Why is the upstairs a lot hotter in a 2 story duplex? I've lived in my current duplex for about 5 years now and every summer, my upstairs portion of the duplex gets noticeably hotter than downstairs. I couldn't give an exact measurement but 10 degrees Fahrenheit hotter would not surprise me.

Over the years, I've added several things to the house to deal with this issue. It's made the heat manageable but by no means is it solved. I had to replace the AC (it was 20 yrs old), but even that didn't fix the cooling issue. I've added ceiling fans in all three bedrooms. I've added an attic fan as well to get the hot air out of the attic.

What I'm really doing is just guessing what the problem is. I've looked into companies doing energy audits and insulation, but I'm not sure if this is the most effective thing I can do.

How do I go about solving the hot air in my second floor during the summertime? What is the most effective approach to solving this problem? Is this something I can solve or would it be best to hire a contractor?

Since hot rises, upper stories will tend to be warmer unless the design of your air conditioning system properly compensates for it.    An energy audit, as mentioned in the comments by @mikes will tell you if you have any reasons for heat gain that may be correctable.

Assuming you have a single thermostat that controls a unit that supplies both levels, here are some other factors to consider:

Make sure you have a clean filter.   A dirty filter will lower the overall efficiency of the unit.
Make sure that supply and return ducts are open on the upper floor; it's possible that supply ducts were closed during heating season due to excess heat in that area; return ducts may be blocked by furniture.
Check for dampers in the ductwork that leads to the upstairs.   It's possible that flow to the upper level was restricted to balance the system for heating system.    If you change a damper, note the position beforehand, you may wan to return to that setting for heating season (manually operated dampers usually have a small lever on the outside of the duct -- parallel to the airflow is "open", perpendicular is "closed")
Running the system fan full-time (rather than just when the compressor is running) may help to even out the distribution of cool air.
If you have rooms downstairs that are too cool, you might close or partially close a small number of supply ducts to improve air flow to the upstairs.   Note that you should not close many ducts without consulting with a knowledgeable HVAC person, as you could restrict airflow too much, making the unit run less efficiently.
If your stairway has a door, leaving it open may help to allow air to circulate more freely between levels (especially if you don't have adequate return ductwork to the upper floor)
Last, consider having a qualified HVAC specialist evaluate your system  to ensure the ductwork is adequate.


What is best caulk for a 3/8" wide X 1" deep gap between a shower floor and wall? I planned to use Loctite Polyseamseal with a backer rod.
 I called Loctite tech support and they advised against it in that Polyseamseal won't hold   up in a standing water situation. That surprised the heck out of me! The advertising and spec sheet did not mention that prohibition.
 Anyhow,it's an awfully big joint to caulk.  Would appreciate DIY any suggestions.

*UPDATE: I have attached A PHOTO OF THE STALL. The floor is ceramic tile and the two walls are some sort of composite panels with gold marble patterns.

I would appreciate any help or guidance.

I'd grout it. Then when the grout fails I'd do it again. The third or more time gets caulk as a last resort before gutting it.

Before the picture was up I had envisioned where the floor meets a tub; grout always fails there after a few years, but by then it's all pretty well settled and a touch-up grouting usually lasts much longer.

However what you have there... erm, what do you have there? Any idea if that was a kit or home made? Is there a watertight, factory manufactured basin down there or what? I'm going to assume there is and someone added walls and a floor for aesthetics. Otherwise,  gut it! So, it kinda doesn't matter what you use, until it starts growing mold. This is where the breathability of grout wins, over the moisture trapping capabilities of caulk.

If you MUST use caulk, use silicone. Latex caulk gets grubby much faster and is otherwise unsuitable in a wet location; insure that your silicone is suitable. I personally don't agree with the answers there about always using caulk at changes of plain; I try to get away with grout for as long as possible, everywhere. You can always come back and hack-job some caulk at it. When the time comes to readdress it, I'd rather be dealing with lose chunks of grout than removing old, moldy caulk mess. And if you use caulk, you will be readdressing it at some point, instead of the maybe you'd get with grout.


Overhead garage door opening on its own I have two, 6 year old Overhead garage door openers. On about 5 occasions in the last couple of months, I have discovered one side has opened on its own. When this has happened, neither of the manual switches will function, but the RF openers will operate the door in either direction. I have checked the Safety Beam for obstructions and found none. Any ideas? I am thinking along the lines of an intermittent short in the circuit board of the opener but would welcome any thoughts or ideas.

The fact that it's intermittent makes it hard to prove. I suspect the manual switches you refer to are the type with a separate up button and down button rather than a single button type control. If that is the case then I suspect the up button (or the wires from it) has made a connection (short). That would explain it not working when you push the down button because the up is still in effect pushed. It could also be as you say a short in the board giving the signal to open. Some openers have a push button on the board also. I would try disconnecting the wires at the opener going to the manual controls. If it works for a month or two without any problems then I would replace the switches.


Tankless heater that only works in the morning We purchased a house with an existing tankless heater (installed in 2009). It would occasionally fail with error code 11 (no ignition). Over the past 2 months it has been failing more often and now fails every day.

The odd part is that it never fails first thing in the morning (6:00am) and almost always fails in the later afternoon/evening. We've tested this theory continuously over the past few weeks.

I've taken two videos: One in the morning where it works: https://youtu.be/l0XuhanKNCw

And one in the evening when it does not: https://youtu.be/drKBS0QDyhk

The unit was originally installed with a 1/2" gas line. I've recently had it replaced with a 3/4" line, as per the installation instructions, to see if that made a difference (it did not). It's unlikely it's a venting or air intake issue.

Why would time of day have any impact on the the unit working? Does anything seem off here?

Thanks

Shot in the dark here, but is it possible it only works when you don't have other gas appliances running (furnace, dryer, stove etc.)?  Some of the tankless units draw massive BTU's (199,000+) and you might not have enough of a supply to your house to run the tankless and another gas appliance.  I wanted to recently upgrade to a tankless but didn't because it would have required replacing my gas meter and about 50ft of blackpipe just to get enough gas capacity for everything running at once.

Also, your intake should really be using outside air.  Is the unit installed in a confined space?  Or is the space it's installed very tightly insulated/sealed from outside air penetration?


How critical is it to use the correct wire colors within the same electrical outlet? I am replacing "razor only" receptacles to GFCI. The outlet contains a LINE cable (black, white, bare copper). The previous receptacle of course did not use three prongs, so the ground was just secured to the outlet box's grounding terminal (screw).

To install the GFCI according to the instructions, I need two new pieces of wire for the ground pigtail: one to the grounding terminal, and one to the receptacle's ground. See diagram below.

My small problem is that I don't have green or bare copper wire. I have suitable 6" 14 AWG wire scraps from the old receptacle, but they are white or black.

Would it be terrible if I used the wrong colors to make the pigtail? Electrically of course there's no problem. Potential confusion is the only issue I can see, but since it would all be in the same outlet box, maybe that's less of a problem?
It also occurred to me to strip the black/white insulation and thus have bare copper, but it is stranded (all the wires from LINE are solid), so that seems like a bit of a mess. Is that even ok to do?

The answer to your question is "quite critical":  Grounds must be green, yellow/green or bare.  Neutrals must be white or gray.  All others are hot.

Binding stranded wire to a screw terminal is tricky. Not impossible but tricky.  I like to "super-twist it" by gripping  the wire in a hole intended to shear off bolts, which keeps it circular.  You have to have just the right touch to clamp the wire enough to hold it without shearing it.

Because of the difficulty for a novice to attach stranded wire to a screw terminal, I would advise either going to the shop and getting some solid #12 wire, or, you can use round crimp terminals for the ground screw on the junction box (not on a receptacle).

If you have wire whose insulation is not green or yellow-green, there are two ways to mark it as a ground.

Strip all the insulation off. Optional: wrap it with green tape, which will solve the birdcaging issue if the supertwist doesn't.
Don't strip the insulation off and totally obscure it with green tape. However this violates Code.


How to connect garbage disposal when drain is too short I removed the old garbage disposal and only have to hook up the drain on the new one, but it is acting like it is too short. Here is the before photo:

And here is the new one (if you look closely, there is a gap between the drain and the trap and I'm just not sure what to do. All the instructions I've found so far just say, 'connect it' and that's just not enough details for my first plumbing job. :) I'd really appreciate some newbie hand-holding on this one!

Original drain was longer. That piece has been added back on and is in use now. Props to brhans for the tip!


How should I seal a butt joint in a tight space? My water heater blew while I was on vacation and left my equipment room under an inch of water for several days.  Needless to say, the drywall got moldy and I had to tear it out.  Now I'm trying to replace the drywall behind the HVAC blower, but it's a super tight space (see picture).

If drywall tape were adheasive on my own I could align the tape from either side of the HVAC unit, but sadly it's not.  so I'm wondering, how should I fill this butt joint?

I was considering using duct or masking tape, or even spray foam, but assume that would just make a huge mess.

Thanks!

I am sorry to hear about your water damage issue - stinks for sure.

You mention if it were adhesive you could do it from either side of the hvac - sounds like you have access to the back side of that unit ?? If So see method 1 if not see method 2.

METHOD 1:

Use the dry wall tape on a flat stick and push to the back side so you can get to it. Then use Push Pins (like thumb tacks) to hold it in place. Pull it up into position on the front side and secure it with pins - you can then run some joint compound over it a long handled putty knife (probably need to make your own handle here) or use a 'paint roller' to try and spread it flat.

METHOD 2:

To repair that tight space dry wall butt (amazing you installed the dry wall there). What I would do is make a jig that can hold my dry wall tape on one end like a long flat bar (much like you have sandpaper in a small sander , place joint compound on the end and slide that in place and get the end in the correct position. Set your jig in the proper position that the tape would be able to be pulled across flat . Wait for the joint compound to dry - now it is secured to the back side and you can add compound with a roller or a long handled putty knife while pulling the tape tight and flush.

METHOD 3:

Some drywall tape actually does have an Adhesive Backing - look for the WEB TAPE with Adhesive..

EDIT 8 MAR 2018


What slope angle does a garbage disposal outflow pipe need? I replaced my garbage disposal with a new unit and attached it to the existing drain with the manufacture provided straight outflow pipe. The new disposal sits a little lower than the old unit, which also had a straight outflow pipe. The result is that the outflow pipe is now angled about 5º down towards the disposal.

I'm guessing that's a bad thing as the ground up food sludge will pool towards the disposal end. What slope angle should I shoot for?

The level was just a touch too long to hold flat against the pipe, so that's why there's a gap. But you can see that the horizontal air bubble is just off to the T end.

The T connection on the left is a split 1.5" baffle. The connection on the garbage disposal itself is full rubber with a metal ring clamp, so it can flex to a wide angle if needed.

Is there a combination level + protractor + measure tool that could tell me how much I need to lower the T connection by? How would I go about dropping the T connection by such a small amount? I was imagining disconnecting the pipe and carrying it into a hardware store...

I have never used a level for that. The rule of thumb is about a quarter inch per foot. From the picture it looks like you can just cut off about 3/4” off of the tee and reinstall it.


Is it normal for installed PEX piping to be curved or bowed? Red PEX is curling or bowing throughout the main hot water line from hot water tank feeding all the faucets and showers.  Is this normal?

It is most likely fine. As others have pointed out, PEX comes coiled and it is completely acceptable to have it installed with curves and arcs, like this:

PEX is not like copper or iron pipe. Rigid pipe is... well... rigid, so we get used to thinking of plumbing as begin built from straight sections, but that isn't the case with PEX. I'm assuming the installation you are looking at is otherwise properly installed and supported, and the only part that has you concerned are some wide bends/curves. If that is correct, it's completely normal.


How can I prevent this concrete block wall from falling over? I have a concrete wall that separates my backyard with my neighbor’s. It has been there for decades (at the very least 30 years). I have a slope of about 30 degrees and have noticed that the wall is slowly falling over to my side. The rain gutter that my neighbor placed adjacent to my fence is helping in eroding the soil underneath the wall. It can be seen where the soil is slightly green.

I would like to know what I can do on my side to keep it from falling completely over. Already my next door neighbor’s wall fell years ago. I was thinking of maybe something I can do and not having to go to the other side.

One idea in my head was digging a trench and sticking concrete block with rebar and filling with cement. Sort of like a step wall or something, but not sure if it would hold. Please forgive my ignorance; I am a noob with this stuff. Any DIY suggestions would be greatly appreciated

More Pics

It's really hard to say without being there in person. The wall certainly looks unstable and ready to be taken down, but a lot of concrete walls can look terrible, but still be structurally sound. We owned a house with a concrete block wall reinforced with rebar that had perhaps a 10 degree lean outwards that looked like it'd fall any day, but it took a LOT of sledge hammering, chiseling, jacking, and gas-powered diamond-blade cutting to actually get it out. It likely would have stood for another 50 years on its own.

In your situation, it appears that you've lost all the earth around your footing. At this point, it may be a lost cause and you'd be best taking it out. Ideally, you'd then replace it with a stepped retaining wall using a dry-stacked block. The dry-stacked blocks are a) easier to install and b) when installed properly will allow water to drain through rather than build up behind the wall pushing it out.

All that said, it appears that your neighbor has build a foundation right up along your wall. I don't know where you live, but I'd think in a lot of places that'd be against code (you typically can't build that close to the property line). In addition, it seems risky for them to depend on you to hold up their foundation with your wall. Seems that they should be bearing part of the ownership of whatever is retaining the earth on this property line.

Finally, if that's a down-spout in the lower photo emptying between the two walls, then a) take it up with the city, as that is likely also breaking all sorts of code regulations and b) your neighbor really should be worried about that. You don't want a downspout draining near the footer of your new kitchen's foundation.


How can I eliminate a 4-way switch and still have two 3-way switches operating the lights? I have two 3-way switches and one 4-way switch. I eliminate the 4 way and want the two 3-way switches to still turn on and off the lights. So I went up in the ceiling and connected the one switch to the other color to color and I have constant power. The lights will not turn off from the switches. What do I do? The one switch has a feed from power and a switch leg going to the light. The other switch that was going to the 4-way I'm using that 3 wire to connect straight to the other switch where the feed comes in. Both 3 way wires red white black ground. So how can I hook them up so both switches operate the lights?

Nothing easier.

You have 2 travelers.  The 4-way either sends them through straight, or exchanges them.
So take 1 traveler off a brass screw, 1 traveler off a black screw, then splice them together to each other.
Repeat with the other traveler.  And done.


When is it prefrable to use a tape like Wigluv, rather than caulk or low expansion foam? I'm trying to understand when to use what method to seal, to prevent air and/or water.
When would a tape like Wigluv be preferred over caulk or low expansion foam?  What applications is it the ideal choice?

A thick tape like Wigluv would only be used where a flat surface isn't needed or any such bulge will be concealed.
Caulk would be used for small and shallow cracks or gaps (1/8th inch or less wide) and a flush or completely flat surface is needed.
Foam is for moderate to large gaps (1/4 to 3/4 inch, depending on foam type) and deep or full depth straight through filling.
Of course, all 3 can be used, or any combination of them, that addresses the need for a specific result or longevity.


Piggyback power to dual water heaters Can I piggyback the power to two water heaters using the same breaker by just doing a junction box and running power to each water heater? Or do I need to run seperate line from the circuit box to the second water heater on its own breaker?

I have a 40 gallon water heater now I'm going to connect another identical 40 gallon water heater to it. Was wondering if I could just piggyback from the line that is giving power now or would I have to run its own line from the breaker box? Not worried about code, worried about safety. –

No. Unless for some reason the circuit for the first water heater was way over sized.

If you read the manufacturer's installation instructions for the heater, it should specify what size circuit is required.  That size is for a single unit, and cannot have any other loads on it.


How does low freon cause the compressor suction line to freeze up There are many questions about air conditioner issues with the most common being that it isn't cooling properly.  Among the typical answers are low Freon and the standard diagnosis for low Freon is ice on the large copper pipe at the outside compressor.

From my understanding the small copper tube is the high pressure side with Freon that has been compressed to a liquid.  When this liquid is allowed to boil in the inside evaporator things cool down.

Conversely the large copper pipe is the return line from the evaporator sometimes referred to as the suction line or low pressure side.

So my question is: under low Freon conditions how can the suction line freeze up?

Intuitively I would thing with low Freon the entire cooling ability would be below normal causing the evaporator to not produce as much cold air.  A side effect of all this, I would expect the suction line to be warmer that normal.

Why does the suction line freeze up under low Freon conditions?

See the image in this question for a great diagram of an HVAC system:
What's the most common cause of A/C refrigerant lines freezing?

Chlorodifluoromethane, also known as R22 refrigerant has a boiling point of -40°F at 0 psi.  As you increase the pressure of the refrigerant, the boiling point also increases. At 68.5 psi, the boiling point of R22 is 40°F.

In a normally functioning system, the refrigerant is sent into the evaporator at about 55-65 psi. Which means that the boiling point will be above the freezing temperature of water. The refrigerant absorbs heat from the air passing through the evaporator, boils, and flows on down the line at a temperature above the freezing point of water.  The refrigerant will likely be below the dew point, however, so there will be condensation on the line.

If the pressure in the system drops, the R22 might be entering the evaporator a bit lower than the typical pressure. In this case, the boiling point of the R22 will be below the freezing temperature of water. As the warm moist air moves over the evaporator, the moisture condenses and freezes on the coils. Ice will start to form at the beginning of the evaporator coils, and slowly creep along its length.

The ice will act as an insulator, so the refrigerant in the line will not be able to absorb the heat it needs to boil. This causes the refrigerant to boil off further along in the evaporator, which forms more ice further down the line.  This process continues all the way along the line, until the entire evaporator and suction line are covered in ice.

Once the refrigerant levels get too low, there's not enough refrigerant in the system to freeze the line. So eventually if the system has a leak, this behavior will stop and you'll simply get no cooling at all from the system.

NOTE: I could be completely wrong here. This is based on my limited knowledge of air conditioning systems. I am not an expert in thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, chemistry, or HVAC.


What could cause faucets to spit and sputter only in the fall/winter? Except in summer, faucets sputter and spit. What could be letting air into the system?

In this case the setup is in the Northeast USA, New York State, with a pressure bladder tank, and shallow well. It looks like the image below.  The pipes leading up are the distribution.  The pipes into the wall are distribution and pump inlet.  The pump does not appear to short cycle.

I found a possible answer, but it does not explain the winter/summer dichotomy.

If the pump does not short cycle, that means the bladder in the tank is OK, assuming you have seldom needed to refill it with air.

A shallow well could be the root of your problem. Especially if summer coincides with your rainy season. At the beginning of last winter, along with most of the rest of it, the Northeast USA was in a drought:

Upgrading our summer home, we sunk two additional well-points (with a jackhammer), as the pump we got to handle our four new bathrooms was to powerful for the existing single well-point. Evening being located five feet above, and 200' away from a lake we had supply problems; it would cavitate/aerate.

Does your faucet spit and sputter? -JohnDee.com, people suggesting low water table or bad pump seals. Possibly yours fail with a drop in incoming temperature.


New water heater sometimes cold, sometimes hot I have a new electric water heater (a week old). It does not operate correctly.  It took nearly 24 hours initially before there was any hot water. Then we had hot water for maybe half a day. Then cold again. Hot again the next day for a few hours.  Yesterday it was hot all day. Everyone got a shower. The dishes where caught up, then last night it was cold again, and is still cold this mornimg. What could possibly be wrong? I can't figure this one out.

Most water heaters upon initial start-up can take several hours to heat the tank water to the setting on the thermostat. Also, if the setting is not at the hottest temperature and it is a large tank 12 hours isn't unreasonable.   You should also be aware that if the entire tank of hot water is consumed for say a long shower it will take the incoming water awhile before it is heated to the set temperature.   If you still feel that there is something mechanically at fault with the new water heater than there is only very few parts that can not function. The first is the thermostat that controls the water temperature. You may have one that is faulty or intermittent. Second is the heating element(s). These actually are responsible for heating the water. They work by becoming extremely hot when electricity is applied to there terminal ends. The heat is then transferred to the surrounding water until the thermostat switches the power off at the proper setting. Heating elements will fail eventually and need to be replaced with one of the same wattage rating.   Since the appliance is so new and working on it will void the warranty (and can be dangerous) you should first contact the installer (if any). It is possible an installation step was over-looked. Next, contact the store from where it was purchased. Most reputable stores will readily accept a faulty appliance for refund with only a receipt of purchase.


How can I prevent a desk from being bleached by the sun? I have a computer desk that's situated close to a window, and over the years the sun has stained the top of the desk, I'm looking for a type of desk/type of wood that won't get stained by the sun? I'd preferably want a wooden desk.

Coat the desk top with a UV resistant coating like a good marine spar varnish. Won't stop it completely but will slow it down significantly.

If you get a desk top made of a real wood top (not a paper thin veneer over particle board) you can sand and restain in over and over when it fades too much.


What could that red splatter have been under my toilet seat? I moved into a new place, the bathroom smelled like piss so I scrubbed every inch of it. Still smelled like piss. Then I got more aggressive and ripped up the toilet seat that I assumed wasn't liftable at first (since it was stuck pretty hard). Turns out it was just a regular toilet seat but with this dark red splatter under it, especially concentrated around the rim that the seat rests on. I cleaned that too, came off pretty easily. Now I'm waiting to see if the smell comes back..

I'm curious though, what could that red stuff have been? Didn't look like blood, it was more.. slimy looking. Sorta like if you were to squirt some ketchup on the wall in small speckles.

One possibility is an iron bacteria stain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_bacteria


Why is this Whole House Filter Black? I bought this whole house filter and after being installed for only one month it looks like the image below! Is this normal for a house on well water? I just recently moved into this house and was shocked by this–should I be worried?

Jim Stewart's question is valid. If you have a filter upstream of the cartridge filter that uses granular carbon for filtration (as is the case in our water treatment system) and especially if you have replaced that carbon recently, there will be tons of powdered carbon in the water. The paper filter will remove most of it (eventually) but the water will taste pretty poor.

If you have occasion to replace the carbon again, or wish to remove that aspect sooner, remove the carbon tank and run plenty of water through it. The powdered carbon will flush to the top.

After our first instance of which you've experienced, I used big plastic storage bins and placed the fresh carbon in the bins. Playing the garden hose over the carbon forced the dust to wash out over the top of the bin, while the granular component remained in the bottom.

Eventually the wash water was clear of the dust and it was placed in the tank, although with a bit more difficulty than the dry stuff.

The result was zero carbon caught in the paper filter and none in the drinking water.


How to address gaps between underlayment and drywall before waterproofing? There's a small, maybe 1/2 inch, gap between my concrete backerboard underlayment and the bottom of my drywall. I want to install Ditra waterproofing  (mat plus Kerdi seal tape). For waterproofing the outside perimeter, I'm supposed to apply thinset to the floor and wall 2 inches in each direction, and then stick on the Kerdi tape. However, how do I deal with this vertical gap between underlayment and drywall bottom? Would it be silly to fill it with drywall compound and mimic the drywall panel being flush with the underlayment? Should I leave it alone as it will be covered up by baseboard later?

Leave the gap and cover it with trim. The gap is there to prevent the drywall from wicking moisture up from the floor and molding.


Can I install carpet in the attic? I'm planning on adding a plywood floor to part of my attic. I have some old carpet that I'm thinking about laying on top of the plywood. Is this a bad idea?

It's not too unusual. The carpet will collect some dust and possibly insulation, and might have problems if it ever gets wet from a roof leak. On the plus side, the carpet will act as a little insulation and is quieter and cooler in the summer to walk on.


P trap won't drain from water softener I installed a water softener in a house we just moved into. I did a manual regen to test everything and nothing or at least very little drains past the P Trap and is pouring into the crawl space. I put a studor vent on the P Trap and have an air gap between the discharge hose of the softener and the p trap entry. The p trap is not clogged as it was just installed. Why is this not draining? What did I do wrong?(I know I'm using a pvc fitting on the air gap where it should be abs, this is the only thing that hasn't been glued yet, just haven't been to home depot to get the correct fitting and wanted to test it out first)

It was the slope, when cutting in the p trap I changed the slope of the existing 2" drain pipe, and caused it to back up. Re-did it and ensured the slope was correct and checked with a hose and a manual regen and all drains fine.


How much 120 from 240 is too much? I'm running a double circuit breaker from the house at 40amps with 8ga for both hots, the neutral and the ground out to my shed, which is roughly 20 feet.
I've got a sub box in the shed where I want to run a 20a circuit at 240 for occasional equipment, and separate 120v circuits for outlets and lights.
Since the neutral is unbroken and separate, what's the max 120v 20a circuits I can run safely only sharing the hot busses?  I wouldn't be using the 240 and 120 at the same time except for a couple chest freezers I will have out there, so too many tools won't be an issue.  Is 3 too much to ask?

The number of circuits isn't really the issue. You could run as many as the panel will allow, number of breaker positions. The issue is amps to the panel. You've got 40 amps to use and as long as you don't exceed that for any length of time (you'd trip your 40 amp breaker)' you'll be fine. I'd say three would be fine Think of your house panel; you've got a 200 amp service but if you total up the breaker amps, you could get 450. This is OK because you don't run everything at the same time and the circuits aren't fully loaded.


need advice for installing electrical outlet inside soffit/eave I'm going to be running new 14/2 from an outlet mounted on the inside of the same wall, through the header, and into the eave/soffit cavity outside. This new outlet will be used to power a nest camera and some string lights.

To keep things looking clean, I was thinking of just doing a surface install to the side of one of the ceiling joists that extends into the soffit. The soffit is wood, so to give me access to this outlet (both during installation and for somewhat adhering to code) I was going to install an access panel in the soffit.

My question is can I run the Romex directly into the box mounted to the joist? Or, since that outlet will still technically be accessible, do I need to use conduit over the Romex wherever it's visible from the open access panel?

Unrelated but for completeness, I intend to drill a hole in the soffit to route the lights and camera cables into the soffit cavity and plug them into the new outlet. Then caulk around that hole to close things up.

I suppose if you put an access panel in the soffit and a receptacle inside the attic. As far as the NEC is concerned there doesn't seem to be a problem. However if you install a piece of equipment with a standard cord connection on the exterior and run that connection through the soffit. That does violate the NEC.

I may not be correct, but I imagine everyone including myself who has viewed this post is wondering, "If you are cutting in an access panel in the soffit, why not just install a duplex flush in the soffit?".

Personally I am against installing devices in remote, concealed areas since they could potentially become faulty and create a fire hazard. There is a potential that this type of condition could go unobserved until a fire is out of hand.

Hope this helps and good luck


Is this wall load bearing based on the attached blueprints? I would like to remove a wall in my walk-out basement but I don't know how to interpret this architectural blueprint.  Based on this blueprint, is the wall bearing load or not?  I have highlighted the wall in question in the pictures below.

Click for larger view

Click for larger view

EDIT: On second look, the drawing actually tells us.  There's a note box to the right: TYP BEARING WALL 2x4 stud 16" O.C. on Continuous footing.  The dashed line around the wall indicates the footing.

ORIGINAL:
If I'm reading the drawing correctly, IT DEFINITELY IS.

For the sake of this discussion, north is the top of the drawing.

There appears to be a beam running E-W from the post to the East wall.  There are no notes on the west wall talking about a beam pocket.  This leads me to believe that the dark line following the same path as the beam is simply a dimension line, not a continuation of the beam.  So the beam does not extend westward towards the area you want to deal with.

This makes the total span in the area you're looking at 36 feet.  Far too long for 2 x 12's,
which means the wall you want to remove is definitely supporting the joists.

Even if the beam does continue, I would take great care. 20 feet is about the max for a joist span.  This job calls for a professional engineer to assess the situation.

The solution is probably to dig a footer where the doorway is now, and put up a steel post and raise another short steel or paralam beam where the wall is.

This involves building temporary stud walls on either side of the existing wall to support the load while you're working.  You'll need to find a contractor who has done this type of work before.


Lightning surge protection advice The surge from a nearby lightning strike has resulted in multiple fried electronic devices at our house. Damaged items include a cable modem, 2 cable set top boxes, a cable amplifier, a WiFi router, 2 garage door opener circuit boards, a hot tub control panel circuit board, an irrigation power cord transformer, Ethernet ports on 3 desktop computers and a power strip in the kitchen.

The main electrical panel has a Siemens QSA2020 Type QP circuit breaker & secondary surge arrester with a current interrupting rating of 10,000 amps. This breaker did not trip. The irrigation power cord transformer was plugged into a 400 volt surge protector with was fried as well as the transformer.

Questions:

Why did the Siemens device not trip?
What should be done now to help prevent a similar future outcome?

I have repaired 2 homes that had lightning strikes 1 was direct and there were breakers all over the house (it burned the bus was even partly melted) the second one was an indirect strike. The damage to the electronic components is due to the high voltage more than the current. With that said surge suppressors clamp the voltage until they overheat and fail.

A whole house surge suppressor in your main panel may have helped if it was large enough, the second house that was a indirect strike was protected by a suppressor that could handle close to 30 amps. The suppressor was toast both elements failed but they only lost 1 TV set that was on when the strike hit.

How surge suppressors work:

Most are metal oxide varistors. These devices conduct once a voltage threshold is reached and dump the excess voltage to ground the voltage threshold on some that I have used range from ~260v and higher close to 800v.

in the U.S. the maximum voltage voltage to ground is 120v rms for residential. 240v is leg to leg but the maximum potential to ground is 120v rms so you want a MOV that breaks down in the +200v range.

Next is the amount of energy that the mov can conduct rated in joules. Once this value is exceeded they do fail. Whole house units usually have led’s that show if the elements are working, some are replaceable.

As you found out the one on your pump failed it tried to do its job but was not large enough. I suggest putting the largest one you can afford at your main panel.

I usually install these because of industrial loads causing spikes and damaging electronic equipment. Oregon is not known for its thunder storms and having seen 2 strikes is very rare here.

I can say nothing will stop a direct strike but an indirect strike or industrial loads and power line switching all generates spikes that can do damage by installing a 300$ or larger surge suppressor may save many times its cost over its life there are smaller ones for under 100$ these are very limited on the size of the spikes they can handle and some that cost close to 1000$ these monsters can almost take a direct strike.

I have found the ones that require a 30 amp breaker to be the best value for my area and they do not fail very often where the smaller ones do fail more often so in my opinion going with a larger unit will provide better protection and possibly last forever unless a close strike.

So why did the breaker not trip?

It could have been the current / duration was low enough not to trip but the voltage did the damage. This is where whole house surge protection pays off just make sure to get one that is large enough to handle the spikes that may happen in your area.


Fitting a thermostatic valve onto a towel rail I've got a towel rail in my bathroom that is heated from my combi boiler. I'd like to fit a TRV to the towel rail. Is there any reason why I shouldn't do that? Should I buy a specific type of TRV, or would any TRV do the job?

Some engineers - in the uk - do not recommend fitting a TRV to the bathroom rad as a constant flow is required around the CH system for safety reasons. This is what I was told by a Gas Safe Engineer. The bathroom is a Wet Area so why do you need a TRV when all you want to do is keep it / get it dry. Unless others say so then no need to fit one. Two normal flow valves will suffice on a balanced system.


Improve AC flow to secondary ducts I have an AC which has 3 ducts coming out of it.  Only one duct gets flow - I'm guessing the AC fan blows right into it.  What can I do to improve the flow?

You need to restrict the flow through that duct, either by installing a damper like this in the duct, or by installing an adjustable register at the duct outlet, and closing it off until you get similar flow out of all three ducts.


Ceiling fan requires fewer wires than available in box I have a Hunter ceiling fan with no light and a remote. At the ceiling box I have green, white, black and red wires. The fan has green, white and black wires. Which of the wires in the ceiling box should I cap - the red or black?

In many homes, boxes wired for ceiling fans will have one wire that is always hot, and another that is connected to a switch.  In my experience, the black wire is switched and the red is always hot, but that may not be standard and you would need to test your wires.

If you want the fan to be "always on" and only controlled with the remote, then you want to use the always hot wire and cap the other.  If you'd rather have the fan turned on and off with the switch, and use the remote when the switch is on, you can use the switched wire and cap the other.

The wire color will have to be tested by you, and the choice of which to use is yours.


what kind of shower handle do i need for this type of rough valve? I don't know name of old handle I am a first time DIY on a shower handle.  I removed our old shower handle it does not have a brand name on it.  The way it operates is that you pull knob out to turn water on.  I have tried a trim kit for a delta and a moen and neither seem to work with this type of valve.

That's definitely a Moen. It has a "pull out dial" handle or (more specifically) Moen 96797  Chateau One-Handle Tub and Shower Knob; and I think the cartridge is 1225B.

Here's a video about replacing the cartridge (it shows exactly the save valve) and in the beginning you can see the tear drop shaped handle.


Is it time to replace my water heater? I have a 20+ year old, 115 gallon, electric water heater. Works like a champ, but I'm considering replacing it for a couple of reasons.

It's leased - I pay $20/mo.
It's 115 gallons for a house with 3 adults
It's 20 years old

Based on that high level criteria, I'm looking to replace it with an energy smart, 50-gallon, electric water heater - specifically - this one

Does this seem like a reasonable idea?  I'm looking to save money, obviously, over the long run between eliminating the monthly bill and the energy savings.

The math says that you should replace the water heater - especially if you can install yourself.

In my opinion the water heater should be sized for the house - how many faucets/bathrooms?, not how many people are currently living in it.

If you are looking to downsize, save money, be green... I would go tankless.  Here is an example.  Also Tester makes a good point going natural gas.  If you have gas chances are it runs by your current heater so it might be worth looking into.

Tankless water heater calculator

Sizing a water heater


Low-E window opening panel "hazing" up We have 10 y.o. "Low-E" windows.  Last autumn we noticed one opening panel "hazing" up inside:

What is it?  Does that indicate loss of hermitization?  How to fix it?  Can it be done DIY-style?

"Hazing" within a dual-glazed window or door is a symptom of failure in the sealing that's supposed to maintain unchanged whatever (air, other gas, vacuum) is within the space between the two panes of glass.
Windows and sliding doors in my house were replaced with dual-glazed panels in 2008; several panels have recently developed a similar appearance. The manufacturer (Milgard) provided a lifetime warranty to the original purchaser, and Milgard's immediate reaction to my warranty claim was to schedule a date for replacement of the defective panels.


Bathroom exhaust fan issue after new switch install I just installed a new Leviton Switch for my bathroom exaust fan/light. After turning the power back on the fan is now on all the time and the switch only controls the light, all available wires are connected, not sure what's going on. I have 2 cables coming into the box where the switch is.  One carries red, black, white and ground, the other is just black, white and ground. The switch i bought has only one black, red and white wire coming off of it. I assume connected one too many wires?

I have not connected the yellow wire to anything

A photo of the wiring would help , but it sounds like you have 2 wires going to the fan and light and 1 hot and got them mixed up. Mark all 3 wires going to the switch 1,2,3 or a b c. Basically you need to swap the 1 wire that is all alone with one of the 2 on the other side. Now it will work or the light will be on all the time , if the light is on all the time the 1 wire on the 1 side of the switch needs to be swapped with the wire that has been on the other side all the time.


What could cause a thermostat to distribute electricity to only one heater out of two? I have two electric heaters on the same circuit. They are connected in parallel, or at least the wires all come in the same box where the thermostat is installed.
Previous setup: 1 heater had a built-in thermostat, it was wired to skip the thermostat (directly connected to the load wire), other heater was going through thermostat. Worked fine.
New setup: Got rid of the heater with a built-in thermostat. Both old heater (2000W) and new heater (1000W, without built-in thermostat) go through the same wall-mounted thermostat now (basically I switched the one black / load wire to go before the thermostat). The 2000W element heats up fine for like 15 mins, then stops. The command at the wall-mounted thermostat still shows it is heating (it didn't reach the target temperature). The 1000W element is still going strong, but the 2000W becomes cold to the touch. A few hours can pass and the 2000W one remains cold. If I fiddle with the thermostat (decrease and increase temp target again), the 2000W starts heating again and stops after 15 min.
Test setup: I disconnect the 1000W element, and leave only the 2000W plugged in the circuit. The 2000W element heats up just fine, and can keep heating for multiple hours without having this weird behavior I get when both of them are hooked.
The thermostat is graded for 4000W.
Any ideas what I could try next? Should I replace the thermostat?
EDIT:
Some pictures.
Wiring
2000W heater I don't have exact model name

I suspect a poor connection to the 2000W heater when both were connected, rather than anything related to the thermostat or the heater itself.


240v Outlet with 120v and 215v - How? Ok this is a weird one and maybe I just don't understand how mains work (though I feel I have a good enough knowledge to stay safe and do basic breaker work & wiring).

Buddy moved into a new shop and he called me to wire in a 240 plug into a closed off drop. He's heard the previous tenant was probably running a big air compressor or welder. So I wired in an outlet with the 3 wires that were in there, a black and 2 blue. Here's the resulting voltage:

After reading these values I figured I screwed up, so I removed the plug and put everything back to how I found it. However, there was another 240v plug in the shop that was already there so I decided to test it and it read the same values.

Violet and red make sense, but green seems impossible??

How is this possible? Is this normal? Was the previous tenant hooking up some non-standard machinery?

EDIT:
Continuity between the 3 sockets is infinity, there's no short, the plug seems good. The black wire was attached to the vertical slit (where violet and green meet). Black wire had a very low resistance to the conduit so I would say it's "safe" to assume that's the common rail and tied to ground as it should be. The coloring would also suggest this.

Thanks in advance :D

Wrong socket! Wrong socket! Wrong socket!

That obsolete, dangerous NEMA 10 socket is bad news anywhere you see it.  You wired this? Never use a NEMA 10 socket ever again. It should not have been sold to you, and make them take it back.  It is illegal except for exact replacement of a broken one.

Do these look like your numbers?

That is wild-leg delta. A perfectly plausible thing to see in a commercial shop.  You can see where, by grabbing the correct 2-3 wires, it can supply a variety of voltages including 120/240 split-phase (a-n-c).  By law, the wild leg (208 from neutral) must be colored or taped orange.

NEMA 10 connectors are illegal** for new work and have been for some time, they are only legal and sold for replacing broken ones already installed.  It has been fully replaced by NEMA 14, which is the same thing with a ground, or NEMA 6 if you don't need neutral. Any of them would grab phases A and C in this drawing.

It looks to me like they grabbed the wild leg by mistake.  This would happen if they have a 3-phase service panel and they put the 2-pole breaker in the wrong breaker position (because they don't know what they were doing).

Panels and phases

As you probably know, on most split-phase panels (120/240), every other breaker row on the panel is the opposite leg, A B A B A B A B A B.  And so if you use a 1-space breaker, you get 1 pole, and if you use a 2-space breaker, you get 2 poles and thus 240V.  It doesn't really matter which 2 spaces you use.

A 3-phase panel works the same except it's A B C A B C A B C.   With me so far?  You can use 1-space, 2-space or 3-space breakers. (well, 1-space makes no sense on regular Delta.)  Now if the 3-phase is wired Wye or regular Delta, power is symmetrical, so you can use any position without worrying about it.

However, a wild-leg delta system, watch out!  Every third row in the breaker panel is the "wild leg". If you want 120/240 split-phase, you must plug your 2-pole breaker into specific places that avoid the wild-leg row.  The problem is, the last guy didn't.

Mind you, the National Electrical Code specifies which particular phase must be wild-leg on the panel.  If it's wrong, I'd fix it, but beware - there's a difference between swapping 2 phases and rotating all 3, and the difference is motors will run backwards.

I for one would paint the high-leg rows orange on the panel cover, so it's obvious.

Look out for other shoddy work

We are code mavens here, and when you really embrace it, code is your friend. Code protects you from wrecking stuff and killing people.  The Oakland warehouse fire should be top-of-mind when working in converted spaces, so very preventable - and thousands of creative types are being evicted from similar spaces, a tragic loss to arts and culture.  You want the fire marshal coming through and seeing really competent electrical.

Since you say you do have good grounds (presumably in the metal conduit), please eradicate those horrible NEMA 10 receptacles.  Go NEMA 6 if you need 240V single phase (wild-leg is OK here).  Or NEMA 14 if you need 120/240 split phase (cannot be wild-leg).

Generally in this type of wiring, you don't just install random receptacles.  You wait until you know exactly what machine will go there, and then provision the power it requires, using the receptacle that's correct for that. (e.g. NEMA 15 if he wants 240 3-phase).

Here are the right colors when dealing with wild-leg. The lower phases can be any color except orange, white, gray, green or green/yellow.

If you see any existing neutrals, grounds or high-leg that aren't the right colors, please use some tape of that color to tag them, for practical clarity.   Mind you, for neutrals and grounds 6 AWG or smaller, Code requires you use wire of the correct color, so do that in any new work.

**  By context, we are in the native habitat of the NEMA 10 receptacle, i.e. US, Canada and the rest of North America. [we also claim Colombia because Shakira.] Eradicating NEMA 10 is a best practice everywhere it exists. Don't confuse "poorly enforced" with "legal".


In floor heating GFCI thermostat failure? Fifteen years ago, a contractor installed Easy Floor heating system under tiles in our lower level.  There are four GFCI programmable thermostats wired to 240v service.  About five months ago, one of the thermostats began to trip flashing a GFI fault.  Two or three months later (and almost simultaneously), two other thermostats began to trip.  They can be reset for short periods of time and even warm for up to 24 hours, and then trip again.  The fourth is on a section of floor in an adjacent room and does not trip. There has been no construction or other disturbance of floor or wall areas.

After fifteen years, is it reasonable to expect 3 of 4 GFCI thermostats to fail?
Are thermostats specific to the installed floor mat, e.g. can I install a Honeywell thermostat to replace the old Easy Floor thermostats?
What does FGS mean?  I can find no definition or description of this thermostat designation.

You cannot always interchange the thermostats in this application. As long as your thermostat is a transformer coupled switch (essentially closes the contacts between two wires to call for heat) you can. If it uses live AC voltage, or serial communications, you have to replace it with another suitable replacement.

You will have to identify the make/model of the thermostat, and verify compatibility with what you would like to buy to replace it. Now with that out of the way -

Since you have a zone that is not failing, you can swap the GFCI & Thermostat from that zone to your most suspect zone. This will QUICKLY isolate if the fault is in the gfci or thermostat.

My guess, it is not.

More than likely, you have breakdown in the heating coils, and via environmental moisture (for example), the circuit is leaking power to another path, which is very dangerous both in shock, and fire concerns. This is why you have a GFCI. Given that nuisance trips DO HAPPEN, it is understandable that you'd reset it, but given that it has been 15 years, and it is happening more frequently, your system is likely telling you it is failing.

Get a heat camera (FLIR), and isolate hot spot(s).... once you identify them... and there may be more than one in one circuit, you can decide to repair or replace.


Removing 50Hz flicker on lights I've just moved into a new flat, and in the corridor and bathroom, we have these lights as shown in the picture, and they shine with a slight flicker (which I assume is a mains 50Hz). It's very fast, and you can only really tell if you look at the light, but it is still quite annoying. Is there anything that can be done about it, apart from taking them out? (I'm in a rented place so that's not really an option.)

No doubt of it, that's a fluorescent.  Lights like this give fluorescents a bad name.   Fluorescents are really quite good these days.

Pop the cover off, get the model number and figure out what type of bulb it takes.  See if you can lay eyes on the ballast itself, to get a sense of its shape and size.

From there, go shopping for an electronic ballast for that bulb type.  Look for one that will physically fit in that fixture.  The shape and mounting are highly standardized.  An electronic ballast will not flicker or buzz, will start instantly (or quickly if it's a rapid-start or programmed start) in all conditions including deep cold.


Home heating fuel comparison (wood and heat pumps) I'm investigating the most efficient way to heat my new 2000 sq home in New Hampshire and am having some difficulty working out the math based on the numbers I have found.

I've found that wood is incredibly cheap...even if I buy it late in the season when the prices have gone up. I'm looking at $350 a cord for mixed hardwood, which I found can produce 22.1 mBTU.

I've also found an 89% efficient insert, increasing the cost savings per month to $116 for wood over oil. These savings are HUGE. If my numbers are right I'm jumping on the wood burning wagon immediately.

--Edit--

Going further down this rabbit hole, I've update the image with new specs for the heat pump, and I'm also wondering if those are correct. What I'm seeing is that a SEER 16 heat pump is 4.689 times more efficient than standard electrical heating, which means that a 48k btu 4 ton system can give me 16000 btus per kWh vs the standard 3412 btu/kWh of electric resistance heating.

Does that calculation make sense? Are heat pumps and wood inserts really that much better than oil? Can I really save 178 dollars a month by going with a 16 SEER heat pump?

You're right, but only because oil is the worst, most expensive way to heat a home. Pretty much anything beats it, except maybe electric resistance in places with high electricity prices. Wood, gas, and heat pump electric will all beat the pants off oil. That said, even 80% efficiency may be optimistic for a modern high efficiency wood stove. But even if that's overstated, as you can see, it's still a pretty good deal.

Additionally, your calculations may even be understating the advantages of a heat pump. 1.4 as the coefficient of performance is very conservative. I'd use 2, especially given how they not have high-efficiency units on the market than can deliver their rated performance at -15f. Some can go as high as 3 or 4 during periods of non-frigid outdoor temperatures and less than peak internal load.

Edit: you said, "Does that calculation make sense? Are heat pumps and wood inserts really that much better than oil? Can I really save 178 dollars a month by going with a 16 SEER heat pump?"

Yes indeed. But again, only because oil is such an awful fuel. Anywhere in the USA, one therm of oil heat is several times four times as expensive as one therm of natural gas heat, simply because of the relatives prices of oil vs natural gas. If you were comparing a wood stove and an electric heap pump to natural gas, it would get a whole lot more complicated--especially in the cases of a 95% efficient gas furnace, or a state with low gas prices or high electric prices.

No matter what you choose, do your wallet and the planet a favor and heat with something other than oil! It's expensive, it's dirty, and (IMHO) it contributes to awful foreign policy. Just Say No!

Edit 2: Some gov't verification of your numbers: http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/experts/heatcalc.xls


GFCI combination switch and outlet to fully switched protected outlet Before a single screw comes out of the wall, I need to be sure I understand this fully, and rather than type out everything, I made a diagram based on what I was able to dig up on forums. This is for a garbage disposal, the view inside gang is up near the sink, outlet 1 is about 5 feet away and outlet 2 is going to be the newly installed one underneath. Cable 1 is leaving the original box and going down to outlet 2 and cable 2 is leaving the new box and going back up to the original (for the switch) any help and corrections would be appreciated. I hope the diagram is clear enough. Any questions please ask.

Couple things wrong in the diagram - you have 2 neutrals labeled going to the outlet for the disposal and 2 hots tied together. It should look like this:

The garbage disposal is on the right.  It's unclear from your diagram, but if there are other GFCI outlets downstream you would connect them to the load terminals on the bottom of your combo and tie the ground in with the rest of them.

One thing I would mention about the garbage disposal though - don't use a normal outlet for it, use a fused outlet like this one:

Ground fault only protects against shock hazards - fused outlets protect against motor stalling (i.e. it gets jammed). Most AC motors will not overload the circuit if they stall, especially a 20A kitchen branch. This will not only protect your motor if you drop silverware or something down the drain, but it is also required by code in many if not most areas.  Make sure you size the fuse appropriately for the motor (you'll likely find a fuse rating in the installation instructions for the disposal).


Confusing ceiling fan wiring Long story short, moved into this house 2 years ago, 2 gang switches in bedroom, one for ceiling fan and light, one supposedly for switched outlet. Finally got around to finding which outlet was switched and found out the switch wasn't even wired. Sure, no problem, lazy, but not problem. As I was putting the face plate back on, I noticed the ground wire from the house just hanging free. Odd.  Looked at the wiring going to the ceiling fan, and the neutral wire was wired to the ground going to the fan (and noticed some blackening on the non connected house ground).

I took down the fan to see the wiring and I have 2 green (grounds) wired together with the bare ground coming from the switch and a fourth wire (white, neutral?) all wired together.  My assumption is that they used the bare ground to carry current to operate the fan and light independently via the switch.  I'm just a DIYer, but this can't be safe can it? Should I just undo the entire thing, use a regular switch and wire my hot to hots (for fan and light fixture), ground to ground and neutral to neutral?

Photos below :

Get a Lutron MA-LFQM and slap it in there

Most fan/light combination controls require a 3-wire cable between the fan/light and the switch in order to provide separate switched/dimmed hot feeds to the fan/light.  However, the Lutron Maestro MA-LFQM uses a canopy module, similar to that found in a fan remote system, that "talks" with the wall control via power-line communications, allowing it to work with only a single switched hot running to the fan/light combination.

Of course, you can also replace the existing cable with a /3 W/G NM of the same gauge if you want to use some other fan/light control, or a simple double switch for that matter.


What additions to an interior ceiling can reduce noises of creaking / pacing from apartment above? I live in a UK apartment with the one above currently being used as an AirBnB (or something similar). The only noises I typically hear from the occupants are in the form of stomping, creaking of what I assume is floorboards or hardwood flooring and occasionally shouting.
After contacting the local council, they say they cannot intervene as the noise of stomping and shouting doesn't fall into the list of noises they can impose a silence on, which I can understand as you would potentially risk telling someone they can't walk around their own home! I've yet to get a response from the owner but just in case they cannot or will not do anything, I am exploring other options on what I can do on my side.

I believe my own ceiling is plaster and paint, with no detachable sections with which to reach any wiring or insulation inbetween. I have seen solutions such as soundproof paint or simply temporarily sticking additional insulation onto the ceiling.

If the primary cause of the noise is the creaking of floorboards or similar, what common measures can be employed to reduce the noise from this as well as everyday noises? Or would preventative measures used against everyday noise work as well?

Unfortunately, the best solution to this would be a proper underlayment between the flooring and sub-floor in the above apartment.

If the apartment is old, it may not have any substrate to speak of.  If it was flipped specifically to be used as a rental, the contractor probably went with the cheapest material available.

If you were redoing your apartment you could look into sound-reducing insulation for the ceiling.  However, much of what you are hearing would be transmitted through the joists anyway, so this would not completely solve the problem.

https://www.soundproofcow.com/product/quiet-batt-30-soundproofing-insulation/


What is the missing part that would fix this outdoor spigot? I will probably use the wrong vocabulary. The handle or knob came off the spigot. What is the name of the part I need to buy to fix it? I don’t have the missing part(s). I thought maybe just replace that whole fixture but it’s welded. I tried just getting a new knob but that wasn’t enough stuff to do anything useful.

You need an outdoor faucet (or spigot) handle kit

  Images and links are illustrative only, not an endorsement of goods or sources


Air sealing a whole house fan I have a whole house fan installed in my house from the previous owners. I love the fan, as it lets me cool down the house quickly in the evening -- or after I fill the house with smoke from forgetting about food on the stove! :)

However, as I try to air seal my house it is immediately apparent that the whole house fan is by far the leakiest thing in the house. Under a blower door test, the fan louvers actually open up and most blower doors can't achieve the pressure they normally operate at in order to perform a measurement.

I would like to install some sort of air tight louver or door on top of the fan in the attic that will close tightly until the fan switch is turned on, at which point the louver or door will open. The closest idea I've had for that so far has been a plywood door that closes over the fan against weather stripping and is opened and closed by a linear actuator, and then attaching insulation to the top of the door, but it really seems like overkill to build and maintain a system that complex.

I'm also aware of one commercial air sealed and insulated whole house fan, but it is $1,500 and pushes 2500 CFM less than my current fan. $1,500 buys a whole bunch of plywood and linear actuators if I do end up having to go that route.

I've also looked at motorized dampers, such as this one from Grainger, but due to the small width of each blade I wouldn't be able to put any reasonable amount of insulation on them. Also, they're rated for 3500 CFM for some reason, and the fan I have easily does at least 5500 CFM.

Does anyone have any better ideas and suggestions for how to accomplish this? Note that I am not interested in solutions that involve manually removing a lid, seal, or cover from the fan; this needs to be automatic.

Check around the farm supply places - they carry big dampers. I used to have one about 36" square (the ex still has it). Try places like here and here.


Should I use caulking or silicone to seal around a new door frame of exterior stucco house? A have installed a new exterior door frame to my stucco house and I still need to seal the perimeter before the winter rains. However, since I plan to repaint the exterior stucco a different color next summer should I use a paintable caulking instead of silicone?  Is there a silicone-like caulking product that is superior to others?

So... the word "caulking" refers more to its use/application as a linear gap sealer than it does to the material composition; Caulk can be made of most any material (including silicone), it's still called caulk.

Yes, as was your intuition, you need paintable caulk. Some silicone-based caulks are advertised as "paintable", but for myself I am dubious of the claim because I fear that over time the bond of paint-to-caulk will fail. For paintable applications I use a high-quality paintable latex caulk.


Does a compression valve come with the tub insert and compression sleeve or they have to be acquired separately? I would like to buy this (or any other 3/8 compression valve, not to make this specific for this product)
https://www.lowes.ca/product/38-in-dia-chrome-compression-quarter-turn-straight-valve-586694
Does it come with a compression sleeve and with the tube insert shown in the images below. Also does it work with both copper and the below 3/8" pressure rated tube?

A worker at the tool store can tell you for sure, but generally compression fittings include everything you need to complete the connection, assuming you choose the correct fitting.  The tube insert appears to be a brass tube sticking out of the compression nut in the picture.  Your diagram shows the parts separately because it is a guide designed to aid in a minimal repair.


Excavating Under a Concrete Foundation Slab? I have a small ?30' x 12'? addition. on a cement slab. I think the slab is 4 inches and was reinforced with some steel. Could this cement foundation be the roof for a root cellar?

Other than the edges of this foundation, it does not have to hold up anything but foot traffic. The building on top is a very minimal, one story board and baton single room, build up against an existing structure on one of its long sides.

30' x 12' is significant. Do not use this slab as a ceiling for anything accessible by humans and do not excavate under it, without having a professional contractor or engineer assess it first. If it was not engineered for that purpose it is not fit for that purpose and it is not worth the risk to assume fitness.

It should not be a big deal to support it from below with posts and beams.


front door threshold replacement My front door is a bit sticky. Probably caused  by aging door step, water damage, and foundation repair. What do you recommend?

(1) sand down the existing threshold.  What do I use to seal the old wood?

(2) replace the threshold. How do I do that?

(3) sand down bottom of door?

It is a double door, about 64 inches. There is a wood floor on inside and a wooden board on the exterior side.

If your existing threshold is structurally sound without cracks or water damage, there is no need to replace it.You can sand it down and then coat it with a marine varnish or some other outdoor sealer/stain.
If your threshold is damaged in any way, then it should be replaced to prevent tripping. The screws that hold the threshold down are usually visible from the top. Remove them and pry up the threshold. Take the removed threshold to you home store and get a replacement close to your original one. You could also take measurements before removing the threshold and do your shopping before removing it. Seal and attach your new threshold following the direction that came with it.


Can I remove the top plate at top of an interior NLB wall? Is it safe to remove the top plate in one section of an interior non-load bearing wall between two studs space 16" apart?

The reason I ask is because I need to run some ductwork to my cold air return trunk line, and the trunk line runs directly over and perpendicular to one of the interior walls in my basement.  I'd like to run the ductwork between the studs and into the CAR, but the top plate is in the way.  Can I remove the top plate?

The only thing above this wall is the HVAC duct, and the HVAC can't possibly be part of the load-bearing structure.  So I suspect it's safe to cut it out (heck, I bet I could remove the entire wall if I wanted - it's not in the original blueprints)

Sure, you can remove portions of a non-load  bearing wall provided: 1) it is truly non-load bearing (including no point loads) , 2) the second plate is not used as a splice in the top plate, 3) it’s not a lateral resistance wall (no plywood,etc. on it)


Should I use glue or o-ring joints on a buried PVC waste pipe? What are the advantages and disadvantages of both systems of joints for "non-pressure" pipes that are buried?

O-ring joints are more expensive, but easier to do on buried pipes.

Glue on the other hand is permanent (that is a plus and a minus at once).

What else?

Typically, o-ring fittings are used for larger diameter pipes (4 inch and larger) where the runs consist of longer distances with a low density of fittings. Examples would be outside of the building civil work and inside (below grade) storm drainage.

When you have smaller diameter pipes and a high density of fittings, such as a bathroom group, glue fittings would be used.

Some advantages of o-ring fittings are:

fittings can be reused
quicker to install for large diameter pipes (> 6")
no time constraint for adjustment of fittings

Some advantages of glue fittings are:

fittings stay in the place they were set to
available for small diameter pipes
quicker to install when there is a high density of fittings


How do you change baseboard heater to cast iron radiator All my heat is from cast iron radiators e xcept for one room ( third story loft).  How do I change from baseboard to cast iron radiators?

I presume this is a forced-hot-water system?

The question is going to be whether the room was originally set up with a radiator, or if the plumbing was redone for the baseboard.

If you're lucky it was the former, and  the hot and return pipes come out relatively near to each other (with a return running the whole length of the baseboard to connect back to that area). In that case you drain and disconnect the baseboard loop, install whatever plumbing and valves are needed to connect the pipe ends to the two ends of your radiator, refill the system (including venting the air out of the radiator), and it should basically Just Work. The main challenge, outside of hauling the radiator up there, will be making the connections; if the new radiator isn't exactly the same size as the one that was originally there you'll need some additional pipe, creatively arranged, to make at least one of the connections work out properly. (My library was retrofit that way at some point; the radiator there now is clearly wider than the original and both ends are connected via some additional copper tubing.)

If you're unlucky, and the baseboard's return is at the far end from its supply... I don't think there's an easy fix for that case. You could run pipe all the way across that wall, but that may not save you much over just leaving the baseboard in place. You could re-plumb the return, but unless there's some other nearby part of the return to hook into, easily accessed, that starts turning into a much larger renovation project. I suppose you could leave most of the baseboard in place and use it as the connection to the return, giving you both radiator AND baseboard active in that room... though a good radiator might release most of the heat before it ever got to the baseboard.

I presume you've already checked this plumbing detail, and that you're happy with where the radiator would wind up.

(I periodically think about replacing the radiator in my living room with one of the sculptural radiators a few companies are making. That'd be a relatively easy retrofit since it's ground floor and I'd have easy access to the pipes. It might mean losing some of the period charm of the place, but having a piece of "functional artwork" appeals to my engineering instincts.)


What do I do if there are only two wires coming from my ceiling electrical box? I'm about to install several Hunter ceiling fans. The instructions that came with the fan show three wires coming from the ceiling box for a single switch light.  When I remove the light, there are only two wires leading to it.  And the wires are old, cloth covered.  (House was built in '50.)  Why two rather than three and what the heck do I do now?

The 3 wires are normally hot, neutral, and ground. It sounds like your home doesn't have a ground wire.

From Wikipedia:

  Equipment earthing conductors provide an electrical connection between non-current-carrying metallic parts of equipment and the earth. The reason for doing this according to the U.S. National Electrical Code (NEC), is to limit the voltage imposed by lightning, line surges, and contact with higher voltage lines. The equipment earthing conductor is usually also used as the equipment bonding conductor (see below).

  Equipment bonding conductors provide a low impedance path between non-current-carrying metallic parts of equipment and one of the conductors of that electrical system's source, so that if a part becomes energized for any reason, such as a frayed or damaged conductor, a short circuit will occur and operate a circuit breaker or fuse to disconnect the faulted circuit. By bonding (interconnecting) all exposed non-current carrying metal objects together, they should remain near the same potential thus reducing the chance of a shock. This is especially important in bathrooms where one may be in contact with several different metallic systems such as supply and drain pipes and appliance frames. The equipment bonding conductor is usually also used as the equipment earthing conductor (see above).

If the box is metallic, there's a chance it may still be grounded, even though there is no wire. There's an answer to a similar question that describes how to check if a box is grounded.

If the box is grounded..

If the box is grounded, then you can connect the ground wire from the fan directly to the box, and the fan will be grounded.

If not..

If the box is not grounded, you have two choices:

Run a ground to the box. This would mean running a new wire back to the panel (could be bare copper, but if you're doing the work may be better just to run a new wire - 14/3 would be the best), which could mean opening up drywall.
Wire the fan without ground. This is slightly dangerous, but not moreso than the when the previous fixture was there -- except that people do touch fans to control them. If something ever happens to cause the fixture to become energized (eg a frayed wire inside), someone who touches it will likely be shocked (which can cause serious injuries and even death).

Personally, if I was unable to get a ground to the box, I'd probably use a fan that was remote controlled so no one ever has a need to touch it (get a fan either with no pull strings/controls, or cut the cords off so no one is tempted to touch them). The wall switch can be left in to control overall power, and the remote used to switch light/fan speed, or the wall switch can be removed so the power is permanently on and the remote is used for everything.

In any case, you should connect the fan's ground wire to the box, so that at least the fan body and box are bonded (at the same electrical potential).

Bootleg Ground

DO NOT CONNECT GROUND AND NEUTRAL in the box. This is sometimes called a "bootleg ground" and is not only pointless, but actually very dangerous. If the neutral wire ever has a fault ANYWHERE, in addition to the fixture simply not working, it becomes energized and you can be shocked if you touch it (as you likely would to, say, check if the light bulb was burnt out).


What's the name of a mortise lock that uses no key? I need to buy a door lock that uses handles and that requires a pocket—the mortise—to be cut into the door.

Something like this one or like this one.

But one that uses no key nor any other locking mechanism. So I need something basic, for the door at my room - there is no need to lock it.

I need to search for this on the internet so I need to be able to search specifically for this kind of product, is there a particular name for this? It would improve my search results a lot. At this moment, all my searches return a gazillion of products that I don't need

Maybe it's "Door Lever"? Or "Door Leverset"? Searching for the last one seems to have better results, yet too many of them use a key.

The word you want is "passage" - passage sets are made for hallways and closets without locks.  So if you search for "passage latchset" or "passage mortise latchset" you should find what you need.


Connection for C wire on Mastertrol Mark V zone control panel I have spent hours searching the web for information on this 20+ year old zone control panel, which supports 3 zones of Heat and A/C.

The thermostat I'm replacing (on Zone 3) connects to T4/T5/T6 as W, R, Y respectively (the wire colors do not match because it's sharing a cable with Zone 2, which go the matching colors).   I need a C (Common) wire to supply power to the thermostat, and found 24VAC across M2 and T5  (M1/M2 are the power leads to the zone damper, and seem to be connected internally to "1" and "2", the 24VAC supply.

However, when I connect the C terminal on the thermostat to the M2 connection, there is a click from some of the zone relays and the transformer hums as if it's overloaded.  I removed power after a few seconds and disconnected the wire (now hanging off to the right of the picture).

I've disconnected the wire from the C terminal at the thermostat, and measure 24VAC across it and the Rh terminal on the 'stat, so I don't believe the issue is in the wiring.

The thermostat is a Filtrete 3M50; I've read that it draws less than .1 Amp, so I don't think this should be enough to put the system over some maximum current draw.

I'm looking for ideas on how to troubleshoot this.

It appears according to the manual for the Mastertrol Automatic Balancing System (MABS) EZ Zone (EZ-2 and EZ-4) Control Panels (PDF), that M1 is used for C.

Click for larger view
This does not appear to be the manual for your device, so this information may not be correct.
The manual for the MABS 2 Zone Panel (PDF), also shows M1 being used for C.

UPDATE:
After further review, you should be able to connect the C wire directly to the transformer terminals. Measure for Voltage between the T5 terminal of the zone you're working in, and the 1 and 2 terminals in the 24V 40VA Transformer section. One should measure 24 Volts, while the other measures 0 Volts. The one that gives you 24 Volts, should be able to be used as C.


How can I repair the lower sash of a window How do I find parts for a window, Been to several stores like Lowes, Home Depot, ace etc  I am looking for a part that looks like this. it's for holding
the lower sash of the window to stay up when open

whittle something out of wood
identify the manufacturer and ask them
use it as an excuse to buy a 3-d printer.
ditto forge, casting sand, aluminium etc
ditto clapped-out Bridgeport ...


Screws for mounting exercise rings on concrete ceiling I want to have a pair of still rings for training purposes in my room. To be more specific I want a pair of adjustable and storable still rings and for that, I need two screws in my concrete ceiling. My main concern is that they can hold my body weight. I'm around 65 kg and I will NOT swing with the rings (the room's too shallow anyways). I want to do exercises like L-sits, planche, pull-up, muscle-up etc. So I'd say the screws would need to hold a maximum of 150 kg in an extreme situation.

What size and kind of screw should I take and is there anything else I should be concerned about?

There are two primary types of anchors for concrete. I'd trust either if properly installed. Holes must be drilled cleanly and to the proper size. Bolts must be of the correct diameter and length. Both require fairly large holes (7/16" to 5/8" or so).

Sleeve or Wedge Anchor (with integrated bolt)

Lag Shield (with standard lag screw)


How to (re)support basement stair stringers? Recently I had some waterproofing done on my basement. This included removing some concrete that anchored/lifted the stringer's supports so that old concrete could be removed and new stuff poured (see image 1).
I don't have a problem fixing this once the new concrete has finished setting (I was fully aware that this was on me after the job was done), but unfortunately I have no idea how to approach it.
Image 1.  The darker area on the floor in  the image   was originally a mound of concrete, maybe 1/2" to 3/4" high stretching between both supports (you can see some remnants under the support on the left, all was removed near the wall).
Currently there's just a scrap board holding up the stairs near the bottom end (top left of image 1 in the background), and I'm just trying to go downstairs as carefully and infrequently as possible for now.
Image 2. You can see there is a slight height difference between the bottom of each stringer and the floor. There was a difference before, as there is a floor drain not too far from the lower end, but I'm sure the new concrete slightly increased the difference. A scrap piece of plywood temporarily lifts one end. It looks like there may have been a small patch of concrete lifting this part as well, but I'm not 100% sure.
Eventually I'll need to rebuild the landing that was at the bottom of the stairs which I had to tear up for this (it hides some sort of old cast iron capped off sewer pipe I have no intention of touching, just off the left of image 2).
My current plan is just to keep a scrap block under the stringer, just clean it up a little/hide it. Of course the landing I build will need to be slightly raised on that side as well, but that's no big deal. But if there's a more "legitimate" approach I'm more than happy to attempt that instead.
How sould I best approach this?

Consider installing a pressure-treated 2x8 base plate onto the floor slab, underneath the stringers.  That's roughly how you'd build a new staircase by today's standards.

Notch the bottom of the stringers so the new base plate will fit.  This will be the trickiest part since you can't disassemble the staircase.
Slide the base plate into place.  It should be a tight fit requiring a little hammering or lifting of the stringers.
Fasten the base plate to the slab using your preferred concrete fasteners.
Fasten the stringers to the base plate using galvanized or stainless steel framing nails, or if not those, at least deck screws compatible with the PT lumber.

If you search for connect stair stringers to slab you can find a variety of drawings and photos that should be helpful.  The connections I suggest are more like the inner-stringer of a 3-or-more-stringer staircase, than then outsides.  That's due to using the base plate as a permanent shim.


Use impact driver or impact wrench for lag screws? Assume 100 ft lb on the socket for impact driver and 300 ft lb on the socket for impact wrench, what's appropriate for driving 3" lag screws? Would an impact wrench break the screw?

If the torque is adjustable, the wrench seems like it's potentially more useful for re-use on cars. Also seems to be 50% heavier than impact drivers.

Update: it's a 5/16" screw and I broke it with a 100 ft lb impact driver so I guess for the purpose of the question, an impact wrench would definitely excessive.

I think the answer to this will be "it depends" since there are different size lag bolts, there's the number of bolts you intend to install and how often, the size of the pilot hole you intend to drill, and you may have more or less usage for other tasks (cars) than other people.

The impact wrench will have more capacity, but may be less portable, heavier, and could over torque in some situations. The impact driver is likely to be more convenient, more likely to have interchangeable bits and batteries with your power drill and or other tools, but may not be up to driving hundreds of bolts per day. And if you're only doing a few bolts, the answer is neither and use a simple socket set to install them by hand. Regardless of which tool you use, a properly sized pilot hole will make the job easier, straighter, and less likely to split the wood.


Why are there ovens with control panel toward the back? I often see ovens with their control panel behind the elements, mostly in US American settings, like in the picture below.

Where I live, the controls are always in front of the appliance. It seems unnecessarily dangerous to me that one has to reach over the pots or pans on the stove to regulate the heat.

Is there some historic or technical reason to this?

It's much more difficult for a small child to "play with the controls" and turn the stove elements on in that location.

Having lived with stoves like this for a long time, I've never burned myself reaching for them.


All 120v outlets and lights are not working in a detatched garage I have a separate garage that was built in 2001. It has a 100 amp sub panel that is fed from the main panel in the garage of my house. The panels are about 50' apart and the wire is in conduit. The sub was bonded between the ground and neutral bars but I have separated them and there is also a separate ground rod for it. There are only 3 wires between the two panels and not a 4th grounding wire.

I have a low voltage PLT license that I use for the trade I am in and have done quite a bit of high voltage wiring in houses that I have lived in.

A couple of weeks ago I was going to use a craftsman skill saw to cut a board and when I tried to start it, the saw didn't start just hummed like the brushes were bad. The strangest part is that the light on the garage door opener flashed on and off when I attempted to start the saw. Now all 7 120v circuits in my garage don't work. I have a 220v compressor that does work but none of the 120v circuits do including ceiling lights.

I have a digital multi meter and have checked voltage at the main breakers. It is consistent at 120v at both breakers. As I have investigated the situation I have found that 3 of the circuits when energized will cause the voltage to drop from 120v to 110v and the other leg goes up to 130v. Even after I have disconnected the wiring on those circuits I cannot get power to the other outlets or lights. With the power off, I have also checked with an ohm meter between the neutral and hot wire at the breakers and it shows open on all circuits. When I have the light switches on and plug in my irrigation controller the transformer hums loudly and the lights do seem to go on.

What am I missing? Where do I check next?

All of your symptoms sound like a faulty Neutral connection.  Faulty neutral causes L1 to affect L2, and has no affect on 220 equipment just like you described.

Fix that quick.  A faulty neutral can damage your equipment, and because you installed a second ground, it can harm YOU as well.  Check that the neutral wire is firmly connected, and using Noalox:

ALL aluminum connections for that matter should be protected from corrosion and thermal expansion with Noalox.

You are lucky that you have a conduit!  You have an EASY way to remove the entire length of the neutral conductor to inspect it for damage.  You should also take advantage of that conduit to pull a ground conductor through it and use that to ground your sub panel VIA your main panel.  Do not use a second ground rod at the sub.  It is not worth the risk in your case.


Ridge beam sizing for an 8'6" x 20' tiny house I am building an 8'6" x 20' tiny house on wheels and am trying to size up the ridge beam. The 2x6 rafters are placed 24"oc and are mounted to beam with Simpson Strong-Tie hangers. The beam rests on 4x4 end posts. The roof will be vaulted on the interior, so no collar ties. Here are some specs:

Currently, I have a 4x10' and I understand the best option would be to consult a structural engineer, but wanted to get some more input from others.

Note: you'll notice I've tried two different type of gable ends, one with 45deg support ends.

Best

Massive overkill.

If you are content to give up the vertical height this monster takes, simply extend the line of its bottom out to 1/2" from the top face of the rafter and cut a lot of (looks like 24) 1/2" plywood triangles.

Glue and screw to the face of the rafters (which you'll cut to meet in the middle.) You can cut a scrap of 2X to fill the bottom void, but it will make little difference for this scale.

You don't need a ridge beam at all. You just need to keep the ends of your rafters from spreading, and the gusset will do that nicely for a house this tiny. If you want to cut the points off and use a 1x4 ridge board on top, sure, fine, structurally irrelevant.

This is particularly important since you are putting it on a trailer, so excess, wasteful weight is a detriment.

Which might be a good reason to talk to a licensed engineer (I'm merely a vernacular builder, but I have sheds bigger than that with less roof structure that have taken snow loads for 20+ years) about how to minimize the structural overkill to suit the scale of the house. You've already given building codes for houses the brush-off by putting it on a trailer - perhaps you should learn more about how trailers are efficiently built before you give up a lot of interior volume and add a lot of weight for structure you don't actually need.

If time is not too much of the essence, you could potentially get some engineering class interested in taking it on as a class project.

If you are open to a change in roof style, the traditional mobile tiny house (the Gypsy caravan) features a stylish arched roof structure (you might need to consider altering the traditional exterior detailing in light of what speeds you'll tow at.)


What's the "correct" way to install LED drivers for accent lighting? I want to install LED strip lighting behind crown molding in my office.  In my particular install, I'm using 3 strips of SMD 5050 RGBW LEDs, which draw about 72 W per strip.  From what I can gather, people are using one of three kinds of power supplies:

plug-in type wall warts
panel-mount LED drivers like the Meanwell LPV series.
Enclosed power supplies like the Meanwell NES series.

I don't believe there exists a magnetic transformer that can drive and control RGB or RGBW LEDs, but perhaps I'm missing a fourth option?

If I hire a professional to do this work (I'm not; I'm doing it myself, but I want a "professional" job that will pass inspection), what method would they use to drive my LEDs?  The first two require multiple drivers since none are rated more than 100W or so.  The latter method uses a power supply that's meant to be enclosed in a larger assembly; it's not meant to just hang out on top of a cabinet with exposed 120V input terminals.

So what are professionals doing when they install these systems?  Do they install multiple 120V outlets spaced out behind the crown (or other feature they're accenting), and use multiple plug-in type drivers?  Do they use an enclosed power supply which they then place within an enclosure of some sort?  Do they fudge it, and just tuck the enclosed driver somewhere out of sight or where they think someone won't be likely to touch a live terminal?

I'm obviously not the first person to install LED accent lighting, but there's a dearth of info on the web as to how to install it, and actually respect Code at the same time.

I took a standard ATX power supply from a computer and took the 12V output to drive lights. I put it in a closet and ran romex through the way -- seems a bit strange to use such heavy wire, but it's (relatively) cheap, conforms to code for being in walls (most places), and reduces voltage drop.  I put the power supply (in a small computer box) on a switched outlet so the 110V is switched, which reduces zombie current draw when the accent lights are not in use.  IN my case I just fed a 110v run from the lights in a related area so the accent and regular lights go on and off together.  (The manufacturer's remote can also turn off, leaving the power supply on).

I do not suggest this is code compliant, merely one approach that functions.  Also, I feel a lot safer with a quality PC power supply than some of the cheap bricks, and much safer with romex in the out-of-sight runs than most cheap-LED-associated wiring.

Be sure to check the power supply to see its 12V structure, some carry full capacity on one bus, some have more than one to split the load, and you need to (for those) take care which outputs you use.


Exterior wood rot remedy for beam I am not sure if this beam is decorative or structural

But you can see the rotten area in red rectangle

What is the best way to fix something like this?

The rafter is kind of structural, but it is hardly holding up anything. It can be cut on to a degree and still keep the rake board from sagging. The load that is in that end of the 4X6 may not be no more than a few hundred pounds over the whole length. The 1X4 spaced sheathing would a lot of the weight, but the roof would still sag, so the cantilevered beam keeps everything in line.

The one thing I see that helped advance the rot was the extension of the beam past the rafter, the more extension, the more water sets to advance rot. My first move would be to reduce, but not eliminate a major part of the extension, leaving about a 1/2". This will minimze the flat shelf that will harbor a lot of moisture, including dew. This should be done on all beams around the house, double prime and double paint for protection, and add a flashing cap for best protection, then the extension does not matter, just the fasteners needed to hold the rafter in place. Secondly that cutting will expose the condition of the rafter that the paint is hiding, and how far along the rot is. With that much done, I would cut an angle off the top of the beam to remove all if at least most of the rot and replace the triangular cut with new material prime all around, and prime the cut of the original beam too, and use a wood treatment on any remaining rot that may not have been removed by the cutting.

You could replace the wood with pressure treated material ut that will not hold paint until all the surface treatment leached out for about 6 months so the paint will stick.

With the angle depicted, the wedge will only need a few fasteners to keep it from sliding back out, otherwise, gravity and pressure from the rafter above would keep it in place due to the long angle of the cut.