Mysterious sound coming from basement, related to water pipes At times I hear these banging sounds (not very loud) when in my living room. I go to the basement (below the room) and it sounds like it's in the ceiling (finished basement). I put my ear to the wall and try different locations to hone in on the location.

At first I thought there was a mouse in there, but it's not consistent with animal sounds. I checked the hot water heater (next room over) but don't hear anything. Now, recently I discovered that when I turn off the main water valve, the sound goes away.

Keep in mind that no water is running in the house at this time. Also, there are no leaks to be found anywhere. When I do put my ear on the hot water heater I hear noises but I'm not convinced it's occurring there.

My latest theory is the sound is being amplified somehow between the floors, perhaps the pipe is moving slightly. But as for what may be causing the pipe to make noise I have no idea.

I do have very high water pressure in my area. The house has a pressure reducer but I've busted a few garden hoses which are not on the reducer.

I tried recording the sound but it's so subtle that my phone playback does not indicate it. It is noticeable enough upstairs that my wife and I stare at each other in horror when it happens

Any ideas? Thanks

It's probably just the pipes expanding and contracting under temperature changes. They can bind on an anchorage, then suddenly break loose. The floor and pipes do reverberate, amplifying the sound. The tension release and sudden movement can be very small, yet the resulting sound rather startling.

If you can identify where the pipe is hanging up, you can replace the anchor with one that has a plastic liner that is resistant to binding. Or simply loosen the anchor or remove it, wrap the pipe with cloth tape, then reinstall the anchor.

It can be difficult to locate all the pops and creaks, they seem to come from nowhere sometimes. You should at least be able to quiet the worst offenders.


How to tell if lightly clogged shower drain has a venting problem? I have a shower drain that was snaked a few months ago and has started having a very light back up again. After maybe 5 seconds of unenthusiastic plunger work, it clears up just fine. But come back an hour later, run the water again, and it backs up again - even if no one has actually used the shower.

Draino and the like haven't resolved anything. We snaked a second shower at the same time, but haven't had a problem with it since then. No other drains seem to back up. We also got an external drain cover to capture more hair, etc after the snaking to try to keep the clogs down so I would hope it's not more hair.

So it's making me think maybe something with the waste line for this shower? Are there some ways to test this? If that is the problem, is there anything to be done without getting into the walls?

One option is to get a camera or find a plumber who has a camera that can feed it into the drain to actually see what the issue is.

Another if you're concerned the problem is the vent is to go on the roof and snake the vent.

The issue could be anything from an object that went down the drain lodged in the pipe that the snake goes by without clearing to roots which will grow back over time.


My husband left the water running from the hose and the well is dry! My husband was refilling the hot tub and left the hose on. I have arrived at our cabin to find the well is obviously dry. After reading some of the comments on the site I have unplugged the non submerged pump but have no idea what else to do. I have no experience with wells. This is a new property with a new well shared by one other household. What next?

Give it time. Most wells have a pretty consistent "production rate" based on underground geography (maybe there is a better word).  I've grown up around wells all my life and every one is different.

Give the well time to recharge (let water refill the well drill pipe. )

Because the well ran dry and the above ground pump started "sucking air" it may need to be re-primed. Not a hard procedure to do.

We can help you with specific instructions if you let us know more details of your well system, pump, well logs (drilling logs) drawdown tests.  But esp. the details of your pump so we can help you safely restart it.   Some wells with limited capacity have controls in place to prevent damage to a pump in the case of excessive draw.  That would be another important thing for us to know.


Can I wire a GFCI outlet with 3 hots and 3 neutrals? Can I wire a GFCI outlet with 3 hots and 3 neutrals?? I understand line and load but manufacturer says you cannot wire if you have more than 4 wires not including grounds. Why is that??

I thought I should expand on my comment and others about box fill.
With 3 hots 3 neutrals and at least 1 ground (I hope) using 14 gauge wire the calculation would be 7 conductors x 2 cubic inches + 2 more if there are clamps in the box. The device requires 4 cu inch so your box would have to have a a total 18 cu inch or 20 cu inch if it has clamps. NEC table 314.16.B.
 The largest listed box per table 314.16.A (single gang) is 3 X 2 X 3-1/2 with a volume of 18 cu inch. if you have 1 12 gauge wire or clamps in the box your plan would violate the box fill criteria for a single gang box.

#14 wire each conductor counts as 2.  #12 each conductor counts as 2.25 you only have to count 1 ground wire (no matter how many are in the box but the largest size must be used).
The device is 2X the largest wire size connected to it. 1X for clamps based on the largest wire size.

The last thing is the box volume must be stamped on the box or the volume from table 314.16.A used.  Measuring the box will not give the proper volume per code requirements. For example the 3 x 2 x 3-1\2 box would calculate at 21 cubic inches but code only allows 18 cubic inches for the box fill calculation.

I hope this helps clarify what is being said about box fill. some GFCI's do run warm and stuffing them in a over filled box can lead to a wiring and or device failure.


Is it safe to remove part of the drywall behind plumbing to eliminate noise? We've had a noise when water is draining from upstairs bathroom since we moved in 13 years ago. Now that we have the wall open on one side for other reasons I can see that the PVC drain isn't parallel to the wall and is rubbing the drywall behind in the section in the photo, specifically the wider joint on the bottom of the Y, possibly the upper part of the Y as well.

I know that the drywall (originally 1950s) is very thick, (probably 3/4 of an inch). I've wondering if I can somehow remove part of the thickness of the drywall to put an air gap. My other option is to cut the drywall out and then replace with thinner drywall but I'm not sure how to attach it, I usually use wood pieces attached to the studs for a nailing surface but there isn't really room.

EDIT: I've been working with a screwdriver on the left side and removing material. I can't get the screwdriver in on the right side well because of the stud. Any other tools I might use?

I'm guessing you have a transitional hybrid plaster, where you have 3/8" gypsum panels behind and about the same plaster in front. This makes your wall very robust, so yes, you can carve it out a bit. Try not to go more than about 1/3 the total thickness of the wall panel as a whole, and only remove the paper facing where necessary. That's really what provides the strength with the gypsum panels.

I would carefully cut the paper around the carving site, then use flat screwdrivers and other tools to gently dig out the gypsum as needed.

If the trough becomes substantial, you could reinforce the back side (which we see in your photo) by bonding some blocks or plywood using construction adhesive and screws to the stud alongside. I'm guessing that the contact is only at the joint hub, though, which means the carving will be small enough to not warrant reinforcement.


Can I use existing #4 wire to supply a 15A outlet? I have a 2 part question.

Can you connect an existing 4 gauge wire to a 15 amp breaker? (The wire is already there, instead of me pulling everything out.)

Can I connect this 4 gauge wire to a 14/2 cable and run it underground to a GFCI outlet on the fence post?

Yes you can put 4 awg wire on 15 amp breaker.
However with this size wire you will find nothing fits a #4 directly so you will need to get a splice.
splices that actually connect wires as large as 4 awg to wires as small as 14 awg  the part number is 971022 Morris.  I just happen to have a dozen on my desk.
you can find them for ~6$ ea . Depending on how far away the receptacle is this could be both a big savings and no voltage drop issues. Or just easier than pulling a new line but it is totally code compliant to do this.
There are other brands of these connectors / splices like Polaris I just happen to have the exact model you need on my desk (they are very handy).


How to use Ideal 92-650 F connectors on RG-6 quad shield cable? I bought a 50 pack of Ideal 92-650 compression F connectors. They're advertised to work on RG-6 and RG-6 Quad Shield cable. However, as I and other reviewers found, it's very difficult to push these connectors onto quad shield cable (normal RG-6 and tri-shield cable is OK).

When I do get them on, sometimes I've crumpled the foil shield in the process. Others have had problems with this as well. Does anyone have any tips for working with this connector or others that are too tight for RG-6Q?

First to be clear you want to strip and fold back correctly.  Regular RG6 has these layers from the inside out:

center conductor
dielectric
foam
foil
braid
jacket

Quad shield RG6 has an additional foil and an additional braid, so it's like this from the inside out:

center conductor
dielectric
foam
inner foil
inner braid
outer foil
outer braid
jacket

So there's more material to fold back, and if it doesn't get folded back out of the way, you're going to get hung up inserting the connector.

When you strip the cable, you want to strip back 1/4" from the tip all the way to the center conductor, and another 1/4" of the jacket.  Then you fold back the outer braid, tear off the outer foil, fold back the inner braid, leave the inner foil on the dielectric.

If you fold everything back, and nothing gets tangled while inserting the connector, it should go in just a little tighter than regular RG6.


How can I prevent wall patches from affecting paint sheen? I am trying to paint a wall. I have applied wall putty to cracks in the wall, applied one coat of wall primer (solvent based) then applied one coat of oil based paint.

Where there was no wall putty applied the sheen of the paint is fabulous. On the other hand over the wall putty there are spotty patches of flat paint (with no sheen) even after two coats of paints.

How to avoid this?

Using a primer sealer will help, with that said without texture being applied unless the wall was smooth it will always look different, a photo of the area would help provide a better answer.


Is it possible to have a reasonably soundproof sliding door to a bedroom? We are planning a major house refurbishment, and in particular changing doors to two bedrooms. Our architect came up with this idea to put really wide sliding doors in, to get nice space after they are opened. I am a bit concerned with sound proofing though. Is it possible to make sliding doors reasonably soundproof? If yes, how?

If you have the money there are some fantastic barn door style sliding doors made of solid wood that should give you better sound deadening than a normal hollow core interior door.

Any door made of solid wood or even foam core doors will perform better than glass or hollow core doors as far as sound deadening is concerned. The thicker the better.

Pretty is one thing but practical is another. I think solid wood does both.


Would this air conditioner setup work? Forgive me for my poor paint skill:

I have this small room, one door, no windows, one skylight. I'm planning to buy a portable air conditioner and put the hot air pipe near the lower area of the skylight, pressed against the mosquito net. Note that air will still be able to pass through all the net, not only the part near the pipe.

Room is about 3x3m width, 2.5m height. Skylight is about 1x1m width, 2m height.

The plan is that hot air should be able to get outside because it leaves the pipe with a certain speed and also hot air should go up because that's what hot air does.

During the day, when the air conditioner will be on, all windows in the rest of the house will be closed, so air should have no reasons to enter from the skylight. But even if they were open, 90% of the time air flows from windows to the skylight.

My doubts are:

Will hot air really go out?
In the "all windows are closed"
case, if air goes out, it must also get in somewhere... the rest of
the house is like six times the size of the room and in the kitchen
(the furthest room) there are two small holes in the wall (10cm
radius) for security reason (in case of gas leaks).

EDIT:
The air conditioner that I'm looking at doesn't have a second input pipe, so I guess it will pull air directly from the room, and the room will pull it from the skylight. Now... It might create an air flow like the one in the updated picture where most of the hot air still get's out, or just suck back the hot air inside... What's the most probable outcome? Even if I find one with the input pipe, it will be useless if I can't put them both outside AND far from each other right? If so, I guess I'm out of luck...

Except you are pumping hot air out of the room.  You are trying to create a vacuum in the room, and nature abhors a vacuum.  It will push an equivalent amount of air back into the room via every possible path, in proportion to their air resistance.

Most likely it is simply going to push air down your skylight, handing your hot air right back to you.

Most of those portable air conditioners that put a hose on the condenser output, also have options to also put a hose on the condenser input. You'll want to figure that out.

keep in mind you only drew the two air conditioner outputs.  There are also two air inputs - one to the condenser, and one to the evaporator (which outputs cold air).  On most units they are separate, or at least separable.

Since only the condenser output leaves the room, only the condenser input needs to be drawn from outside the room.  The evaporator outputs into the room, so the evaporator input can also be inside the room.


Where should I place nails when installing crown molding? Is there any particular place on the crown molding where I should position a nail (middle, inside creases, top, bottom, multiple locations)?

What is important when nailing crown molding is hitting a solid background. This can be plates for small crowns or studs. What I prefer to do is add a profile (triangle) piece of scrap wood, such as mitered plywood or ripped 2X4 stock into the corner and nail it into the plates and studs. No problem if you miss or have to use a lot of nails to find a good solid backer because it will be covered by the crown.  Now when you go to nail the crown, you will have a good nailer everywhere.  I usually use nails along the top edge down 1/2 inch from edge and same along the bottom edge.  This helps close any gaps along the ceiling and wall. You can go back after and fill any gaps with painters caulk and touch up to match the crown (if painted) or the wall/ceiling colors respectively.


Could bad grounding cause sparks and fire when connecting the cable box and TV? I just moved into a home built in 1955. During inspection, it was noted that none of the outlets were grounded even though they had three prong outlets installed.

Per our agreement, the owner supposedly grounded all the sockets using a licensed electrician. During our final walk through, the owner's general handy man told us he rewired everything. I unfortunately didn't think anything of it.

Come to move in day. The cable installer shows up. When plugging the HDMI cable into the TV, the cable box sparks and catches fire and the TV is dead. Scorched and melted HDMI ports on both end.

The cable installer assumes a bad box, gives me a new box. We try again with new everything (cable box, power cords, HDMI cable, TV). This time we notice the HDMI sparks like mad when making contact with the HDMI port in the TV. Luckily we were wary this time and didn't actually plug the cable in.

At this point I'm suspecting the "unhandy" man botched the grounding on the outlets. I'm getting an electrician out here Monday to take a look. Right now I'm avoiding plugging anything in with a three prong power cord.

Any thoughts? Does my hypothesis sound correct?

Links to pictures. http://imgur.com/a/8sjx1

Suspicions confirmed. The guy didn't even cheat. He hooked the hot wire to the ground, he should of at least used the neutral cable to boot leg it.

This is a very suspicious situation.

Adding a proper ground to every receptacle in the house is no small feat, it's weird that the handyman just casually mentioned that he did it. I believe the only correct way to do it would be to run a new ground wire of the proper size back to the service panel where it can be connected to the grounding rods.

Perhaps the handy man just used pigtails to ground to the box, as @SpeedyPetey says. Or maybe he connected the ground to the neutral, which would be good enough to fool an outlet tester. Or maybe he accidentally connected the ground to the hot side, which might explain your sparks. (Many appliances have their metal housing connected to ground. If the exterior of one of your appliances was actually electrified that would explain the sparks.)

If you have a simple outlet tester you could start with that, but it will not detect all faulty conditions like a ground / neutral swap or connection. You could also shut the power off and pull one of the receptacles off the wall, to see if you can tell what kind of grounding, if any, is actually there.

I suspect you will want to get an electrician and your real estate agent involved.


Shower/Tub caulk cracking on new bathroom shower We had our bathroom remodeled recently and I noticed the caulk starting to crack around the tub. Upon further investigation it seems this caulk is very poor quality and dissolves when wet.

Are there any good quality bath/shower caulks that are not 100% silicone? I really don't like the shiny look of silicone and it attracts dirt quickly.

Another tile contractor used a nice caulk (looks like sanded grout) in my other shower that was color matched to the grout but I can't find it available any the big box stores. The brand is c-cure http://www.flooringsupplyshop.com/setting-materials-n-more-83/grout-caulk-thinset-n-more-142/c-cure-caulk-sanded-986-793.html

I'm very hesitant to redo this until I find the right caulk. I'd appreciate any recommendations for a high quality non-shiny caulk that doesn't crack. Thanks

Latex is another common caulking material. Sounds like you're looking for something like this:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Custom-Building-Products-Polyblend-09-Natural-Gray-10-5-oz-Sanded-Ceramic-Tile-Caulk-PC0910S/100678060


Should the underside of a deck be stained? When one stains a wooden deck, should they stain the underside of the deck too?

This question is somewhat opinion based, but I'm going to answer anyway. If it's just a stain  or oil, rather than a more solid surface/coating finish like Varathane, you're probably OK to just stain one side.
With a solid coating, the problem is the wood will absorb moisture at different rates on the top of the deck from the bottom. This can lead to cupping, warping because wood "moves" with moisture.   If you are in an area that's dry most of the time, that would be less of an issue. Here in Western Washington, where we get a lot of rain and it can be quite humid at time, it's a consideration when finishing wood that will be outdoors.  Personal note: I would never again build a wood deck here, too much maintenance and short life span.
EDIT:  Giving credit to JimmyFix-it's comment, I'm adding to my answer.
Using a solid surface coating like Varathane or Urethane, etc. usually ends up being a disaster in just a few years if the wood is directly exposed to weather (rain, snow, sun), even without seasonal wood movement.  It will crack, peal, split and to re-finish you have to sand most of it off!  Penetrating oils also require maintenance every few years, but often just a good cleaning followed by application of the oil.  If you want that "new wood" look, it might require a light sanding first, but much easier to deal with than a solid surface coating. Products generically referred to as "wood brightener's" can also be used to remove stains, mildew, etc. but I find that a light sanding works pretty well.


How to install linoleum floor under carpet? I am replacing an old linoleum floor in my bathroom (replacing it with just another linoleum floor).  It looks like the current linoleum floor was installed prior to the carpeting and the edge by the door is under the carpeting (see the picture below).  How can I remove the old linoleum without damaging how the carpet is attached?  And then when I put the new linoleum down, how can I get it under the carpeting again so the door edge of the linoleum does not roll up?

I don't see any nail-heads or screw-heads in the carpet edge trim, so you probably have one like this:

You might be able to save it, but they're cheap so I'd just replace it with a new one.  Pry it up taking care not to damage the door trim.  The carpet in the door opening should be loose enough that you can get access to the linoleum underneath (there may be a tack strip across the opening but you should still have a little room to play with). Finish removing the old linoleum flooring, then install the new flooring, gluing it down as you would normally.  Remove the old edge trim from the carpet -- I'm familiar with ones that are folded onto the carpet edge to hold it, so just bend it back.  Install the new one at the edge of the linoleum.  Push the carpet into the new edge trim, making sure it's taut, then bend the trim down to hold the carpet; use a piece of 2x4 cut to the width of the opening so that it bends evenly.


Exterior light fixture Exterior light: what do I do with the bare wires after I connect them? Do I connect it to the screw going into the housing on the wall? Or do I just put a wire nut on it the way I did the other two?

This is the switch that goes to the exterior light (I was asking what I do with the bare wire). After I fix the switch, I still need to know what to do with the bare wire.

The bare copper wires are your ground wires. They don't need to be connected to the box because it's non metal. The grounds are all crimped together in the box as they should be. Once you replace the broken switch, the ground wire in the box should be attached to the green screw on the switch. At the fixture location, the bare copper ground needs to be attached to the fixture ground wire with a wire nut. If the fixture box is metal, then the ground wire needs to be attached to it. Any bracket needed to mount the fixture should also be connected to the ground.


mold into dishwasher I come home from a week away to find that I left a few dishes in the sink, oops, and one of them has signs of life.

Would it be unwise to put the moldy mug in the dishwasher?  Should I first soak it with bleach or the like?

While the high temps typically used in a dishwasher will kill a lot of life and will probably suceed in doing so with this dish, no you should do something to it first.

The dishwashers instructions certainly advise you to essentially clean dishes before putting them into the dishwasher. Anytime food or other "solid matter" is left on a dish, it will go to the diswashers drain, and it may very well stay there.

You are potentially likely to add the mold (alive or dead) to the filter, the grinder, etc, and promote clogging. Not to mention a small chance of smell or more rot to occur. Why risk it?

Flush the contents of the cup if its sensible, throw the contents in the trash, rinse the contents down the drain, etc. Wipe it with a paper towel if you feel that will help.

Then dish wash away.


Can I replace an old closet light with multiple electrical outlets? I have asked a family member to replace an old light fixture in a large walk in closet with an actual electrical strip. The house is an 101 year old craftsman. There aren't any electrical outlets in that corner of the small house. The closet(has windows so it will be my office) I will need electricity for  desktop pc, printer, at least one light, and just outside the closet I need to run at least two more lamps. Is that safe? Is it too much? We won't be doing iside wiring. Again only an old light fixture that has electrity running though an old fashion "flex tube" for lack of a better word.It is on the outside of the wall. ANY precautions or ideas?

The best answer to this is to leave the light as a light and have a qualified electrician run a three wire circuit (hot, neutral, ground) direct to your soon-to-be office. Your modern equipment needs it and disturbing any old turn of the century wiring is asking for disaster.

Having lived in an old house with Range, Pump and four circuits, adding any extra load to an ancient system without upgrading the wiring is a good indicator for having several fire detectors located in strategic places and keeping their batteries up to date.


High Water Bill - No Leaks Four months ago I moved into a house built about 10-11 years ago. With our first water bill, billed semi-monthly, we were billed a usage of 3750 gallons. Our next bill showed a usage of 9100 gallons. I raised the flag to the utility and they sent a tech. No one was home and the tech said there was no leak indicated at the meter.

It is just my wife and I. We've evaluated the "usual suspects." We haven't had overnight guests. We don't water the lawn. And we don't wash our cars at the house. I then thought I should turn off the supply to the only external bib, just in case I had been the victim of theft.

A few days later I realized I didn't release the trapped water. I went out back, turned on the water and: Nothing. No trapped water, bone dry. Now, I live in the Mid-Atlantic and it hasn't been unseasonably hot but it hasn't been particularly cold either. So I wonder if the water had dripped out/evaporated OR someone had attempted to turn on the water with the source turned off.

My question, then is two-fold:
1) What other reasons could be causing that increase in water usage?
2) Could the trapped water have escaped without turning it on?

Thanks in advance.

Make sure all the bills you look at are based on actual meter reads. Some utilities will estimate some of the bills (say, every other bill) based on historical data to avoid having to come check the meter as often. Since you haven't been in the house very long it's possible they're using historical data from last year (maybe the previous residents filled up a pool in the summer, or watered the lawn?).

If that's not the issue, see if you have access to the water meter. If so, write down the reading before you leave the house for the day and then again when you come home.

Also note that a "typical" (whatever that means) person uses about 50 gallons/day, which for you should work out to about 6000 gallons per billing cycle. So these numbers don't seem way out of line.

EDIT: reading over these numbers now I can't help but notice that over your two billing cycles you are averaging 50 gallons/person/day, which is exactly the EPA's "typical" number. I wonder if your first bill was estimated and the second one was high to make up for it.

Also, I think the faucet thing is a red herring. If the faucet was leaking thousands of gallons you would notice it. And there's no way for someone to steal a meaningful amount of water from an outdoor spigot.


Relay requirements for Heatpump Thermostat I would like to understand if three 3-relays are enough to control a heatpump.  As I understand it, 24V AC is applied to:

Green: Fan
Yellow: Cool
White: Heat

When designing a network connected controller, are there any other circuits that should be controlled by a relay?

Don't forget the reversing valve!

While a normal air conditioner outdoor unit only needs a single control signal to it to turn the compressor (and condenser fan) on and off, a heat pump needs a minimum of two control signals: one for turning the compressor on and off, and a second for the reversing valve that selects whether the heat pump is heating or cooling.  Furthermore, there's no set standard for which "way" the reversing valve signal works.  Most heat pumps use an "O" signal, often keyed to an orange wire, that is energized to put the heat pump in cooling mode; however, Rheem/Ruud units use a "B" signal, often keyed to a blue wire (with a different color used for C), that is energized to put the heat pump in heating mode, instead.


Is there a way to find rebar in concrete walls? I was wondering if there is a way to find the tie rods and also plastic electrical conduit in concrete walls. In Ecuador all walls are made from poured concrete and plastic conduit is run. But it all tends to disappear. IS there some sort of xray way of finding the hidden PVC pipes, Tie rods and plastic conduit?

X-ray? Sure they do this often in commercial buildings but it's probably well outside of something that is cost effective in a house.

A metal detector would locate the rebar and a tone generator could be used on a wire in the conduit in order to locate it.


Repair gouges in a particle board desk? A few years back, I bought a $500 studio producer desk. It's made of particle board and has been through more than a few moves and has received a proper beating over the years:

Is there any way for me to repair this, now that it's been done? I thought of possibly using something like Bondo, but this seems like overkill. Do I have any other options?

Depending on how closely you're going to try to match the original finish (or if close enough is close enough) you could use wood filler.  This product is basically saw dust and glue.  Most of them are stainable, so you could fuss with it to match your desk's finish.

This is an example, I am not affiliated in any way with any company in the link, just the first thing on google.


Should I replace my GFI outlet with a GFI breaker? My bathroom, like most, has a GFI outlet. It trips ALL the time even thought nothing is plugged into any outlet. I know people say they go "bad" all the time but it seems silly how mine is set up. It will trip when I turn on the lights every month or so. When it does, the entire bathroom loses power instead of just that plug.

This set up seems to be the same for my office and all of my outside outlets. Both 20 amp circuits have a single GFI plug on a regular breaker and will kill power to the entire circuit. Is it safe to replace these plugs with a standard plug and use a GFI breaker on this circuit to prevent random trips?  Is my set up odd or am I just crazy thinking the GFI outlet should only kill power to that outlet?

I would replace the GFCI outlet with a new one. The breakers do go bad and would be more of a pain to reset. I have seen gfci's that tripped every time the power cycled replaced and the problem was gone. If you want one that might last a bit longer get a weather resistant one. The electronics are coated so moisture won't affect the circuitry.


What type of glue can be used to stick aluminium to plastic? I want a glue to stick aluminium to plastic. One of the plastic feet of my Macbook Pro keeps falling off. The body is aluminium and the foot is plastic. I have tried gluing it back on with cyanoacrylate glue (aka superglue) and it falls off a few weeks later. The MBP gets hot, and the feet are obviously subject to friction. I feel what it really needs is some glue that will set as rubber (so it's flexible) and yet be strong and bond to both surfaces.

Any ideas what kind of glue would work best? Nothing in the DIY store I visited immediately seemed suitable.

I realise I could probably get Apple to fix this at some expense, but I'm actually after some glue.

some glue that will set as rubber

That would be something like Sugru

  Sugru is mouldable glue. Stick it, shape it and it will turn into rubber.

I don't know whether it will adhere well to aluminium and whatever polymer Apple use for "plastic" feet. However they do say:

  Sugru sticks permanently to lots of stuff like ceramics, glass, metal, wood, and most plastics and fabrics.

(my emphasis)

  The MBP gets hot

According to Sugru:

  it'll stay strong and securely bonded anywhere from the freezer to a steamy hot shower

Might be worth trying.


LED Light Strips on bunk beds We are moving house next Friday and our 2 boys are moving from a room each in to sharing. To give them as much space as possible we're going to attempt to modify 2 Ikea Kura beds that we've purchased to make this:

(we're not sure as of yet how they managed to mod it that way, so if anyone else wants to look at the instructions and attempt to see how they've done it, feel free to point me in the right direction!!)

The beds are perfect in that they'll give the boys their own space, they each have wall mounted TV's that will be in their own "section" and we plan on having the curtains on the side so they can have a bit of privacy if they want it.

As space is limited I'm toying with the idea of purchasing these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140930933432?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

To go around the top of the frames on each bunk so they have their own lighting. I'm guessing 5m is about the most you can power from a single 12v adapter in series, but what about in parallel?

I was toying with the idea of getting the strips from Ikea, but if I can make something much more custom, ideally this is how it would work...

Single plug socket in the wall splits off to 2 separate parallel circuits one on the top bunk, one on the lower bunk. Each bunk has a switch that controls the light on that switch...

I think that sounds like it should be ok, is it safe?

Next question... is it possible to use a switch such as this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-Car-Black-Aluminum-Metal-Switch-LED-Push-Button-Latching-Push-On-Start-16mm-/301218788582?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&var=&hash=item462209f4e6

That I could put in to the wooden frame so they have a switch that is always glowing dimly, so they can see it if it's dark, that controls the led's on their circuit?

First I would go with warm white lights not the cool white, I think it makes a softer look to the bedroom.

In terms of the switching, yes a push button switch would work fine, you just have to make sure that the switch is within spec for the lights used. I have rather opted for a dimmable solution with my childrens beds. since they like to have some light at night. a good option here is this:

Its rated up to 8 amps, so if you look at the strip in your post, it consumes 2.5amps per 5m section used. (provided that you buy a transformer that can supply up to the required amps (ie 2.5amps per meter) -- you can buy a smaller amp transformer, but the lights will not be optimally bright at the highest level.

Your switches are only rated 3 amps, which means you can run about 5 meters of your spec LED Strip.  -- Also to note, I would go with a stronger LED strip, generally 1 amp per meter is a nice powerful light (then you would only need a meter per child)

Another thing to consider, is the use of the 3color led's whereby you can have a color chooser.. but that may be getting too complicated.

Your series vs parallel question: You must definitely hook up the two lights in parallel, but just accomodate for the increased amps which will be required. The lights will draw the amps needed so you cannot really blow anything (its the volts which will blow the lights)

Finally: I find that the higher power led strips get a little warm, (meaning that the sticky tape sides start to get less effective over time). would be best to stick the strip to a metal surface if you could choose (it would act as a heat sync)

I actually ended up using a Chinese paper lantern to put the led strip in, it looked quite nice.


Two 3 Way Switches To Two One Way Switches Background: In my mom’s kitchen she had 2 ceiling fans that were controlled by two three way switches at opposite ends of the room. One of the ceiling fans burnt out and she opted to go with a light fixture instead of another ceiling fan.

The Issue: The trouble is that she has to keep the light fixture on in order to run the ceiling fan in the kitchen. It would be ideal to install a switch that simply controls the light and another switch that controls the fan.

What I am looking to do: Convert both three way switches to single pole switches, with one controlling the fan and the other controlling the light.

Where I’m at: I took a look at the switches and I am certain that they are the original switches installed around 1982-83 when my folks renovated the house. As mentioned above, each switch is a 3 way, i.e. 2 wires on one side and single wire on the other side.

The house itself was built in 1927 and renovated in 1983, so as you can imagine the wiring isn’t exactly modern. I tested the wires at each switch with a multimeter and I know which one is “hot” or common. I am assuming that the other two wires are travelers.

Does anyone have any advice on how to accomplish this scenario?

If the travelers travel through the ceiling boxes, then it's do-able, and you won't need to pull additional cable. Start by opening the ceiling boxes to make sure you have two travelers in both boxes and identify which fixture has a single switchleg connection (and which fixture box has the switchleg traveling though it). It is also common to have the Home-Run power/feeder in the ceiling.

LET'S FORGET ABOUT THE HOME-RUN HOT IN THE CEILING:

Mark the switch with the hot/power as Switch 1. Mark the other switch (with the switchleg) as Switch 2. Identify the travelers A and B.

Switch 1: Disconnect the Hot and Traveler B. Connect the Hot, Traveler B, and a pigtail together with a wirenut. Connect the pigtail to the common screw.

Switch 2: Disconnect Traveler A and cover the end with a wirenut. Exchange Traveler B with the switchleg (in other words, move Traveler B to the common screw terminal and move the switch leg to the traveler terminal).

Now, you need to decide which switch you want to control which fixture. Call Fix 1 the fixture that Switch 1 will control and Fix 2 the fixture that Switch 2 will control.

Identify the ceiling box with "two" switchlegs that connect both fixures; in this ceiling box, there will be two wires connected to the fixture-power-supply via a pigtail, or you may also find two wires connected directly to the fixture-power-supply wire. Disconnect the two switchlegs from the fixture, and identify the side connected to Switch 2. The other side of the leg is connected to the other ceiling fixture. Mark the leg attached to Switch 2 as Leg 2. Mark the other leg as, "Fix Leg"

Identify Travellers A and B. Traveler B is now the Hot for Switch 2. Traveler A will be the switchleg for Switch 1. Disconnect Traveler A. Mark the side connected to Switch 1 as Leg 1, and put a wire nut on the side of Traveller A that is going to switchBOX 2. This side of Traveler A is not being used anymore. Personally I would mark that wire as "dead" or "chicken" or "banana".

Now, it's time to employ your descision making skill. Is this ceiling box for Fixture 1 or Fixture 2?

If you are working in Fix 1, connect Leg 2 and Fix Leg together (so that Switch 2 is powering Fix 2).

OR: If you decided that this ceiling box belongs to Fix 2, then connect Leg 2 to this fixure (and don't connect Leg 2 to Fix Leg).

Now connect Leg 1 (from Switch 1) to either this fixture or Fix Leg (whichever one is left over from the previous step).

Double check your work before closing the boxes: Traveler B is now marked hot for Switch 2. The switchleg for Switch 2 was moved to a traveler terminal and should be identified as, Leg 2. Leg 2 is connected to Fix 2- does it travel through the ceiling box of Fix 1? Traveler A from Switch 1 has been marked Leg 1. Leg 1 is connected to Fix 1. Does Leg 1 travel through the box for Fix 2? The remainder of Traveler A (from which ceiling box to Switchbox 2?) is no longer in use and both ends have a wire nut.

IF YOU HAVE THE HOME-RUN HOT/FEEDER IN THE CEILING:

There are several ways to accomplish rewiring in a more expedient manner (than described in the previous directions). However, describing the intention is perhaps the simplest direction.

Each switch will need power supplied to the common terminal.

Each switch only needs one leg to supply power to one fixture.

The fixtures should not be connected, but since they are on the same circuit they may share a neutral.


Can I hang a mirror by anchoring into furring strips? So I'm remodeling my half bath and I want to install this mirror.

Unfortunately, Moen's site doesn't tell me how heavy the mirror is so I weighed it using my weight scale (I know, not very scientific!), like the kind you see in hospitals.  The total weight of the mirror, still in the box, with all of the hardware is just shy of 10 lbs.

The problem is that the two points where the supports are screwed into the wall are not over studs.  I cannot put in another stud as there is a sewer exhaust on one side (directly behind the one touch point) and there are horizontal pieces of 2x3 up and down the other side for support.  As an aside, yes, my house was framed in 2x3s.  I guess that was standard in the 70s?

So, my first idea was just to throw up some furring strips (1x3s).  But I'm worried about the load.  The strips would span 3 studs (the left, middle, and right so to speak) and each is about 12" apart.  I'd put a few screws in to secure the strips to the 2x3s.  Do you think that is sufficient?

Hm, wouldn't furring strips look odd? Why not use heavy duty wall anchors (10 lbs. is not a lot, but just to be safe since it's a glass mirror) or toggle bolts? You could hide those behind the mounting hardware.


Can an induction range cause interference in nearby Cat6 cables? I am buying a home that is under construction. The developer installed the vertical Cat6 Ethernet and RG6 coaxial cable runs from the basement to the attic in the wall immediately behind where the stove/range will go. My concern is that I was hoping to get an induction range in the near future. Would the magnetic fields produced by an induction range extend far enough to induce interference in the Cat6 and RG6 cables in the wall behind the range?

No, for two reasons:

Induction ranges operate at kHz frequencies.  Modern data transmission is done at frequencies that are thousands to millions of times higher.
Cat6 is twisted, and RG6 is shielded, to mitigate noise from electrical interference.


Is it okay to plug a surge protector strip into a surge suppressing power outlet? I just bought a house that has one of these where the TV would go. I do not want to change things or do any re-wiring.

It only has two ports. I have 4 devices:

A roku
TV
Soundbar
Samsung SmartThings hub

My thought was to use a normal surge protecting power strip and plug it into this wall outlet. But, since this wall outlet is surge suppressing, I am not sure if I should. Is it dangerous to do so?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/1-Gang-Recessed-TV-Media-Box-Kit-with-Surge-Suppressing-Outlet-and-Low-Voltage-Inserts-White-TV1WTVSSW/304271154

The "don't put a surge protector on a surge protector" rule is not about the surge protection, it is about overloading circuits and tripping over wires - which really doesn't apply here. I would treat the installed receptacles as "ordinary" and use a surge protector (of known quality) to add more receptacles.


Fixing tear in insulated HVAC duct? Today, I replaced the exhaust fan in my laundry room. I didn't realize that there is an insulated HVAC duct right next to the exhaust fan in the ceiling. As I was wrestling the old fan out, I tore a 3 inch long slit in the duct. It did tear all the way through, and I can poke my finger into the inside of the duct.
Note the the duct I tore is for the heating and air conditioning system. My exhaust fan duct was not harmed. Also, the location of the duct is in the ceiling between the first floor and the second floor (it is not in an attic).
As a temporary fix, I put some Nashua foil tape over the slit in the duct. I turned the furnace on and used my hand to verify that no air is escaping from the slit. Though, with the furnace on, the foil tape was slightly warmer than the rest of the duct. (No surprise - the foil tape is a much worse insulator than an insulated duct.)
Anyway, my question is: if I don't want my duct to leak, is it important that I do a more elaborate fix? Is the foil tape likely to come off on its own?
The more elaborate fix I am thinking about doing is to buy some insulated ducting material, put it over the foil tape that I already put on the duct, and then wrap more tape all the way around the circumference of the duct.
P.S. This is approximately the type of insulated ducting in my ceiling:

Get a flex duct connector like is used to join two sections of flex together.
Cut completely through at the tear.
Fit the union into the inner sleeve.
Tape inner sleeve to connector.
Pull insulation back over the joint and tape well with duct tape.
If you want to insure it not pulling apart screw through duct tape with sheet metal screws around both sides into the connector.
Another method very similar uses big zip ties to secure the insulation and vapor barrier. And screws and tape to secure inner sleeve to connector
This video shows it very well.


Solid door on top of hollow apartment door to reduce outside noise? To reduce hallway noise I'd like to replace my hollow apartment door with a solid one, but I'm renting and can't do that (I tried mass loaded vinyl, movers blankets, etc.; it's not enough).

So I'm thinking putting a solid door against it. To avoid having to bore holes for the lock I'd choose a narrower panel (e.g. a 80x32 solid pine slab against the 80x36 hollow door). Would that work, and how would you attach it?

I doubt if adding a smaller door would make any difference.

In “sound control”, you want to attack the weak link. That’s why you’re suggesting fixing the door problem rather than improving the sound control in the wall.

Too bad you can’t temporarily replace the hollow core door with a solid core door, but perhaps 1) adding a screen door, 2) adding weatherstripping, 3) adding insulated panels to the inside to cover the entire doorway, etc. will help.


Want to add a WIFI thermostat, but no 'C' wire... only 2 wires to each thermo i have a 5 zone radiant floor, oil fired heating system.  Each thermostat only has 2 wires running to it.  i have a TACO SR506 switching relay that receives the wires from each thermostat and controls the circulators and burner.  The TACO relay has a 24v transformer inside.  Can i attach a single wire to the COM terminal and run a wire to each thermostat that i want to upgrade?

UPDATE:  due to finished ceilings in the basement, i have no access to the thermostat wires and cannot snake a wire to the COM terminal on the transformer.  But a ground is ground, right, so i am wondering if i could simply run a wire to a nearby ground wire inside an outlet?!?!?  I tested this idea with a multimeter and i get 26V.  it seems like it will work... what do you think???

The "C" in C-Wire stands for "Common", so what you propose should work.  The 24VAC transformer has two wires coming from it.  One of the wires goes to the thermostat and that is what the thermostat actually switches on and off.  The other wire is typically labeled as "common" and it goes directly to the relay(s) that the thermostat controls.

To say it another way... older thermostats didn't need power to run, so only having one wire from the transformer was fine.  For a new powered thermostat, you need both wires from the transformer, and that's all the C-wire is - the "other" wire from the transformer.


Bronze backsplash behind stove I see stainless steel being used more and more behind the stove as a backsplash. Stainless steel sheets are pretty easy to find. I prefer the look of red patinated bronze but cannot source bronze sheets locally (Ottawa, Canada).  I think brass is a bit too bright and shiny, but am finding that difficult to source as well.
Has anyone ever used bronze sheets in a backsplash?  What guage did you use - was it easy to cut and bend if required? And most importantly, where did you the source material?

Just get a stainless steel sheet and run over it with a propane torch.  It will oxidize the steel and you can get a variety of colors.  Lighter temps give yellows, golds, bronze going to purple and blue as the heat is higher.
Once you get what you want you will need to put Urethane or something tough over it because the oxide layer is thin and can scratch off.  If you make a mistake you can steel wool it off and try again.


Existing home. Lived here for years. Breaker popped loud sound, help! Heard a loud pop, and the ac breaker popped. Ac man came out and said it's something with my box. Every time he flipped the breaker back on it would spark by the grounds and the breaker would pop back off. The screw that held the strip, all the grounds on that side run into, was loose and stripped. So I replaced the screw and it's solid now. Put everything back together and as soon as I  turned that breaker on, it sparks by the ground and behind the breaker its self. I can't afford a electrician after the ac man's bill. My kids are miserable with no air and truthfully, we all are. Can anyone give me an idea of what is wrong. We have live here years with no problem. Help!

This is a serious electrical risk. You (and your kids) cannot afford NOT to have an electrician come and check out this dangerous situation. Attempting to bypass the problem without expert advice risks fire and electrocution.


Is it a problem if the framing is 4" short of the edge of slab foundation? Addition to house, added slab to 7.5' x 21' porch surrounded on 3 sides.  Brick & siding exterior.  I think the framers thought there was going to be continuous brick, because the framing is set back about 3"-4" from edge of slab, but siding was put in there & so exterior of house is set back from edge of slab now.  Am concerned about water getting into house from exposed slab.  Thanks.

If when everything is done, the slab will have an exposed horizontal surface, then yes, that is incorrect. Either the plans were drawn incorrectly, or someone didn't follow them. Whoever made the mistake should be responsible to fix it.

At this point, your options are to rip down the wall and fix it, double the thickness of the wall (weird) or remove the bottom row of siding and install flashing.


How to properly ground new three way switches being installed? I am replacing two existing 3 way switches.  The existing ones did not have a ground attached.  The electrical box is plastic.  There are ground wires in the back of box that are twisted and crimped together.  I am guessing I need to add a pig tail to each of the new switches and connect to existing ground wires.  I am trying to figure out the proper way to do this.
Any help would be appreciated.
I think I will have the same issue on a row(4) of light switches.
V/R,
Kevin

The proper way is indeed to pigtail ground wires from that bundle to each switch. They should be wired in such a way that detaching ground from one switch (to replace it, for example) doesn't impact the grounding of the other switch or anything down the line.
If this makes your bundle of grounds large, you may need to upgrade to a larger wire nut. The wire nut container should have a list of color-coded sizes and the number and gauge of wires it supports.
Side note regarding wire nuts: they should hold every wire very very firmly. Many pro electricians around here note that amateurs don't connect the wire nuts firmly enough and encourage a "yank test": after connecting the wire nut, yank each wire pretty hard. If it comes out, the wire nut isn't connected firmly enough or may be the wrong size.


Why would a modern home have baseboard heating? I am looking at homes for sale in New England and one house I saw had baseboard heating even though it was built in 2008 and is a luxury home (>$1M).

I thought that it was standard to use forced hot air in modern luxury homes, especially since it allows both heating and air conditioning through the same system.

Why would a developer use baseboard heating?

Baseboard heating vs. forced heating and other options is not dependent on class of home.

For example, some people prefer the radiant heat, as in general it actually is far more comfortable than forced air (many opinions argue in both directions).

Some people have allergies, and thus, actually prefer radiant heat.

To your point, forced air affords central A/C options. I own a NE home I am selling right now, and guess what? for 9 years we wished we had forced air. Why? Solely for A/C for .... two months of the year, at best. We did not mind baseboard at all.

When it comes to a builder, they are all going to have their reasons. Some might place the above considerations high on their list, but more than likely it is based on price and availability.

I'm not solely discussing price of the equipment - but also of installation. Not to mention the inherent design/layout considerations that have to be thought of to run ductwork vs pipe.

on the topic of availability, I found that it seemed MANY people in NE still rely heavily on Fuel Oil. I intentionally converted my home to High Efficiency Natural Gas but it was nice to have radiant heat nonetheless. Especially in the north east. So contractors in general in NE I suspect (strongly) use radiant systems because they are plentiful, still very popular, and are not cost prohibitive to install.


How to repair fallen tile near kitchen floor? One of the tiles adjacent to my kitchen floor fell down.

The tile itself is still in good condition but I'm not sure how to properly reattach it. I'm guessing it would be something like:

Chisel off old adhesive (grout?).
Clean surrounding area and make sure it's dry.
Apply new tile adhesive and attach the tile.
Let it cure.

Assuming that's appropriate, I have additional questions:

What type of adhesive should I use?
How much of it do I put on?
Is there anything I should use to keep the tile in place while it's curing?

-M

P.S. The tile to the left looks damaged but it's just has a dirt smudge on it.

To be honest, I'd probably be lazy here, and stick it back on with a thin film of a good commercial adhesive, thinly buttered on the back of the tile. Leave the old adhesive as it is. The old tile will fit perfectly. This is NOT something for superglue, but perhaps for something like liquid nails in a tube. Buy it in your local home center or a decent hardware store.

Use some tape (the handyman's secret weapon is duct tape, so says Red Green) to hold it in place, but any decent adhesive will have enough tack to keep a tile there while it dries.

Really the hardest part to do is to re-grout around the replaced tile. I'd not be at all surprised to find that available in a squeeze tube too. So I checked, and indeed it is, here, for example.


partial outlet outage I am having a problem with outlets that work intermittently in my 1965 house.  Some of the electrical has been redone, however this particular circuit is still on original wiring, i.e. no neutral or ground wires running through the outlet boxes.  The circuit feeds 9 outlets, no light switches.  4 of the 9 outlets always work. The other five will work for weeks at a time, then not work, then work again.

Using a receptacle tester, the 4 outlets that always work show correct wiring.
The other outlets show hot/neutral reversed when they are working, and hot/ground reversed when they are not working.

Three of the outlets that don't work are part on an "in-floor" outlet network that was tied back into the other outlets when we did a remodel.  That connection is made in one of the outlet boxes that works intermittently.

I've opened all the in-wall outlets and checked the connections, which are solid.  I couldn't check one of the in-floor outlets as I had trouble opening it.

Any suggestions would be most welcome, thanks in advance.

David

Since you have used backstabs , time to get better quality receptacles (back and side) and wire them using the screws.

Backstabbed receptacles are the leading electrical failure in residential wiring.

The problem is at the last working receptacle or the first non working receptacle.
With your magic 8 ball tester as they are referred to here a loose connection can show reverse connection when every thing is correct but a bad connection.

If you have two many wires in a box to be able to remove the receptacle the box fill is probably well beyond code values, I like to use a hair dryer on high when I have intermittent problems it will usually cause the failure and I can check to find the last good receptacle and the problem will be there on the “load” side the side feeding the next receptacle or the line side of the first dead receptacle line is the feed from the previous receptacle.

You can find many examples of backstabs having problems on this site alone, it can be a loose wire nut or broken wire Also but if backstabs are used they will the problem 96% of the time.


How to Run an Electrical Wire from a Breaker inside the house to the Deck I just got a deck made at the back of a house in Alberta, Canada. House is wooden with PVC siding on the outside. I do have access in the basement to drill a hole and run a cable outside, but, not sure about couple of things.

What is the best way to waterproof the whole that I make on the side of the house to pull a cable from a new breaker. Do I need to run the conduit from inside the house all the way to the outside or is there a better way. I am planning to get 3 receptacles on the deck. Should I use flexible conduit or hard conduit.

My main concern is how to waterproof the hole made at the back of the house where the cable will come out. What kind of weatherproof joint box should I use.

The item described as a "pull box" in the comments, is called a "Conduit Body".  But it will do nothing to seal the hole you'll drill through the house.

To seal around the conduit/cable, you can use Duct Seal.

As for all the other questions you've asked. You should post another question for those, and include a lot more details about the project.


Is it safe to run servers in a room that contains a boiler? [fire safety] My landlord says I can use the garage in our house for an office.
The garage contains a gas combi boiler.
Is it safe to setup servers in this garage?
If not, is there any way to make it safe?
I'm worried about the fire safety aspect of it, I don't want to blow up my flatmates.

The regulations say for domestic premises you must maintain 150mm separation between any low pressure gas pipework and any electrical equipment. The specific room location is irrelevant.
So it would seem for your scenario you will be fine.


Do reverse-thread eye screws exist? I know I can't ask shopping questions, but please bear with me.

I don't want to purchase turnbuckles for my wire rope fence, so I want to use what someone here suggested: use a reverse-threaded screw eye on one post and a regular eye screw on the other. Then I tighten both without affecting the rope.

So I already have the size 104 screw eyes, but I'm having trouble finding that same screw eye, but reverse-threaded.

I've called many businesses (both retail and online) and nobody seems to have them. Is this an item that does not exist?

Using a left hand threaded eye screw on one end of a cable and a right handed screw eye on the other end is an OK theoretical solution. However in practice it is nearly impractical because to avoid twisting the cable you have to tighten one may be a quarter turn and then run to the other end and turn it the opposite direction quarter turn.

If you want to avoid turn buckles then you best realistic solution is to just use a regular screw eye to secure the cable on one end. Then use a threaded eye bolt on the other end that has a long threaded end that passes completely through the post. Afix the cable to the eye and then simply tighten using a using a regular nut and washer in the threaded end of the eye bolt. This way you can get a consistent look of the cable terminations but have proper provision for re-tightening the cable at a later date.


When installing wood siding, do I need to leave a gap to accommodate expansion? I'm preparing to put up rhombus shaped wood siding on a shed. It's 148mm x 20mm. I'm concerned about expansion across the grain as the siding gets humid, wet, etc. What is the proper way to install this siding? If I don't leave any gap, how will it react upon expansion? Any recommendation on nails vs. screws?

As pointed out by the others, I think it is wise to provide vapor barrier and insulation for your region's concern. THe supplier shall have recommended the method of installation, concerning gap between boards, and naling vs screwing.
The recommendation below is directly copied from the linked article FYI use, https://www.workshopcompanion.com/KnowHow/Design/Nature_of_Wood/2_Wood_Movement/2_Wood_Movement.
"ESTIMATING WOOD MOVEMENT
It’s also useful to know how much a board is likely to move. You must anticipate the movement when fitting drawers and doors, inserting panels in frames, and dozens of other operations.
The rule of thumb is that if the board shows mostly flat grain on its face, allow for 1⁄4 inch total wood movement for every 12 inches across the grain. If it shows mostly quarter grain, allow for 1⁄8 inch movement. This will accommodate an annual change of 8 percent moisture content — much more than is common in most areas.
Also consider the time of year. Wood shrinks to its smallest dimension in the winter and swells to its maximum in the summer. The wood in winter projects will expand; the wood in summer projects will contract. In the spring and fall, remember that the wood will expand half your total movement allowance and contract the other half."


How can I resurface a masonry pool deck? The Kool Deck around our pool in Arizona is faded & chipped in a few small places, and since we painted the house, it is really the wrong color.  Is there a way to re-color the Kool Deck surface that still would maintain the "cool" property of the surface?  (Dunn-Edwards said their paint would result in loss of the cooling property & be hotter to walk on.)

The original Kool Deck is a proprietary concrete/limestone surface treatment for  concrete surfaces. The porous properties of the limestone in the mix allow the coating to take maximum advantage of natural evaporative cooling (the assumption being that the pool deck is usually damp/wet). When not wet, the "knock down" texture of the coating reduces skin to surface contact area so will feel cooler whether or not the surface temperature is actually cooler.

Any paint coating over this surface is likely to negatively affect the evaporative cooling properties. To truly retain the properties you have (if you truly have "Kool Deck"") and change colors, means removing the surface coating and reapplying  the same or similar surface treatment.

This guy claims to have a product that does what you want, but I could never endorse it without a real world test. You could look into it though.


Can I build deck on top of patio? I have a large concrete patio at the rear of our house - 12 inches thick, with no settlement noticed (it's been down for about 7 years now).

We're considering extending our deck out; at the moment we have a simple 5x5' deck which just leads to a set of steps down to the patio. We want to now build a 12x22' deck, and extend the roof out over the new deck.

Question; For the deck footings, do I need to cut through the patio and dig to below the frost level (~36inches in Utah), and then build back up with concrete footings, or can I just attach the 6x6" support pillars of the deck direct to the patio?

If the footprint of the new deck fits over the patio, you should be fine with a freestanding floating deck. Precast post blocks like this can transition from the slab to the deck framing, and provide the all important gaps so the framing can dry out:

Consult locally for wind tie down requirements: you'll probably need to sink some anchors into the slab, and add cable restraints to the deck framing : any sort of roof will act as a sail.  Going freestanding greatly reduces headache and risk of attaching to the house.


I want to reallocate a double switch and also split it into two switches. Can I do it like this? Is it 100% safe? As the title says, I want to reallocate a double switch and also split it into two switches. I know this is a very basic question, but I just want to be 200% sure this is safe, as I nearly don't have any experience on playing around with electricity.

The point is to basically split the power cable into two using a connector and two other cables and, of course, plug the bathroom/kitchen cables into their respective new switches. But the drawing should be self explanatory. Also, I live in Europe, thus this is on 220~240V.

Use your original switch box as a junction box, and put a blank cover on it when you're done.

Never make any connections inside the wall where they are not protected, or where they cannot be accessed.

This is common practice here in the US.


Are old work electrical boxes acceptable for roughing in? My landlord is repairing a room in our home.  He ripped out all the plaster and left just the lath boards.  HE has "roughed in" using old-work drywall boxes.  I don't know if he plans on screwing them to a stud when he is done. or cutting the drywall and locking down the tab.

I know NEC section 314.23(b)(1) states:

  Nails and screws, where used as a fastening means, shall be attached by using brackets on the outside of the enclosure, or they shall pass through the interior within 6 mm (1/4 in.) of the back or ends of the enclosure.

Is this right? He had cut parts of the lath for running cables, so the wall is technically exposed in some parts.

There is nothing in the NEC that says you cannot use old work boxes.  In some parts of the US and world there is a lot of plaster.  When doing a couple of flips in France the past year we used a tool that basically cuts a one inch line in the plaster and run electric through said lines and put in old work boxes (designed for plaster).

The issue of how secure the boxes are is totally up to your local building inspector.  If you in any way feel that they are not safe (not secured enough), call your city hall and ask to have the inspector come by.


How can I hang my cupboard on a stud wall? I have a storage cupboard in which I'd like to put some shelves. No problem with brick walls as normally I'd just have wooden battens on 3 sides, srewed directly into the wall with rawlplugs, then just put some shelves between the battens. But I've never done this with stud walls. The cupboard's 90cm wide and 55cm deep. It's also the fusebox cupboard with some heavy duty metal trunking along one wall and a 4cm thick black insulated mains cable coming from the ceiling. So I'll need to buy a detector to make sure I don't go into anything.

I've seen some (allegedly) heavy duty plasterboard fixings which expand and grip into the cavity when you screw the screw in but there are different depths of fixings.

How do I know the thickness of fixing I need for the plasterboard?

Is there a UK standard that might be typical in a new build?

Should I try and get one of the battens mounted to a stud in the cupboard or would I generally be ok with it being supported on 3 sides and it being quite narrow and not too deep?

Are there any scientific ways to detect where the studs will be other than knocking on the wall?

You must not support shelving with plasterboard anchors except when there are no other options. Plasterboard just is not that strong. It's important to locate the studs and attach the shelf supports with wood screws through the plasterboard and into the studs directly.

There are stud locators available for minimal expense, but they are not fool proof. One type works by locating the fasteners in the studs by magnetism. Since fasteners only occur intermittently, this is not the best method IMO. Another works by relative density, but is easily fooled by other masses in the wall and is confused by nearby metal. With all your power equipment, this type will not work well unless there is a section you can test that is free of confusing artefacts, such as near the floor level. You can typically assume the studs are reasonably vertical for their full length.

For determining adequate screw length into studs, I'm not sure of common UK construction practise, but you could assume most plasterworks to be from 1/2" to 1" thick. It's less critical for wood screws than plaster anchors to get the exact depth correct. For wood screws, ensure they penetrate into the stud at least 7 shank diameters depth.


How to repair basic cable/wire issue for household appliances I have a set of very old computer speakers that works fine except for one problem.  One of the wires connecting to the volume control dial is loose, so that if the wire is jostled or flexed, the speakers lose sound.  I'd have to re-jostle or flex the cable into another position before the sound can be heard again.

The image below shows the problematic cord:

I circled a region in pink.  The sound disappears or re-appears depending on how the pink region is flexed or jostled.

I want to know how I can repair this problematic cord?  Should I strip away the black plastic casing of just the pink region, then try to solder the metal wires that have been damaged, then tape things back up? Or are there some other off-the-shelf components I can consider?

There's no good way to repair just that wire, and the adjacent wires are also probably close to failure. You'll need to remove a section of cable and rebuild.

Label the cable a ways from this end so you know the orientation with respect to the white plug. As you can see, the cable could be reversed and have the same color scheme. You don't want that or your fade and balance will be backward (or worse).
Snip all wires as far from the plug as you reasonably can. I'd try at the start of the thicker shrink wrap. The more wire you retain the easier repair will be. Strip the wires 3/8" and set the plug aside.
Cut the cable 3-4" back from the strain relief--wherever you think you have conductors in good condition.
Salvage the strain relief, or install a new one. I'd try pulling it off the cable, but it's probably thermally welded in place. You can possibly pull he copper out of all chases, slice off the cable jacket flush on each end of the part, and use a drill to reopen the passages. If you can't save the entire thing, just save the solid portion that secures the cable in the speaker housing and use that.
Feed the fresh cable through the strain relief. Put a square knot in the two cable bundles inside the strain relief block to prevent pullout.
Begin stripping wires. Notice that the outer two cable bundles contain two wires each. That'll be some fiddly work. Be patient and don't damage the conductors.
Strip the wires 3/8" and slip appropriate heat-shrink tubing over each.
One at a time, twist the wire ends together parallel and solder them, then apply the heat-shrink tubing.
Connect the plug and assemble the speaker housing.


Literature on effect of frequent switching on-off of air conditioner on compressor I tried searching for literature on this using various search terms on google scholar but couldn't get anything substantial. I'm particularly interested in how adversely the AC compressor is affected by frequent switching on-off and how its efficiency is affected. Is there any additional conventional wisdom you could enlighten me with? Thank you for the help.

My first question is, why are you asking about frequent cycling of the compressor. Do you have a problem with your A/C unit or some great idea you want to try? Frequent cycling of the compressor will drastically shorten it's life. If this is happening with your unit I would have a "hard start kit" installed on your unit along with a short cycle timer. Unless you know how to do this yourself, Call an HVAC person to have these items installed. When I installed HVAC systems I always priced these 2 items into the job and educated the customer as to why I installed them.


Effective Blower Speed Looking to build a DIY conveyor belt powered by a furnace blower motor that I have kicking around using a series of pulleys to significantly step down the speed.

My 3 speed Century DL1076 has an rpm of 1075 but I'm wondering if someone can

A. Confirm that 1075 RPM is its speed on the High setting.

B. Let me know if there's a general rule of thumb for calculating the speeds for Low and Medium in terms of percentages?

Dave

Multi-speed motors are rated at their speed on high, so high will be around 1075.  The other speeds will typically be around 100 rpm lower than the next speed, so you don't get a lot of range in that speed.  The speeds are also designed so that with the same load applied to the motor (like a fan blade), the different speeds give less power to the motor, so it naturally slows down.

If the motor is loaded more or less than it was designed for the change in speeds will vary.  I've never tried this, but I suspect the no-load speed on low will be very close to the high speed, and you will get more separation in the speeds the more the motor is loaded.


Need help identifying baseboard cap profile I know it's a long shot, but I'm hoping someone knows/can identify (or at least can point me in the right direction in terms of search terms) the style of this cap. I'm hoping to find a router bit/bits that I can use to duplicate it. I'm not sure if it's original, but it's from a house built in 1890.

I've done a bunch of searches, but I feel I lack the terminology to look for the right thing. Is there a term for the three "stairs" at the bottom? Any insight anyone could provide would be greatly appreciated!

Actual Pictures:

My poor attempt to draw profile:

The "three stairs" could be cut with a straight bit or saw (and a fence, set over multiple times) unless you are running enough linear feet to justify a custom-ground shaper bit. I'd just call them rabbets.

The part above that feels like some flavor of ogee moulding from the picture (less so from the drawing, which looks closer to a quarter round.)


Florescent lights replaced with LED I replaced my old florescent lights with LED. Turned the breaker on, light worked fine, however, the light switch will not turn the light off or on(constant on). Replaced the switch, same problem. It looks like a junction box on the ceiling, 3 black wires, 3 white wires and the ground. 3 black are hot(of course) 2 of the white are not but one white is hot. Any suggestions? Should I hook the hot white with the black?

Note from OP: Wiring 3 black twisted together, 2 white twisted together, and the hot white is a solid wire insulated.

You have an old-style switch loop

A common wire-saving trick up until very recently was to use a /2 cable to run a switch loop, with one wire for the always-hot and the other for the switched-hot.  This means that a white is used for a hot, though, which is why the NEC specifies that the hot white is supposed to be tagged with a wrap of black (or some other color than white, green, or grey) electrical tape.  However, lazy installers often skipped that because it was "obvious", and the NEC gave them the latitude to do so up until recently.

So, grab some black (or better yet, red) electrical tape and wrap it around the solo white wire -- this connects to the fixture black wire, as it's the switched-hot.  The fixture white wire connects to the bundled white wires, which are the neutral.  Grounds connect together, of course (although you'll have to cut off the crimp used and replace it with a wirenut), and the existing bundle of black wires is not touched (as it's the always-hots -- your existing problem was caused by connecting the fixture black to the bundle of black wires).


What are some ways to find a leak in a pipe? I have a leak somewhere under my sink in the kitchen. I have a number of junctions/pipe/hoses there (6 lines), and one of them has a leak. It doesn't happen all the time, only when there is back pressure (like when the garbage disposal runs), and not all the time then. I've checked everything, and there is no obvious location of the leak. The leak isn't a gusher, but it's not a drip either. I've spent a fair amount of time under the sink looking for the leak, but no luck.

When I have a leak in a tire, I can put it in water and watch for the bubbles. Is there a powder or substance that I can apply to the pipes and connections that will show a leak in a similar way? If not, any suggestions on finding the source of the problem?

This is the easiest way I know of to find them:

1) Dry off all pipes with a paper towel

2) Run the water, garbage disposal, spray hose, etc. - anything you think contributes to the leak

3) Take a dry piece of paper towel and wipe each joint and pipe. Inspect the paper towel after each one.  When you find a spot thats wet, you've probably found your leak.


How much power do I need to soft solder small piping? I'm thinking about a few hobby projects and the tools I might need for them. Specifically I'm thinking about getting a butane soldering torch that can also be equipped with tips for electronics works. The Seller gives the power as 130 W, max. temp when using tips 580°C, the free flame is presumably hotter.

Is 130 W enough to soft solder small pipes and fittings, I'm thinking up to DN32 (1 1/4") at most? Or should I discard the idea to have one tool for electronics and piping work, and go for different tools?

To be clear, I'm talking about soft soldering, using lead free solder for potable water applications - likely melting ranges are between 220°C and 250°C.

This is the product I was thinking about.

The tool you are looking at is a soldering iron.( not a torch ) Most are powered by electricity but some, like the one you mention, are powered by butane gas.

For sweating copper pipes that tool will not be sufficient or provide enough heat. ( it will melt the solder but it will not heat the pipe up enough to make a bond with the solder. )

You need a Mapp gas torch

There are Flame-less options, i have never used one.

Here is brief synopsis of soldering. Family handyman.

And a YouTube video.


Basement Footer Removal This is kind of a convoluted situation, and I hope it isn't too confusing.

I just bought a home with my wife, and in the basement there was a hideous bathroom.  Functional, but hideous.  So I am tearing it out and remodeling as a DIY project.

The vanity, was clearly made by the home owner and was basically a bunch of plywood boards screwed together.  It was a little strange looking.  After tearing it apart, I found out why.

It looks like at one point, they removed one of the concrete block (interior) walls and replaced it with a couple metal columns and steel I-beams.  They did however leave the poured concrete footer, and the vanity was built around that.  I have a few questions that I was hoping I could get opinions on.

Why would they go through all the trouble of removing the block wall, but not jack hammer away the footer?  Am I wrong in my assessment?  I would provide pictures but I am away from home on travel.  I could get my wife to take some if need be though.
Is there any reason why I shouldn't jack hammer away this footer?  For the bathroom remodel, I could use the foot and a half or so of extra space.  I am going to get a structural engineer out here, but I wanted some opinions from here first.

They removed a portion of an exterior basement wall...maybe because, 1) started a remodel/addition and then changed their minds, 2) discovered something outside the wall that changed their minds, 3) noticed remaining walls starting to “move” and stopped project.

Yes, I’d get a structural engineer (not a civil engineer) to review.

You must live in a dry area if there’s no moisture problems with the wall gone, but I’d have him examine that too.

BTW, I’d be shocked if the structural engineer recommends removing the footing.


Does a reverse osmosis system drain constantly? I have come across the Pharmatap Fillmaster FMF-940 which is a pharmacy grade reverse osmosis filter system. I would like to install it in my kitchen but before I do, I need some questions answered:

Does the system drain constantly or just when it is refilling the tank?
If it is constant, is there any way to adjust the flow? (It is a fast drip and would waste a lot of water if it is constant.)

I have never had a reverse osmosis system before, but I have heard they are pretty good for removing bad stuff from drinking water.

RO systems push water under pressure through a semipermeable membrane to allow the good part of water through and the bad part to stay in the input side and be washed away. Typical systems will operate with an efficiency of 4:1 or 5:1 meaning that four or five gallons of water go into the unit to produce each one gallon of filtered water. The rest of the water washes through the unit and goes into the drain. (This ratio can be worst for many older units whilst there are some manufacturers now advertising RO units with much lower waste).

My experience with RO systems is that they work well at producing clean drinking water. The initial equipment cost can be quite high as compared to a typical cartridge water filter system. But once that initial cost is past you there can be a quite long operational period without additional regular maintenance costs - that is unless the RO installation uses some post carbon filters which do require some maintenance.

The storage/filter tank that is part of an RO system can have problems however and if that happens replacing that part of the system can be a substantial cost. They can develop problems with the membrane or bladder inside the tank. There can also be problems with bacteria contamination in an RO system if it is not used properly. The manufacturer should provide instructions for their unit so that it is installed properly and kept serviced if necessary.

There are some health considerations with RO units in that they remove more things from water than just harmful things. Many of the beneficial minerals in the water are also removed by these units and there are arguments out there that this can be harmful in the long run if all the water you drink comes from an RO unit. As a matter of fact some commercial bottled water companies that produce their water via industrial scale RO systems are known to re-mineralize the filtered water to bring back some of its taste and benefits.


Spray Foam Insulation Health Concerns - Alternative Spray Foam Products I am looking to gather facts (although I am sure there will be a fair amount of opinions) about spray foam insulation and the health concerns associated with the install and everyday living. I mainly want to focus on closed cell but I will include the open cell as part of this topic.

The first thing that I have looked into are the different types of spray foam. So far I have come across Icynene and Polyurethane. It seems that Icynene is the open celled version and Polyurethane is the closed cell version.

Description Reference

Polyurethane

  Polyurethane foam (commonly used in foam roofing and insulation) is
  based on petroleum byproducts, although there are 'green' versions,
  made partly from soy byproducts (instead of pure petroleum), which
  contain less HCFC and CFC gases. All types of sprayed polyurethane
  foam contain millions of tiny closed cells filled with HCFC or CFC
  gases. A blowing agent agitates the plastics causing the bubbles to
  form, and the material hardens within about one minute. Sprayed
  polyurethane foam is inherently water resistant due to its closed cell
  structure.

Icynene

  Icynene foam is different because it is based on Castor oil (not
  plastics, also known as petroleum by-products) and it does not trap
  air in the cells. The resulting Icynene cells are open--which means no
  gases are trapped in the cells, so air-infiltration is possible. Due
  to air and vapor movement, Icynene foam does not insulate as well as
  closed cell foam. In contrast, closed cell foam completely traps
  vapors, completely blocking air migration--which enhances the
  insulating capacity of polyurethane foam. Icynene foam is more ideal
  for applications where some air or vapor must pass through the foam,
  while polyurethane foam completely blocks air and vapor transmission.

Now, looking at the two. My research so far brings up the following as potential health concerns.

Polyurethane Risks Reference 1 Reference 2

  Isocyanates, such as MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate), are highly
  reactive chemicals that can cause skin, eye, and lung irritation,
  asthma, and chemical sensitization when absorbed through the skin or
  inhaled.

Although this mainly focuses on application, a few 'claims' have been made that the chemicals keep getting released after the insulation and waiting periods of 36-72 hours. Reference 3

Icynene Risks Reference 4

  Icynene brand, like similar brands of foam insulation, is composed of
  almost 50% isocyanates

Again, like the other type, we encounter isocyanates which is where we get a lot of the issues like the first one.

This bring me to my main question.
Assuming that Isocyanate is the main issue and the stem of the health concerns(secondary question below in regards to that), is there an alternative spray foam product that has less health concerns? (ie. without Isocyanate or different application method) I am looking for a spray foam alternative, not just an alternative insulation. (so cellulose doesn't fit).

These are more secondary questions that don't necessarily need to be answered. Its just nice to include as much info as possible since they are all related.

Most the articles I have seen have been a few years old. Not many current ones. Has the technology changed or any new advancements been made over the past couple years that make it safer or provide better insight? Any studies or expanded research would be helpful.
Is there a way to test potential reactions ahead of time? Kind of like getting an allergy test? For instance, going to a week old insulation and just spending a couple hours in the room? or just touching the foam to skin to see if a reaction occurs?
We have dogs and that is also a consideration. Has there been any research regarding the effects on pets that should be taken into account as well?
My question assumes that Isocyanate is the main center issue with the spray foam insulation. Is it valid to assume that, or is the issue more related to a combo of chemicals or application method?

Spray foam insulation is a petrochemical product that is mixed on-site and blown with a blowing agent. The actual process is not great for anyone's health, which is why applicators wear protective suits. It is also exothermic, and if done incorrectly can cause a fire (rare). Additionally, if mixed incorrectly, or even in a small percentage of cases, the foam will offgas nasty stuff for a long time, rendering the house uninhabitable. I must stress that these cases are rare, but they do happen. Furthermore, fully-cured spray foam is flammable at elevated temperatures and will char and emit smoke at typical household fire temperatures.

Are there better insulations out there than spray foam? Absolutely. Spray foam is about the most expensive insulation you can get, and it is terribly mis-used most of the time, applied where its benefits are wasted. For insulating walls between stud cavities, wet-sprayed dense-packed cellulose, sprayed fiberglass (under the brand name "Spider") or mineral wool batts are better choices. For turning an attic into conditioned space, installing rigid foam boards above the roof sheathing is the preferred approach if already re-roofing. If that's not an option, then you can fill the spaces with the aforementioned choices of cellulose, fiberglass, or mineral wool batts, as long as you 1) create a ventilation channel of 2-4 inches in the rafter bays below the roof deck, 2) install a ridge vent and soffit vents that allow every rafter bay to be ventilated, 3) use an interior-side smart vapor retarder membrane such as Intello MemBrain (note: NOT a vapor barrier like polyethylene sheeting), and 4) you finish the assembly off with drywall, being careful to make the drywall layer as airtight as possible. Alternatively, you can detail the vapor retarder membrane as an air barrier and skip the drywall or use non-airtight finish materials like tongue-and-groove pine boards or something.


Bowed 2x4s in attic: are these really doing what I think they are? I am in a rental house.  I just looked at the attic for the first time today, and saw this line of 2x4s apparently supporting the roof, and apparently severely bowing under the strain.

I only saw this once before in a house I bought from an architect who did a lot of poorly thought out modifications to “open up the floor plan” and I ended up needing to put back a lot of structure in the attic and living space that he had taken out.

I don’t think the floor plan of the house I’m in now has been modified, though there is a lot of HVAC equipment in the attic, and it is possible that framing was modified to accommodate it years ago.  There has to have been some “renovation” work done on the house sometime in the past, because the wiring is a mess (most outlets don’t work, the light bulbs burn out in days, some of the lights don’t have junction boxes, etc).

My question is, what do you think is going on with this framing?  The house dates from the 1970s in Raleigh, NC.

First call: landlord.
Second call: the structural engineer your landlord approved to look into the situation.
Potential third call: fire inspector for the wiring.

Since it's a rental, you really have to call the landlord next.


How do we thaw pipes that froze after our boiler stopped working? Our boiler stopped working. We got it working again and now have hot water but no heat in two zones. Temperatures have been -25°F with the windchill and the plumber thinks frozen pipes. How do we locate where they are frozen and how do you unfreeze them if you don't know where the problem is?

Its a slow process to identify where the pipe or pipes are frozen.

Turn on faucets and determine which ones work and do not. This will help to identify pipe paths that have an issue.
With each faucet providing insight, then begin to trace as best you can those plumbing lines.
The frozen section can have condensation around it, maybe ice or be bulged.  It may also not look any different then a non frozen pipe, which means you need to use the Force, and feel for the section that is frozen.

Some general areas to start would be exposed pipes near external walls, that are not used that much. Standing water freezes much easier then busy pipes.

When unfreezing a pipe if you worry you are heating it too fast you probably are.
De-thawing a pipe too fast can cause some very bad results.  So take it slow.

Turn on the faucet with the issue.
Start with a warm wet towel that you wrap around it.  Never use a blow torch or anything that can cause a dramatic change in temperature.  A hair dryer can work but go slow and do not set it on high and just point and hold.

Hear is to hoping the frozen section is in an exposed area you can gain access to.


paint a wall where the surface is uneven I have remove most of the wallpaper in my kitchen, to be able to paint it.

However, the surface is uneven and I'm not sure what kind of products I can use to make the wall smoother and to apply painting on it.

A friend of mine suggested to sand down the wall.

What do you think of that suggestion?

If this is not the right suggestion, what else can I do?

Thanks

You can skimcoat with drywall compound. The suitability of that may depend on your skills with a trowel.

You can add a layer of 1/4" drywall on top, or you can remove the wall surface (do any maintenance that makes sense while it's open) and replace with new drywall.


how to design and buy materials for breakfast bar/standing desk? My girlfriend has given me an assignment: build a breakfast bar for the corner of the kitchen, with a tabletop that is 55" by 13". We would buy two stools to go with it. She wants me to build it myself so it's (a) as cheap as possible, and (b) exactly the way we want it. I have no experience with carpentry or DIY but I have a hammer and an electric screwdriver.

Is it feasible to build a breakfast bar that could double as a standing desk for me? This would involve positioning the tabletop so my MacBook would sit at eye height (55") and putting in a second shelf so my keyboard would be at arm height (36"). Would a breakfast bar that's 55" high look ridiculous?
If yes to #1, what's a good design that would accommodate a laptop on top and a second shelf for the keyboard?
Where can I buy the wood shelf/tabletop and legs? I live in New York, where Home Depot does not offer cut-to-fit services for wood. Ideally I could order online, and ideally the legs would come with a screw/bracket kit to attach them to the tabletop, the way these legs do, though I'd prefer wood legs if possible. As for the tabletop, no need for an expensive antique oak slab--just simple and beautiful light wood would do fine.

I like the enthusiasm, that's great.  A couple suggestions:
1. Start off with a solid design, including what sort of materials might work. Let the wood material options drive some of the design which would help to save costs.
Explore the wood section at the depot and see what is offered.
Wood can get expensive.  So let the options of wood drive the design.

Break down the pieces into their own distinct unit and determine the best way to connect them.  It sounds to me you want a lot in your first project, so break it into pieces and build the breakfast bar first.  This way the project wont take weeks to complete.  You build the bar, it gets installed and you can work on the other pieces.
Decide the finish, if you plan to paint, the quality of the wood can be less as it will not be seen, however if you plan to stain, the quality needs to be higher.  For example a 2x4 can be painted and look great, but try to stain over the ink stamps and its awful.

As for legs, be creative, since you don't have any saws, get a hand saw at least, and be creative.  I bought a bunch of 1 inch square 36 inch in length pieces for some furniture pieces I was building.  They worked great as the legs and were cheap, and already precut.

Final suggestion is to go slow, as this is your first project take your time, plan accordingly and have fun!


Sanitary plumbing elbows As part of a basement remodel, some of the old (1940s) plumbing is being changed around.  In order to move some of the waste drain from the side bathroom toilet, there were some 90 degree elbows put in.  Are you always supposed to use less than 90 degree elbows for toilet waste, or are regular elbows sufficient?

There isn't any rule/code against it.  Once you hit 135 degrees you are required to have a clean-out - if they look.  I would personally use two 45s or a long-turn 90.  If you buy a short 90 the world won't explode but you will be pumping your stuck toilet more.


How do I make sure I get a replacement toilet tank that fits the bowl? Our toilet tank suddenly cracked with no warning--a giant crack from handle to base. Luckily we were home and were able to turn off the water / flush before too much leaked out.

Now I'd like to replace the tank, and save the $500+ a plumber will charge, but I'm concerned there are hidden gotchas to the task I don't know.

(It sounds like it's basically--remove all the water and hardware--unscrew bolts--pull gently...correct me if I'm wrong.)

The real question is, how to get a new tank that (a) fits and (b) isn't going to leak itself. I can't find a model number, but the tank is a Toto from 2002 (according to the stamps inside). Is there some sort of master list of toilets out there? And how do I know which gaskets/washers/etc. to use for the new tank?

I was about to upvote the answer of @GreyBeardedGeek , because in general trying to find a match will be impossible.  But then I read the word Toto.  Toto is a different case: they have a corporate sustainability principle.  The short answer is: call Toto at 1-888-295-8134.  As for gaskets: one should come with the replacement tank, else is easy to get at any hardware store.  Some PTFE plumbers tape is good also, if the supply line nut is metal.

And check the warranty also, it may apply depending on who you talk to at Toto:

TOTO warrants its residential faucets, bathroom accessories and cast iron tubs, excluding the acrylic side panel and accessories, (Product) to be free from defects in materials and workmanship during normal use when properly installed and serviced, for the lifetime of the Product from date of purchase.

The only real gotcha in this job is "don't drop anything".  The tanks are made of ceramic and crack easily (not to mention do a bang up job on toes).

The only real gotcha in the warranty is that it is nominally non-transferable.