After removing a wall how to repair an odd shaped section of hardwood floor We just removed a wall between two bedrooms. Technically, it was 3 walls as there were closets on both sides of the wall. We had expected to have three 4" wide long gaps in our hardwood flooring that ran the length of the room, with about 2 feet between them. The original plan was to rip up the floor in between the gaps and lay down a cool, at least to us, 4' wide threshold instead of properly feathering in new hardwood. We expected the gaps to look something like

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Needless to say, when you knock a wall down in a 100 year old house, you do not always find what you expect. What we have is a single 4" wide gap that runs the length of the room. It starts out in the middle of where the wall was and runs for a 1/4 of the room, then moves 2' to the left and runs another 1/4 of the room, moves to the right 4' and runs 1/4 of the room, before moving back to the center. It looks something like

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Apart from doing it right and feathering in new hardwood floors, is there a way to make this look reasonable without cutting out the whole 4' wide section?

Going side-to-side with a contrasting prefinished flooring can work.  When I did this at my house, the flooring runs were perpendicular to the closet, and of course, they didn't lineup.  I made a diagonal section 4ft wide section, across the whole room.

They make floor medallions that could disguise the transition.  You would have to extend new flooring to either wall.

Ceramic tile would be another option.


Bathroom faucet drip I had a faucet drip in my bathroom sink. I determined it was the hot water (confirmed by the warm drip and it stopped when I shut off the hot under the sink). I assumed that the stem went (which happened before, to the cold stem) but after replacing it and tightening everything, I still have the drip. Can I assume the faucet needs to go?  It's an old Price Pfister.

Note: The plumbing and shutoff valves are new but the faucet assembly is old.

There should have been a 'packing' in the stem assembly.  This is usually a gasket or a series of gaskets that prevent water from seeping around the stem when the stem is in the off position.  If the packing was in good shape (no cracks or brittleness) and was seated properly then I would say it's time to replace the whole fixture.

In my past experience if the leak doesn't come from the stem or the packing around it, then the time finding the problem and the cost to fix it usually is not worth it for a cheaper fixture.


Plywood floor gets inexplicably wet, what could possibly be the cause? House is on piers with insulation underneath. We had a plumber come look at it and he says he sees no pipes there, has no idea, cannot help. Every day there is about a 4 ftx4ft area of light water, with outlying smaller patches of water or moisture visible on the plywood. No one lives there while we are renovating.

So, what are the long-term and short term consquences if we place laminate flooring on this large wet spot? My family does not believe my predictions, so perhaps they will believe you.

I do this type of stuff for a living, btw. My paying clients follow my advice. This here is a family thing.

Sorry im a little confused on what and were your house is loctated? Piers like a beach house over water? The plywood is the floor it's self? Or are you looking at the ply from under the floor?
The only thing I can answer is long term will be mold if water continues to sit on ply I wouldn't put any laminate down unless you figure what or were your water issue is and if it is a beach house I will not recomend Laminant floor I would recomend tile.


Will I have trouble running a bathroom fan 10 CFM (25%) stronger than needed? My bathroom measures in at 289 cubic feet.  Dividing that by 7.5 and rounding up gives me a target fan capacity of 40 CFM.  However, there are many more fans available at 50 CFM.
I read this post, Are there drawbacks to installing a stronger bath fan?, stating that a fan moving more air than necessary can inhibit appliance fumes from venting properly, not the mention the HVAC efficiency hit from expelling conditioned air.
My question is this: will increasing from 40 to 50 CFM create such problems, or is that in the realm of a much bigger increase?

An extra 10 CFM won't hurt you at all.... If anything, it will get rid of the unwanted moisture faster. I'd wager that article was meant for much larger bathroom fans.


How can I make sure that the ledger board supports for a floor are level? I am building a floor and the first step is attaching ledger boards to  existing studs around the perimeter of the room. The joists are JITs that will then be put in hangers attached to the ledger boards.
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The problem is that it is essential that the ledger boards be perfectly flat and parallel with each other, otherwise the joists will not be level. The dimensions of the room are 23' x 17'.

How can I ensure that the tops of the ledger boards are flat and level with each other?

Use a level. There are many types.

A simple string and a bubble level. Use a 4-6' level at the center of the span (to account for sag).
A bubble level on a common joist. Obviously this is heavier, but with a helper it can be done. Set your first ledger and install a hanger. Place the common joist and lay a level on the other end, extending to the wall.
A laser level. Mount it in a convenient location and measure up from its beam.
A water level. Fill a length of clear tubing with water. Lift both ends until the water line is at the joist height.


Is a gasless MIG welder a contradiction in terms? There are lots of very low cost "MIG" welders such as this one for under $100. It claims it's gasless. But the girth of the torch and its lead look like it could feed gas. No gas inlet barb or hose is visible. But calling it MIG if it can't use gas seems like complete misrepresentation?

It is a "MIG" (Metal-Inert-Gas) welder in the sense that it does have a shielding gas for the weld - but the shielding gas comes form the flux core in the wire being vaporized during the welding process and not from a separate gas supply.
You'll note in the product listing "Requires flux cored wire " - because without the flux core there's no shielding gas.


Is it possible to use a hot water recirculation pump with a PEX home run system? I am interested in getting a hot water recirculation pump installed so that I can get hot water faster to each of my faucets.

From looking at the picture and researching I believe I have PEX in a "home run" configuration:

When doing my walk through with my warranty guy I mentioned I was interested in getting a recirculation pump, but he told me he wasn't sure how that works with a manifold and that I should investigate first.

There are two issues to the time needed for hot water; one: the home run from the manifold to the faucet and two: the feed line from the hot water heater through the manifold. The key is to know how much cold water is sitting in the lines and the flow rate of your faucet. You can do a search for "PEX specifications" to get the volume of water in the lines. The volume of water is based on inside diameter and length so is applicable to any pipe that is measured by inside diameter, not just PEX. You can time how long it takes to fill a container, like a 2 quart measuring cup to calculate your flow rate.

1/2" PEX holds .92 gallons per 100'. On a relatively short 25' run, that's .23 gallons, on a relatively long 50' run, that's .46 gallons. With a 1.5 gal. per minute faucet, thats almost 10 seconds for the 25' run and 20 seconds for the 50' run. But wait, there's more! Look at that 12' of 3/4" line from the water heater to the manifold. And also consider the more that 1' run through the hot side of the manifold which can be as large as 1 1/4" inside diameter. Because of the larger diameters, that's another .25 gallons. You've added another 10 seconds. Now you have 20 seconds for the 25' run and 30 seconds for the 50' run.

The most effective and expensive option is to place the line that you most want fast hot water to at the far end of the manifold and recirculate only that one. It now has almost instant hot water and everywhere else has it 10 seconds sooner because the water in the manifold is now hot.

A less effective but probably much cheaper alternative is to move the last hot line off the manifold to a tee above the manifold like the other one shown there. That frees up the end port to use for recirculating. No sink has instant hot water but this cuts 10 seconds off wait times at all locations and is simple to plumb and insulate.

The absolute cheapest would be if the plumber had set the water heater a couple feet over and used the code minumum 18" connector between the water heater and the manifold. That would have cut out 10 1/2' of 3/4" pipe and would have reduced the wait time at all locations by about 7 seconds. It could still be done but, since the manifold would have to be turned over so that the feeds are on the bottom, which also reverses which side the hot lines are on, it would be time comsuming.

Note that this example used a typical 1.5 gal/min lavatory faucet. A 2.0 gal/min kitchen faucet would take less time. If you have a 1.0 or 1.2 gal/min low flow faucet, the wait is longer. If you have an ultra low flow 0.5 gal/min faucet, make a sandwich or read a book while you wait.


Risk of overloading a light fitting? I have a couple of fittings with 3x E14 bulbs in each. Each of the fittings is labelled with a max of 4w for LED.

Problem is, I’d like to upgrade to Philips Hue, which only offer 6w.

I didn’t spot this until I’d already replaced them all, so I switched it on briefly anyway (risk-taker that I am) and all seemed well, despite overall load being 6w more than the theoretical max.

So, what’s the risk of leaving them plugged in? Shortened life of the fixture? Issues with my electrics more generally? Circuit being tripped periodically? House burning down?

Any advice appreciated!

Since these are individual 120V bulbs rather than a transformer/driver with low voltage DC bulbs, the rating is based on heat. It could be the design can dissipate 6W without a problem but the certification (hopefully UL or similar) was based on tests at 4W. Only the manufacturer of the fixture could honestly tell you if 6W is OK.

My hunch is that unless this is a totally enclosed fixture that 6W would be fine. But I can't guarantee that. There are two risks:

Minor: Shorter bulb life
Major: Fire

Not worth the risk. 5 minute test no problem but leaving on unattended has a small but very real risk. If there were a fire the your insurance company would not be happy to find a 6W bulb in a 4W fixture.


Maximum number of wires allowed for junction box Please take a look at attached pictures of my can light junction box. Outside says max 8 14 AWG conductors. It also says 10 cubic inch is J-Box volume.
Inside, there are 3 push in connectors (for hot, neutral and ground), each with 4 holes. 1 of the hole in each connector is occupied by internal wire which goes to bulb holder. It seems to me that I can connect 3 more 14 AWG NM cables given that 3 holes are available in each connector, but outside the junction box it says only 8 AWG conductors allowed. Each NM cable has 3 conductors (hot, neutral and ground) , so I am not sure if I can connect 3 NM cables with this can light. One for power source and 2 going to other cans.
Can someone tell me how many NM cables can be connected to this box ? There are 3 knockout holes in addition to 2 black clamps. If you can give explanation of how to interpret what it says outside junction box it would be helpful.

I think the most likely interpretation of the labeling would indicate since the NEC only requires the box fill calculation to count the ground once then you could have two 12/2, three 14/2, or two 14/3, but it could be argued that only one 12/2 or two 14/2 would be allowed.
The Code in section 314 specifies the volume (cm³ or in³) required per wire based on size of wire, and has a couple of details like counting certain types of fittings, only counting the largest ground once, not counting wires that start and end in the box. The confusing part is the Code also says installations shall comply with the UL (or other lab) Listing which includes the instructions supplied with products.
Normally the Listing is more restrictive, so following the Listing doesn't conflict with Code, but often light housing boxes like yours allow more fill than Code. I have always found Inspectors allow the Listing to overrule the Code. If an Inspector told me I would have to comply with both, meaning the tighter more restrictive standard I would have a hard time arguing against that, but I never have had to. Normally I do try to comply with the Code restrictions also to avoid arguments.
The size on the box is also relevant if using some combination of NM/AC/MC cable with smaller fixture whips.


Metal columns in basement span two beams I am doing some renovations in my basement and noticed that the metal columns aren't centered on one main beam but centered on the gap between two beams. You can see it in the picture below (with the wood block above it splitting in the middle I might add)

Shouldn't the metal column be centered on one main beam instead of spanning two? Or is there a reason why it would be spanning two beams? It is a modular home, if that makes a difference.

This other photo is a picture farther down, just showing that the gap spans the entire length of the house. The other beam is centered on it as well.

The house was built in 2004. I'm wondering if they did something "unique" here that I should be concerned about.

It is okay for a steel column to support two separate beams, but the steel plate on the top of your column isn't designed to do that.

The builder should have added a column cap on top of the column, and I suggest adding one now. You basically need to jack up both beams so you have a small gap, and then push the column cap in there and release the jacks. If that's something that sounds way over your head, a remodeling contractor should have experience doing stuff like that.

It looks like you have a 2 ply beam, then a 1" gap, then a 3 ply beam. Is that correct? That should be around 8.5" wide, and a Simpson CCOQ9-SDS2.5 is 8.875" wide so that should work here. People usually weld this to the top of the steel plate on the column, but however you attach it to the column will be better than what you currently have.

The column cap I referenced is 1/4" thick (3 gauge steel), so that's enough of a height difference that you would probably want to replace the steel column with a shorter one, and also center it better while you're replacing it. You could probably cut 1/4" off your current one and weld the column cap to it, but just do whatever is easier or seems safer. On the other hand, raising everything 1/4" might not be a big deal to you.

https://www.strongtie.com/sdsscrewcolumncaps_columncaps/ccq-eccq_productgroup_wcc/p/ccq.eccq


How can I remove a stubborn screw from a toilet seat? I would like to install on a one piece Kohler toilet a bidet. When I tried to unscrew the screw from the seat, it just didn't move, not with the screwdriver nor the drill. So I put wd40 but still doesn't move. Can u please help me.

I was away & finally found The Answer to your problem. Your problem is Kohler & their very bad design. They use "anchors" & it's quite ridiculous, here are a couple of videos to demonstrate handling of Kohler's anchors.

Video 1

Video 2


What are the names of these tools and what are they used for? Found these in my Dad's collection.  Any ideas of what they are called and what they were used for?  The top tool is 11 3/4" and the bottom one (with one end like a flat screwdriver) is 6".

A reasonable guess would be cotter pin extractors. Here's a picture of similar tool from Snapon. The bottom one looks vaguely like a different style with one pointed end to pull and a flat one to spread the pins.


How smooth does a shower pan need to be? Does the pre-slope pan have to be smooth?  Mine is kind of rough in some places has a sand roughness.  If it does have to be smooth what is the best way to smooth it? I thought of mixing some cement powder and just put a very thin smooth top.  I bought some concrete adhesive to put in between the top coat and pre-pan.

What do you think?

Thanks for any help

It only needs to be smooth enough to get the water in the pan to go to the drain, and not poke a hole in the pan while working the mud bed for the tile over it. If there are any sharp ridges even a trowel can scrape those down flat enough to be of no concern.


One third of my house has no power In my basement I have 2 outlets with no power, and a 220 with partial power and in the kitchen above I have some outlets not working, and on the second floor in the bedroom the outlets don't work.  Every once in awhile the circuits come on for a short while for no apparent reason then go back off for months.  Any ideas out there ?

Since the power is intermittent, this indicates a circuit that is being made and broken, and could end in a high-resistance state, rather than off or on. That spot with high resistance would get very hot if there is a substantial load, possibly leading to a fire in a circuit box or in the wall itself.

Bring in a certified electrician to fix this, rather than risk a house fire.


Is it unsafe to remove one stud from a load bearing wall? I need to cut a hole for a recessed medicine cabinet. This wall is at the end of the house.  I only need to cut one stud to make a frame for the cabinet. Will this damage the integrity of the bearing wall?

The opening you want to create has to be framed like a window as shown*.

Notice the addition of a header to carry the load of the cut stud (cripple stud) to the sides, and the added jack studs which support the header. Because you're only supporting a light weight cabinet rather than a window, you probably don't need the double sill (single will do).

As pointed out in the comments, you can't simply cut a load bearing stud without any issues. Some sort of temporary support must be put in place to carry the load before you cut into existing structure and not removed until the new structure is in place.


How can I remove a closet shelf & keep it intact? How do I remove a closet shelf that is flush against the closet wall with just a brace in the middle? The brace is not a problem, but the shelf looks like it's glued in. It has a 2 X 1(maybe) X 72 (closet length). And two small braces on each end about 2 ft in length X maybe 1" wide.

Most likely nailed from above into braces.

May be glued and/or caulked, so run a utility knife or window razor (single straight edge razor in a holder).

Then, as suggested by DA01 and Jacob S, wack upwards with a rubber mallet or a regular hammer into a block of wood


Do I need to anchor premade concrete stairs Do I have to anchor premade concrete steps to the wall?  We used to have wooden steps but they were not anchored to the wall.

Can you move the steps easily, say if you kick them do they move.

Concrete is HEAVY.

If installed so that they are solid and do not rock then it is unlikely you need to unless they in the path of say a car or snow plow that may hit them.

I would say no but you have not given us any info about them or why you think it may be necessary.

If you update you question with more info then that may change the answer.


What are these devices mounted on old fashioned domestic electric trunking? Location: India

Estimated date-range for installation of the objects under enquiry 1920 - 1960

Just what the title states. The trunking exhibits several boards with similar thingummibob mounted upon them. What are these things (name)? What purpose do they serve?

What are these things (name)?

They are sometimes called "fuse-pots".

  What purpose do they serve?

They each contain two contacts which are bridged by a thin piece of fuse wire which connects the electrical supply to wiring to a specific individual circuit. They prevent your house burning down in the all-too-likely event that there is a malfunction in some equally ancient and uncared for wiring, switch, lampholder, wiring or appliance.

That is an antique fuseboard

See Architectural Salvage, Brighton, England.

Yours seem to be a later Bakelite version rather than ceramic.

The individual holders may have been called fuse-pots.

Note that some old fuse-boards had fuses on both live and neutral

They look rather similar to earlier 19th century fuse holders of the sort used in the 1890s.

Early Edison Fuse block in article Early Electrical Lighting in Homes
By Steve O'Bannon

"Very old Electrical Fuses", Alamy
"Germany, very old fusebox", Alamy

However these earlier ones are all screw-in fuses following an Edison design I think.

  Any idea how to open the cover if it refuses to? WD-40 threw in the towel

Please don't spray flammable fluids onto live 240V electrical installations.(my can of WD40 says "caution flammable" on the front)

I'd be surprised if there was anyone still alive with experience of dealing with these things. At least, not in my part of the world.

If I were in your shoes, my immediate priorities would be

Find and replace the protective covers.
Warn any adult occupants of this building not to touch any part of this panel.
Prevent children getting access to this area of the building.
Pay a qualified electrician to supply and install a modern consumer-unit (main panel) where the electrical supply enters the building. Have that electrician fit miniature circuit breakers (MCBs) and residual current devices (RCDs or GFCIs) or combined protective devices (RCBOs etc).
Take these antique fuse panels out of service and replace them with a properly protected junction box or similar.
Consider getting the wiring in the building removed and replaced. At least get it tested.

Having isolated the electrical supply to that panel, I would fabricate a removal tool by screwing four long screws part way into a wooden block and cutting off the heads to make short studs that fit those four holes. A small amount of penetrating oil might help but I suspect the chances of it making a difference are low. I'd have a fire extinguisher handy. Double check that power is off before going anywhere near that panel.


2 circuits on 1 gfi receptacle Under my sink is 1 non gfi receptacle that controls dishwasher and garbage disposal. I want to put 1 gfi receptacle to replace current one. There are only 3 wires - one black one white and one red. This is a stand alone outlet and will not power any other outlets. How would these 3 wires connect to the outlet?

This is complicated

Think for a minute.  Does your garbage disposal run continuously? No, why not?   Because there is a switch on the wall you must throw.  When the switch is off, does the dishwasher still work?  Ok, then clearly the two sockets on the receptacle are controlled separately.   That's easy to do by breaking off the tab separating the two screws.

There is no way to provide that with a GFCI receptacle.  You would need to provide GFCI protection another way.

Ok, go down to the service panel.  Is the dishwasher and disposal on the same exact breaker?  Is it a single breaker? A double-width / 2-pole breaker?  Two separate breakers, hopefully adjacent?

Reason I ask is it was common to put the disposal and dishwasher on a multi-wire branch circuit.  It uses a 240V double breaker (or 2 adjacent breakers) plus neutral to provide two 120V circuits on only 3 wires.  .  It powers one 120V load between black and neutral, and the other 120V load between red and neutral.  It is very common to punch this down to a 2-socket receptacle which has been split (and the disposal is also switched). ----  If you have this setup, you can easily fit GFCI protection by using a 2-pole GFCI breaker.  It's an expensive breaker but it protects both circuits, and any other way of doing this is rather ugly.  Remember the disposal must be switched, and you can't switch a GFCI receptacle.

If both dishwasher and disposal are on the same simple breaker, you can fit GFCI protection by fitting a plain 1-pole GFCI breaker.  You can also protect it with an inline GFCI device such as a deadfront, which would need to be along the circuit's cable between the receptacle and service panel.


Why is the top step of a stair a different thickness than the other treads? I'm a little confused about the finished floor (at the top of the stairs) and the thickness of the treads. The treads I'm looking at are around an inch thick.  The finishing (hardwood, as seen at my local big box store) for the top of the stairs is 3/4" thick at most.

Is it assumed that the top tread nose will be different from the others?

The top step is not a tread. It's flooring.  You buy the stair nose as part of your flooring purchase, not the stairway build.  Most manufacturers of hardwood will provide a matching stair nose, but you may have to order it.

Note that the stair nose is a groove.  You can also purchase a double-tongue that will slip in that groove converting it to a tongue should you need to.


DIY Solar Panel Install I have a house under construction, and the electricians have installed a 1" conduit from the attic to the main panel.

I have also gotten 5 quotes to install a Solar PV system around 9kW. I can purchase the same components (panels, string inverter, racking) for about 1/3 of the cost in the quotes.

My Questions:

Has anyone installed panels on a roof their-selves? Was it challenging
Would I hire a roofer to make the penetration and install the racking?
What trade would install panels on the roof?
Any difficulties involved I should be aware of?

I am very comfortable with home circuits, breaker-box, panels and such.

Thank you

I integrated the solar panels into the roof, some interesting points:

The angle is 70 degrees (steep to maximise winter output) - snow falls off and rain washes off dust so never needed cleaning in 15 years.
The panels are the waterproof covering so saving the cost of the tiles beneath.
The array is in series to give about 380V DC, this minimises the losses , as well as a cable over-specified to keep losses to a minimum.
The annual output exceeds the predicted (or simulated) output by about 15% - due to the winter sun being reflected off the snow onto the panels - remember the steep angle...
The annual production exceeds the annual use - but that is what it was designed to do.

So, work out what you want to achieve and make sure you account for all use...


How do I mount this towel rack that was ripped off the wall? Hi one of my tenants sent me a pictures of my broken towel rack. What would be the most cost effective fix?

The traditional solution for a pulled out towel rack is to remove the towel rack, patch the holes (usu two on each end) and place the rack slightly higher or lower. An experienced or inventive person can patch the existing hole and, by adding reinforcement, remount in the same location.

These racks are secured to a pair of metal brackets on the wall with the rack fastened to the brackets by small screws on the undersides. To repair it loosen or remove the screws underneath and then lift the rack off. Then deal with remounting on the side that pulled out.

Oftentimes the original installation was inferior and damaged the drywall, leading to premature failure. The traditional mounting for a towel rack is plastic anchors which require drilling a small hole (3/8" dia or less) in the drywall.

Newer anchors don't require drilling. These have a sharp end that can be forced into the drywall and then plastic threads which pull the anchor into the drywall when twisted. The metal screw for the bracket is screwed into the center of the plastic anchor.

However, in this situation you have a large hole which invites a possible quick repair with one of the new Wingit type anchors intended for grab bars. This might or might not work, but I for one would consider it. The Wingit screw has a rather large head and you'd need to be sure that the existing brackets would accept that.

If I were installing towel racks in a rental property I would consider the Wingits towel bars. I happen to think that tubs and showers should be fitted with grab bars even without elderly or disabled users. Stepping into a tub has some risk. The shower may have been turned on but is not up to temperature and the person steps in quickly and off balance to avoid cold spray. At the very least have an 18" or 24" vertical bar at the entrance to the tub and a long (36", 42", 48") bar horizontal on the long wall.

 Base level Wingit requires 3/4" diameter hole

If I were going to use a Wingit for a towel bar, I would plan on using only one per side because of the hole spacing on the standard towel bar. The recommended drill bit is the Wingit Apache200 carbide 3/4" drill bit, but anything that will cut a 3/4" hole in the wall should work. I can imagine trying the tip of a drywall saw if I had to (but would probably regret that).

EDIT The following type of drywall anchor works amazingly well and requires no power tools for installation. It does work in undamaged drywall. Screw-in plastic drywall anchors

One product for a drywall repair is shown here: Insta-Back Drywall Repair kit


Do electrical junction boxes in the attic that are mounted above the insulation and on the roof truss require a cover plate? Do attic junction boxes require a cover plate?

Yes, every box requires a cover plate.  You can't have a cavity with individual wires and wirenuts enjoying a view of the attic.

And a steel box needs a steel cover plate.

Blank cover plates are readily available for less than a buck. There are only a few styles and sizes and I just keep one or two on hand.


Should I install vapor barrier over XPS insulation panels? Redoing a bathroom where one of the shower walls is an exterior wall. Framing is done with 2x6 and I would like to replace the current insulation pictured with XPS foam board. Due to my location, the best I can get my hands on is 2” thick with an R10 value.
My plan is to double up since I have room and worth it in my opinion. Main question is should I put in a vapor barrier? House was built in 1984 and no vapor barrier anywhere else.

XPS does not need vapour barrier. I tape mine to the studs using technical tape (red vapour barrier tape). Fill gaps with expanding foam.
If you are getting this inspected, check first: climate and jurisdiction matters. As with vapour control and inspections: "opinions vary on the facts" if you get my drift.


What causes water pipes to shake violently with no known catalyst? I woke up this morning to the sound of my water pipes shaking violently.  So violently that I could feel the walls moving.  The house was built around 10 years ago, and has water hammers.

Normally I would assume this is a water hammer problem, but it didn't happen when water was turned off, or anything else.  No water in the house was running, and the shaking went on for at least an hour.  The only way I could stop it, was by turning on the cold water to the room where the shaking occurred.  I've now turned the water off to the house.

Things I've tried

I tried turning off the water to the house, draining all the pipes, and after turning the water back on, slowly turning the ports closed starting from the end of the line to the front (slowly)
Screaming at my wall.

Things I thought could be the problem

Maybe the water hammer, but I thought that only happened if you turned off water quickly or didn't have water hammers in the house.  I have those water hammer valves in several places in the house.
Just a loose pipe.  This is a real possibility since my builder of my house was terrible and I can hear that pipe shaking around like crazy.  But can just a loose pipe cause this?  I would think that it shouldn't try to shake that violently whether it was loose or not, and why now?
I've googled the water pressure could be too high, but that's definitely not it.  Our water pressure in our neighborhood is always low.

Once again, this isn't a knocking that happens for a few seconds after I turn off the water.  This is a violent vibrating that happens all the time unless the cold water is turned on in the room where the vibrating is the loudest.

UPDATE

After leaving the water off for a long time, and re-draining all the pipes, it looks like now it's acting more like a water hammer issue and only shakes right after I cut water off.

More Update

Now it appears to have stopped and I can't reproduce it.  Maybe air in the line or something crazy?  Ghosts?

Water hammer happens when you abruptly close a valve.  Water has mass.  Once you get it moving toward the valve, if you slam the valve shut, the water is still moving. It slams into the closed valve and bounces -- water cannot compress.  Where can that ultimately go in a house where all the pipes are 100% full of water and all valves closed?  Back out to the street.  The energy is dissipated into the piping system and adjacent houses.

These last two words might just answer your question.

However, if you have anything that draws water automatically (and right on cue, as I typed this, my refrigerator dumped and refilled the ice tray), then that could be a source of internal water hammer. Machine valves are particularly notorious for closing very hard.

So your ultimate pressure damper is the rest of the city.  But check valves are starting to appear that permit flow only one way, and these may even be part of water meters now.  Needless to say, fitting a check valve makes water hammer much worse.

The conventional way to arrest water hammer (besides making sure all pipes are firmly anchored) is creating an air space intentionally in the piping. Water is not compressible. Air is very easily compressed.  Now, the water expands by compressing the air slightly, and that dissipates the energy.  It's a very simple fix, easily done by extending a pipe in a (at least slightly) upward direction and capping it off, creating an air space within.

Also, they actually make fat pipes or tanks designed to do this same thing. In the tanks, the air isn't "free" but is inside a "balloon" or diaphragm, so the water contacts the balloon instead of the air.

I suspect your problem arose because these intentional air spaces somehow became 100% full of water. It is certainly possible for air to effervesce into water. (exactly the problem the tank balloons are designed to avoid.)  By fully draining the system, you removed the water and allowed those spaces to refill with air.


water hammer after whole house copper repipe I recently had licensed contractor came replace the whole house repiped to copper and pass the city inspection. However, this also introduce the water hammer into my house.
Layout

Wash machine  - arrestor installed
Kitchen faucet - arrestor installed
backyard faucet
frontyard faucet
bathroom 1 faucet
bathroom 1 toilet
bathroom 2 faucet
bathroom 2 toilet

the furthest faucets from main valve are bathroom 1 and 2.
Problem
when kitchen faucet turn off from kitchen, I can heard the hammer sound right underneath the bathroom 1,2. however, I don't heard any hammer sound from kitchen faucet itself.
when bathroom 1,2 faucets hot/cold turned off, I heard the hammer sound.
when bathroom 1,2 toilets filled , I heard the hammer sound.
What I had tried

drain the entire house, wait for 5 - 10 mins. turn on the main water valve.  The hammer sound goes away for 5 mins, then it comes back in again.
I called my licensed plumber and they also couldn't figure out why, and started claim this is normal for a house with crawl space

Havn't tried
I am wondering if adding arrestors at 2 bathroom faucets and toilets would really help or not. Because my plumbing guy told me these will not really solve the issues and will involve additional labor and work to cut the wall to install them.
Its really annoying and would like to have some input from you. Thanks!

If the supply valves for the sink (farthest away) are screwed onto a stub of the copper pipe with a male adapter (they should be), then you can simply put in a tee on that pipe, a close nipple to re-attach your supply valve, and in the top of the tee, facing up, install an arrester or even just a piece of pipe with cap on the end to trap air in it.


Material that lets air and sunlight in & keeps rain out? I have a small open area, it's like a small balcony. The issue is that I get wet when it rains.

I ended up buying a regular tarp that covers this open area, and it works well. The issue is that this material isn't breathable, plus it also blocks the sunlight. It tends to get a little warm with the tarp.

Is there any type of material that will let sunlight and air through, but is tightly knitted so that it blocks rain drops?

Just wanted to add that the fabric or mesh will be at a slope, something like this. Also, this "fabric" will never be hit by direct rain. It also doesn't have to be waterproof, it just needs to bead and run off.

Also wanted to add that I usually use this area at night, so ideally, I would like to be able to see some of the sky while being protected from rain. I can't see anything with the tarp, plus it gets slightly warm at night.

Sunlight, no. "Breathable", yes. That's what "Gore-tex" fabric is famous for. They were the first / biggest, but now many other suppliers have released similar breathable waterproof fabrics made from PTFE (a.k.a. "teflon") fibers. I don't think however that Gore-tex makes anything clear or even opaque.

And go get a second mortgage on your house if you want a large tarp made of it; the cost is very very high.


Confused by apparent shorting damage at side and back terminals I have a intermittent kitchen circuit and caused by a flaky light switch.  When I open pull out the light switch, I see apparent shorting damage at the side and back terminals (see image).
The circuit was working intermittently.  The hot supply was plugged into the back stab/quick connect and supply to downstream plugs was connected to the side terminal.  I believe my intermittent circuit was caused by a flaky back stab connection - the back stab fell out when I removed the plug and there is no visible contact inside.

Here's my question:  Since the side and back terminals are connected within the switch, why would I have shorting damage between those?  Plus my circuit breaker never tripped, no one smelled or heard a short.

Welcome to "why I hate back-stabs and will never use them" 101.

The shorting damage is from arcing between the wire and the poor connection to the back-stab terminal. If it got bad enough, there might indeed have been arcing to the wire continuing to elsewhere. This arcing happens because back stab connections are junk, and don't connect reliably - when they are not connected, the incoming hot wire was 120V while the rest of the outgoing wire and side terminal were 0 volts, until it arced and made a brief connection, possibly even welding itself together for a short period of time until thermal stresses broke the weld and it arced again.

Your circuit breaker would not have tripped (unless it was an AFCI) because the connection was not "directly to ground or neutral" - it was to the loads that were supposed to be solidly connected to the hot, and those loads were either powered (when connected) or not working (when disconnected) but not drawing excessive current in either case.

I honestly have no idea (other than massive skulduggery) how this junk ever got listed. I won't use them, I will remove and replace them if encountered, and I consider them a distinct fire hazard (as you can see.)

Note that not all "back entry wire terminals" are back-stabs - the ones with a plate actuated by a screw are fine (when properly tightened) but the ones where you stick a wire in and do nothing more are utter junk, IMHO. There's a tiny contact area that relies on spring pressure alone to make any sort of contact, and it fails with great regularity.


Glue for internal rubber seals on uPVC windows I have some double glazed uPVC casement windows, the interior seal around the sash has come loose in some places.
Unlike some other windows, these seals don't clip into the uPVC profile, but are instead glued.
What kind of glue should I use to re-attach the seals?

The only thing I can see working here with rubber and vinyl would be cyanoacrylate (super glue). There may be other options, but that gets into product recommendation territory.
I'd use a gel type that will stay put and not flow everywhere. Take the sashes out to a clean, stable work area if possible, and consider masking sensitive areas first.
Do be sure that you're actually seeing pull-off and not tearing of something that's set into a channel, for example. Replacing the entire seal in the latter case may be the only reliable option.


Adding rat-slab to existing crawl-space Unfortunately I have a rather persistent rat problem in my crawlspace and I still haven't been able to resolve it.
I'm considering if it would be possible to pour a thin layer of concrete to stop rodent intrusion.
Can this be done for an existing crawlspace? I'm assuming the crawlspace vents would need to be knocked out and the concrete piped in. House is about 1k sqft.

I had that problem when I moved in. The back part of my house has a crawlspace where rats easily chewed holes in the siding. I replaced the bottom 2 feet of siding with metal lath on 2x4 framing and plastered it with cement mortar. I dug it below grade so they couldn't get under it. It looks like concrete, even though the plaster/lath is only 1/2" thick. Just to be sure, I poured a 3" concrete walkway around the outside perimeter. The materials were cheap, and no more rats.


asphalt shingles ridge nail placement Where are the nails suppose to go on the asphalt shingles on the ridge of the roof? Below/On/Above the tar line?  What have you personally see people do?

So I take my 3 tab asphalt shingle and cut out "V"s to make 3 ridge cap asphalt shingles.  I layer one on top of the other to make the ridge on the roof.  But where do the nails go?

Nail position is not as critical with ridge cap as it is in the plane of the roof because of the bend, which keeps the ridge from being able to move in high-wind situations that would lift flat shingles. At the tar line is probably fine. I wouldn't go much either way because you reduce holding power or increase water leak potential.

When in doubt, follow the manufacturer's recommendation for the normal nail position, and lap the shingles at least an inch past the nail. When possible, lay them out so that the lap falls downstream with respect to prevailing winds.

Be aware that 1-1/2" nails are typically not long enough for ridge cap due to layering and possible ridge vent gap.


How can I add an ammeter and/or voltmeter to my home breaker panel? In my professional life, I work in datacenters and all of our PDUs have ammeter displays on them.

Of course they do: we always want to know how many amps a PDU is using.

But in my house, nobody has any idea. As far as I can tell, there is no such thing as a breaker panel, distribution panel, or anything else that has any metrics whatsoever.

This is weird, since I am constantly interested in how many amps either a particular circuit or subpanel is using—or even my entire house, for that matter. I am always looking for this data and have no way to get it.

I don't want to hang a clamp off the wires, and I don't want to take manual readings of circuits or wires. I want a proper ammeter with a real-time measurement.

How can I do this?

You're going to careen headlong into

NEC 110.2. All equipment must be approved.

You want a conductive ammeter.  OK, because of the exigencies, that's going to be a large enclosure that will need to mount past your main breaker.  You can't insert that between your main breaker and buses in your panel, because your panel isn't listed for that.   That means changing to a meter-main outside the house, connected to the conductive ammeter equipment which is UL listed for this use, connected to your former main panel, which will need neutrals and grounds separated.

"But you only need an ammeter shunt"  all of the above applies to the shunt housing.

The ammeter equipment won't be cheap, because it'll be low production rate equipment made for industry.  I would expect it to be a triple ammeter intended for 480V, which is fine; use the third meter for neutral.  Are you sure inductive meters won't suffice?

Nothing wrong with induction-based ammeters for measuring the current of a known frequency.

Which is to say, there is no reason to doubt ammeter readings merely because they clamp on.

As such, a variety of consumer products provide exactly what you are looking for. The units are UL listed, obviously; they sit inside the service panel with clamps on the supply and also on some number of branch circuits.  The only thing that sticks outside the panel in a knockout, is a WiFi antenna.  Which elegantly solves another code problem, keeping mains and low voltage systems rigidly separated.

That is the way to go.  The existence of these products will deter anyone else from offering plain old hardwired ammeters at a consumer price.


What are the steps to map (and remove) unused electrical housing wire? Hello Stack Exchange,
I'm a new homeowner that bought a house originally built in 1920 and has been since remodeled. It is my understanding that the previous owner attempted to remodel and add wiring to the house, but all knob and tube wiring. Then, the next owner (a contractor) remodeled the home and simply removed the knob and tube and wired the house very confusingly. For example, we have several ceiling lights that now cannot be turned on due to issues in wiring.
I'm wondering a few different things:

Based on the pictures, I really don't know how safe this is, but I'd
love to hear some feedback from the community.
How do I go about mapping the electrical panel to each part of the house?
Is there a way I can remove (or relocate) some of the circuits that are now shut off? The previous owner had a hot tub (again, wired through knob and tube) and the contractor just shut the circuit off. So I'd like see if I can reuse it.
Finally, there are some live wires with cloth wire coating. Should these be replaced?

I'm definitely comfortable working with electrical wiring, so I'd like to give whatever I can a shot before calling in an electrician. Whatever feedback the community can give would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance, Dan

[

Identifying circuits
Step 1: Most of your breakers are labeled.  Start by checking the labels by turning them off one at a time and verifying that the indicated device was shut off.  Then make a list of all the lights and outlets, and all the breakers that are not yet matched.
Step 2: This requires two people with walkie talkies or cell phones.  Organize the unidentified lights and outlets into groups that can best be observed from a central location.  EG, several bedrooms can be observed from the upstairs hall.  Plug lamps, TVs, radios, whatever into the unidentified outlets.  One person stands in the basement and turns off each unidentified breaker in turn, one at a time, and the other stands in the central location and lets their partner know what lights and devices are shut off.   The person at the breaker box takes notes.   If you’re using cell phones to communicate turn off wifi on both phones because you’ll be turning your wifi network on and off frequently.  Repeat this exercise once for each floor at least.  Don't attempt to ID every single outlet at this stage.  Just most of the ones that can be easily observed using this technique.
Document all your findings on paper or a spreadsheet.  Don’t attempt to do it on the panel, there isn’t room there.
At this point you should have most of your outlets and all of your lights matched to breakers.  Some outlets will be unidentified because you just missed them, and some breakers will be unidentified for various reasons.
All the above will take about an hour.
Step 3a remaining outlets: Do this gradually over weeks or months.  Whenever you have an outlet that hasn’t been identified use a Breaker Finder (about $40) to figure it out (no partner required).  Buy one of these. and keep it handy.  You'll gradually identify all remaining outlets.
Step 3b remaining breakers: Turn off all the unidentified breakers.   Make sure all your critical devices (fridges, boiler, sump pumps, etc) are working.  Then leave them off, and you’ll gradually figure out what’s not working when you discover dead outlets or devices. You’ll likely find some of these quickly as odd random outlets in the kitchen, bathrooms, and hidden behind furniture.
Dealing with disused breakers and wiring
You may have unused wiring in your home where there used to be, e.g., the jaccuzzi, or window A/Cs if you now have central air, or electric appliances if you now have gas, and so on.  If your basement is unfinished you ought to be able to trace most of these visually.   You can remove the front panel from the breakers and literally trace the “off” circuits to wherever they go.  You want to make sure these wires are all correctly terminated in junction boxes.  If so you can leave them, or disconnect them at the panel and remove them from the panel, or remove them completely.
If disused wires are modern, safe, and safely installed you should consider, rather than removing them, re-using them instead to ensure that critical devices like fridges and all your wifi electronics have their own dedicated circuits.
You may find disused wires improperly terminated, e.g. just loose in the ceiling.  This could have been done by a non-electrician contractor removing an old A/C or other device.  Deal with those as above: Either put the end in a box, or disconnect and/or remove the wire entirely.
If you are going to physically remove a lot of wires from your breaker box, hire an electrician to do it.  There are dangerous permanently-on areas at the top of the box, and the more work you do near them, the more likely you are to make a careless mistake.
Dealing with older wires
Your wiring seems mostly upgraded and installed properly.  There is no knob and tube in any of your pictures.  There’s nothing that cries out to be replaced just for the sake of replacing it.  Are you sure you know what knob and tube is?  Look it up.   Post pictures clearly depicting what you think needs replacing because of its age or construction.  It's very unlikely that knob and tube was used for a hot tub, and if it was, I'd love to see the hot tub for historical interest.


Proper way to plug in generator cord? I recently purchased a Champion portable 5500W generator for use with my home's existing transfer switch. It has the familiar 30A L14-30R circular twist lock connector on it, that I use with a 40ft male->female power cord. Recently when I had my local electrician over, he plugged it in for me, we test fired it and it worked well.

But now that I'm going to be using it on my own, I'm obsessed about safety, particularly the steps you take to connect it to the house. This is what the electrician did:

Plug female end of cord into power inlet box on house
Start generator, and let it come up to speed
Plug male end into generator
Go to transfer switch - make sure all branch breakers being fed by transfer switch are off (this will prevent sudden loads when moving mains to GEN position)
Flip main breakers, one at a time, to GEN position, from LINE
Flip branch breakers being fed by transfer switch, one at a time, to ON position

My concern really lies with steps 1-3, as there seems to be a lot of conflicting information on the net. My generator manual clearly states NOT to start the generator with loads connected. However, there is a warning in the box for the power cord that I got to connect the cord BEFORE starting the generator! So this information seems contradictory...

There is also a YouTube video here with a guy plugging in the cord BEFORE he starts the generator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_6ZpziBF-4

I'm actually starting to think either way may be OK, as long as the transfer switch mains are in the LINE position, as that will cut power off from the inlet box, right? So there would be no chance of overloading the genny at startup.

Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated. There is so much misinformation out there it's ridiculous.

Since you have a proper transfer switch, you can safely connect the cord to both the inlet and the generator. As long as the switches on the transfer switch are in the LINE position, there should be no load on the generator.

Once you start switching from LINE to GEN, then the generator will start picking up the loads.

NOTE:

I'm not sure how your transfer switch is wired, but there should be no requirement to turn off the circuit breakers in service panel. The switches on the transfer device should handle that.  They should actually break the circuit when switching between LINE and GEN.  The switches will typically have three positions (LINE, OPEN, GEN), so that the circuit is always open before switching to one of the power sources.

Think of your transfer switch as having six contacts, with a shuttle that moves between two at a time.

When it's in the LINE position, the load is being supplied by the power company.

Since there's no load on the generator, you can plug it in and start it up.

As you switch to generator power, the transfer equipment will open the circuit as you switch.

When it finally reaches the GEN position, the generator will pick  up the loads.

So as long as the transfer switches are in the LINE or OFF position, you should be fine to start the generator with the cord connected.


Is switching my flourescent light fixures to LED fixures a DIY project? My house has a fluorescent light fixture that includes a ballast. I saw instructions here for changing it to a regular light fixture that I can use for LED bulbs instead. Is this a project that I should attempt on my own? Do I need to hire an electrician? I have switched numerous switches in my house so far, and I'm a decent learner, but I don't have vast amounts of electrical experience.

Fluorescent fixtures are fairly simple to work with. There are LED tube bulbs that will plug right into the system without touching the ballast, but these cost more and are less energy efficient. Upgrading your existing fixture to ballast-free LED's should be easy- mostly consisting of just removing and throwing away the old ballast and rerouting some wires. If your existing tubes are not T12 you would also have to change the tombstone connectors.

There is a better article to read here at EarthLED that describes different fluorescent tube replacements and how to use them. Here is a brief excerpt from the article:

  The oldest but also least expensive and most widely installed option
  is the ballast bypass or direct wire LED fluorescent replacement tube.
  Instead of building expensive circuitry inside to enable the function
  with a ballast, this option instead allows the user to bypass the
  ballast entirely and run directly off of the line voltage at the
  installation.


Fan on propane furnace not coming on I have a Honeywell model number NHGK076AF01 propane furnace. It is about 15 years old. The problem started when I noticed the breaker had tripped and I had no heat. After resetting breaker, I tried again. Everything goes as it should except when time for blower fan to come on. It doesn’t come on if in "auto" mode but if I put it in the "on" mode, the blower comes on and I have heat.

I replaced the limit switch L170-40 and still have the same problem. There is another limit switch in the blower area L1-40. I checked this one with ohm tester and it seemed OK - it was closed tester beeped. I am scared to let it run too long - two minutes maybe - and when the blower doesn't come on, I set to "on". Another thing is I'm not sure if it would trip the breaker again if I didn’t turn the blower on instead of limit switch turning everything off. I'm not sure what else to try. Funny the blower works in "on" position and not "auto". It also works fine when using ac. Thank you for taking the time to read.

This is a guess from the prints, your ac is probably on the high speed winding of the blower and the heat is on the low speed of the blower, when in ON it may use the high speed winding try disconnecting terminal 4 to the motor and make sure it doesn’t trip the breaker , this would narrow it down to the blower motor winding And you could use just the high speed winding until you can afford to replace the blower.


Big vertical crack in brick wall and loose bricks I cleaned off some loose plaster (which was evidently a patch) around hairline cracks and I found this. The 2 holes actually contained bricks which were glued in with plaster (I saved the bricks).

top of crack
bottom of crack.

The crack itself extends to the floor above and the floor below, but it seems to be at its widest on this floor (the floor above ground floor). The crack at its widest is approximately 6 mm.

The holes in the brick wall had a lot of brick dust in them as well. The hole on the left contained only one brick, behind that brick you can see more hole. This hole contained a large amount of brick pieces and dust and no brick. I do no know how far it extends; I can get a folding rule in directed upwards for 20 cm, but it might block at that point due to the angle.

left hole frontal view
left hole view viewed from an angle (from below the hole, looking upwards into it)
right hole (no extra holes here)

The wall is a supporting wall of a row house and is very old (build around 1900). Most other houses in the area were built later, including the houses that share a wall with this one. The area has suffered burning and bombardment during the 2 world wars. From what we can tell, the bricks in the wall are of inconsistent quality: some are brittle and prone to crumbling into dust, some are hard as concrete.

Based on when I bought the house and the information I received from the previous owner, the crack must have been patched 8 - 15 years ago. The patch was rather shoddy: just a single layer of plaster, pushed somehwat into the crack and spread around it on the surface. There are no signs of patching with mortar or of replacing bricks.

Now for questions:

How bad of a problem is this? If this was a fairly new house with little history, I would expect a crack of this size and length to indicate a structural issue. Given the construction materials at the time it was built, the age and the history of the house, I'm not sure. The fact that the patch applied by previous owner cracked again is worrying, but I would expect plaster backed by air to crack eventually. So I'm not really sure how bad of a problem this is (not the crack and not the damaged and missing bricks).
How do I fix this?

Suppose this is a structural issue and I should have it looked at. Should I leave it open until a structural engineer had a chance to look at it or would the pictures be sufficient?
If it isn't a structural issue and I can just patch it, what would be the best way to go about it? I would think to patch the crack in the bricks with mortar and then plaster over it (potentially with reinforcement in mortar and/or plaster), but I'd like to get some more opinions as I'd like to avoid having to patch it again in a decade.

Yes, get a STRUCTURAL engineer (not a CIVIL engineer) or an architect to look at the wall and do not cover anything up until he/she sees it. (Just pictures won’t do.) They’ll need to see in the inspection holes.

Yes, it’s a structural issue and it’s serious and it’s going to be expensive to fix.  The good news is: it’s just the wall, it’s not the foundation. (The crack is vertical, not diagonal and there is just one.)

When this wall was built, we didn’t know as much as we know now about building materials. That wall needs some reinforcement at the crack. This wall is built by stacking various types of bricks and blocks up...but no reinforcement. Bricks are good in compression, but terrible in tension. When the wall moves, and all walls move, it creates compression and tension. Reinforcing is needed to withstand the tension in the wall.


Breaker tripped under no load? Came home tonight and found my hall light didn't work when I flipped the switch. Went to the panel and found the breaker had tripped.

The only things on this circuit that I know of, based on what stopped working, are:
- hallway light
- closet light
- half bath lights and fan

All of these things were working this morning. I know because I used all of them. All of them were also turned off before I left. Normally, when,  I've seen a breaker tripped, there's something obvious like a hair dryer, space heater, or a short or ground fault. This one is so odd because it seems to have tripped while nothing was drawing current.

I have two theories:

The breaker is old and beginning to fail. I've read they can start to trip at random as they wear out. This house is over 100 years old. The electrical is definitely newer than that, but I am not sure how old it is. I suspect maybe sometime in the 90s at the earliest from looking at the panel labelling.
One of the switches for the listed lights shorted when I turned it off. If it was the last thing turned off, no one would have noticed anything. In this case, I suspect the closet light, as it's a pull-chain type fixture that doesn't seem well mounted. Maybe the wire shorted against the box?

So, here is my biggest question: can a failing breaker trip when there is no current drawn? That is, when everything on the circuit is off? If the answer is no, the problem is definitely a short or ground fault somewhere. If it can, I suppose I can replace the breaker.

I welcome the experts' advice. For the time being, I've left the breaker on the OFF position for safety.

This more of a comment than an answer, but I can't post comments because I don't have enough brownie points yet!

Anyway, had an identical problem at a home I used to live at.  First symptom was the circuit supplying the freezer in the garage kept tripping, so I thought dang, bad freezer. But plugged into another circuit and it was fine, no tripping.  The circuit the freezer used to be plugged into kept tripping.   Then we lost some outlets and lights in the living room (shared wall with attached garage).

OK, now what!?  Crawled up in the attic and found the cabling where it went thru the top plate had been chewed thru my mice!  There was a dead one right there in the hole.  But it only explained part of the problem because the living room lights were on a separate circuit.  I pulled some outlets to do continuity checks and they failed.   So I pulled the sheetrock off the garage side of the shared wall and found more mice had chewed thru cables along with a large mouse nest.  The electrocuted bodies where still there.  I counted my lucky stars the breakers did their job and my house didn't burn down.  Had to do a reasonable amount of re-wiring,  but again, very glad I had a Square D QO panel and not Zinsco panel!

I share this story because it sounds similar to your problem. Shorts and tripped breakers without known reasons are scary and cause for concern.  Good Luck.


Slide-out tray fence with only a drill Building some slide out panels inside kitchen cabinets, with only a drill at my disposal.

Bottom: I've selected drawer runners that mount to the bottom of the drawer, I'm thinking I use a slab of 15mm (19/32") plywood as the bottom.

Fence: Probably also use 15mm to build a 75mm (3") high fence around the perimeter to prevent stuff from sliding off.

Handle: Undecided on putting on a simple handle, but if I did I'd probably attach it to the bottom slab rather than the fence. Probably won't though.

So here is my question:
What options do I have in terms of joinery, given I have only a drill at my disposal. I don't have a pocket hole jig, I can't make dados easily, or create dovetails etc. I am thinking using a doweled butt joint is the only real option I have ... combined with glue throughout. This both to connect the fence pieces to one another, as well as to the base plate.

Would welcome any comments.

Adding information re. norcal johnny's comment

Trying to achieve something like this. This is most certainly a functional design, not so much a need to make it look pretty.

These are not the exact drawer runners I'm using, but indicate how the bottom slab would be mounted.

I can't show a photo of the current situation, as I'm not at the location where I'll be building this. Just preparing myself prior to the journey there. But, it's a situation very typical to the below. Drawer runners will already purchased.

Some table leg brackets and screws should be all you need, besides the rails which makes no difference in this concept.
Using table leg brackets will allow you to fasten and sandwich the pieces of wood material nicely with minimal unintentional industrial look. :P
4 Table leg brackets per drawer

Place one bracket on top of each corner of the plywood and screw to the plywood.

Next add the fencing around the sides and fasten with screws.

I was going to suggest other methods, like creating a table temp drill press in a table saw style and also using L-brackets but the more I thought of it, the more I realized this may simply be the easiest and best looking results. If you have any other concrens please feel free to ask. Cheers.


Should I do something about these cracks in the basement wall? I noticed some cracks in my basement wall that are bulging out.

Also, there are some patches and a vertical line near the corner where the material (I think it's plaster over the cement) is chipping off.

Outside, the foundation wall seems to be okay aside from some gaps in the caulking between the foundation wall and the cement walkway above the corner where the vertical crack is.

I don't really care about the cosmetic cracking, but should these examples be a cause for greater concern? I'm guessing I should repair that caulking job outside, but what, if any, further action should I take?

It looks like moisture under the skim coat has caused it to separate. To repair chip off the loose material and add a new skim coat and repaint. If you have a drainage problem this may continue to happen over time as the moisture working its way through the wall is the problem. Make sure all gutters drain away from the foundation. If you have a sump pump try to keep the water level low so the water has a tougher time making it in.


Skim Coating: Steps? Weight of joint compound? I need to skim coat a couple walls with a knockdown texture (example).

1) What are the steps I need to take? I've seen that I need to clean the walls with TSP? Should this be done along with sanding?

2) What weight of joint compoud should be used? I've seen Lite recommeneded, I've seen that it doesn't matter, I've seen super-lite. Which is best? It is my assumtion that lite is best so that it dries quicker and won't add as much extra weight to the wall, but I have no idea what I'm doing.

I've done a lot of skim coating, mostly on old plaster walls.

If you're thoroughly sanding the walls, using TSP is not necessary. Just vacuum and wipe the dust off after before you coat. If you're going directly over a painted surface then TSP or other cleaning is helpful.

I've used lightweight joint compound. I prefer the setting kind (that you mix from powder and sets after a fixed time) and find the 120min set to be easy enough to work with. Setting compound is incredibly sticky and provides a long-lasting finish.

Get yourself the right tools (esp. wide-blade knives) and give yourself some time/space to practice. It's an art.


good books on carpentry I have some experience with making basic furniture (beds, desks, shelving) and installing trim and fittings (hanging doors, replacing kitchens) and I am interested in learning how to get a better finish and make more sophisticated pieces.

What are the best books (or other resources) to learn about the subject, tools, techniques, etc? I'm not necessarily looking for the one best book that covers everything (although that would be nice!). But a selection of good quality ones.

Please only put one book per answer so they can be voted individually.

I'll post this here although I haven't actually read it, I currently have it on order as I plan on doing some built in bookshelves for my media equipment. A friend I know who makes his own furniture suggested it:
Illustrated Cabinetmaking


How can I prevent water buildup in a pit for a trampoline? A friend of mine is looking in to purchasing a trampoline for her garden. So it doesn't change the look too much she wants it lowered in to the floor. I mentioned that it might collect water, especially if she bricks up the walls.

What should be done to prevent this?

As long as she doesn't lower the frame of the trampoline itself, then she's fine there. Any kind of wall should be within the diameter of the trampoline frame or very close to it, nothing closer than the frame's inner diameter & nothing beyond the frame's outer diameter. Eliminating fall off & reducing overall fall height is good. But, many trampolines come with retention nets.

You're precisely right though, digging a pit for it will collect & hold water. She'll need to pump water out or install a catch basin that's piped for immediate drainage. If she can cut it into a downslope or hillside, then the pit must drain slightly downhill & out of a the backside or have an open trench outlet dug or a large pipe poked through any remaining hill.


Boiler pilot not lighting up I was unable to get pilot lit by pressing button and using lighter. So I tried my torch on the thermocoupler and turned the gas knob on and it came on, hence the picture. Yet the pilot light still is not on. So I don't think it's a bad thermocoupler but maybe a bad gas line to the pilot light.

Anyone knowledgeable about this?

Clean out the open end of the pilot light to make sure there is no debris interfering with the flow.

I have some ventless gas logs that if I leave off completely off for a season or two will get clogged and with spiderwebs and sand from the old masonry. Cleaning the pilot by blowing and brushing from the open side without any disassembly has fixed it for me.

(reposted from comment)


How to make chalkboard on the cheap I am a long-time user of Math SE but first time user here.

I have a small corner of my home turned into a studio where I do math tutoring via video conferencing. I have a big wall-mounted melamine panel served as my dry-erase whiteboard. Melamine panel works fine for my purpose and it costs only about $15 per 4'x 8'piece, but it gives out too much glare that lighting is always big issue. I am thinking about replacing it with a chalkboard. In the meantime I know these much about chalkboard:

(a) The best one is made of porcelain-on-steel, it is the one we usually see at school classroom. It's extremely durable (warrantied for 50 years,) makes good writing, erases cleaner but it is expensive.
(b) There are substitutes though, and the two that I know of are Masonite tempered hardboard and Dura-slate. They are non-magnetic, lighter and cheaper but won't last that long.
(c) Then there is special paint for chalkboard, but I ain't warm to the idea. First off, my wall is textured and I prefer method that does little harm to the wall. Secondly, I doubt hand-painting will produce smooth surface.
(d) Finally there is glass whiteboard, but it gives out same amount of glaring.

And here are my two questions:
(1) I think you can buy Masonite easily from Lowe's or HD. Do you know where to buy Duro-slate?
(2) Do you know of any other substitutes? I am not harboring any unrealistic expectation: As long as it is affordable, writes well with regular white chalk, erases easily with a regular eraser without having to resort to damped clothes each time, then I will be a happy camper.

Thank you for your time and help.

Duraslate will get you a roofing system, so stick to Duroslate if you want chalkboards.

[walmart, amazon and staples all claim to have those; others do as well.]

Adjusting light positioning, type (possibly adding diffusers) and camera angle on the whiteboard might be simpler/cheaper/faster. Not to mention less dusty.

The paint works fine if done right and can be applied to a piece of hardboard or plywood or even one side of your melamine board (might need to scuff sand first) rather than to the wall. Use a roller for best results.

Surplus chalkboards are dirt-common at every school remodeling project and presumably would be found in at least some architectural reuse (or salvage) facilities.


What can I do about my lawn growing unevenly/patchy? I last mowed about 3 weeks ago.  There are parts of my front and back yards where the grass looks like it's ready to be mowed again, but other parts that look almost the same as they did fresh after being mowed 3 weeks ago.  The longer areas are thick, green, and what you'd expect to see, but the shorter areas are brownish.  I have some patches in the backyard that are completely brown/dead and will need to be replaced.

The brownish areas don't get any less sunlight or water than the rest of the yard.  What is potentially causing this uneven growth?  What can I do to keep the grass growing more evenly and hopefully repair some of the existing damage without having to dig most of it up and plant new sod?

This depends on the type of grass and other conditions where you live.  I live in Houston and have St Augustine grass.  The following are common for my conditions.

Take-All Patch (Root Rot) : Very bad! Not much known on how its caused.  The roots just rot away and not a lot you can do about it. If you can reach down and pull a little and the rots come up, this is probably what you have
Brownpatch : A fungal disease that is really not an issue this time of year. It usually is caused by too wet conditions and cold nights.
Insects (Cinch Bugs) : Really bad in the summer for lawns that are poorly watered.
Watering : maybe you have a sprinkler zone not working? But if you have several smaller dead spots then its probably not watering issues.

Maybe post some pictures.  Also you can take the pics to an independent nursery in your area and they might be able to help.  Big Box stores aren't much help, but a small nursery with knowledgeable people can help identify common problems in your area.

Have you applied any particular fertilizer lately?  Any other products ?

Remember, I only know St Augustine, so if you have something else the above might not apply.


Pool pump plug trips when GFCI outlet receives power I have a GFCI outlet out by my pool. I have a timer switch inside that sends power to that outlet. My pool pump has a plug that is GFCI (I assume that is what a plug is called it has a test and reset button). Whenever my timer switch sends power to the GFCU outlet my pool plug GFCI trips. Push the reset and everything is fine. Unplug it and plug it back in works fine no problems. The only time it trips is when it is plugged in and the GFCI outlet receives power.

What is causing this and how can I fix it?

This sounds highly unusual some plug mounted gfci s need to be reset whenever they receive power but as you said you can unplug it and plug it in without having to reset it so I would check the wiring at the switch to make sure that it is breaking the hot wire and not the neutral also make sure the bare ground wire is not contacting the neutral at the outlet or in the switch box.


Black Greasy Substance inside my Copper Tubing, is it safe I recently opened some 3/4" copper tubing before my water softener to add in a sediment filter, and was surprised to see a black greasy substance inside all of the tubing, I notice the toilet bowls get a black film inside them within a day or two after cleaning them, We sometimes have a sulpher odor coming from the hot water, my question is is it safe to use it for all but drinking water? We do have an RO system for drinking water.

Sounds like you have black sulfur. Unpleasant, but not especially unsafe. You could get a water test and know in more detail what you have in your water.

Anecdotally, I lived in a house that had a very bad case of that for a year or two, carrying in drinking/cooking water, and it was never an issue, though if I was away for a week or two the first flow of water from the pipes was solid black until it flushed itself out. I don't miss living in that house.


Changing a gas fire place back into a wood fire place The house I am in has a fireplace that was originally wood burning, then turned into a gas fire place. What would be required to change it back?

First check to see if the damper is still there (the door at the top to close the chimney)
I would also have the stack inspected & cleaned by a professional .
If the top 2 things are good the gas line will need to be removed and the hole filled with fireplace mortar.
Put a grate and  doors/fire screen on and enjoy the fire .


Trim - Casing and Baseboard Installation I want to install more decorative baseboard in my existing home. I currently have 2.5" plain casing and 4.5 inch plain baseboard. I have three windows that have 1/2 inch gap between the top of the baseboard and the bottom window casing. I now want to install more decorative casing and molding. I can trim down the casing molding to a little over 2.5 inches, but I would like to keep my 5 1/4 inch baseboard. Can the baseboard and casing touch? Can I reduce the baseboard just under the window and bring it base up to its original width of 5 1/4 inches on the left and right side of the window. Any ideas would be most appreciated. Thanks

I would always run the baseboard consistently through a room.

So this suggests that you do something with the window casing. You could rip your window casing and have it touch the base... I don't think that would look terrible. Or (and I'm making assumptions that your window is cased 4 sides like a picture frame, here) you could install a stool/apron at the bottom of the windows and use a much smaller apron to give a bit of room between the base and the window.


How to fix cracked roof joist? I cut open my ceiling drywall to take a peek in my "attic" (about 20" of vertical space) before I go about having a skylight installed.  I have a flat roof and I noticed one of the rafter/joists is cracked.  The span of the board is approximately 13', the crack is what you see: less than 2'

Is the fix to simply sister (screw) a 3' length of 2x8 to the problem area?
I don't really have access to the other side of the board unless I cut another access hole in the ceiling which I'd like to avoid.

Yes, but a few feet longer than the defect on either side. If you were to look at all of your joist, this is probably only one of many that would have a similar defect.


Separate panel for house in garage - how much capacity do I reasonably have left? I've tried doing some research on my own, but I'm coming up short. I'm looking at getting a Tesla wall charger installed in my home. Tesla recommends a 60A breaker so that the charger can run at 48A, although it can be adjusted to run on smaller circuits, all the way down to 15A.

My home has a main panel on one side of the house:

I assume the breaker labeled 'House Panel' (90A) feeds the panel in the garage:

If the garage panel can only support 90A, is there even really enough capacity to support a wall charger feeding off it? If the range takes ~30A and the dryer takes ~25A, we're at 90A-(30A+25A)=35A left over without running any lights, the fridge, TV, computer, etc.

Am I mistaken in thinking that, with the current configuration, if I wanted to power the wall charger off the garage panel, it would be inadvisable to go higher than, say, 20A, leaving 15A for the rest of the house? It's not impossible that all three big-current-draw items (dryer, range, charger) could be running simultaneously in normal use.

Supposing I wanted to run the charger at 40A, would I need to get the service back to the garage panel upgraded from 90A to 110A?

I'm out of my depth here and trying to make sense of these breaker ratings. Please, let me know if I have some fatal misconceptions. :-)

Go 60A on the Tesla charger.

You'll thank me later.

Your main panel has the capacity for it, so let's just bite the bullet and do it.

You can serve it out of the main panel without any trouble.  6/2 cable and you're done.

If you want, instead, you could replace that 90A cable with a 150A cable.  At that point you can put the 60A charger in the big subpanel.  I presume your awesome 40 space sub has 200A busing.  However I think that will net out to a lot more money.


What would cause my LED tape to flash when plugged in? I just removed our new tape lighting and plugged it in. The brand name is Patriot Lighting 12 volt 16.4' flexible LED tape light.

All it does is flash on and off.  Any suggestions?

CFLs and LEDs can be very sensitive to leakage currents, especially when 'turned off'.  It doesn't take much leakage to make them flash.  Lutron has a line of dimmers that are adjustable that should help.


flow of water through a one inch id inlet pipe through a half inch water meter Our inlet pipe of water supply from municipality is half inch id
The water passes through a water meter having half inch connection.
If we increase the diameter of the inlet pipe to one inch id and retain the same half inch meter, would it result in more supply of water at the outlet, or would it create a bottle neck

A 1" water meter is a large meter. We have a 5/8" meter for a 2000 sq ft house on a 10 000 sq ft lot.  I think this is standard here in  Dallas.

It may actually make sense to have a meter which is smaller than the subsequent supply line that goes from the meter to the house. The resistance to flow of a section of pipe is inversely proportional to the cross sectional area but is also directly proportional to the length. So if the supply line is  long then it should be larger than the meter or the supply line will be the major resistance. You need to get the details from local plumbers and the city.

Some cities have higher mains pressure than others and so smaller meters would be OK.

In our case the 5/8" meter is at the street and a 3/4" (or 1"?) supply line goes from the meter 30 ft to a set of valves and Tees in a box near the slab foundation. The main line going to the house under the slab is 3/4". This reduces to 1/2" at various Tees.

EDIT
I misunderstood the question, but I think I understand it now. You want to know if the city should increase the size of the inlet pipe to the meter if they change to a larger meter, right?

That is a decision for the city. I suppose they have a protocol for that and you would just ask them what they do. Changing the meter or changing the city valve is done all the time, but I doubt that they will change any piping before the valve. I think the city would do what is necessary to have a higher flow rate that a larger meter would allow.


Corrosion on copper pipes due to insulation (with foam) My incoming water pipe is copper and it is a brand new installation with no leaks.  But due to the hot humid weather (even in the basement) it sweats due to condensation.  Should I insulate it?

The problem is last year I insulated some copper pipes only to find a year later that they all corroded due to the water trapped between the pipe and the insulation.

I wouldn't bother insulating your incoming cold water pipes.  If your basement is warm, the water will warm up a little passing through it, but the solution to that -- if you need it -- is to let the cold water run for a little until you're see water that hasn't been sitting around in your pipes getting warm.  I say "if you need it" because I generally don't care what temperature my cold water is: drinking water for me comes from a pitcher in my fridge; tap water is used for washing food, mixing with hot water for bathing, or watering plants.

If you're concerned about the condensation from your pipes dripping onto things, I'd be more inclined to get a dehumidifier and run it while you've got this hot, humid weather.


How can I get a wire that is outside a wall to be inside a wall I recently removed an abominable drop ceiling from my dining room and found this close to the ceiling on the one side of the room.

There is definitely a stud between these two holes. On the other side of the wall, there is another wall perpendicular to this one, so I'm thinking there is several studs there and that's why someone did this.

My question is what would be the logical steps I should follow to get this into the wall?

EDIT: I figured out what is on these wires. This loop has four light fixtures and two outlets on it. In the room next to it is a drop ceiling (that I have not removed yet since the frame of it is supporting an air duct (thanks previous owner...) and there are two more wires just like this one, though much further from the receptacle--probably a good 10-15 ft in each direction. So to do the method described in the answers would work for the wire in the picture, but it sounds like a lot of work for a long run.

You will need to remove that portion of the drywall, which shouldn't be that big of a deal anyway because you will need to do drywall repair for the two holes as it is.

Turn off power to that circuit!  If you are unsure which circuit this wire belongs to then shut off the main power just to be safe.  You don't want to risk injury by accidentally cutting that wire or possibly other wires that you can't see.
Determine to the best of your ability if the perpendicular wall is load bearing.  If you have any suspicions at all then stop, you are done.  You won't want to do the drilling steps described below on a load-bearing wall. It would be best for you to disconnect this wire and re-run it.
Locate the closest outlet or junction box that this wire goes to on any side.  Test it to make sure there is no power.  Temporarily disconnect the outlet from the wire(s) and if there are any clamps on the wire in the box then temporarily loosen or remove them if possible.  If it is a newer style box with Romex-style wire clamps on the outside, this may not be possible, so you should stop.  The wire is clamped and possibly also stapled into studs or joists.  You won't be able to pull it out from the hole in your picture.  I would deactivate and rerun the line at this point.
If the clamp in the outlet box is loose then have a buddy look at the wire in the picture and see if it moves when you pull and shake on it.  If so then that means it was a crappy DIY job and he didn't staple the wire down like he was supposed to.  This is good because it means that you can pull it out and rerun it through a different hole.  Not yet however.  If the wire doesn't move at all then that means there is another outlet or junction box before this or that the wire is stapled down, meaning you will never be able to rerun this without tearing down obscene amounts of drywall.
Locate the studs.  If you have a fancy pants stud finder then use it to locate and mark the positions of the studs on the facing wall and also possibly the perpendicular wall.  If you do not have such a tool then use a strong magnet to find where the nails are, this is where the studs will be.
Drill a small hole halfway around the center of the stud at the top left of the rectangle you will cut out.  This will allow you to fit a keyhole or drywall saw into to start cutting.
After cutting out that rectangle the perpendicular wall will be exposed.  Inspect the path of the wire and see if can it be easily pushed through back to the outlet.  If so then tape up the end of the wire at the box and tie off a thick fishing line or strong twine to the end of it.  When you pull the wire, it will take the fishing line with it, giving you something on the other end of the outlet that you can pull on to help direct it through holes and other paths.  If the path is long or there are some crazy bends or very small tight stud holes that you can see then this may not work very well.  At that point the wire should be disconnected and a new line should be rerun.
Drill a hole through the necessary studs so the wire will run properly behind the drywall.  Disconnect the fishing line and run it through the new holes, then re-attach the fishing line to the wire.
On the outlet end start pulling gently and slowly while a buddy helps feed you wire from the other end.  The fishing line will help properly navigate the wire back to the outlet box.  If you get hopelessly stuck and don't mind cutting more drywall to see what you are getting snagged on, then proceed, otherwise call it a loss and disconnect the wire.
The wire is back at its home!  Reconnect everything back in the outlet or junction box as it was.  Turn the power back on.  If nothing tripped then you have no shorts.  Test all affected outlets, and switches on that circuit to make sure they all still work properly.
Cut out a rectangle of drywall that fits mostly inside what was cut out. screw it into place, tape and mud the edges two or three times using progressively larger mud knives until everything is smooth.  Leave for a day or two to cure then primer and paint.  You are done.