

4.2 Test media consists of seven test specimens, 50 ± 4 grams each, consisting of
soybean paste forming a ‘sausage’ approximately 4 ± 0.5 inch (100 ± 13 mm) in
length and 1 ± 0.25 inch (25 ± 6 mm) in diameter and four loosely crumbled balls
of toilet paper as defined in Appendix A.

4.3 The flush performance criteria apply to single flush toilets, and to the full flush
option of dual flush toilets. No solid waste removal requirement applies to the
reduced flush option on dual flush toilets.

If your "media" is smaller than what's specified in 4.2, you should be fine.

When the US first started restricting the amount of water permissible per flush, the toilet manufacturers did not get the engineering right.  So, if you've been using one of these first generation water conserving toilets, it could be the toilet that's the problem.  The newer toilets have been engineered with larger diameter traps and coatings and what have you that make flushing "media" less of an issue.


Kitchen fixture pulled lose from ceiling My kitchen fluorescent fixture has pulled lost from the ceiling and is dangling just by the electrical wires. It is an older home(25years) and the anchor bolts have pulled thru the drywall. I have tried to drill new holes but the drywall just keeps pulling out from the weight of the fixture.
What type of repair person should I call because the drywall may need to be repaired also.
Electrician, handyman, kitchen remodel shop??????

A handy man that knows how to patch drywall and some carpentry should be able to install blocking between the joists that the fixture can be screwed to but if you need someone that can match texture and finish you can get a drywall professional to do that part. You need to have an electrician evaluate the wire to make sure that the wire was not damaged by the fixture hanging by it he would also know how best to re hang the fixture.


What to put on top of existing vinyl First of all, I am REALLY not the manual type of guy. I am renting this place, with this flooring in the entrance and the kitchen, that is in very bad shape. It's old, very used, which males it very dirty very quickly. The owner already told me I could do what I want, that it doesn't matter since when I leave he will redo the condo to sell it...

I have 300 square feet to cover.

I was considering peel and stick tiles at first, but I hear from a lot of people that it will unpeel, and that it is not good, etc.

The cheapest tiles at Home Depot are $0.59 per square foot. They told me to apply some glue under however. Total would be under $200.

Then the owner told me to find vinyl planks. I found some, the brand is Beaulieu, it is $1.69 per square foot on sale, can be laid over the existing linoleum, no glue. Total: around $500

Then I thought about Vinyl sheets. I found some at Lowe's or Home Depot that are decently priced. I could cover everything for like $300. Without cost of glue (if needed, I don't even know). The issue here is that the existing vinyl has some a texture though it's not very deep, but I am scared it would show up through the new one.

Would it, even if I get a vinyl sheet that is 3 millimeters thick?

Any advice or other option?

Self-adhesive tiles bond well if the surface is prepared well. If you can strip it chemically and apply a bonding primer you shouldn't have problems.

To install vinyl sheet over vinyl you should usually level the existing embossing using, get this, an embossing leveler. You simply trowel it onto/into the texture of the old floor to make it flat. This technique does depend on both the old and new flooring products being appropriate for that use.

What I'd do depends on how long I expect to be there. Chances are I'd find some nice rugs that I could take with me when I go.


Insulating and reducing boominess of plywood subfloor I have a plywood subfloor in a ground floor extension that is laid directly on the joists. The current floor is half solid wood tongue-and-groove laid on top of green fibre underlay and half fake tile-effect fibrous T&G on the underlay on chipboard. The floor and subfloor is coming up so I can install strutting to stiffen the floor as it is a bit bouncy and I want to tile the non-wood bit.

While I have the subfloor up, it seems like a good opportunity to lay some insulation to keep the kitchen floor from getting too cold in winter - I was going to just lay some glassfibre matting between the joists after strutting. Is that appropriate?

The floor is also quite boomy (plywood over a big sounding box, basically). Is there anything I can do about that, other than the glassfibre insulation?

Stuffing the open area with fiberglass will absolutely help, as it will dampen/absorb the sound waves resonating between the joists.  It will only go so far, though, as a significant amount of energy from foot fall traffic will still be transmitted through the floor and into the joists, causing the sound vibrations in the first place.

To combat that, you'll want to dampen the energy (convert it to heat) before it gets to the joists.

Step one is to add mass, if you are able to.  If you can raise the floor a bit, then add one or two more layers of some kind of dense sheathing.  Concrete board works great, but is expensive and hard to work with.  3/4" (19mm) OSB would work great.

Step two is to add a damping layer between the layers, to break up the resonant frequencies between the like layers.  At minimum, something like 30lb roofing felt would work.  A custom-created product like Green Glue would work even better.

Step three might be to add a final damping layer designed for foot fall traffic.  There are quite a few brand names out there and they all work roughly the same, by maintaining a densely flexible layer just before the subfloor.

This site has some really good info on this topic.  They are trying to sell you a product, but even if you don't go that route, the rest of the info is very solid: http://www.soundproofingcompany.com/soundproofing-solutions/soundproofing-floors/


Can anybody tell me why I have 12 wires in light box? There’s are 8 brown wires, 2 black wires and 2 red.
I’m just trying to hook up a light fixture.

3 supply, 3 supply to next light, 3 for switch, and possibly 3 for a duplicate fitting controlled by the switch.
As other comments said, just use the connections you need and leave the others alone.


Any issue with running 240v and 120v THHN in the same conduit and can they share a ground? Im running electrical for a mini split which requires a 240 line and there has to be a GFCI outlet near by so I'm running that too. The only way to get it there is through conduit (not buried) so I want to run both lines from the panel to the location and then probably a junction box to split them outside. Everything I've read says this is fine as long as I don't go over the capacity of the conduit which I'll probably do 1" for future proofing. Any issues, can they share a ground?

There should be no problem doing what you want, as long as all the conductors and overcurrent devices are sized properly. As per National Electrical Code, you'll size the equipment grounding conductor (EGC) based on the largest overcurrent device used. Which means the EGC will likely be sized based on the size of the breaker protecting the 240 volt circuit.

National Electrical Code 2014
Chapter 2 Wiring and Protection
Article 250 Grounding and Bonding
250.122 Size of Equipment Grounding Conductors.
(C) Multiple Circuits. Where a single equipment grounding
conductor is run with multiple circuits in the same
raceway, cable, or cable tray, it shall be sized for the largest
overcurrent device protecting conductors in the raceway,
cable, or cable tray. Equipment grounding conductors installed
in cable trays shall meet the minimum requirements
of 392.10(B)(l)(c).


What is this pipe sticking out of the ground? This is connected to my sprinkler system. It has a crack in the side and leaks when the water to the sprinkler system is turned on, even when the sprinkler system isn’t running. Does anyone know what it is, and if I can fix it by repairing the pipe or if there is an issue somewhere else in the system?

It’s probably a stub-out for a drip irrigation line. You’d cut it off slightly below grade, hookup a drip line and run the drip irrigation line on top of the ground.


Why is my water heater leaking from the relief valve on the top? Why is my water heater still leaking at the relief valve on top? I've changed it twice. Also I have 160lbs of pressure and have changed the regulators three times. Doesn't make sense. Please help!

I think the pressure on your house plumbing should be about 80 psi or less right after you run a tap and then shut it off. Do you have an expansion tank to prevent pressure increase? If you use a lot of hot water, then don't use any water, the pressure in your system can increase as the cold water in the tank water heater expands on being heated.

If this is what is happening, if your TP valve is dripping, then it should stop if you momentarily open a cold water tap (or if you open a hot water tap but then more cold water would flow into the tank causing more expansion after a while).

See pressure relief tank.

EDIT
Informative readings here from Watts.


How do I sweat pipes in an enclosed area? I need to repair a leak in the plumbing behind my shower.  There is an access panel, and enough room for myself and my torch, but not much else.

How do I apply the flame to the fittings (for the final installation) without burning down my house?  It seems that no matter how I direct the flame, it's hitting something that burns (drywall, wood, myself, etc).

I bought a piece of fireproof 'cloth' at the hardware store. I'm not sure what's in it - fibreglass? In any event, it's about 10x10 (or less) and you can just slip it behind the thing you are working on (I usually duct-tape it to the wall behind) and it protects the wall. I actually cut a slot in mine so that I could slip it around a pipe stub where the stub came out of the wall.


What should be used to insulate around the interior brick of chimney that is next to drywall? There is a center ledger, covered in painted drywall - next to the centered brick chimney(in the center of the house).  There's a gap between the ledger and the chimney.  Is "Great Stuff" safe to use to insulate this?  Isn't there a "Great Stuff" of similar product that is fire retardant?  The chimney doesn't get hot, but it can get warm when temperatures get extreme.

The clearance for combustible materials to a properly built masonry chimney like you describe would be 0"; no clearance required.

I would use just about anything you want and worry more about getting your chimney inspected and cleaned on a regular basis.


How to salvage this ruined wall so it can hold paint? We have a big wall plastered with clay.

It was originally brown, and we wanted to paint it white or a light pink, using lime paint. Lime paint is said to be an ideal match for clay plaster, and has beautiful moisture-regulating properties.

However, we failed spectacularly. Any paint that we try to apply to the surface comes right off, often taking a part of the original plaster with it. We also used a silicate-based ground coat that is supposed to work in situations exactly like this. (We did not manage to get hold of a caseine-based ground coat where we live.) All to no avail.

The result is a huge mess that seems unsalvageable. Anything we try to put on the wall comes right off in places because it's so porous.

The problem is especially big on the left hand part of the wall (see the photo below) and we're pretty sure there has been water damage to the wall, caused by a leaky roof. On the right hand side the problem is there, too, but much less so. It seems like moisture has  ruined the wall.

We really don't know what to do any more and are looking for ideas.

We have considered:

Scratching off the clay and trying to work with the concrete underneath: will likely not keep, as the concrete is as porous as the clay on top of it.
Scratching off the clay and trying to build a new layer of plaster: we fear that new layer would come right off, too
Trying out just normal, white dispersion paint - very likely wouldn't keep
Building a new wall out of blocks or wood: extremely expensive and an insane amount of effort
Building a faux wall in front of the ruined one, out of wooden panels, plastic foil, or some other material: we're so desperate we're open to this, but couldn't think of anything that'll resemble a real wall and not cost thousands
Using epoxy as suggested here or some other super-strong grounding  - it might be an option, but we fear it'll simply come right off together with a bit of the plaster underneath. Advice based on experience would be welcome.
Using normal, white dispersion paint after applying some super-effective grounding - perhaps an option? Does anybody have an idea whether this would work?

The wall is load-bearing and we can't remove it.

We are based on the Canary Islands and may not be able to get our hands on very special materials - but don't let that slow down your imagination for the moment.

Advice would be most welcome!

Assuming you have fixed the water problem (if not, give up), why not simply attach drywall directly to the entire surface. You may be able to adhere it with construction adhesive.  If not, use screws, if necessary, with anchors behind them. If it is available, consider moisture resistant drywall or even paperless.

You can then put on any surface finish you want.


How to prep fascia board for painting? My fascia boards for the entire house are in good shape, but the paint is peeling.  I want to get on a ladder and repaint them.  My questions deal with the preparation.

Can I power wash the fascia boards or is scraping the only option?

If power washing is okay, how long do I need to let them dry before priming?

If power washing, is blowing roof shingles off unintentionally a possible pitfall?  If so, how  do I avoid doing so?

If your power washer is anything like mine, I wouldn't use it for fascia washing - you'll definitely be able to take the paint off, but you do run the risk of damaging roof tiles or shingles as well as forcing water into places it will not normally get to.

While it may seem a lot of effort, a ladder and a set of scrapers and sanding blocks will be your best bet. This will also leave them ready to paint straight away, rather than waterlogged.


Removing the surface layer from ceramic tile I have green tile in my bathroom with pink accents.  Is it possible to remove the pink using muriatic acid (concentrated HCL)?  I have a background in clinical and chemistry laboratory sciences and am more than aware of the safety gear and precautions required.  Has anyone used this approach?

My mom used to do ceramics the accents are small bits of pigment in the glaze these are baked and become part of the surface, removing the accents would ruin the seal of the glaze. Replacing the tile would be a better way to go than trying to etch just the accents as this will also discolor the green part of the glaze.


How can I unstick my ash dump door? I recently had my fireplace inspected and started using it again.

I went to clean the ash out and noted I had an ash dump door. This door appears to be stuck. I expect to be able to open it from the inside and just shovel the ashes down into the cleanout.

How do I correctly open the ash dump door? Just lever it open with a poker?

If the door is stuck how do I safely unstick it? OK to use normal techniques as long as I clean up well and let any flammable solvents evaporate before the next fire?

I am somewhat annoyed that the inspection didn't catch this, but thats another question.

Solved my own problem.

To unstick the ash door from the inside:

Sweep the loose ash off of the door and away from all the edges and hinges
Wire brush around the edges of the door
Sprayed a rust spray (PB Blaster brand) around the edges
Let soak for 15 minutes
Operate door using the poker several times
Tidy up inside
Clean out the ash dump BEFORE the next fire. A solvent puddle could be dangerous.

I did all the opening and closing of the door using a poker. This is the tool that should be used when the ash door is opened normally. Using something more aggressive like a pry bar may have simply bent the door.

The exterior access will be a weekend project. Previous owner painted it shut.

I am following up with my chimney inspector. I feel he did an adequate inspection of the chimney but for my money I would have preferred he checked EVERYTHING. Ash dumps can sometimes hold debris or varmints.


Can a tub and shower share the same drain? Can a shower and tub share the same drain?

Of course they can as long as you have proper drainage angle and double venting and traps.  If this is an installation of a new fixture, you need a permit and a master plumber to sign for the permit.  Get a plumber and do it right. Just asking the question tells me you don't know what to do and could get into trouble.  Saving a few bucks and doing it wrong will cost you so much more in the short and long run. Some things have to be left to the licensed professionals.


MWBC (Multi-Wire-Branched-Circuit) w/out joined breakers, how best to fix? I was trying to replace a fan/light in my living room with a new led light, and have found that the living room branch circuit (lights and outlets) is actually fed by a Multi Wire Branch Circuit (14-3) that powers both the living room and a second branch circuit that only powers two kitchen lights. As an MWBC, The two circuits share one neutral and one ground.

I had suspected something might be funky, because a tester in a living room outlet had indicated a bad ground, which I understand would happen in this case, though it is also my understanding that both circuits would actually have a working ground.

At the panel, the MWBC is properly attached to two adjacent slots but the two breakers are not linked together, as code says they should be. After turning off the living room circuit, I was fortunate to check for hot wires before touching anything, so I was able to figure this out and turn off the kitchen lights branch circuit before I touched a hot wire.

Anyway, my question is, how can I fix this? Two options I was thinking about were: replacing the two breakers with a dual pole breaker  so that they trip together and no one risks touching a hot wire like I almost did. I have been slowly adding GFCI/AFCI protection to other circuits; would I be able to find a dual function, dual pole 15A breaker like that? (Square D Homeline panel). Would the shared ground and neutral being shared cause problems with this? Secondly, I was thinking about just eliminating the branch circuit that powered the kitchen lights (disconnecting and wire nutting the hot wire at the panel and the junction box, and labeling them as such), and combining the kitchen lights and living room lights and outlet onto one circuit. I will be replacing the two kitchen lights with leds totalling only about 35 watts, so am I correct in thinking that the extra power draw from adding the kitchen lights to the living room circuit would be negligible and OK to do?

Make sure those "adjacent breakers" are in fact not "double-stuff" breakers.  That's especially a problem in GE Q-line panels with their 1/2" tall breakers, where 2 adjacent breakers may in fact be on the same pole.  If each of the two breakers is 3/4" or 1" tall, you are in the clear of that problem.

Yes, the simplest way to eliminate a MWBC is to nut all the hots together and pigtail them to a single 1-pole breaker.  Now it is 1 plain circuit with much lower circuit capacity, of course.

Indeed that could be a 1-pole GFCI/AFCI breaker.

However, for about twice the cost, they do make 2-pole AFCI/GFCI breakers.  These are great for protecting MWBCs and also NEMA 10-wired ranges or dryers.

If you don't want to do that, two single breakers can be tied with a listed (safety certified)  "handle tie" made for that panel and breaker type. These do not provide common trip (much) but do provide the Code-required common maintenance shutoff. Handle-ties are hard to find, much easier to find are 2-pole breakers, at about $9, which do provide common trip.

MWBCs do not need common trip but do need common shutoff for the reason you now know.

1-pole GFCI breakers cannot be handle tied to serve a MWBC.  Most 1-pole AFCI breakers cannot be handle-tied to protect a MWBC, but a new type is emerging which can.


My first jig saw; is this blade fitted right? Black & Decker BDEJS600C Just purchased a jig saw for minor renovation work, Black & Decker BDEJS600C. Came with a single blade (116-1 HCS), trying to fit the darn thing in its holder, but something doesn't look right. Followed these instructions (right from manual)

Push locking lever away from shoe
insert shank of blade into holder (teeth facing forward)
release lever

I've done this 10 times; the blade appears to be fitted and locked (I cannot remove it by hand), but the lower part of the blade is angled forward, and the quick release latch is pointing up, not too far from its "release" position. I'm concerned because these conditions are not consistent with the photo on the box or the instruction manual; in those photos, the saw blade is perpendicular with the shoe (it's not angled), and the release latch is in a much safer position, pointing down, not up.

Question

Is the position of the stock blade normal?

No worries, the blade on your saw does not simply move in a vertical path. It is designed to "orbit", which means as it travels up and down it also "orbits" forward and backward. B&D claims that this design has some benefits, including easier cutting of curves. On your saw the orbit action is adjustable.

Your blade and latch look different than on the box because the saw action just happens to be on the forward portion of the orbit. If you trigger it and let it stop again it will be on some other random angle, or may be vertical as shown on the box.


Outdoor exhaust pipes from my heating system What happens if snow covers my outdoor exhaust pipes from my heating system in the winter?

Scenario 1: Nothing. The heated exhaust air will melt its way through the snow and you won't have a problem.

Scenario 2: The furnace will malfunction. The exhaust pressure sensor will trip, causing an incomplete startup cycle.

Scenario 3: You'll get poisonous exhaust gases accumulating in your home, possibly causing illness or death.

Moral of the story: Make sure that doesn't happen by extending the pipes or whatever else is necessary. Make sure you understand how to do it properly so you don't make the problem worse.


Why doesn't my GFI receptacle reset? I have a GFI receptacle in my kitchen that feeds four other receptacles.

It tripped the other day and I cannot get it to reset.  All of the other receptables on the circuit are not functioning which is to be expected.  I first thought it was a bad GFI receptacle so I replaced it to no avail.

I then checked power at the electrical panel and all of the breakers for the house appear to be providing power.  The breakers for the GFI receptacles in the bathrooms have test buttons on them and trip when it is pressed, however the kitchen GFI breakers are standard non GFI breakers.

The confusing part is that when I go to the GFI receptacle I am not seeing the 120V power on my meter that I am seeing in the other working receptacles in the house and at the electrical panel.  I checked both sets of wires coming into the receptacle and various combinations of hot and neutral just to be sure I was testing the correct wires.  One pair gives me 3.9V and the other 0.04V.

I have gone through and verified that all of the other GFI receptacles in the house are functioning correctly so I don't think it is a separate GFI feeding this one that is causing the problem.

What would the next steps for testing this problem be?  It was functioning correctly before it tripped so I am assuming that it is not a wiring issue that would require an electrician at this point.

I have a meter and all of the necessary tools to do any of the work I am just not sure where to begin troubleshooting.

I would start troubleshooting by disconnecting the Load side of the GFCI, this will tell you if the problem is upstream or downstream from the receptacle.

Turn off the breaker supplying the GFCI.
Disconnect the wires on the
Load side of the GFCI.
Turn the breaker back on.
Press the reset
button on the GFCI.

If the GFCI resets with nothing connected to the load terminals, you'll want to look for a short/problem in the lines and devices supplied by the GFCI. If the GFCI does not reset with nothing connected to the load terminals, you'll have to trace the line back to the breaker looking for shorts/problems along the way.


UK plug socket won't turn off I have recently replaced a double socket that had a short circuit fault on the right hand socket with a new one from B&Q. After long periods of use the right hand switch refuses to stay off. If I turn it off it will just spring back on by itself. After a couple of days I replaced the socket with one of the same model and the new one is doing the same thing on the same side.

I'm no qualified electrician but I am competent and it was a straight swap of wires so pretty sure it hasn't gone wrong.

Any ideas as to what it could be? At first I thought a faulty socket hence the replacement but seems odd that the second unit is doing the same thing.
Thanks in advance

Edit: Here is a link to a video clip that shows the problem. https://www.dropbox.com/s/a2coson85m3z7e2/Video%2011-04-2016%2019%2014%2051.mov?dl=0

If the two sockets were bought from the same branch of B&Q i'd bet on a faulty batch, possiblly combined with a marginal design. My advice would be to return the socket as faulty and replace with one of a different brand.


Why is my GFCI recpeptacle slow to trip? I have a GFCI receptacle that takes 2-5 seconds to trip when testing with a standard 3 prong receptacle tester. The test button on the receptacle trips right away but two of my trustworthy handheld testers (different brands) take much longer.  After changing out the GFCI, the circuit can be tripped immediately with the testers.

Is this a common failure mode?  I've replaced many that trip unnecessarily or won't reset at all, but this slow-trip is a first for me. (and has now been replaced)

This also leads me to wonder if there is a tester that measures the time to trip.  I'm unlikely to notice the difference between 30ms and 300ms when punching the test button, yet this could be a serious hazard with the equipment, right?

It may be a faulty tester, or a faulty ground.  The tester relies on a wired ground to simulate the ground fault.  In fact they won't work on ungrounded connections, and that's not a defect.


How to hook up a WiFi thermostat. Having 5 wires and no C wire I have 2 wires coming up from my basement oil fired furnace and 3 wires coming from my central air handler in attic I am trying to hook up a Honeywell WiFi thermostat. The 2 wires from the basement I believe are easy to hook up. One goes to white and one to Rh. The three from central air are green yellow and red.  Which I believe will go to green, yellow and Rc.  The question is I have no blue wire, C wire. If I look at the terminal in the attic is shows a blue wire on one side but does not label it C. ( see attached pic). Can I run a wire from #5 to C on thermostat

You are correct
Based on the wiring diagram and provided photo, you appear to be correct that terminal 5 on your air handler's control block is your C terminal.  So, go ahead and run your new thermostat cable, using that as C while matching the existing wiring for the remaining connections.


pre hung doors to fit into old frame I have purchased some pre hung doors at 30" by 80"
the jambs are 4 5/8 wide.
The house is 50 years old and the existing door frame is 5 1/4 wide.
Any solution as to how to fit these doors into the old frame.

All you need to do is install the door with what is called a "jamb extension". Just get some strips of 5/8"x3/4" inch molding, then glue them to the non-hinge side of the new door jamb.  On a painted jamb these will for all intents and purposes disappear with sanding and some wood putty.  On a stained jamb you'll be able to see the extension, but you can minimize how much it stands out by picking wood with a similar grain pattern.


Plumbing issue...perhaps venting problem So my bathroom sink was draining slowly. This seems to be a constant issue with this sink..I have poured liked plumber down it numerous times and it works for a week or so and then needs to be done again. This time I was having no luck with the chemicals. I took the trap off and it was pretty funky. Cleaned it and I think I have everything together correctly but it seems like it is draining even slower now...any suggestions? This photo shows how the trap was put back together except that the two joints are much closer together, like basically touching

That looks like a DIY or (cheap) trap. As it will work the same even if the ends are swapped , I might look at the sink itself.

Not long ago I found a sink that had clear drains and a good vent but was draining slowly.

I filled the sink with hot water until it started to slow then used a toilet plunger , what pumped out of the sink vent was so gross, i don’t want to say what it looked like but after a couple of plunges it started draining better. I had cleared the trap and drain with a small power auger, it was only after plunging that the in sink vent cleared and it drained well, after it started draining I filled it to the sink vent level and let it run on hot for a while to make sure it it was clear.
This is in a rental so I don’t know what was plugging the sink vent and it was my first experience like this but a plunger with hot water may help you as it did me. Once the vent started to clear I plugged it with my finger while plunging prior to over flowing to the vent for everything I did. Hope this helps.


Fan will not oscillate I have a pedestal fan that I have had for a while and recently stopped oscillating. what is the fix for this? would it make more financial sense to just buy a new one?

I agree with Ed Beal, if the plastic gears are stripped, there is no practical way to replace them. But did you check to see if there is a plunger that is INTENDED to engage / disengage the oscillation? Some designs have that, some don't. On those that do, it's usually set up that you pull UP to engage the oscillation, push DOWN to disengage it. So when moving the fan, if you accidentally pushed the plunger down, you inadvertently turned off the oscillation. In the image below, the oscilation plunger is the device on the left.


Black paste inside wire nuts? I have read that older houses may have aluminum wiring, and to splice copper to it there is a less than desirable method of purple wire nuts using corrosion inhibitor paste.

My house was built in 1977, I had a home inspection done when I purchased the house a year ago that concluded that the house is copper wiring, and I read the sheathing for all of the wiring heading into the main breaker box and nothing seems to identify as an AL conductor, all standard copper Romex and the like.

All this to said, I was replacing nearly all of the fixtures, switches, outlets in the house and there were two places I backed off the wire nuts and found a sticky black paste on the twisted wires (dining room chandelier and outdoor porch lights). There wasn't any sheathing exposed to investigate further (and i didn't have the presence of mind to clean the bare wire enough to see if it looked aluminum). Am I being paranoid about the aluminum wiring thing? Would some electrician's opt to use some kind of conductive paste (black?) on a typical copper to copper termination? Or is there a chance that most of the visible working runs in the house we're replaced but maybe some aluminum was left some walls?

Thanks for any pointers, insight.

It's possible, especially on outdoor circuits, that someone decided to add Alumox paste. It helps prevent corrosion in general. Kind of a belt-and-suspenders approach.

Could someone have replaced only SOME of the old wiring? Sure, anything is possible. But if you are going to go to the expense, why stop 90% of the way there?


Sink drainage leaking into dishwasher inlet Just installed new dishwasher. Dishwasher fills, cleans and empties without issue. Hours later found water in bottom of dishwasher. Turns out when I empty say a pitcher of water into the sink, water trickles into the dishwasher from the inlet, not the drain. Faucet is not on when this happens. I cannot understand how this is even occurring. I then turn on dishwasher and cancel it, and it empties no problem from the drain.

The alternative to an air gap shown in J. Raefield's answer is a "high loop".

Re-read your dishwasher installation instructions.  The drain line must be routed so that at some point between the dishwasher outlet and the sink drain connection it is higher than the fill height of the sink.

This is to prevent sink water from entering your dishwasher plumbing, where is evidently finding the fill valve open.


When does it make sense to use a grout pen? I have a tile shower that is functional, but has some undesirable things about it:

The tile is white but much of the grout has become stained dark
There are areas where the grout has started eroding

The shower could use a remodel but it might be 5 years before I can make that happen. My question is this: If I go over all the grout with a grout pen, how long can I expect it to last? Will it prevent eroding grout from eroding further (at least for a year or two)? What are the downsides to using grout pen?

Thanks for any advice!

Use a grout saw (manual) to remove all the loose/failing grout and re-grout with black (or dark-colored - blue perhaps) grout.

White tile with white grout is dull even when it doesn't have issues. Dark grout also does not require the cleaning effort that white grout does. Tile is easy to clean, grout less-so. Here's a handy image of white tile with different grout colors.

I don't believe the "miracle" product will do anything useful for grout that is eroding. This should be a "one day out of the weekend" project, it's not a remodel. If you have an alternate shower/tub to use it could also be an "hour or two a day" project for a week, unless it's a gigantic shower with tiny tiles.

Looking into this a bit more I found several mentions of having no effect on mould, other than when you next scrub the mould, you have flakes of white paint coming off (since that's all it is.) Indeed, anti-mould spray was recommended for cleaning the grout. But given that you already have the grout failing I stand by the advice to replace it.


Can I put road salt into toilet/sink trap to prevent it from freezing? I have been advised, that I can put salt into a trap to prevent the water from freezing in building I do not use much during tough part of the winter. I know I need to remove all water from pipes where possible, but I would like to avoid manually sucking the water from traps, especially from toilets.
My questions:

can I use road salt, or is it safer to use the salt used for human consumtion? In other words - is something wrong in road salt that could damage the pipes?

what is correct dosage of road salt (for sink, toilet) if I do expect about -20 degress celsius as the lowest outdoor temperature possible (small building).

Your plan is OK except that -20C is about the lowest you are going to get protection with NaCl (i.e. common salt).  Here is a graph of freeze point vs. concentration.  You really cannot get a higher concentration than about 23% since excess salt precipitates out.
I think you'll be better off using an anti-freeze product.


Which of these is a suitable material for waterproofing interior walls? Would anyone care to venture an opinion about which of the materials (if any) listed in http://www.chemisol.com/argp.htm  would be most suitable for applying a waterproofing coat to interior walls? The description of these products is not very explicit about this. The room whose walls are to be coated is a bathroom.

The ACC-30 page explicitly mentions bathrooms.

EDIT:  Ecnerwal makes the good point that waterproofing an interior wall does not make much sense. So, I guess a followup question (should I make this a separate one) is whether any special coating/treatment is necessary, or should one simply paint the interior walls?

A bathroom should have water resistant materials in the places likely to be splashed with water. Stanard drywall is not used in those locations, but rather hardboard or cement board should have been used. If the proper materials were used in the first place, then you can just prime and paint over them.

What @Ecnerwal is saying in his comment applies more to a situation like basement wall waterproofing. In @Faheem's situation, the water would be coming from the interior, so it would not cause the waterproofing to peel. However, in a properly constructed bathroom, no additional waterproofing coating is required. You may wish to use a "kitchen and bath" paint, but beyond that there's nothing more needed.


Are there refrigerators with a remote compressor? Kind of a crazy question, but is it possible to get a refrigerator with a remote compressor?
I have an "open" style ground floor and a person can hear the whine of the refrigerator's compressor in the dining room and living room.
Ideally I would like to re-situate the refrigerator compressor in the basement (directly below) and put some sound proofing around it to silence it, then run the refrigerant lines through the floor to the refrigerator. Is it possible to get a setup like this?

Commercial refrigeration units are available which place the compressor in a remote location. There's a good summary of the pros and cons of such a setup at Katom Restaurant Supply which is rather comprehensive.
One thing to consider is that a typical home air conditioner is about the equivalent of a refrigerator with a remote compressor.
A post two years ago on Houzz website has about 20 comments with nothing conclusive with respect to residential systems, but the expected reference of commercial/restaurant sources.
I'd expect that you'd have to pay the premium for a commercial unit.


How much clearance does my furnace intake need? The furnace in our teeny tiny new house  is in the most awkward corner. If there wasn't a furnace and air intake right there, we would absolutely put a coat closet in front of it. That is obviously a bad idea, but I'm trying to figure out if there is anything at all I can do in that space. Our laundry basket would fit nicely but it is canvas and I worry about interfering with the air intake (which is directly below the furnace). Can I put anything there? If I keep it a few inches from the wall is that enough?

The furnace is behind that door. Vent below is the air intake.

To keep things simple, just maintain at least the cross-sectional flow area that the louvered vent provides. Let's say it's 12x24". That gives you a square area of 288in^2. We'll disregard the louvres for this example.

Example 1: A box in front of the vent

Plan (top-down) view:

-------###############-------
|                           |
|   ---------------------   |
|   |                   |   |
|   |                   |   |
|   |                   |   |
|   |                   |   |
|   ---------------------   |
|                           |
|                           |

If you were to place a box-shaped object in front of the vent, you'd take the length of it, plus twice the height (it has two sides around which air can flow), and divide that sum into 288. For example, say you place a box that's 24" high by 36" wide, you'd calculate like so:

288 / (24 + 24 + 36) = 288 / 84 = 4.43

This tells us that, in order to maintain roughly the same flow as you have now through that vent, you'd need to keep your box 4.43 inches away from the wall.

Example 2: Full-width cabinet front of the vent

Plan (top-down) view:

-------###############-------
|                           |
|---------------------------|
||                         ||
||                         ||
||                         ||
|---------------------------|
|                           |
|                           |

In the case where your obstruction extends tight to the sidewalls, you'd simply calculate the length and width of the opening at the top of the obstruction, between it and the wall. Say your hallway is 32" wide, you'd calculate like so:

288 / 32 = 9

This tells us that you should leave 9" of space behind your cabinet (or whatever).

Caveats

Now, this is all a bit oversimplified as the furnace ideally draws from down low, near the floor, to scavenge the coolest air available. If you move your flow up hear the ceiling, you reduce some efficiency of the system, or at least some of the mixing effect of the system.

We're also disregarding the additional complexity of the airflow path, which creates some resistance. By adding a bit to our calculated distances we can reduce flow loss from bends in the flow to negligible amounts.

If your box-shaped thing has legs, leaving open flow below, be sure to include this area in any calculations.


What are my options for grab bar blocking when pipes are in the way? As part of my master bathroom remodel I'm adding blocking for grab bars. In most areas where I need blocking, I can just use 2-by-something blocking without any problem. There's a corner though where I cannot just do this, due to pipes in the wall. Here is what it looks like:

All that you see in this image is work that was done prior to this renovation (probably going back to when the house was built). I've merely taken the drywall down.

There's no way to redo the design to avoid the need for grab bars in that area.

I'd like to avoid having to move pipes around.

A 2-by-something piece of wood won't clear the water pipe closest to the face of the stud, or the plumbing vent.

3/4" plywood can be used in place of a 2-by-something but it won't clear the water pipe or the plumbing vent either. I had thought of adding a stud to the right of the water pipes. A piece of plywood could then run from that new stud to the stud on the right of the plumbing vent but the plywood won't clear the vent. (And I don't know about the wisdom of sandwiching water pipes between two studs.)

The only solution I'm aware of that would clear the pipes is to use a 16 gauge galvanized metal sheet to attach to the front of the studs. I'd have to notch the surface of the studs to the depth of the metal sheet so that the metal sheet is flush with the rest of the studs.

I'm not very keen on the metal alternative because in my world when my drill bit hits metal in a wall it usually means STOP AND REASSESS. But if I go with the metal sheet, I'd be putting in the wall metal that is meant to be drilled into (except for where the pipes are).

Is there some other non-metal-based solution that I've missed?

Consider simply double lining the wall. A sheet of plywood over the studs, then drywall on top.

This will narrow the room by 1/2-3/4" depending on the ply, but this may not be a problem for you. You could also use thinner drywall as it doesn't have to span any gaps.


How to install deadbolt into a thin door? I just moved into my new house and changed all the locks except one. The house was built in 1930 and the back of the house has a "mud room". The door into the house from the mud room is normal. The door into the mud room from the outside is 1 1/8" thick. I want to install a matching dead bolt like the rest of the house.

How can i install a dead bolt into a thin door?

The best thing i can think of is to install "decorative" plates on the inside and outside of the door to make up the thickness before drilling for the lock. The only draw back being that i will have to notch out molding where the extra thickness would be.

To my knowledge, you won't find any modern in-door deadbolts that can accommodate such a thin door.  Even if you padded the width of your door around the installation point to reach the minimum needed, drilling the hole for the deadbolt will essentially remove a notch from your original door (deadbolts are commonly 1" thick).  Your spacers will have to go all the way to the edge of the door to conceal the deadbolt.

A simpler solution would be to use a surface-mount deadbolt, which requires only that you drill a hole for the rim cylinder.  You may have to add a spacer around the rim cylinder to get a flush fit, but it won't end up being the only thing concealing the lock mechanism from tampering.  That link shows several types, including jimmy proof deadbolts and night latches.


Water leaking in ceiling when central heating turned on Water is dripping from the ceiling when the central heating is on.  If the heating remains on the drip becomes a gush (the ceiling has fallen in under the weight of water).  When the bathroom floorboards above have been taken up all water plumbing was dry even when the heating was turned on again.  Floorboards in adjacent room was also taken up - all pipework was dry.  Can't turn on central heating (combi boiler) as water continues to leak into the kitchen ceiling.  Anyone experienced this and found the cause?

You have a leak, obviously.  Water will travel along pipes, wires, framing, etc so it doesn't mecessarily have to be leaking right above where you see the water. It could be a hole in a pipe, bad fitting, etc.

You're going to need to rip up your ceilings (usually easier than floor since it's just drywall versus a flooring material) to find out where it's coming from.

Letting it get to the point where the ceiling collapsed wasn't a good idea. Wet material grows mold. After you fix the leak there is a good chance you are going to have to replace a lot of other rotted or moldy material.


How to release a stuck gas stove knob? Just moved in to an apartment with a gas stove which was not in use for three months. The previous owner said that the stove worked just fine, however when I tried to use the stove, all four knobs were stuck. Using WD40 i was able to release three knobs, but the fourth remains stuck. The gas company refuses to connect me unless all four knobs are working properly due to safety regulations, so I really need to release that stuck knob.

Try pulling the plastic knob off. There should be a metal peg sticking out (the plastic knob fits over it) then try squirting some WD-40 on it and gently grab the metal peg with some pliers and slowly turn it. Don't force it too much as it may break. When it loosens up, replace the peg. I hope this works for you. Good luck.


Identify this shower diverter valve My shower diverter valve has gotten all gunked up due to the very high mineral content of our water, to the point where it won't turn unless you put all your weight into it, and I'm trying to fix it because a) my wife can't turn it, and b) I'm worried that it's going to break.

I am hoping that it's a simple cartridge replacement, but I can't identify the manufacturer and model. It doesn't help that the rest of the shower (main handle, shower head, and hand-held shower head -- the diverter switches between those two) are several different brands (American Standard, Grohe) but none of the pictures of diverter valves made by those brands look like mine.

Here are pictures:

Handle (on stem, and back view)

Escutcheon and handle mounting nut (Handle locks into groove on nut, which has adjustable depth by turning)

Valve stem itself is splined all the way down and has an E-clip near the end, but the e-clip doesn't seem to actually be holding anything in place

(I suspect that the e-clip acts as a stop for the depth adjustment of the handle, but I am not totally sure.)

I suspect that the visible hex "nut" (which actually goes way back and flares out -- just visible in the picture) is the valve packing nut, and that I should be able to remove it, but I can't get it to turn and I have no idea where the threads would be.

Any ideas?

Alternatively, any way to remove the mineral scale inside the valve without taking it apart?

It is Grohe model 29733

How I found it...

After weeks of searching, I stumbled on a picture of a diverter handle that has the same icons for shower and hand-held positions that my handle has (see the third picture in the original question). Knowing that the handle in that picture was made by Grohe, I started searching Grohe's website and found an almost identical diverter (based on the parts I can see). The only thing that is different is the length of the knurled part of the stem.

Grohe 2-Way Diverter Rough-In Valve Model 29712000

Armed with this knowledge, I used the WayBack Machine to find an older model.


How to calculate theoretical long-term projected savings for a DIY solar powered fridge? I went on energystar [dot] gov and used their product finder to find the lowest "annual energy use" compact refrigerator. For my use, that turned out to be the FURRION - FCR43ACA-BL which has an estimated 151 kWh/yr annual energy usage rating. I then wanted to run this off of one solar panel. Now I'm new to solar, so I also need a battery, an inverter, and a charge controller.

What I'd like to know is after expenses

(1) solar panel
(2) battery
(3) inverter
(4) charge controller

at what point, in practice, does this pay itself off compared to PG&E at $0.12/kWh? I mean, if 1-4 costs, say, $300, then if the fridge is costing me $18.12/yr from PG&E to run, then does that mean it takes 16.5 years to pay off? If so, then can I get 1-4 low enough to make the investment worth it? Paying it off in 3-4 years seems worth it but 1-4 isn't going to cost $72.48.

You've ignored two major factors:

Batteries don't live forever, and require maintenance as well as periodic replacement - more so if they are abused (typical when people save money on batteries and then over-discharge them.) This is one reason that "grid-tied" solar is far more common where the grid is available - it eliminates the battery storage and its related costs and labor costs.

The second is harder for most people to grasp - if you paid the $19 dollars to run the fridge, and invested the rest of the $300, how much would that investment yield in 16.5 years? It's a little hard to know for certain since guaranteed bank interest is in the doldrums, but typical returns for sensible investments are near 5% - which would nearly pay your next year's power bill, and if there was any growth in the investment, you might end up making more per year than the power bill comes to.


Is it OK to pave without mixing? Going upon the advice of a reputable builder, I used Quikrete fast-drying concrete for a small slab outside my house.  Not load bearing.

His recommendation was to dry-pour the whole thing. Framed, leveled, screeded and then watered every 30 minutes for 8 hours.

I did it several weeks ago and it seemed to be perfect.  No chipping, very strong but I get that nagging feeling.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

As long as you not planning to put anything heavy on it it will be OK. Dry pouring concrete can have dry pockets were water did not get to. Usually using dry pouring to make a drive way for car, garage is sufficient and possibly with some light bearing structures(open steel/wood Structures) .

I used dry pouring for putting in posts mostly but even for a simple brick wall I used wet pouring and a vibrated the concrete to get rid of air pockets.

But it also important to what underlying soil you have and what you want to do with the slab.

I have heard where people put barns on dry poured concrete and they still standing. So it all depends on your situation really and if you use any reinforced grids or not.

EDIT

From your comment

  The form was 2x4 s, so 3.5". The underlying ground was hard-packed
  clay. i did use a wire-mesh as reinforcement.

I would say you made a really strong piece of concrete slab. The only thing that would have made it stronger was doing a wet pour. It is also good you put a mesh in because clay (even packed) will move constantly and if any cracks happen, the mesh will keep your slab from falling apart.

By home building standards on clay you for home building you need a minimum thickness of 6inches with 0.2inch mesh. So in your place I would not worry about your slab failing soon.


NEMA 6-15 to NEMA 6-20 A/C unit My energy provider sent me a WiFi A/C system to hook up to my window unit, however, I cannot plug it into my wall because I appear to have a NEMA 6-15 outlet that matches the plug on my A/C unit and based on my attempt at internet research this WiFi thing looks to be a 6-20 plug. Would it be safe to simply get an adaptor so that I can plug this in?

Hopefully the images below work, as I’m not familiar with these things so images can probably speak better than I can!

You are correct.

You have a few choices, none pretty.

Rewire the circuit

If you are in a rental unit, this option is not available to you without landlord consent; and then; a licensed electrician must do it because it's a rental unit.

Since the socket is NEMA 6-15, it is fairly likely the wire and cable behind it are 14 AWG.  Open it up and have a look.  If you're very lucky and it's actually 12 AWG wire, you can skip to the last step.  Otherwise:

You will need to remove that wire/cable from there to the breaker panel and replace it with #12 wire or cable.   This won't be so bad if it's in conduit, but if it's cable-in-the-walls, it may be prohibitive.

Once there's #12 wire in the walls, you change the receptacle to NEMA 6-20 and the breaker to 2-pole 20A.

Have them send you a different unit

NEMA 6-15 sockets are quite common for air conditioners.  The power company should have gotten more clear on your requirements. I am surprised they made this mistake.

Contact them, say they blew it, and you need one with a 6-15 plug and socket. They should oblige.

Change the plug...?

Noting that the cable is inline on both ends, you could change both the plug and the socket to a NEMA 6-15 type.

You can't leave the socket with a 6-20 because this would allow an appliance which requires a 20A circuit on a 15A circuit.  Even if it doesn't trip the breaker, it'll run the circuit beyond the design intent.  It breaks the whole system of coordination between Code requirements and UL listings that keeps appliances safe.  So change the socket also to 6-15, even though you don't "need to right now".


Switch for dishwasher Can I install a switch for my dishwasher?
The dishwasher is on a 15 amp circuit.  The plan would be to take the existing dishwasher wire run it to a box in the sink cabinet and place it high on the side cabinet wall.  Put the switch into this box and run a new 14/2 wire from the box to the dishwasher - switching the hot.
Newer dishwashers might require a 20amp breaker and I wonder if a switch would be rated for 20amps or if I have to get a special switch.
The breaker for the dishwasher is located in a suite that has the house breaker panel so I don't want to have to enter the suite to service the dishwasher.  Ideally the suite(s) would have their own sub panels but they don't.  The dishwasher is having issues so it will likely need to be serviced more than once.
The idea is I can turn the switch off and disconnect the dishwasher without access the suite and flipping the breaker.  The dishwasher has a problem with either the impeller, turbidity sensor, control board or a blockage in the discharge line.  The issue is intermittent and there is a workaround.  Notifying tenants for access and turning the breaker on and off and testing each thing when I get time makes the job 100% harder also in the future for replacing the dishwasher this makes it easier.  The newer or higher end dishwashers have a plug in option - dishwashers and wall ovens seem like the only appliances still hardwired that require breaker access to service.  Now that dishwashers are moving to outlet based installation, servicing requiring access to breakers is a thing of the past.

That's a Code violation.
You have subdivided your house into different dwelling units.  Any dwelling unit's breakers must be readily accessible to the occupants of that same dwelling unit. NEC 240.24(B).  That means the breakers must be in the dwelling unit, or in commons spaces.
You can call them "suites" if you want to, but that's just mincing words.  You've made it perfectly clear that the occupants of "suite" A either cannot access their own breakers, or would have to uncomfortably intrude on the occupants of "suite" B to do so.  That's not allowed.
It is allowed for the breakers to be in a commons space (NEC is about safety not security from petty vandals).  So maybe you can get lucky and flip the panel to the other side of the wall it's on, or redefine the breaker room to be commons space.


Testing cabinet screw heads for electrical current Is it common to test cabinet screw heads for electrical current in case they may have interfered with wire? Some of the 2x4 behind where I am hanging cabinets have wire running along, in addition to perpendicular, which can more easily be avoided. I would like to use 3-1/8" screws where I have upright 2x4 (as opposed to shorter screws, which would be less risky but less strong too).
If yes what can I use to send the current to, if there is one? Should I somehow send it to an adjacent power outlet?

You could use a non-contact voltage tester.
If you haven't hung the cabinets yet, check if your stud finder has a function for identifying electrical wiring.
A french cleat might help you hang the cabinets while avoiding any inconveniently-placed wiring within the wall.  Youtube has some great how-to videos on french cleat cabinet installation.


Troubleshoot a circuit I have 8 wall sconce lights installed on a circuit, controlled by a dimmer switch. These are the only items on this circuit (20amp). The lights had been working fine until they stopped turning on this weekend. There is power to the dimmer switch, but not to the lights. I've checked the connections at each of the light sconces, and they appear to be fine.

How do I troubleshoot this further?

Take the dimmer out of the equation

Try turning off the breaker, removing the dimmer from the circuit, wirenutting the two hot leads that went to the dimmer together, and turning the breaker back on.  If the lights come on, then you need a new dimmer.  If they still don't work, I'd look for a faulty connection somewhere.


Replacing fan/light switch Trying to replace an old switch that controls a ceiling fan with light. The original switch had a knob that you would push in to turn the light on or off and use the knob to dim the light.

I purchased a new switch that looks to be a three-way switch but when I installed it the lights would flicker.

Do I need a 3 way or 2 way switch?

I’m thinking the new switch is too high tech as it controls multiple devices, remote, up to 10 items, etc.

On top of that the new device has four screws where my wall receptacle only has two black wires. So maybe I did something wrong when wiring? I connected black with black, but the additional black connected to white.

Can't do it

Here's the problem.  Your original installation only has the two wires, even though it controls both light and fan.  This means the original switch was not a plain switch.  It was a complex beast, which multiplexed both fan and light control onto those two wires.

It can be fairly guessed that it's having a conversation either with a smart fan, or with a fan control module sitting up there in the fan box.

As such, you cannot just slap any random switch in there.  You need to use a smart switch capable of speaking the lingua franca of whatever's up in the ceiling.  Most likely, that is a proprietary device made by the manufacturer of the fan: the information on the old switch will tell the tale.

Or, gut it and start over

Your other option is to completely gut the old control system, and install a new matched-set of fan control switch + control module (and fan too if the requisite smarts is built into the fan).

Since this appears to use the conduit wiring method, you can semi-easily add additional wires into the pipe if necessary; in principle you could even rollback to the old 3+ wire method of controlling fans + lights.

However, the very fact that you're groping in the dark wondering if a 3-way switch is what you need, tells me that you do not yet have the skills to accomplish such a redesign.  If you go this route, I'd either bring in help or skill up.

Otherwise just figure out how to get a compatible switch from the same manufacturer.


What is a reasonable air-conditioning schedule to prevent humidity issues? In North Florida (Jacksonville), is there an effective temperature cooling profile to ensure to avoid issues associated with excessive humidity?   Assume that I can tolerate any level of heat.   Damp-rid is deployed in closets and under sinks.

If I am out of town for a month, I would like to be able to apply a rule of thumb so that the Florida humidity does not create problems, and at the same time I would like to avoid wasting energy.

The current cooling schedule includes:

If you have experience programming thermostats to manage humidity, please state this in your response: lessons learned are appreciated.  Thank you

This question has received a lot of answers and comments, but I suspect not from people familiar with Florida who have encountered the underlying issue.  It is a frequent one in Florida because:

There are a lot of snowbirds, and Floridians who travel a lot, so houses frequently are unoccupied for long periods.
Florida is extremely hot and humid.

The biggest issue is mold, which thrives in high humidity.  The problem here isn't humidity near 100%; the issue isn't the dew point or condensation.  Mold becomes a problem way before that.  The EPA recommends keeping humidity below 60% (ideally, below 50%), to prevent mold growth.

The OP is in the Jacksonville area, where the yearly average outside air humidity is at or above this threshold throughout the day (low point of 58%, day average of 76%, high point of 89%).  House insulation acts like a thermal delay, so when a house is unoccupied for an extended period, it goes through cycles when it is cooler inside and the RH spikes.  In an unoccupied house with normal air infiltration, the inside humidity will be extremely mold-friendly.

Since RH is a function of temperature and the humidity of the outside air, it is imprecise and expensive to try to handle this by arbitrarily cycling the AC based on temperature or time.  To reliably control mold, you might need to run the AC more than required.  Also, you need a reliable way of knowing what humidity level results from your normal AC temperature setting.  If it normally keeps the house close to 60% RH and you arbitrarily bump the temperature higher while you're gone, it could result in a mold-friendly environment.

The standard solution is to install a humidistat (not very expensive and a one-time cost), which cycles on the AC only as needed to keep the humidity in a range where mold doesn't grow.

Note that, as d.george writes, this is likely to be much more regular than an occasional burst of AC.  It will be removing moisture from the air, but everything in the house will be storing moisture and contributing to the equilibrium.  How much it runs based on humidity compared to how much it normally runs will depend on the humidity level resulting from your normal AC setting, and the outside temperature and humidity while you're gone.  If your normal AC setting keeps the humidity in the 50% to 60% range, the system will run about the same amount via the humidistat.  If the normal AC setting keeps the house at a low humidity, it will run a lot less via the humidistat.

Another, or auxiliary, solution is to use a dehumidifier (probably several for a whole house), as d.george suggests.  You will need a way to get rid of the collected water so it can run for an extended period unattended.  These cycle based entirely on humidity.


Wood paint still not hardened after three weeks We recently repainted our window sills from bare wood using one layer of wood primer, then five consecutive layers of an enamel based paint. We waited one day to allow the paint coats to setup.

The paint is still not hard enough, and putting heavy items leaves marks.

What has gone wrong? Do I just need to keep on waiting for a full hardening?

How old was the paint you used? Sometimes finishes do go bad over time...


Strategy for replacing leaky tub trap I have a leak in the trap underneath my bathtub. Specifically, the leak is happening at the union nut of the trap (see red circle in picture). I have confirmed that the nut at the union does not tighten and is busted meaning I will need to replace the entire trap. Since the pipes are ABS and thus are sealed with ABS cement, I am assuming they are not removable thus requiring me to cut them off the input and output pipes (see yellow dotted lines).

Does this seem like the right approach? My concern is that after I cut off the P trap, a replacement P trap will not align correctly with the existing input and output pipes since it will have to be fitted higher than the old trap. What is the correct solution to have the replacement trap match the heights of the input/output pipes?

I would simply cut back a bit further than you have marked, then extend with couplers to the original pipe lengths and add your elbows and trap components. This will leave you with exactly the same configuration, which was fine, but with the two additional couplers.

Obviously we like to reduce the number of connections in a system, but modern plastic piping is hard to screw up if you're careful to coat things well with cement.


What flow rate should I select in a shower head for a home with low water pressure? We live in an apartment, and we have very low water pressure.

One of the shower heads I was looking at was the Speakman S-2252-E2 shower head, but I just noticed that it's available in 1.75 GPM, 2.0 GPM, 2.5 GPM.

In terms of the water pressure, Is there a benefit in buying one over the other? Or better yet, is it possible that (after removing the flow restrictor) one shower head had better pressure than the others?

The 2.5GM shower head will provide you with better flow (but will cost more in water and water heating) - and could also cause lower pressure elsewhere while the shower is running.

Removing flow restrictors will likewise increase the flow of water and feel more powerful.

It is possible for lower flow heads to perform better then might be expected due to the venturi effect and mixing air with the water, but I expect that if you have low pressure this will not help you.

If you are purchasing a new head in a bid to fix your low pressure issue, might I suggest removing the flow restrictor first - if that fixes your problems, go with a lower GPM head to save water (because the pressure will be there), otherwise get a booster pump.


Electric stopped working after I moved my microwave? "We moved the microwave to a different spot in the kitchen and didn't realize the circuit wasn't large enough to support it. The whole wall quit working. We changed out the actual breaker in the breaker box but nothing happened.

When the breaker is on, our tester shows that there is electricity going to each outlet but nothing will come on when we plug it in.

Sounds to me like an open neutral. This will give you a reading of voltage (to ground or with a pen tester) but the circuit will not work.

You need to check the connections at every device on the circuit.


Bracket to lay 3× 2x6 on top a 4x4 post? I am trying to re-purpose existing 4x4 exterior posts to install a swinging seat.

The kit that we are using calls for the top beam to be composed of at least 3x 2x6 pieces.

Does anyone know of an exterior use approved, metal bracket that would be good for my use case ?

You want the post and beam to have the same width dimension. Although you're trying to recycle, it's best to build this with a 6x6 beam and 6x6 posts. It will be stronger and look nicer anyways. Attach them together with the Simpson LCE4 seen below. A total of 4 of them will be needed and each of them will need (14) 0.162 x 3 1/2 into the beam and (10) 0.162 x 3 1/2 into the post.


How to remove exposed aggregate patio I purchased a home with an existing VERY old aggregate patio. A few years ago I dumped a boatload of money into it to try and fix it, and it lasted about two years. Now I just want to get rid of it. There is a concrete patio underneath the aggregate layer but I want to save that so how do I remove the aggregate layer without destroying the concrete underneath it? Thoughts....

Aggregate is the gravel and sand that is mixed with cement and water to make concrete. so the surface you see is the concrete of the patio.

Exposed aggregate is prepared by applying a chemical to the surface of fresh concrete which slows the hardening of the top layer.  when the bulk of the concrete is hard the top cement is hosed off exposing the aggregate. (the run-off makes a real mess)

You've got a few options to resurface. you could use a skim coat of mortar slurry  with some additive to improve bonding resulting in a classic concrete looking surface. or a leveling compound. It probably wants a good cleaning before you try to bond anything to it.

Or you could grind it down to get the terazzo-like look of cut concrete

Or you could tile it.


Why does it take 20-30 seconds for a fluorescent tube to start? One of the fluorescent lights in my apartment does nothing for long seconds or sometimes even minutes when turned on (then it surprises me when it suddenly comes on). It behaves as if there were some kind of timeout or something before it turns on. Eventually the glow switch comes on and fluorescent tube starts normally then.

I recorded a video about the problem where you can see it takes roughly 20 seconds for the glow switch to come on: https://youtu.be/Bw2DfIFjn8k

What causes this? Is it the problem of the starter or the ballast? The tube seems to be ok.

If you have a starter, that is definately bad. Starters are cheap and easy to install, I can't remember the last time I have seen one. (Electronic ballast don't use starters). Since the lamp appears to be bright the ballast should be good. If there is no starter I would look at the ends of the lamp, the other thing that kills fliorescents is the electrodes have been eaten away inside the tube (the lamp ends are usually very dark when this is the problem) but it looked very bright so go for the starter  - they do wear out, I used to keep a box of them handy.


How to use an older Sears Craftsman pad sander I have a 1/2 sheet pad sander and I can't find the user manual online.

Sears Craftsman Model p11616.

I also can't figure out how to attach the sand paper. It us designed to use adhesive and non-adhesive backed paper.

Below is a picture of the clasp to secure the paper and I can't make sense if it. It is just shredding the ends of the paper. I can't find a logical way for the full width of the paper to be secured.

When rotated, that lever should lift the bar it is mounted to. You then slip the edge of the sandpaper under the bar and rotate the lever back, the bar will pinch the paper under it. Pull the paper taut and repeat on the other side of the sander to secure.


Wiring for ceiling fan with light I have separate wall switches to control fan and light, both black, white, ground (no red).  What are my connections to the ceiling fan/light

The easiest way to do this would be to turn one switch on and the other off, and then, using a voltmeter, see which wire has power at the j-box.


Trying to wire 240 disconnect panel from 3 wire from main panel to 3 wire spa (2 hots and ground on both sides) I’m wiring my used hot tub I bought which is a 240 volt total containing 3 wires, 2 hots and a ground. My feed from the panel is also 2 hots and a ground. How do I wire both sides to the gfci disconnect?

When hooking up hot tubs, don't fool around

It can hurt people.  It can also ruin hot tubs.

The lack of neutral at the hot tub box might be a problem

Your application doesn't need neutral at all.  (According to what you've said).

However, a couple weeks ago, we had a question about using American GFCI breakers in the Philippines, where some houses are wired exactly like your circuit there: two hots, no neutral, and a ground, theoretically in the middle between the two hots.   It turns out that some GFCI breakers actually need neutral on their input side - to power the GFCI mechanism itself.

It would not be legal in the US to "bootleg" that input neutral wire to the ground.  Bootlegging also wreaks havoc on any GFCIs that would be upstream, not that you would need any. That may be why TPE is asking about your panel breaker.  In his case, we counseled him to install a tiny autotransformer to create neutral from the two hots.  It worked.

Honestly, if it were me, I would take back that GFCI spa panel you bought, buy the correct Siemens GFCI 2-pole breaker for your main panel, and then get a simple/cheap non-GFCI subpanel or shutoff switch for this location.  That keeps the GFCI in the dry, warm inside, where it will last a lot longer.

But if you can't do that, you could try hooking it up without any neutral connected on the input side.  Maybe the GFCI will function correctly.  It is a spa panel after all, having no neutral on the input side is perfectly foreseeable since spas don't need neutral.  If it still doesn't function correctly, I would go talk to your AHJ, and see if they'll sign off on bootlegging netural just for that GFCI device.


Mounting heavy items with no studs I purchased this wine rack even though I'm skeptical on the strength of the L Brackets.

I do not have studs in my wall but purchased these heavy duty anchors for 3/8 inch drywall.

Any thoughts on whether this will work or not? I've never done this before so am very skeptical. Any other tips or tricks would be super helpful. Thank you!

The rack is 28 inches wide. Its bound to be over at least one stud. How did you try to locate? Did you use a good stud finder? Look for hints for where a stud might be, like an electrical outlet below. (electrical boxes are usually mounted on a stud). Also a magnetic stud finder would find nails and screws. I would try again to find at least one stud and attach the rack to that with two screws, and use steel toggle bolts for the other two into drywall.


Can I use a 50Hz tape recorder on a 60Hz electrical system? I have a Sony reel to reel tape player/recorder that is rated at 110V, 127V, 220V, 240V, 50Hz. Can I connect it to 110v 60Hz or do I need to purchase a 50Hz output power converter?

It should work fine ( 60Hz running on 50 sometimes doesn't work) but if the motors are synchronous to the power grid it will run fast. Wether playback at 1.2x normal speed is a problem or not is up to you. If you are recording and playing from the same machine then it won't matter.

Grid-synchronous timing was very common decades ago (analog tv for example) - the AC frequency was stable and reliable. When devices moved to DC motors and digital control they stopped caring about the mains frequency and just generated their own timing signals.


Can I run copper wire to a subpanel via the crawl space without conduit? Can I run 3/0 copper se cable wire with the ground to a sub panel straight from the 200 amp breaker box to the 100 amp box through a crawl space without any conduit?

From the 2011 NEC 310.15(B)(7) table.
A 100 amp residential panel only requires #4 copper or #2 aluminum.
3/0 copper would be a waste of money.

If you use SE cable you will need 3 insulated conductors along with the bare wire.

  338.10(B)(2) Use of Uninsulated Conductor. Type SE service-entrance cable shall be permitted for use where the insulated conductors are used for circuit wiring and the uninsulated conductor is used only for equipment grounding purposes.

Since you a using it for a feeder to a sub-panel you have to have an insulated neutral and use the bare for the equipment ground.

Do not bond the neutral and ground in the sub-panel and keep the neutrals and grounds separated. You need a panel that is "suitable for use as service equipment" since it will have an insulated neutral bar. Discard the green bonding screw.

Happy Friday!


How to wire ceiling speakers where each pair of speakers has only two wires total I bought a house which has 5 pairs of ceiling speakers (10 speakers total). The panel in the wall has 5 pairs of wires, (10 wires total). This is confusing to me, since I thought each speaker would require two wires for itself. When I try connecting my receiver to the panel, I find that a single pair (red/black) causes sound output in a PAIR of speakers. Does that mean I have to wire the whole house with mono sound? How are two speakers controlled by a single pair of wires? (Is there a splitter internally?)

Update:
I connected my home receiver to 3 pairs of speakers in "All Channel Stereo" mode, and things sound pretty good. I still don't understand how this is working though.

You should put a meter on them and check the impedance. You could also pull a pair of speakers to see how they are wired.

Ceiling speakers are not an "audiophile stereo sound" setup, typically - they are designed to cover a large area so you can hear the sound all over the house (or area they cover.)

Two typical (hardly the only) ways you might get what you have are a pair of 4 ohm speakers wired in series to make 8 ohms, or a pair of 16 ohm speakers wired in parallel to make 8 ohms again, since many things like 8 ohms for speakers. At work I have a pair of 8's wired in series to make 16 on a system that is exposed to abuse, in an effort to help the speakers survive the abuse...

Other things you might see (particularly in ceiling speakers) would be a transformer and tap (reconnectable wire) on each speaker intended for a "70 volt" speaker distribution amplifier.