Well pump circuit keeps tripping the breaker Our well pump motor was recently changed (it was making a huge racket, burning up switches one after the other etc. The bearings were going out). Smooth sound, no more burnt switches, water pressure is fine (the switch is a 40/60).

Before that, there were no problem with it tripping a breaker, it was in a bad shape, but it worked (even if, as previously mentioned, it was burning through switches.)

Now, we noticed it tripping a breaker in the evening only (so far), sometimes multiple times in a row, sometimes not. We live in an old house, but have a brand new breaker box. The pump supplies this house and a small trailer where a couple of tenants live.

As far as electrical circuit configuration goes, we do not know whether or not the pump lives on its own breaker (a 20A single pole as far as I can tell) or shares it with something else. So far it doesn't seem like there is anything else on that breaker.

I'm thinking of sanding the hot wires going to the pump to get rid of the carbon deposit (they look pretty bad from that last burnt up switch) and getting a 30A single pole breaker to replace the 20A one. Is this a good idea? Any input is very appreciated.

Thanks.

EDIT 2: Possible solution?

According to my research, here's what should happen :

Get some 12 gauge wire
Get a 240V, 20A breaker
Hook up the pump and only the pump to that breaker

Anybody care to comment? Also, why is it apparently a no-no to wire a jet pump to 115?

EDIT: Motor specs

Old motor:

Volts: 115/230
Amps: 13.0/6.5
Max Load: 16.2/8.1

New motor:

Volts: 115/230
Amps: 12.4/6.2
Max Load: 16.2/8.1

Was the motor replaced with the same size (horsepower, amperage, voltage) motor? What is the amperage and voltage listed on the motor's data plate? In many cases the motor plate will either list the size of the required breaker, or if not, the manufacturers website will have that information available. If you "had the motor changed" it might be best to call the company that changed it and report that the new motor is tripping the breaker, where the old one did not, and have them check for issues, since they should have verified that the new motor would work the same, or made any changes needed to support any change in the motor. If you changed it yourself, that's on you.

You should not replace the breaker with a larger breaker unless the new motor requires a larger breaker.

You should not replace the breaker with a larger breaker without ALSO replacing the wire with larger wire, suited to the size of the larger breaker, which should be suited to the size of the new motor. 20 amp, 12 gauge copper, minimum - 30 amp, 10 gauge copper, minimum.

Rather than "sanding the wires" you should (with the breaker off, of course) cut off the damaged ends of the wire, pull it a little further in, and strip the ends to get new undamaged wire. If this is not possible, consider replacing the wire, especially if it's  fairly short run.

110V (single-pole breaker?) is rather abnormal for most well pump installations. One potential fix would be to re-wire for 220V operation if possible


How can I get rid of mosquitoes? For indoor use, in living and bedroom. Search for 'wantrn 3 in 1 mosquito trap' should see something like

Description says it uses CO2 - carbon dioxide. I know its harmless unless there is so much that it removes O2 from the area, but what is too much? Is this safe? I have a lot of mosquitoes around. I've tried the light, and chemicals, but neither has worked.

Any other child friendly mosquito stoppers?

There are conflicting reports about the health risks involved with burning citronella indoors and I do not encourage it. If you plan to use a candle indoors as a device I strongly suggest using an inclosed candle box. Fire is a guest in your house and sometimes gets hungry. Also, citronella repels mosquitoes, it doesn't kill them. I suppose this would make them go into the other room at least. Used outdoors, tiki-torches and candles should be relatively safe, health-wise.

Does a Wantrn really work? Reading "also there is so high Voltage, So it’s very high safe and Quiet." in the product description is not encouraging. But the technology seems sound. CO2 and UV attracts, fan sucks them in and keeps them there. Perhaps it does work so long as there's power.

Even if it is one of models that work, your mileage may very:

  Government studies find the Mosquito Magnet line very effective, user postings paint a more nuanced picture. For example, the nearly 30 users posting to Amazon.com give the Patriot an average score of 3 out of 5 stars, with some calling it effective and others complaining that mosquitoes are still plentiful. Some who report success say it may be necessary to test the trap in multiple locations to find an optimum spot. Many also note that the trap is expensive to maintain, as the propane, optional chemical attractants, catch net and cleaning cartridge must be replaced periodically.

An excerpt from a highly suggested read and its links to other studies, before you drop that kind of money. I wouldn't feel safe with a propane model indoors. CO2 is not harmless but I wouldn't be concerned at all with the levels from one without a tank, even used indoors. However, being the guardian of a child a little research on the exact output is warranted. A good question might be how many CFM's a given space needs to keep the air fresh with a continual input of X number PPM of CO2.


What kind of lightbulb do I need? I’m moving into a my new home and fixing things that I can. Does anyone know what kind of light bulb I need for this ceiling fan light ?  My best guess is a T4 based on googling but the slot has a meta connector in each side. It also reads 500w

I believe this is a 118mm j-type long / r7s base halogen lamp they do come in 500w , but also smaller 300,150,100 & 50w. When installing a halogen use the packing material or a clean tissue to hold the lamp. Finger oils cause the lamp to overheat and sometimes explode.


Why does my oil-furnace's on-demand water heater go tepid and then return to full heat? We have an issue with the hot water from a 2004 Peerless oil furnace with on-demand hot water. The shower starts at full temp, but quickly goes tepid (too cool for a bath/shower, but not ice-cold) and returns to full heat after 5-10 minutes. This is most apparent during the first two showers of the day or bath in the evening - subsequent showers or baths don't seem to have the problem to the same extent. This makes troubleshooting difficult, as we can't tell until a few hours after running all that hot water to see if the problem returns.

It only seems to affect the shower or tub.
It's not the mixer valve in the bathroom, as the hot water tap on the bathroom sink also produces tepid water once it starts happening in the shower.
Furnace technician diagnosed it as lime scale in the heater core. He recommended we replace it completely, along with a few pressure release valves and a hot/cold mixing valve. This didn't help.
The technician then came back and replaced the aquastat with a new, state of the art unit. This didn't help.
The technician then came back and throttled down the intake valve to the heater core. This didn't help, made things worse the next day, and had weird side effects - the heat was constantly on as water started running through the home heating circuit for whatever reason. Opening the valve up again all the way fixed the heating issue.

We're going to be using a new servicing company (obviously), but I'd like an idea of what they can or should be doing to diagnose this. We've sunk a lot of money into useless repairs.

Years ago I had one of the first high efficiency gas boilers. It supplied an air-handler for heat and a heat exchanger for hot water. Because back then this kind of boiler would breakdown about 2 or 3 times a year, I installed backup electric heat in the air-handler and a backup electric 30 gallon hot water tank.

I plumbed the hot water tanks in parallel with separate valves to both and normally just kept all valves open and the breaker off to the electric tank until needed. It was amazing how the two tanks acted as one with just gravity flow for one tank to heat the other. If I hadn't experienced it for many years I wouldn't believe it could work so well.

If you added a small electric tank, you'd increase the amount of stored hot water to buffer the times of high usage. And you wouldn't even have to run electric to it, but if you did you'd also have electric auxiliary hot water.


Dead electrical outlets in garage Garage and (1) exterior outlet on porch & (1) exterior GFCI outlet in back of house are all on the same circuit breaker.
All circuit breakers in the panel are on.
All GFCI outlets in Kitchen have power.
The GFCI outlet in the back of the house, has power (working) but I replaced it with new one just to make sure it is ok. (Still working)
No downstream feed from GFCI to anything else (only white brown & copper in) so I assume the porch outlet & garage outlets that has no power must be upstream.
Do not know where else to look. Please help.

Check the load and line connections on gfci. If not wired correctly you may still get power at the gfci but power will not be carried on to the other outlet/switches. There should be 2 cables in the box. The one providing power is your "line" the other is "load".


Do I need license to do electrical work in any residential home? I have 4 years apprenticeship, work on my own for 7 years in Africa, and Europe. I have also attended Montgomery college, so I have a total of 32 years in the electrical field. Do I need license before do work any residential homes?

The general answer in most parts of the US is YES. The exceptions, generally, are:

Work on your own home
Limited "handyman" work - e.g., replacing receptacles or light fixtures, but not replacing breaker panels (with the line somewhere in between)

However, the specifics vary tremendously around the country (and even more around the world). Some places require a license to do just about anything. Others are far more flexible.

The requirements to get a license also vary quite a bit. Typically some combination of experience (which you have) and knowledge test (of code & best practices).


Dishwasher part identification This dish washing machine piece seems to be leaking (in red). My mom wants to change the dishwasher but I want to try and replace it if it isn't to complicated (hoping the leak doesn't come from somewhere else). Do any of you know how this piece is called?

You don't need the name. Just go to a site like repairclinic.com and enter the model number of the dishwasher. Then browse through the pictures until you find the part.


How serious is a badly kinked suction line on a split system A/C? A friend had me remove a section of drywall to see why there was moisture damage at the baseboard height on one wall.
I found the refrigerant line that runs from outside compressor to attic mounted air handler was poorly insulated and dripping in the wall cavity.
Upon close inspection I also found that the larger copper line,the suction line, was nearly flat where a 90 degree turn to the outside was bent into it.
I estimate 10% of the capacity of the line is available due to the severity of this bend.
The A/C is brand new and cooling well.
The Home was built 15 years ago and this is the third AC replacement. The kinked line was done during construction.
I believe this kinked line is the cause of premature failure of the last 2 units and if left unfixed will lead to a third unit failing.
Tell me what can happen to a system over time in a case where the 3/4 suction line is crushed like this.

Edit: the kinked section was cut out and new line put in.
Here us a photo of how bad the kink was.

A kink in the line starves the system and it should be pumped down cut out and a 45 or 90 put in its place. If it did not matter they would not use a line that much larger On the suction side.


Are those theads setting properly? I'm practicing some connections on water lines, but I'm a bit worried the parts I have are bad.

Here I finger tight the parts and then was able to do just a half turn with the channel lock before felling like it was "right". I'm not sure if that was enough or if I hit the "neck" of the male threads.

Below I show how the tape got after that, in the left side I used 15 turns of tape and on the right side just 5 turns. Both were cut around the last thread, does that indicate that the seal was done? How much tape is enough?

Luiz, to me this looks like it is not sealing and the pipe Dope liquid really doesn’t do much better than PFTE tape.
I have had better luck staying with plastic 100% or metal 100% until the final fitting used to connect the shutoff valve.
The PFTE tape should be “chewed up” when you put on the fitting, if not the 2 different sizes are not sealing and may very well leak.
I have seen this same thing when folks use electrical couplings for pipe (they are not tapered like normal pipe couplings) and they started leaking after the walls were closed.


What humidity should I set my dehumidifier to? I just bought a 50 pint dehumidifier for my basement.  What humidity level should I aim for? This time of year the outside humidity is very high (over 80%) and we do not have central air.  Right now it is set to 55% and seems to be running constantly.  Should we keep it running and try and get it even lower than 55%?

30-40% in winter. Otherwise below 60% to keep mold away. Or even below 50% to avoid dust mites.

You can also see this question: Humidity Levels.


Bathroom air vent drip I have a constant drip coming from the air vent in my downstairs bathroom. After one week it has filled a bucket full of water. There has been no snow or rain in my area. The air conditioning hasn't been on nor has the heater. Any ideas where it is coming from?

There's a few possibilities, and it's hard to pick one given the area

If the inside of your house is warm and moist, and the attic space or outside of your house is cold, the water could be condensing inside the pipe.
There could be a plumbing leak in the space above the fan that's leaking out the fan as a path of least resistance.
You could have some other vapor barrier issue in the area around your fan that's causing condensation.


Kitchen Refacing\New Counter top I would like to get some opinions from you folks of our kitchen refacing and new counter top install. We have had many issues with the project from week one. We went through an actual company in hopes to not end up where we have today. We were quoted 7 to 10 days for the complete project, beginning to end, we are now on week 6 of the project, it began on 9/9/19 and they just installed the last 2 doors and lazy susan door yesterday, 10/15/19. They mis-measured the lazy susan twice and the doors we were waiting on once as well. We have a very basic kitchen, L shaped, no island. I guess they hire subcontractors to come do the jobs, which is normal to me, not a problem. Well the one that was on our job showed up for the first few days then ghosted. We tried getting a hold of our project manager at their hq but she would never call us back and IF we were ever lucky enough to speak with her, she had an attitude and was not helpful in the least. I was also laughed at when I told them we were quoted 7 - 10 days for the project, saying that they would never say that and "these things take time". I have their company pamphlets confirming the original quoted timeline.
We called and asked for a new PM as well as for their inspector to come out and look at the job. Tier inspector told us the contractor did a really bad job and pointed out roughly 30, yes thirty, issues in his work. At this point the project was already going on 5 weeks. We wrote a list of our concerns and so did the inspector, then they sent 2 different guys out, "their best guys", to complete the job in one day.... well that ended up being 2 days and the lists were not gone through nor completed. We still have some open issues on the lists and these folks are looking for payment. There are also many issues with the counter top. First, they cut it into the wall. It was too long maybe and instead of taking it back to cut it down, they cut open the wall and put it in that way. It is a MESS!!!! They didn't even seal around it, they just left it open. The cabinet guys tried to fill it but it's ugly and sloppy. They also messed up the paint and damaged the wall in the process. Sorry this is so lengthy but it has been a looooong 6 weeks. Hopefully I can figure out how to upload these pictures to give you a visual but my question is, how should I go about the final payment with them? I am sure as hell not paying them the full price of $20,000 they quoted us. Any suggestions?

Do not pay these butchers one red cent. Immediately file a complaint with the state contractor licensing authority and ask them what the best next step should be.
Get a lawyer and file a preemptive lawsuit to prevent them from placing a lien on your home.


How do I fix this leaking tub faucet? I have an old tub/shower with 3 handles in it (hot/cold/shower on) that are all twist knobs.  The hot or cold can not fully disengage because they are a bit older and have some sediment built up in them I believe.  So there is a constant tiny drip comping out of the water faucet in the tub.

I had a plumber look at it and he quoted me $500 to rebuild the existing hot/cold handles.  Basically he would pull the guts out of them and put all new guts and handles back in.  I really don't want to pay that much as it seems pretty straightforward.  He hummed and hawed over what type of faucet it was but didn't tell me, but I mean they look pretty generic.

So my questions:

Are these rebuild kits that I see at Home Depot etc. pretty generic, and should they work for this?  These handle are at least 20 years old I guess.  The rebuild kits I find are generally in the 40-60 dollar range.
For a moderately skilled person, is it really that hard to do these rebuilt kits?  It doesn't look too bad honestly.

A few years ago I replaced the "guts" of my shower's faucet. It was about 10 years old and leaking, never quite shut all the way off. It is not hard at all. Just take off the knobs/face plates and there is usually a special tool that come with the replacement cartridge that allows you to yank the old one out. I probably yanked the old cartridge out with my own pliers but I can't remember. Point is you can do this for far less than $500 and its as easy as sliding the old cartridge out and the new one in. Since yours is 20 years old your biggest problem may be finding the make/model of the specific unit so that you can get the correct replacement cartridges for it.
A "rebuild" kit sounds like it comes with garbage you probably aren't going to need or can buy separately. A replacement cartridge is generally $23 and comes with all the o-rings you need.


Can a homeowner perform regular maintenance to prevent their HVAC system from leaking refrigerant? Raise your hand if you A) own a home or property with an HVAC system, and B) have ever had a HVAC service person recharge your refrigerant due to a leak?
I see everyone's hand is raised.
Okay, maybe the lucky few didn't or the owners of brand spanking new system, but most of you did. Summer starts and the heat waves wash over the country. Residential customers start calling the techs to come out, businesses are posting signs on their doors "Bear with us as we repair our A/C"...
Question
So tell me, why, of all the important systems in a home, is an HVAC system so susceptible to this issue? And is there anything a homeowner, apart from having an entire new system installed (or leaks repaired), do about it? Is there some preventative maintenance that can help alleviate this common issue?

Is there some preventative maintenance that can help alleviate this common issue?
Other than keeping your furnace filter clean (check it once a month) and washing out the fuzz stuck inside the condenser with a garden hose every spring, unless you notice a ridiculous amount of vibration or unless you know you're low on refrigerant, then there's no reason to call a guy out and nothing more you can really do.
That "Leak Stop" stuff is a stop-gap (it's worth a shot though). If your system is low due to a leak then it's on its way out. It's up to you to spend ~$100 a year to probably continually leak Freon, or drop several thousand up front to not to.
Anecdotally, no one 'goes on' about their working AC unit. The failure rate on condensers by year five is less than 10%.

Why are HVAC systems so susceptible to failure?
It's probably the most complicated machine in your home, subjects itself to vibrations and the weather, runs at pressures upwards of 400 psi, passing refrigerant through flimsy copper or aluminum tubes that have about a thousand solder joints.
Most manufacturers have different grades of equipment, but most of the improvements they offer are for comfort or a slight increase in efficiency - but every split system ever made still has to contend with the above.

Is this the way the "industry" or "man" keeps HVAC service companies in business?
Yes, but not in the way you're thinking. The 'industry' could care less about service companies. What they care about are the installers they sell equipment to, and you'd better believe that they build them as cheaply as possible. And that's why the term builder grade A/C unit exists. It just needs to work well and long enough to sell the place. Like all things (they fall apart), it comes down to economics.
I'll take a wild guess that your system doesn't have a nameplate on it that says Carrier or Train (or any of their subsidiaries) - you get what you pay for... I'm looking at you, Goodman :\
Most Reliable Central Air Conditioning Systems – Consumer Reports

Still, two-thirds of the owners of American Standard systems are likely to be completely satisfied with the performance of their A/C system by year five. Owners of Goodman systems are predicted to be the least satisfied followed by Rheem.
By the fifth year of ownership, the evaporator coil is the part most likely to break, with Rudd, Rheem and York being the brands most susceptible to this problem. However, this problem is only likely to affect less than 10 percent of all units by year five.
Regardless of brand, when a repair is needed, most of our readers told us they pay out of pocket. Rheem owners paid a median repair cost of $252. Lennox wasn’t too far behind at $236. Somewhat less expensive to repair out of pocket was Carrier, at $200, followed by Goodman at $204 and Trane at $219. We didn’t have enough repair cost data on systems from Amana, American Standard, York, Bryant, and Ruud to report on them.

Therefore, fixing the problem will require a professional.
Well, not literally. You just need the tools, the knowledge, and a license to buy refrigerant. Free free to become an AC tech at any point... No? Well, that's why it costs so much money ;)


How do I rebuild a large fence gate? I have a concrete driveway that continues to the side of my house, with a double gate (a person gate, and a large vehicle gate).

The gates are very old and made only with 2x4 frames and standard hinges.  Needless to say, they are falling apart.  The person gate ripped off the 2x6 which is lagged into the house in the last wind storm.

I would like to replace both of these gates with lighter gate-frames.  My problem is that the vehicle gate is too wide for a standard gate-frame.  The vehicle gate is on the left in the mockup below.  It hinges on the corner post of the fence.

I keep struggling with how to rebuild this.  I would like to put a post 2 feet from the corner of the fence.  The existing dirt is too close and is on top of several sprinkler and drain lines.

What is the best way to end up with a sturdy post? I hesitate to go to all of the trouble of cutting out a section of concrete and putting in a 5x5/6x6 post.  I had another pole rot in between the two gates (which was put in before the side slab).

So my questions are:

Am I worrying too much about rotting? Is there a better option, such as a metal post?
Should I have two gates with no pole between?  Can I rely on the vehicle gate to be sturdy with a ground pin holding it's swinging end?

I recently saw someone set a length of galvanized pipe in a concrete footer, and then bolt a pressure-treated fence post to the metal pipe. The galvanized pipe and footer should last essentially forever, and provide plenty of strength to support the fence/gate. The fence and gate can be replaced as needed. I thought it was a fairly clever approach. You might consider it for your application.

It's perfectly normal to have two gates without a center post, using a ground pin (often called a cane bolt) to hold the less-often used side of the gate stationary. The only downside here is that the gate will twist a bit more if side loads are applied near the top of the gate (e.g. wind, someone pushing on the gate), since the only fixed point is at the ground.

The longer the cane bolt, and the further up the gate it extends, the more support it can provide to the gate. Taking this to the extreme, if you were really concerned about the rigidity of the swinging end of the gate,  you could make your own "cane bolt" out of a long section of pipe (perhaps 4 feet), and have it drop into a larger pipe set a foot or so into the concrete. That gate wouldn't go anywhere!


Need to allow swivelling/rotating fitting for steel wire I have a swing-hammock that's hanging from the ceiling (through an I-beam) with some steel wire. Everything is swell except the positioning of the hammock means it should be able to swivel. This can't happen with the current arrangement, the wire would twist and be compromised eventually (think a typical park swing and how you'd twist it up and then let it untwist at high speed).

Thus, I'm looking for the proper fitting to enable this rotation and can't seem to find one. Things like this aren't meant to operate under load, whatever I get needs to be able to handle a 250lb person and the force associated with sitting down in it and pulling out of it.

Something with bearings would be excellent I imagine, as obviously supporting weight while allowing rotation is a lot of force to handle gracefully.

Any tips would be awesome!

Your local mountaineering/rock climbing/etc. store (Mountain Equipment Co-Op is the one I am familiar with) will care a Swivel device that allows for rotation while still supporting the loads seen with a swing.

Swivel Image http://images.mec.ca/fluid/customers/c822/4001-684/4001-684_PDP_Image/main_variation_NOC02_view_view1_350x250.jpg?20110209163550

The model pictured is good for a working load of 5kN which is about 1124lbs and a breaking strength of 23kN. They are expensive, however.


How to choose a refrigerator? what are the features to look for when buying a refrigerator?
Such as what capacity is of the compressor? how do I use this information to measure against my usage?
Are copper tubing better? What is the next best thing if copper tubing is not available?
How many units of electricity does it use in a 24 hr period?
what is the best efficiency in refrigerated as far as electricity is concerned?

What are the other things I should consider in choosing a refrigerator for domestic use for a family of five?
Thank you.

1 features - subjective. Capacity, outer dimensions, ice maker and water, etc. have no right or wrong answers and depend on your specific needs.
2 compressor - information not readily available, in my experience
3 tubing - inside refrigerator information not readily available, in my experience. Outside for water for ice maker - up to you, not determined by manufacturer.
4 and 5 - efficiency - in the USA look for EnergyStar ratings.


How do I unscrew these? I'm a college kid trying to sneak my boyfriend in my dorm window. The first section is the holder on the window, the second part is the end of the slider on the window. All I have to do is disconnect the slider. This looks definitely like a modification and is not integrated into the original piece.

Thank you :)

We were all young once. You need a Torx screwdriver of the appropriate size https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torx

Actually due to the pin in the middle it is more technically security Torx. Harbour Freight will get you out of trouble cheaply.


Liquid in Clothes Washing Machine for balance? When my washer was brand new (not connected to any hoses), I noticed a liquid sloshing sound whenever I moved it around. The washer has been disconnected for about 2 years now and the liquid sloshing sound is still there, so I don't think this is water that has accumulated from washing clothes. I have done some research and I think that it is used as weight to help balance the washer as the drum spins around.

My questions are: what is this liquid, its true purpose, and will it freeze/expand if left in a non-climate-controlled location? I have moved the washing machine to a new storage location that is covered and sealed from the elements, but has no heating or cooling.

The washers are shipped with water in them. The reason is that, at the factory, they have to test them before shipping. Which means you hook them up and turn them on. Washing machines don't drain 100% of the water from the drum, so what you're hearing is the remainder of that test. In most cases, it's probably 1-2 gallons.

The water doesn't hurt the machine(it's designed to hold this residual water, after all). As to freezing, if the water was frozen the liquid water it would add to start a new wash cycle would likely melt it enough to not harm the machine.

A Sears salesman confirmed this on their site

  All washers are tested for leaks with water. It's not uncommon to find a slightly wet spot on the box. The spin basket also has a balance ring attached at the top which is half filled with water that you may be hearing sloshing around. This is normal and the balance ring is sealed to prevent the water from escaping. The balance ring is not likely leaking and the wet spot is likely from when the washer was tested.


How can I cover a window in a nice way I have my gaming place and workplace in front of a window because this is the most convenient and silent place I can have it in my apartment. However, The back of my screens is visible to the outside world to everyone who is walking past.

So what I want to do it is to cover it till the height of the tallest screen and end it with a plank where I can put figurines on and maybe a small plant or two for decoration. What should I use to cover it so I can achieve this?

The window is a two-part in a wooden carcass, the blinds that are currently on it will be replaced so I don't need to keep them in account.

Attached picture:

You may want to consider just applying some of that opaquing film to the window glass that just goes part way up. You wouldn't get your plant shelf but this would be an easy solution to the people looking in.

Since you live in an apartment your range of options of that you can do are limited unless this is a unit that you actually own. And even in the case that you do own you would not want to go so far as modifying things in a way that they are not reversible without damage.

One scheme that should work would be to look into using a sheet of the dense pink or blue rigid foam insulating material that is cut to length so that it fits across the window opening with a push-in friction fit. This material comes in large panel sizes (in USA ~4 feet by ~8 feet) so you could achieve the size of covering that you need.

For the shelf it may very well be possible to cut a narrow strip of the same material that fits into the opening and sits flat on the upper edge of the material that covers the window from below. It could bonded or pinned to the lower panel as well.

To improve the look you can try spray painting the foam to a color that coordinates with your room.

Do note that I am not suggesting that you use the lower cost white crumbly foam panels.


Recipe for a weak concrete mix suitable for patio substrate and similar work I'm having odd difficulty in tracking down an answer to this question. Searches for "weak concrete" tend to cover weak sand/cement mixes (but no gravel), typical strong sand/cement/gravel mixes - and a lot of pages about avoiding weak concrete by not adding too much water!
The situation here is, I've taken up a strip of paving slabs at the edge of a paved patio, about 20-30 cm by 3m, replaced a drain + gully trap with usual 110mm plastic (resting on the solid foundation), and filled most of the trench to about 10cm below finished level using 10mm compacted gravel.
I now want to place weak concrete around the "bottle" of the gully trap, so it's held in place but isn't embedded in dense rock-like concrete if anything ever needs doing in that area in future, and lay about 50mm of weak concrete on the compacted gravel, to act as an unmoving substrate to put sharp sand + slabs back into, so the slabs won't subside if the gravel settles slightly. Nothing else, and nothing structural, is resting on the slabs, and the area is very lightly trafficked.
The nearest I've seen for the task is a sand+cement mix, at about 1:10 to 1:12, but I'd like sand/cement/gravel, which seems more likely to be robust against ordinary events, while still being weak enough to break out,  if works are ever needed.
I'm tempted to guess at a mix of about 1:3:6 but I can't find anything to confirm if that's reasonable or if there is a more usual standard mix for the purpose. Hints appreciated!

For info, the cement is sulphate resisting (ground, rain, soil, proximity to foul water). It doesn't affect the strength but if I don't mention it, someone else will :) Also I want to lap some waterproof cement (sika-1) from under the slabs, a little up the adjacent wall, to prevent foul water if the drain blocks/overflows, hence a second reason why I want a firm fixed substrate below the paving slabs.

Update: photo of gully trap

The "bottle" is the bit where the trap is, under the grid

I think you’re confusing “weak concrete” with paving substrate.

If you use a “weak” concrete mix, it will harden. Then, with any settlement it will crack and pieces will shift.

However, if you use a “crushed” rock gravel fill, it will bind together yet remain flexible so it doesn’t crack and be displaced over time from loads, etc.

Both can be removed in the future when your plans change.

I’d recommend a 3/4” minus crushed rock. This gravel is comprised of various size rock that has been crushed from what can fall through a 3/4” sieve down to sand. These particles will bind together like a “solid rock”, yet will flex.

When you install the “mix” make sure you compact it in about 6” thick lifts or less.


What is the function of the metal mesh in the rubber grommet for the showerhead? Our previous showerhead literally came apart in my hands, so I bought and installed a new one today.

The first grommet connecting the ball joint to the shower pipe has a metal mesh disc in the middle. I assume its purpose is to act as a filter for sediment before anything gets in the fancy shower head and hose. Is this, in fact, it's purpose?

I have a whole home filtration unit, is the mesh necessary in my case? Hypothetically, would removing the mesh increase the overall water pressure out of the shower head?

Yes, you are correct. The mesh is there to collect the larger sediment. I would still use it as the pipes could still have sediment and build up and possibly rust, that could pass onto the shower, even in a filtered water system. Extra precautions!!! It doesn't hurt to use it. The rubber part also acts as a gasket/seal. No water leak...or less of one!


Can I Move Interior Load-Bearing Walls Without Changes/Additions to Beams/Piers/Foundation? I'm trying to determine if I can make some changes to my house's interior walls without making changes or additions to the underlying beam/pier/foundation structure.  I have attached a drawing of the existing beam/pier/wall layout and I have marked the changes I want to make as A-E on the drawing (note that the description of the specifics of A-E is on the lower right of the drawing).

To summarize the house in text (also noted on drawing):

Built 1924
Single story with steep gable roof
4x4 beams on 4x4 posts to piers
Continuous footings under exterior walls (raised foundation)
2x6 floor joists
2x4 exterior and interior walls (stucco exterior)
2x4 ceiling joists (for the most part; deviations mentioned on drawing) with 1x4 "cross" braces in the attic above (I'm sure there's a name for these, but I don't know what they're called)
2x4 rafters
Lath and plaster walls and ceilings

Changes I'm looking to make (also noted on drawing):

Item A: open the wall from the current 30" doorway to a 7' opening. This wall is not load bearing (it is parallel to ceiling joists and roof rafters), is not directly on top of a beam and is not connected to the roof except where it meets the adjacent walls.  My concern is that this is a shear wall since it's lath and plaster.

Item B: move the wall 2 feet. There is no overlap of ceiling joists atop this wall though I'm guessing it helps ease the span of the kitchen ceiling since the existing 2x4's are not to code across the existing 11-foot span.  Will likely have to upgrade these joists to 2x6's or maybe even 2x8's based on what I'm seeing in the span table for ceiling joists if I move the wall.

Item C: load-bearing wall with ceiling joists overlapping on top. Wall is currently roughly atop the beam/piers below.  I want to move it 2 feet away from the beam below. Guessing this is not possible without potentially putting a new beam and piers below the new location of the wall, but maybe it's possible to cantilever (if that's even the right word)?

Item D: want to add a new wall here to create a hallway.  It would not be directly above a beam, though the intent is not to have this be load bearing

Item E: similar to C with ceiling joists overlapping on top.  However, this wall is currently not above a beam/piers. It would actually be moved 2 feet closer to a beam with the change I want to make.

Any feedback on items A-E would be greatly appreciated.

Wow this is complicated...I love it.

You say, you want to know “if I can make some changes to my house's interior walls without making changes or additions to the underlying beam/pier/foundation structure.” Actually, it’s way more complex than just that...

We design from the top down and build from the bottom up. I’d like to start with your roof and how those loads are transferred down through your house. From your picture, it appears that ALL loads transfer to the exterior walls. That is to say, no roof joists or supports rest on ANY interior walls. That’s good. That allows you to move interior walls without affecting roof loads transferring down the walls to the interior foundation system.

Floor framing is designed for the critical span (load) and then used throughout the first floor. The critical span appears to be in the triple door entry area (I presume it’s the Dining Room) at about 8’. (Most of the spans are 6’ ) 2x6 joists at 16” on center spanning 8’ can support about 72 psf (old size lumber dimensions) depending on the species and grade. This is substantially above what is required by Code. (Code requires 40 psf “live load” plus an estimated 15 psf “dead load”. )

The 4x4 floor beams span about 5’ (4x4 posts are about 5’ on center) and can support about 250 - 400 plf depending on the species and grade. However, the total floor load on the 4x4 beams is  about 385 plf. (Half of one 8’ span plus half of one 6’ span resting on the joists supporting 55 psf = 385 plf.) Therefore, the 4x4’s are barely adequate, (unless there is a roof load on them.)

Next is footings. No additional weight (load) is being transferred to the footings by moving the walls, so I don’t anticipate any problems with the footings.

Summary:

So, because the roof load is on the exterior walls only, (you should verify that I’m correct by looking up in the attic and checking the entire attic...your pic is for only about 1/3 of attic), then moving walls DO NOT affect your foundation system.

However, there are some major walls that appear to support some roof loads that appear to rest on the floor joists. So, to answer your question about changing your foundation, we won’t know until we know about your roof.

Area A: I think you are correct, the wall is non- load bearing. Lath and plaster are not shear walls. I wouldn’t worry about removing 3’ or so of wall.

Areas B, C, D, and E: Again, I think you are correct about increasing the size of ceiling joists or providing additional support where the ceiling joists do not lap at the new wall locations. However, when you remove the walls that are perpendicular to the exterior walls, you need to “splice” the exterior double top plate. Currently, the walls are “woven” into the exterior walls. Cutting them off requires you to splice the double top plate with 1) tying the roof joists to the double top plate (I like Simpson H-1 clips) and 2) Installing a strap over the top plate where the walls were woven together (I like Simpson MSTA or LSTI in 48” long lengths.)


Is moisture a concern with solid hardwood flooring over a crawl space? I recently purchased around 600 sq feet of 3 1/4 inch solid hickory from Bruce, which I'm installing over a crawl space. I put down a 6 mil vapor barrier in the crawl space.

I'm measuring the moisture level of my plywood subfloor as the wood has been acclimating about a week. Most readings are right around ~13% with the overall range being 10-13% with some spots measuring as high as 14%. This is during the humid August summer in Kentucky.

The wood still has some time to acclimate. Readings for it at the moment are around 9-10%.

I'm wondering whether I'm in a safe position to install solid hardwood here. I'll be installing this with a #15 felt underlayment. If it matters the bedrooms have 2 1/4" red oak installed (might be original to the house) and those floors are in great condition.

I had a similar situation with a house redo with a crawl space. This house is near the coast in Maine and both the contractor and flooring company strongly recommended against using tradional wood flooring on the first floor. They were concerned with cupping of the wood. It got to the point where the flooring company - all they do is wood flooring- would not warranty the work unless we used engineered flooring. It was about $1.5 more per foot but it’s been 3 years and have been very happy


Bathroom light and fan combo safety and wiriing I am putting a new bathroom light and fan combo in my bathroom.  I already have a light above the mirror of the bathroom that provides light for the rest of the area.
  However the fan/light combo I hope / want to be above the shower / bath area as its very dark without the bathroom light.  The bathroom is an odd shape, kinda like the number 4 flipped.
Rough sketch using Excel below, I tried to label things to get a general idea.  There is little I can do about the layout of the bathroom, though the picture is roughly to scale.

What my question is, is possibly a couple things.  Based on the layout and potential placement, is this "ok" to place a fan/light combo there?  I am not asking for building code, which varies and has some general exceptions.  My question is if people have found any issues with fan/light combos within the shower/bath area?  Should this be on a GFCI?  What additional things should I put there to make sure there is no issues with moisture and the electric (the building code mentioned something, but it didn't make sense to me and I have never heard of that)?

Some notes about the layout....

11ft ceilings (except above toilet - slope to match stairs going from 4 to 11ft)
Red Circle = Potential Fan/Light placement
S = Sink w/ mirror and lights
Cl (orange) = Built in closet / storage area
WC = Water Closet / Toilet (Green Circle)
W = Glass Block Window in the shower/bath area
The yellow highlighted area is lights in/on the wall with a mirror and the sink
Opposite of the yellow lights at the bottom is where the door is to enter, and the toilet
where the door is, is where the toilet is
The wall behind the toilet has stairs

NEC 2014 - 410.10 (D) outlaws certain types of luminaires in the bathtub and shower areas, but your fan/light combo is not included in that list. That bathtub/shower area, by the way is defined as 3-feet horizontal and 8-feet vertical from the top of the bathtub rim or shower stall threshold. So, with 11-foot ceilings you've got a lot of latitude (more than most people are blessed with) for hanging fixtures in this area. Probably a good idea if your unit is marked suitable for use in wet or damp locations. GFCI protection for luminaires in bathtub/shower is only required where installation instructions specify it. And, I believe, most manufacturers of the fan/light combo's I have installed do call for it. By the way, I just double checked and the code was the same in NEC 2011 and hasn't changed in the 2017.


combining a humidifier with refrigeration cooling, what do you think? I live in a high humidity (75%) climate.

I wanted to know what happens when you combine a light humidifier with a normal AC set on "dry" mode.

The AC is activity reducing humidity, which helps me "feel" cool since water evaporates better off your body.

However, I wonder if I can reduce my energy bill by running evaporative cooling using "cold" new water ( not the water collected by the AC ).

In dries climate you use swamp cooler to reduce the temperature.

The idea here is ( if laws of thermo is obeyed ) is the water leaving the air con unit has some residual heat.

As the air gets dries it gets less efficient for the AC to reduce the temperature.

Each watt of energy gets rid of fewer BTU as the air gets drier.

It's important to note that as you add normal water mist to your room, it evaporates and absorbs heat itself.

As this vapor moves to the AC, you need very little energy ( dew point ) to turn it back to water.

The water contains extra heat that gets removed through the drain pipe.

Without this extra mist humidity, the AC would pump the heat through its internal refrigerant.

The idea here is not to replace a normal AC - a swamp cooler doesn't help in 80% humidity.

The idea here it to enhance the efficiency of a normal AC, even if it helps by 5% thats huge energy saving.

One does not simply ignore thermodynamics ;)

As this vapor moves to the AC, you need very little energy ( dew point ) to turn it back to water.

Latent heat of evaporation works both ways. You need to provide 683 Wh (Watt*hours) of energy to turn 1 kg of water into water vapour... and if you have one kg of water vapour, you need to suck the same amount of energy out of it to turn it back into liquid water. You can view condensation as "pumping heat out of water vapor", or "whater vapor heats whatever it condenses on" but the way to visualize it does not change the physical phenomenon, which involves an amount of energy (heat) corresponding to the latent heat of evaporation.
If you use a mister to evaporate water, it will take the energy from the room, but it will return this energy to the AC unit as the AC unit condenses it back to liquid. From the point of view of the AC unit the only difference would be, maybe, a little bit better heat transfer on the evaporator fins.
So it shouldn't do anything to the electricity bill, but it will make the room moister and less comfortable.


Is this tub pop-up drain stopper fixable/replaceable? I noticed that the cap was not upright, so I tried to unscrew the cap to reseat it, thinking someone screwed it on incorrectly, and the whole thing very easily came out in my hand.
Looking down the drain I don't see the cross that I think is used to hold on to to unscrew the whole thing (I tried to get the camera's flash to illuminate it). And the removed stopper is missing two of its four supports (yellow arrow in the first image) that attach it to the drain's wall (not sure of the exact original number). I'm thinking it came built-in and it's now broken.
If it is beyond repair, do I get a new stopper similar to that one that was built-in, or will it require removing and replacing the stainless steel drain body?
One of my concerns if related to making a decision: those missing legs, could they puncture the pipe if they're stuck downstream? During installation I saw that it's of the flexible type. If it's a possibility, is that pipe replaceable without removing the tub (the tub was laid on concrete surrounded by bricks).
If it matters the tub is fiber reinforced plastic. And down the drain it's a white-walled PVC pipe, note as mentioned earlier, the crossbar came off with the stopper.

No, I don't consider that repairable. Enough metal corrosion has occurred that entire assembly is suspect and at risk of failure. The good news is that it's a fairly easy repair if you have access. If you'd like help with that, post some photos.
No, the metal parts won't damage your pipes. They're probably already out at the street.


Adding sidelights to a front entrance that does not have them I am trying to determine the cost, effort and complexity of adding sidelights to an entrance way that currently does not have them.

Would the entire front door way need to be re-framed, header, king/jack stud combination.  Or do sidelights sit on the sides of the king/jack stud combination and so less re-framing is required.

[king][jack][Sidelight][       Door      ][Sidelight][jack][king]

OR

[Sidelight][king][jack][       Door      ][jack][king][sidelight]

A door is held up by hinges in the jamb (the broad boards surrounding the door, perpendicular to the surface of the wall). The jamb is thin material, usually a little over 1/2 inch thick, but it is firmly nailed to the jack stud, which gives it rigidity, as does any casing added between the jamb and the wall. The header also sits on the jack stud.

While you might theoretically be able to move the king studs to the outside of the sidelights, you cannot move the jack studs outward. This would render the jamb the total support of the door (unacceptable) and would extend the span of the header (undesirable, often requiring a deeper header).

Also the king studs, which tie the king/jamb/door structure into the bottom and top plates would be further apart, reducing the rigidity of the structure nearest the door, where most of any flex occurs. Finally, any molding joining the jamb to the sidelights would likely be much narrower than traditional casing, again reducing rigidity.

Unless there is a compelling reason to narrow the vertical spacing between the door and sidelight, go with full stud/sidelight/king/jack/door ...

Even if there were a compelling reason, engineers and inspectors might disagree.

An exception might be for a sidelight/door/sidelight structure designed as a unit.


How do I determine what supplies to buy to insulate an attic? I would like to add more insulation to an attic. What measurements and points do I need to look at to decide what materials to buy?

How do I determine if I need airflow baffles?

How do I determine how much insulation to purchase? Measure the area of the attic and then figure out the necessary thickness to get the desired R value?

What ancillary items should I plan for? Insulated attic access, critter-proofing, etc?

What tools or extras will make the job easier?

There is lots of information about why to insulate and how to install insulation, but not much on how to buy the right materials and only make one trip to the store and do the job right the first time.

Actually it is quite simple.

Take your dimensions of the area to be covered.  Example: 25 feet X 20 feet = 500 square feet.

Determine what kind of insulation you are going to use. Fiberglass blanket, blow in cellulose, etc.  Blanket is easy, select the R-value type you need, look on the package for how much area it covers.  Example; a package covers 88 sq ft. (typical).  Divide the area to be covered by the amount in a package  500 / 88 = 5.68  or 6 packs.
You may have to double the amount if you want to double the r-value of the product.  Example: two layers of R-22 give you R-44. (R-40 and above recommended for attics)

If you are considering blown-in cellulose, consult the chart on the bag to determine the amount needed for the R-value you want to achieve. The chart will have amount per square foot factors you need to determine how many bales it will take for your area.

Use "Propervent" panels, the air flow baffles you asked about, only if you have vented soffits and either a ridge vent or gable end vents. These must be installed before you add the insulation. They simply rest down on the soffit vents and staple between the rafters.

There are no special tools required to install blanket insulation. A good utility knife, blades, straight edge, dust mask, eye protection and maybe a cheap tyvec bunny suit. If you are considering blow in, you can rent the machine at many places including Lowes or HD for around $25 or less if you buy enough insulation from them.
If you give me the exact specs and dimensions you want, I can calculate the material list for you.


Controlling 110v swamp cooler using Nest thermostat I currently have an HVAC system that is connected to a Nest thermostat (2nd generation) and I'm planning to use the same Nest thermostat to control a 110 swamp cooler that is currently not connected.

Before dealing with the trouble to connect both systems to the same thermostat (maybe using switches/relays to shut down one system while the other is on) I want to know if it possible to control the swamp cooler using the Nest thermostat. I don't have too much electrical knowledge, but I've been doing some research and I think it is possible if I buy some additional things.

The swamp cooler has a 2-speed motor, therefore I would like the Nest thermostat to control both speeds using Y1 and Y2 terminals. As far as I know 2 stage thermostats will apply power from the R terminal to the Y2 if more cooling power is required at the same time power is applied from R terminal to Y1. I also want the water pump to work everytime the thermostat calls for cooling (for both speeds), but I want the water pump to run alone for some minutes before the motor is started.

I have found that the Honeywell RC840T-120 might allow me to use the 24v Nest thermostat with the 110v swamp cooler and using a SPDT relay I could connect Y1 and Y2 to the 2 terminals of the 2-speed motor. Honeywell RC840T-120 was created to connect line-voltage controlled heaters to 24v thermostats but I think it will also work with the swamp cooler. This device will be the first relay that will decide if the pump and motor are going to receive power. This first relay will be connected to a PTD102 Delay that will delay the power to the SPDT relay, this last realy is the one that will control the power to the motor based on Y2 terminal from Nest thermostat. The thermostat will send power to Y1 only for 1st speed and in case it needs more cooling power it will start  sending power to Y1 and Y2 at the same time causing the SPDT relay to switch power to High through terminal 3 as the following diagram shows:

Please let me know if you think this way to connect the thermostat will allow me to control the swamp cooler and if it will also control both speeds

Yes, it is easy to control a swamp cooler with any thermostat. The problem is that in order to use a swamp cooler effectively, you need strategic openings (typically open windows) to let the air out. This is the part which is hard to automate. The best way to use a swamp cooler is to open windows in the rooms that need the cooling the most. You want as much windowspace opened as possible without any outdoor air coming back in through the windows. There are some automated devices I've seen (such as UP-DUX that vent into the attic but they cause additional resistance so they are much less effective.

Your drawing has a couple of problems...

You need to use the Rc terminal
The coil on your R8222B1062 needs to connect to the Y2 and the C (not the R)
I don't think you want to connect to the C terminal on the nest because your heating system is already providing the C to power the thermostat.
I think you're right about this one but I wouldn't rely on the thermostat powering Y1 and Y2 simultaneously when it called for high. I would rather to design it so that if the Y1 is not powered but the Y2 was, it would still run on high. This gives you a little more redundancy in case of a relay or wire failure.

Below is a drawing that would fix these problems but it is much more generic, the only specific part is that Packard contact delay because I am unfamiliar with a generic part name for that. If you fix 1 - 3, your design should work flawlessly. Again, the exhaust ventilation is your biggest problem.

I would put a nice 24v DPDT relay and a nice 24v 3PDT relay on the appropriate mounting sockets and mount them to a DIN rail. This will make it easy and clean. Put it all in a box with the transformer and the Packard and voila.


How can I reduce a rough opening height 1-1/4"? I'm building a new master bedroom closet.  The wife wants a specific 30x80" door which requires a rough-in of 32x82.  Unfortunately, the measurement from the top plate to the subfloor is 83 1/4".  I'm not sure how to handle this.  The jack studs for the rough-in would be 82" which would mean no top plate would fit (A 2x4 is 1.5" thick and I only have 1.25" available).

Do I just not put a top plate, make the jack stud 83 1/4" and just deal with the extra 1 1/4 at the top of the pre-hung casing?  Do I try to trim the 1.5" of the top plate down to 1.25" somehow?

Greg

Cut a 2x4 to length and rip 1-1/4" off each side. Put those up against the top plate, one inside and one outside. The half inch hollow in between is inconsequential.

End view
 _____
|_____| <-- top wall plate
|_| |_| <-- 1-1/4" high rippers


What kind of sub-contractor do I use for cutting out a window in a wall that the kitchen and living room share? I'm sorry for this very basic question but I know that plumbers deal with pipes, electricians deal with wiring, etc. but what is the name of the kind of sub-contractor that can cut a make a pass through window in a wall that the kitchen and living share?  A carpenter?

If the wall you are dealing with has electrical and plumbing then you need a general contractor, who may sub out some parts of the job as needed to get the right specialties.

If it's just the wall w/ no wiring or plumbing then generally you need a carpenter and a finish carpenter or someone who does both.


What knot can I use to connect to an eye bolt without losing tension? So I have a rope that goes through an eyebolt, like in the image. I pull from B so it's as tight as it can be. B is under the eyebolt.

What knot can I use with this rope so I don't lose any of the tightness after pulling it?

Thanks.

100% Trucker's hitch. It's the only knot I'd ever use in the situation you described:

..so I don't lose any of the tightness after pulling it.

From the linked page, above. Emphasis mine.

The Trucker's Hitch (also called the Lorry Knot) is a self binding knot. It's most common use is for tying loads to secure them to a fixed point. For example to secure a canoe to a car top, a tarp to a trailer, or any application where a very tight rope is needed. This knot has many advantages. It is non-jamming, can be tied anywhere in the standing part of a line, and even under the most severe tension, these knots remain easy to untie.

1) You must first tie a quick release loop above the tie-down point. To do this, create a small bight with the running end, leaving plenty of tag to work with.

2) When this is complete, pass the running end around or through the tie-down point then pass it through the quick release loop.

3) Pull down on the running end to tighten.

4) Secure the knot with two half-hitches.

5) Pull tight.

You can also find several videos on YouTube demonstrating how to tie the knot.

Learning this knot is a game-changer.


How to re-attach outdoor tiles? 3 tiles (20cm by 30cm == 8in by 12in) fell off the floor on the outside balcony.
The substance (concrete+sand?) that was supposed to cement them to the underlying floor is mostly sand (crumbles in my fingers).
The tiles should be flush with the surviving tiles, so the adhesive I use has to provide a few millimeters of thickness.
What do I do?
Should I just clean out the "sand" and fill the space between floor and the tiles with Construction Adhesive?
Should I mix the adhesive with sand (to provide more volume so that the re-attached tiles are level with the old ones)? If rainwater gets under the tiles and freezes in the winter, it will dislodge the tiles again, so I must make sure there is no empty space under the tiles...

A high sand content sounds like mortar that did not have enough cement in the mix.
Any new bonding procedure you use will fail if you do not remove the sand.
I would use thin set with a modifier (some thinset comes with an acrylic add mix).
The modified thinset is better than standard thinset but either should be used and mortar will be what is needed to match the height.
Construction adhesives will squish out when stepping on the tiles where the sand in the thinset or mortar will provide the spacing similar to the original adhesive.
Make sure to mis the appropriate amount of water,
Back butter the tile or put a layer of thin set on and scrape it off it will leave a residue, this helps bonding.
Put the stuff you scraped off plus some on the floor work it back and forth then use the notched side of the trowel to remove the excess set the tile into the rows of mortar and position firmly pressing to settle the tile.
Repeat with the other tiles. When dry add grout some outside tile jobs actually use mortar as a grout grey in color?
Jet set, if really warm put a old cloth over them and keep it damp for the day the dampness helps the cement in the mortar to hydrate and not crack.


Can I replace an under mount sink with a drop in sink without replacing the countertop? I have bathroom basins I wish to replace with ones that are above counter will this work for me with the holes that have been made from sunk in basins or are we talking new bench tops?

I have replaced bathroom sinks of various types with ceramic style sinks that sit from the top of the vanity cabinet surface.
This work best if the before and after sinks both had the faucet holes as part of the sink body itself. Another factor to consider is selecting a new sink that will work within the hole size of the old sink. This can make the replacement job tremendously easier, particularly if the existing vanity has a tile top.
I have found that you should be prepared to fully replace the drain down pipe, p-trap and drain line to the wall. Differences in sink dimensions and basin depth will likely leave it difficult to fit the old stuff to the new sink. Besides the new parts are not that expensive and it is far more pleasant to fit up clean new parts.


Why am I getting cold water at faucets near the end of a circulation loop? We have a circulating pump for our hot water tank - the pump sits between the tank and the line going into the house.  The issue i'm facing is if the pump is not running, I get endless cold water to the bathrooms that are closest to the return side of the line/loop.

I am thinking the check valve is stuck in the open position, you can see in the picture below that there is some calcium buildup that came out of it at some point in the past.  When I suggested this to the guy at Lowes (he said he was a former plumber), he said it's not possible for water to go from a 3/4" line to a 1/2" line due to some kind of "pressure" reason (I couldn't remember his exact reason). He said the water should continue to flow in the loop in the same direction as always, even if the check valve is broke.  I asked what is the purpose of a check valve then, and he said high pressure buildup. He said I might have a slab leak somewhere (this made zero sense).

Hoping someone can confirm that if the check valve is indeed stuck in open position, and the pump is turned off, then it's possible that could explain why the hot water in the sinks and showers closest to the check-valve side of the line, is getting cold water.  If it is indeed the check valve, do I need to replace the whole thing, or can it be opened from the top to see if it can be freed up?

I know this is a year later, but I finally got around to getting this addressed. I decided to service my water heater - drain the tank, replace the anode rod, and replace the check valve. Sure enough, the inside of the valve was gummed up, with the little disc stuck in the open position. This most likely explains why our tub could get "warm" water instead of "hot" water after a few minutes.


Would it ever make financial sense to install a GFCI breaker vs an GFCI outlet? I've been into many new construction homes in 2016 and haven't noticed a single home w/o a GFCI in the bathroom, implying that while GFCI breakers exist, they seemingly are never used.

With a GFCI outlet costing on average $6, and a GFCI breaker often costing $35+, it would require having 6+ outlets on the same circuit before the costs are equivalent. Since GFCI outlets protect everything downstream of the circuit, needing 6+ outlets seems pretty unlikely.

It doesn't appear like GFCI breakers are ever being used that I see by anyone else. So it is safe to conclude that buying a GFCI breaker is a waste of money in just about every situation reasonably imaginable?

Blame glitter obsession

This is a matter of philosophy, rather than pure finance, although builders, being the glitter oriented types they are, tend to treat it as if it were the latter.

Why GFCI breakers?

One of the major problems with GFCI receptacles is that a receptacle in a location can control power to a totally unrelated-seeming location.  While this isn't a problem for small appliance branch circuits due to the Code keeping unrelated receptacles off of them, garage, outdoor, and basement receptacles suffer from this on regular basis.  For instance, an outdoor outlet might be controlled by a GFCI in the garage, or a garage outlet might be controlled by the GFCI for the wet bar in the basement.

The centralization of all circuit protection into the main electrical panel neatly avoids this problem, as now there's only one place to reset a trip, namely the electrical panel.  Another edge that GFCI protection at the panel provides, especially for high power appliance circuits such as the kitchen outlet and laundry circuits, is superior fire protection -- glowing connections often induce ground faults, and a GFCI will react to and trip on this secondary failure, shutting off the power (this is why many AFCIs incorporate a ground fault trip calibrated for higher trip levels than a "true" GFCI).

Another problem with receptacle GFCIs is that they aren't applicable in all cases where GFCI protection is desired -- such as when a circuit other than a 15 or 20A, 120V circuit needs GFCI protection.  (For instance, protecting a church baptismal font's immersion heater that runs off of 240V, or protecting the 240V outlets for your garage workshop for that matter.)

Why GFCI receptacles?

However, there is an expectation in this day and age that the bathroom GFCI is in the bathroom, and likewise with the kitchen.  The use of GFCI breakers for these circuits is often seen as counterintuitive and inconvenient -- many people would look for a tripped GFCI receptacle in their bathroom, but not look to the panel (which is further away, and possibly harder to get to) for a tripped GFCI breaker.  Furthermore, the use of GFCI breakers can make a trip condition ambiguous -- did this breaker trip on a ground fault or an overcurrent/short?  A related issue is that a GFCI breaker might conflict with an AFCI requirement, such as for the kitchen and laundry circuits; while DFCI (dual-function circuit interrupter) breakers combine the two protection functions, they are only available in single pole, limiting their applicability.

Finally, GFCI breakers can behave counterintuitively when applied to multi-wire branch circuits as leaks on opposite legs can cancel each other out, preventing the breaker from tripping in a circumstance where one would normally expect it to trip.  GFCI receptacles can only protect the legs individually and thus force the neutral to be demultiplexed, avoiding this matter altogether.

It's up to you at the end of the day, but my vote is...

While this is up to you as the Code doesn't care where the GFCI protection lives as long as it's there to begin with, I personally prefer the protection-at-the-panel approach, as long as your panel type and available slots allow for it.  It's simpler to make modifications to the branch circuits without inadvertently defeating GFCI protection when the GFCI is in the panel, and it also means that there's no risk of sharing or overloading a neutral on a GFCI-protected circuit as the GFCI protection in the panel will catch that right away.


Why do I get an open ground warning after a GFCI Test? I just finished a home wiring project which has a set of outlets protected by a GFCI outlet. I was testing them with an outlet tester and noticed something odd:

Immediately after a GFCI test, my outlet tester reported that the GFCI protected outlets had an open ground. If I did a second test, the error went away.

I was able to repeat this consistently - every other test I'd see an "open ground" indicator.

Is my GFCI outlet defective?

Update: I'm using a simple outlet tester, like this one.

sounds more like something is wired wrong. The test button should drop the hot, not the ground. with the hot out, your tester would be dead all 3 lights. The black wire should go to the brass colored screw. The white wire should go to the silver screw. The bare copper should go to the green screw. these are on the feeder side, the wires to any other outlets follow the same color code but they should be fed from the bottom looking at the back of the  GFCI outlet.


Mix paint using red, yellow and blue give Hex code I want to replicate a color scheme that is given in Hex codes (RGB, equivalently) - example here.
Given that I have red, yellow, blue, white and black paint, how am I supposed to systematically reproduce these colors? How can I determine the exact proportions of red, yellow, blue, white and black paint I should mix in order to get the colors shown? (Or any Hex-coded color for that matter.)
In any case I want to avoid mixing things "by eye". It seems too... dangerous given that suddenly factors like light can make a huge difference. I.e. if I am repainting after working hours, I may have to mix the paint on artificial light and may mix something different from what was initially planned. Also, if I am trying to stick to a pre-defined color scheme, then even minor differences in a particular color can produce major difference when combined with the minor differences in the other colors of the color scheme I'm trying to use.

Re-think this. It's not going to work.
You're starting by eye anyway if you're picking from a colour on-screen. Unless your display is fully calibrated using a hardware colorimeter* you already don't know what colour it should be. Most consumer displays are set up intentionally punchy & over-contrast. This makes them look better in the shop. Setting your computer to the 'correct' profile provided by the manufacturer will not get you really much closer. You must use a colorimeter.
Ink/paint mixing doesn't use Blue, Red, Yellow, Black it uses Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Black. The primary colours everyone was taught at school don't actually work in practise.
The conversion from RGB to CMYK requires not only your display to be accurately profiled, but also your output 'printer', because you are always expected to be 'printing' on a white substrate. Profiling, even on a CMYK colour-match system such as Pantone, depends also on the paper quality, reflective quality & absorbency.
Finally, you cannot mix under anything except calibrated light. If you don't have calibrated light, the best you can achieve is to go outdoors on a cloudy day. No domestic interior lighting is anywhere close to being accurate enough to attempt this task.
You also cannot know what colour paint will dry to based on a wet mix.
By the time you lump all those inaccuracies together you would be far better off going to your local paint store & selecting a paint chip. Get them to mix it. Their systems are fully calibrated to work from a wet mix to when the paint is dry.
Buy more than you need, because even on a fully-calibrated system, there will be batch discrepancies [this is why when you buy pre-mixed paint, you make sure all the labels say they're from the same batch].
*$£€ 250 for a decent one, already 10 times the cost of your paint.
You can convert RGB colour to RAL colour using such as https://rgb.to - however you are still not going to know if your RGB was correct in the first place. The RAL Colour Standard is used for information defining standard colours for paint and coatings and is the most popular Central European Color Standard used today.


How do I properly mount hardware to a wall covered in AirStone? I have made a wooden magnetic knife holder which uses keyhole eyelets to enable mounting to a wall.  In my previous house my kitchen backsplash was covered in tile so I drilled a hole and inserted a plastic anchor, inserted a screw and hung the holder.

My new kitchen has AirStone or something very similar, an artificial stone veneer.  My understanding is that these veneers are not designed to support weight as they are purely decorative.  Because the eyelets on the knife holder are 20 inches wide (my bad, should have made them 18) I cannot anchor into studs.  What kind of anchor should I use to ensure it's deep enough to leverage the drywall behind the veneer?  Or should I use some other mounting technique?

You probably need to drill a hole big enough so you can push through a typical wall anchor. Then buy longer bolts the same thread size to attach the holder if the screws that come with the anchors are not long enough.


Use of joint compound for these repairs? I have 2 repairs to make.

One is about a 3/8" gap next to window trim that I recently replaced when I built new plantation shutters for the window.  ( As a side note there are 5 windows and there will be the same repair necessary on all 5 ). The gap extends the length of the window - approx 60".

The other is on a ceiling in a den we recently scraped the popcorn texture from. Beneath it was a patch someone made previously  that is not flush with the rest of the ceiling.  Would I be better off cutting this out and re-patching with new drywall or just filling in the uneven surface?  The difference in height at the maximum is about the thickness of a yardstick ~1/8" - 3/16" or so.

Regards

Remove Highs, Fill Lows

Knock down the high points with a putty knife or other similar tool so that nothing is higher than the final surface that you are after. Fill in the lows with two layers of different types of dry wall mud as noted below.

Fill in most of the holes or voids with setting-type drywall joint compound commonly called 'hot  mud' which is a chemically setting dry wall mud. The hot mud has a working time frame that is noted on the product bag. I suggest using 90 minute to give plenty of working time and there is not a lot of advantage in this case for using a shorter time. Be sure to use it within the set-time, there is no way to extend the time by adding more water.

We use this mud instead of regular type because it does not lose volume when drying and therefore will not crack or need additional layers for the deeper voids. A downside, which is also an upside in many cases, is that it is creates a much harder surface that will be hard to change later.

Use a putty knife to just below your desired surface level. Be careful not to allow high spots as it is difficult to sand down and not easy to remove.

Then apply a thin layer of finish type dry wall mud for a nice finished surface that can be lightly sanded if needed

Finally, apply a thin bean of painters caulk in the corner where the drywall meets the window frame, this will hide the wall/window interface where a crack might appear.


Hanging Drywall over concrete slab I'm in the process of enclosing my garage.  The bottom foot of one of my garage walls is a slab step.  Under the drywall on the top part is a one inch thick layer of rigid foam.  I need to cover up the bottom piece with drywall, but I'm unsure how to hang it over concrete and still be up to code.  I'm thinking of attaching 1 x 2 furring strips and hanging the drywall on those.  Is this the right solution?  Are there any moisture/insulation concerns with that method in Florida?

1x2 furring strips will work but should be pressure treated. I'd also go the extra "mile" and use green or other moisture resistant drywall.


Is there a cheap way to test for mold spores? We had toxic mold during the wintertime, which has been removed, by replacing the affected Sheetrock. However, my wife has often still the same symptoms she had at the time. Getting a contractor with the proper equipment out is very expensive. Are there any other cheap "household" tricks to be able to make at least a non-scientific test?

Amazon carries home mold tests. I have no idea if these are any good, but they are pretty inexpensive:


Do smart or programmable thermostats actually save money? I am looking at replacing all the thermostats in my house.  I have hot water baseboard heat and forced air A/C. Each room's baseboard heat is controlled by a thermostat in that room.
I tend to prefer simple mechanical interfaces to digital "smart" systems.
My family does not have a "normal" living schedule. I am often up until 3-5am. My partner can wake up anytime from 5am to 9am.
I have heard that the benefits of smart temperature systems (which adjust the temperature settings based on the time of day and can be pre-programmed) are over-stated, and that classic single-temperature controls (like this or this) are actually fine from an economical point of view.
Is there significant savings associated with those smart systems, or can I use the more simple thermostats without costing myself in monthly bills?

I only worked in the commercial/industrial field of steam and hot water boilers so take what I say lightly. Here is what the heating engineers told us; if you can set back the thermostat or reduce the buildings temperature for 8 hours or more then there is a cost savings and if you can't it is probably not worth anything. One of the main problems with temperature reduction was that when the room temperature was brought back up to the comfort level, the furniture, desks and everything in the room was still at a reduced temperature. If you were to use the furniture or items in the room, the room still felt cold.
I have a friend that is a lot younger than I am and he changes temperature many times a day. When I go into his home I always take a sweater, In my house I set the temperature to one setting for the winter and one for the summer. We have like houses and heating systems and our heating bills are about the same. My house is always more comfortable than his.  My 2 cents.


Drywall repair with cut wall studs We've just had a french drain installed around our basement. In a couple of places, it was necessary to open a hole in a (non-load-bearing) wall, leaving both a hole in the drywall and a cut stud:

I think we know how to handle the drywall repair ourselves, but first we need to repair the stud so that we have something to which to attach the drywall.  What's the correct way to do that for such a small area?

Would we do something like this?

And if that's the right approach, can we use something like construction adhesive to attach the replacement baseplate to the concrete floor?

Your proposed solution is perfect. I'd suggest using pressure treated wood in contact with the concrete. Adhesive probably won't work terribly well, but if you get a couple of screws in on an angle on the right (connecting to the old plate) plus lots of screws elsewhere, everything should hold together well enough to carry drywall.


How can I add a bathroom fan to the existing end line light switch? I would like to add a bathroom fan to the existing end line light switch.  I am fine with the switch controlling both the light and fan at the same time as the light only has 14-2 running to the switch and I believe it would need 14-3 or 12-3 if I wanted each of the units to have it's own switch. Correct??  Can I add the exhaust fan onto the existing switch so the switch will turn both the fan and the light on at the same time and if it is possible, how?

The answer to your only stated question is YES. To independently switch 2 different things you need to have 2 switched hot wires, you would have to run an additional wire from the wall switch location to the ceiling location.

The statement that "the light only has 14/2 running to the switch" tells us that one of those wires is a hot lead to the switch, the other is the switched hot that runs back up to the light (unless there are other/more wires that you did not mention).


How can I figure out where this water is coming from? I have the situation where my shower piping is leaking underneath a tiled floor. This only occurs when the shower is running, suggesting a drainage issue.

The pipe passes from the shower faucet vertically through a wooden panel, and then under the tiles.

The room is on the first floor centrally at the front of the house above the stairway, therefore the water is dripping onto the bottom step.

I do intend on getting a professional in to fix this if the job requires removing the flooring, however, I would like to asses the issue first and find the cause and location of the leak.

What could be causing this leak?
What is the best way to diagnose it?

Our house is a 6 year old brick built house.

I think it is the piping but it could be the tray (although there are no visible signs it is the tray).

How could I locate the problem without removing the flooring or ceiling underneath.

Also as a final question, how do these systems normally work, what am I likely to see if the flooring is removed, and how does the shower piping link to the house's main drainage?

You have asked a lot of questions at once here.  Let's start by saying that it is very unlikely that you would be able to determine the exact location of the leak from the top, unless it is a simple problem with the sealing around the shower mixing valve handle escusson trim or an obviously loose drain flange. If the problem is in fact under the floor, then you will have to remove part of the ceiling to gain access to the drain pipes for inspection and repair. It is not uncommon for joint to crack or come undone. I wouldn't consider removing the shower floor until it is inspected from below.  Depending on how comfortable you are digging into a semi difficult project like this will determine if you want to hire a pro or tackle it yourself. It will most likely involve removing a section of the ceiling, repairing some PVC pipe or making a new joint with pipe and couplers, primer, pvc cement etc., then repairing the hole in your ceiling.


Why do my stove elements heat on high regardless of the knob setting? My elements stay on high no matter where i turn the knob to - low, medium or high.  Does this mean they need replacing or is there another problem?

If the elements come on and get hot, they are fine.  There is no circuitry or "smarts" to the element.  It's basically just a thick wire that gets hot.

The knobs in the stove connect to controls that set the amount of current that flows through the elements.  If they only go on high and can't be adjusted there is a problem inside the stove that's probably beyond the scope of this answer (so many different types of stoves and several things that can go wrong with each).


Does anyone know what has caused this corrosion on hot water heater? Just had this hot water heater installed approximately 2 years ago. I’m not sure what is causing the corrosion.  Also, the tenant said the water inside is way too hot and that it started about three weeks ago.

The corrosion is being caused be a poor solder job. The joints are slowly leaking. Next time get a real plumber to do the job and don't call this company back. By the way, the discharge pipe for the T&P valve is to be run in a full pipe size not a reduced pipe or tubing as it looks like yours was installed. That in itself shows that the "butcher" that installed this water heater needs to find a different line of work. If by chance the installing company is a good and reputable company, call them back and show them work done by their employee and maybe they will re-do the installation for free or at a reduced rate.


Is it okay to apply silicone sealant on damaged silicone? I did what was suggested and called back window installers to seal it with silicone (they left exterior sealed and water leaked). They told me it's not their job to seal the window only make it but they offered to do it. They did a bad job, they applied silicone like putty, instead of straight line and made a mess. They did not use the caulk backer foam that i bought for the gaps (maybe not important). Pictured is part of it below window frame, there is concrete sill, the black rubber is to keep window elevated in the center (something like that).

What's the remedy, there are open gaps in the silicone. I feel in a matter of months the sealant will break apart and allow water ?

What a crappy contractor, I have never heard of a contractor doing installs that did not correctly seal. I would contact the better business bureau, and the contractors licensing board and lodge complaints. With both you will need copies of the contract and better photos also any copies of corespondance after reporting the leak.


Can I run the wires from a cable into a panel through separate knockouts? I am trying to add a thick outdoor rated cable (from a hot tub gfci breaker box) to my main panel box. The top of the box has two entry points that are not being used, but they are too small to allow all 4 wires into the box.  Can I cut the outer sheath back and run two wires through each entry hole with clamps to secure just the inter sheath?

No never; you can never split a cable like that.

What you can do is transition to EMT conduit and individual THHN wires, which will pack nicely in EMT conduit.

I would start by heading to a proper electrical supply house for a cable clamp that is a proper fit for your large cable.  You need a proper electrical supply because they have both the depth of stock and knowledge.  Home Depot etc. will sell you the wrong thing with a smile.

Next, I would buy a large steel box, say 4-11/16" square deep, or 6" square, with knockouts that will fit that cable clamp.

I would use EMT metal conduit to plumb out of a knockout on the service panel, to a convenient location. This can be just a foot or two.  There, install the box. Use the largest size EMT the panel knockout can accept (3/4", surely)  and correct fittings. If the junction box hole is too large, they make special washers to solve that, but then,  you can't use the EMT as ground path, so run a #10 ground wire.

There should be a #10-32 tapped hole in the back of the box for a grounding screw. If you are wiring a ground wire through the EMT, pigtail off this.

Then, you terminate your cable in the large junction box in the normal way (give yourself 12" of wire length).  Terminate the ground wire to the box chassis or other grounds.

For each of the hot and neutral wires, obtain the appropriate gauge copper THHN/THWN-2 wires with enough length to reach the breaker, run through the EMT and give 12" spare length in the box.  You need one white or gray for the neutral, and two of any other color but green.  Black and black is fine.

Run the three individual THHN wires through the EMT conduit, terminate one end at the breaker or neutral bar.  Inside the box tie the individual wires to the wires of the cable.

Three THHN copper wires of #6 will certainly fit in a 3/4" EMT conduit, and are good for 70A. This is more than #6 cable.

If the wires are small enough, you can use large wire nuts for the splice, otherwise use right-sized Polaris style connectors. If your cable is aluminum, that is fine but you must use Polaris.


Adding always hot receptacle to a ceiling light that’s on timer Porch ceiling light runs on timer inside front door, so on at a set time and off at a set time, I need to add an plug somewhere close to fixture for a security camera, how would I keep plug hot while porch light is off due to the timer ?

At some point, you need to split the power for the receptacle separate from the light. Where/how you can do that depends on whether you have:

Panel->Timer->Light
or
Panel->Light->Timer (a switch loop)

The first method is what I instinctively think of, but depending on the design of the how building and when/how the light was added, you may have the second - a switch loop. If you have a switch loop then you can split the power at the light and everything is easy. But if not, them there are two ways to get power for the receptacle:

At the current timer location. This is normally the best way, but it requires running a new cable from the timer junction box to the receptacle. That may be easy, or it may be quite difficult.
At the light. This is actually quite easy if the light is not on a timer. As @Mazura suggested, if you can replace the existing light fixture with one that has a photo sensor (sometimes called "dusk to dawn") then you can:

Split the power in the junction box that supplies the light. Depending on how the light is installed, you may be able to add a split (pigtail wires) in that box, or you may need to install a new box next to it. But either way, everything can be close together and you don't need to run a new cable through the wall.
Either in the same junction box or in one next to it, install the receptacle for the security camera. Normally I'm not a big fan of receptacles in hard-to-reach places like a porch ceiling, but in this case that is exactly what you want, so that the power cable to the camera is not easy to reach. (I've seen a porch security camera with a wire hanging down to a wall wart plugged into a standard-height receptacle.)

Another advantage of changing the light to a photo sensor is that you no longer have to worry about adjusting the timing over the course of the year.


3-phase power to NEMA L14-20 receptacle At my place of work, which is in the US, I had an electrician install a 3-phase outlet. He used a NEMA L14-20 receptacle and left us a NEMA L14-20 plug to connect to the device which uses the power. This is a 208 V installation (measures at 212V phase-to-phase, and all three phases present, plus GND). We plan to use it to power a servo-motor drive. The drive model is SVA-2300 from automation direct.

http://www.automationdirect.com/adc/Shopping/Catalog/Motion_Control/Servo_Systems/Drives_-a-_Motors_Components/SVA-2300

This doesn't seem right. Seems like he should have used a NEMA L15-20 receptacle and plug. Is it common or correct to use NEMA L14-20 receptacles for 3-phase power? Should I ask him to redo it or just use the plug he left for us? Obviously it will work and be safe for us, but it seems like if someone came along and plugged in something else to that outlet, it could be a problem for them.

He is a professional electrician and the work is well done and neat otherwise.

Edit History: added 'L' prefix. This is a locking connector. It is a 208 V outlet (measures at 212 phase-to-phase). Noted that all three phases are present. Added information about load.

NEMA 14-20 are intended for two phase power.  Of the four conductors, two are energized, one is neutral, and one is ground.

  (NEMA 14-20 diagram)

A NEMA L15 is specifically intended for 3 phase power including a ground (but no neutral).  The number after the hyphen is the current rating.  That is, NEMA L15-60 is for 60 ampere conductors.

  (NEMA L15-20 diagram)

As you can see, they look vitually identical.  See the full chart here.

I can see why one would make the substitution.  The NEMA 14 is like a $25 connector.  The L15-20 is closer to $60, each side.  They both accommodate four wires.  I am sure it would not pass muster to substitute one for the other, but in a private, non-commercial, non-permanent installation where there is no possibility of intermixing the connectors with other devices and outlets, it might be okay safety-wise with durable signage present.


Hanging medium weight things from popcorn ceiling in rental I'm trying to add hanging lights to a rental property I'm living in. The lights + fixtures are about a pound each.

Unfortunately, the place has this ugly, bumpy popcorn ceiling which makes it very had to stick things to. I tried command strips which failed in minutes. I also tried duct tape which lasted a bit longer but failed after a few hours.

I'm not allowed to modify the ceiling in any non-reversible way (no holes whatsoever).

Does anyone have any ideas on how to attach things to this trash ceiling?

The issue is with popcorn ceiling you won't get a good clean surface for adhesive. I would just screw a hanger in the ceiling and patch it with a tiny amount of drywall compound when done. With the popcorn ceiling your landlord will never notice because of the popcorn texture of the ceiling. You can even get popcorn ceiling texture in a can if you are concerned about it and re-spray over the area when you move out.


Double vanity shared P-Trap I've seen a couple conflicting answers here for whether or not a second p=trap is necessary, my understanding is 30" is the max distance between drains to share a p-trap, which my vanity is. I was able to rig it without a p-trap but could easily add one but want the extra storage space.

I've tested it with a full sink on both sides and it drains fine, so is there any advantage to the second p-trap? The tailpieces from the sinks are 1 1/4" and the tee and p-trap and drain are 1 1/2" so I figure there is more than enough capacity for drainage from the sinks. Also is there a recommended amount of slope here for this connection? I added enough slope so that my 6" level touches the line so like 1-2 deg.
Apologies for the distorted image, it was wide angle
Edit: so everything is working now...except the drain is very loud! When I use the left vanity, the long distance to the p-trap is causing a lot of noise to travel up the open drain for the right vanity. Thinking I should now add the second p-trap just to provide a noise baffle.
Would it be best to tie in past the left p-trap with a wye or would installing a p-trap on the horizontal tied in before the left p-trap ok? I'm guessing p-traps in series may not be kosher but having a hard time finding the code.

The "point" (as is so often the case with plumbing code) is not causing a situation where the drainage from the sink with the longer arm to the trap causes the trap to siphon dry and let sewer gas into the house.
Since the drain-holes are 30" apart, that's allowable. If they are more, it's not. Welcome to code compliance.
If "more storage" is your watchword, you could run two traps towards the rear of the cabinet and put the crossing pipe to the drain closer to the back wall of the cabinet, freeing up all the space between the drains currently blocked by the crossing pipe.
Slope is 1/4" per foot, as usual for "smallish" drain pipes. IPC states that as minimum slope for 2-1/2" or smaller pipe size. UPC is probably similar. Tape a 1/8" block to one end of your 6" level and look for level to check that.


How can I center a TV on a wall with a centered stud? I have a 60" Panasonic Plasma TV that weighs 81 lbs.  I want to hang it on the wall using a full-motion wall mount made to handle 175 lbs.  The wall is drywall with wood studs.  I plan on using the 4 lag bolts provided on two studs.  I don't know the size of the lag bolts.  The Instructions say to drill 3.5" pilot holes using a .25" bit.  So, my guess the lag bolts are slightly bigger like 3/8".  The problem I have is with the wood studs.  There is one at the center of the wall.  To the right, the next one is 12-13" apart (center to center). To the left, the next one is 16" away.  These are 2x4 studs.

The wall plate on the wall mount has many holes in the back for the lag bolts.  Would it be safe to shift the mount off center so that the end result is the TV is centered to the wall (but not the studs).

If it is not safe, would it load be easier to the studs on 13" apart or 16" apart?

If I can do option 1 but have to give up extending out the TV, I am ok with that.
UPDATE:

Thanks for all the input so far.  The TV mount has 2 arms that attach the wall mount plate to the tv mount plate (they come together like a "V") but they cannot slide or adjust.  Here is a link to the TV mount, product 12280 on monoprice.  You can also some of it on the box in my pictures. http://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=109&cp_id=10828&cs_id=1082821&p_id=12280&seq=1&format=2

I want to use 2 studs (and 4 lag bolts) but do not want to add any new boards behind or on the drywall.

These two pictures represent the options I am considering.

As you can see, with Option 1 (red arrows) the TV will only be 3" off center to the Center Stud but it leaves 8" of the wall mount unsupported.  Would this be an issue when I pull the TV out?  Would strap toggles be necessary on the left side of wall mount?
Option 2 (blue arrows) looks for secure to me, but is further from center so I would only consider it if Option 1 is not safe.  Thanks!

Measure the side to side of the back plate. I believe that most manufacturer's will have the plate long enough to span 2 wall studs. (BTW: most wall framing is established at 16 inches on center or 14 1/2 inches in between 2 wall studs). If your plat measures at least 16 inches install it on the 2 studs closest to the center of the wall. Some TV wall mounts have 3 axis' of adjustment: one axis allows you to swivel the TV side to side. This makes it easier to orient the TV on the center if the mounting plate was not. Also, it may be possible, depending on the mounting plate type, to offset the bracket that attaches to the back of the TV so that when it is hung on the wall mounting plate it is closer to room center.