If the top layer of my subfloor is structurally sufficient, can I skip patching plumbing holes in the bottom layer? I'm doing a master bathroom remodel in which all electrical and plumbing must be moved.

The old floor had two layers of plywood: 15/32 as the bottom layer, and 19/32 as the top layer. (The numbers I'm giving are those on the APA stamps.) This setup supported ceramic tile for 30 years without any issue.

I plan to leave the first 15/32 layer there and put 3/4 as the new top layer. I've done the math. Structurally speaking, a single layer of 3/4 plywood by itself would be enough for the tile. (I know I'm raising the floor level, and taken that into account relative to the level of the floor outside the bathroom.) If I were in a setup where the bottom layer is needed to provide the structure that the tiles need, then I'd patch the bottom layer. However, since I don't need the bottom layer for structure, can I skip patching the holes left in it by the old plumbing setup? Or am I setting myself up for trouble?

I've given consideration to entirely removing all the subfloor but I'm trying to avoid that, as it would lead to a whole bunch of complications in the basement. (The master suite is on the 1st floor, with the bathroom just above the machine room.)

You are correct in your thinking. The original layer, even with the holes will still add strength to your top layer. No need to patch the holes.


Modifying electric water heater for easy temperature control I have an electric water heater. It has a top and bottom thermostat. In the summer I turn these down and in the winter turn them up. It's a real hassle because I have to unscrew the plates and then adjust the thermostat. If I get it wrong I have to do it again and would like to do micro-adjustments until I get it right. There are 2 modifications that I want to consider for this tank and need your input for.

Is it possible to attach a knob on the outside of the tank that could control this thermostat without me having to unscrew that plate each time?

Is there a way to control this wirelessly? I would absolutely consider a Raspberry Pi or equivalent project to get this working.

The purpose of this question is to find a way to easily way to adjust the two thermostats on the tank so the answers aren't limited to 1 and 2 above.

Making it easy to adjust is defeating the purpose of the cover. But since this is what you want, here is a way to do is make it easier to adjust without removing the cover.

Replace the adjustment screw or bolt with one long enough to stick out of the cover approximately 1/2 in.  The screw head type could be hex, flat blade or Phillip head.  A hex nut could be used on the lower thread to clamp down the adjustment knob with the upper part extending out past the cover.
Where the screw would protrude through the cover, drill out a 1/2" hole in the cover so the screw can protrude through.

That said, It is strange that you are trying to set an exact/precise temperature.  I would just mark the two points that you want to set for winter and summer.  The installed thermostat is not designed for setting to a precise temperature.


How big should the gap at the bottom of an interior door be? My contractor just hung our fancy dancy un-painted solid wood door slabs in my 100 year old house with solid hardwood floors throughout. There is an approximately 1.5" gap at the bottom of the doors. I think it is too big and think a 1/4"-1/2" gap would accommodate any unevenness in our floors and allow us to use area rugs. Is there a standard size for the gap at the bottom of the door? If it is in fact too big, how do we fix it?

This was part of a major renovation that involved replacing all the trim and repairing damaged plaster. The areas around the doors were stripped down to the studs and headers, but the hardwood floors were left in place. There is no sort of threshold on the floor between the rooms as the hardwood floors run throughout the house.

There us also one other possibility. If you have HVAC and there is a grill in the room and there is no return in the same room, when the central heating/ cooling system is turned on it would create a high pressure in those rooms. Therefore sometimes a door cut higher is a viable solution to equalize the pressure. Removing the doors and cutting down the jambs IS NOT a viable alternative because the tops of doors and windows should plain out same height.
I personally would do some type of detail on the bottom if the door if it was not necessary by design to equalize pressure. Get creative and there is a tremendous opportunity to do something quite unique. Such as a motion activated KED light strip as one example.


Shower tile inside corner vertical joint Is it true it should be caulked ( not grouted) at vertical inside corner?  what is the best way to keep epoxy away from the vertical joints when grouting epoxy?

Inside corners should always be caulked, not grouted. Walls move, and when grout moves it cracks. If you're using epoxy grout on the walls you can actually use it in the corners too but keep in mind it's more difficult to work with especially in corners. If you're using epoxy grout on the walls and going to caulk the corners, epoxy grout the horizontal lines first and then caulk the corner after the grout sets.


How can I reliably crimp aluminum ferrules without a specialized tool? Is there another way to crimp aluminum sleeves without having to buy a $40+ crimping tool that I will only use for this one project?

Or at least is there a crimping tool that has another use?

I don't want to spend so much on a tool that will only be used once and will then be stored in a box until I die.

Just crush the thing with any tool you have around.

I googled the phrase "crimping aluminum sleeve without tool" to find examples of a child using pliers to get this done:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMJETUcYNxg

If you can use a big vise to crush them down, that's probably the most 'controlled' way.  Otherwise, use pliers, or get a hammer and chisel and dent the sleeve at two or three points with the chisel.

Plan on destroying one or two sleeves first just to get the technique down.  Then, once you have one that looks right, really try to rip the wires out (to verify that you have a good internal connection).


How do airtight recessed lights compare to IC-rated ones? I'm trying to figure out what recessed lights to purchase.  The ceiling room has an attic directly above with insulation in between.  It appears that IC-rated cans are necessary here, correct?  How does that relate to "airtight" cans?  Can one be both?  Which are appropriate or necessary?

IC or Insulated Ceiling or Insulation Contact are required for can lights that touch the insulation.  You cannot use a non-IC can by moving or cutting the insulation back the 3 inches required to use a non-IC can.  Inspectors see insulation and they expect to see the silver cans, which is what an IC can would look like.  The airtight cans are designed to use a cone that you would snap the socket into and peel of supplied foam gaskets to make the can airtight.  On any other can you look up and see the inside of the can, and on airtights you look up and see only the trim and bulb.

Airtight cans can be IC and non-IC.  The design of the cans and the gasketed trims help keep air conditioning or heating from leaking out of the home through holes in the can.

I guess overkill is appropriate and what ever the code calls for in your area is what is necessary.  The prices should not be much different and even in areas like where I live, the ATIC cans are a little cheaper than the IC cans, and the same should hold true on the non-IC cans.  I suggest using the airtight because it will make your house tighter.

Airtights come in new construction and remodel cans both 4 inch and 6 inch.  Low-voltage 4 inch cans do no have an ATIC remodel can though, just non-IC and airtight.

Remember that the lamps and trims used in the Non-IC cans might not be rated for the ATIC cans.  You have to give up some heat and that will come from lamp wattage.  The inside of the can should tell you what you can use.

Good Luck

Edit 8/27/2016:
Now with the new LED cans you can get 4 inch retrofit ICAT rated can.  Actually on most LED cans, they are mostly ICAT cans, because of reduced wattage.  With the exception of some dimming quirks, which has nothing to do with the cans, unless you are matching existing, I would go with LED.

Again, good luck.


Steel welding options for a remote property? I have a remote property where the previous owner welded a steel sliding lock (see pic) onto the metal door of an outbuilding. The part that sticks out (handle) broke off.

the nearest/only electricity source is 120v and probably 5-10 amps max (15a circuit, but several hundred feet of underground cable that I suspect isn't sized properly for such a long run)
Welding the pin back on inside the narrow groove has to be done fairly precisely to avoid welding the sliding pin to the chamber (or door). I love the ASMR Tig pulse welding videos on youtube, but my best understanding is that a portable Tig rig (tig welder and large enough generator to run it) could be thousands of dollars - that's a lot for me, especially if I only need 2-4 pulses total for this project. Also, I've done a very small amount of (bad) stick welding, but never have had the opportunity to Tig.

It may be that the best option is to pay hundreds of dollars to a professional welder to drive out, set up, and tack the pin back in place... but before I do that, is there any DIY option that would be under ~$500 total that would allow me to DIY?

I did try JB weld (the part that sticks out is actually a pin that fits in a hole in the sliding rod) but that only lasted a few uses, so I think that a real weld is the only long-term solution.

I've considered a cheap wire welder from my favorite import store (~$100, works off 120v), but this is a large sliding bolt and I'm not sure the wire welder has the power to melt enough of the steel to be a permanent fix (I'm under the impression those cheap wire welders are for much thinner metal)

Thank you for your suggestions! If there isn't an option within my skills and price range, then I'll go with the mobile welder option.

I would look at drilling and tapping the hole then screwing a new handle in.


How Are My Stair Openings Framed (60s side-split) I'm looking to run some electrical & CAT5 in my place as well as potentially some larger projects such as removing some partition walls. As a precursor to this I decided to model my house in Sketchup to get a better idea where things are and what's structural vs not.

I'm stuck on trying to figure out how the stairs are framed and what's supporting them at the split in my side-split. I've attached a few views of my plans so far. There are two sets from the ground floor to the 1st floor (red), and one from the 1st floor to the upstairs (purple).

I was hoping someone could help me figure out how the floor joists might be laid out on the 2nd floor. I've been able to determine the direction of them as indicated by the green and blue lines.

I've also put my best guess at what it might be at the bottom. Perhaps someone could comment on whether or not this is realistic.

Wow, you even opened up some of the wall to help determine which way the floor joists are running. (Often this is done with a “stud finder”.)

I see nothing unreasonable about your joist layout: 1) joists follow what you discovered when you opened up the wall, 2) joists span the short distance across a rooms, 3) joists have “normal” span lengths, (nothing excessive)

However, I’d guess the joists were doubled where joists change direction.

To answer your question about how stairs are framed, I’d go to Architectural Graphic Standards. (You can Google it.) Typically, 2x12’s are notched for the proper “rise” and “run” called stringers. I’d guess there are 3 stringers: 1 on each side of each stairway and 1 in the center.


Is it unsafe if some three prong outlets don't properly test as grounded? It's me again -- the pest ;-)

On the general inspection report for the house we're looking at buying, there's a note about the house's electrical:

  Some three prong outlets did not test properly grounded.  This may be an indication that the wiring in the walls is the older ungrounded type.  We recommend considering upgrading to grounded type wiring for safety enhancement.

How big of a safety concern is this? Is there any other explanation for faulty ground tests? What corrective action would be necessary?  I'm concerned that fixing this would require the entire electrical lines to be replaced...  If so, any thoughts on how expensive that would be?  I'm guessing quite a bit.

What's strange is that the report does mention that a ground is present on the main panal:

  Grounding system is present.  The grounding electrode was buried and not fully visible at the time of our inspection.  Wood screws are used to secure the dead front cover to the panel.  This is improper because they have sharp ends and can damage the protective coating in the wires inside the panel. We recommend installing proper screws.

The inspection report also recommended adding GFCI outlets.  Would that help at all?

If an outlet has a ground terminal, it should be grounded.  No ifs or buts.  (And IMO, giving the illusion of ground protection is even worse than not having any protection.).  I don't think you can even get two-prong outlets any more, so I think you'll have to fix the wiring.  It sounds like you're still negotiating, so this is a good bargaining point.  And if you don't get it fixed now, when it comes time to sell, any potential buyers would be within their rights to make you fix it then.

An easy way to check that your wiring has a ground conductor is to open up the service panel, look for the breaker that controls those outlets, then trace the black-shielded wire to where the cable feeds into the panel.  (If it's present, ground is unshielded.)

If you have grounded wiring at the service panel, the next thing to check would be to look inside the outlets in question to see if the wiring there is grounded (it may just be a loose connection, and since it's common to daisy-chain outlets in a room, one faulty wire could affect several outlets).

If you have don't have ground at the outlets, but did at the service panel, you probably have a junction box joining the older ungrounded wiring and newer grounded wiring.  Time to go exploring in the attic or crawl-space / basement.

GFCIs detect a difference between current going out on the live terminal and current coming in on the neutral terminal.  If you're the easiest path to ground in an electrical fault, a GFCI will detect that and break the circuit; without a GFCI, you'd have to hope that you draw enough current -- and for long enough -- to trip a regular circuit breaker.  On the whole, though, I'd rather that current was running to ground through some copper that's intended for just that purpose.


Can Romex (NM-B) be run in conduit for more than 10 ft when starting from the breaker panel? The answers to this question indicate that NM can be run in conduit: Can Romex (NM-B) be run through conduit?

I was hoping to enclose 12-2 NM-B in EMT for about 20 feet from the breaker box up my garage wall and into my attic to protect it from physical damage as needed when running perpendicular to the joists in my accessible attic. Then, the NM cable would just run the rest of the way unenclosed and parallel to a joist to a non-metallic box with integral cable clamps to feed my garage door motor:

However, it looks like I may not be able to do so because of section 312.5(C).

Section 312.5(C) lists some additional restrictions which seem to indicate that cable cannot be fully enclosed in raceways (such as EMT) for a length greater than 10 ft if the raceway starts at a cabinet, cutout box, or meter socket enclosure -- I understand these definitions to include things known as service panels, breaker boxes, or load centers in language of the typical homeowner. I know there are other options to achieve what I want that do not raise this question (e.g. use something other than EMT for protection, run THHN inside the EMT and then use a junction box to transition to NM), but I would like to know if I'm correctly interpreting section 312.5 in this situation. I have quoted section 312.5(C) from the 2014 NEC below:

  312.5 Cabinets, Cutout Boxes, and Meter Socket Enclosures. Conductors entering enclosures within the scope of this article shall be
  protected from abrasion and shall comply with 312.5(A) through (C).

  (C) Cables. Where cable is used, each cable shall be secured to the
  cabinet, cutout box, or meter socket enclosure. Exception: Cables with
  entirely nonmetallic sheaths shall be permitted to enter the top of a
  surface-mounted enclosure through one or more nonflexible raceways not
  less than 450 mm (18 in.) and not more than 3.0 m (10 ft) in length,
  provided all of the following conditions are met:

  (a) Each cable is fastened within 300 mm (12 in.), measured along the
  sheath, of the outer end of the raceway

  (b) The raceway extends directly above the enclosure and does not
  penetrate a structural ceiling.

  (c) A fitting is provided on each end of the raceway to protect the
  cable(s) from abrasion and the fittings remain accessible after
  installation.

  (d) The raceway is sealed or plugged at the outer end using approved
  means so as to prevent access to the enclosure through the raceway.

  (e) The cable sheath is continuous through the raceway and extends
  into the enclosure beyond the fitting not less than 6 mm (1⁄4 in.).

  (f) The raceway is fastened at its outer end and at other points in
  accordance with the applicable article.

  (g) Where installed as conduit or tubing, the cable fill does not
  exceed the amount that would be permitted for complete conduit or
  tubing systems by Table 1 of Chapter 9 of this Code and all applicable
  notes thereto. Informational Note: See Table 1 in Chapter 9, including
  Note 9, for allowable cable fill in circular raceways. See
  310.15(B)(3)(a) for required ampacity reductions for multiple cables installed in a common raceway.

After some reading, the interpretation in the question is correct.

In every edition of the NEC since 2002 when the clause was introduced, you cannot run NM-B in conduit for more than 10ft if the conduit run starts at a cabinet, cutout box, or meter socket enclosure -- this includes "breaker panels".


is it ok to daisy-chain hot wire to multiple switches in same box? Making a few changes in an existing 4-gang switch box, I notice the original electrician did some things that seem a little funky.   The various neutral and hot wires are just twisted together with a crimp ring and taped, but no wirenut.   I can easily, and will, add wirenuts.   But ... there is a pigtail coming from the bundle of hots, and it goes to two different switches, with a little insulation stripped off where it's screwed to the first switch, and then the stripped end screwed to the second switch in the usual fashion.    I'd rather leave these two switches alone, as they have nothing to do with the changes I'm making (to one of the other two switches).   Is this ok ?   This work will not be inspected, but I want to do the right thing.

There's no problem with the wiring methods you've described.  Using a single wire, reduces the number of wires in a slice. This can come in handy when trying to reduce the number of wires in a twist on wire connector.


T8 retrofit with direct LED I have replaced 4-foot T12 fluorescent bulbs with direct wire LEDs: the fixtures were re-wired and ballasts removed to accommodate the LEDs .  In the future the LED bulbs can be replaced unlike models that come with LEDs.  The goal is more to have reliable lighting and ease of repair when the light mechanism fails.  I also like the flexibility to change the bulbs if the light color needs to be changed.

A new T8 4ft fixture is to be installed in a kitchen.  I would like to continue using the same LEDs for this property so as to minimize on-hand spares.

As I understand it, T8 sockets are non-shunted (suitable for single ended LEDs).  I would like to use dual ended LEDs (shunted sockets).  In practice, are non-shunted sockets shorted with a wire to convert them to shunted sockets?  Or is this not done for a safety \ economic \ practical reason?

Dual-ended LEDs do not require shunted sockets.   The only restriction associated with LEDs and shunted sockets is that same-end LEDs cannot be used on shunted sockets.

Yes, if you have a non-shunted socket, you are entirely welcome to shunt it with a short piece of wire.  That is absolutely fine, in fact, if you look at the "yellow end" of a non-instant fixture, they are already shunting the yellow sockets to each other.  Note the wire is still insulated.

T8 sockets are available either shunted or non-shunted.  For us, who are not manufacturing fixtures in 50,000 quantity, we should avoid shunted sockets altogether. It takes seconds of our time to turn one into a shunted socket by adding a shunt wire.

The notion that "replaceable bulbs are better" is incorrect.  The experience in the computer industry is that socketing things makes them less reliable. There is no reason to make LED emitters socketed since they will outlive all of us, the problem is the supporting circuitry is often made cheaply.  Therefore a non-replaceable-element fixture of good quality will be much more reliable, on average, than a pair of commodity "manufactured to a price point" big-box store LED replacement tubes.

Of course you may take the "Google server farm" approach, and simply buy more cheaper things, let them fail, and just keep replacing parts.  I think for me, that would turn on how big a ladder I would need.


damaged drywall: Repair with spackle or replace drywall? My dog scratched up part of our interior wall next to a door.  He tore off the molding around the door and also scratched some of the drywall off.  There are no holes in the drywall, but there are some scratches that go fairly deep into the drywall.  The area I am talking about is probably 3 inches wide and 3 ft tall.  Part of that area will be covered up by the molding.  Can I use spackle to repair this or is it better to just cut the damaged drywall out and replace it?

Spackle's just fine. The real trick is replicating the texture!


How efficient is a drop ceiling? I have a small room (about 260 sq ft) with a tall ceiling (about 13 feet tall). It's very hard to heat that room up because the heat goes up and doesn't want to heat the lower part where the people are. If I install a suspended ceiling, how much would that help?

A suspended ceiling may help a bit. They are not designed to be insulators, but it will keep the hot air lower. Right now in the room, you should be able to feel a gradient where it gets warmer. I suspect that more or less you'll have the same gradient, but moved down by roughly the same amount you move down the ceiling: eg if you put a drop ceiling at 8', the warm air will effectively move down by 5'.

Now, I think the real trouble here is not the ceiling height, but the existing insulation, circulation, or heat source. Let me address them:

Insulation

If you continue to put heat into a space (whether forced air or radiated), it has to go somewhere. Right now, if you're heating the room and only the top part is getting hot, it means the heat is escaping: either through a hole (window, door, vent, etc), or through the walls. To some extent (because you can't have 100% insulation), heat is always going to escape eventually, but if there's not enough insulation and the heat is escaping faster than it's being added, you end up with a cold room. Addressing this is a matter of figuring out the source of the leakage. Keep in mind any drafts will cause significantly more heat loss than just poor insulation.

Circulation

The other side of it is circulation. It's hard to provide specifics here without knowing more about the room, but in some cases installing an air return vent (if you have forced air heating) up high may help, as it will cause greater mixing of incoming air to make the whole room feel warmer. Another option may be a ceiling fan, running in reverse. This also causes the air to mix better, without actually having a noticeable down-draft below the fan.

A tool that may help you identify insulation problems is an infra-red thermometer, which can be found online or in any big hardware store for anywhere from $30-$100. (A thermal camera is even better and much more detailed, but they are significantly more expensive).

Heat source

It's also possible that your heat source is simply inadequate for the space, or set up wrong.

If you have forced air, maybe this room is too far away, the supply pipe is too small, or the system isn't balanced properly. This is common in homes that have had additions, where the HVAC system was not considered.

If you have radiators, they may be too small, or maybe the controls (if they can be individually controlled, or you have a zoned system) are in the wrong place. For example, if the thermostat is in a small room that (for whatever reason) heats up faster, it will shut off the heat before your problem room gets warm enough. Relocating the thermostat may make sense, or you can use dampers to change the air flow to the rooms.

I would recommend at least figuring out if you have one of the above problems first, as the worst part would be if you install a drop ceiling and then find it doesn't have any major effect on the room temperature.


Should felt paper overhang an eave drip edge? I am replacing my roof shingles and I would like to know if there is a preferred dimension for roofing felt overhang on drip edges.

There is no need to overhang the felt underlayment. If you do, it will sag and look sloppy. The important part is to make sure you have the correct overhang of shingles. I usually leave about 1/2-3/4" overhang, even when there is a drip edge.

Here are some FEMA Roofing Guidelines.


Homeowners Electric Permit - Mongomery County, Maryland, USA Our county allows homeowners to test to acquire permits for "rough wiring" and "heavy-ups" (https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DPS/Process/combuild/homeowner-electrical.html).

I did electronics/electrics in school, so believe I have the basis for knowledge that would be required to take this test, and they provide the National Electrical code for reference during testing.

However was wondering if anyone else had undertaken this test, or similar in their area, and could advise some resources for passing this exam?

Sorry, you don't.  I also started in electronics... Very little of my experience was applicable to NEC code electrical.

Knowing how electrons are supposed to behave gives you a small edge.  But you must throw out all your existing knowledge about "how to do things" and allow yourself to grasp a different paradigm and ultimately the reasons why. Code does nothing without a reason.

You will find the codebook to be useless.  It's a book of law and is very poorly formatted to be a reference guide or learner.  It says so, flat-out, in Article 100.

So, are you ready to answer questions like this:

You are wiring a receptacle circuit in 12 AWG wire.  The circuit breaker and receptacles are rated for 75 degrees C.  The cable is UF, which is rated for 90 degrees C. Do you use a breaker size of

15 amps
20 amps
25 amps
30 amps

   20A.  The stuff about degrees C was a red herring, to make you turn to table 310.15b16, which is what you'd do when under the gun and flipping through NEC at the exam.

You are running six circuits in 12AWG UF (90 degree C) cable which all pass through a conduit 22" long.   What is the largest breaker you can use in these circuits?

15A
20A
25A
30A

   20A.   This situation comes perilously close to the 310.15b2a rule requiring a "50% derate off the wire's highest temperature column in 310.15b16, which is 30A at 90C" ... but the conduit is less than 24" so you dodge the rule.

You are wiring a new multi-wire branch circuit, featuring two hots and a shared neutral.   You only have one space remaining in the panel.  Which type of breaker is appropriate?

a duplex breaker
a quadplex breaker
a 2-pole breaker

   A quadplex.  A duplex is not appropriate for MWBC, and a 2-pole won't fit!

Select the minimum requirements for a Grounding Electrode System using ground rods:

one ground rod
two ground rods, or one if it passes the  test in NEC 250.24.
two ground rods
one ground rod, encased in concrete

   The last, 1 in concrete.  I played a trick on you, this answer is affected by a local amendment!

The point

None of these things have anything to do with electronic design. Life is different on the other side of the wall-wart!

The solution

I say with sincerity, electronics guy to electronics guy, to hit the library and thumb through some books on residential electrical.  Find one that speaks your language and devour it.  You will find many things that seem unimportant, like the above.   Then, browse a couple more and see what their takes are.

Then, spend a lot of time surfing this site, as it can backfill, expose you to common situatuons and give code refs, which books do not.  Mostly read existing questions (we're not big fans of hypotheticals unless it's a really good question).

Hopefully the test won't ask questions inapplicable to residences, which is what most of NEC is.

Some actually involving design

In 120V/240V split phase, a multi-wire (shared neutral) branch circuit has both its hot wires breakered 20A, but no breaker on the neutral.  Which condition causes the maximum (worst case)  current that could possibly flow on the neutral?

20A on both hots
20A on one hot, 10A on the other
20A on one hot, zero on the other

All the wires are in the same cable.  Among the above choices, which one results in the least total wire heating in the cable?

Sadly, even these basic thinkers won't be on the exam.


Installing plywood over 1x6 subfloor in preparation for engineered hardwood I’m prepping to install ½” thick Armstrong Engineered Hardwood 7” tongue and groove planks in the kitchen and family room in our 1964 home. I have several questions about preparing the subfloor and here are some details.

There are 1x6 planks running perpendicular to the joists and fastened with T-nails. There are gaps between each board and the floor squeaks badly, partially due to removing ¾” hardwood flooring from a portion and removing 1/2” OSB from another portion. I’m planning to use ¼ or 3/8” CDX as another subfloor/underlayment to cover the gaps and raise the floor to better match the height of adjoining ¾” hardwoods and some tile.

1)      I plan to screw each subfloor plank down to minimize the squeaks (2” #7 or #9 screws).

2)      What construction adhesive is best to use under the plywood?

3)      I’ve read to only attach the second subfloor to the planks with staples (to decouple), not all the way to the joists. And leave gaps between the sheets and around the perimeter.

4)      Do I run the plywood sheets perpendicular to the planks?

5)      With the planks and plywood, can I run the 7” Eng HW either direction?
Thanks

Good. 2-1/2" screws are less likely to strip at the joist connection if that proves to be a problem. You need the screw heads below flush, and sometimes the plywood is hard enough that the screw will strip before it pulls in.
If you're asking for brand names, that's off-topic here. As you're indoors, almost any will do. "Heavy duty" adhesives are solvent-based and bond the best. "Project" adhesives are water-based so they don't dissolve foam, but would still be fine. 1/4" beads on a 8" interval would probably do well.
This is debatable. I've never concerned myself with decoupling in 30 years of working on homes new and old in Minnesota's wildly varying climate. This site is the first place I've heard of doing so. As long as all layers are stuck down securely, it probably doesn't matter, but I'd be inclined to pinch the original subfloor to the joists with all fasteners to reduce the likelihood of lingering squeaks.
Yes, if by "planks" you mean joists. All layers of subfloor are typically run crosswise with respect to joists. Joints are staggered where appropriate.
Yes. That's a design decision and doesn't depend on the subflooring direction.


What size wire for 70 amp sub-panel to garage? What gauge wire is need to make a 150 to 200ft run for a 70amp subpanel?
I’m putting a 70 amp sub panel in the gargare which has no service at all. Going to be running lights, garage opener and a few outlets.

#3 copper will provide 70 amps at 240v with a 2.74% voltage drop or #1 aluminum at 2.83% drop at 200 feet.

Source


How do I shave down a sidewalk? I have a sidewalk where one of the sections that was repaired by a previous homeowner is raised up above the surrounding sections.  I've seen some sites on the internet talking about shaving down the sidewalk rather than breaking it up and replacing it.  Is this something I can do myself?  If so, how?

Looking at the flaky condition of the concrete patch and the fact that it is such a small section I'd say the investing time and money in any type of grinding process is a total waste of money.

The open voids in the surface of the concrete and the grainy texture of the patch area really indicates the low grade of the installed lump.

Break it up, re-form and then pour a new section.

I wouldn't be surprised if you find it very easy to break this up.


Can I get away with putting a 14W bulb into a 13W lamp? While browsing the website of a well-known Swedish furniture retailer, I found a clamp-on desk lamp I liked, which has a 13W power rating. To accompany this lamp, I would like to purchase a 1500lm 14W E27 LED bulb. Is it safe to put a 14W bulb into a lamp rated at 13W?
Even though the sites I visited in researching this issue didn't recommend exceeding a lamp's rated wattage, the given examples were along the lines of "don't put a 100W bulb into a 60W lamp". Since I would only be exceeding the rating by ~8%/1W I figure I'd still be well within the manufacturer's safety margin. Am I right?
Additional info: I am not planning to use the lamp in an enclosed space or near flammable objects.
This is the lamp in question: https://www.ikea.com/ch/en/p/tertial-work-lamp-dark-grey-50355395/

It is never a good idea to exceed the ratings on a fixture. They are UL listed, in the USA, for the rating specified and that listing goes out the window when exceeded. The stickers I'm familiar with usually read something similar to: " WARNING! Do not exceed the listed rating".
The ratings for LED fixtures are more critical because of the electronics in the fixtures. There are transformers, rectifiers, capacitors, etc.,that are very sensitive to overloads. Subjecting the components to an 8% overload could blow them out or greatly reduce their life expectancy. Do yourself a favor and get the right bulb.


Why did part of my wall not absorb my paint? I’m trying to paint an existing wall with a “lime wash” technique.  It’s in an old building that had walls that were probably painted many times.

Before we painted we tested several colors and methods on the wall, let it dry, and then covered the sample area with a white paint.  A friend of mine who was helping added “binder” to the paint because he thought it would help cover the samples better.  We didn't use any primer, which I think might have been the problem.

The next day we started with our first layer.  We added a lot of water to the paint to start with a light color.  We wanted to add subsequent layers to give it a darker effect.

On the outer edges of the wall, we saw the effect that we expected.  When we got to the center part of the wall, where we did the samples, the paint layer would barely stick.

Obviously there was something about the white paint we used that caused it not to absorb.  We don’t know, though, if this is something that was caused by the “binder” that my friend added?  Or was it because the paint in the middle is newer compared to the paint on the outside?

And the biggest question: How do we fix this?  Use a layer or two of primer for the entire wall?

I would love for the entire wall to have the same absorbability as the edges.

You know, you could just get the painter to draw a stylized signature at the bottom right corner, and get it published in art books!  But I gather that's not your goal with the room.

The three keystones to getting good paint performance are:

Prep: Surface roughness

Paint will not stick to mirror glass. The surface is too smooth.  This can also be a problem with any glossy paint surface, because it achieves gloss via smoothness. But flat surfaces can have this problem too.

The curative is what I call a scuff-sand - which is nothing like proper sanding, but a simple swish with very fine sandpaper or better, a scrub with e.g. green Scotchbrite pads, to induce a microscopically rough surface.

It is not the goal of scuff-sand to blow through any layers, so it helps to be especially careful around corners.  Being gentle with scuff-sanding also assures you won't cross paths with any lead paint.

Prep: Cleanliness (of grease, oil, salts, and other contaminants)

A variety of substances will either repel paint or react with it to alter or degrade the paint.  Grease and oil will certainly do a job on you. So will a variety of soluble salts. Really any material that isn't hard, fully stabilized old paint.

The best curative here is to wash the surfaces with appropriate materials: soap and water for common household walls, solvent for oils and greases, and finish with a 2-cloth wipedown using a solvent compatible with your paint - I prefer diluent (thinner as appropriate for that paint), but some advanced paint systems with $75/gal. diluent make a much cheaper washdown solvent.

Coatings: Primer

If you finish prep with one surface type that is the same throughout (e.g. the old topcoat that you didn't blow through while scuff sanding), then you may be able to skip this step.  However, if your surface is unequal in any way, that inequality will print-through the topcoat.  That is just a fact of life.

You use primer to render the surface equal in all respects, or reasonably close to equal where color is concerned.

People often look for a product in a can that will do the "prep" phases of work for them.  To fill this need, I have considered selling cans filled with Scotchbrite pads! But I don't think that's what  they have in mind :) Seriously, there isn't really any such thing.  Paint is not magic.  And to the extent paint ever was magic, it isn't anymore thanks to the low-VOC laws.  That's probably for the better anyway, as it makes paint less toxic.


Can I use a paint pad to apply floor varnish? I went looking in the shop for a lambswool pad to apply floor lacquer, but they didn't have one, so I bought an Anza paint pad. Can I use this to coat a floor? Should I try to find a proper lambswool applicatyor, or just stick to brushes? I'm using Junkers 625 lacquer.

I would recommend a "mohair" roller. This is a very short nap, lintless roller cover that applies varnish and urethanes fast and extremely smoothly.  I don't like pads at all, as they always seem to streak.


Does the Plywood Around the Toilet Flange Need to be Replaced? How do I tell if the plywood around this toilet flange needs to be replaced? As you can see in the lovely pic below, the wood is discolored. (The house is 50 yrs. old.) But, if I tap it with a screwdriver, it doesn't gouge. It's not mushy. Am I good to go?

If the plywood is solid and not delaminated “can’t poke into the surface” you may be ok.  It would be better to check the underside also.
There is a sealer that even hardens damaged wood so it will pass home inspections and will protect undamaged wood.


Wood frame door and window repair. Steps by step answers please. In Ecuador These are the wood parts that have been very badly damaged by sun and water. How can i restore them to the natural color they had. Id like step by step information please. Also i am in Ecuador so some material might not available here. Thanks

http://imgur.com/a/blNMb

One Time Wood Protector is the only worthwhile option. Expensive but goes a long way & it has an unlimited shelf life for future re-applications. You just sand the crap out of everything until there are no long wood fibers sticking out (known as feathering & is mild or surface wood rot). Then, you just paint on One Time & you're good for up to 7-years. I used the Natural finish & it does darken the wood like water, but gets 10% lighter after each year of exposure. I did a redwood 2-car garage door with it 3-years ago & no more rot & no more water wicking nor soaking, I still get gushing compliments.


Gap between basin waste and p Trap First time poster – thanks for all replies.

I have just replaced a sink in my bathroom, but am finding it extremely frustrating replacing the P Trap under the sink for the following reason.

The original basin waste was very long, so I couldn't find one that was the same length as the original. I bought the longest one I could find, which now means that there is a tiny gap (about 20mm) between the basin waste and p trap that I cannot find any reasonable way to extending or adapting. Any adapter or extenders I've found are much to big for this gap.

All pipes are 40mm.

Does anyone know of an adapter that would be suitable in this situation? Thanks.

You need to simplify your design and bring the trap down to the level of the outlet connection, like so:

It's a bit difficult to offer more detail with what I can't see in the photo. It may be that your outlet is so low that you can't achieve exactly that. Post a clear photo showing the entire thing (or just remove it all and show us the bare outlet).


Question regarding firewood drying time After I cut up a live tree into firewood, what is the amount of drying time required before it is ready to be used?

I heard that one year should do the trick

Depends on the local climate, how you dry it, whether you split it, and what you are burning it in.

Pulling a piece from the pile, splitting it, and using a moisture meter on the freshly-split face is a typical approach of careful woodburners checking on moisture content. Folks that know what they are doing and who use gasifying woodburners tend to be picky about moisture content as it can negatively impact the clean and efficient burn they are looking for.

Unsplit dries slower than split. Unroofed dries slower than roofed. Tarped over dries slowly if at all (no air movement.) Actively solar heated (with vents) dries faster than not. Stuff dried in a climate with a low dew point dries faster than stuff dried in a climate with a high dew point...

In many places, 1 year is not really enough with typical firewood storage practices. In other places or with other practices, it can be sufficient.


Remove Garbage Disposal romex or cap? My garbage disposal is busted and my wife wanted to be rid of it anyways.  It's hard-wired and, after some trial and error, I found it is on the same circuit as a GFCI above the sink.  (Not the same circuit as the dishwasher).

AFAIK I have two options here regarding the GD romex:

1) Use wire nuts, electrical tape, and a blank electrical box to cap the live wires.  Probably nail it into the kitchen cabinet.  That would allow a future homeowner to wire a new GD if they wanted.

2) Pull the GFCI outlet and see if the GD romex is just extending off the GFCI.  If so, remove and pull the romex completely out.

Advice?  I'm a relatively novice DIYer, I've capped a few blank boxes but I don't want to make my house's wiring even more funhouse than it is.

Your best and safest path forward would be to purchase an old work box and a blank cover. Instal the old work box in the wall with the wiring inside the box.
Nailing a box to the cabinet would violate code in many locations as the romex must be protected under the sink.

Old work boxes are inexpensive and made for jobs like this. With the wires safely capped inside the covered box is the least expensive way to do this and the circuit can be used in the future if needed.


Will my fridge be damaged if I put a bag of ice in the fridge compartment while I wait for the repairman to fix a warm fridge/cold freezer? My repairman can only come tomorrow evening and I want to keep my food fresh. ( I have a warm fridge/overly cold freezer) Can I put a bag of ice in the fridge or will that damage something in the fridge? ( or just keep the food outside?)

It depends on the fridge, but I doubt it would cause additional problems for the unit.

I wouldn't trust it to keep your food safe, though.  A single bag of ice is cold, but won't cool a large space.  If the air circulation in your refrigeration compartment is broken, the food more than a foot away from the ice is unlikely to be cooled much.  If the air circulation is operating (but blowing warm air), it could overwhelm the cooling effect of the ice.

I'd try to put everything necessary into chest coolers (maybe ask a neighbor for an extra one if necessary), then ice or dry ice from the store to keep it cool overnight until the repairman arrives.  Especially if the freezer is working, so you don't have to deal with those items.

My nearby grocery sells dry ice and it has those cheap blown styrofoam coolers on top of the frozen food chillers.  I know all this from the last time I had to do a refrigerator repair.


Do slotted screws indicate old fixtures? How old? I have been doing renovations in my apartment, which is in a building that is at least 120 years old.
I have noticed that many of the fixtures I remove are installed with slotted screws. I don't see new fixtures sold with slotted screws anymore, and I was wondering if the slotted screws give any indication of the age of the old fixtures.
Was there a point in time when Phillips and combo screws took over?

I'd say by around 1990 most fixtures and devices (outlets, switches) had been shipped with combination screws (both #2 Phillips and slotted drivers work, or sometimes #2 square and slotted). The transition probably started in the mid-70s and varied by region of manufacture, backstock quantities, etc.
Answer informed by vague accumulated memory, not empirical data.


How do I secure the shower valve without removing tile? The plumber didn't secure the new valve to the frame, so the shower valve and head were left loose and it is wiggling. The new tile is completed and we do not want to redo it.

What is the best way to secure the valve and shower head?

You'll have to be creative, but the best solution is to open the wall on the opposite side behind the valve.  Hopefully you have drywall or a closet and not an outside wall.  Drywall repair is cheaper and easier than tile repair.  In many areas it is code to have an access hatch to reach the bathtub trap, so you may be able to reach it from there.

Other option is to bust out as few tiles as possible.  You should have a few spares from the tile work, or if it is recent you may be able to buy a few to patch the damage.


How can I bolt a microwave to the upper cabinet if the bolt hole is stripped? Of course this happened on the very last step... I am trying to install an over-the-range microwave. I've got it hanging on the bracket that attached to the back wall. All I need to do now is bolt the top front to the upper cabinet. But the ****** bolt hole is stripped on one of them. The bolt will go all the way in but never catch enough to hold the microwave's weight. Tge bolt itself is fine. The other hole works like it should, too.

I thought about attaching a nut that fits the bolt onto the top of the microwave with epoxy but whether or not it would really stick seems like a gamble. I also thought about cutting a small notch into the side, slipping in a nut epoxied to a washer and positioning them under the hole where the bolt should enter. That also seems risky since there's a chance I'd cut something I shouldn't or that the washer and  nut would fall someplace I couldn't reach. A third option would be to drill a home in to the side cabinet and insert a screw through there but that would also entail drilling into the  microwave. I really don't want this thing crashing down on to the oven!

Thanks in advance.

If the microwave is under warranty then get a replacement telling them it's a manufacturing defect, if not then you can do what you want with it so my course of action would be to remove the cover and see what my options are. The metal covers on microwaves are generally pretty easy to get off, a few screws and they slide off, getting them back on is the reverse process. Working with the cover on is challenging because you don't want metal shavings getting into the electronics or tools to damage it while you're working.

I like your nut on the underside idea, it's simple and the least work once you have the cover off, unless you can borrow a tap and die set and re-cut the thread. You could try that with the cover on of course, however small shavings of metal will get into the microwave from that, which could lead to a short. Epoxy on the top is not a great course because it's probably painted, you'd be gluing onto the paint instead of metal, so you'd want to sand a clean surface if you tried that. It might hold or it might not, and if it were me I'd be constantly worried it was going to drop on me.

There are other options, for instance a toggle bolt:

If you can find one of these that's small enough to fit through the hole, and if there's enough space behind the hold you could push one it through and use it to hold it up, just be aware you wouldn't be able to get it back out again without taking the cover off. Personally I'd use that as a last option, my first would be to get the cover off, just be careful about your own safety around the electronics.


How do I stabilize a knob on a hollow-core bifold door? The knobs on all my bifold closet doors are loose and spin around.

The knob is mounted in an aesthetically pleasing position in the middle of the door. The problem is that the door is hollow at this point, so any attempt to tighten the screw from the back of the door just makes both sides of the door bend inwards towards each other.

I need a way to stabilize the knob without bending/cracking the door's surface.

Polyurethane Foam.  The type that is used for insulation.

Remove the door, remove knob and screw
Tape rear hole to contain foam.
Lay door flat
Enlarge knob hole to allow dispensing wand to fit.  (If this enlargment is too close to the knob base size, this method won't work)
Dispense foam into hole.  Probably a 3-4 second burst will be enough
After curing overnight, redrill the hole to allow screw to pass.

This works because the foam will keep the hollow walls from collapsing


What would be the best way to reduce low frequency noise coming from neighbour above in apartment I live in an apartment (hopefully that doesn't disqualify from me posting here) and my neighbour once every week or so decides to stay up until about 2am watching TV all night. Normally, this doesn't bother me, but the bass sound from the Television can be heard in my apartment which is below his.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to mitigate the effects of the bass sound effectively? My building is wooden structure and people have hardwood floors in the living room where TV's are watched. Moreover, I recently redid the hardwood floors in my apartment and I was told by the contractor that there was no acoustic padding underneath the existing floors, which he says is highly recommended against in such a high density building. I ended up paying extra for the acoustic padding for my floor, but short of doing this in my neighbour's apartment is there something I can do to my ceiling, for example, to improve this?

The first thing working against you is that bass is the hardest frequency to dampen. With a wide wavelength, they travel further and induce vibrations in large objects. In short, the usual egg crate foam isn't enough.

The good news is that these are often custom built when created, and a simple Google search for bass traps will yield plenty of instructional details. Most of these are meant for isolating bass within the room that it is generated in. How much success you'll have isolating it in your room will be interesting.

I'd personally start with the top tri-corners of the room, and perhaps the ceiling.

Other options are to try and get the neighbor to install that kind of dampening in his apartment, or to use one of these on the ceiling:


How can I transition from tile to stained concrete? What are some good ways to transition from tile to stained concrete? We pulled up the carpet that was next to our tile and stained the floor instead of new carpet?  I am looking for simple DIY transition ideas

This simplest tile transition is the integral metal edge. It comes in quite a few profiles, some of which can handle a small amount of elevation change. If you need something more elaborate I'd really need more details and hopefully some pictures.


How to diagnose an electrified refrigerator frame? Recently (or, perhaps, I recently noticed) my garage fridge started shocking me if I touch it in the wrong place. (A sampling of "wrong" places: the door hinge, a spot on the other corner where the paint is worn off)

The shock is quite severe, definitely not a static discharge.

I bought an outlet tester, which tells me that the outlet that the refrigerator is   plugged into has an open ground.  Is this enough to make the fridge shock me?  I have checked for frayed or damaged wires inside the fridge and didn't find anything.

EDIT: More info: The fridge is currently plugged in to a surge protector, which is plugged in to a plug-in type GFCI, which is plugged into the ungrounded outlet.

EDIT 2: I have since fixed this problem by grounding the outlet in question.  I don't know whether this masks a legitimate problem with the refrigerator, or if this was the actual solution, but the bottom line is that it not longer shocks me when I touch it.  Thank you everyone for all of your help!

An open ground is not in and of itself a problem.  Grounds are there to dump excess voltage in case something goes wrong. If all our appliances worked properly all the time, there'd be no need for ground.

So what you have is two problems:

Your fridge has a bare wire rubbing against the frame or other electrical short,
And, the safety device meant to mitigate such a fault (ground) is broken.

If I were you, I'd replace the outlet, preferably with a GFI, and make sure the ground is attached.  Then I'd have someone in to look at the fridge.


How can I repair a loose T joint connecting pipes under my kitchen sink? I found a puddle under my kitchen sink and was disappointed to find that the T joint connecting the drain from the garbage disposal and and the second sink was completely loose.  As shown in the picture. I am able to completely slide the joint off by hand from all of the three connections.  Is there any way I can seal these pipes myself or will I need a plumber?

Those are simple "slip-joint" connections.

Judging from the angle of the lower pipe assembly (the tee, and trap parts) it appears that you may have a loose connection downstream at the wall as well, or it would not have swiveled down and away like the picture shows.

You can fix this yourself. Unscrew the nut at the top of the tee, there will be a plastic or rubber slip-joint washer under the nut. Slide the nut way up onto the black disposer elbow, followed by the washer. Carefully swivel the tee up until the disposer elbow is well inside the top of the tee, then slide the nut and washer down until you can thread the nut into place.

Contrary to some people's opinion, these are not "hand tight" connections. Tighten all the slip-joint nuts under that sink with a wrench (I use Channel-Locks). Do not "pinch" the nuts when tightening or you could break or crush them. Do not overtighten them by impersonating Arnold Swartzenegger either. Check for leaks, sometimes the washers need to be replaced if they are damaged or stiff.

Now get some ice for where you bumped your head and have your partner rub your sore back while you have a well deserved beer.


Front door is stuck on a stopper I have a double door front entrance.  The second door(the one not frequently used) does not easily open because it catches in the groove for the vertical lock.  I usually need to unhinge it with a flathead screwdriver. I've tried to lower the strip at the bottom of the frame but it still catches!  I've attached a picture.  Any ideas on how to fix this?  Thanks!

Assuming the door is positioned in the frame properly and the stopper is all the way up and stays up then you should be able to grind a bit off of the stopper. If you don't have a handheld grinder you can get a grinding stone that will work with an electric drill. The stopper is probably hardened and will not grind quickly but it doesn't look like you need to take much off.


Radiators taking so long to heat up I live in a 3 bed det house and 4 years ago had a new Worcester boch boiler fitted and the majority of the radiators changed for new modern ones and all was fine. Recently have changed 3 of the old remaining rads upstairs for newer ones and since then the problems started. Upstairs is great however downstairs now it now takes about 90 mins before all the rads are on. When they are on there are 3 in particular where at anytime only 2 out of 3 come on and the other doesn’t. It’s not always the same one.Engineer has been back and checked the system and claims there is nothing wrong. Advice please.

It's probably not air as that would rise to the top of your system, but you should make sure your rads are bled anyway as you never know. Also make sure your system is pressurized in the green arc, usually 1.2 bar. Check the simple things if you haven't already, like make sure the valves the rads are fully open.

You need to determine if this is a balancing issue or something more sinister. First turn off your system and let it get cold, then turn off the all but the problem rads. Then, turn your system on again, your downstairs rads should heat up quick. If they don't then there's probably an issue, perhaps there's some gunk restricting one of the pipes or there's another problem that needs attention.

If the rads heat up quickly the most likely issue is that the radiators aren't balanced. If you had old radiators in part of the house then they most likely had less flow than the new ones, so your other radiators were probably partially restricted to force water to them. Now you have nice new ones and they're taking all the hot water.

This is called a lockshield valve.

Its job is to close one of the ends of your radiator to balance the system. The  valve on the other side is your more typical adjustment, probably a thermostatic valve. You may have a lockshield with a knob to turn (happy happy joy joy), or one of these pictured, in which case you have to pull off the plastic cover and use a flat head screwdriver (pain in the ass). If you have these be careful not to open them too much or the screw might come out and water will leak out.

First, go to the radiators that heat slowly and open their lockshield valves fully, then go to the radiators that heat up really fast and close theirs two full turns. You may or may not see an improvement at this point. Keep restricting the flow where the rads heat up quickly, half a turn at a time until you get the desired result. This can be a lot, I've had radiators where the lockshield was open 1/4 turn only.


Are the positions of the vertical clamps for the fixed shower glass panels adjustable? I am in doubt about where to position (at what level) an 1.5" ABS pipe in the wall as the wall will support of fixed shower glass panel, so where you see the question mark in the picture I need to know if that quote is standard (? depending on the manufacturer) or it is adjustable for most of the models
I have tried a couple of suppliers but none of them has technical drawings or videos showing how to install and adjust these

These clamps grip the  edge of the sheet of glass  so they can be installed at any position along the edges of the sheet. The one on the arm at the top edge which you didn't mark is also adjustable.
Be sure position them to give sufficient support to all parts of the sheet.
Use safety glass.


How can I find out what a switch does? I have a switch that's part of a three switch panel, and it doesn't seem to do anything. The other two switches go to a ceiling light in the same room, and a ceiling light in an adjacent room. I've checked most, if not all of the plugs in this and adjacent rooms by plugging a lamp in and flipping the switch, to no avail.

After additionally searching the attic, I've discovered two cables obviously connected to the switch panel. These seem to go to the two lights that are affected by the  other two switches. There's a third cable leading from an exterior motion light to an area between the 3 panel switches and the nearby breaker panel. I can't tell which it might be connected to. The motion light doesn't seem to activate in either position of the switch, but I've known those things to be finicky.

How can I determine what the switch is meant to do?

Like someone said on the comments, sometimes a house is wired so that there are two lines going to a fan/ceiling enclosure: one for controlling the fan, and the other for controlling the fan's light (tho some fans' wiring don't allow for this type of setup). So one switch could be just going to a ceiling enclosure (where there might be just a light) and it's not connected to anything.

Edit: just saw your comment that's unlikely for a fan. Another possibility it's that it controls one of the power outlets.. you could test this by plugging a small light/hairdryer/w.e. and switch the light to see if it turns on/off the appliance you connected.


Plumbing cuts through five studs. Is ok? My kitchen remodel is in progress.  After ripping out existing cabinets we found that the plumbing for the sink drain cuts through a total of 7 studs, more than 50% through each (see photos).  Contractor and I were originally worried that these were load supporting -- why else use 5 together?   But contractor went into the attic, and said based on rafters this is not load barring.  Consequently they are going to leave the existing situation.  Next room has vaulted ceilings, and there is quite a bit of structure in the attic to support/implement that.

Should I replace the studs and somehow route the plumbing around, or is it ok as pictured?

If the wall is non bearing, I would say no problem, the cabinets that go in will keep everything stable since there are more studs past the notched ones.

But what I see is a potential bearing wall, therefore a big problem if it is. Carpenters will not put 5 studs tight together for the fun of it, it would have a purpose, especially if the wall continues past it. Otherwise I would say they made the wall too short and added a few more to make it long enough.


Why would my fuse box trip if I've already tripped isolation circuit I'm working on? I've got a fuse box that is half for RCD and other half not.

One of my downlights got too hot and melted (touching insulation - I've just moved into the house) so I needed to replace it.

I switched off the trip switch that is for that downlight circuit and checked that no other lights went on.  I even used a live circuit checker. No current.

Then I snipped the wire that had burned and the whole box tripped.. guessing it is the RCD that tripped.  But my question is, should I be tripping the whole box to work on the electrics or is it safe to work with wires that have a residual current going through? i.e. changing the light switches?

Was this a neutral wire?  (blue or if older, black)

The RCD is comparing current flow on "hot" vs current flow on "neutral" (return).  They should be the same.

You notice on multiple circuits with multiple trips (breakers), only the hot is switched.

It's sloppy, but sometimes people wire neutrals so they are shared among multiple circuits. Most people consider that a wiring fault.  This doesn't work if each circuit has an individual RCD (like here in the States, and that gets many people converting to GFCI here).  However with a whole-box RCD, it's possible to get away with multiple circuits in that same box sharing a neutral, and the RCD would be none the wiser.  That may be exactly what happened.

In the USA, because of this problem, we have a rule that neutrals must be pigtailed when (intentionally) shared among multiple circuits.  That way, only a single neutral wire comes to the apparatus, and it can be removed without interrupting the neutral for those other circuits.  UK doesn't use wire-nuts, and the lighting fixtures provide terminal blocks with multiple neutrals, so that passively discourages you from pigtailing.


Framing nails: ring shank .120 vs smooth shank .131? Building code calls for 3" x .131 nails for wall framing. I wanted to use ring shank which have a better hold, but I can't seem to find RS in .131. Whenever we go to RS, the diameter drops to .120. You can get .131 diameter nails in smooth shank though.

So unless I'm mistaken, it looks like you can get RS .120 OR smooth .131, but not RS .131. (These are 21 degree gun nails).

I want to do a quality job, and the inspector doesn't care which kinds of mails I use.

Given the choice, am I better off with smooth shank .131 or ring-shank .120 nails? The rings would probably hold better, but will the reduced diameter cause other issues?

Clarification:
The issue that I'm running into is that I can't find the nails that code calls for locally (and I mean at the lumber yards that supply real framers, not box stores).

My code wants 3"x.131, and the lumber yards have RS .120. When I try to get what the IRC prescribes, I get: "that's what everyone uses here" and "they don't even check nails so don't worry about it".

So the problem is, should I be using what the code book specifies (which I would have to special order and is extremely hard to find) or use what all the supply houses in my area are selling to all of the framers for wall framing because that's what they actually use around here?

There are no high wind speed or seismic considerations.

You'll want to review the nailing schedule of the code that applies where ever you may be.  The one at the bottom of this post is pretty standard.  Here's a link to California's 2016 UBC nailing schedule.  (California requirements may be greater due to seismic requirements.)  Note that there's not one single nail specified for all wall framing; there are different nails required for different attachments.

"Upgrading" the required fastener isn't necessarily a good thing.  For example do you think it would be good to use 8" spikes made for joining landscape timbers where 16d - 10d nails are required?  No, that would be crazy - you'd split the wood to bits and have nails sticking into the next room and etc.

Sure ring shank and spiral shank nails are harder to pull out, they're great for decking and siding.  But the upgrade isn't necessary for wall framing - walls built by the standard method hold up great.  By substituting ring shank or spiral shank nails you may have unintended negative consequences - more subtle than using landscape spikes but still problems.

As a general recommendation, wait until you have a done a fair number of jobs following all applicable codes and standards to the letter before you try to improve on the standards.  Even then, think very hard before getting creative.  The code / standard methods are with very few exceptions tried and true, and actually a bit overbuilt to give you some margin of error.  You're second guessing all the people that put them together over the years when you deviate from them.


Could a neutral wire be black? I have these two switches which the left one is for the bathroom fan and the right one for the light.

Everything already works.

Now I want to add a minuter switch to the fan and the minuter have all these colors: black, white, green, red and yellow.

It a Leviton.

As I understand, black is for hot wire, white is the neutral, green the ground and red is for the line feed. Yellow is not used in this case.

I really need to know if I have a neutral wire but it's confusing because both whites are attached to the switch right now.

As you can see with the left one which we see the connectors that both white wires are connected to the switch and both black wires attached.

If everything works, my feeling is that the white wires are the hot and the line feed. And the black ones are neutral.

Am I wrong?

Note that it's the same pattern with the right switch.

Thanks for you help.

It's not confusing at all.  The work was done improperly.

That's plain. This was wired by a harpsichordist, not an electrician.  Perhaps whoever did this other one, did yours too.

Let me play you the song of my people", says Bad Electrician.

The problems are probably repeated all over your house.

The answer is the whole house must be searched for similar defects, including inside the panel, and of it must be fixed before you can even consider using a smart switch.  For one thing, this incorrect layout is dangerous and can kill you.

But the smart switches also care about "polarity" and will not play nice with this wiring scheme.

Correct colors are:

Ground: Green, yellow-green or bare
Neutral: White or gray
Hot: Black Brown Red Orange Yellow Pink Blue Purple, or white wires remarked with tape.

Switches must be on the hot leg, never the neutral leg.

Once that is fixed, hooking up a smart switch should be straightforward.


Loss of power when I remove item from the outlet I have this unusual electrical issue in our master bedroom. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this.

We have this $3 LED night light in our bedroom and when we take it out, the power/lights go out.  Other things also trip it up (It doesn't shut off the circuit breaker) When you put it back in, the power/lights come back on.  Sort of reverse of what I would expect.  Something is triggering the power to go off.  I've reset the breaker, but still experiencing the issue.  I believe it's a special AFCI breaker.  Wondering if anyone has experienced this before.

Defective receptacle.

Kill it with fire, before it kills you with fire.

And if it has backstab connections (wires jabbed in back holes that auto-grab them) this is a good time to  get rid of em.  Because they cause this kind of mischief too.


Why would a polarized plug not fit into a polarized extension cord? I purchased a somewhat expensive name brand Beautyrest air mattress.  Its electronic pump is at the foot of the bed, and its electrical cord is shorter than the length of the bed, making an extension cord mandatory (ugh).  The plug is polarized.
I grabbed a UL-listed polarized extension cord and tried plugging the air mattress into the extension cord.  Much to my surprise, the plug does not go in all the way.  It stops going in with about 1cm of the prongs exposed.
Thinking perhaps one of the extension cord receptacles had something stuck in it, I tried the other two receptacles available at the head of the extension cord.  Same problem.
I then tried plugging the extension cord's polarized plug into itself: no problem at all.
In all my years, I don't think I recall this ever happening before.  Am I not thinking of something obvious?  Is this likely a manufacturing defect, or is there something going on that I'm not considering?  Is it safe to use a Dremel to grind down the air mattress's plug just a little so that it is still polarized, but slightly more narrow?

Since the question is "why" I'll try to answer that at the risk of many irate downvotes .. because one, or the other, or both, is not quite to spec!   I guess that's obvious.
This question reminds me of the vast difference in design and engineering between American and British plugs and sockets.   Two ends of the spectrum.  The British ones with their longer ground pin, little plastic doors on the sockets (live terminals blocked until ground pin inserted), individual switches, individual fuses, finger knurls, 90 degree exits (it's impossible to yank one out by pulling the cord), and physical strength that easily holds even the largest PSU snug to the wall.  There is more design and engineering in them than in some cars.   And the American ones .... your question says it all.   Crappy ill-fitting plugs dangling loosely from walls with people taking dremels to them just to get them to fit.
So much for "why".    I've frequently filed down an oversized neutral spade on a power plug to get it to fit in a socket.  Use a hand file and be very very subtle.  As soon as it fits, stop.  Then try to insert it backwards ... if it fits, you've gone too far. Cut it off and install a better plug.


GFCI and 2 phase input In the US, there are two phases that is 120V each to neutral. If you connect it phase to phase, then you get 240V. In my country. It's illegal to use phase to neutral of 120V because we are promoting our local products which run at 240V only (to avoid buying stuff from US). Hence are only allowed to use phase to phase of 240V.

Now I just bought a 240V Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter. A normal line to neutral GFCI would have current flowing from line to neutral. But in my case, it's 2 phases without neutral. So can the GFCI still work?

How does the current flow in phase to phase connection versus phase to neutral? Are they the same?

GFCI's don't care.

GFCI has no relationship with ground.  They don't care if the two wires are line-line or line-neutral.  In fact your GFCI's labeling reflects that.

Also that is not 2-phase, it is single-phase with center ground.

You didn't mention you are in the Philippines.  You don't have neutral, unless you are in the US-built territories that are still officially split-phase with a 3-wire feed from the transformer.  If you are only getting 2 wires off the pole, the thing in the middle is only your ground rod, and it is definitely not made for returning current.  If you try to hook a 120V load line-ground, in the Philippines, you will only electrify all your house's grounds.

Also, using a step-down  autotransformer in the Philippines is a bad, bad idea.  Both 120V outputs will be hot, and it will be very important that you get grounding right.  In the Philippines you need an isolating transformer.


How to seal a leak in a plastic tubing connection? I am trying to repair a leak in the plastic tubing pictured.  This tubing is connected to an air conditioner's condensate pump (water runs through it whenever the pump turns on).

The leak is occurring right at the junction between the brown tube and the clear tube - somewhere near/behind the metal collar.  What is the simplest way to fix this leak?

Thanks to Tester101 for the answer (in the comments): the brown tube just needed to be pushed back into the clear one.  Fixed!


Receptacles in Kitchen Cabinets I am roughing in some plugs in my kitchen for when the workers come and hang the cabinets. I am getting cabinets with LV lights on the underside of them. The cabinet makers asked me to make sure I have my boxes out 5/8" past the drywall.

I am just wondering how I should go about this, since I am not sure how the workers hang the cabinets over top of my electrical boxes. Sticking the boxes out past my wood frame (5/8" + 1/2" for drywall) is quite far past the wood frame. Meaning I wouldn't be able to secure the box very well since the mounting holes for the box only go back about half the boxes depth.

I am using BX on wood frame (half the kitchen is steel studs and half is wood so I must use BX because some wires go between the steel studs and wood).

I can see two options. Perhaps there are better ones. My preferred method would be to use a 4x4 metal box, with a 1/2" mud ring. I understand how the drywallers go around a mud ring with a router, and it works great for them. Than I was wanted to wait till the cabinets were mounted and add a box extension for the 5/8". I am just unsure how the cabinet team will cut out my electrical box. Do they use a router? Or do they notch it out with a jigsaw based off where they measure it will be in there cabinet? I just don't want to leave them a rounded mud ring if they actually just need a squared off electrical box....

I could also get 1 1/8" mud rings I believe but they would be special order so I prefer not to.

Therefore the big question is, How do they cut out electrical outlets when hanging cabinets?

Thanks for your help.

You do not need to move your electrical boxes out.
Just use these plastic extension fillers.

You might want to remove the receptacles as they can get stuck behind the cabinets if the "ears" on the receptacles are not removed.
Ears are the thin pieces of removable metal tabs on the top and bottom of the receptacle.  They have cut lines on them and can be removed using a pair of needle nose pliers.


insulate knee wall with faced or unface Looking for more info on the insulation process of a knee wall. I was thinking of insulating the diagonals of the roof line. not what I'm unsure of is, was is the correct type of insulation faced or unfaced for that part of the knee wall?

Thank you for your time

The short answer is that if you're going to randomly add insulation to a wall, adding unfaced insulation is the best answer without more information. The kraft paper facing on insulation works as a vapor barrier and you usually want to avoid trapping moisture in a wall cavity.

If this is in unconditioned space, then definitely use unfaced.
If this is in conditioned space, then post a picture of the wall (or describe the wall assembly) and tell us where you live and we can give you more specific recommendations.


Should I replace nails in a plywood subfloor with screws to the joists? As you may know I asked a few questions to this end already and just wanted to know if I should remove the nails and replace them with screws to hold the 1/2" plywood sub floor securely to the joists so that I will not get noise in the new floor?

Or is that overkill and adding a screw near each nail is good enough?

Once the flooring goes down I don't get a re-try so I would rather get it right the 1st time.

You should not need to remove the existing nails.  Driving a new screw into the joist adjacent to the nails should be sufficient.

You may need to countersink the screws to get them to sit flush.


Banging pipes/radiator I just moved into a new apartment and the steam heating is driving me insane. There are three kinds of noise:

banging pipes when the heat comes on (seems to be coming from the floor/walls);
hissing noise from the air vent;
the radiator itself clicks/knocks when the heat is on.

The super basically told me this has been going on for years, and residents just learn to live with it. I'm trying to minimize the noise as best as I can -- according to the Internet, the valve should either be completely on or completely off. Does that mean the round knob thing at the bottom of the radiator? What about the air vent? Should I leave both of them on/off? When the vent's off, I no longer hear hissing, but I'm worried that it would exacerbate the banging because it seems like the air would be trapped. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

You have two valves you can access here:

The round knob on the bottom controls the flow of steam/water in/out of your radiator. This should typically remain fully open unless you are servicing the radiator.
The white, numbered knob attached to the air release valve is a thermostatic valve that allows you some control over how much heat this radiator receives. When the surrounding air temperature is below its set point, the valve opens. This allows hot steam rising through the pipe to enter your radiator, which then heats your room. When it's already warm enough around the radiator, the valve is closed and steam is blocked from entering your radiator.

Now let's look at the sources of noise and how they might be addressed. Unfortunately, these are not likely to be easy fixes.

Banging pipes when the heat comes on are caused by the thermal expansion of the pipes as they are rapidly heated from inside by steam, and later contraction as they cool. The banging usually is caused by the pipes rubbing against surrounding objects such as structural wood, pipe hangers, floor penetrations, etc. Use of proper supports and bushings that allow for expansion can help reduce this, but because the pipe itself conducts sounds it is important to do this along the full run of the pipe, not just in your apartment. It's possible you could make a small difference by widening the hole in the floor that your radiator pipes rises up through, as it looks like it might be in contact with the floor at the left, but it's hard to tell for sure.
Hissing from the air vent is unfortunately somewhat unavoidable in this type of system. However, blockage of the vent hole could increase the volume of noise (by forcing the vented air/steam through a tinier hole). You can clean the vent a bit with a cloth. If the air vent valve is blocked due to accumulated calcium deposits, you may have some success in quieting it down by removing it and soaking in vinegar as described here. (Remember to shut off the supply valve before you attempt that.) Your valve looks reasonably new, so I wouldn't expect this to make a huge difference -- either way your system depends on steam venting through that little valve.
The radiator itself clicking/knocking when the heat comes on is the same expansion issue as with pipes, just manifest with your particular radiator. You may be able to help this somewhat by repositioning the radiator somewhat, or perhaps sliding some cedar shims under its feet to allow it to move a bit without creating as much noise.

Assuming it's not possible to fix all the pipe supports/penetrations or replace the system, the likely most effective thing that is under your control is to simply not use your radiator. If you are not too cold, then you can turn your thermostatic valve to its coldest setting (probably marked 1). When your radiator is closed, it will not heat up significantly, and will not vent steam. This will eliminate the hissing noise and reduce clicking/knocking from the radiator itself. It will probably not make much difference in the banging pipes because the pipes are still being used to conduct steam to other nearby radiators.

Unfortunately, these noises are pretty common in steam-heated buildings. The advantages of steam heat are that it only requires one pipe to each radiator, and it provides some humidity for your space. But it's kind of inherently noisy, and newer steam systems are not as efficient as hot water hydronic heating. That's why you mainly see steam systems in older buildings where replacing the whole system is impractical. So... have you considered earplugs?


What is an efficient way of removing thick grout haze? I have replaced a cracked tile in my kitchen and have set the grout accordingly. I must have missed a step because the haze (which is supposed to come up with a cheese cloth) is more like London fog, and is not coming up without significant effort.

Surely there has to be a better way to get (very thick) haze off the surface of a tile?

I have a Dremel and it was very helpful for removing the old grout- is there a relatively soft polish/brush bit I can use?

(Fortunately the tile appears to be pretty heavy duty, so I am less concerned about scratching the glaze than I am about removing the excess grout.)

You need to keep it wet.  I use vinegar water solution and try to let it sit on the tile for a good 10-20 mins.  Scoop it up and repeat.  If you are polishing it dry you will make it worse (or no better).

Also next time take a heavy dawn/water mix and rub it on your tile before you grout.  When it is dry then you grout.  And your grout slides off the tile.


Using conduit from ceiling to wall for closet switch? We're adding a wall to separate a garage and want to put outlets and a light switch in the wall but it was installed aligned with a steel beam above it so there is no way to fish a wire down into the wall from above. Would it be within code to come down from the ceiling about 8" away from the wall and run conduit down the wall to a switch? Also, in that same conduit could we run the wire for the outlets and just continue that in the wall to install outlets? It won't look great but it will be in a closet anyway.

Why conduit? You should use metal raceways. They are designed to have a finished appearance.


Does my furnace's air filter do anything at all? Our house seems very dusty.  The tops of bookshelves, computer screens, etc seem to accumulate a thin film of dust just a few days after cleaning.  Certain other co-inhabitants of my house have allergies, and want me to do something about the dust.

So I figured, I'll start with the HVAC system and see what's up.  I removed the filter from my Weather King Air Handler (14AHJ11S01C01), and discovered that it uses a "permanent washable filter".  It had a sprinkling of dust, but not the thick cakes I've removed from other types of permanent filtration systems.  What alarmed me was the extremely loose weave of the thing:

I mean, look at this thing:

This looks like it would maybe intercept any stray birds and meteorites that find their way into my air ducts, but not much else.  Is this doing anything at all?  Am I missing a piece of the filter?

From what I've read most furnaces don't have enough force to push through something like a HEPA filter, but surely they could use something with a weave tighter than a pasta strainer, right?

I was thinking of just attaching a piece of thin foam to the filter, like this:

At least that might catch a bit more dust.  Will I burn my house down if I do this?

the air filter is designed to clean the air flow prior to passing through the fan or the heat exchanger.  its a common misconception that the air filter cleans the air for us humans.  its there to keep the air clean for the machinery.  its a secondary benefit that the air is cleaner for us.  if you get a buildup of dust inside the fan, you get overheating of the motor, inefficient air flow across the vanes, even fires from localized buildups.  if you get dust buildup in the heat exhanger, it can massively shorten the life of the furnace (particularly in electric furnaces) or cause an outright fire.

if you cant get a cartridge filter to fit your furnace, get an hvac company to come in and install one between the cold air plenum and the furnace intake.  then you can keep the furnace cleaner longer, which will mean a longer life for your furnace.


Should I add a plywood subfloor below my damaged hardwood floors when I reinstall? We have lifted our original floorboards in our property, we now plan on insulating between the joists and relaying the original boards.

Unfortunately, the floorboards were old and brittle and consequentially many boards have lost small slivers of wood from either the tongue or the groove on the underside of the board.

My idea to salvage as many of the original boards as possible is to lay a thin layer of plywood over the original joists to better support the now weakened original boards. Areas where the tongue or groove of the board are damaged that could potentially split benefit from the additional support of the plywood board.

Can anyone comment on the potential merits or pitfalls of this idea?

Two "minor" points... if the plywood is going to genuinely offer support, it probably needs to be at least 1/2".  Have you thought about whether that's going to create other problems with clearance, such as at transitions/intersections/door bottoms?  Also, assuming that the flooring runs perpendicular to the existing framing (joists etc), if we're really talking about small slivers, such as you describe I'm not at all sure that you need to do anything.  Is there no existing subfloor, the flooring is just attached to the joists?

Can you post pics of the typical damage?


Uneven bathtub drain hole, can't screw in new drain my old bathtub drain got corroded so I decided to replace it. I successfully took out the old drain, but the drain pipe underneath is not even, so when I screw in the new bathtub drain there are about 4 threads remaining on the left side, so it drips water. It's a bit hard to see in the photo, but the top left side is a bit lower than the bottom right. Any suggestions on how to handle this?

UPDATE: On my fourth try I got the bathtub drain to screw in properly. I screwed it in 1 thread at a time, checking each time for skipped threads and eventually it worked. It started out slanted, but evened out in the end.

Normally the drain unit in a tub or sink is pushed in from the top with plumbers putty under its top flange (Or some use a rubber gasket) and then it is pushed down into the tub opening. It is secured from the bottom side using a large size nut that screws onto the outside of the lower portion of the drain basket.

You will likely have a very difficult time trying to seal it up by turning and screwing the basket from the top.


Is having cloth touching a grounding wire ok? In my basement, the ceiling of one of the closets is the copper grounding wire that runs from the breaker box to my water main. This wraps around the perimeter of the basement on the top of the rooms and I'm installing a cloth ceiling for acoustic purposes in a closet to record in. I put acoustic insulation between the joists and then just stapling muslin as the covering material.

The cloth is touching the wire in a few spots, and I didn't know if that mattered at all. It's not live and can be touched, but In my nonexistent electrical knowledge, I didn't know if current ever went through that wire. Take a look at the picture and you can see what I'm referring to.

If your wiring is right, the ground does not normally conduct current, so it should be fine.  (The bare ground runs along paper inside romex after all.)


What type of wire and load center for subpanel in detached pole garage? I am installing a 60 AMP subpanel in a detached pole garage 150 feet from the house. Garage subpanel will be supplied from an existing 100 AMP subpanel in the basement of the house (running from the 200 AMP main is not an option).
What size of wire and type of wire is required?  Can it be direct burial with just short runs of conduits as it exits/enters the structures?
Is a NEMA 1 load center suitable for mounting on the inside surface of the pole garage?

Ditch the URD

Underground Residential Distribution cables are really uni-taskers: all they're good for is buried residential service from the utility.  Most of the commonly available ones lack a ground wire (hot/hot/neutral), and they're often made from AA-1350/EC aluminum, which is picky about proper termination.

Instead, especially since you're considering using conduit anyway, I'd use individual XHHW-2 AA-8000 alloy conductors in a generously sized schedule 80 PVC conduit -- 2" would not be at all out of place for this run.  A box can be used to make the transition to SER cable once you get into the basement, or you can simply keep going with the conduit run.  Make sure to leave enough access points (pull elbows, conduit bodies, boxes) to make the run practical, and use expansion fittings in aboveground PVC runs subject to temperature changes!

As to conductor sizing, 2AWG aluminum should be fine for your purposes -- voltage drop will still be acceptable even at the full 60A you propose for this feeder.  Given the amount of it you'll need (over 450') and that it's large enough for phase taping to be permissible for wire identification, it may be cheapest simply to buy a full 500' spool of the stuff instead of buying it by the foot.  You'll also want some 6AWG bare copper for the grounding electrode conductor at the garage, and 10AWG bare copper for the equipment grounding conductor in the feeder run.

Keep 'em separated!

Speaking of grounding, you'll need to be careful on this point.  Past practice with outdoor feeders treated them like services, bonded via the neutral, but this is no longer allowed -- instead, your feeder will be a full 4-wire feeder (hot/hot/neutral/ground) with neutrals and grounds separated onto their own bars and the loadcenter's bonding screw/strap removed.

Furthermore, you'll need to provide a grounding electrode at the garage and tie that to the grounding system: a concrete-encased (Ufer) electrode is ideal, or if your garage is steel-framed, you can tie into that.  If neither of those are practical, a pair of ground rods driven at least 6' apart will do the trick.

Go big, or go home!

There is no shame in getting more loadcenter than one strictly needs -- it  is often cheaper now to buy a somewhat larger loadcenter up front than to replace an undersized loadcenter later.  Given that, the fact you'll need a main breaker loadcenter to provide the structure with a local disconnecting means (it's OK if the subpanel main is oversize as all it needs to be is a disconnecting means), and that a NEMA 1 cabinet will suffice for going inside the garage (all the space needs is four walls with doors that close and a roof that won't leak), I'd recommend a Siemens P3030B1100CU for this application as a minimum specification -- it provides plenty of spaces for an outbuilding application (30 spaces for a 100A panel is quite a bit), and ships with all the terminal bars needed (including separate ground bars).  Of course, you are more than welcome to drop a few extra bucks on a larger panel (but you'll have to go up to 200A bussing to do so, most likely) -- a 42 space/200A loadcenter would not be at all out of place here.

TORQUE ALL CONNECTIONS TO SPEC

Last but not least, get an  inch-pound torque wrench and torque all breaker and panelboard lugs you are connecting to up to manufacturer specified torque when you're doing this -- it's a new Code requirement for 2017 (see 110.14(D)), and just a darn good idea from a reliability standpoint, unless you want to pull a Greg Biffle with your garage's electrical system, that is.


Old solder joints are failing Working on a small cottage by the Delaware Bay. Last year I had to repair the plumbing in the two bathrooms because the solder joints pulled apart. This year some pipes fell out under the house because the joints pulled apart. As I was making measurements for repair, a joint on the main line in came apart. Joints are a dull powdery grey in color. Mostly original plumbing done in the 60's. Should the house be re-plumbed? Will I be chasing leaks on a regular basis?

Thanks.

Soldered copper pipes should never come apart,much less fall out.

I would seek the advice of a licensed plumber.  Small scale repairs to exposed connections are a medium level skill for DIY.  Whole house replacement of supply lines are an advanced level skill.


Can I use metal masonry device (switch) boxes in a stud wall? I am installing new wiring and need to place 5 lighting switches in one location (yes, I understand the problems/issues of confusion, etc.). These will all be 3-way switches, non-dimmable.

I plan on using 2 dual 3-ways (two 3-way switches on a single strap that fit in a one gang box) and one regular 3-way. The switches are UL listed and rated for the load. I would prefer to use a 3 gang box.

My concern is box fill. Each 3-way has 3 wires (not including the ground): two travelers and one common for each circuit. That means 15 wires for switching, plus at least one white out for each circuit (5), one white in and one ground (2). Each single gang switch is treated as two conductors (6 more). That is 28. Assume all conductors are 14 gauge and connectors are external.  The code requires 2 inches per conductor. That adds up to 56 cubic inches.

The largest standard 3 gang box I can find is 54 cubic inches. But there are metal masonry boxes that range in the 60s. Is there any reason I shouldn't use one of those (recognizing that I need to properly secure it to the non-masonry studs wherein it will sit)?

Masonry boxes are metal because concrete can get wet and conduct electricity.  The box can be grounded to prevent this becoming a problem.  Code allows you to use items that are MORE safe than is required.  For instance, if code requires 14 gage wire, you're OK using 12 gage (but not 16).  The same holds here.  You're proposing using a more safe box than is required.  As long as it physically fits, you will be OK.


Can the kitchen sink waste pipe run from where it comes out of the concrete slab to the sink by running horizontally under the cabinet floor? We are converting a peninsula into an island and need to move the kitchen sink. As a result the waste pipe in the concrete slab comes out in the front (see photos) instead of the back. We don't want to jackhammer the slab (I think HOA forbids it) but I wondered if we could come out of the slab with a 90 degree elbow, run under the cabinet floor so and come out in the back of the cabinet where it used to be, or even in the hollow wall we have built behind the cabinets. Also we need to replace the floor of the sink cabinet so we could even raise the floor a little higher.

Horizontal - no.
No drain line is EVER horizontal. Unless someone was an idiot and should not have been plumbing....
Perfectly acceptable to run at an appropriate slope, however. 1/4" per foot (or 2%) is the standard minimum slope for small drain lines like this.
How will you handle the venting? That is a complex process for island sinks, and if it was a peninsula before probably not arranged for. You mention having a "wall behind" - can your vent run through that (is your island not an island in the usual sense?)
There are ways far less drastic than a jackhammer to get into concrete and rearrange plumbing.