Thermostatic Valve in Shower Not Adjusting Water Temperature Ever since I moved into this house I have not been able to adjust the water temperature in the shower (luckily it was at a decent setting) and I am trying to figure out if it is a bad cartridge or potentially something else. It is a thermostatic valve, one handle that you turn that only changes (or supposed to change) the temperature while another handle adjusts the water flow.
I have pictures of the valve/cartridge below, I tried manually adjusting it with the screws on the right and left side of the valve but when I moved the hot screw closed to a good spot the water started making a whining noise so I had to back it out some more. Clearly this shouldn't be the proper way to adjust the temp since I have a knob that is supposed to do that.
I am completely ignorant when it comes to this aspect of plumbing and it appears that cartridges are a bit more expensive than a standard sink cartridge so I'd rather get some guidance before just trying something out.

This was the cartridge that needed replacing and it did the trick in case anyone searches this
Moen 130156
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Moen-Cartridge-Repair-Kit/1002967992


Should I be using the little copper bit inside this 3/8 water connection? The adapter I use to get standard 3/8” water connections on the 1/2” pex in my home (to replace a faucet for example) always comes with a little copper piece (on the right of the picture) inside the connection.

What is this? Should I be using it? I sort of assumed that it and the nut there are for if you're running your own custom line, but now I’m getting paranoid that I’m messing up. Thanks!

That looks like an olive for use with a copper pipe.
The pex fittings I use have a split collar as they are designed with the water seal internally onto the brass spigot and the nut/collar is to secure the pipe into place.


Can I use a different brand of underlayment under my Pergo laminate floor and still be covered under the warranty? I am not sold on Pergo Gold brand Underlayment. From reading reviews, there seem to be a good amount of unhappy customers who have used it. They say it crunches under the flooring when you walk on it.

Can I use a different brand of underlayment under my laminate floor and still be covered under the warranty?  I am not doing the install myself, I am having it installed through Lowe's.

It appears you can use any brand of underlayment as long as it meets Pergo's specifications. Their warranty is concise and straightforward and the only reference to an underlayment is made in the "Conditions" section, and it reads as follows:

  Foam underlayment should meet or exceed 2.0 lb polyethylene foam (1.9-2 lb density), CFC Free, 1.8mm to 2.1mm thickness.

By the way, according to Pergo's installation instructions, an underlayment is required only when it's not attached to the flooring.


Pipe from wall too low to go into vanity As you can see by the photo my pipe from the wall is too low to enter the back of the vanity. How can I fix this without cutting the drywall?

All the fittings you see there (including the one just inside the wall) are compression fittings. You can loosen the nuts and take everything apart. Then install your cabinet and reassemble the trap. Pay attention to which direction the tapered plastic washers are oriented.

A strong person can hand-tighten those enough so they don't leak. The rest of us should add another 1/4 or 1/2 turn using such tools as a channel-lock pliers.

It appears as though the bottom shelf in your cabinet is too high to allow the trap to reside in its normal position. Do not attempt to raise the trap, then drop back down to the wall connection with another elbow. This would result in what are called S-traps, which have a tendency to siphon water out of the trap and allow gas escape.

Instead, you'll need to cleanly cut an opening in the shelf to fit the trap. I like to use about a 2" hole saw at each end of a slotted opening, then I'll bullnose the hole edge with a router.

If hacking up your cabinet doesn't appeal, it wouldn't be the end of the world to raise the trap hub in the wall. You'd cut out a section of drywall that's concealed by the cabinet. No need to repair that. Then you'd cut out the section of pipe around the sanitary tee and use slip-couplers to install a new one a few inches up. These will all be cement-welded connections. Plan carefully to avoid ending up too high. I'd consider stubbing a pipe out of the wall to move the threaded fitting into the cabinet a few inches. Makes for easier connection of the trap assembly.


Are standard light bulb bases being phased out? Recently we've been shopping for light fixtures, and have noticed a dramatic increase in non-standard bulbs.  CFLs in particular seem to be drifting away from the common threaded base, in favor of 2-post snap in bulbs.

I know there are efforts underway to remove incandescent bulbs from shelves, and I don't necessarily disagree with this.  But I'm worried about having to find or keep on hand hundreds of different types of bulbs for my light fixtures rather than a consistent size and base.

So...  Is the standard base becoming a thing of the past?  Is a new standard clear on the horizon, yet?  Should I try to stick with screw-base fixtures, or is diversity likely to be okay in the long run?

Many countries are banning the sale of incandescent bulbs over the next decade. Canada is planning on banning them in 2012 (not entirely sure if this is a done deal or not though), USA is banning them at different wattages starting in 2012 and ending in 2014.

The GU24 (two-pin) base is being introduced to force the transition, and prevent incandescent bulbs from being used in newer fixtures.

From this page:

  What is a GU24 base and how is it related to CFLs?

  The GU24 socket and base system is designed to replace the Edison socket and base in energy efficient lighting fixtures.  The ENERGY STAR® Program Requirements for Residential Lighting Fixtures, Version 4.0 require that residential lighting fixtures cannot use the standard Edison screw base, even if they do not have a built-in ballast.  The same requirement is included in California's Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential and Nonresidential Buildings, known as Title 24-2005.  This requirement is designed to insure that fixtures that receive ENERGY STAR® qualification when using an energy-efficient self-ballasted CFL, or are qualified as energy-efficient under Title 24-2005 cannot be operated with an incandescent lamp.  The GU24 socket was designed to be compatible with these energy efficiency regulations.  The GU24 base has two dual-diameter pins; the smaller portion having a diameter of 3.4 mm (0.13 inches) while the larger portion has a diameter of 5 mm (0.2 inches). CFLs with a GU24 base are designed to be connected directly to the power line, so they are functionally equivalent to screw-base CFLs instead of normal pin-base CFLs.  Unfortunately, ENERGY STAR® refers to CFLs with the GU24 base as self-ballasted pin base lamps, a designation that may lead to confusion with pin-base CFLs that do not have an integral ballast.  Some manufacturers are also making modular ballasts with a GU24 base on one end and a socket for a normal pin-base CFL on the other.  These modular ballasts can be used to adapt normal pin-base CFLs to fixtures that have the GU24 socket, thereby reducing the amount of material that must be thrown away when the lamp fails.

I would bet Edison will not disappear for quite a while though: there are hundreds of millions of fixtures, and it's not practical (or environmentally friendly) for everyone to go out and replace every fixture in the next few years. My guess (and I have no authority in the matter btw :)) is that it will be 2015-2020 before you start finding more GU24 base bulbs than Edison.

Also, you can get Edison to GU24 adapters, which means even if Edison bulbs themselves disappear, you can still use your existing fixtures.


deck railing height with built-in benches? If a deck (more than 30" off the ground) has a row of benches built-in to the perimeter, do the guard rails need to be measured from the height of the bench? I've been reading building codes they all talk about measuring from the floor of the deck.

To clarify: The deck (and the benches, and the house) was built 20+ years ago. I understand that it could be safer, but is that a recommendation or a legal requirement? Is it up to code now, and if not, have the standards have changed recently, or was the original builder in violation?

Holy cow I just went through this last summer with a house I bought...

  Specifically, 2009 IRC section R312.2 states: Required guards at
  open-sided walking surfaces, including stairs, porches, balconies or
  landings, shall be not less than 36 inches high measured vertically
  above the adjacent walking surface, adjacent fixed seating or the line
  connecting the leading edges of the treads.

So yes most/all municipalities that are using 2009 IRC and above would require that you have your rail height 36" higher than the seat.   Let me tell you that this is almost impossible to do without a ton of work (and having it functional and looking good).  Most people don't want railings at 46-50" since it encloses the deck and is reaching the height of shorter women.

What did we do?  We simply detached the bench part and made sure it fit snugly into the deck.  Since it is not a "fixed" part of the deck it passed inspection.  We were not concerned about small children because it was already 26" over the seat and had vertical backs set at 120 degrees.


Should I replace this 4" furnace filter with a 5" one? I got a new furnace this year, and want to replace the filter. It's 4" (actually 3 5/8), but the cabinet looks like it would easily take 5.

Would a 5" replacement be better? Or should I just get another 4"?

Call the furnace installer and ask what size, type, and specs for the filter to fit the rack he installed. It looks as if a certain type filter should be installed since it has a cover door. Usually these filter racks handle a certain type of filter and not a standard 4" or 5" filter.


Is it feasible to add a garbage disposal with this kitchen setup? Location: US, NYC. I am doing a partial renovation of a small kitchen in a 2-family house, and trying to keep the cost down if possible. Plumbing done, cabinets and backsplash installed, countertop and sink are coming soon. At this late stage, I've discovered that NYC recently allowed garbage disposals (I always thought they were illegal), and I'm wondering how feasible it is to add one.
The setup is on the diagram below. Questions:

There is an approximately 2 foot long approximately horizontal drain pipe run (usual 1.75 inch PVC) between the vertical drain line and the P-trap. Most of this pipe is behind drywall and cabinets and cannot be realistically changed at this stage. Would a garbage disposal be strong enough to push waste through, or would things get stuck in the horizontal pipe?
And what if the pipe is not quite horizontal, but slopes slightly?
Are there height restrictions for where the garbage disposal's output should be in relation to the P-trap and the horizontal drain pipe?
The P-trap is under the center of the sink, but my sink model drains on the right side. Are there any restrictions on the shape or type of the drain connection from the garbage disposal to the P-trap?
There is no dedicated switchable electric outlet under the counter for a garbage disposal, so I thought of plugging a wireless garbage disposal switch into the same double outlet as the dishwasher. Bad idea? Otherwise, the wiring job would be a bit complicated and would require breaking the backsplash.
Generally, does anyone have experience with garbage disposals in NYC?

Prompted by K H's comment, I've looked at the specs of my dishwasher model and garbage disposal, and the sum of their current draw is over 15 A. Not a good idea to plug that into one 15 A circuit.
So irrespective of plumbing questions, a garbage disposal would require adding a new electric circuit in the kitchen, which would be too expensive given my planned renovation budget.


OK to reposition a 90 degree sweep of Schedule 40 conduit after it's been glued? I've installed 2" Schedule 40 direct burial pipe from power pole to power pole so that AT&T, Comcast, & Wave aerial cables can be run underground instead.  I've completed the conduit connections and have run pull rope through each.  However, the 90 degree sweep for the middle conduit is not aligned with the power pole (see photo) by a couple of feet.  I'm not sure if I forced this conduit up against the pole and secured it if it would cause stress and possibly break the conduit or cause one of the glued connections to separate.  I'd prefer not to have to realign it by cutting the conduit and installing another connector if I can avoid it since I've already run the pull rope through the length of the conduit.

I would really try to avoid placing intentional stress on the PVC pipe to get it into position.

Instead you should find the part of the pipe that is relatively straight where a cut and rotation of the pipe on its center axis will correct for the misalignment at the end. Then cut open the pipe and glue in a coupler to allow for the rotation.

The rope should be no problem. Tie on some more rope at the existing end and then when you cut the pipe do so in a manner that you do not cut off the rope. Once the pipe is open pull the extra rope down toward your cut area and open the knot so you can thread on the new coupling fitting. Then rejoin the knot and pull the rope back through to the end. Re-glue the joint with the rope inside the fitting.


Installing NEMA 14-50 by use of NM-B in a Metal Flex conduit (dry location) code compliant? Goal: Replace existing 10-30 (8/3 Al on 30A breaker) receptacle with a 14-50 (6/3 Cu on 50A breaker). Receptacle will be used to charge an EV (at 32A, but I think its only right to actually make sure the 14-50 is capable of doing what its supposed to, who knows what next owner of the house may use it for).
Reasons I want to avoid using THHN, location is a 2 car garage, the run starts in wall (behind drywall, about 10 feet), run ends in a wall (behind drywall about 20 feet). The space between these two walls is an existing 3/4in metal flex conduit (length is width of 2 car garage). To use THHN Id have to rip up two walls to install conduit. So NM-B is much more convenient for me. I have to use some sort of conduit (i think) because the ceiling of the garage is unfinished (exposed beams), so there is no drywall or anything to put the NM-B behind.
The conduit is existing (its what the 8/3 Al on 30A breaker is running to the existing NEMA 10-30 receptacle).
Now the questions. Please correct me if I am reading something incorrectly.
From reading NEC it appears that NM-B is not allowed in wet locations. Conduits outdoors are considered wet locations. My entire run is in a dry location, all indoors and more than 8ft off the ground.
Two other concerns that may come up.

Derating - being NM-B it is automatically derated in NEC table to 60C and 50A (individual conductors are rated 90C but dertaed as a whole to 60C). So since I am putting it on a 50A breaker and using 14-50, it seems like derating is a moot debate (since its already done automatically).
Fill table calculation. NEC specifically says to treat NM-B as one conductor when calculating fill table. I measured my NM-B (it is round not oval) and it is 0.5in diameter. I used Southwire's fill calculator - https://www.southwire.com/calculator-conduit with the following settings:

Conduit - Flex FMC 3/4
Conductors - 0.5in x 1

Calculation gives 37% fill rate. Within NEC spec.
So, what am I missing? Based on this it should be to code for me to run NM-B 6/3 through a 3/4in metal Flex conduit across the ceiling from one wall to another?
Thanks for any feedback!

While my measurements showed 0.5 inch diameter, the Southwire website suggests that NM-B is 0.67inches, and with using that as calculation it comes out as overfilled for 3/4 inch FMC.
So I ended up replacing the FMC with 1 inch Schedule 40 (gray) electrical PVC conduit.
All is well. Thanks everyone for feedback/help.


Is a threaded brass drop ear elbow really the right fixture for in-wall attachment of shower head? I want to make sure I'm doing this right. It seems weird that all the plumbing I'm putting in is soldered copper and should remain leak free for decades but the last few inches are this threaded brass drop-ear elbow. Threaded implies "will leak eventually".
Is there some best practice regarding the installation of the elbow to which the shower arm attaches? I'd prefer to not have leaking inside the wall.

The shower head arm is usually part of a particular shower head and sold with the shower head. Therefore, it has to be installed after the wall is finished and has to be removable when the owner wants to replace the shower head and arm. That's when the threaded part comes in handy.
As far as "threaded implies 'will leak eventually'", if the threads are prepared correctly with the Teflon tape and the arm is tightened enough, it will be leak free. I've installed many arms and have never had one leak on me and have had to repair soldered joints that were leaking.
Yes, the threaded brass drop ear elbow is the right fitting. It provides a strong mounting to the stud behind the wall allowing you to really tighten the arm. There are PVC elbows but they will break when tightened.


Can I add a three way switch to a light circuit when I only have access to light switch and it just cuts the power to the switch? I have a light switch that controls 2 lights in the hall.  The wire to the switch carries power to the switch with the black wire and the white wire carries the power to the light.  I have access to the switch box and can run a three wire (black, red, white) to the location for the other switch.  Can I wire this so I have three way switches?

Yes you can. You need to replace the current switch with a three way.

Run the new three wire cable between the old switch box and the new switch box.

The wire that carries current to the old switch is attached to the common terminal of the replacement three way.

The wire that brings current to the light in the existing switch box is connected to one of the wires to the second remote three way switch. In the new switch box, this will be connected to the new switch's common terminal.

The other two wires are the travelers between the replacement switch and the new second switch.

NOTE: Be sure to mark the white wire in the new cable with black tape or marker on both ends. That wire will be hot.

Old Wiring

New Wiring


Cutler Hammer panel and whole house Generator In 1992 Cutler Hammer panels did not have a means to separate the grounds and neutrals on the panel. My electrician says he never seen a panel like this before. We want to install a whole house generator with 200 amp circuit. Is there a modification that can be done  or do we have to install a new panel? The current panel 200 amp Cutler Hammer.

Separating neutral and ground on a Cutler Hammer panel is as simple as installing an accessory ground bar.  They sell those (now under the Eaton brand, but still marketed as CH or BR) and the panel should have holes already drilled and tapped for the mounting screws that are in the kit.

If for some reason yours does not have mounting holes that line up with screws on standard ground bars for your panel, you can physically mount it some other way that reflects good workmanship (NEC 110.12).

I am not the biggest fan of screws as a method to make electrical connections, so if the panel's metal chassis figures into grounding anythingv(like metal conduit leaving the panel), I recommend a burly grounding strap from ground bar to panel chassis, separate from the mounting screws.

Lastly, remove the grounding screw or strap from the neutral bar.  Right now the neutral is grounded to panel chassis, and you no longer want that.

Occam's Razor: install a subpanel

There's a better and less disruptive way to do all this.   You can fit a proper subpanel next to your main panel.  You then move the circuits you want supported from generator, into that subpanel.

If the generator is permanently installed and not GFCI, remove its neutral-ground bond and use some ingenious generator interlock hardware made by actual tier 1 panel maufacturers (so you're not paying top dollar for hacked up rubbish like Reliance switches). For instance a Siemens 16-space "subpanel as transfer switch" costs about $130 and is top shelf.

If you want to use a portable generator that you will be hauling away to other tasks, you will need to switch neutral. The same principle applies, but you put the 3-pole transfer switch immediately next to the subpanel.


How do you wire and replace an old bathroom vanity light fixture I am replacing a bathroom light fixture in an old condo built in the 70s.  There is armored cable coming into the fixture from the wall.

From my understanding is that I need to do these steps,

1) Install an old work/junction box w/ armored cable connector and attach cable.
2) Attach the three wires (black to black), (white to white), (ground from light fixture to ground in old work box. Is that right and safe?

Do I have to voltage test to make sure my old wires can handle the voltage of the new light fixture wires without starting a fire?

Pardon my ignorance on any of this.  This is my first time doing electrical work.

Am I safe doing this without starting a fire?

Let me know if I am missing any important steps.  Thanks!!!

Work Complete Update - I had to extend the armored cable with an EMT connection and new cable as I couldn't pull cable out of the wall to reach to the newly located floating work box.  No mc flex cable connection available at the stores to extend the cable so a EMT connection was used.

As instructed, tested for ground and also installed anti-short bushings.  Connected wires and connected ground to the ground screws.  Used CFLs to create less heat for the older wires in the walls.

Not all fixtures need junction boxes. Some fixtures have a built-in junction box like florescent light fixtures or bathroom fan/light combination fixtures, so it will depend on what you're putting up there. If one is needed, then you're correct with your plan. Turn off the breaker that controls the circuit. You'd want a metal old work box and would connect your armored cable to with with the connector from your old fixture. Test you wires for voltage, 120V, black to white and black to the armored shield, which would mean the armored cable is grounded. Make your fixture connections and mount it to the junction box. Turn on the breaker and flip your light switch.


Door jamb and molding too short after replacing carpet with hardwood floor? I've recently replaced carpet with hardwood floor. The door jamb and molding are now too short. Prior, the carpet was plusher and made the gap in this one door jamb less obvious.

Door Jamb

Molding

I'm pretty sure I am going to replace the molding anyways, to a more modern style.

My question, can the jamb somehow be repaired? With wood filler that can be sanded and painted perhaps? Is it faster to just replace the door jamb.

If you are going to replace the molding, I would replace the jam as well.  I looks to me like you are due for an upgrade in all of your wood-work. With the new floors and new wood-work, I think you would see a marked improvement in the overall look of he space.


Replacing an LED Driver I've got a failed LED driver that I need to replace.  It's a 25W constant-current model (260mA, 28-87V), and finding an exact replacement for this part appears to be nearly impossible.

What are the key considerations to keep in mind when choosing a suitable alternative driver?

For instance, is it more important to match on wattage, or current, or both (or neither), and how does changing each one affect the performance of the light (if at all)?  If the only local part I can source is a 20W (650mA, 20-36V) driver, would that be workable or completely useless?  Or would it be better to import a part from overseas that does 25W (300mA, 54-80V)?  Or must I stay exactly on spec with the original driver?

And do I need to stick with a single ~25W driver, or could a pair of 12W drivers be expected to do the trick?  Because for whatever reason, the LED panel itself has two inputs (and the driver that came with it has two outputs; see the photos below if this sounds confusing) while most LED drivers you can buy only have a single output.

For reference, the driver looks like this:

Note that there are two output connectors, with the blue wire on one connector going to the driver's 'LED -' output and the brown wire on the other connector going to the driver's 'LED +' output.  The alternate wire on each connector is just spliced directly to the other connector.  I'm unsure if this has implications for whether or not it would be possible to use two 12W drivers in parallel

The LED assembly itself looks like this:

What's the best approach for getting this thing illuminating again?

It's a 25W continuous-current model (260mW, 28-87V)

No it isn't. You need to be careful about the details.

constant-current not continuous-current
260 mA, not mW.

  is it more important to match on wattage, or current, or both (or neither)

All are important but the most important is that the current be close to 260 mA. LEDs need a constant-current. You could choose a lower current and the LEDs would produce less light (fewer lumens, less brightness). If you chose a higher current driver the LEDs would have a shorter life, in the worst case, seconds.

It would be prudent to choose a driver capable of at least 87V and at least 25W. It doesn't hurt to be higher (so long as it is a constant-current driver set to the correct current). It shouldn't be less (though the old driver should have been specified to run comfortably well-inside its limits).

If you have a similar light fitting that is still working, it might be useful to measure the output voltage while the light is on. Alternatively measure the forward voltage across one LED and multiply it by the number of LEDs in series in each ring (look at tracks on reverse, they might be several serial chains in parallel).

If there is one chain of 24 LEDS, each 3V, you need a driver capable of >= 72VDC.

If there are two parallel chains of 12 LEDs, each 2V, you need a driver capable of >= 24VDC.

  I'm unsure if this has implications for whether or not it would be possible to use two 12W drivers in parallel

You are right, the two rings of LEDs are independent. You could use two 250mA 12W drivers.

  What's the best approach for getting this thing illuminating again?

Google for "25W 250mA LED driver"

The usual electronics distributors have parametric search


Can I set bricks with mortar on a new concrete stoop before it cures? I'm pouring a new stoop, and I'd like to finish the corners with a brick that's used elsewhere on the house, so everything ties in.

I'm planning on pouring the stoop with a channel for the brick, so it looks like

      _______
 ____|       |____
|                 |

Instead of

 _________________
|                 |

I was wondering if I can strip the form after a couple hours and set the brick with mortar while the concrete is still curing or if I need to wait a few days for the concrete to cure.

Again, nothing structural here, just wanting to adhere the brick to the stoop.

You can, as long as the concrete will support the weight. A few hours in it'll still be very fragile, especially if your weather is cool. You'll have to feel it out and make a judgement call. Plenty of times we've built basement walls on a new slab the next morning. If we're talking about a single row of brick it should be fine.

Concrete shrinks very slightly as it cures, but I doubt that'll be an issue for you here.


Is there such a thing like low profile/depth electrical box to install a power outlet on a cinder wall that has no framing? I have a small section of a wall that has just like 1.5-2" of styrofoam insulation and then it will be  drywall on top of it
This is because it is an old toilet drain that was put there close to the wall when there was no insulation
When they finished the basement the code did not allow the toilet to be too close to the wall so they did not put framing there (exterior wall, under grade)
I am installing a smart toilet there and I need a power plug behind it so I will have to put an outlet electrical box there (this is what I am thinking now). Is there a low profile outlet box that would fit in the 1.5-2"? If not what is the lowest profile I can get or what other solutions are available for such situations? (I do not want to make room for it in the cinder block)

Easy as pie with metal boxes.
The problem is most people tend to go straight for plastic boxes (which kind of ignores the whole reason we have boxes; to ground out loose wires and contain arcing fires).
The standard 4x4 metal box is only 1-1/2" deep.  They also make 1-gang boxes only 1-1/4" deep.   These are the common cheap boxes, not a pricey specialty item.
A 4x4 box, you mount it flush to the studs and then use a "Mud Ring" the thickness of the drywall and the mud ring gives you a 1-gang or 2-gang opening.  With a 1-gang box, you can mount it flush to the drywall, so you're going less than an inch into the insulation.


Do wires running attached to joists need to be protected? So after asking How to build a wall under duct work ,I was thinking of going the #2 route and running a top plate next to the existing wire.  Now, I've seen that when running wires through studs, you need a nailing plate if the wire is closer than 1-1/4" to the outside.  In this case, I would think that I'd be fine, but what if I were to instead go with a different solution and use some hat channel to fur down the ceiling.  Would I need to protect that wire and gas line somehow from stuff coming through the drywall ceiling (however unlikely that might be)?

If your hat channel is at least 1-1/2” deep it would meet code. (With the wires minimum 1-1/4” away from the bottom). If you want to lay the wires in the hat channel that would not be an approved method. I changed the depth to be 1-1/2" I forgot to add the wire thickness. If large wires your minimum space from the wire to the channel is 1-1/4" to meet code.


Cause of white rot on floor joist The structural floor system on the 4th and top floor of a house in Rotterdam that was built in 1906 consists of 20cm x 7.5cm wooden joists which are spaced at 67cm center to center. There is nothing between the plaster ceiling and the wooden floorboards.

After removing the floorboards (already done in the photo above Note, the insulation in the photo above was just added, it is part of the reason I am removing the floorboards) and inspecting the floor joist I found some white spots on them. I believe these spots is white rot. This white rot occurs at the same location on the two floor joists which are visible. It is directly above a 12cm x 7cm wooden beam girder which was installed in the early 2000s.

In the early 2000s the house was renovated. A mason wall on the 3rd floor was partially removed to allow for a more open kitchen. The 12cm x 7cm wooden beam girder was installed to replace the mason wall’s role of supporting the floor joists. Note: Wooden beam girder covered by drywall in these images below.

After brushing the wooden beam with a wire brush the white rot was able to be removed, it does not seem to have caused any structural damage.

What do you think caused the white rot?
I’m hoping the white rot was caused by the 12cm x 7cm wooden girder beam having a bit too high of moisture content when it was installed. The moisture from the girder beam got into the dry floor joists and caused some white rot. This rot wasn’t able to grow any further since there was adequate airflow in the 20cm tall cavity between the floorboards and ceiling.

As discussed in the comments the cause of the white dry rot had something to do with water and moisture.
Since the damage was only on the surface, there should be no reason for grave concern as long as the area can stay dry in the future. To prevent further potential rot this terpentine based lead-free paint was used to treat the three reachable surfaces of the beam. This should be enough to prevent future rot.


Help installing new thermostat disclaimer, this is my first attempt at doing any type of electrical work, so apologies in advance for any wrong terminology :)

I attempted to install a new Honeywell programmable thermostat. When I was in the process of taking down the old one (Lux), I noticed that there was no C wire, but that there was an extra blue wire coiled around the other wires, see below:

Per the Honeywell instructions, I found that you could use the extra wire in place of a C wire, so I continued on. But then, I got to the part where I needed to switch out the wires on my HVAC unit in the basement. When I got everything apart and took a look, I was a little confused by what I saw:

Does anyone know what that wire going into the C port is? It is definitely thicker than any of the other wires, and doesn't appear to be the same red wire in the RH port that was found on the thermostat. It does look that there is that extra blue wire coiled around the other ones, but am I able to plug that into the C port upstairs at the thermostat, and also into the C port at the HVAC unit (with the existing red wire)? Or do I need to run a whole new wire?

The furnace is a Ducane CG92TB067D12BA

Click for larger view

The red wire that is currently on the C terminal, runs out to the coil on the contactor in your condensing unit (A/C). You'll notice the white wire from the same cable is on the Y terminal, which connects to the other coil terminal on the contactor.

Technically you shouldn't put two wires under a single screw terminal, but it's done quite a bit with HVAC control wires.  Simply put the blue wire under the C terminal, and connect the other end to the C terminal on the thermostat. Then you should be in business.

Based on the information you've provided, the wiring seems to look something like this...

The blue dashed line should represent the unused blue wire in the cable.

The installation instructions for the CP-22 condensate pump, shows the unit being wired off the Y wire between the thermostat and the furnace.

Presumably, this is so the pump knows when the A/C is on. In your situation, it's wired off the R wire between the furnace and the thermostat. I'd speculate that the installer wanted the pump to always be active, as long as the furnace had power.

I can't say for sure that this is what's causing the problem with the C wire not working, but it's definitely something out of the ordinary.  Without a multimeter, there's not much troubleshooting that can be done.  If you had an HVAC technician on site, they would likely be able to install the thermostat. Unfortunately, it's difficult to do this type of work over the internet.


how to remove gypsum board cemented to brick wall? Renovating a semi-detached house. On the shared wall, the builder mortared gypsum board to the cinder-block (first and second floor, each 8' tall x 30' long).

Tools I have considered:

Belt sanders and air-hammers seem like they would be exceptionally
slow.
Grinders might be marginally faster, but might damage the
cinder block.
A demolition hammer might be faster per minute, can an
average dude hold one up long enough?

Is there a better (faster / less tedious) approach I haven't thought of?

Unfortunately it won't be mortar but drywall adhesive; the so called 'dot and dab' in the UK, and it can be the very devils underpants to remove. It's not particularly hard but it is very 'grabby' and absorbs impacts, which means it sticks really, really well.

I use a small electrical breaker with a blade chisel. Work at a really shallow angle to the wall and tackle each dot (or dab lol) at a time. The shallow angle will protect the block-work and in theory get behind each clump of adhesive. They rarely come off cleanly (like mortar might come off a brick for example) as it's too soft.

Expect a solid band of adhesive at the top and bottom.


Best way to remove old paint from door hinges I've got a number of nice heavy brass hinges with splotches of paint on them.  Unfortunately this paint appears to be decades old and is rock-hard.  It appears to be old oil-based paint but I'm not sure.

The most visible place where paint was applied is the decorative pins that have ball shaped ends.  Scraping or sanding without scratching the brass seems impossible.  So that leaves soaking in some sort of stripping agent.  Are there any concerns with using such products with brass or any specific products and/or approaches recommended?

I would remove the affected parts from the door and wall and drop them in a small container which can be a) placed outdoors (for fume abatement) and, b) have paint thinner or Goof Off to soak for minutes or hours.

Except for possible varnish finishes on the hardware, paint thinner has no effect on brass, stainless steel, etc.


Pipe length confusions when replacing tub/shower diverter I'm a new homeowner trying to replace a shower diverter. Not a plumber, so forgive any incorrect terms.

I have a female 1/2 inch connector inside the wall about 2 1/4 deep from the tub wall. The builders used a non-standard(?) 6.5inch PVC pipe going from that connector to a screw on type diverter. The old diverter is hopelessly clogged with deposits.

I'd like to replace this setup with an all metal option. Basically afraid of the PVC pipe breaking at the metal connection point, and flooding the inside of our walls. There's also an optional decorative spout ring, but preferred since there's some minor wall damage.

Option 1

Find a 6.75 inch brass nipple. (6.75 since the decorative ring adds .25in to the length of the diverter.)

Option 2

4-ish inches of brass nipple to get out of the wall, then a PVC slip connector and glue the rest of the way to the end of the diverter.
Nice since I can control the size of the PVC with a slip connector and PVC glue
But here's the pipe length confusion part - how do I know how much PVC to add? How many turns of the spout are good?

Option 3

Use existing PVC pipe, since oddly 6.5in PVC can't be bought new at my local stores. Also no decorative ring. The current setup lasted this long...

Option 4 - anything you can suggest. Copper tube is not an option, since the hole to access inside the wall in barely 1.25 in wide.

How do you know the diverter is "hopelessly" scaled up? Unscrew or otherwise detach the spout from the supply line and soak the diverter end of the spout in vinegar or in CLR to descale it. Then reattach it to the pipe.

From my understanding of your situation you do not have to change this pipe. Hard copper tubing with sweated on end fittings is better performing, but unless your pipe is leaking you don't absolutely have to change it. This pipe does not contain water when the valves are shut. So you cannot have a catastrophic failure of the plastic pipe when you are not using it.


Will removing shelving screws from studs damage the studs? We live in a newly built home. My husband hung some Ikea shoe bins on the wall and mounted them in to the studs.  I am going to paint the hallway and would like to remove the bins and hooks, patch the holes and have an even coat of paint from floor to ceiling. It is also worth nothing that I would like different bins and we won't need the hooks as we will soon be utilizing a closet for this purpose.

He instructed me to not remove the bins because doing so would damage the integrity of the studs and they wouldn't be as sturdy if we put the bins back on the wall in the same place. The same goes for the hooks.
Is this true?  Should I fill the holes with anything in particular to reinforce the stud, assuming I find different shoe bins and the mounting points won't be the same.

I cannot seem to find anything to substantiate this claim of holes compromising the studs online.  It just seems highly unlikely to me, given they are very average screws, it wasn't like a gigantic bolt or anything.

As long as they are normal screws and you unscrew them they won't compromise the studs or their integrity. If you rip the screws out (with a hammer for example) that could compromise the studs.

If you plan on reusing the exact same holes there are things you can do to help future screws grip just as well by adding toothpicks to the holes, but otherwise you don't need to worry.


What metal is most suitable for a ladder submerged in an underground water tank? I need a ladder in my underground water tank at home, to enable easy access for cleaning and maintenance operations. The water from the underground tank is used for drinking, apart from other household chores.

What would be the most suitable metal for this submerged ladder in the underground water tank? I don't want any water contamination due to sustained contact between ladder metal and tank water, as the water is used for drinking. TDS of water supply is ~125 mg/liter.

EDIT - I would also want to know any metal treatment (paint, varnish, etc) to prevent water contamination due to sustained contact between ladder metal and tank water.

Stainless steel is the obvious choice. Which exact grade is probably more dependent on what you can easily find than what the "most perfect for the job" grade might be,  but 316 or 316L would be high on the list and are quite commonly available.

Be very careful about ventilating the tank if entering it "for maintenance" - tanks can be deadly. If the water is clean going in and there's no route for contaminants to enter, the need for internal maintenance should be minimal.


What type of wood is suitable for fascia? I'm replacing some fascia boards, I am looking for something that is rot-resistant but I am hesitant to use pressure treated lumber due to shrinkage as it dries out and I don't want gaps (project has to be done over a few days).

What are some good wood alternatives that are competitive in terms of price/performance? Hopefully I am not asking for too much, but if you could list the alternatives in terms of relative price that would be awesome.

Cedar is what I have used because it is very good at rot resistance,  fascia boards especially with gutters attached are one of the places in a home I usually find rot if your budget allows redwood is even better but cost more.


Can a single ground wire ground 2 outlets? Can a single ground wire ground 2 outlets? I don't want to run another wire through the wall, if I can run a wire to that other ground wire (and have 2 outlets being grounded by one wire).  In other words,

I also have concerns about equipment protection.  Will adding a ground wire be worse for my electronic equipment in any way?   If I am having problems with equipment taking damage, will this help?

With the 2014 NEC addendum, your idea looks to be legal. Here's the relevant 2011 code for ground retrofits with 2014 addendum courtesy ThreePhaseEel.

  250.130 Equipment Grounding Conductor Connections. Equipment grounding conductor connections at the source of separately derived systems
  shall be made in accordance with 250.30(A)(1). Equipment grounding
  conductor con- nections at service equipment shall be made as
  indicated in 250.130(A) or (B). For replacement of non-grounding-type
  receptacles with grounding-type receptacles and for branch- circuit
  extensions only in existing installations that do not have an
  equipment grounding conductor in the branch circuit, connections shall
  be permitted as indicated in 250.130(C).

  ...

  (C) Nongrounding Receptacle
  Replacement or Branch Circuit Extensions. The equipment grounding
  conductor of a grounding-type receptacle or a branch-circuit extension
  shall be permitted to be connected to any of the following:

  (1) Any accessible point on the grounding electrode system as described in 250.50

  (2) Any accessible point on the grounding electrode conductor

  (3) The equipment grounding terminal bar within the enclosure where the branch circuit for the receptacle or branch circuit originates

  (4) For grounded systems, the grounded service conductor within the service equipment enclosure

  (5) For ungrounded systems, the grounding terminal bar within the service equipment enclosure

  ThreePhaseEel reports NEC 2014 adds the following between 3 and 4:  (4) An equipment grounding conductor that is part of another branch circuit that originates from the enclosure where the branch circuit for the receptacle or branch circuit originates

Thank you ThreePhaseEel.  The 2014 addendum specifically allows grabbing a ground from any circuit fed by the same sub-panel.  Interestingly, nothing about conductor size, but keep in mind the context is ground retrofits only.

If you are going to another outlet on the same circuit (i.e. also turns off when you flip off the breaker) it's already allowed - daisy-chaining like that is the normal way to wire outlet strings.

Where to attach this ground wire?    If you're wiring it to an adjacent outlet, just use wire-nut (commonly a yellow one) to tie it in with the ground wires already there.

If you're going into a service panel, tie it into the bus-bar which has all the other ground wires.  Here's a picture of a panel with two bus-bars.  Sometimes there is one bus bar.  Sometimes they carefully separate grounds from neutrals.  Other times they don't, depending on the rules.  Just Do what you see in your panel.

Those are all single breakers, you might have a tandem aka duplex, which crams 2 breakers into one space.

Generally, adding a ground wire is always better for electronic equipment.  It helps surge suppressors do their job by providing a ground reference.   It provides real chassis grounding which among other things gives a solid route for  static electricity to go to ground instead of getting inside equipment.  It also provides a fault path if any hot wires short to ground, which assures you get a breaker trip.  And it makes sure equipment chassis is not energized so it electrocutes someone. I'm glad you're doing it - it will help.

That said, grounds will not cause cheap electronics with poor components  to suddenly become quality.  Grounds will not themselves "clean up" dirty, noisy AC power, although they will help surge suppressors do that.  Dirty power is often caused by your own equipment - for instance the air conditioner in your drawing.  You may want to protect the PC from the air conditioner.

Grounds also don't fix potential overloads, and you might have one here.  Fancy PC's aren't necessarily power hogs (the Mac Pro is only 2.5 amps) but "850 watt" PC power supplies are popular and they can draw 10 amps full bore (the difference being inefficiency).  A typical window air conditioner is 5-8 amps.  Loads which are continuous should only run at 80% of circuit capacity, that's 12A on a 15A breaker and 16A on a 20A breaker.  I would encourage you to investigate further to make sure those loads (and the other loads on that circuit) aren't too much.   To measure a device's actual current draw, gadgets like the Kill-A-Watt do nicely.


Can I cut out a blister in my drywall joint and add more tape to the small section? The only reason I am asking is because i used Durabond and getting the tape fully off of this small 6" section is going to likely damage the drywall. With 50 inside corners and a ton of butt seams i missed a few small blisters. Any advice?
I removed the tape from 1 blister and had to dig and scratch at it. Got the tape and then some. Wondering if a 2nd piece of small tape is OK. the air pocket would be gone of course

I like to get some mud under the tape, if not painted just cut it lay it back add mudd and put it in place and work it flat.
If painted I use a big syringe and push some mud in there work it around and press the air out Ends up looking like a small nail hole but works really well when going in on a poorly done job that you don’t want to spend a lot fixing up.


Water coming up from under stone tiles I have water seeping up from stone tile in a first floor mud room. I checked in the basement ceiling below these tiles and there does not appear to be any wetness and the water also isn’t coming from the ceiling. I suspect what’s happening is water is getting behind our wood shingles through an old
roof line (this is an addition to our house) and finding its way through a crack right about where these tiles are. Who would I call for something like this?

———— edit —————

One other theory I have is that it could be related to a gutter splashblock (there is a gutter downspout right behind this wall) which blew away during a recent wind storm and was only recently replaced (two days ago). That said we have amazingly good drainage here and don’t have any water problems with our basement. I’d be quite surprised if this were it. The foundation appears to be completely dry here.

Is this adjacent to a restroom , laundry room , is there a restroom above, the wall adjacent to the tiles , is it a wet wall ( is called like that when all pipes are running on a wall) if it is a wet wall maybe a pipe could be leaking, you will say how ( pipes touching other metals inside the wall they rub against each other and make a hole small one it happened  to me, to much explanation .
See the plans of the house if you have them.
Also the water could be sipping from outside? check that too.


How to get rid of new carpet removed from a new house I live in Sugar Land, Texas within city of Houston. I ripped off the newly installed carpet from a new house to install wood floor. What are the best way to get rid off the carpet and pad in my garage?

If it is still in an okay state, you can try and sell it for a small price on your local classified ad site.

Some contractors may look for that kind of stuff, or some other DIYers may use it to finish a small area.


How do I pre-treat and stain my hardwood floors a dark color? I'm about to embark on my first floor-refinishing adventure and I'm jumping in the deep end — not just refinishing, but also staining. And not just staining, but staining a light wood pretty dang dark.

I've read that, after sanding, I should hit the floors with some water to help them absorb the dark stain and prevent blotches. Do you recommend that? Any other tips?

It depends on what type of hardwood you have.  Some species like pine/maple are almost impossible to stain dark without blotching.

I have stained oak floors to almost black.  We picked up the darkest stain we could get - sorry I don't know the name but this was 8-9 years ago.  We sanded the floor then went over with a fine sanding.  Then we painted the floors with water.  Not sure how to quantify the water but it took about one hour for it to visibly look dry.  After we applied the first coat of stain.  Just rubbed it on with a rag and another guy was behind me wiping off any excess.  We did this three times total - one day between coats - no one was allowed in house but us.  48 hours after the last coat they threw on the finish/poly.  Looked great but the family had to go on vacation and trust us at their house (grandpa was letting us in).

My advice to you is put a few pieces of the wood material together - if you don't have any pick some up at big box or craigslist.  Go through the process - sand, water, stain, stain, stain - and make sure it looks like you want.  You won't get the perfect black finish with all woods.  You might find that you might want a different tint if you can't get that.  Also I would not do the water if you don't have a hard wood - it will cause blotchiness.  Also putting on gobs of stain will not make your floors darker it will just make it look like a kid did yours floors.  You will need to do more coats to get it darker.  My guess is after 3 coats you start to get diminishing returns.  Some people do 2 coats, some do 3.  Maybe on your test you do half 2 coats and half 3 and see if you can tell.

Edit: On a side note to staining.  If you are doing the floors totally DIY.  Do not over sand your floors with the course grit.  If you over sand with a course grit, you will get swirls.  If you leave those swirls then it will be very important that you get almost black.  Because you will end up with a chocolate floor with very black swirls.  The swirls will take to the stain faster and the pattern will show.  Not trying to scare you here - just go easy on the sanding and do finish sand it.


Trouble with LED bulbs As incandescent & compact fluorescent light bulbs in my home have been dying, I've been replacing them with LED bulbs, as those have dropped in price considerably (the local electric company's subsidizing pretty decent sales in some nearby chain stores, too) and should last much longer. No problems with the standard on/off bulbs yet, but I've begun to lose lights in dimmable fixtures.

I've read elsewhere that the rotary style switch won't work with LED bulbs (this was confirmed by putting a couple dimmable bulbs in a dimmable fixture in the dining room and watching the crazy poltergeist effect when the dial was set anywhere between off and 100% on).

That's not a huge deal for me, to swap out a couple of switches as needed. But I now have an even more unusual problem. In my living room we've got a ceiling fan, which the previous owner purchased @ Home Depot some 10-12 years ago. It's got 3 sockets (60W max apiece, I believe) and its remote is the only means of controlling its ability to dim the lights. On a lark, I tried replacing a couple of the bulbs that burned out recently with a pair of dimmable 60W-equivalent LED bulbs. With all 3 bulbs in there--the 2 LED + 1 40W incandescent--all 3 dimmed just fine, but were much too bright for the room, so I simply removed the lone incandescent. Unfortunately, when the light was off, the LED bulbs never fully turned off. Only when I had the 3rd bulb, the incandescent, in with them would the light function properly.

I elected to purchase 3 40W-equivalent bulbs, thinking that having all 3 in there would solve my problem of brightness and the weird empty socket keeping the light from turning off all the way. Unfortunately, with all 3 sockets occupied by dimmable LED bulbs, the fixture will not shut off fully. It dims perfectly fine, but the lights are, otherwise, on all the time. Any ideas what's causing my problem, and any potential solutions (short of "buy a new fan," I hope).

And, for whatever it's worth:

fan: Hampton Bay Sussex 52"
wireless remote: Hampton Bay UC7083T
old incandescent bulb: 40W, A15 bulb, E26 base (brand unknown)
first LED bulbs (60W-equivalent): Zilotek, A19, 120V, 9W, 60Hz, 80mA, 3000K, 800 lumens, dimmable
newest LED bulbs (40W-equivalent): Feit, A19, 120V, 6.5W, 60Hz, 66mA, 3000K, 450 lumens, dimmable

What is happening is that the folks who designed your fan receiver did a terrible job of it, and you simply didn't notice it before.  Incandescent/halogen bulbs are relatively insensitive to leakage currents because they are so darn inefficient -- you can put several mA through them and nobody will notice.  However, putting that same 5-10mA through a LED light bulb will cause it to turn on dimly or flicker, depending on the bulb's internal circuits.  Whoops!

The answer is to replace the fan receiver with a model that doesn't leak current down the light wire when the light's supposed to be off. (You'll probably have to replace the transmitter remote along with it.)


Water stain in basement found during inspection in a house We are looking to buy a house and don't have much experience yet (lived in condo most of our lives). We had an inspection in the house that we are looking to buy and some stain was found in the basement on the floor (please see the image). Is this something we should be worried about? Any help is appreciated!

Looks like a pretty small stain. Even if the wastewater pipe is the cause I don't think it would be a big deal to fix. The risk looks pretty small to me.


Method of running Romex across roof joists to recessed cans I'm finishing the interior of my garage and will be installing recessed lights in an angled part of the ceiling pictured. I wanted to know if it is OK to drill a 1/2" hole across each ceiling joists (red in photo) to run my wire to each can or should I run the wire to the wall, down through the top and across the wall studs then back up (blue in photo)? Thanks in advance.

More information details would be needed to work out a definitive answer but in general the answer is yes if you keep the hole in the middle 1/3 of the joist depth. The worst thing to do is cut the bottom 1/3 where the joists are in tension and cutting it there will severally reduced the strength and create stress concentrations that will most likely cause cracking over time.


Neutral wire is tied to my electric metal box, why is it so? I have this old Depard switch box in my patio.

Originally, I wanted to 'add' a receptacle in my old Despard switch 'array' stack. Now I am puzzled and afraid of doing that because I found out that the original 'neutral' wire was tied/screwed to the electrical metal box, and of course, there was no ground wire installed.

Some outlets in my house are not grounded. (though I see long tails grounded wires coming off the house to the pipes outside of my house). I just don't know why isn't the entire house grounded.

Q1: Is it safe if I just leave the 'neutral' wire screwed to the box like before? (because I am afraid that I couldn't install a receptacle)

Q2: If I wire the 'neutral'(silver) and 'hot' (gold) to the new receptacle (bottom position), will it work?

Q3: If Q2's answer is yes, then do I need to ground the new switch?

Q4: Should I wrap that lonely neutral wire so it won't touch the metal box?  I just couldn't figure out why would my previous owner 'ground' a neutral wire?

Thank you very much. right now, unless I fully understand what is going on, I don't want to install anything. My house is old, I don't want to start a fire.

Here is the inside of the switch box.

I would use the white as a neutral

Based on what we can tell so far, the white is indeed a neutral wire, so that should be wired up to the silver screw on the outlet, with the brass screw on the outlet connected to a pigtail to the existing black hot, which is also pigtailed to the switches.  It definitely should not be landed on the box, though!

And run a separate ground wire

From there, you can then run a separate ground wire (green #12 THHN or bare #12 copper works, provided it's not subject to physical damage) back to a suitable grounding point (i.e. another suitably sized equipment grounding wire, the wire that connects the panel to the grounding electrode system, or back to the panel, but not to a water pipe) to ground the box and receptacle.

As to the rest of the improper grounds...

To clean up the rest of the improper grounds, what I would do is take some 6AWG bare copper and run it alongside your cold water pipe from the point where the water pipe is connected to the panel to the end of the water pipe run.  This will serve as an equipment grounding "busbar" or "trunk" of sorts.  Then, I would use an Ilsco GTT-2-2 tap connector to connect the grounding electrode/bonding conductor (the wire from your water pipe to the panel) to your grounding bus wire -- the part that comes off and goes back on lets you slip the existing wire in there without having to cut it and splice it back together, while your new wire can go in the other hole, and both screws can get tightened down then.  From there, you can use split bolts, or a similar sort of tap connector, to connect your existing grounding bus wire to the improper ground wires after disconnecting them from however they were attached to the water pipe.


Why does one of two lights stay on when they share a neutral? I have one source of power (1 hot wire) for 2 loads (living room lights and breakfast nook lights)
I am replacing the dimmers with Insteon dimmers. The previous switches didn't use the neutrals, but the Insteon switch requires the neutral. The neutrals are in the gang box, but I don't understand what neutrals do or how they connect to the schematic. Can someone help me understand?
Also, when I connect the neutrals the breakfast nook lights stay on regardless of switch position, but the living room lights work perfectly. If I don't connect the neutrals then neither of the lights work. What is happening and why? Can I fix this?

Without knowing exactly what you've got going on, it's impossible to say for sure what you have to do. It's totally possible that there are no "neutrals" in the box at all, depending on when the house was wired (and by whom).

Here's what the schematic should look like...

Basically, any wire that comes "after" a load, and creates a low resistance path back to the "source" is a "neutral". Which means you can further label the diagram as such...

The dimmer requires a "neutral", because it itself is a load. So it requires a low resistance path back to the "source" as well.

A wire coated in white insulation, does not make a wire a "neutral".


Please help with this wiring diagram I want to be able to control the chandelier's light (off and on) using the remote. My configuration is in the image above. I can only get the chandelier to turn on but can't get the remote function to work. It's called a "Universal On and Off Ceiling Fan Remote Control" model #99112 if that helps. On the Home Depot website, others have mentioned they can get a single light to work with this remote/receiver. Guidance is very much appreciated. Thank you!

Per the installation guide:

Connect the yellow wire from the receiver to the black wire from the fixture
The blue wire from the receiver won't be used, so just cap it. (This would be connected to a blue wire (or possibly black with white stripe wire) if your fixture had a fan)
Connect the black from the ceiling box to the black on the receiver
Connect all the whites together
And finally connect the grounds together


How to safely remove this old hot water radiator? I want to permanently remove the radiator picture belowd. The home has been retrofitted with central air and a few mini splits and the radiators are no longer in use. The boiler has been removed from the home already. My questions are:

Is there any good way to tell if the pipes still have water?
What kind of mess should I expect to come out of these?
I unscrewed what I believe to be a air bleed value, and there wasn't any water or air coming out. Does this mean I'm ok to remove the pipes?
Should I just cut the copper pipes? I tried getting some movement on the compression fitting with a crescent wrench but that thing is on there really tight.
Any other recommendations on preparedness before I take these out?

Other notes: there are no cut off valves before the copper hits the radiator.

With the boiler removed, if there is any water it will be minimal and not under pressure. Have some towels handy unless you want to go to the bother of figuring out where to connect an air hose or shop vacuum to the presumably disconnected pipes where the boiler used to be. And then have some towels handy anyway, but either of those will help get some of the remaining water out, if there is any.

You'd expect possibly some dirty and/or rusty water if the system has not dried out since it was disconnected. They often don't dry all the way out, as water ends up trapped somewhere.

Cutting the pipes should be fine.


Ceiling light goes off itself My ceiling light goes off itself after 10 mins or sometimes even after an hour, no loose connection from the ceiling fixture and the switch, nothing seems loose even breaker too. How can i find the problem and what is causing to shut off itself? 5 LED bulbs was working fine about 2 years and suddenly went wrong? need help, thanks

Actually I am helping with my friend's living room ceiling fixture; they did not put any extra load on same circuit and bulbs could be issue but I really want to know it could be switch problem too. The light goes off slowly with a couple of flickers before it goes off, and you can not turn back on right away, even if you try to turn it on. I can only turn it on 5-10 mins after going off. It could be a switch issue, maybe the switch is not passing the power to the fixture. The funny thing is that when I opened the fixture, I did not see any transformer on the fixture. I don't know where it gets overheated if there is no transformer.

Heat is an enemy for LED bulbs, and many bulbs say specifically that they cannot be used in an enclosed fixture since there is no airflow and a build up of heat.  I tested this with some LED bulbs from IKEA, and sure enough, in an enclosed fixture they would turn on and off as they heated up.

It could be that your bulbs used to be fine, but the heat has slowly degraded them.  Check the bulbs and see if they mentioned use in an enclosed fixture.  Either way, replacing the bulbs with the appropriate type is probably your best bet.


How to connect two different height water tank on pump? I have a two.different size water tanks, 1500 liter and 500 liter. Both water tank height and width is different.

1500 liter tank width-    49.5” height- 56”
500 liter tank width-  36.5”  height- 36”

I want to connect both water tank with one water pump. Water tank will be installed in roof in my house, one the other hand pump will be installed in ground floor.

Can anyone give me the full installing process?

The simplest method is to mount the tanks so that the water surfaces are level when the tanks are full. This means that they can be connected, without valves etc, together directly to the pump inlet.

If the full surfaces are not level, then one tank will fill the other and may cause an overflow, unless one-way valves etc are fitted.


Coat hook rack above a wall with fuse boxes The plan

I'm planning to build and put up a coat hook rack in my flat. My plan is to simply screw 5 hooks into a solid piece of wood and then mount it on the wall. It should look something like this:

only a bit simpler.

However, the wall on which I would like to mount the rack looks like this:

As you can see there are some fuse boxes. The box on the bottom is for the underfloor heating. The boxes above are for fuses. The rack should be mounted above the boxes.

Now to my problem

Due to the fact that I want to mount the rack on a wall with fuse boxes (where there are probably many cables behind the wall), I don't know how (and even if) I can mount a rack onto the wall. I think the use of dowels isn't a good idea because of the cables, correct? I was thinking about mounting it from the ceiling (perhaps using 2 ropes, I know this won't hold just to give you an illustration) but this didn't seem like a good idea to me.

My Question

Do you have any ideas on how to mount the rack onto the wall and do you even think that this would be possible?

Thank you in advance!

In the US code prohibits the panel from being in the vicinity of easily ignitible material with clothes closets specifically listed NEC 240.24.D.  So based on that I would say it's not a good idea.


Insulation and roof venting I am in the process of finishing my bonus room (attic space above the garage). There are soffit vents and a ridge vent. If I put insulation in between the rafters before I drywall the ceiling, will that adversely affect the ventilation? I am also replacing the soffit in that area. Do I still need the soffit vents with the insulation in place? Thanks, Jim

In climates where you’re heating more than cooling during the year, yes, it’s advisable to add attic insulation, but: 1) you must maintain CONTINUOUS ventilation, and 2) you must maintain a minimum of 1” air space between the insulation and the roof structure.

1) You want “cross ventilation”. Your soffit vents and ridge vents are doing that now. Just make sure EACH JOIST SPACE has a soffit vent AND a ridge vent after you install the attic insulation between the joists.

2) Make sure there is a minimum of 1” air space between the insulation and the roof structure, especially at the soffit vents. Insulation tends to “fall down” and block the soffit vents, so they often use cardboard baffles to maintain a clear vented opening.


Fix/redo grout between ceramic tile and wood laminate before putting down threshold (transition)? I want to put a floor threshold between a bathroom (ceramic tile) and hallway (wood laminate).  I bought, cut, and stained a wood threshold (transition) to fit the door frame, so I would like to use that one if possible.

The grout between the laminate and tile (put in by previous owner probably within the past couple of years) is cracked along part of its length, missing a 1/4" by about 2" chunk in the middle, and separated from the laminate along the rest of its length.  I.e., it's not attaching any part of the laminate to the tile.

Do I need to fix the grout before putting the threshold on top of it?  If so, does it need to be a good bond, or is it enough to just fill in the gap without doing it over?  (I am planning to use Liquid Nails adhesive or the like to bond and hopefully seal the threshold to the floor surface on both sides of the grout bead.)

I don't see any reason to redo the grout unless the gap would be large enough to leave your transition unsupported in the center enough that it could crack if stepped on, which doesn't sound like the case.  I would however clean out the old grout.  If you don't it will undoubtedly continue to crack and crumble and you'd be surprised at how annoying a sound it can make when someone steps on or near it and the floor flexes.  Personally, I'd try cleaning it out thoroughly and caulking the gap. I'd also suggest silicone caulk over Liquid Nails for "gluing" it down as well.


Removing knockouts in old work metal boxes I recently had an existing old work box (metallic, installed with the supports that look like 'F') where there was a cable coming in from the top and another from the bottom. I wanted to add a third cable from the back of the box. So I took my trusty hammer and screwdriver, aimed the screwdriver at the part of the back knockout away from the tab, smacked it, and broke the box tabs right through the drywall... :(.
Once the box was out of the wall, it was still pretty much impossible to knock out the knockout from the inside of the box. I then flipped it around and tried from the back and it came out super easily.

Are knockouts typically "one direction only"?
Is there a different way to get them out in a situation like this? Or is it standard to have to take the existing cables out, the box out, punch them out, then put everything back together?

A lot of handy boxes and old work "gem" boxes have knockouts that are made to knock from the outside in.  This picture of a Steel City handy box shows it clearly

If you have to remove these from the inside, there is a trick.  You can't pull the KO with a hammer.  But if you drive a small self drilling screw into the KO from the inside

then back it out a few turns, you can pull on that screw with pliers to remove the knockout.  If you can't get it with pliers, try a mini prybar


How to hang a mosquito net safely over a bed? We have one of those hoop-style mosquito net that hangs off a single hook.

When we first put it up, we hung the net with a small brass hook--the kind that you just screw into the ceiling with no wall anchor for lightweight stuff. Maybe not ideal, but we already had it on hand and it seemed to work ok.

Until...our son either jumped or sat on the net or rolled on it and the whole hook fell out of the ceiling with the net. We could just replace the hook with a larger hook that has a wall anchor, but I'm a bit concerned about whether if he rolls, yanks, or jumps on the net, it's going to either rip a bigger hole in the ceiling and/or rip the net in half. Is there a way we could attach the net so it would safely detach from the ceiling if it is yanked sufficient tension that won't result in it falling down every couple days?

Use coaxial cable clips.  Don't screw the flap side in.  Also the part that you screw in, leave a small gap so that you can tuck a little of the flap side in.

I have two cable lines in my basement laundry room that I switch (don't ask).  It holds the cable great which is heavier than a mosquito net and with a good tug my cable is on the ground.  Of course this will work better if you screw into wood and if you aren't then you want to use some sort of anchor.  You can play with the "tug rate" needed for collapse by how much you tuck in and how tight it is.  Really with a mosquito net this could be very loose.  And the small screw holes can be easily concealed after.


What is correct way for radiator plumbing/connection in multi-story flat We have some problems with central heating in our multi-flat house and I would like to understand something. Some flats have old-style radiators, and almost every flat has different way to connect to central pipe.

Please, can you tell me which of these variants of radiator connection is correct one, for multi-story-flat house, so everyone would get heat and noone would be able to "disconnect" every other radiator on line.

There is drawing, editable in Google Drive.

First floor is bottom, fourth floor is top one in this diagram. Red rectangles are radiators, blue frames are individual flats.

In reality, best solution looks like the one in 3rd floor, but I'm not sure, if any water will get inside radiator, because of equal pressure points in input/output pipes for radiator.

Maybe there are other variants too? Could you give such and tell me why that is better.

EDIT: I have come up with best solution, from my point of view:

I'm not sure, if such 3-way valves exist, but that would be best solution, it doesn't block neighbours from getting heat and it balances incoming pressure, by giving away excess to neighbours. But I'm really not a plumber, I'm programmer :D

The pipes should look like this:

There should be an unrestricted flow around the system.

Each radiator should be connected to both the flow (red) pipe and return (blue) pipe. The turnable value (or better still thermostatic valve) should be on the input to each radiator. There should be a simple on/off valve on the outlet which is normally set to fully open.


In Unit Laundry Room Stacking Washer/Dryer for Apartment I'm currently looking at apartments for when I move out of my parents house, and my two top picks for apartments have hook ups for a washer and dryer. One of them, the laundry area is for a stackable unit. Those are fairly expensive so I was wondering if there was some sort of stand or something that I could build or even something I could buy to put the dryer on so that a top loading washer could still be put in. I've seen some small homes and condos with a shelf so non stacking washer/dryers can be placed vertically instead of horizontally. This is all a money saving issue because I really don't want to spend an extra $300 each for a stackable washer/dryer.

First, congrats on the very big leap up, skipping clear over the "housemate shares and buying used stuff on Craigslist" phase of young life.

That space is not intended for stackable separate washer/dryers, which are a recent "fad" that are a side effect of the trend to front-load washers (also a deluxe item).

That space is for pre-built washer-dryer combos, which are simply a washer and dryer pre-stacked onto one chassis, like this unit. These units are a stock-and-trade of rental units and condos.  Most are small capacity to make them narrow; large capacity units can be had.

Note the wedge opening that allows access to the top loading washer on the bottom...

Lately, however, the new trend is for "washer-dryer all-in-one" units, which seem to defy the laws of physics! They place washer and dryer function in a unit the form-factor of a washer.  Put clothes in dry, they come out washed and dry.  All the rage on tiny houses, boats, etc. I'm skittish of this one because of its low price, but there you go...

Dirty clothes go in, dry clothes come out...

Keep in mind ordinary wear and tear should not be counted against you, as a result many tenants get their entire deposit back. But you do not have any legal right to modify your apartment, and you will pay the full cost of restoring your apartment to status quo ante, which will be billed to you if the deposit doesn't cover it.


Properly waterproofing a shower area sharing a living room wall My parents (live in Belgium) have a shower that has ceramic tile mounted directly on the plaster wall over cement blocks, beforehand the tile installer painted the wall with what was supposed to be a "waterproof barrier." Since then, a few years has passed by and water has obviously penetrated this "paint" and moved to the other side of the wall e.g. the living room wall.

I'm fairly certain the whole shower area tiles have to be redone, and redone correctly. In the US they use this "cement backer-board" and vapor barriers to form a membrane. I would just like to get an idea for what a proper installation should look like. Vapor barrier, backer-board, tile?

Secondly, since this isn't a drywall/wood wall, the backer-board would protrude the tiles off the wall about 1/2 an inch, this is easily fixed at the top where there is a tile moulding but was wondering if there were any other elegant solutions?

Thirdly, wouldn't the backer-board cause something similar to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tl1-4FaxUU @ 32:32 with the backerboard and the plaster?

Side note: there are no leaks, and the pipes are not in the effected wall.

The proper installation order: vapor barrier, backer-board, tile.

Secondly, since this isn't a drywall/wood wall, the backer-board would protrude the tiles off the wall about 1/2 an inch, this is easily fixed at the top where there is a tile moulding but was wondering if there were any other elegant solutions?

I'm not sure that I understand this problem, but perhaps you need to run the backerboard to the top and corners of the wall. Use tile trim or bullnosed tile along the edges and in the corners anywhere it's necessary.

Thirdly, wouldn't the backer-board cause something similar to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tl1-4FaxUU @ 32:32 with the backerboard and the plaster?

That's drywall in the video, not backer board. The difference is like the difference between cement and chalk. Backer board is cement-like. Drywall (gypsum) is more chalk-like.


What should I do if the AFCI breaker neutral pigtail is too short? I am wiring a house that I built, and code says I need an AFCI for the bedroom circuit.

The panel that I will be installing this AFCI breaker in is a subpanel, so my ground/neutrals are on 2 separate buses on opposite sides of the breaker panel.

Can I tie the AFCI white pigtail wire in to the ground bus, or does it need to go over the neutral bus? The reason I'm asking, is because the wire is kind of short. To run across to the neutral bus, I would have to splice an extension to the the AFCI white pigtail wire, and run the extension over to the neutral bus. How do you guys work with a situation like this?

I have all my 120v breakers on the left side (where the ground bus is), and my 240v breakers on the right side near where the neutral bus is.

The AFCI wire needs to connect to the neutral bus. Put it on the other side, or add on to the length of the wire with a wirenut.


What kind of exterior paint has a fine sand paper-like backing, is it a primer? I need to repair peeling flaking exterior paint on my stone window sill, so looking to find a suitable matching paint but I'm puzzled on what this stuff is.
Looking at the back of the paint, it looks like what feels like some sort of substrate is attached... feels like construction paper but if you look closely it is actually made of sand-like masonry.   Does that mean there is some sort of masonry primer I should use when I'm painting this sill?
Or should I just scrape all the old paint and substrate off and just paint with a regular exterior paint?

What's the best way to remove this kind of stuff, I can scrape the flat surface with a putty knife to remove, but the vertical side has an irregular rough stone pattern - should I just sand it off there?
Wide-angle shot of the outdoor sills when they were just renovated in 2015

I believe what you think of as paint is actually a skim coat.
Skim coats used for covering stone and concrete may have the paint or a pigment mixed in.
Your photo is not clear to me and I originally did not open the question because I don’t know of a paint that is like cardboard.
I do know (cement & sand) or other stucco like coatings have been used to cover stone and concrete and make a “new” looking finish.
In some cases when the skim coat is getting weathered folks painted them and
Sears used to have an “elastic” or rubber like coating that worked on “everything” if you were to believe the salesman but this was +30? Years back possibly put on top of a skim coat it might feel that way today I don’t know any one that purchased that product but believe the “sand” base is what is left of a skim coat.


IKEA Billy DIY bookcases without bolting in a wall. Is it a good idea/safe? Is it a good idea to buy a bookcase that is a DIY assembly for a large collection of big and heavy books?
Is it safe?
To be clear I am interested if the Billy bookcases of IKEA can be safely used for heavy books without bolting (L brackets or similar) it to the wall.
Does it depend on the height? Would something like bookshelf shims be needed/help?

Screwing to the wall has nothing to do with capacity

Think about it. The furniture isn't necessarily directly against the wall, and a screw or very thin bracket reaching across some distance isn't going to carry much weight in shear. I.E. the wall doesn't ordinarily bear any weight.

It's about safety

Ikea has a very strong message about standing furniture being screwed into the wall.  You didn't quite get the whole message.  It's to prevent furniture from toppling over and killing someone. Furniture topples over when its center of gravity goes outside its feet.  Examples of how that happens:

It isn't level
the floor sags under the weight
someone grabbing the furniture to catch their balance or pull themselves onto their feet
Someone (e.g. child) trying to climb the furniture
All the drawers open
Heavy items in an open drawer not counterbalanced by heavy items in closed ones
Use in a mobile structure (boat, RV, #vanlife, "tiny house" on wheels)
Earthquakes
The top heavily loaded when the bottom is not (greatly amplifying the above)

Every piece of furniture from every manufacturer of the same size will have the exact same problem -- that is basic physics.  The only reason it's such an intense thing for Ikea is, they have chosen to invest heavily in their brand, which makes them targetable.  Likewise, people are sickened by Mexican food trucks and burrito shops every day - but it only makes the news when it's Chipotle.


Can a flexible flue liner be installed in an old central heating flue for modern HVAC systems? I have an old gas central heating system which has recently failed. Newer systems cannot leverage the old flue as they require an internal pipe as well.
Replacing the flue will cost a considerable amount of money. I was wondering if there is an option where a composite 'rubbery' pipe can be thread through the old flue thus not requiring me to swap out the entire flue.

Yes, a flexible metal flue liner can often be installed in an old masonry flue. In fact, I had one done last year, where we had an old (wood-burning) fireplace and installed a gas-fired log fireplace insert. The contractor threaded the two flexible pipes down from the top -- one for combustion air and one for venting the exhaust.  Many modern boilers also have the option to use a sidewall power-vent, which doesn't need any flue at all -- just some PVC pipes.

There are numerous suppliers of flexible metal chimney-liners.


Would I have to use a new paint tray liner after only one day of I left it out overnight? I painted a wall yesterday (blue) with a new roller, pan, and liner. I wrapped the roller in a plastic bag and there was minimal residual paint in the tray. I left it out over night. I put paint in the same pan this morning and noticed as I rolled it onto a portion of the wall that it was a bit whiter than the old coat. I don't remember if it was quite that white when it went on originally. Could this be just because I'm applying the paint onto the new color and not a white wall or is it more that I should have cleaned the liner, or even that I should have replaced the roller? I tried a fresh roller and seemed to get the same response. Heck, maybe I just need to put some more elbow grease into stirring the paint. Any tips? Thanks

Your suspicion is correct. You've rolled a second coat, which often makes color more bold or intense.

It's common practice to wrap trays, rollers, and brushes as a set overnight. It's not a problem.


Can I run two cables through the same conduit? I want to install electrical outlets in my unfinished basement that has block walls.

It is my understanding you can't have cable on the walls--that whatever cable used must be protected by conduit.

My idea is use NM-B cable from the breaker box, run cable through joists down 3/4" conduit to box with GFCI outlet. Then run the 12/2 cable back up the same conduit and thru joists until it goes down conduit on wall again to an outlet and so on.

Is there any issue with taking cable down and back up the same conduit due to heat?

Trying to do this with the least conduit installed as possible but safely.

TL;DR -- go right ahead

This looks to be a sound plan -- it's definitely cheaper than running everything in conduit, and probably somewhat easier too even with having to stuff two NM cables down a 3/4" EMT length.

Fill isn't an issue

Even though the Code conduit fill criteria don't apply to protective sleeves, you're fine on fill (albeit barely).  Encore Wire quotes .160" by .450" for their 12/2 W/G NM product -- multiplying and converting to mm^2 gives us a conservative area estimate of 46.5 mm^2 per cable.  Doubling this to account for the doubled run gives us 93mm^2, which is within the 106mm^2 (31%
 fill) available for two wires or cables in the 3/4" EMT.

Nor are derates

Normally, since you have more than 3 current-carrying conductors in the sleeve, you'd have to derate as per 310.15(B)(3)(a).  However, this derate starts with the 90°C column in Table 310.15(B)(16) as per 334.80.  Since we are derating by a factor of 80% for the 4-6 conductor case, we get 24A derated, which is above the 20A 60°C ampacity that's actually used for the cable as per 334.80, so we're good on that front too.

And the EMT is suitable

NEC 334.15(B) states that EMT is one of the allowable means for protecting NM from damage in an exposed application.  PVC can also be used, but it must be Schedule 80 PVC -- the cheaper/wimpier Schedule 40 stuff just won't do.  There shouldn't be any concerns with impedance, grounding, or the likes either -- protective sleeves are not required to be grounded or bonded as per 250.86 Exception 2, and it's grounded anyway via being connected to a grounded metal box.


Can I warm up "cold patch" in a microwave? I found two asphalt patching products online that are designed to be heated in the microwave.  Both are out of stock.  Can I heat up ordinary "cold patch" or "trowel patch" in the microwave?

Microwaves work by exciting the molecules in liquids that then trasfer their heat into surrounding materials. To be safe, "microwavable" products have water in them so that the water molecules are what heats up. If you use a product not designed for this, you could end up volatizing (vaporizing) VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) that are not only harmful, but potentially FLAMMABLE!


Can I obtain grounding from a different outlet? I have a room with 2 ungrounded (2-prong) outlets and 1 switched grounded (3-prong) outlet. This has not been a serious inconvenience so far, as most of the equipment I wish to connect has ungrounded plugs and I can leave the switched outlet on. However, it would be nice to have the protection of a surge protector on more of my equipment, which requires a ground connection.

(I am renting, so let us assume for the purposes of this question that having the outlets replaced is not an option.)

For this purpose, I can imagine using a “2-prong to 3-prong” ground adapter to connect a separate wire run to the ground of the switched outlet (using another appropriate adapter, assuming such exists, to connect to the ground terminal with low risk of hot/neutral contact, or perhaps running to the outlet screw as a ground adapter would).

I would ensure that no 3-prong equipment is plugged into the surge protector connected this way (e.g. label and cover the ground pin sockets). This would hopefully eliminate the risk of loss of the safety ground (except for the surge protector itself).
I would verify that the 3-prong outlet does in fact have a ground. (Adequate testing would be a different question.)

My question(s):

Is this safe?
Is this useful? (That is, would the unusual pattern of wiring somehow interfere with the function of the surge protector?)
Is this permitted?

I'm not especially committed to this solution; it's just a thought that keeps coming to mind, and so I want to know how bad an idea it is.

I am in California, USA.

It is NOT safe to obtain the grounding from another outlet.

The grounding wire must follow along side the hot and neutral wires of the same circuit for the entire path back to the panel. The reason for this is to minimize the inductance in the event of a short circuit to any grounded metal, either in work boxes, or in the powered equipment itself (such as the multi-outlet box). Surge protection will be much less effective in cases where the surge is a differential between hot/neutral and ground (which actually is a common type of surge) due to this same inductance.

Inductance is minimized when the wires with the current going in both directions are close together. Their magnetic fields overlap and mostly cancel each other out (there will be a field inside the cable between the wires).  When the wires are far apart, their magnetic fields will extend a greater distance and there will be more inductance. Also, metal located inside the "loop" between the wires can be affected by the magnetics (sometimes in a hazardous way).

To correctly upgrade a 2-wire circuit to 2-wire-plus-ground circuit, the cable must be replaced with one that has integrated ground. In some rare cases, the proper cable may have been run, already, but an ungrounded outlet was used.

Simply running a single wire along side the old cable is also NOT safe.  The wires of a circuit, when conducting current, will try to physically move apart from each other due to the orientation of the magnetic field. Physically binding the new single wire to the cable with cable ties not further than 6 inches apart for the entire length could avoid that issue (but is still not code compliant). If you are doing that much work, just replace the cable with the proper type.  FYI, this was one of the hazards of older knob and tube wiring. Single wires inside conduit are known to move around, but the conduit sufficiently confines the movement so all you get is some noise.

In many cases you can obtain much (but not all) of the safety of grounding with the use of a GFCI outlet. The grounding wire still cannot be used in this case. It just gives a safer 2-wire load. It is not sufficiently safe for appliances that have frequent human contact, like a computer.


Leaking tile shower at corner near glass door We bought our house in Fresno, CA new in 2004. After about 4-5 years we noticed the upstairs master shower was leaking as evidenced by damage to ceiling in room directly below it. We contacted the home builder for repair work (in California they warranty all new construction for 10 years by law). Their general maintenance crew did a shower pan test that showed the shower was leaking at the corner where the glass door meets the wall and door well. The glass door has a gutter that runs all the water that falls on the door to this corner. After inspecting the corner we noticed the grout line was cracked, likely from the new house settling. It was unclear if the pan was not installed correctly or if the leak was high enough to get around the pan. The home builder, in consult with the tile subcontractor, decided to clean the grout line and lay new grout. This was done and they then placed a hardy amount of silicone over the repair for good measure. Fast forward another 5 years and the problem has returned but much worse, now I am out of the warranty period and want to repair it myself. I am good at general construction and tile work but have never installed or repaired a shower pan. I removed the glass door framing to get at the grout line and found the silicone they applied during the fix had mostly pealed up and was covered with black mold on the underside. I used a razor blade to remove the old grout which was also dark gray in color and very “rubbery” in texture, no longer tan and hard like this grout usually is. I fear the mold grew up from under the tile and thru the grout line but have never seen that happen before? I’m considering several potential solutions: (1) regrout with high quality epoxy grout and call it good (!?), (2) fill the open grout line with silicone in hopes of a better more flexible seal over time, or (3) start tearing up tile to see see if pan is in good working order and go from there. Option three seems like best long term solution but am I getting in over my head? Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.

once a pan is compromised, its best to replace it. by now it is almost certainly 100% saturated and clearly isnt doing its job. the longer it goes the more damage to the structure it will cause, not to mention mold. the tile in the picture is all square set meaning you may be able to take the tile out about 2 ft above the pan to do a replacement. assuming you can get new tile that matchs the old.


trying to wire a light fixture in a 1923 house with knob and tube wiring I am installing a new light fixture in my bedroom ceiling.  Up in the attic, at the fixture there are three copperish looking wires (wrapped in cloth tape) coming in from different directions.  I can tell one is the switch cause it goes cold when the switch is off.  The other two are hot.  Does this make sense?

I've tested one of the hot wires going to black on the fixture and the other to white.  That did not work. I switched it around and it lit the fixture.  Now my question is what to do with the switch wire?  does it go to black or white on the fixture?  I tried black and it shorts out when i flip the switch on. I think that when the previous fixture was connected I think one of the hot wires was not even connected to the fixture -- just capped. but i could be wrong. this is SO confusing.

I should also mention that it seems like some of the switches in the other bedrooms are interconnected. I can tell because at one point in my trial and error, a switch in one bedroom was turning off lights in another room.  Ugh! Oh the joys of living in an old house!

Do not trust the voltage pen to be accurate. I've seen them light up when I have had the entire house power turned off. I got out a real mulit-meter, and it showed that it was dead. Even though the voltage stick still lit up.  Verify with an actual meter. This very well might change the story.


Why does this house have 240V outlets in all rooms? A friend's house, in the USA, has 240V ("dryer") outlets in almost every room... even in the hallway. They have no idea why one of the previous owners would do that.

I have never heard of this before, nor can I google a reason why.

Why would someone do this? 240V heaters everywhere? A poor-man's EU adapter? It seems both absurd, and unsafe.

I have seen this several times in the PNW higher wattage plug in heaters used to be very cheap.  In this case they used portable heaters, not safe in my opinion but legal, if they had 15 or 20 am devices there are different types of receptacles that are legal for 220-240 devices dryer receptacles are 30 amp and would not be legal for smaller loads but a portable heater would be legal.


How can I improve the cold floor in my ground-floor unit? My home is a ground-floor unit in a condominium. The floor is really quite cold and I'd like to do something about that. I saw in another question  the suggestion to use Platon. Would I be able to put laminate on top of that? Or is there something else I should be using?

The floor is currently laminate, I'm not sure what's underneath but I suspect it's probably just the bare concrete, perhaps with a thin layer of foam, but I'm not really counting on it. Maybe laying down some thicker foam underneath would help?

Update:
Some more details. I live on the west coast of British Columbia, near Vancouver. I'd like to avoid installing anything that requires power to operate, so some sort of passive solution would be best. I could probably spend up to $10k on the project, but of course less is better. My unit is about 1000 sq ft.

On the cheap end, I'd suggest laying down 2" XPS (The pink stuff), being sure to tape all the seams, and then laminate flooring on top of that. If you have heavy furniture, you may need to put plywood down prior to the laminate. If you can forgo the laminate, shag carpeting would probably offer more insulation on the feet.

On the 10k side, you may be able to get a heated floor as Asaf suggests, but that'd depend on all sorts of variables. The may electrrical heating systems you can tile on (typically for bathrooms) as well as hydronic systems that would require another layer of concrete on top of.

OH, and of course, the REALLY cheap option: invest in some really nice slippers. ;)