Can 120v GFCI tester work for 240v source? I setup the above to make a temporary gfci tester or tripper. The white button works manually, but when I plugged in a load to the hot and neutral output of the gfci 2-pole breaker, why didn't it trip it? I understand the GFCI monitors the current between the 2 hots, so when there is a leakage, it trips.
Why can't the hot to neutral output be considered a leakage?

Original message:

I have searched the archive, but couldn't find question or answer to this supposedly common question.

I have successfully connected 2 US Siemens 2-pole GFCI breaker and the outlet has 240v. Can I use the ordinary 120v GFCI tester for this 240v outlet? Is the circuit inside the tester only for 120v and what would fry if the source is 240v?

I can't use the European RCD tester because their test leakage current is high 30mA. US GFCI tester has 5mA trip rating and test signal.

If no product can be found for this. Any way to test if the 2-pole gfci breaker is working (besides testing its self test button)? I want to test the outlets connected to it 1 floor away of leaking 5mA can trip the gfci breaker.

No.  A standard US 120V GFCI tester has a NEMA 5-15 plug.  It is physically unable to plug in to a 240V circuit.

Receptacles used on 240V circuits are keyed differently, precisely to keep that kind of mistake from happening.  Obviously it is a mistake because it would wreck any equipment plugged into it (including, possibly, a GFCI tester).  Even if it happens to inconvenience you right now.

Anyone using a NEMA 5 on any voltage other than 100-132V should not be playing with electricity.  They should use Euro style plugs, unless they have the unique center ground of some parts of the Philippines, in which case NEMA 6 would be just right... but given Philippine ambitions, I would think they'd be standardizing the country on one of the Euro plugs.

Someone who should be playing with electricity may note that the GFCI tester is simply a resistor that allows a calibrated amount of current between hot and ground, inducing a ground fault just above detection level.  Now if you were doing this in Europe, or Euro-wired sections of the Philippines with 240V between hot and ground,  the Resistor would be seeing 240V instead of 120V, and flowing twice the current, possibly to its destruction.

However, if you are in a US-legacy section of the Philippines where ground is centered between the two hots, then the resistor is of the correct value.  One could use a custom cheater cord to use the GFCI tester as intended.  However, that would only test one "hot".  To test the other hot, one would need a second cheater cord with the second one cross-wired.  These cheater cords would be harmless; you wouldn't connect the cheater's NEMA 5 socket neutral to anything at all, and only connect one of the plug hots, so if someone accidentally connected a 120V appliance it would not power up.

If your socket is flippable Euro style, then you wouldn't need 2 cheater cords, you could just flip the cheater cord over.

What you just drew in your recent edit, is not a ground fault.  It is the GFCI working as intended.  Currents through the GFCI device on L1 and neutral will cancel out, with nothing on L2, so currents sum to zero and no trip.  Note that the GFCI is not comparing currents on the two wires you want it to.  It is comparing currents on all three.  If they add up to zero (all current going out comes back), no trip.

The GFCI tester trips because its current is coming out L1, which does go through the GFCI, and going back on ground, which does not go through the GFCI. Hence it does not see the return current, and sees currents as not adding up to zero, and correctly trips.

Do not ask more than 25 watts out of either side of that transformer, or you will overload it.  One iPad is fine.  Two would be at transformer limits.


How do I remove white beverage stains from my dark finished wood table? Simple question: How do I remove the white powdery stains from my finished wood dining room table? I've already tried Bona and cleaning the stains gently with a soft plastic scrubbie.

It really seems like today's furniture doesn't hold a candle to the durability of furniture built in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. I have a dresser set that my mother gave me, that she bought in the late 70s. It's still in very good condition. No staining of any kind, and I've set a sweaty glass down on either the dresser or the nightstands umpteen times. Anyhow, any help anyone could give would be appreciated.

I had a similar problem with water stains on my bar. I used a 50-50  mixture of vinegar and olive oil and wiped it on the stains in the direction of the grain. The vinegar removed the stain and the olive oil polished up the surface. I've heard that a hair dryer on high will remove the stains too but have never tried it. Hope this worked for you.


Water entering a slab house I live in a slab home that has a partial brick front in central NC. After a particularly bad bout of rain (hurricane), I discovered about a week later that some of the engineered hardwood floor in the foyer had what looks like water damage.

What should I look for in terms of potential avenues of water getting into the house? Could it be from the brick facing? Cracks in the slab?

Thank you!

First determine if it is water coming in through the "weep" holes, or it is a roof leak running down the inside of the wall. If there is a plumbing vent in this outside wall, then that could be the source of a leak.

If you determine that surface drainage is allowing water in through the weep holes, then you should regrade around the house to establish swales which drain water away from the house.

I live in a neighborhood of 50-year-old tract houses on 10,000 sq ft lots in which the original swales have pretty much filled in. Our streets run E-W and the ground slopes down to the W from a N-S ridge on the E to a creek on the W. I personally know of 3 houses which have had water ingress in recent heavy rains.

Our lot (87' wide) has an elevation change of 2.5' down from E to W. When we bought our house in 1978 the swale on the E side (our house faces N) was 90% filled in. I used a tiller to loosen the soil and reestablished the swale. It needs it again. This time I will use a mattock, a shovel and a wheelbarrow to transfer soil to the W side of our lot. We have a sunken living room, but it is on the W side (downhill).

A year ago a neighbor had water coming into her house on the E side due to the swale being filled in. Her house has a sunken living room on the E (uphill side of her S facing house); she asked my wife to have me take a look. In 6 to 9 hr of work with a mattock, shovel and wheelbarrow in 3 sessions I was able to redirect water away from the house, and that house has stayed dry in the year since, despite heavy rains. The swales need further deepening. I did this as proof of concept, and I may do more on that drainage. The clay soil is easily workable at the correct moisture content. If dry it is like concrete.

Some people in the neighborhood have had underground "French" drains professionally installed on the uphill side. Re-establishing surface drainage is much cheaper and I believe works better.


Sealing Off Room Vent Question We put an addition on a couple of years ago.  At that time we installed a second HVAC unit to service the upstairs.  Our original unit still services the basement and main level.  The original contractor only sealed off the vents in 2 of the bedrooms.

We are ready to install hardwood flooring in the bedrooms and just realized they didn't seal all the other rooms (instead the vent is covered tightly with aluminum foil to stop the airflow)!.

So my questions are.... 1. Can we just put sub-flooring over the vents and then the hardwoods?  2.  Is there a way to seal off the other vents closer to the heating unit so it isn't blowing air so far into the house that it isn't servicing?

Any ideas will be appreciated!
Karen

You can seal off a vent anywhere: the basic goal is to have zero air leakage. So to answer your question, yes it's possible to seal a vent below a subfloor.

If you don't seal it up properly though, you'll be blowing conditioned air into the space under your floor, which is a big waste of energy and will do basically nothing.

It's better to cap off closer to the blower unit, mainly to minimize the amount of air leakage along the run. The challenge is of course finding out which runs go where, and ensuring that you aren't blocking off a vent that feeds another area as well. It's pretty common to see 5 or 6" round duct used to feed each individual vent, and larger square duct as the main runs. If you can see the round duct for the room right by the furnace, there's a good chance it's only feeding that vent.

You can get round and square ("blind") end caps of varying sizes:

If you're pulling up the subfloor anyway, I'd take the boot right off and just put a cap on the line (as far back as possible to get to). Seal all seams around the cap (and anywhere else you can see that isn't sealed) with foil tape or mastic.

If you can't remove the boot (the part that comes up through the subfloor), the next best thing would be to seal it by placing a blind end cap over the opening and sealing it up. This would basically be butted up against the new floor. If there is minimal or no air leakage through the boot, it shouldn't really heat up much, but if air is allowed to move through the vent, you'll end up with a warm or cold spot on the floor, which may be weird.


How do I fix my garage door opener that stops working in hot weather? During hot weather, my garage door opener stops working.  Then it works OK when it cools in the evening.  Any ideas of how to fix?  Or what causes this hot weather stoppage?

I had this issue with a house and the root cause for me was sunlight interfering with the sensors.  It only happened in the summer for about 3 hours of the day when the sun was just right to overwhelm the light beam receiver.  My fix was a cardboard tube mounted around the receiver to provide addition sun light blocking so it could see the light emitter.  You can also try swapping the emitter and receiver.


How reliable AFDD switches are? (fire protection switches) A few years ago we had wood floor professionals extending power cables underneath the floor as part of an overall floor renovation.
We only recently learned that they used screw terminals which could be problematic when placed in inaccessible locations (such as under a wooden floor).
Our main concern is the fire hazard and it seems like we have two options:

Open the floor and re-wire everything - that would require re-finishing the entire floor to achieve a consistent look.
Install AFDD switches as mean to protect against fires.

I understand that option #1 is the best option. My question is how reliable AFDD switches are in this case? is option #2 good enough (realistically)?

In my opinion AFCI / AFDD are not nearly as good as they ought to be, but that's another matter.
I also do not know what codes would apply in your locale but in many, even if the AFDD reduces the hazard, it does not bring you up to code, leading to problems with insurance, sale of the house, etc.
But aside from those problems, I don't believe it's a sufficient remediation.  AFDDs are intended to detect the "signature" of arcing faults, that is, to recognize electrical activity in the circuit that indicates arcing is occurring.  With a bad screw terminal connection, you can get a high resistance non-arcing fault, where the connection will heat up and possibly start a fire, without ever causing an arc and without ever triggering an arc detecting device.


Solar panels: converter has AC Voltage out of range Since about six months our house has solar panels. There's a converter (4600 W) with two inputs hooked up to 6 and 7 solar panels respectively of 325 watt peak performance. Overall this setup runs fine.
On peak sunny moments however, the converter (which is hooked up to my wifi and I can read with an app on my phone) will tell me that my AC Outrange is out of bounds. On the Dutch power net, voltage should be 230V, with an upper tolerance of 253V. Apparently, we cross that threshold at times...
Now my question is: Is this over-voltage generated by my converter (and is that a factory defect / should my installer fix this) or is this voltage fed into my house over the power grid? I can imagine this happening on sunny days, as a lot of my neighbours have solar panels too.
I've polled this with the installer and the power company, but they're pointing fingers at each other and will send quite the invoice if they're called over to investigate. I'm trying to gauge what is causing this over-voltage to further pinpoint what party needs to fix this.
Included are two screen grabs of the app, showing one of the error messages, and the AC output voltage on a sunny moment (some time after getting the error). It rates the voltage at almost 250V, which is within tolerance, but barely.
The converter data

The error message

This is a safety feature to prevent "islanding".
Say what?
Imagine you have a generator.  Rule #1 of generators is "Don't backfeed the power grid!" Because if you did, that power would move backwards through the transformers, be stepped up to 9600 volt distribution voltage (which is the wire the tree fell on), and nail the linemen trying to restore your power!   So you must have an interlock to prevent that.
Enter a grid-tied solar system.  It does exactly the thing you can't do!  Connect the "generator" to both the grid and your loads!  How can that be safe???
Very simple. Solar grid-tie inverters are electronic and have a small computer onboard.  And solar is a tiny generator compared to the grid at large: the dog will wag the tail. The grid is so much mightier than the solar array that the grid will force the voltage and frequency to be in spec.  This is all specified in IEEE 1547 / UL 1741.  So the grid-tie inverter is actively looking for deviations in frequency and voltage, which would indicate that the mighty grid isn't there anymore to force things to norms.  Very slick design.
However... If the installed solar is too big compared to the grid capacity, they are poorly coupled: the tail can wag the dog as it were. And in a neighborhood full of solar systems, those systems can convince each other that they are the grid.   Now you have an island.  And that island can "go off and do its own thing" and lose touch with what the grid is doing.  Now you have a backfeeding problem.   That's what IEEE 1547 / UL 1741 are all about.
Thin wires will do it too
If the net solar generated in a particular place is much larger than the local load there, and the wires connecting to the rest of the grid are thin, then the local solar may have to push voltages pretty high to get its power out to the grid.

Suppose you have a neighborhood that's up a long, thin distribution line, and when everyone's air conditioners are going full tilt, it causes a lot of voltage drop, so the power company has jumpered the transformer +6% so it'll be in spec at max customer load. And then, everybody in the neighborhood installs solar panels.  At 11AM when the solar is near peak but the air conditioners haven't started really running yet, there's little local load and most of the solar output is going the other way.
Somebody has a 100m run from house to panels, and decide to use the legal minimum wire size (e.g. 1.5mm2 for 10A) with no bump for voltage drop/distance.  As a result, it suffers a 25V drop @ 10A. The inverter must make 256V for it to be 231V when it reaches the meter.  (panel voltage must be higher than grid voltage or current won't flow.)

The more power being generated by solar locally, the higher it must push the voltage to push that power onto the grid.
So grid-tie inverters must be sensitive to that, and do their IEEE 1547 duty to disconnect. They look for voltages out of bounds, as well as frequency instabilities.  Mind you, if the grid is up, it will force generators into sync.  So a grid-tie inverter does not want to use its onboard clocks to keep frequency on-spec; it wants to deviate to see if the grid will pull it back in line.
Look at your on-property wiring.
Make sure you didn't make the "too thin for the duty" wires between grid-tie inverter and your meter.
Also see if your neighborhood has a glut of solar, and if your neighborhood's distribution lines may be weak.  (this would be indicated by wide nighttime voltage fluctuations during  high-load times vs low-load; like dusk when the air conditioners are blasting full, vs 5AM when they are quiescent).  Has to be nighttime because you have to take the solar out of the picture.


How do I fix a leaky spigot on a rain barrel? I created a rain barrel using an old plastic 55 gallon barrel and a brass spigot.  I drilled a half-inch hole in the side of the barrel for the spigot, wrapped some plumbers tape around the threads, and screwed it into the hole.  Only one problem, the spigot leaks...a very slow drip at the base.  How do I prevent it from leaking?

I don't think the threads have enough to make a water tight seal against the rain barrel. Teflon tape is good when you have many threads making a connection between two joints. Instead, I'd make the hole larger, put a nut, washer, and rubber gasket on each side with the rain barrel in the middle so you can compress the rubber washer against the rain barrel for a water tight seal. Here is it in the ever so descriptive ascii art:

            *
        ||| * |||
| +-----+++---+++--
+-+     |||   |||
| | +---+++---+++--
  | |   ||| * |||
  ^^^       *  ^
faucet   ^  ^  +--- gasket, washer, nut
         |  +-- rain barrel
         +-- nut, washer, gasket


What exactly does 'Maximum of 8 No. 12 AWG Branch Circuit Conductors' mean? I'm installing some recessed lighting, the lights are IC and wet location rated if that helps.

The plates on the junction boxes attached to the cans say' Mamixum of 8 No. 12 AWG branch circuit conductors rated for at least 90 degrees C permitted in junction box, 4 in and 4 out'. In one box I have a line coming in (hot, neutral, and ground), and two going out (hot, neutral, ground each) in addition to the 4 16(?) gauge wires already attached to the can (two ground, one hot, one neutral).

My question is, does '8 conductors' include the ground wires and the can's already attached wires? And, how can I adjust for using 14 gauge instead of 12?

This is called box fill. You only have to count 1 of the grounding wires in the box. NEC 314.16.B.5. With that information you gave: Only 7 counted wires. table 314.16.A has many examples of 12AWG wire with 8, all of them allow for 9 with 14AWG wire. that gives enough room for 1 more 14-2 with ground beyond what you needed.


how to remove a stripped allen screw? I removed a spout handle that kept falling apart to repair it with teflon tape. I am now trying to put the handle back but the hex bolt is half recessed and badly stripped. How would I remove it?

I there is too little of the nut extended out for me to grab it with pliers or a wrench.

A left handed drill bit a little smaller than the thread size. Be sure to run the drill the correct direction for a left handed drill bit. The idea is to drill it out with a drill turning the direction that will tend to unthread it. If it is stubborn and does not unthread during drilling, use a screw extractor on it (the straight-splined versions (a) generally seem to be a better bet than the twist versions (b).)


How to bypass ballast for T8 led Here are pictures of my setup:

Here is the led light I was using which works without removing the ballast in the other fixture.
But I would still like to learn how to bypass the ballast.

Either stay with ballasts (and you might as well use real fluorescents; they're cheaper and the light is better)... or go to ballast-bypass LEDs.
A "Universal" LED will supposedly work either ballast-bypass or with a ballast.
The ballast you pulled was an entirely modern, rapid-start T8 ballast. That plus a modern T8 real fluorescent tube is state-of-the-art and better than LED IMO; I'm actually putting those in. I assume that ballast had failed?  (if you had been putting T12 tubes in it, that would give poor performance).
With direct-wire LED "replacement tubes", there are two configurations you'll find.
Single-ended, direct-wire
This isn't your application, I'm only telling you about it because you need to know that it exists so you can be on the lookout for it.
In this case, the tube wants 120V hot + neutral on the 2 pins at one end.  The other end is completely dead and does nothing.
In my opinion single-ended is a bad idea - it's hard to wire, and it puts 120V between the two end pins, and they were never made for that.  Installing a double-ended "tube" may go kaboom. I don't like kaboom, it seems unprofessional.
Double-ended, direct wire, or universal
In this case, the tube wants hot + neutral at opposite ends of the tube.  It wants both pins at each end connected.   Generally when you have a Universal LED tube that works either with or without ballast, it will be this type.  (for technical reasons).
This is your case.
This is very simple and straightforward to wire.  All the wires from one end of the fixture, go to Hot.  All the wires from the other end of the fixture, go to Neutral.  To join that many #18 wires, use an orange wire nut.
If you mistakenly install any single-ended "tubes", they just won't work.
Aren't LED replacement tubes fun?  More confusing than T12 vs T8, and $10 a tube instead of $2!  Supposedly they last forever, but I see a lot of dead ones when I go through big-box stores and look at their ceilings.


How to secure outlet boxes to studs when running surface mount EMT My workshop is not finished (i.e. walls are open) and I plan to keep it that way.  My plan is to surface mount the EMT and outlet boxes to the wall studs as opposed to running EMT through the studs.  But I wonder if this is a bad idea for the following reasons:

Some of the outlet boxes (mainly 1-gang) look to have no back holes through which I can run screws to secure to the studs.  If there are holes, they are off center, which means they will get a lot of torque when plugging/unplugging.

Some 2-gang boxes have center holes in the back, but I think the boxes will wiggle a lot with just two screws right in the middle.  Again, there will be a lot of torque on these screws.

I think I need a better way of securing the boxes to the studs, but I just don't see it right now.  Are the problems I listed above real problems and is there a better way of doing this?

Don't look at device boxes, which are one gang, two gang, etc.  Handy boxes are OK for a switch or etc. but not what I'd use here.   I wouldn't want plastic faceplates for shop use, even though the nylon ones are pretty durable.
You want 4x4 boxes

and raised industrial covers

The 4x4 (aka 4-square) boxes will have the holes where you want them.  You can get raised covers for a single duplex receptacle, two duplex receptacles, single round receptacles, GFCI receptacles, just about anything you want.
They look good, and they are extremely durable.


What to expect when tearing up carpet? What should I expect when I tear up carpet? My brother's dogs have stained my carpets with their pee and poop, he also has tracked in grease from his work boots and stained it with tattoo ink. I want to tear up my carpet and do something different on the floor. Was thinking just painting and sealing the concrete and put down some throw rugs. What's easiest for someone who doesn't have a lot of experience in this type of thing?

expect stains, smells, and possibly mastic/glue.

If you're looking for an 'industrial loft' feel, clean it up the best you can and then just cover it with some high-end concrete/floor paint...or epoxy. It'll be rough, but practical.

For a more finished looked, hire someone with a concrete grinder to grind off the bad top layer of glue, dog pee and what-have you. Come back and then apply an acid stain to the entire thing. When finished, give it a seal coat. That's what we did with our basement floor and, at least for me, I love the look.


Light socket to outlet adapter not working I typically use two socket to outlet adaptors with a light bulb socket to put the bulb back in to the fixture to light two holiday wreaths with a small strand of lights each. They have always worked but this year when I plug in the light strand neither the bulb or the strand goes on. I replaced the adaptors and still have the same issue, not sure why all the sudden they do not work.

I find this with cfl lamps quite often and think your adapters have the same issue.
The problem in most cases the center conductor is not touching.
But they worked last year the same fixture and adapter.
The center tab quite often gets folded down sometimes because of a extra tight light bulb sometimes because of heat.
The fix:
With the power off!  pulling the tab away from the fixture or lifting it a little bit has always fixed this issue for me, 150w incandescent lamps were really hard on fixtures and this method worked on them even with the “high current draw / heat”.
Don’t get crazy it usually won’t take much just a 1/10 of an inch or possibly up to 1/4 but that will usually fix this problem, give it a try.
Again with the power off raise the center tab it is usually a brass colored metal tab that is bent, just straighten so it contacts the adapter.


Where new roof shingles meet old, how to fix poor seal? So about 6 years ago we had all the shingles in our house replaced. Last year we added on a room to the house, and luckily they were able to find and use the same shingles on the addition. However, I found a where the new shingles meet the old; some of the old shingles are not tightly laying on the new ones – not forming a tight seal. How do you recommend I make these new shingles flush with the old one? If using cement or such where on the old shingle would I place it? E.g. very bottom or 3 inches from the bottom etc.?

I also want to point out that the new shingles look perfectly placed and proper with the old ones as far as placement goes, the seal just seems off.

Get a caulking tube of asphalt flashing cement at the hardware store and put a 1/8-3/16 inch bead of it under each tab. Use good judgement, and leave enough space at the shingle edges so that the cement doesn't squeeze out.


Q: What is the safest way to clean soiled concrete for tiling in a small kitchen? I'm planning on tiling my kitchen floor which is bare concrete. However, I did a water test on the concrete and it's soiled to the point that water beads up on the surface. The floor most likely needs to be treated to ensure a proper bond with the tile, but I cannot seem to find any information on treating concrete indoors, particularly in a small kitchen. My concern is using any powerful acids indoors due to the fumes, pets in the home, and having large amounts of water on the floor to wash it off. I have read about grinding concrete but that would generate a lot of fine dust which I don't want to get into other parts of the house.

What is the safest way to get the concrete clean enough for tiling? For reference I do have large doors leading outside from the kitchen which helps for any ventilation needs.

I'd go with a decoupling membrane - like ditra.  The membrane technically requires the substrate to be clean for bonding as well but the failure is less likely for the whole membrane vs a single tile.  If you bond the membrane to the floor using the recommended thinset and then bond the tiles to the membrane the tiles will be held tight.  If the membrane bond isn't perfect that shouldn't really matter as it will move as a whole and derive strength from the overall bond and weight of the tile on top of it.

I'd still scrape the concrete with a floor scraper.  I don't know if I'd do much more than that.

You could grind but as you mention it can be dusty and expensive.


Antique Cast Iron Sink Wall Mounting Support and Weight Issues? I have an existing stud assembly where a pedestal sink basin was bolted to the wall.  I'm looking to replace it with the (future restored) sink in the photo, but I want to ensure its weight is supported.

Do standard stud/bolt supports work for a sink like this since there are no legs or a pedestal, or is further wall reinforcement needed?

I will definitely be using an iron bracket to attach it.

Thanks in advance.

I have removed several of these sinks in the past when remodeling turn of the century homes.

They were bolted directly to the studs with ¼” lag bolts that were ~2-1/2 – maybe 3” long. One had a bracket it slipped on to no screws through the back is this the type of bracket you have? that one had 4 nails into the studs.

There was no other support.
All of the houses had lath and plaster walls at least ½” thick maybe slightly thicker.
One of the sinks still had the ceramic buttons that covered the bolts I believe these are the hardest parts to find originals for.

One caution most of the drains the drains were made from lead pipe and had lead seals. You might want to upgrade the drain to get rid of the lead.

Many of those homes had oak 2X4's but I don't think there will be any problem with pull out with fir or pine studs.


Stone veneer fireplace with TV mount and mantle I'm currently attempting to create a "stone" accent wall where I plan on installing a fireplace mantel and TV mount.
I purchased and hung cement board to my frame and came across a few conversation / videos which at best, befuddled me.
1) Metal Lath: It seems as though some products don't require one. They simply attach the stone to the wall using said "glue/mortar" and its good to go. I'm going to have kids running around this thing, so It can't fall apart.
2) TV Mount: Some people attach the mount to the Cement board and put stone around it, others screw through the stone.
3) Mantel: Same as the tv mount, mantel first and stone after?
Any and all help is appreciated!

If you use actual cement board, actual mortar, and actual stone, it will hold together due to a chemical reaction that basically turns the stone, mortar, and rock into a single piece of rock.  Just make sure NOT to use too much water in the mortar.  It should be almost like playdough.  The biggest mistake people make with mortar (and other cement) is making it thin like vomit.  Make sure to wipe the cement board with a wet sponge before placing the rock on it.
Once everything is together and hardened you can drill into the rock facing and use concrete anchors if you want.  That is what I would do in case I ever wanted to remove the TV mount and replace it with a different one.
This job can be easier if you buy stone that has been rock-sawn in half (so that the "back side" going against the cement board is smooth)


ecobee3 Installation - Thermostat Y Terminal (yellow) Wire Connects to C Terminal Board enter image description hereI'm attempting to install a new ecobee3 on an older Coleman Evcon gas furnace and AC HVAC system. The system is what I would consider typical residential as far as I can see. There is currently a Honeywell RTH2410B1001 programmable stat installed and (seemingly) functioning as expected. The wiring at the thermostat is the typical Y R G W wiring (actual wire colors also match the terminal label designation).

When I went to install the ecobee3 PEK module, I noticed that the yellow wire (the thermostat Y terminal) is connected directly to the HVAC control board C terminal, and the control board Y terminal is empty. The other wires (R, G, W) are as expected.

I'm not sure what to do at this point. I'm reluctant to simply follow ecobee's instructions (waiting for their support to call me back with with more information) for connecting the PEK module wires to the corresponding control board terminals, and then plugging in the stat wires to the terminal board on the PEK module based on the thermostat wiring (essentially ignoring the fact that Y -> C).  Also, I just don't understand how the AC compressor relay is energized and functions if the Y stat terminal is sent straight to common. (I found the splice up in the drop ceiling between Y and the AC compressor relay).

Any help anyone could provide would be much appreciated.

It looks like there's an unused blue wire in the cable. Just hook that up at both ends to the C terminals, and make sure you connect them together at the splice.

You might have to use a twist-on wire connector and a bit of scrap wire, to extend the cut off blue wire to reach the terminals.


Bare or insulated grounding wire? I am pulling about 120' 6 AWG wires from my main panel to a pool control center, and my question is do I use bare or insulated ground wire. Also, based on the tables it seems like even 10 AWG would be fine for it, but I will be using #8.

Beg pardon: insulated is called for, unclear why (no explanation of the "logic" is made.) http://www.biupa.com/assets/poolelectric.pdf


Is it OK to have heating registers and returns near the ceiling? I've got a question about a new house - a friend of my mother's is buying a new place and when she did a walkthrough (before the drywall was up), she noticed that all the heating registers and returns are near the tops of the walls (on both floors of a 2 story). When quizzed about this the builder (foreman?) claimed it 'worked better this way'.

The registers don't have any directional control (so you can't really aim the heat downwards or anything).

This seems more than a little odd to me - I'd have assumed that you'd want heat registers near the floor with cold air returns at floor level, but some distance away (to give hot air ability to rise, cool to fall). Is this some kind of compromise position for central air? Does it actually work well?

Added: The house is in Maryland, not too far from Baltimore, so both heating and cooling are important. I'm informed also that the house is built over a crawlspace, if that matters.

Physics dictates that for heating, on the walls near the ceiling is not going to be good for overall room heating.  However, depending on the structure of the house and location of the hvac system, they may be placed there to avoid long and convoluted runs of ducting which can decrease the efficiency.

Taking just the room into consideration you're going to tend to concentrate heat near the top and not heat the floor, much like in a lake you will have a distinct transition between the warm surface and colder bottom.  Ceiling fans are going to be a must to evenly distribute the heat.

So it may be the most efficient setup for that house, but it's definitely not the best setup as a general rule.

You're far enough north that heating costs are generally going to be worse than cooling costs.


My gas water heater's T&P relief valve is leaking. Can I safely close the heater's supply valve & leave the gas on? My gas water heater's pressure relief valve isn't sealing and releases ~3 gallons of water per hour outside the house. I'd like to shut the heater's water feed line OFF until I can buy and install a new valve. Is it safe to close  the heater's supply valve overnight w/o turning off the gas? Or would that be like a time bomb?

It's likely best to turn off both the water and gas supply. Risking running your water heater dry is not worth it.


energizing both elements of electric hot water heater I'm considering using an electric hot water heater (EHWH) with upper and lower heating elements as an electric diversion load.   This EHWH would be for pre-heating the water bound for the standard HWH.

Often the total watt rating of the EHWH is larger of the two elements - instead of the sum.  Is it allowed (*) to energize both heating elements at the same time?

'allowed' means - general technical limitation of the EHWH - not necessary code related.  Also I'm also interested relevant code limitations and their reasons.

** Might also be relevant to post in a different forum?

Although different heater manufacturers have and could still do different things, they rarely would configure the heaters to operate both elements at the same time because amperage draw doubles, wire gauge size increases, fuse size increases and little is gained in heat recovery.

Pic below illustrates operation of elements on standard dual-element heaters with non-simultaneous operation.

Pic courtesy of A.O. Smith Co.

  Is it allowed (*) to energize both heating elements at the same time?

NO, unless the heater was originally designed for that. You can never modify equipment (especially a boiler) without manufacturer's permission.


Cheapest way to screw in drywall close to a big hole without patching the hole I am replacing our thermostat. The new one has only two holes for mounting to the wall. There is a big round hole in the wall already. I can't position the new thermostat in a way that I can put a new screw in because its always too close to the existing hole. The holes for the new thermostat are vertical and even if I push/pull the thermostat to the left/right, the mounting hole spots are still too close to the edges of the big hole in the wall.
I know I can cut a big square from the drywall and patch it with new drywall but I am trying to avoid that.
Is there another way I could screw the new thermostat into the wall?

My cheap solution for small patchups, is to use a 6 or 7 inch piece of a paint stirrer stick.
Smear it with wood glue or construction adhesive and center it on your hole, inside the drywall, aimed where you might want to drive your screws.  A screw in the middle can be a handle.
You'll have to keep it place while it dries.  If you don't care about more holes, a drywall screw on either side will work.  Remove and patch when done.  Predrill though, as the sticks will split.   Or tie some string around the middle, and use another stick on the outside to hold it tight.


Can I repair this crack in my sprinkler backflow preventer? I have a crack in one part of my sprinkler backflow preventer/vacuum breaker. It looks a lot like this:

Can I re-seal this crack? Or do I have to buy a whole new assembly?

It's a fairly standard quarter turn ball valve, for permanent repair, take the union loose, remove the valve and replace with like.

No patch you can apply will properly seal against expansion propagating through the patch material or breaking the patch material off eventually. Any moisture underneath the patch allowed to freeze will spall it off of the casting. Water pressure under the material tends to work it off akin to how the pressure in a blister separates the skin layers.

About the only thing I would recommend for patching is MarineTex which is a super duty industrial Marine Epoxy made for use on water containing castings in damp environments. You will have to sand the area to remove casting skin, extending the area beside and well beyond the crack, clean the surface thoroughly with MEK or Acetone and then mix up and apply the MarineTex per directions.


Can the breaker on a sub-panel be rated for more amps than the main breaker? Got a new spa I want to replace old 40amp sub with a 50 amp sub GFCI ( the only one available ) it is on a dedicated 40 amp from the main. Maybe a stupid question but can my main be less than my sub?

A little more info.

Spa only requires 30amp because it is much smaller than the previous spa, and I never had trouble with the breaker. I just wanted to add in the GFI for safety reasons, because it wasn't required 10-15 years ago when original was installed.  it was city inspected when I originally put it in, so wire size, type, conduit are all to "code"

If the current panel is fed from a 40 ampere breaker, with wire rated for 40 amperes. Installing a 50 ampere breaker in the second panel is pointless, since the 40 ampere breaker will trip before the load can draw 50 amperes.

If you want to upgrade to a 50 ampere breaker in the second panel, you'll have to upgrade the breaker in the main panel, and the conductors feeding the second panel. Then you can install a 50 ampere GFCI breaker in the second panel.

After new info.

If you're putting in a 50 ampere breaker; even simply for GFCI protection, all the wiring downstream of the breaker must be rated for 50 amperes.

A circuit breaker is designed to protect the wiring and devices connected to it. If you have a 30 ampere load (the spa) protected by a 40 or 50 ampere breaker, than the load and wiring could carry 40 or 50 amperes before the circuit breaker even thinks about reacting.  So unless the wiring is sized to dissipate that amount of heating, then you're creating a dangerous situation.

My advice is to put a new 30 ampere GFCI breaker in the second panel. If that's all that the spa requires, why muck about with anything else.  If the store doesn't have what you need, order it, or go to a different store.

The best way to know for sure, is to contact the local Electrical inspector. It's going to be their call as to whether or not they pass your wiring.


What to use to remove Magnesium sulfate ( palm tree fertilizer) stain on the driveway need some advice on what to use to remove magnesium sulfate stain from a concrete driveway. I have used ammonia, 30% vinegar but none were effective.

The best concrete cleaner I have found for stubborn stains is diluted muriatic acid. You can purchase it in diluted form at most hardware stores. I recently used it to remove dried tung oil from a concrete patio.
You need to be sure to wear gloves and protective goggles if applying it by hand. Follow directions on the bottle. In my case I left it on overnight covered with a plastic tarp. In your case you may not need to leave it on overnight. Be aware that you need to protect surrounding vegetation when applying it and rinsing it off.


What is a good method to seal a baseboard to stop an existing draft? Probably, due to faulty insulation/damp barrier, there is a cold draft coming through one of the upstairs baseboard. What is a good method to seal it? (It is a rented house, so, no I do not want to fix the source of the problem)

If the gap isn't too big, regular caulk will seal the gap between it and the wall.  If you're using it at the top of the baseboard and can get it in the same color as the baseboard, you might not even have to paint it.


Which wire is the ground in this light box? So I'm trying to fit a new light fixture that's got the usual black, white, and copper/green wires coming out from the light itself. However, when I took off the old light and looked at the wires in the electrical box in the ceiling, the black and white are self-evident (see photo), but I cannot figure out where the copper/green wire is for the ground:

Maybe the previous light didn't make use of a ground?

Or maybe the ground is that there's a mess of wires that are the third set in the photo, besides the aforementioned black and white ones. This mess of wires is a mix of black and white, all coming together into a twist-on wire connector.

BTW I read this one and some related questions, but didn't figure it out... Can I safely ground a light fixture if the ceiling box has two hot and one neutral wire (no ground wire)

Edit: To the request for better/closer photo, I've added a zoomed-in version of the photo above, hope it helps.

Here's my best guess at the wiring based on the photo. Looks like you've got one hot/neutral coming into the box from the panel (or another switch/outlet), and you've got 2 hot/neutrals going out of the box to other switches/outlets.  Since these are all joined together, it doesn't really matter which one is coming in and which two are going out.

Then it looks you you have a white wire connected to the bundle of hot wires, and that white is going out of the box to the switch, and then a black wire returning from the switch, which goes to your lamp. This is pretty common, but that white wire should probably be marked at both ends to indicate that it's actually a hot.

Based on what I can see in the picture, you do not have a ground wire. It's possible that the box itself is grounded, either with a ground wire screwed to it that's  not visible in the photo or by metal conduit, but based on the yellowed insulation of the white wires, my guess is that your house is old enough that no ground was required at the time, so there is not ground wire.

Update based on your close-up picture, there are ground wires, they are sort of terminated to the box on the strain relief clamps. If you have enough slack, it would be good to wirenut them all together securely with one pigtail that goes to the box and one to your lamp. Otherwise, make sure they are all securely fastened to the box, only one of them (the one that leads back to the panel) is a "real" ground, the others are providing ground for downstream lights/outlets, so  make sure that all all them are securely fastened.


How to repair void in edge of subfloor from rot? Started what I thought was an easy job of placing "peel and stick" tile and grout in my downstairs bathroom, but that was until I removed the quarter round at the base of the tub.

It is not all the way through. I've been under the house to check, plus I cannot poke through it with a screwdriver.

What can I do here? It is such a small area that I'm not enthusiastic about laying new subfloor.

Yick, we had something similar but worse.  I:
Cut out whatever subfloor was gone.
The joists were stained and powdery looking in spots, so to prevent any mold colonies I painted those up to the edges of the remaining subfloor material with Kilz.  When that was dry, I screwed in pieces of matching plywood to replace the gaps, noting that I made sure to have all edges secured over the joists - no pieces with hanging edges short of the joists.
I then painted everything I replaced on the exposed subfloor with Kilz, going on the idea that if it seeped once, it could seep again someday.

(Replacing the entire floor - once I had 1/2" plywood down, replaced where needed, I went over that with 1/4", which made sure no repair seams showed through the flooring over time.)


How to test to see if a wall is straight for laminate flooring installation? Can you tell me how i can test to see if a wall is straight for laminate flooring installation?

One way to test a wall for straightness is to stretch a string from corner to corner. A good practice when doing this is to space the string out in the corners by the thickness of a board. Then the gap between the string and wall all along can be checked to see how even the wall is. The gap can even be checked with another piece of board that has the same thickness as that used in the corners.


How do easements work? Who can use them? For the sake of clarifying the question, I'll offer this hypothetical.

Assume I had a neighbor down the street and I wanted to run a cable between our homes. There is an existing utility easement running along the street.

Is it possible to take advantage of that easement to bridge across other people's properties like the phone,electric and cable companies do? Who would you even talk to if you wanted to find out?

Update for clarification per the comments: I am in the United States, in a rural area outside of Austin Texas.

Generally, no. The utility easements are for use by utility companies, not individual homeowners. If you tried to ask for official blessing, you wouldn't get it as you are not a recognized utility.


Goodman furnace - intermittantly works (80% of time works, then one blink (ignition failure) Goodman furnace - works most of the time. Then, it will give the one-blink indicator of ignition failure. We either wait for it to cycle (which can take 30m-1hr) or turn off the power to the furnace and turn it back on which works.

This is odd. 80% of the time it is working properly. Then, why wouldn't it? I've stood in front of it - motor runs, gas is flowing and it won't ignite. My only guess is flame sensor or ignitor, which I'm leaning towards ignitor.

QUESTION: I thought ignitors are either working or their not. Thoughts?

UPDATE: Thank you for the replies thus far. This seems to happen most often in the morning, rather than mid-day or at night. Lately it kicks on for a little bit in the morning on first run then stops and cycles with the one blink. Turning the furnace off, then on, then adjusting the thermostat tends to get it to work and it'll work all day. Lately the next day it repeats itself.

The startup of a gas furnace usually sees the controller moving through a series of states. The controller would verify that high temperature limit switch is not activated, the exhaust pressure sensor shows no pressure, then switch on the inducer fan, then verify that the exhaust pressure shows pressure, then turn on the igniter. I don't know if any common controllers verify the igniter (current consumption, heat produced, etc) or not. After a delay the gas valve is opened. As long as the gas valve remains open the controller continuously looks for the flame proving sensor to verify that the burner is still burning.

If your furnace always ignites when there's a call for heat but subsequently extinguishes before the call for heat was satisfied then the problem could be anywhere: flame sensing, exhaust pressure sensing, high limit cutout.. flame sensing is probably the most likely, though, because arguably it experiences the most extreme operating conditions.

On the other hand, if it sometimes doesn't ignite at all, that's more likely to be an igniter problem than a flame proving problem. I agree it seems most sensible that an igniter might completely fail, but I guess there must be some intermittent failure modes possible too. You could remove it and visually inspect for cracks or other signs of failure, but be prepared to deal with the possibility that this might push it from partial failure to complete failure!


Placing wooden box underground; how to protect? I'm getting ready to start working on my property this summer and instead of hauling a bunch of tools back and forth all the time, I'm going to build a large wooden box to keep all that stuff underground, away from the elements as well as anyone who might be moving around the area. It's fairly isolated but I don't want stuff just lying around, just to be safe.

Of course, I'd like the box to last for years, so my worry is how long would the wood last against the dirt? My brain is telling me to wrap it in black plastic to keep water and insects out but is there a better way?

Thanks!

Use pressure-treated wood and coat the outside with asphalt emulsion (some call it bitumen). Remember- high & dry, like on a hill. And if you bury anything above the frost line and leave it over winter, it will at least move and maybe break (climate depending). Pay careful attention to the lid closure to make it watertight, and add some sort of dessicant to combat condensation inside the box.


Running underground wire to a shed I want to run an underground electric cable to a shed which is 200 feet from the house.

I was wondering what the pros and cons were of using an existing overhead line and putting in conduit.

Also what size of wire would be needed as I have a welder in the shed.

You CANNOT move the overhead line to underground. Everything from the enclosures, attachments, and the cable itself are different. Basically you'd have to remove the overhead line and associated parts and re-do the run with conduit (or direct bury). Where or not you can use the existing panels and such would need to be determined on site.

In my strong opinion this is not something for a casual DIYer. This is only something for a someone with a good bit of experience in this type of work.

With only knowing you will be running a welder it is impossible to accurately say what wire to use. Personally, with a home shop you'd almost certainly be fine with a 90-100A feeder. You can use 100A MHF cable (mobile home feeder) which is readily available anywhere. IMO anything smaller isn't worth it in the long run.
One thing, due to the length of the run, you may want to drop the feeder breaker to 70A to curb voltage drop. Again, this all depends on what will be used at the same time.


Problem mounting TV wall mount / possible cracked stud So, I attached a TV wall mount to the wall yesterday and everything went fine right up until the end.  The wall mount is attached with 4 lag bolts in a square pattern with two each on two adjacent studs.  I followed the instructions exactly, pre drilling each hole to a depth of 2.5 inches with a 7/32 inch bit.  As I was just finished tightening up the last bolt (bottom, right), I heard a cracking noise which I assumed was the stud.  I stopped tightening immediately, but I was basiclaly done anyway.  I checked with a stud finder and in fact I did drill the pilots really close to the outside (right) edge of the stud.  The end of the stud just about touches the edge of the washer.  I'm not sure how to proceed.  The mount feels rock solid.  The TV I intend to hang weight 56 pounds.

One other data point, is that I realized after the fact, that the corner edges of the mounts had actually broken through the drywall a little bit.  Is there any chance that the cracking noise was the drywall?  Or alternatively is the fact that it broke through the drywall evidence that hte stud is cracked?  I've hung a couple of these before and always snugged them down pretty good and never seen that before.  Anyway, what would you do?  Should I try to hang the TV?  Should I move the mount down three or four inches?  Other alternatives?

Thanks!

If you have three good solid lags in predrilled holes that is more than enough to support the TV.  I suspect that you did break off the edge of the stud.  You can always drill the metal of the bracket over a 1/2" and put in a new hole.  Go Luck and happy viewing.


Furnace continously shutting down due to lost or low flame sense (Rheem) My furnace will run great for most of its cycle, but when it has almost reached the thermostat setting, I will hear it shut off, run the blower, then re-light. It will sometimes finally reach temperature, but other times it will continue to cycle until I shut it off.

I had the installer look at it in Nov. 2016 and they told me "cannot find anything wrong." Then in Feb. 2017 they told me "unit has issues with gas valve" and replaced the modulating gas valve. I continued to have issues, so in April 2017, they replaced the flame sensor.

The next year, I continued to have issues. At one point, I finally heard what sounded like water in the inducer motor. I pulled the drain lines and cleaned the condensate trap. That fixed it for a while, but then the issue started happening again.

The problem started again this past December. I had a different HVAC tech come look at it, and he replaced the entire condensate trap at the beginning of January. He also told me the furnace was tilted away from the trap and that made it hard to drain water and also that the inducer was going bad (it's extremely loud) due to the water that had backed up.

The furnace ran great for about a month but is now having the same issue. The error codes are always either "low flame sense" or "lost flame sense."

I have spent about $900 so far, and while I don't mind paying to have something repaired, I feel like I've been chasing the same problem for two years now. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Model: Rheem RGGD-09EZCMS

I'd definitely correct the slope regardless, you may be able to use a pry bar and shims if you're carful. The gas valve can only deliver what it's given. Gas line sizing is a pressure/distance/capacity/diameter relationship. @7"water column (normal delivery pressure, at least where I live) a 120mbtu furnace with 50' of gas pipe between the meter and gas valve will require a 3/4" black iron gas line. 50' of 1/2" will only deliver 95mbtus. You have to allow for anything else like a water heater or stove. Tankless water heaters are usually 150-200mbtus.

It's hard to say what the problem is without seeing it, but it seems like you've explored other potential problems already. It could be a combination of issues too.

P.S. Pipe size is measured by the internal diameter. 1/2" pipe is actually about 3/4" outside diameter.


How to set stepping stones in steep, loose hillside My lot is carved out of a steep hillside.  Behind the house there is a very steep slope (30-45 degrees).  The soil (at least for a large part of it) was entirely removed and replaced during the construction of my foundation.  The topmost layer is several inches of loose topsoil covered with chipped wood.

I would like to set stones of some kind in the hillside to make it easier to navigate.  What's the easiest way to do this?  I'd like to avoid having to dig out several feet with a post hole digger and pour concrete for each one (although it's the Pacific Northwest, so I wouldn't have to go that deep).  Ideally there would be some product I could drive into the ground like a T post and then top with a step.

As long as the steps are well drained, you need no foundation.

Dig deep enough that you can lay down at least 4 inches of coarse stone (1/2" to 1" in diameter) below and 4 inches of regular gravel (1/4" in diameter) on top of that (round is better than angular, if you can find it). On top of the gravel use an inch of sand. Place the stone slabs overlapping each other about 50%. So, for example, if each step is 20" deep then shoot for a 10" overlap. The exact dimensions of the steps and overlap will depend on the steepness of the hill. At the bottom of the steps make sure there is some kind of good drainage so that water will not pool there.

Steps of this design will be very solid and last for hundreds of years.


Attaching a fabric/ribbon border to a bamboo shade I would like to attach a ribbon or fabric border to my bamboo shade at the bottom of the valence piece. Since the shade material isn’t fabric, I’m thinking the best method would be to use a hot glue gun. Any other suggestions other than a glue gun method? Thanks!

I tried uploading a picture but I’m not sure if it worked.

I think hot glue would be the easiest and would do a fine job of holding the fabric in place.

The drawback is that hot glue can change the appearance of the fabric. I recommend using a swatch of fabric as a test piece to ensure that any change caused by application of hot glue is acceptable to you...


Does NEC require a separate circuit for a whole house fan? I need to install a whole house fan and would like to know if I am required to have that fan on its own circuit. I am in Los Angeles County if you happen to know of any L.A./California deviations.

I don't believe the fan mfr will call for a dedicated circuit but you may want to contact them to be sure. More than likely, they'll defer to local codes so also check with your local inspector.  As with any other device, consider the other loads on that circuit, and which ones could be operating at the same time, to ensure you don't overload the circuit.

Anecdotally... My own house fan is on the same circuit with my dining room & hallway.  In normal use, I'll have up to 11 led lights (154 Watts, about 1.5 Amps) and the 1/3 hp fan (6.7 Amps published, unknown actual) running and can add a vacuum cleaner with no problem on a 20 A circuit.

Fan specifics... The install instructions for a Dayton 1LXN7, 1LXN8, 2EAX4, and 2EAX5 don't say anything about a dedicated circuit. Their manual just says...
"Install the fan control(s) in the desired location and wire according to the appropriate wiring diagram (following applicable NEC and local codes).  Connect power to motor and 2-speed switch with timer using approved wiring methods."

The instructions for an Attic Cool/Ventamatic CX242DDWT, CX302DDWT, CX24BD2SPD, CX30BD2SPD, CX36BD2SPD, CX242DDWTHUB, CX302DDWTHUB, CX24BDM-2SPDHUB, CX30BD-2SPDHUB, and CX36BD2SPDHUB also don't mention a dedicated circuit...
"Note All wiring supplies and installations must meet or exceed the requirements of local electrical and fire codes.  Wire to 120 Volt, 60 Hz circuit only, using 14-3 two-conductor wiring with ground." ... "Install included switches in a double gang UL listed wiring box, in a wall close to the fan."


Help identifying a tool? Anyone know what this is? We have two of them. The long notched piece moves up and down. Thanks!

It's a ladder jack. The square brackets go on the legs of an extension ladder and the hook goes over a higher rung. You can hang a staging plank between two ladders in the resulting triangle, which is why you have a pair of them.

The drawing below is backwards, but representative of the general idea. The jacks would normally be hung under the ladder so the plank is close to the building.


How can I fix my toilet valve so I can stop jiggling the handle after flushing? Possible Duplicate:
  Why does my toilet intermittently run continually?

Clearly the valve plunger (?) isn't seating correctly, but I don't know what to do about it.  If I flush, wait 2 seconds, jiggle the handle, then everything is fine.  Otherwise, the water will run all day.

Can I put vaseline around the edge of the hole in the tank?

You can purchase a new flapper valve if you can find one of the same model, or my preference is to replace the entire guts of the toilet if they are more than 5 or so years old.  Kits and/or parts are easy to find at your local HI store and it's one of the easier plumbing jobs out there (though notoriously dirty).

Just be sure you follow the first rule of toilet repair: do not over tighten or use force.  The porcelain can take a lot of compression, but if anything is pushed to expand, it will crack easily and you're left with buying a new toilet, replacing the wax seal, and possibly the supply line if your existing one isn't flexible.


crack in foundation wall, QUIKRETE Hydraulic Water-Stop Cement I'm in the middle of repairing a crack in my 30+year foundation wall using QUIKRETE Hydraulic Water-Stop Cement.
It's been repaired before, I've been in the house for over 10 years, previous owner must of done the repair.
As you can see from the photos it's a big crack, I chiseled it so that it has inverted V shape, recommended by manufacture.
There is no way that I can repair this all in one shot, recommended by manufacture. They say that it might leak from the two or more joints of Hydraulic Water-Stop Cement.
Has one did a repair with this QUIKRETE Hydraulic Water-Stop Cement and had to mix 2 or more batches to finish the repair?

If you already have purchased the product, you will have no choice but to work fast. You will definitely need to make more than one batch. Just get the new batch made as soon as you can, using more than one bucket if you need to save time from having to clean the mess of the first bucket.

I seen the method they prefer for small cracks, applying it by hand. I would suggest trying a masons slick

They come in various widths, from 1/4" to 3/4" and possibly wider. I would try a 1/2" to get the cement in the bottom of the cut and fill it up about halfway with the first mix and top it off with the next mixes. This tool may take some getting used to and you may be better off cramming it in by hand. But this is what I would at least try.


Hang 20lb projector screen on Hardieplank The siding on my house is Hardieplank cement fiber board.

I have a 20lb manual pull down projector screen that I would like to hang onto the side of my house to create an outdoor theater.

The studs are 16 inches apart, and the length of the screen is 92". How do I go about hanging something this heavy on the Hardieplank when the studs don't line up with the hooks on the screen?
Should I just return the screen and opt for one that can be hung on a stand?

Mount a board on the wall and then mount the screen on the board.

Get an 8 foot cedar or pressure treated 2x6, you can then use timber screws to mount it to the wall insuring you hit the studs. You will need to pre-drill both the 2x6 and the cement siding, the hole in the siding should be as big as the screw and the hole in the board should be just smaller then the screw. This will prevent the board and siding from splitting.

I would think three studs would be sufficient for the weight of the screen.

Put some Quad silicone in the hole in the siding and the hole in the 2x6 to prevent water from entering the wall.

You may want to use spacers behind the board, cedar or composite shims also pre-drilled, so that the board sits off the wall by a 1x4 inch. This will allow air to get in and prevent  water getting trapped, it will also help to put the board at the correct angle  if your siding is typical lap siding.

You now have solid surface to mount your screen to.


Is it safe to combine Christmas miniature light sets of different amperage? I have two sets of 8mm mini lights that specify 120V 5A on the plug and one set of 5mm mini lights that say 120V 2A.

Is it safe to use them together without blowing/frying the 2A set?

If they are set up with a plug at one end and a socket at the other, should be fine - though I'd certainly suggest plugging the 2A string into the 5A string, rather than the other way around.


Is it permissible to cover over an ethernet (or other low voltage) wall plate I am building a built-in bookshelf that covers a good portion of a wall.  I know it is not to code to bury an electrical junction box, so I moved an outlet accordingly.  I also have an ethernet data outlet that needs to be moved.  I am planning on moving it, but it did make me wonder:
Is it also a code violation to bury outlets like ethernet and coaxial cables, etc behind a permanent bookshelf, or does the code just apply to regular electrical junction boxes?

You can block it. However, you should consider one of three other options:

Disconnect - Find the other end. Disconnect it. Label it ("living room bookcase"). That way if someone (including yourself) years from now looks at the tangle of wiring and wonders "Hmmm, maybe this wire might go where I need it" or "What does this do, can I remove it?", you won't have to go hunting all over the place to figure it out.

WiFi Hotspot - Depending on your house, adding WiFi hotspots may be a useful thing. Since you have an Ethernet connection sitting unused, you could use this as a connection for a WiFi hotspot. If you use a hotspot that gets power over Ethernet then you don't have to worry about electric power here, so it is very safe. You can even route a patch cable (if you don't feel like running the wire farther inside the wall) behind the bookcase and stick the hotspot on top for better coverage.

Convenience Outlet - Depending on location, either right where it is now (cut a hole in the back panel of the bookcase) or higher up (use this as a junction to run to another box installed at a more useful height and cut a hole in the back panel of the bookcase there) or on the side (use this as a junction to run through the bookcase, coming out with a jack installed in one of the side panels). This provides a convenient way to temporarily connect either a non-WiFi device or a WiFi device where you want a more stable connection.


How can I protect partially buried deck posts from decay? I poured concrete footings for my deck. I put the galvanized post base and the 4x4 post on it. Now I need to raise the ground/dirt level as water puddles there. But if I raise the ground it will cover the footing, post base and a few inches of the post. I'm concerned the dirt will decay the post. Can someone recommend a solution?

I was thinking of wrapping the post somehow or maybe cut the post and pour more concrete over the existing footing but afraid it will not hold up.

I already have a deck. It's a pool deck about 8x20 attached to another deck that is 20x25 which is attached to the house. The pool deck has 9 footings, enough that it can be freestanding but I attached it to the existing deck. I'd need to raise 5 of the nine footings about 4-6 inches. They are the footing near the pool not the rear ones near where deck is attached to other deck.

I can leave the post base which is bolted into the footing and add a few rebar pieces, put a form around and pour concrete with bonding adhesive http://www.homedepot.com/p/SikaLatex-1-Gal-Concrete-Bonding-Adhesive-and-Acrylic-Fortifier-187782/202521398. Sound reasonable? Would I just drill a few holes for the rebar pieces, maybe 4-6 inches deep? Should the holes be wider than rebar to get some fresh concrete around them?

Check the tag on the end of your posts, see if it says it is rated for ground contact. If so, you're fine. The post base simply keeps it out of standing water.
If it says above ground, you are still probably fine. That post will last longer than you'll enjoy your deck. Honestly, that worthless little post base will rust away before the post rots. I've repaired that issue far more than I've repaired rotted posts. Modern engineering does not concern itself with longevity.

However, if you feel compelled to address the issue, use a heavy-rated automotive jack rated for 5-10 tons+. You can very easily jack up each post a few inches to do whatever you feel you have to do. Don't bother with the commonly-available floor jack you have in your garage, they are typically only rated for 2 tons, and will fail.

My advice is fill around each post with larger-sized gravel for drainage, backfill as necessary, and forget it.


How to unjam garbage disposal Garbage disposal stopped today after I tossed some coffee grounds into it.  It makes a nice hum when you turn the power on of the motor trying to run, but nothing spins.  I've tried the reset button at the bottom to no luck.  I've fished around in there and there doesn't appear to be anything (like a spoon or whatnot) blocking it.

Any way to get it going?

disposals usually come with a small hex wrench that fits in to the bottom of disposal. This lets you move the shaft of the motor back and forth to loosen up whatever it stopping it. If you can't find yours, you can pick one up at a hardware store or plumbing supply shop.


Is there a significant benefit to using plastic window insulation year round? In order to help save more money and funnel more of those savings to debts, I'm looking for more ways to save money.

I've heard that puting plastic window insulation over single-pane windows typically found in older houses can reduce utility bills by up to 50%.

But I'm wondering, it's February, and I'm in Portland, Oregon, USA. Summers can get as hot as 100 degrees fahrenheit in the extremes. Living in a temperate climate, is there an advantage to keeping the plastic up year round, or will I just need to remove it in the Spring/Summer?

To further clarify and address the "airing out the house" issue, let's say that I only open two windows upstairs and two windows downstairs. There are 14 windows total in the house, plus 1 door upstairs and two doors downstairs, one in the front and one in the back.

My motivation for asking is to determine if the inputs I put in now in the form of putting up all that plastic in February will pay any dividends, or if it's best I wait until October.

If the plastic reduces air exchange between your home and the outside world in the wintertime, it will do the same thing for you in the summertime. You will get some benefit from the plastic in the summertime. I can't tell you how large of a benefit. But, based on my own experience, the tape that holds the plastic in place tends to grow loose after a season or two, so the quality of seal will deteriorate and you may find yourself having to put new plastic up anyway to maintain the seal.

Also, in my home (1921 with single pane windows) the impact of the plastic could not really be measured in terms of utility bills. It was nowhere near 50%. You will probably find that it makes the room much more comfortable, though.


What can I do if my washing machine inlet hoses are not compatible with the plumbing? I purchased a fully automatic washing machine and little did I realize that it requires special plumbing to fit inlet hoses to water source. All I have got in my house are the taps to which it can be connected.I thought that I would be able to connect hose to tap when I operate washing machine and then remove it. But looks like this plan will not work.

I want to know if I can use inlet hose of semi-automatic washing machine (which doesn't require permanent fitting) with automatic washing machine?

The hose connector looks like:

From the installation instructions1 for Haier washing machines

Press the lower end of the lock lever and push down the slider. Take off the water inlet hose jointer from the water inlet hose component.

Loosen the screw till the water faucet can be accessed. Put the jointer of the water inlet hose on the faucet. (If the faucet is too large and the jointer can not be set on the water faucet,please loosen the four screws and take out the bushing in the jointer.
The front end of the faucet must be smooth, otherwise it may leak water

Fasten the four screws evenly.

That's it
1. Link is to a similar set of instructions; the diagrams are slightly different but the text is the same.


Brown foamy water in GE softener I just cleaned my GE softener tank and put in 3 bags of salt pellets and added 3 gallons of water. Next morning I take a look and saw a lot of foammy water and a brownish mix. No salt pellets visible. Water almost to the top of tank  this right?

If you are using regular, "cheaper", rock salt instead of ones labeled for water softner use, those salts contain a lot of dirt which will produce the same results you are experiencing. Part of the problem could also be from the water itself.


How to install this ball valve The ball valve for the sprinkler system cracked over the winter. I managed to remove the old one that was broken but can't figure out how to install the brand new one. When I turn it clockwise it screws on the left but unscrews the right part - and vice versa. I'm not sure what I'm missing here. Any advice would help. Thanks,

The reason you don't have a union is that the previous installer assumed you would simply unsolder the elbow when you needed to replace the threaded valve. That's pretty much what they had to have done (well, really just solder the elbow after the threads were tight, the first time it was assembled.)

So, you can learn to solder and try to squeeze a union in there, or you can learn to solder and just disconnect the elbow, tighten the threads, and reconnect the elbow.

Either way works.


What will happen if I perimeter bond vinyl flooring against manufacturer recommendation? I'm installing sheet vinyl in my kitchen. I read the installation manual. I can do either full spread or loose lay.

I'm planning on using adhesive tape, but the installation manual says "DO NOT PERIMETER BOND FLOOR".

My question is why can't I perimeter bond the floor with tape?  What will happen if I do?

I believe the issue is that the center of the flooring material can expand and if the entire perimeter is bonded, the center will wave or wrinkle.  When the entire floor is bonded, and expansion and contraction happens on a smaller scale.

That said, I have never installed sheet vinyl and I don't know what the right solution is.


Are air purifiers and ionizers effective? Are air ionizers and other air purifiers effective at cleaning the air? Is there any evidence that such machines lead to improved health or wellbeing?

Before I bought an air purifier a few years back, I found a Consumer Reports test of such machines, including several filter-based models and at least one ionizer.  The ionizer received a failing grade.  According to Wikipedia, the manufacturer subsequently sued Consumer Reports for product defamation and lost.  I don't have the Consumer Reports article anymore, but if I remember correctly, the only effective air purifiers were filter-based. Only a few models had much effect, and only when the fan was run at the highest (and loudest) speed.

We have had a filter-based air purifier (made by Sears) for about three years.  It cost about $300, and the annual filter cost is about $150.  It is effective in the sense that the filter does get dirty, but my (subjective) impression is that its cleaning effect is small compared to regular vacuum cleaning and dusting.  We haven't noticed any health improvements—but we didn't have dust allergies or other dust-related health problems either.

Apparently there have been studies into high levels of negative ions as a treatment for seasonal-affective disorder.  I have not read the papers or otherwise evaluated the research, and I don't know if commercially available air purifiers produce anions at the levels that are claimed to be clinically relevant.


Is it better to use thin-set or self-leveling concrete on top of a shower pan, mud-bed to improve the slope and make it smoother for final tile layer? Issue:
I am looking to improve the smoothness of my my concrete mud-bed before I lay my thin-set and tile.  The mud-bed has dried, but there are some dips and divots that make it difficult for me to make the tile job smooth while maintaining the slope.  I keep finding myself left with imperfect spots in the tile floor where water pools and that I have to push towards the drain with my foot (for example, one side of the drain is level but the other side dips below the drain and is not flesh).  I have ripped the tile and thin-set up twice now.  This time I am considering adding about another half-inch layer to (1) smooth the concrete surface and for my thin-set and tile job, and (2) improve the slope (if I can)

Question:
(1) Should I apply a 1/2 inch layer of self leveler on the dried concrete bed to accomplish this?  Or
(2) Should I apply a 1/2 inch layer of thin-set to smooth the surface, let it cure, and then lay my thin-set, score and tile? Or
(3) Is this issue simply a matter of being more skillful in laying my tile on the concrete bed; or
(4) is ripping out the concrete bed, and starting fresh the only way to fix?

Background and steps of installation so far:
I am putting the final touches on a small walk in shower with a curb.

I had some professionals frame, drywall (cement board), water-proof, etc.  I shopped around for tile-laying prices and decided that I’m better off trying myself, even if I wind up having to rip some tile and re-lay.  I have the walls up fine.  The floor, of course, has given me minor issues.  I’m at the finish line though and am determined to finish it off.

First Try:
First, the learning experiences came when I used pre-mixed thin-set for the shower floor tile.  The first time I payed the shower floor I used a mosaic penny tile.  The slope seems okay because the water drained fine.  There were a few areas, however, where water sat due to uneven tile.  Nevertheless, after about two months, we noticed the floor became squishy in some areas where the water gathered and sat.  Since I didn’t like how the white penny tile looked against my blue walls, I was happy to rip it up.  The mortar and tile came up very easy (should have been my first clue), and the cement bed was unscathed.

Potential Problems:
I tried to diagnose the issue, and concluded that the problem was either (1) because there were spots where dried thin set poked through the grout, causing a thinner layer of grout than need be, and allowing water to seep through, (2) the uneven areas of the tile floor caused the grout to break and water to seep through; or (3) perhaps I even covered the weep holes which blocked water from reaching the drain.

Second try:
I determined the weep holes were not blocked because the water drained when i let water get around the edges after I removed the tile.  So I took made better tile cuts (and used a better looking mosaic tile) and it turned out great, and less uneven (but still had some uneven areas around the drain).  Over time, the tile
Shifted because, yet again, the floor became mushy.  The grout popped up and water got underneath the tile.  So, I read the back of the pre-mix thin-set label, and of course, it says to not use on floors and areas with heavy water immersion.

Upcoming third attempt:
This time, I am determined to get the floor even and avoid pools of water.  I bought a different thin-set to use (kerabond T by mapei mixed with keraply) and a different grout (ultra color plus FA by mapei), that I am using for a mosaic octagon tile.

Any recommendations on how to fix these problems would help!  Also, if anyone spotted any other potential issues that might be the cause to mushy tiles, please let me know.  If there are deeper rooted issues that I am not noticing, might be time to bring in professional help.

Thanks everyone!

If I need to make a proper shower bed with a slope I only would use thinset, self leveling compound will try to eliminate the needed grade or slope by leveling (I.e. no slope).  So use thinset.


Flooring multiple rooms The photo attached shows both vinyl/ laminate flooring and carpet. My plan is to rip out carpet and install new vinyl flooring right on top of existing hardwood floors. Once I rip out carpet the carpet room won't be same height. Is the best option T- molding or 3/4 osb subfloor or just ripping out the old hardwood? Using the same vinyl through out the house and think it would look better with no T-mold.

Generally even luxury vinyl plank has expansion requirements and typically sets maximum room widths.  You'd probably end up with a T molding separating the rooms.  Now if you are asking about a reducing molding that steps down to a different floor height then I'd try to avoid that.

Check the instructions on your specific product to see what maximum they specify sometimes you can go over the maximum by increasing the room left for expansion in which case maybe you can avoid a molding entirely which is going to be the best look.

What installation type are you planning? floating or glue down?


Add a spiked end to timber I can buy tree stakes, which are 32mm x 32mm x 1.2m quite easily. However on occasion I need something slightly thicker, say 50mm x 50mm or 75mm x 75mm but of equal or shorter length (<1.2m), and sometimes I need those tree stakes, but shorter. Used for various things around my allotment, driven into the ground with a lump hammer.

The thicker timber is always flat ended, and never spiked. The thinner timber once cut produces a flat ended off cut. Is there a way, other than manually planing the timber into a point, to create this spike. I almost want a very large pencil sharpener.

What I know I don't want is the metal spikes that are used for fencing, as these are costly and pointless for my applications. I have tried to saw the end into a spike, but as I am unable to do this evenly around the edge when driven into the ground its never straight. The timber is too thick to whittle.

CC BY-SA 3.0 DontWorry

You could probably use any of

hand tools

hand axe and stump - and practice.
hand saw - and more practice, or a custom mitre-box/jig
drawknife
adze - and lots of practice
large chisels and mallet?

power tools

band saw
table saw with mitre-gauge or jig and clamps
chop-saw with jig for angle and external support for stake
sabre-saw (reciprocating saw)

For a one-off job I would use a hand saw to make four cuts to produce a point. If it came out off-centre I'd true it up with whatever hand tools I have to hand which worked best (maybe even a jack-plane set up for hogging off). Then keep practising.

I know you really are looking for a giant pencil sharpener

See also https://woodworking.stackexchange.com


How to keep a sink and pedastal solidly together? We have a "half bath" - a small room with a toilet and a sink on the first floor. The sink is made of two pieces, the basin and the pedestal, both of porceilian. The pedestal hides the water and drain pipes, it's of a vintage of the past decade.

The basin is simply propped atop the pedestal, it is not attached with any hardware, nor it it fixed to the wall! The pipes alone keep it in place!

I checked to see if there was any way to mount it to the wall or the studs behind the wall, but there were no holes for mounting hardware at all.

The problem is where the drain built into the sink meets the PVC pipe of the house's plumbing, just a nylon nut keeps them together.

If a guest is heavy, or has a leg injury, or is inebriated, they may place their hand upon the basin to help them get up from the toilet. When this happens, if they are sufficiently heavy, it will shift the basin off the pedestal and pop the metal drain from the PVC drain, causing a significant leak, and I have to crawl under the sink and hope the threads weren't stripped as I reposition the nut to join them again.

How can I mount the sink to either the wall or the pedestal such that it won't shift with ordinary weight applied briefly?

All the pedestal basins I have seen have the pedestal free-standing and the basin supported by being bolted into the wall.

I would aim to get the basin fixed firmly to the wall. If you cannot find mounting holes, I would try to obtain or fabricate some mounting brackets.

If you have a masonry wall, you can use masonry bolts. For a wood-framed wall you need to locate the studs and may need to open up the wall to insert some supporting woodwork to take the weight of the basin (and struggling inebriated guests).

If you can identify the make and model of basin, or include photographs of its top and undersides into your question, you are likely to get answers that give more specific assistance.

An alternative would be to replace the basin and pedestal with a small cabinet mounted basin / freestanding basin / countertop basin / vanity unit.


Calculating flow volume for whole house fan My house has a 24" Dayton belt drive whole house fan that's at least 20 years old but looks exactly like the current model 2EAX5.  It's nice and quiet but I want it to move more air.  It has a 1/3hp two speed motor with a 2" pulley driving an 8" pulley on the fan. The motor doesn't have any markings to tell its speed, but I've found quite a few that run at 1140 & 1725 rpm.  With the 8" pulley that works out to a fan speed of 285 & 430 rpm, about 75% of the currently advertised 370 & 560 rpm.  I don't know how many cfm that comes out to but current ads with a 6" pulley say 2500-3700 cfm.

I recently acquired a Cool Attic / Ventamatic 30" belt drive whole house fan, model CX30BD2SPD.  It also has a 1/3hp two speed motor, marked 1140 & 1725 rpm, with a 2" pulley, but driving a 6" pulley on the fan.  This spins the fan at 380 & 575 rpm, very comparable to the current Dayton advertised speed.  Because this fan is 6" larger and spins 25% faster it moves more than double the air the Dayton does, advertised 5400-7800 cfm.

To summarize...

Dayton 24":
   6" pulley,
   fan speed:  370 / 560 rpm,
   air flow:  2500 / 3700 cfm  (advertised)

Dayton 24":
   8" pulley,
   fan speed:  285 / 430 rpm,
   air flow:  ??? / ??? cfm  (not enough)

Attic Cool 30":
   6" pulley,
   fan speed:  380 / 575 rpm,
   air flow:  5400 / 7800 cfm (advertised, LOTS more than the 24")

Attic Cool 30":
   8" pulley,
   fan speed:  285 / 430 rpm
   air flow:  ??? / ??? cfm

Why not swap out for the larger fan with the 6" pulley?  My attic doesn't have enough ventilation for it.

I've thought about swapping the pulleys, putting the 6" on the 24" fan and the 8" on the 30" fan.  I'm reasonably certain that would get the 24" up to the advertised 2500-3700 cfm.  How can I estimate how much air the slowed-down 30" fan would move?  Is it a linear function of speed, blade area, or some combination of the two?

Once I know how much air is moved, I can figure out how much more ventilation my attic might need for either one.

unless the fan is shrouded or ducted and sealed to your ceiling it will be quite hard to tell how much air is moved because much of the air could just recirculate around the fan.

the simplest way is to

Area = pi * radius^2

B = fan pitch in inches / 12

C = fan rpm

1 rpm = air moved so many feet at 0% slippage or 100% efficiency

max theoretical cubic feet per min = A * B * C

i don't know what % slippage would occur, that would be based on how well the fan blade is designed.  Then account for however much regurgitation of air around the fan due to no shroud gap and not sealed to ceiling.  this also doesn't account for any varying blade pitch (i.e. more pitch near center less near tip).

the easiest and cheapest way might be to build a 1-2 foot duct on output side of fan and grab some cheap wind speed gauge to measure the output air speed from fan.  then math would be Area * speed; with wind speed converted to feet per sec.


How to support outdoor gas pipe? I'm planning on installing a natural gas pool heater. I want to have a 1-1/4" black iron pipe exit the house where it will run for about 5ft to the heater which will then be reduced to 3/4". I don't want the pipe to be in contact with the ground to prevent corrosion. I think it would also be easier to paint the underside of the pipe if it was elevated about 6 inches from the ground.

Being elevated like that does it make sense to place a permanent concrete block under the pipe somewhere halfway in-between the house and the heater? I want to protect the line and the equipment in case someone decides it's a good idea to stand on top of the pipe. Is there an an industry standard to something like this? Is the concrete block a good idea?

If possible it is better to bury it to avoid exposure to the elements and damage from miscellaneous things. Having it above ground is no problem though as long as it is firmly supported. You don't say where you are, so without knowing the climate, there is no way to know how to support it.

One simple way to support it over soft ground is to drive a long metal rod into the ground, like a grounding rod, weld a split ring hanger to the rod, then fasten the pipe in the hanger.


Replacing bulbs in Harbor Breeze ceilng fan with remote I'd like to use the brighter better energy LED bulbs but when I put them in - they blinked continuously. I think this MAY be because the fan is on a remote control.This blinking seemed dangerous so I removed the bulbs. I desperately want MORE light from that fixture. The limit is 40W. Suggestions?

Double check that the bulbs are dimmable.

I have a Harbor Breeze remote control fan with Phillips dimmable LED bulbs and it works well.


Trying to set up a new light fixture and confused by wire situation! I am attempting to set up a new night fixture but I was confused when I opened the junction box on the ceiling. It contained two green wires together, two white wires together, and one blue. There was no previous light being hung when we moved in so I opened it for the first time.

I usually don't have trouble with lights but the extra wires threw me off as well as the unusual colors (I'm used to black and white). My question is which wires do I connect the black, white and ground wires from the new fixture to?

I would verify that the blue is your switched hot. It is unusual to have the white and ground spliced with a single hot lead but since the place is probably wired in conduit they may not have brought the other hot into the box (as part of a multi wire branch circuit). I believe the fixture black should go to the blue then the white & ground to the white and ground on the fixture.


Do freezing temperatures damage tung oil? Age? I have some tung oil left over from the previous owner of our older home (a friend; yes, still a friend). I was thinking about using it to refinish some flooring in the house, but it's been stored outside in New England for many years. Should I be worried about using it?

If it's not set up in the can, it's probably fine, but making a small test is always a good idea with old finish, just to make sure it cures properly.


Mounting to an old pan-style electric box I did something slightly stupid when preparing to mount a new fixture to a very old unused ceiling pancake box in a 96-year old home: I unscrewed the bracket that attached the mounting nipple to the box, under the assumption that I would be able to either re-screw it back in, or attach alternate mounting hardware. Instead, it seems that there were nuts holding in those screws, which are no longer aligned with the screw holes, rendering them useless as attachment points. I see no other obvious way to attach any kind of hardware to the box.
Ripping out the box will mean doing some violence to an old plaster ceiling that I'm probably not up for in the near term. Wondering if I'm missing some other option?
(ps, I know it's controversial to attach fixtures to old two-wire circuits. If it helps, I plan on updating the circuit breakers to Arc Fault Interruptors, and only use LED lamps in this fixture.)

How annoying!  OK get a set of drills and start sticking drill bits up through those holes -- butt end first.  We just need to know the hole size.
Now hit a "Drill and tap" table.  Anytime you tap a thread into a hole, you drill the hole to the smaller size (tips of the threads).  Go to the table under "Fine thread bolts" and find the fine-thread size whose drill size is slightly bigger than the holes you have.   Buy the correct drill and tap, drill, and tap.
Now you have what you thought you had in the first place.
You need to use fine-thread because coarse-thread won't have enough purchase.


Baseboard installation floating floor without transitions When stalling floating floor without transitions- hallway, dining room, and living room- do you or can you install baseboards in the hallway before completing the other rooms, or is it all installed after ALL flooring is down?

I prefer to install the entire floor first and then do the baseboards.

I find that sometimes the floating floor may shift from continuing to install the remainder of the floor, even when using the wedges around the perimeter, and i may have to adjust it some. If the baseboard trim is already in place then there no way to get my adjusting bar in place to pound on it in order to move/adjust the floor.

Also because i prefer to do one task to completion.


How can I replace a single switch with two switches? I have a single pole switch on a wall that turned on a ceiling light. I want to replace this ceiling lamp with a fan/light combo. I also want to replace the single switch to double switches (so I can control the fan and the light separately)

Here is what I see when I open up the switch box with the single pole switch:

Essentially, all the blacks are connected together, and the whites are connected together.

I'd like to use this switch

How I do wire the above switch?

I am assuming that the upper wire is the cable that goes to the ceiling where the fan/light is to be installed. If so, you should have a red wire in the ceiling box that is unused and probably capped with a wire nut.

Your description of the switch box seems a little off.  If all three black wires were connected together, what wires go to the switch?

More than likely, one of the lower black wires is the hot source, and it is connected to the other lower black to power another box, and is also connected to the existing switch.  The upper black was probably also connected to the switch asn was hot when the switch is on and not hot (open) when the switch is off.  The whites are all neutrals and all should be connected to each other (and not to the switch).

You can install a double switch or two separate switches in the box to separately control the fan and light.  The lower hot black goes to the common on a double switch or one pole on each of the two switches. The upper black goes to the other side of the first switch and the upper red goes to the other side of the second switch.  Effectively, these switches share an "in" but have separate "outs".

In the switch box, all of the whites (neutrals) continue to be connected.

At the ceiling box, the white goes to white, the black goes to the wire for either fan or light, and the red goes to the other. The fan wire colors may vary, but the instructions should indicate which is which.

You make no mention of green or bare wire (ground). In a modern, properly wired system, there also should be these, both from each cable and at the fan. Ground wires are connected together and to the base of devices, switches and metal boxes or fixtures. If they are present, connect them.  If they are not, you have an ungrounded system that poses a bit of risk if a device is damaged or shorts out.


Threshold for pre-hung exterior door I’ve been in a bit of an adventure replacing the side door in my garage.
Dry fitting the door and I’m not too confident in what I have going on for the threshold.
The concrete was very uneven so I leveled it out with some rapid set mortar mix.
There are still gaps under the threshold and I’m concerned about moisture from rain and snow piling up in the winter.
Is this salvageable? Is there any kind of flashing I can put below the door to give some protection?
Any insight would be appreciated!
After a comment that the PT board isn’t needed here is a close up of under the threshold sitting on the concrete.

Builders filler (or any of the similar 2 part polyester resin putties)
Just use a stick to pack it in there and let it set.
Or get one of the caulking tube versions of the same stuff and squirt it in there.


Why is Easy Sand not suitable as a skim coat? I have Easy Sand 90 joint compound. Its label says not to use it as skim coat. Why can't I use it?

Setting-type joint compounds set by chemical reaction with water. When a very thin coat is applied to unpainted drywall (such as the thin skim coat applied to new drywall needed to achieve a level 5 finish), there is a risk the board will suck the water out of the mud before it has a chance to chemically set. If this happens, it will revert back to powder and fall off the wall. Don't do it.

If you're talking about skimming an ugly old wall to make it smooth, Easy Sand is fine, maybe even ideal. Just remember that old walls will have multiple layers of paint that could be peeling or delaminating below the surface. As long the old surface is stable, go for it. Just keep it thick enough that it's not translucent.