Calculating Electrical Demand for New Construction with Electric Tankless Water Heater I am trying to calculate the electrical load for a new construction project (basic 1,200 sq/ft home, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathroom + 2 car garage) and want to include an electric tankless water heater (no gas on lot). The water heater draw is 160amp (4x40amp), model: Rheem RETEX-36.
The main panel will be 200amp. The following electric appliances will be included in home:

Electric Tankless Water Heater -  160amp (4x40amp)
AC - 30amp
Heat pump - 30amp
Range - 50amp
Elec Car Outlet (used at night) - 40amp
Kitchen Appliances - 20amp
Dryer - 30amp
General Lights/Outlets - 30amp

I have calculated highest usage possible based on season and if its day/night.
Highest AMP draw:

Summer Day: 280 amp
Summer Night: 90 amp
Winter Day: 320 amp
Winter Night: 90 amp

Since the electric tankless water heater has 4x40amp, I am expecting in the winter time to use all 160amp since ground water is colder, and less (120amp) in summer time since ground water is warmer.
Even though the main service only has 200amp and the Max draw in winter during the day is 320amp (if everything is running on Max).
Does it make sense to install the tankless water heater (160amp) and does the 200 amp service allow for this?
I know that not everything runs at the same time, but what is the typical demand when calculating electrical load?

200A Service is not nearly enough
When provisioning new service, by code, you're only allowed to plan to use 80% of the installed capacity.  On a 200A service, that's 160A, and when you deduct your 140A water heater from that, that leaves only 20A for the entire rest of the house, which isn't nearly enough.
Load calculations aside, you won't even be able to make dinner with only 200A.  Assuming either the AC or heat is on drawing 30A, and you have something in the oven, drawing 50A or so there, and then you turn on the hot water at the sink to rinse a dish, the water heater will draw 140A, for a total of 220A -- which trips the house's main breaker.
For a tankless hot water heater of this size, in a house with other standard loads, 400A service (sometimes called Class 320) is required, no way around it.
Or, use a water heater with a tank
A standard tanked resistive water heater only needs a 30A circuit, because it doesn't need to be able to heat the water as fast as it's used -- it can heat more slowly since it has a reservoir of hot water to supply for immediate needs.  This should likely fit in your 200A service without much issue.
If you want or need to draw even less power, then a heat pump water heater is the way to go.  They cost roughly 2-4x the price of a resistance heater upfront, but they use 3-4x less energy, so they tend to pay for themselves quickly -- if the same person buying the water heater is paying for electricity, which it sounds like is not the case for you.  But they also use less power, so if you're trying to fit everything in without needing a service upgrade, it's still worth considering.
Tanked water heaters can also be very useful when your cost of power varies throughout the day, either because you have free power coming in from solar panels, or because your utility charges higher rates during peak hours (which SMUD does).  Newer 'smart' tanked water heaters, (most commonly found on the heat pump kind), are aware of this, and will attempt to heat the water when electricity is cheapest, and save it for when you need it later, which tankless cannot do.
Another advantage of a tanked system in California is that during our increasingly frequent rolling blackouts, you'll still have hot water for a while when the power is out.  With a tankless, when the power is out, you're taking cold showers until it comes back on.
Consider planning for both options
You mentioned in a comment that you're planning to rent this place out, and as such the long term electricity costs are not a huge concern to you now -- but consider that you might want to sell the place someday, and your buyer may take a different view.  Since this is new construction, there are some things you can do very cheaply now that would be extremely expensive later, so it's worth thinking a little about future-proofing.  One of those things that's easy to add now and much harder later is a site for a hot water tank.
As of today, electric heat pump water heaters are the most efficient thing on the market, and are becoming increasingly popular.  Given the challenges the California electrical grid has had over the last few years, I would not be at all surprised if they become required at some point in the future.  IMO it would be a mistake to build a house today that was not compatible with one, even if you initially install something else.
On the other hand, if you do put in a tank system today, to easily let the next guy switch to tankless if they want (assuming they get the service upgrade), you can simply install an oversized conduit from the water heater to the electrical panel -- it'll only cost a few tens of dollars extra.


Should I be worried that the anchor bolts are not centered on the sill plate? I am in the process of having my first home built and have been trying to learn as much as I can along the way.

Today I visited the home site and saw that the builder installed the sill plates on the foundation. There are two areas that appear slightly off to me and due to my limited knowledge, I do not know if I should be concerned about these areas and bother the builder about it.

The sill plates appear to be aligned correctly with the anchor bolts centered everywhere except for the wall where my garage would be. As you can see the bolt is not centered.

There is also a gap here between the sill plates on two walls of the garage

Should I be concerned about any of this?

Looks like the mason centered the bolts where they expected the framed wall to sit on the foundation wall. They don't often spend a lot of time pondering what the carpenters will do, so this is very common. Short of an F3 or better tornado, it's not likely to ever be an issue.


In wall splice for 4 wire cable I have used an in wall splice with Romex 14/2 that has 3 ports (hot, neutral, ground) but i would now like to use the same method to splice a 12/3 cable. I'm unable to find a splice with 4 ports. Can I just use two regular 3 port splices and divide it 2-2 or 3-1?

You can't, but no need.

If you're referring to the Tyco Electronics Romex splice kits, yes, they make those for 3-wire w/ground as well as 2-wire w/ ground.

If you mean some other splice method, you have to read its instructions for whether it is suitable in-wall.  As far as I know the Tyco is the only one that is UL-listed for buried in-wall splicing.

Further, use of in-wall splice blocks is restricted.  It can only be done for repair, not extension for instance; and even then, only as a last resort when nothing else is possible.  If it is at all feasible for you to re-run the entire cable run, or a run to an accessible point (somewhere you want a receptacle, for instance), you must do that instead.


Do I need a wood hardener for worn door hinge screw holes? My house had a door removed by previous owners. The recesses in the jambs for hinges and catch were filled in with pieces of board (I don't know exactly what, but not solid timber), and painted over.

I've hung a door there, removing the filled parts and placing hinges in the original locations. After a few months the door has sagged, and I cannot tighten the screws in the top hinge - they just turn in place.

I was advised at my local home/hardware store that to fix this, I should spray some wood hardener into the screw holes, then when that has dried, fill with builder's bog and re-drill.

There's a similar problem described on this site, where the answer suggested gluing toothpicks into the hole, using longer screws, or drilling larger holes, gluing dowel in and re-drilling. These options sound easier.

So (finally) my question:

Do I only need to go down the wood hardener path if the frame is rotten? And if so, how can I tell if the frame is rotten? It doesn't seem to be rotten from looking at the visible surface - can it still be rotten inside? It's an internal door, and I have no other reason to suspect rotten wood.

You want to fill the hole in with solid wood. Wood hardener will harden the wood, but still not provide anything for the screw to bite into. Wood fillers won't have enough grip to hold a door...

There are several easy ways to do this. If you have some scrap wood around, you can cut a chunk out that is a bit bigger than the screw hole, cover it in wood glue and hammer it into the hole. Or you can buy a piece of dowel from the hardware store. Just be sure it's a big bigger than the hole, and use glue. Don't worry if the plugs sticks up a bit at first. When the glue is dry, trim the plug with a chisel. If you don't have a chisel, you can use a utility knife to trim the plug down to the surface.


Cable required for pulling 3 phase power outdoors Might be stupid questions but what kind of cable I for pulling 3 phase power outdoors around 10 meters outside. Frost is not an issue but even if I pull the cable within a pipe there is a good chance of moisture over its life.

If you run conduit ("pipe" intended for electrical wire protection) you generally use individual wires, NOT cable (several wires bundled in an outer jacket) - they pull easier than a cable, and the conduit is all the outer jacket required, and a better one than a cable has.
Your local standards are undoubtedly in line with most others worldwide in considering any exterior conduit to be full of water all the time. As such, wiring for use in such conduit is "wet-rated" and works perfectly well in water. Your local electrical supplier will have such wire.
If the conduit is to be buried, there are likely standards for minimum burial depth (which may vary with what type of conduit it is) and how it is to be marked. If it is above ground, but below ~2.5m height there are likely standards for what type of conduit is considered sturdy enough for use exposed to damage. I am familiar with those standards in my local area but not in the Netherlands (location per your other question) - however, I'm tolerably certain that such standards will exist locally.


Framing a basement column with off-center 2x6s? I'm going to frame a column in my basement, but I need it to include a few outlet boxes (one for power, and one for speaker).  All the videos I've watched show 2x4s being ramset into the columns dead center. That makes sense, but I need room for the outlet boxes.
It appears as though using 2x6s off-center plus drywall will allow the perfect amount of room for the outlet boxes. I've mocked up my thoughts on this and want to double check that I'm not missing some good reason why this is a bad idea.
Is this okay?

Side note: I don't have a ramset. Are there alternatives, or do I really need to spend $40 for the hardware/tools for a single column?
Update: the answer below helped me a lot! I was able to build it without needing any special tools, and it worked wonderfully. It feels incredibly sturdy with NO wiggle, and turned out looking quite nice too, if I do say so myself :)  I ended up just using wood, and not adding drywall on top. This causes a bit of an issue with needing a shallow box, but it looks great, and saved a TON of time.

You idea will work fine. No need for ramsets, there are self-drilling tapping screws that will hold those in place very well.

Image courtesy of Uturn fasteners
Big box stores or any good hardware store will have these.


What is this nut called and can it be removed and reused/replaced? Can anyone tell me what this nut is called and how to remove it in a way I can return the mechanism to normal working order? Also, what kind of special tools will I need?
The first photo is of the outside end-cap of a set of vertical blinds. The gear on the other side, not shown in the first picture, connects into a long shaft used to rotate the row of blinds to vary the amount of light coming through a glass door.
I'm actually trying to replace a broken axle that held some pulleys for the draw strings purposed to slide all the blinds in one direction or another. However, the pulley axle was located in this end-cap assembly. In order to get to their area, I need to remove this end, it looks like, and the only thing barring removal seems to be this weird looking nut.
Second photo is a view from the other side which shows how the gear couples to the shaft. Maybe there is a different way to uncouple and remove the end cap?

I wish comments would allow pictures, but what you have is something generically called a "push on fastener"   I have to disagree with jsotola, I consider them "barely reusable", they often break when when removing, esp. if old.   I wouldn't count on being able to re-use it.
I attached a pic of something what I think is close to what you have.


Drill through a pass through header/top-plate to hang pot hanger I want to install a pot hanger in this pass through between my kitchen and dining room. The product came with some wood screw hooks, and I want to swap them for some threaded hooks and throw a nut on the other side of the header/top plate. Should I worry about any code things drilling through the header or mounting ~60 pounds of pots to it?

There have been studies done about the withdrawal force for various threaded fasteners, for example a single #10 screw can support over 100 pounds per inch that it penetrates the wood (Doug fir/hemlock).  If you upgrade to a lag bolt its over 300 pounds per inch.  Here is one of many documents.


Tankless Water Heater and turning off main water supply I presume there must be plenty of protections for such a case, but is there any reason to be concerned if I turn off (or my fortrezz value and smartthings turns off) my main water supply and my Rinnai tankless isn't turned off?  I looked at the instruction manual and it doesn't mention any thing about this situation that I saw.

There are flow sensors in tankless units so if you are simply shutting down the valve on the water supply and then reopening it I wouldn't be too concerned. That being said shutting down the water supply can change the pressure in the system as temperatures of the water change. I don't think it would cause any trouble. But, anytime you close the valve the water is in a closed system. It's a good idea to install a potable water expansion tank.

This is a potable water expansion tank

www.amazon.ca

They are almost exclusively 3/4" NPT. You would need to measure your static pressure(pressure with the taps closed and the main open) with a gauge. Then pump air into the air nipple (bottom of the tank pictured above) with a bicycle pump or preferably air compressor to match the static pressure before installing it. It's a good idea to install a service valve as well.


Gas oven not igniting but smelling gas The gas oven fire is not working.
The oven has no brand outside so I can't right now search for a manual.
The surface burners clearly say to press and turn, and you hear the ignite working as soon as I press the button and it works well.

The gas oven however does not have this instruction (to press and hold to start ignite). You still have to press a little to turn the knob to the temperature. When I start turning, I hear a click (once) at the beginning and nothing else. The oven does not start and I smell gas.
My first assumption is that the igniter is broken, but it's the first time I use an oven that has electric ignite (my previous one had a pilot light).

Questions:

The unique click I hear when I start turning the knob is the ignite or just the electrical component inside the knob trying to start the ignite?
If the ignite was working (maybe it is, maybe it is not), it would be loud enough to hear it (several loud clicks), just like the surface burners? I don't hear anything after that single click in the beginning.
Is it safe to remove the cover for the gas/ignite and try to turn it on to confirm if the ignite is working or not?
Shouldn't the gas oven have a protection that if the ignite fails, the gas does not come out? I smell gas even though the ignite is supposedly not working.
So far I don't have any idea of the brand/model. Buying an ignite that looks like the one I have is safe to use?

Thank you for any help!

Actually everything is working. This kind of gas oven, that uses the Hot Surface Ignitor / Igniter, can take up to 25 seconds to fire the gas.
After turning the oven knob:
Between 0-5 seconds, I don't see anything happening.
Between 5-15 seconds, you see the igniter getting brighter (orange color).
At some point after 15-20 seconds, you finally have fire.

Coming from a gas with a pilot light, I was used to have close to instantaneous fire as soon as you turn the oven knob (because there is fire, pilot light, already).

Thank you all!


How does my Boiler work with my Baseboard and thermostat In the apartment I am at I am just wondering how the boiler system works between all the units. Apparently its one water pipe going the whole perimeter of the floor but each apartment has it's own thermostat with the fin type baseboard heaters. So if my apartment is between two apartments with their baseboards off, how do I get flow to my apartment? I would assume the switch for these baseboards would open or close a valve to the whole pipe feeding between all the units. So I believe I am missing something.

Also what kind of thermostat can I use. Does any digital thermostat rated for 24V work? Not to sure whats actually going on when you turn the thermostat on. It's also only two low voltage two wires so it's not a bunch of coloured wires like other thermostats have. Thank You.

Most likely, the thermostat simply actuates a valve, which allows hot water to flow through your radiator.  There's likely a main central circulation loop, with individual "heating loops" for each unit branching off. When your thermostat calls for heat, the valve allows the hot water to flow through your "heating loop".

As for what type of thermostat you can use, that completely depends on the system, the building, and the lease agreement.


Is it common to have wire leading to dishwasher without an intermediary plug? I'm thinking of swapping my dishwasher for storage due to small kitchen size and the fact that we never use it. I'd do so in a way that if I (or a buyer when I go to sell) could easily put one back in.

I went to look under it to consider what all would need to be done, and I noticed that the electrical connection was just a 3-wire connection poking out between the drywall and the floor, hardwired onto screws on the dishwasher. No plug was used. Is this the standard setup in the US?

a 3-wire connection poking out between the drywall and the floor,
  hardwired onto screws on the dishwasher.

The poking out from a gap part is not right - there should be a junction box and cord stain relief. Likewise, there should be a cover for the connection on the dishwasher itself, not exposed live electrical screws. Other than those, it's not uncommon.


What material can I use for this custom corner desk? I'm looking to make a custom desk. I'm trying to decide on a material for the desk's surface. I have a fair amount of tools and am familiar/experienced in cabinet making (though it's been awhile). I have not, but probably could do laminate.

What gets me confused is the shape of my desired desk. It is roughly 4'x7' with multiple cutouts along the face. Cheaper is better, as long as it's functional and looks good. Laminate is an option, if I could face the edges well/cleanly. Something like carbon fiber or such would also work (the look, not the actual product.)

Requirements:

sturdy
able to be mounted to wall without legs
smooth/clean (writing surface) (will varnish if I have to, but tend to not be happy with varnish as a writing surface...too soft sometimes)
either modern-black or rustic-burnt wood grain

Done in Google Sketchup. (File available upon request)

Possible options (from answers below):

Coloured MDF -- Excellent option that I'm looking into
Particle board with laminate -- Backup option
Biscuit joined wood planks -- Only if I have to

For an inexpensive and easy to work with material I would consider MDF. In particular there is coloured MDF available. The colour is throughout the board, not just painted on the surface, here's an example:

The benefit of this is that simply scratching the surface will not remove the colour. It also gives the MDF a neat texture as the colour is not 100% solid.


The right type of drain cleaner I continue have a serious problem with the utility sink in my kitchen and I posted a question a while back.

I hired a plumber to fix the problem, for a while. But now the pipe got clogged again.

I am thinking of buying a powerful drain cleaner and deal with the problem myself.

I did some search, and there is a milwaukwee M12 drain snake and ridgid power spin drain cleaner. I like the latter because it can be operated manually or with the help of an electrical drill. And I found a youtube video about it as well.

Having never been a plumber, I really can use some purchase recommendations here. I heard that if not properly used, the tip of the cable could damage the pipe wall. Also, do I need snake oil for maintenance and proper tips that I have to buy separately?

I have used the Ridgid snake, some similar snakes of other brands, chemicals, CO2 cartridges (after one time when a handyman used them - really amazing when they work!) and at times rented a BIG snake and (for the worst clogs - roots) - hired a handyman or plumber to do the job for me.

I have had every type of sewage backup - hair clogs in the bathtub drain, bathroom sink trap clogs (usually hair, but last one was a bandaid!), kitchen sink pipes (well past the trap, but accessible pipes in the basement below), laundry lint, grease, perler beads (they make quite a strong clog when mixed with lint & grease...) and of course roots. Based on my experience, I would say anything but roots is in the realm of a moderately handy homeowner willing to get his (or her) hands dirty. But the trick is figuring out what type of problem you are having so you can solve it correctly AND to (if possible) prevent it from happening again (e.g., perler bead projects are no longer allowed near the basement floor drain in my house; metal mesh lint trap on washing machine).

The first step is to determine where the problem is - e.g., if the problem only affects the kitchen sink then you know it is between the sink and where the pipes join with the bathroom pipes. Next is to determine what the problem is. If the problem is only the kitchen then is likely grease and/or food scraps - I have learned over the years to minimize what actually goes down the disposal. The Badger 5s are quite powerful, but they can't push food past a real clog, and trying can actually make the clog worse (in my case, the infamous chicken soup clog, but I digress).

If the problem affects kitchen + bathrooms then (a) I doubt the CO2 cartridges will be very effective (but worth a try) and (b) you might need more than the typical cheap 25' manual/power snake both for distance and for power; and then the problem may be roots.

Sorry if this doesn't give a specific definite answer, but basically you need to determine more about what is going wrong before deciding if a 25' snake will likely do the trick. I consider those snakes a good investment - one plumber visit avoided will pay for a snake - but they are definitely not the solution to every clog.


How much weight can an old work box hold? I will be installing new light fixtures in two bathrooms that look like this:

Each fixture will be replacing a light box. Meaning it is a simple chrome plated box about 30" wide with a plastic diffuser and sat on top of a mirror.

The challenge: The old light is connected to the power cable and there is no work box, it was simply screwed to the wall and wired up. The wire comes through the wall via a hole as big as the cable.

I plan on using an old work box to not only contain the cable, but attach the new light fixture to it.

My question is: How much weight can the old work box hold? (As it will be secured to the sheet rock and not a stud).

From what I could find, it doesn't look like these types of boxes are listed for any type of fixture support.
When looking at a box that attaches to a stud/joist using nails (B520P), it states.

Suitable for fixture support up to 50 lbs.

With the the old work version(B618R), it states.

Not listed for fixture support in ceilings.

A box like this (BH614R), states.

Listed for wall fixture support up to 10 lbs.

The last page of this catalog shows some round boxes, and the weight they are rated to hold.
Based on this information, I would say the box you want to use will support less than 10 lbs.
The best options in your situation, would be to move the fixture location to allow you to fasten the box to a structural member,  or add a structural member to mount the box to.

Update:
I contacted a company that manufactures these, and here is their response.

[Link to product omitted]
As shown on the link above this item is not listed for fixture support. We do have several other boxes that are rated for fixture support.
[Link to other product omitted]

The link for boxes rated for fixture support, pointed to boxes that attached to structural members.


How to Remove Adhesive Residue from New Wooden Table? I recently purchased and received a brand new black wooden coffee table which arrived with a sticker on top. I carefully removed the sticker itself but it left a adhesive or sticky residue. What can I use to remove this residue without leaving a mark or blemish on the coffee table?
Thank you

Goo Gone. Used this many times, never had an issue.
WD-40 and elbow grease. Emphasis on elbow grease, works in a pinch though. Be cautious about using WD-40 on wood though.
Rubbing alcohol. Supposed to take care of most every type of adhesive, and in my opinion, it smells nice.
3M Adhesive Remover. Never used this stuff, but I hear it's amazing.
Baby Oil(Thanks to @CarlWitthoft). He says it works well.
A razor blade and a steady hand. I'd consider this a last resort.


Preferred direction for laying laminate flooring thorughtout a house? Can you tell me what is the preferred direction for laying laminate flooring throughout a house?

You can run it either direction.  I ran mine parallel to the longest wall.  It makes for less cuts.  Make sure your subfloor is level.  My houses was not and gaps appeared over time.  I just recently fixed them from this post [How to close gaps between laminate floorboards .


How to fix this bathroom light? This is my bathroom's light, which is both a light and a bathroom fan.

The light is much dimmer now, so I guess that one of the fluorescents (or lightbulbs) is out. The fan seems to be working well.

I have never seen this kind of model (I'm a expatriate, and this is nothing like I have seen in the country where I was born). I don't know how to manipulate the lamp to open it and replace the light (I'm afraid of cracking it when forcing it open). I don't even know the name of this particular lamp in order to look for some online tutorial, description or hints.

Any help abut how to manipulate the lamp open, how to replace the lights or even simply pointing to online resources about how to do it would be really helpful. Thanks!

Reach up and tap the opaque lens cover. If it seems like it's not integrated into the rest of the housing, then you should be able to move it out of the way.

If it looks like it's one piece, then try lightly tugging on the whole thing, see if there's a spring loaded catch or retaining spring.


Why are my LED lights flashing when powered from an inverter? I am running some 10 watt LED floodlights off a 12 volt battery and 230 volt inverter.
The 10 watt LED floodlights are flashing on and off. I am also running 20 watt floodlights and they do not flash. Both work perfectly on the mains power.

How can I eliminate the flashing with the 10W lights?

Buy a better inverter. The DC/AC circuits in your 10W lights evidently like a pure sine wave (as provided by grid/mains power) on the AC input side, and your inverter is almost certainly not a pure sine wave inverter (just based on your symptoms, but feel free to confirm/deny).


Aircon cold enough only when weather is cold? I have a weird condition here.

If average weather temperature outside is 30 (86 Fahrenheit) in whole day (8am - midnight), my room will be quite hot, even I set my aircon in fan 2 - 18 degree.

While, if the average temperature is around 26 (79F), my room will be cold enough in fan 1 - 24, or even 25 (77F), degree.

What could be wrong in my aircon? Usually I turn on the aircon after go back from work - going to go to work next day.

A non acid foaming coil cleaner on the outside condensing unit will work much better than vacuuming. If you can see light through the fins this may not be needed and a service call to fill the system may be needed. If low on freon the tech may be able to find the leak. Many times on older units the service port caps get loose and need some sealer on the threads after a recharge.


Cedar 2x4 deflection across an 8’ span Ran a few calculators but, well, don’t understand the results.

Building a table for a large object shaped somewhat like a Green Egg grill. Design is similar to this:

Build your own big green egg table

Difference is that the table top on mine will have a 96”x28” footprint.

The longitudinal beams are then right at 89”. That seems like a pretty good length to not have center supports in contact with the ground. So is four legs enough here, or should I up it to six or eight? All cedar construction which is light, plus a large BGE, which comes in at around 175lbs.

If you were planning on a single front rail you can expect substantial sag over time. The cedar would probably deflect 1/4" to 1/2" initially, but will continue to deform for the first several months.

I'd install at least one additional rail behind the front one, probably using pressure treated pine. A 4x4 wouldn't be excessive. Be sure to crown all rails upward.

Alternatively you could screw a full length 1/4" by 3" aluminum plate to the back of the cedar rail using pairs of 1/4" by 1-1/4" lag screws at 12" intervals.

If you don't like that plan a single leg fastened well to the front rail should do, or extend the two shelf support verticals to the ground, notching around the front rail.


What is the paper in my garage? I am insulating my detached garage. I was wondering what the purpose of the paper attached to the shiplap sheathing is. It has lots of areas that are ripped. I am not sure if I should rip it out or just leave it behind the insulation. Could somebody give me an explanation for this?

It is your vapor barrier I would patch it where you can.


What is the concept behind drywall studs? I'm a DIY noob who has recently moved to a new apartment.
After building my Ikea furniture, I want to begin with something more challenging, I want to install wall shelves with brackets. I've followed multiple DIY tutorials and have bought the tools that I need, all of them refer to finding studs in the drywall and drilling in to them.
Drywall is a new concept to me, I come from a country with concrete walls. I haven't quite understood what studs are, can anyone help explain what they are and what their purpose is?
As far as I've been able to make out the stud is a metallic sheet where the drywall is screwed in, so I should be looking to find an existing a nail in the stud and then screw the bracket with an anchor above/below it. The other thing that I was wondering about was if both the brackets should be drilled into studs or is just one side enough and what happens if the length of the shelf is such that the other side doesn't align with a stud.

There is a ton of information and history out there.

Studs are strong pieces that are the internal structure of your walls.  They are covered by some type of material (the "skin") that is what you see when you look at a wall.  If you imagine your wall without any type of skin material, there are probably two studs at the left and right edges and definitely two framing members  (similar material as studs, but the term studs explicitly refers to the vertical members) going horizontally at the floor and ceiling forming a rectangle.  This rectangle has many vertical studs inside of it, usually space at 16" or 24".

A term you'll see sometimes is 16" O.C. which means On Center; it just means the center-line between two studs is 16" apart and there is about 15.25" of air in between them.

Your studs are covered on both sides by something.  These days it is typically drywall (sheetrock) which is cheaper and easier to install than most alternatives.  Your surface could also be plaster, paneling, tile, etc.

You need to use a stud finder to locate where your studs are because you need to attach heavy objects to studs.  Drywall can only support very little weight.  To use a stud finder:

Put masking tape horizontally on your wall.
Place the stud finder against the wall, holding it vertical.
Press and hold the button.

Hold it still for the first half second so it can calibrate itself.

Move the stud finder horizontally across the wall and mark on the tape where the signal is strong.

If the signal acts weird, make sure you slide the stud finder sideways at the same height.

Take a tape measure and try to find a pattern between your marks that is 16" or 24" apart.
Now you can measure multiples of 16" or 24" and know where other studs are.

You need to determine if your stud are wood or steel because the type of fasteners (screws) you use depend on it.

There are other methods of determining this, but here's one:  Figure out where your fasteners are going to go and drill a small pilot hole (smaller than the size of the fastener).  If you get about a 1/2" deep and hear a terrible screeching noise followed by your drill bit sliding and having no resistance, you have steel studs.  If you get 1" in and you start to see saw dust coming out of your pilot hole and your drill still feels like it's biting at something, you have wood studs.

If you have wood studs, you can use general construction screws (NOT drywall screws).  If they are steel, you probably have to use toggle bolts.  Toggle bolts are a pain to use, so you can try using self-tapping machine screws with a fine thread first.  Make sure your fasteners are long enough.

There are many other types of walls out there so if things don't seem right, maybe they're not typical stud walls.


replacing line to the garage (canada) I am running a line to the garage to replace the existing one.

The garage has two standard lights, two LED motion detector lights, 2 quad (4 places to plug in) electrical outlets, 4 double electrical outlets (2 places to plug in).  The garage is not insulated, nor heated and I run a Rigid table, Mastercraft mitre/radial arm saw, charge various batteries for yard equipment, and a quarter size beer fridge (warm months only).

I am installing a 20A breaker (two pole, I think it is rated 240V) on the main panel, running 12/3 awg (2 hots, I neutral, 1 ground) to the garage.  I do not run anything requiring 220/240v, nor do I want it.  I am installing a small panel in the garage with two 20A breakers in it.  This panel says 70A, it is a Homeline (CHOM24L70SCP).    Does this setup sound right?  Safe?

You might as well use that conduit for all it's worth

A 3/4", schedule 80 PVC conduit is capable of holding 3 6AWG stranded THWN wires and a 10AWG stranded bare copper ground, good for 60A.  Considering that your 12/3 cable is likely to be a harder pull down that conduit, both because it's a cable (vs individual wires) and because UF at that size is made using solid wire, vs the stranded wire you get in THWN that size, I would use the individual wires here instead of wrestling an alligator of a cable down a conduit for no good reason whatsoever.

GO BIG OR GO HOME

There is absolutely no reason to use a panel as tiny as the one you suggest in this application.  For not much more money than what your itty-bitty panel cost, you can get a 24-space, 100A, main breaker panel and an accessory ground bar kit for it, which will be large enough to be reused in your new garage for that matter. The main breaker being 100A isn't an issue here, since its simply a cheap way to get a local shutoff switch for all power to the garage.

In the main panel, you can then use a 60A breaker for the feeder, which means you have enough power to handle most things you'd want to do with even an expanded garage, and certainly plenty of power for your tools as of now.  As to branch circuits, I would have one 20A circuit for lights and the minifridge, a 20A multi-wire branch circuit (using a 2-pole, 20A breaker) for the power tools (assuming you're only running one tool at a time), and a spare 20A circuit provisioned (for a window air conditioner or the likes).  This leaves plenty of headroom for a dust collector, and/or a second 20A, 2-pole circuit for more power tools for that matter.

TORQUE ALL LUGS TO SPEC

Note that you should torque all loadcenter and breaker lugs to their manufacturer specification with an inch-pound torque wrench or torque screwdriver.  In the US, this is now required by 110.14(D) in the 2017 NEC, and is a good idea anyway to keep your electrical system from losing you the race the way Greg Biffle's infamous lugnuts did.


Can I put the junction box for an exterior wall fixture inside my garage? I have an exterior, wall-mounted light fixture that I want to attach to my new garage. It looks like this:

Here's a PVC board the contractor left to mount it. There appears to be OSB sheathing board behind the PVC, then the house-wrap, then the OSB sheathing that's nailed to the garage studs. The whole thing is about 2 inches deep. There is no hollow in it. I know this because I drilled a hole through the center of it. You can see the hole in the picture.

This is what it looks like on the inside of the garage. In the center of the photo, you can see the same hole.

My light needs a junction box behind it to connect the wires to NM cable inside the garage. Since the mounting block is solid, I can imagine routing (not cutting) an octagon into it to insert a very shallow junction box, or I can imagine cutting an octagon all the way through the wall to insert a deeper junction box.

What I want to do instead is just to mount a junction box inside the garage, and pull the wires from the fixture through the hole in the wall. My connections would all be inside the garage and I'd avoid a big hole.

Is this allowed? If there is a problem with pulling those little unshielded wires through an exterior wall, could I get around it by inserting a 2" length of PVC or metal conduit through the wall?

Strictly speaking, that round metal mounting bracket on the back of the fixture is supposed to be secured to an electrical box.
It can be a shallow box, but it's supposed to be a box. You must protect the wires. You want that new garage to still be there 10 years from now.
I can't really tell from the photo, but the right shallow metal box should fit within that recess on the back of the fixture without you needing to cut a hole in the siding. But if you have to cut a hole, then you have to cut a hole (if you do, rent, borrow or buy a holesaw for your drill big enough for the box).

You could attach the box through to the OSB with screws, although personally, I'd lay a 2x4 flat side against the OSB inside the garage, toenail it into the studs on both sides, and screw the box directly through the OSB into that 2x4. So a stiff breeze or errant basketball doesn't knock your light fixture off the wall.  :-)
Drill a hole through the OSB and the 2x4 big enough to feed the cable and to accommodate the clamp that holds the cable in the box. The cable has to be clamped into the box.
Then attach the round mounting bracket that came with the fixture to that box, wire everything up, attach the light fixture to the bracket that you attached to the box. That's the way it's designed.
If it's a metal box, it has to be grounded (screwing the grounded mounting bracket to it will accomplish this).
You also have to secure the cable inside the garage as dictated by your local electrical code.
Finally, I'd use a dose of waterproof silicone or caulk around the box, and then again around the fixture itself after it's mounted, to make sure water doesn't seep inside.
Good luck!


Can I change a 240 volt 40 amp outlet for an oven to two 20amp 240 volt outlets? I am installing two wall ovens that each require 20 amp 240 volt outlets.  I currently have wired for a single 40 amp 240 outlet. To convert without pulling new wire from the panel can I put in a sub panel an add two 20 amp 240 volt breakers that can feed the outlets I need? Is there any easier way?

Normally, you can never split a 40A supply to serve two loads rated for a 20A circuit.  Except here.

This is an allowed exception for supplying oven/range loads.  It's in NEC 220.55, referring to Table 220.55, Note 4:

  The branch-circuit load for a counter-mounted cooking unit and not more than two wall-mounted ovens, all supplied from a single branch circuit and located in the same room, shall be calculated by adding the nameplate rating of the individual appliances and treating this total as equivalent to one range.

NEC 220.55 and Table 220.55 also includes some derating (or more accurately, permissive up-rating) that overrides the normal "125% for continuous" derate found in NEC 210.19(A)(1). It appears to be permissive.   Speaking of 210.19, ThreePhaseEel points out

  210.19(A)(3) Household Ranges and Cooking Appliances. Branch- circuit conductors supplying household ranges, wall-mounted ovens, counter-mounted cooking units, and other household cooking appliances shall have an ampacity not less than the rating of the branch circuit and not less than the maximum load to be served. For ranges of 8 3/4 kW or more rating, the minimum branch-circuit rating shall be 40 amperes.

  Exception No. 1: Conductors tapped from a 50-ampere branch circuit
  supplying electric ranges, wall-mounted electric ovens, and counter-mounted electric cooking units shall have an ampacity of not less than
  20 amperes and shall be sufficient for the load to be served. These tap
  conductors include any conductors that are a part of the leads supplied
  with the appliance that are smaller than the branch-circuit conductors.
  The taps shall not be longer than necessary for servicing the appliance.

  Exception No. 2: The neutral conductor of a 3-wire branch circuit
  supplying a household electric range, a wall-mounted oven, or a
  counter-mounted cooking unit shall be permitted to be smaller than the
  ungrounded conductors where the maximum demand of a range of
  8¾-kW or more rating has been calculated according to Column C of
  Table 220.55, but such conductor shall have an ampacity of not less
  than 70 percent of the branch-circuit rating and shall not be smaller
  than 10 AWG.

This also overrides the 125% rating by saying a 40A breaker can definitely supply two 20A ovens, and saying a 8.75KW-9.6KW oven is allowed on a 40A circuit.


Tacky Danish oil surface on stained Tasmanian Oak I'm a newbie to woodwork and surprised myself by successfully creating an even Black Japan stain on some Tasmanian Oak. I then decided to finish it with Danish Oil. Somehow I arrived at the decision to brush on a heavy coat of the oil and leave it until it dries. A week later the wood has an inconsistent tacky/ gummy and shiny finish and the grain seems to have risen. I've read that wiping down the surface daily with mineral turpentine or methylated spirits will eventually remove the tacky surface. The issue is that the wood is also stained and in the small section I tried this on the turps stripped about 25% of the stain.

TLDR: What can I do to remove the tacky/ gummy Danish Oil finish from Oak without removing the stain?

Stained:

Stained and Oiled:

A 4-inch wide razor scraper might remove much of the dried oil. Hold it lightly and at a small angle to the surface. But you will have to be careful to avoid letting a corner of the scraper dig into the wood.


What ikea screwdriver type is this? I am trying to disassemble by bedframe and the
Screwdriver that I have seems too loose.
Where can I find a screwdriver to do this?

It is called a "hex key", "Allen key", or "Allen wrench".

You can also find socket wrench tools with this hexagonal drive shape. Hex key socket wrenches are almost always stronger than Allen keys, and less likely to round out the screw head.

Both the fasteners and the tools shipped with Ikea furniture kits are necessarily the cheapest that can still do the job, so it should be no surprise that the wrench seems too loose. You may need to use a slightly larger hex key tool, even if it is nominally the "wrong" size.

If the next size larger hex key is too large, try one from a different standard, i.e. the next size metric for a SAE screw.

Once you have removed the cheap Ikea screws you should replace them with better quality. "Star drive" would be the best; purchase the screws and driver together.


How do I mount this non-standard wall plate to a completed drywall wall? I have this

But it only has what you see in that pic. I was told I needed the box thing to go behind it to mount it to in the wall. There is no hole in the wall right now, so how do I get this to fit and stay securely? Also, it is standard width, but not as tall as a regular lightswitch faceplate.

Here's the exact one I bought, actually.

You can use a low-voltage retrofit mounting bracket, which is the same size and has the same screw dimensions as a standard outlet box, but without the "box" part.

Because it's low-voltage, you don't need the mechanical protection of the box like you do for high-voltage. It also gives you a lot more room to work with, which is very nice for bulky connectors like the HDMI and VGA ones you have.

After you cut the appropriate sized hole in the wall, you mount the bracket and it clamps down onto the drywall. Then you can run the wires into it and attach the faceplate, just like you would with any box mounted in the wall.

Here's what it looks like in the wall (this one is orange, but otherwise the same thing):

Note, there are also low-voltage mounting plates for new construction, which are basically the same thing but go up before drywall and attach directly to a stud.


What kind of paint do I need for baseboards? What is the keyword to use when looking for paint for baseboards. I am assuming that regardless of the color of the wall and the floor, the baseboard is always painted a pure "snow" white. (I am not sure why, but I'm happy with that.) In any case, is this the same kind of ultra-white paint I'd use for (interior) doors, door frames, and closets?

While I'm asking about baseboards, I find it a bit wasteful to use such lengths of masking tape on both sides of the baseboard and not have a chance to reuse them. Is there any solution I'm missing? I tried in the past to paint ever so slowly without a masking tape, but no matter how careful I am and how steady my hand gets, I'm simply unable to get a perfectly straight line.

Just go the paint store or home improvement store and tell them you want white interior trim paint.  It is usually a little more glossy.  Painting is not my favorite thing to do so I always take the easy way out and go Porter and ask for their trim white.  I usually judge the quality of the paint by the price.  As for eliminating masking tape, you can buy a guide that has a steel blade and a handle to hold up against the edge to get a clean line.  You just have to wipe it with a rag frequently.  Happy painting!


Does the Long Leg of the Grounding Clip go Inside or Outside of the Electrical Box? I have a model #GEE-B10-10 Grounding Clip that I'm not sure how to install. Does the long leg go on the outside or on the inside of the electrical box?

Long side:

Short side:

I contacted the company. The long side goes inside the box.


Flexible round duct - What to use I'm re-routing some 10x3.25" duct through a bulkhead in my kitchen.  Planning to change over to 6" round duct for a 4'  segment that is relatively straight (no 90s).  It was my intention to use non-insulated UL 181 Class 1 (expandable aluminum), but my dad who (generally) knows his stuff said that's not to building code ( US - Pennsylvania ).  He couldn't explain why.

Reading the code it refers to flame spread index, not super helpful.  I imagine i will need to use the insulated ductwork but would like to understand why and what code/class adherence to look for.  Here's some info on the application:

Forced air heating and AC supply air
In interior wall (bulkhead), will be behind drywall
3-4' segment
No sharp turns, but not a straight line either

While Code will let you use such a product, you need to be careful when doing so to avoid giving your HVAC system a case of the wheezes

I can find nothing in the 2015 or 2018 IRC that forbids the use of uninsulated flexible duct conforming to UL 181 Class 1 (the SDI limit in Code is 200) for HVAC supply or return air ducts located within the conditioned envelope.  However, there is a major caveat with this sort of product: it can put a real drag on airflow through it when installed improperly!

In particular, in order to correctly use flexible ducting in an HVAC system, you must stretch it all the way out when installing it, and support it so that it doesn't sag or collapse back on itself later, otherwise you will get excessive friction loss.  In other words, a sagging or unstretched flex duct restricts airflow through it, causing poor HVAC performance, and even excessive energy usage as many modern air handlers will fight to maintain airflow (CFM) despite the radically excessive static pressure needed to push air through the dodgy duct.


Insulating my Room for the Winter? I currently live with my parents, who like the thermostat rather cold during the winter (My room is 16C right now), and its not even December yet in NY. What steps can I take to properly insulate my room? My room has 3 windows that used to have argon (A noble gas) that mitigated temperature, but it has long since vanished, although I do have closing shudders in its place, which helps mitigate thermal losses, although, even with the shudders closed, I can still feel cool air around the closed shudders, indicating that this is not as good of a thermal insulator as I would like it to be. I also have a closet, which is normally at the temperature of the rest of the house. This and there is a slit under my door (As there are in most doors), which will allow air from the rest of the house to cool air in my room, although I do have concerns that it also might protect against carbon dioxide buildup from breathing.

There are several relevant factors that should be taken into account:

1) Most of the insulation should be passive (I can't change the thermostat, obviously)

2) I need to insulate against the exterior environment, and the cooler interior environment (Expected interior temperatures of around 16C constantly)

3) I don't have a huge budget, so I can't do large projects (Not would my parents look kindly on that, although I can do things like putting a plastic layer over the windows to try and add a poor thermal conduction layer to slow down heat transfer)

Even many experts underestimate the volume of air exchange through tiny gaps, holes, slits etc. So generally too much unintended air exchange is often the biggest problem. Can be reduced by applying all weather silikon or acryl at the edge where  window frame and wall are touching, and between glass and frame. This should be done outside and inside and is not expensive at alI, does not change the building substance. If the window is not airtight between it's moving and still standing frame, also silikon can help, but a sheet of foil (kitchen) must be temporarily inserted in order to avoid sticking/glueing the window frames together until dry. This helps for rotating windows. Cave: the material needs a high temperature to dry out, ca. 15 Celsius or above. The door slit can be closed with old  clothes put at the edge every time the door is closed or with a special brush to be glued on the door.
Air gaps can be detected with a cigarette or candle on windy days.
A cheap heating is a car heating seat cushion (car accessories), heating from legs to the back like in a car, plus a voltage supply of 12V. There are also 230V/120V heating mattress covers for the bed. And a low noise hair dryer next to the bed can warm up the bed in 1 minute or less with very low costs. These 3 electric heating systems are very comfortable, inexpensive and very fast, and save money and energy and the environment. They are scalable, nearly maintenance free and can be transfered to the next appartment with no installation work.


Trying to add an outlet on other side of wall, 3 pairs of white/black wires and ground I have a new build house about a year old and I'm trying to add an extra outlet to the other side of the wall in the picture where I already have one outlet.

I am fairly good with electrics, but this one has me baffled.

As you can see from the picture, I have a socket with 3 white and 3 black wires and one ground.

I used a socket tester, pictured below and according to the tester, the socket is "wired correctly".

Upon further study, I removed the white and black wires on the far right (plugged into back of socket, not looped on the screws) and tested for current.  The white wire tests as "hot" and the black wire is neutral. When I plug these into a new outlet and use the tester, this confirms my test as it says "Hot and NEU REV".

So, a fairly simple job becomes an enigma.

Downstream, I use the tester to test the next socket  down the wall.  Now, when I test this socket, it says ground and HOT REV.  This is bad obviously.

However, before I removed the black and white wires on the right, both sockets tested fine and the tester said "Correct wiring".  It's only when I remove these two wires and add them into a new outlet do the problems arise.

This might be too complicated to explain online, but I thought maybe someone might be able to shed some light.

It sounds like you misunderstand what all those wires are doing.

This photo does not show it, but I bet if you look closely at the receptacle, you will see where there is a metal tab connecting the two silver screws, the tab could be broken off, and it hasn't been broken off.  That means the two silver screws are connected.   Also internally connected is the backstab and the screw it's nearest to.  (Note that using backstabs is the sign of cheap lazy hack work, backstabs are fast to assemble but tend to "fail open", leaving parts of the circuit dead. The job of backstabs is to make your house cheaper to build, that job is done, so now, kill them on sight.)

So all this means actually, all these white wires are connected to each other.  They are using the receptacle as a big splice block.  And as an aside, they are also providing power to the receptacle's sockets: a clever dual-use.

I imagine the tab between the brass screws is also intact and all the blacks are connected. In that case, I want you to get two red Ideal brand wire nuts, and 8" pair of black and white pigtails.  Remove all the wires from the receptacle, put black and white pigtails on the screws of the receptacle... then join all the blacks on a wire nut, and all the whites. Stick them in with tips even, and straight is fine, no need to pre-twist. They'll get twisted good-n-plenty when you twist clockwise, hard, until the insulated wires you are pinching start twisting too.

Don't reuse 10+ year old wire nuts, especially not Scotchloks. New ones are better.

Why did my circuit stop working?

Because you unplugged stuff.  A common belief is that there are unnecessary or spare wires in wiring.  That isn't true, except inside Hogwarts castle in the Room of Requirement. People don't install extra wires, especially cheap people who use backstabs.  So every wire must do something, and disconnecting a wire must break something.

We just established that all the blacks are connected to each other, and likewise all the whites.  This brings up a possibility you may not have considered: that the two wires at far right are not a pair from the same cable!

As such, your setup is all lop-sided. That explains the weird readings.

Those ”magic 8-ball" testers

Many of those are very simple.  However, the written legends on those things are unreliable and misleading under ideal conditions. That's why we call them "magic 8-ball" testers.   With your lopsided, janky hookup there, it's not surprising that their message is gibberish.

You're actually seeing the product of interaction between other things. Nobody cares why, because testing a known-broken circuit is a waste of time.   Fix it, then test it.

Ignore the legends and think of the magic 8-ball testers as more of a pass/fail device.  2 yellows = pass, anything else = fail.  They are not absolute proof of correctness, e.g. They cannot detect neutral-ground reverse.

Add that spur branch

Now, you want to wire in another very short branch over to the new receptacle location.  Easy as pie.  Locate the new junction box, not at, but next to, this one on the other wall.  Thread the new cable through. Use the same size of cable as you see there, presumably this is a 15A circuit with #14 wire since #12 won't fit on most backstabs.

When it comes to feeding power to it, did you do the wire nut thing?  Just add the black wire to the black bundle, and the white wire to the white bundle.  Done.  Otherwise I cannot recommend using the last 2 available screws because I don't think you're allowed to use screws and stabs at once.   Leviton makes $3 receptacles that take 2 wires under each screw, that'll get you to 4, and this "screw and clamp" arrangement doesn't have the unreliability problem that backstabs do.


What's the difference between commercial and residential tankless water heaters? I'm trying to figure out the difference between two tankless water heaters, produced by the same manufacturer, one a "Commercial" and another a "Residential". The commercial one is allowed to be used for space heating applications, the residential one is not.

Within the manual, the specs for the residential heater indicate that it does not get as hot as the commercial heater, but everything else seems the same.

If I am fine with the lower temperatures, does anyone know why I cannot use the residential heater for a bit of space heating?

REU-V2520FFU - Residential

REU-V2520FFUC - Commercial

Safety vs. Efficiency
The residential models have a default temperature of 120 F and a maximum of 140 F. This compares well to a typical residential hot water heater. The concern is that if the water is too hot it will cause severe burns. That can happen even at 140 F. Here is a chart of water temperature burn times.. At 120 F you're "safe". At 140 F it takes 5 seconds to cause a severe burn, which is bad but allows a chance to go "oops" and get out of the way in time. At 185 F you essentially burn instantly.
Why are the commercial systems allowed to run so hot? Because they are used for space heating (which needs very hot water) and because there is an assumption that there will be people actually installing and managing the system in a safe way - e.g., installing appropriate temperature controlled mixing valves or adjusting the system appropriately depending on the actual use. A typical consumer will be more likely to mess up. Sad, but true. Plumber installs it and sets it to 120 F, customer decides they want the water hotter and instead of cranking it up to 140 F (hot but manageable) they go to the top at 185 F. Then, from the comfort of the burn ward, they call their lawyer to sue the plumber (for not instructing them what to do, even though he probably did), the manufacturer (for not warning them, even though the heater came with a big red warning sticker), the water company (for delivering H2O that could handle that amount of heat), etc. Too many lawyers. The manufacturer has an easy way out - limit the residential heaters to the traditional max. of 140 F.
So why can't you use the residential system at 140 F to heat your house? Because it won't work very well. Heating (and cooling, for that matter) depends on:

Difference in temperature between the supplied hot air/water/etc. and the ambient temperature
Rate of transfer  between the supplied air/water/etc. and the room air

You simply don't get the same amount of heat out of pushing 140 F water through pipes in a 60 F room that you do from pushing 180 F water through the same pipes.  Yes, if you let that 140 F water sit long enough then it would end up at the same temperature as the room (and vice versa) but then you aren't pushing the water through very quickly so you don't heat transferred fast enough to make the room as hot as you would like. You can't have it both ways. Ask on https://physics.stackexchange.com/ for a detailed explanation. This is also the reason why you want your air conditioned air coming through relatively cold - if you pump 60 F air through your house it will feel cool but it won't cool the house nearly as effectively as 50 F air.


Building a deck... Sanity check on Menards deck builder I have a question about what Menards is proposing. Is something like this legal?
I would think that the last joist (in purple) would require more than a single connection point over the red post and blue beam.
Isn't this some sort of violation of the cantilever?  Or does the rim joist play into things?

The deck builder is myself (well, DIY... but engineer with access to CAD - if that makes it better or worse...) I was just copying something that menards had in their "deck designer" program, trying to simplify things a hair.      Here is how I fixed things - rotate the joists 45 degrees.
It makes the joists on the south end of the drawing a bit trickier as far as cuts go - (moreso on the other side of the pool where the angles are shallower), but here is what I have.  I was able to fit things with a 2' cantelevir while still keeping my holes at least a foot away from the pool.  It does make for a tricky 65ish degree cut, for the rim joist, though...


Can a stove be beneath a window I'm upgrading my kitchen and after endless deliberating, feel that the kitchen is best laid out having the stove directly beneath a window (the window is about 8" above the stove).

I was wondering whether there are any huge reasons why i should avoid doing this.

A few concerns:

The range hood will need to be placed above the window, possibly blocking some of your view, unless you install a downdraft vent frequently seen in cooking islands.
If you have a messy cook in the house, cleaning the grease off of the window panes and crevices will be all the more difficult on a window.  And curtains or blinds are even worse.
In the winter, boiling water close to the window will result in a lot of condensation.  If that runs down the window and freezes, you could be looking at some damage.

None of this says you can't do it.  I doubt that the thermal changes will break the glass, but I couldn't say for sure.  But all other things being equal (which you say they aren't) I would choose somewhere other than the window myself.


Should I let my contractor drill and set rebar dowels in my concrete storm shelter to secure a concrete patio that will be poured around it? I want to pour a 16 x 22 patio from my house foundation (slab) and encasing 3/4 sides of the storm shelter.  The contractor states he will drill and place rebar dowel every 2 feet into the foundation AND storm shelter.  I have concerns with him messing with the storm shelter.  I believe it has 8” wall.
Does this sound like the way to do this.  I sure don’t want to mess with the integrity of the shelter or foundation.
Any guidance appreciated.

I don't consider it appropriate to hang slabs on foundation walls. First, it doesn't keep the slab up. If the interior of the slab settles the slab will almost certainly crack and sag, creating a saucer with raised edges. Secondly, it threatens the foundation walls with undue stress.
I can see connecting multiple slabs with such dowels, but not foundation walls. My $.02.


Trouble turning off supply valve - need it shut off but won’t fully close I am attempting to install a bidet attachment I ordered online. The first step is to shut off the supply valve and empty the toilet, as it attaches on between the supply valve and tank.
I am unable to fully shut off the water supply. The supply valve opens fully and it will stifle the supply water somewhat but not completely off it. I am afraid to force it or use a tool with my level of plumbing knowledge. Could any helpful people give me advice on a course of action? I see a screw on top of the valve— I’m deathly afraid of losing some piece of it and flooding the bathroom. As much as I can hand turn it, it just isn’t enough to cut off the supply to do the work needed.
I could shut off the entire house water supply if all else fails but I’d like to be able to turn off the water supply valve locally.

Getting it to shut off completely is unnecessary. There are plenty of SE questions about swapping a valve or trying to get it to close more if you really want to. You're talking about a down time of minutes, not days or weeks; that's when I would suggest that, or taking it off and capping it.

Turn the valve off as much as possible.
Flush the toilet.
Take the supply line lose from the toilet and let it, and the toilet, drain into a bucket.
Have towels down on the floor because it's going to get a little messy as you install the new equipment as fast as possible and hook everything back up.
Don't be in such a rush that you cross-thread or over tighten. A little water never hurt anything.

If you're really worried get a tiny brass cap to put on the valve while you work. It's probably 3/8ths compression thread and usually found in the isle with faucet repair parts - alternatively, get a 3/8ths compression thread plug to put into the supply line. Both usually require a few wraps of PTFE tape to actually seal - but again we're talking minutes, so whatever: towels, a bucket, and get 'er done.


Load bearing wall above door? I have a narrow hallway with a doorway right in the middle. I'm trying to get rid of as much of the doorway as possible. I got rid of the trim and this 1/2 inch door frame.... but what's going on in the header is questionable.

There are no jack studs, the whole thing is an insert above the doorway nailed up to the beam.

Is this load bearing? You think I can take it out?

**This is a 30 year old apartment reno.

That is not load bearing construction and can be removed. Does that unit have an attic? The beam is at an angle so it's not supporting the floor above. If there is an attic, it's always nice to get up there and check out the construction before knocking out walls.


Best way to support walls of existing wooden outbuilding I have been digging out the floor of a wooden outbuilding on my property, to prepare for laying a new concrete floor. The walls of the building have been built on top of old railway sleepers that were laid on compacted earth. Removing the floor has exposed the old sleepers, which are now rotten and no longer usable as supports. My question is what is the best option for ensuring the wooden walls are properly supported?

The room is 5m by 3m and is joined to another building that sits on its own concrete floor. So jacking up the building to put new support in is not an option.
My first thought was to build an underpinning foundation wall using concrete blocks.
Location: Highlands of Scotland; the climate is cool and damp much of the year.

This is one of those "best" questions that's highly dependent on site conditions and your capabilities and prerogative. It also depends on how much footing you actually want (or need, if frost heave is a concern). I see two options:

Do as you suggest, first pouring footings and then setting block under the wall plates. This would require someone with some good block-laying skills. That sort of bottom-up work isn't easy. You'll need to fill in around your temporary legs, then remove those and close up the gaps.

Pour an integrated footing with the slab. Once you backfill and compact for the floor, shape adequate footings forms into the soil below the walls. When you pour, agitate the concrete well so that it flows under and against the wall plates. Ideally you'll do some of this from the outside to eliminate air cavities.


Is rerouting the waste line really necessary In a big home improvement projet we are planning to move the bathroom.

The plumber want to run a new waste line to the basement which imply opening a wall, removing laminate flooring, breaking concrete and digging in the home theater room!  This new line would be, horizontally, 7 feet long with a 90 degrees bend and then 3 feet long before going down vertically to the old waste line in the basement.

Of course I would like to avoid all this work and would rather use the existing waste line.  I believe we could align the toilet to fit between the floor joist and run a straight 14 feet long waste line to the old waste line.  I have a dropped ceiling in the basement and there is a minimum of 8" of clearance and almost 12" near the old waste line.  IMHO running this new line would be much more easy and there should be enough clearance for a slope of 1/4" per feet.

Here is some ASCII art (side view) :

                Actually              Plumber new waste line        My suggestion
                                 T           T                          T
1st floor  ======================|    =======|==============|    =======|==============|
                                 |    ,------'              |           `--------------+
                                 |    | (+3' on other axis) |                          |
                                 |    |                     |                          |
Basement   ======================|    |=====================|    ======================|
          <----------------------'  <-+---------------------'   <----------------------'

Plumber said this is "patchwork" and he refused the idea.  Do you believe he is right about that?

Note :

Venting shouldn't be a problem : there is only one floor so running the vent in the attic and inside the new bathroom walls should be easy I guess.
The old waste line will still be used by the kitchen sink but there won't by any additional fixtures.

Could be related to fixture units meaning the old line has too much stuff dumping into it to accommodate the new bathroom OR could be your proposed 14' run is too far to wet vent back to the stack (unless you're already planning on a separate vent, then it doesn't matter.

If this is a 4" stack you should be fine on fixture units (unless you have 6 bathrooms upstairs) but you could be pushing the limit on wet venting at 14'.  Therefore, run your waste line into existing as you suggest and then run a 2" vent out the back of the closet bend.  In your illustration the plumber's proposal on the opposite wall would need a vent anyway so I assume it is going vertically?  Run the 2" up that chase instead.  I may be missing the boat here, hope this helps.

Personally, I'd redesign the bath to avoid dynamiting the home theater and digging a mine shaft down to the main, that is guaranteed to end in tears.


How can I repair a leaking valve on an unused refrigerator water line? I recently bought a fridge that doesn't have an ice maker or water dispenser. I turned off the water under my sink that goes to the fridge line, yet I still find a puddle of water in the morning when I wake up. Is there an easy way to fix this issue?

You have two possible leak causes, so you need to separate them to figure out which one it is.

I assume the line to the old ice maker is still running behind the fridge.  Rather than just shut it off under the sink, disconnect the line under the sink and put a tray under the valve to catch any drips.

The next day, check the tray for drips.  If the valve has been leaking, you can cap it off or you can replace the valve with one that doesn't leak.  A cap is going to be cheaper and faster if you don't intend on using the ice maker line in the future.

If there are no drips in the pan, but still a puddle under the fridge, the fridge is probably missing it's condensate drip pan, especially since it was sold from an outlet store.  It's normally a plastic tray that slides under the fridge.  Water drips into the tray periodically and then evaporates.  If theres no tray the water can flow out from under the fridge and make a puddle.  The outlet store should be able to confirm if your fridge requires a drip pan and probably help you order a replacement (tho you may have to pay for the part).


Voltage tester detecting voltage in non-hot wires when the light switch is off I just switched the wiring of a single-pole light switch from back wiring to side wiring and noticed that my voltage tester (non-contact pen-style one, Klein Tools NCVT-3) detects voltage in both the other black wire going into light fixsture and the ground wire when the switch is off. The tester beeped with one or two yellow lights on, so the voltage seems lower side.

I did continuity testing with my multimeter and the reading looked fine (overload when the switch was off and 0 and beeping when the switch was on).

From my completely novice point of view, the switch should cut off any current when it is off and voltage should be detected in the hot wire only but not in others. Is it not true? Does what I see indicate something's wrong or is it actually normal (like picking up voltage from the nearby hot wire)?

Yes, it is AC voltage that is transfered by the tiny capacitance between galvanically isolated wires. The test equipment (normally having an input resistance of a few MegaOhm)  is very sensitive and can measure these voltages, because it does need only tiny currents. Physically, the voltage source has a huge resistance.

Another example would be the natural E field all over this planet, which is equivalent to ca. 100V per Meter height difference. There would be ca. 200V between head and feet of every human being. But this voltage source has an even higher resistance, and needs a very sensitive special test set.


What is considered Greener/Greenest laminate flooring option available? After doing extensive research on hardwood flooring, I have resigned myself to laminate due to an aging dog who has increasingly suspect bladder control.

Given that laminate is completely artificial I am concerned about the binding agents used. I want to get a VOC & Urea Formaldehyde flooring but it seems this information is hard to locate when compared to the woods.

Can someone throw out some greener options? I want a green product and fake the look of wood until we are pet free and can invest in a nicer floor. This would be an above grade installation over concrete and I am looking for click lock products.

Thanks in advance.

In my last kitchen remodel, I used linoleum, mostly because it was a natural and "green" product. Note that vinyl flooring is often inappropriately called linoleum. You can read more online, but I thought it looked great, was easy to install and care for, and supposedly lasts a very long time.

Here is a Georgia Tech labelled paper that discusses the different choices, rating them on environmental impact and other factors.

  Linoleum is made from all natural ingredients. Linseed oil is derived by pressing flaxseed and it is dried and ground into a powdery binder. This is combined with limestone, which is extremely abundant, pine rosin, and cork and wood flours to form a doughy material to which color is added. Once pressed, it is rolled onto a jute backing and dried. Jute is
  spun from fibers of jute plants grown in India and Bangladesh (Forbo Industries).

Resilient Flooring: A Comparison of Vinyl, Linoleum and Cork

Edit: I just reread your question more carefully, and see that you're specifically looking for click-lock products. Forbo makes a product like that, Marmoleum click tiles which is their brand of linoleum "Marmoleum" applied on top of an HDF and cork backer. Note that my comments about linoleum apply to the linoleum material and jute backing. I don't know what glues or other materials are used in that specific product. I used glued-down tiles.


I have a jcb corded drill that seems to have suddenly stopped working The drill is in pretty good condition and worked when used last a few months ago. It is now not working when pressing the trigger. It will randomly have a bust of power and start then when the trigger isn't being pressed shortly after it was pressed. Any ideas or is it ready for the bin?

Might be worn out brushes, which should be a $5 fix, but the actual price will depend on the specific drill and parts suppliers - as will how easy or difficult it is. Can be a 2-minute job (nice externally accessible brush caps), can take 30 when you have ot open the whole case up to get to them.

Might also be a bad switch, which is usually more money and more time to change out.

Third possibility is a loose wire connection.


Determining if wall is non-load bearing I am planning to renovate my kitchen and I would like to remove the wall between the kitchen and dining room. I have attached a photo of the wall (wall behind the stove) as well as the room on the other side of the wall. I have reviewed the joists in the house and I have been able to confirm that they run parallel with this wall. I have also confirmed there is no walls in the basement or second floor that are on top or below of this wall so I am pretty confident it wouldn't be load bearing. The house is from 1971, but from what I have been able to determine the load bearing wall is the wall behind the kitchen in that first photo as it runs perpendicular to the joists and also has walls in the same spot in the basement and second level, it is also the center of the house. Is there any reason why this wall would be load bearing? I appreciate any feedback, thanks.enter image description here

If the structure above this wall (the joists of the second level) is parallel to this wall, then it's highly unlikely that the wall is load bearing -- what load would it bear, if there's no structure present to bring a load onto the wall? The only possibility is that something like a joist lies directly on top of the wall and you haven't been able to discover it yet.

The planned renovation is going to involve quite a lot of drywall repair on the walls and at least a little bit of repair on the ceiling too. You've done all the due diligence that can be done. Now it's time to cut an inspection hole in the ceiling and visually confirm that nothing bears on the top of that wall. I suggest finding the locations of the nearest joist on each side of that wall and cut the hole on whichever side has more wall-to-joist space. You might also choose to cut the inspection hole on whichever side is easier to repair in case the project does not go forward, or whichever side will bother you less if the hole persists for some time until the project work does commence.


How to remove Schlage knob / handle For the life of me, I can't figure out how to remove the door knob/handle pictured below. I've poked in just about every hole I can find to look for a release mechanism on both the handle and knob sides. Nothing has worked. It's corroded as hell, so I'm not sure if that's the issue or not.

Any thoughts?

there's a little button on the underside of the stem on the insecure side. press it in with a nail or similar pointed tool and pull on the handle.


Can having two expansion tanks above a boiler cause it to over pressurize? I have 2 expansion tanks on my hot water boiler. One tank is a newer model located above boiler. The second tank is hanging from rafters just above boiler. Is it possible that both tanks are filled with water, causing boiler to over pressurize?

Not sure why there would be two expansion tanks installed, I would look into that further.

To answer your question, yes expansion tanks can become waterlogged. There a two main types of expansion tanks, bladder and diaphragm:

  In a bladder tank, there is a rubber bladder that expands and
  contracts as fluid expands and contracts within the system.  In
  bladder tanks, there is no direct contact between the air in the tank
  and the fluid in the bladder which will reduce corrosion compared to a
  atmospheric tank.  Bladder tanks can typically fill 100% with fluid,
  reducing the size of tank needed.  The bladder is typically removable
  and/or replaceable allowing for simpler and less expensive repairs or
  inspections.  Bladder tanks also have an ASME option available.  They
  can also be floor mounted in the vertical position which can save
  valuable space.  Bladder tanks can also be purchased with FDA approved
  Butyl bladders allowing for use in potable water systems.  However,
  bladder tank usually have a higher initial cost and have a lower
  maximum allowable temperature than plain steel tanks because of the
  material of the bladder.

  In a diaphragm tank, there is a diaphragm that separates the fluid in
  the top of the tank and the air in the bottom of the tank.  Diaphragm
  tanks are similar to bladder tanks in that there is no direct contact
  between the fluid and air in the system, which reduces corrosion.
  Diaphragm tanks require less maintenance and have a lower installation
  cost.  They can be floor mounted in the vertical position to save
  space and also come with an ASME option.  Unlike bladder tanks,
  diaphragm tanks have a limited acceptance volume, requiring a larger
  tank.  The diaphragm is not replaceable and the diaphragm tank has a
  lower maximum temperature than the plain steel tank because of the
  material of the diaphragm. Source.

I find that diaphragm tanks are more common now and I would guess that your newer tank is this type. Diaphragm tanks come pre-charged with air (depending on where is is installed this pre-charge may need to be adjusted). Over time, the tank may lose this air charge and need to be re charged.

Here's some information from about.com regarding this issue and how to fix it:

  Symptoms

  Pressure relief valve on boiler is spurting water
  Expansion tank is hot to the touch lower than the middle of the tank

  Possible Causes

  Too little air and too much water in the expansion tank

  Possible Repairs

  Turn off boiler, close water shutoff valve and let tank and system
  cool.
  Water-side pressure must be at 0 psi in order to get an accurate
  read of the air pressure on the diaphragm.
  Check the pressure in the
  expansion tank by attaching a tire gage to the air recharge valve
  (Schrader valve) at the bottom of the tank;
  If air is needed, add more
  by using a bicycle tire pump to fill the valve to 12 psi or as
  otherwise indicated by manufacturer's instructions.
  Open water supply valves and let system fill back up.
  Turn boiler back on (do this after water supply is back on)
  System will recharge. Let run for 1-2 hours and recheck.


Samsung induction stove not detecting cookware Samsung Chef Collection stovetop stopped detecting cookware, left two burners only. The two burners on the right are working fine. A repair guy did not mince words: take it to the dump. He said he sees these stoves failing all the time and there is very little that can be done in the way of diagnostics, short of checking for blown fuses and visually checking if something looks obviously wrong. Swapping out parts one by one can be a very expensive proposition: the cost of the part, the wait time, the time to disassemble and re-assemble the stove (there is no way to find out if it works without fully assembling it).

The fact that two burners failed at the same time provides important troubleshooting information. It is clearly not something with the individual burners - it has to be some common component shared by the left two burners.

I decided to try my luck and ordered the left inverter board. It was not cheap, around 300$ with shipping and tax. I swapped the board and... nothing.

Any ideas or suggestions what to try next? I do have a high quality tester.

Six weeks and 3 PCBs later...
You might want to know, was it worth it? For me, yes. It was not cheap (around $700, including repairman visit), and it took many hours. But I did save some money compared to paying for a new stove. And it gave me a feeling of satisfaction and closure, which also counts for something.
Edit, in response to comments asking for more information.
So there are multiple circuit boards, some symmetrically located left and right of center, and some in the middle (the common parts between left and right sets of burners). I started out by replacing the boards on the left side, and when it did not help, I continued with the boards in the middle. In the process, we found out that the part number from Samsung for one of the boards is wrong (we spent some time on the phone with the rep from the parts vendor to establish this fact). As a result, I got one extra board to try (which did not fix the problem) that I sent back to the vendor because it was not the part that I ordered.
In the photo, you are looking at a failed solder joint. Apparently the connection became intermittent and eventually failed completely. This is on the back side of the board, so it would not be possible to catch the problem without removing the board. Also, it took a very careful examination to spot the problem.
Can I offer any advice to folks with the same problem? Not really, just a general observation that this is a very crude way to troubleshoot which is not guaranteed to be successful. Maybe start out by removing all the boards one by one and looking at them very closely in the hopes of spotting a burned-out part or a failed solder joint. If that exercise yields nothing, then start ordering replacement boards one by one. Have patience, prepare to get frustrated, and have low expectations.


Help Identifying Frost Free Faucet Manufacturer Can anyone help me in identifying who the manufacturer of this frost free faucet is?

I am needing to repair the faucet but have read that every one is just a little different, making a simple repair kit from the hardware store very hit-or-miss.

Looks like it's made by Mueller Industries

(source: muellerindustries.com)

Maybe an older QuarterMaster brass Anti siphon frost free sillcock?


How can I run wiring around an inside corner? I am working in a garage and need to run electrical wire through a corner.  I cannot go over the corner through the ceiling (a long story), and going through the studs at a right angle will be a significant challenge.

Since this is a garage, I'm ok if the wire comes out of the sheet rock.  Can I just have the wire come out through the sheetrock, in a conduit, go around the corner, and then have it go back into the second wall?

Or must the wire go to a box on the first wall, come out of the box in a conduit, then go into a box on the second wall and then continue on?

Thanks for the repliess -  I think the trunking is the way to go.  I just don't know if I need to have an electrical box on each wall at the exit and entry points (?) or can I just come in and out directly, assuming the wire is within the trunk while outside the wall?...

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Southwire-6-ft-3-4-in-Liquaflex-NM-Whip-Kit-58004609/203424766

If you are having issues with drilling the corner, realize that you can make the job significantly more possible with an ordinary drill if you don't try to hold it level - shift the wire up or down a few inches as well as taking it around the corner, and the hole becomes much easier to drill.

As for your question about the approach using conduit, that's going to depend on the LAHJ (local authority having jurisdiction) a.k.a. "the building inspector", if you are subject to inspection. Generally better to ask them first, than to try and convince them that the internet said X would be OK...what is acceptable in one local area may not be in another, and in some cases what's acceptable in the same area will vary with inspector (probably shouldn't, but often does, even so.)


How can I correct the slope of a marble shower sill? Our master shower is tiled in marble; it's almost perfect except... the sill has a slight slope running out of the shower instead of into it.  As a result, every time we take a shower, a small amount of water runs out and down the front face of the sill, and (if not wiped up promptly) soaks into the floor.

The glass door (which swings in and out) is centered on the sill, and has a plastic deflector at the bottom, so the amount of water is not huge; it's on the order of a teaspoon to a tablespoon each shower.  Still, it's enough to have destroyed the molding and required the replacement of a few floorboards, and the replacements are already showing damage.

I'd like to reverse that slope so that water drains into the shower rather than out of it; I suspect that the best method would involve removing the tiles from the sill and re-seating them.  I'm not really up for that, though, so I was thinking more along the lines of polishing the inner edge (very slightly) and building up the outside (very slightly) with some sort of polish or wax.  Another idea was to make a small dam of transparent/"invisible" silicone caulk in a line just under where the door hangs when it's closed; my concern with that approach is that 1) invisible caulk really isn't; 2) we would feel it underfoot; 3) it would tend to peel up and need replacing relatively quickly, and until it was replaced it might be worse than the current situation.

Does anyone have experience with a similar situation, and/or suggestions?  Thanks!

Edit:
It's a bit embarrassing (it's the sort of thing you'd think I should have noticed long ago), but when I really took a look I realized that the plastic bit at the bottom had disappeared some time back.  I'd simply got used to it being gone, and didn't make the connection between its disappearance and the wet-floor problem.

So I went online and found this for $9.00: CRL Co-Extruded Clear Bottom Wipe with Drip Rail for 1/2" Glass - 32-5/8 in long and popped it into place (it's tight enough to not even need glue) - et voilá! the floor, she is wet no more.  Didn't need to correct the negative slope at all, although I do want to touch up the corner.

This is a tough one. There is no easy way to remedy your problem. The best way would be to remove and replace the tiles properly. If in fact the tiles are real marble, you can grind them to create the proper angle and slowly refinish the surface by stepping down grits and finally getting to a wet polish grit of 2400. That is actually impracticable for a DIY if you don't have the equipment and materials to do it.  If it were me, I'd remove a couple of tiles and reset them to fix your drainage problem. A couple of hacks with a hammer, scrape off some of the thinset, replace the tiles with a little premix thinset, regrout, wait a couple of days, seal the grout and your done. The actual labor time may be only a couple of hours, even though you have to wait a bit to use the shower again.


Cleaning roughcast/pebbledash wall My outside wall has a stain on it that I can't seem to remove. It's a roughcast wall and the stain was caused by the boiler overflow outlet.
I have managed to lighten the stain slightly with different cleaning products and careful treatment with a pressure washer, but it won't come off completely.
Are there any other things that I can try?

I always use diluted muriatic acid to remove rust stains from masonry, but it's a dangerous chemical that can cause burns, blindness and lung injury if misused. It's also known as hydrochloric acid.
There is a product called Bar Keeper's Friend that looks like scouring powder, but it contains oxalic acid, which removes rust stains and is not as dangerous as muriatic acid. You might make a thin paste of it, glop it on and brush it around before rinsing it off. Don't get it in your eyes.
There's also a product called Iron Out that comes in several forms, one of which is a spray-on gel that seems made for this application.
Needless to day, test on an inconspicuous area before attacking the whole stain, and see about re-routing the boiler overflow or you'll have another stain next time the boiler relieves itself.


Supply is coming but if load (Appliance) is connect then load does not work In my home one distribution board indicate supply but when I connect any appliance to board the board indicator is off and appliance does not work. Other distribution boards are working.

You probably have a wire break, a corroded or loose terminal, broken receptacle, or something somewhere. All of those situations can create a high-resistance on the circuit. That resistance can be low enough that a low current device (such as an indicator light) can still work and a multimeter will measure the correct voltage. But a high current device won't work.

See Why does my GFCI circuit breaker trip with any small load, even after replacing the breaker?


Can I unplug attic fan over garage I recently moved into a new house and during the inspection, the inspector noted that there was a fan in the attic space above the garage.

He also mentioned that I could probably just unplug it because they do not typically install them anymore now that houses have air conditioners because:

The fan moves the hot air out of the attic area
This pulls air from the main floor of the garage into the attic
Which pulls the air-conditioned air out of the house and into the garage.

Thus making the air conditioner have to run more often. He said that they instead are now just putting vents in those areas.

Is this true? Are there other considerations I should take into account? The attic area is pretty nicely finished and will be used for storage of things we will use about once a year (mostly Christmas decorations). I do not think anything that would be stored there is super temperature sensitive.

Negative pressure in your garage is far more likely to be relieved through flimsy overhead door seals than from inside the adjacent home (presumably through the service door weather seals alone).

However, it's probably not doing you much economic good to have a fan running in the garage attic. What little energy you save conditioning your home (with its separate attic space) may be offset by the cost of the fan operation.

If your garage gets uncomfortably warm in the summer it may be worthwhile to run the fan. Otherwise, it's apparently not serving a purpose.


Can I plug an air conditioner and a chest freezer into the same outlet? I have a Gibson/Frigidaire through the wall AC unit plugged into a dedicated 3-prong outlet in my a room of my apartment. I'd like to put a chest freezer in my office for homebrewed beer. Is it safe to put a splitter on this outlet and plug both the AC and freezer into it? Or do I need to use separate outlets or have another outlet installed?

The AC unit is a GAH085Q1T, 8000 BTU 115v 8.0 amp.

The freezer I'm looking at getting is a GE 5 cu. ft. model., which would be running through a digital thermostat controller. Because of the thermostat, it won't be running all the time, as the thermostat will turn it on/off to maintain the desired temp of about 45°F, which is higher than the highest temp you can set the freezer at.

This is a 20amp outlet, but before you go drawing 16amps/80% of that, you should verify that there is a 20amp breaker/fuse on the other end as well as 12 gauge wiring (thicker than the standard 14 gauge you find on most 15amp circuits). If there is only a 15amp breaker, then the max you can draw from that outlet is 12amp (80% of 15amps).

You mentioned your one device pulls 8amps - that leaves at minimum, 4 amps available for your freezer - what is the current draw of that device? If its 4 or under and the breaker is 15amps then you are OK.  If it is over 4 then you have to ensure you have a 20amp breaker in which case the max you'd want to pull is about 16amps combined.

If it is a 20amp breaker, then you will need to find a power bar that is rated for 20amp - I think most of the time they are rated for 15 but if you look hard enough you will probably find one for 20.  You could also replace that one outlet with a 2 recepticle outlet which would eliminate the need for a power bar.


Do I need to mud drywall before applying ship lap? I am put up ship lap in my bathroom and replacing drywall. Covering and sealing drywall. Is it necessary with ship lap? It's in the bathroom.

I would say best practice would be to at least seal the drywall with a primer so it does not absorb the moisture in the humid post shower air.

Code (may?) require the joints have at least a tape applied with a skim coat of mud for fire code. That is speculation on my part.

If the gaps in the ship lap will reveal the drywall you will want it a color of your choice.

Personally i would prime and paint it with a semigloss.


How can I install/remove ceiling lights from the attic? I have a home with vaulted ceilings (20 ft high) and recessed lighting. I have access to the fixtures and wiring from a stand-up attic. I have needed to rent a very high ladder or scaffolding to change bulbs.

Are fixtures available that can be lifted from the attic to replace bulbs?  I'm concerned about the safety of heights - especially one that currently needs replacing that lights the front stoop.  The steps add another 5-6 feet to the drop to a concrete sidewalk or bricked steps!

I've googled several terms and phrases to no avail.  Also, the floor help at Lowes/Home Depot have no suggestions.

If appropriate fixtures are available I will rent scaffolding and do a one-time weekend project to install fixtures that can be lifted from the attic.

The real practical solution to this issue is to acquire a long reach light bulb changing pole. These come in a variety of styles and extendable lengths. The particular type of bulbs that you intend to replace will determine the type of pole that you select.

It is always safer to be standing on solid ground with an extension pole than to try to balance on the top of a ladder. And if you follow my suggestion there will be no need to enter your attic and be changing out any fixtures.

Google Images with the phrase "long reach light bulb changer"  will show you all the options rather than me posting a plethora of pictures here.