Water supply has air bubbles in it when the well pump runs? Yesterday while filling a large container from a garden hose I noticed that periodically some air bubbles would emerge from the hose.
The hose is plumbed into a tee close to the main water supply in the basement - which is from our well pump. Down in the basement I could hear the bubbles proceeding through the pipe. It seemed that pretty much they would occur whenever the pressure switch turned the well pump on.
All the pipework from main supply line to the hose is visible - I couldn't detect any leaks at all. So its not like air is entering that line somewhere.
I have no idea how long this has been going on. I only noticed as mentioned because I was observing the hose for a while filling a large container, but doing this is out of the ordinary.
I can think of these possibilities:

Well running dry. Except that it hasn't: water is plentiful. It has never run dry in the past. (~9 years in this house)

Leaky underground pipe in between the pump and the house. Pump stops, some air creeps in; pump starts up, pushes air out. The pipe is galvanized steel where it comes through the wall, not sure of its composition anywhere else. But if its original (from 1973) galvanized all the way seems likely?

There could obviously be something I'm not thinking of. Any tips on how to diagnose this? At least to narrow it down?

My guess would be the line above the pump may be cracked on a submersible a check valve keeps the water in the tank but at the crack the water drains back and when the well kicks in water pushes the air into the tank.
A submersible will only have power and 1 line going down the well head.
Pulling a pump is not really that hard but one thing most don’t tend to do.
Before starting fill a clean trash can with water (I actually use a 55 gallon food grade barrel now but a clean trash can will work) very clean no trash bag that will block the pump from drawing the water.
I usually cut the pipe where I Can splice it if plastic if metal there is usually a union.
The Well cap may be an expanding type or just have a rubber seal usually 2 plates screwed together. Turn the power off  Pry the cap up then start pulling, there may be enough wire so it doesn’t need to be cut but if it has to be cut it’s not hard to repair. Pull the line up you may see the crack when pulling up if not I use a clean trash can described above place the pump in the can filled with water.
Cap the pipe where it was cut and turn the power on it should only take a few seconds to pressurize the line and show the leak don’t leave it on for long or the pump will overheat.
This is usually where I find the leak and quite often because a torque arrestor was not used. the pump jumps every start and eventually cracks the poly line.
If you have metal it’s time to upgrade to poly.
I don’t think it is the pressure tank because you said it was with each start cycle.


Is it better to waterproof a basement from the outside or the inside? Is it better to waterproof a basement from the outside or the inside?  I've heard different things about this. We have a home built in the 40's on a cinder-block foundation. One side of the house is inaccessible without removing our driveway.

When applied correctly, I prefer waterproofing from the outside.  It keeps the water out of the concrete, rather than permeating up to the interior water proof layer. If it's allowed to freeze in the foundation, you could have cracking.

In addition to water proofing the foundation, you also want a weeping tile or French drain around the foundation anywhere that water may not naturally run away from the home.

That said, as you're seeing, fixing this issue from the outside can be much more difficult, and therefore expensive. Another factor is if you need to use a sump pump to move water from any drains up and away from the home. If that's the case, you also need to consider if you want this pump indoors or outdoors.


Could a chipped tiling flange on acrylic tub cause problems in the future? I just had my plumber install an acrylic alcove tub with double tiling flange and noticed afterwards that he must have chipped the corner of the tiling flange acrylic during the process. From what I can see:

The fiberglass underneath looks to be intact and undamaged
The chip is small enough that I'm sure it'll be covered by the tile wall surround being installed later
There does not seem to be any cracks radiating out from the chip right now

Should I be concerned about this chip causing problems (e.g. cracks to spread in the acrylic) down the road, or is that risk unlikely? If I should be concerned, would repairing the acrylic do the trick or should I have a new tub installed?

It'll be fine. There's nothing there that'll rot or degrade over time.
(I know this is a short answer, but that's really all there is to say on the subject.)


Why do several of my outlets not have power after replacing a GFCI? When using the microwave and a electric grill, I lost all power along two walls. I put a new GFCI outlet in, but it was not the problem. I checked the power and it shows real low voltage and the little light on the GFCI is on but normal appliances won't work. I took and tested another outlet and when I touch the tester to the wires the light on the GFCI would go off and on when I touch the wires. I shut off breaker and put tester on turn breaker on and seem to have plenty off power there.  Just lost now

How can you tell it's low voltage? What are your points of reference for measuring voltage:  hot to ground or hot to neutral? If hot to neutral, then the low voltage difference could indicate that the hot and neutral both have high voltage on them (e.g. 119.8V between hot and ground and 119.2V between neutral and ground which would show a low voltage difference between hot and neutral of only 0.6V). If the neutral has high voltage, this would most likely indicate an open neutral (i.e. a disconnect somewhere on the neutral leg of the circuit).

If all the other outlets on the circuit are working normally, I would check the ones closest by for a loose white (neutral) wire as they most likely daisy chained to feed the outlet you are currently having issues with. If so, I would guess the issue was probably due to plugging/unplugging something on these outlets that jostled an old "stab-in-back" receptacle connection loose. That said, without seeing your homes wiring diagram, it could potentially be anywhere on the circuit so my suggestion may just be a starting point toward finding the open neutral.


Which foam to use for temporary leak remediation? I have a leak around a vent pipe in my attic.  Unfortunately I cannot get someone out to fix it for several days, and we have a hurricane coming so I can only imagine the rain is going to get worse.

I want to try to prevent as much further damage as I can to my ceiling, so I planned on either tying a towel around the pipe to catch water, or putting a pan/bucket under where the water is coming in.

Additionally however, I was advised that using a spray foam sprayed into the area of the roof where water is coming in could be a good temporary solution.  I'm confused as to which to use however.

Here is a link describing the different foam types, one sounds water tight, one isn't.  I'm worried that using a closed cell (water tight) foam could pool the water elsewhere and cause damage to another portion of the roof.  Whereas the "open cell" foam is listed as not being water tight - would this foam even help me at all?

Keep in mind this is only meant as a temporary solution to hopefully get me through the weekend without significantly more damage.  Which foam should I use?  Are there any other pieces of advice I could do to limit damage?

My roof is on a 4th story townhouse, so unfortunately tarping my roof is not an option.

Application of foam from the interior will not stop water from penetrating the compromised flashing seal. The water that does penetrate may very likely end up someplace you would rather not have it. That being said, it will probably be better than doing nothing, judging by your description of the leak and considering the weather that is headed your way. The retro-fit seal linked in the comment from @Jack should help once you can obtain roof access, and you do not need to remove the foam to utilize it.


Mineral spirits not drying on unfinished hardwood floor (12 hours later) I'm looking for suggestions on how to dry down or remove excess mineral spirits from our unfinished hardwood floor.

We installed new, unfinished hardwood flooring (yellow birch), sanded it and then wiped it down with mineral spirits. I think the mineral spirits were poured directly on the floor because now, 12 hours later, there are still areas that don't look completely dry. We're planning to use Zar Ultra Max Waterborne Oil Modified Poly to finish the floors. I tried wiping them down with a clean cloth but that didn't do much. Would sanding those areas lightly do the trick?

No, sanding will not do any good. Warm air is likely the only thing that will eventually evaporate the excess, which probably soaked deeply into the wood if it was poured onto it. You are supposed to put it on the cleaning rag, not directly onto the surface, for this very reason. You can usually rent the kind of blowers used to dry out flooded areas. If not, get some duct tape, a hair dryer and a pole lamp or a chair and duct tape the hair dryer to the pole/chair so that it is pointing down at about a 45 degree angle (not straight down or you may burn out the dryer).


Is it safe to use a 50 metre (164 foot) mains extension cable? Amazon UK sell 50 metre extension cables that use standard UK plugs:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-200084-Metre-Cable-Reel/dp/B000LFZ49Q/ref=sr_1_1

Is it safe to use an extension lead this long? If not, why not?

Hazards

I believe the main issue is that they can get warm if you don't fully extend them and then draw a high current through the coiled wire.

See Leads & Extension Lead Safety

RCD (Residual-current device) or GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter)

Most advice is to use an RCD with extension cables over 15m. I use a plug-in RCD. You can buy replacement outlets(wall-sockets) that incorporate an RCD.

I suspect this advice is simply because the length of cable increases the likelihood of accidental damage to the cable (spades, shut in doors, etc)

Voltage drop

The voltage in the UK is nominally 230 V with a tolerance of +10% to -6% (in much of the EU it is +/- 10%) - In practice most wall outlets are likely to be at 240V as this is the standard voltage prior to EU harmonisation and is within the tolerance.

This means that equipment must be able to work with voltage as low as 216.2 V.

If plugged into a 240 V wall outlet, your 50m cable would have to lose nearly 24 volts before it dropped to a level below the UK tolerance in supply.

That means, at 13A and 50m the voltage at the end of the cable would be OK so long as the cable had a resistance of less than 30 mV per amp per meter. This means you want a copper cross-sectional area of at least 1.5 mm². Ref, Table

The details for your specifc product don't mention the conductor size so you can't do the calculations for yourself.

You can check the voltage drop easily with a "kill-a-watt" type device or a suitable multimeter or voltage-tester rated at least Cat-II 600. If the drop is too high you have the statutory right (in the UK at least - SOGA 1979) to return the cable as unfit for purpose.

Generally, when voltage is low, appliances stop working or work poorly (dimly, slowly or intermittently) in most cases this wont cause a hazard.


Kitchen sprayer only uses half the water, how to fix? I have a Moen kitchen faucet with separate sprayer. When I use the sprayer, it only cuts the main water flow by about half and sprays with the rest. Every other sprayer I've used will transfer all of the flow to the sprayer, cutting off the main faucet while in use.

What can I do to fix this? Do I have some strange model where this is by design? Is it time to buy a new kitchen faucet?

Sounds like it is a problem with the diverter. It could be clogged, rusted, or even damaged, and as such, may either need to be cleaned (soaking in vinegar may help), or outright replaced.

There are a couple types that Moen seems to use, so which one depends on your model. There is a collar-type vale:

And there is another type with a smaller inner valve:

You'll have to open the faucet to get at it (how you do this again depends on the model), and then pull out the diverter with pliers.


DIY Basement Remodel I have a home that was built in the 1950's with an unfinished basement. I'd like to do a DIY remodel to the best of my ability, but am willing to hire a professional for some steps if a novice like me shouldn't do some of them.

The first step (as far as I know) is to buy a dehumidifier to remove any excess moisture, and once that has had some time to get to work (a week or so?), seal any cracks in the foundation and cement bricks. Is this the correct first step? If so, what is the best way to take care of sealing the cement?

Note, my home has a large hill behind it, and water comes down the hill after rain. It's only flooded once in the 23 years I have lived here, but often in the Spring water will get in through the cracks and drip down. Not enough to pool on the floor, but enough that it has left water marks as you can see here:

[Basement image 1]:
  [Basement image 2]:
  [Basement image 3]:

Obviously water damage is a huge concern once I've put all of the money into insulation, flooring, furniture, etc. I'd rather pay the price now than later. So, my question is:

Would it be better to hire a professional for sealing the cracks in the cement, or is this something someone with little home-reno experience (me!) can do successfully?

I can probably give you some general advice on basements from step 1 to 1000 but let's stick to the water issue.

So you have a hill slamming into your house, you get water consistently during heavy spring rains but very minimal in the basement, and there has been little to no significant flooding over the lifetime of the house.

In my opinion you can do all or some of these things:

Regrade your yard.  The hill coming down is fine.  But you should have a good 6-7 feet near your house that is running away.  You will need to grade your house to a notch on that side.  I had to do this to my house and I went from having a pond in my yard a few times a year and minor water in basement, to nothing at all.  I did stack french drains in the notched area (so I dug a good 6 feet down there).  But again this is very cheap to do and the most important thing.  Keep water away from your house.
Dig a perimeter drain system (there are a lot of products that can help you do this) and have it feed to a sump pump.  This is still very much DIY (1 day with a jackhammer) and cost is relatively cheap.  However anytime you start tearing up your floor that has had no issues, you have more than 0% chance of having issues.  Given the details you have provided I might dig a sump pump at the most offending location but I don't think I would dig out the perimeter floor.
You can waterproof that side of your house.  This is certainly very costly.  Not a lot of downside to this other than it usually will set you back maybe 2-3k plus for just one side of your house.  Again I think you have a grading issue and if that is fixed I think waterproofing may be overkill.

I would not suggest any sort of interior waterproofing including paints.  Let your concrete breathe.  Also I would suggest your framing is a good 1-2" from concrete and that you only insulate the top part of the walls.  If there is minor moisture, giving it airflow will keep it from becoming an issue.  The other thing is go with flooring that is either waterproof (tile or pure vinyl click-lock) or carpet that you don't mind possibly replacing (if you know that water is there carpet is easy to roll out of the way).


Identify faucet stem My bathroom sink faucet has seized up and needs replacement. It should be a simple swap of a new cartridge.
But I can't figure out the brand! The faucet is likely 20 years old and may be as old as 40 years. The sink itself is labeled Kohler. The ribbed spline on top has 16 ridges.    Yet the exposed cartridge does not look like the common Kohler cartridge type... especially the ribbed top with the two sections. There's no label or printing on the stem.

Any ideas what cartridge this uses? Thanks!

To be honest I haven't seen one like this but the simplest solution would be to turn off the water to it, should be a valve under the sink and remove the valve stem. The first hex nut above the large thread, turn counter clockwise, once out take it to a plumbing supply to match it with a replacement new one and install it to get things working again.


Why is my oil tank so dirty on top? I cleaned off the left side of my oil tank in this picture:

My question is what caused it to get this dirty and is this normal or should I consider getting a new tank?

Some notes:

The rags that I cleaned it with reek of oil/diesel
The gauge piece is not air tight and comes right off
When our oil company delivers you can smell it in the house

If the tank has been in service for sometime even the slightest drip, spray, or oily part can accumulate over a period of time. Add to that any airborne particulates that settle on the oil and you have a greasy mess. To check if oil is presently leaking on the tank outer surface, clean off any remaining oil and let dry. Tape a sheet of newspaper to the now clean surface and occasionally check for oil leakage. Tanks do have a finite service time and will eventually corrode and need to be replaced. If you are not sure as to the integrity of the tank call your fuel distributor. They should offer a free check-up of the tank.


SDS to keyless chuck adapter? I have Makita Xph07 and it is powerful enough to drill concrete, I want to use longer masonry drill bit, but all the longer bits are for SDS chuck only, is there any adapter that will allow me to use SDS bits on keyless chuck?
all the adapters I saw doing the opposite thing...

While someone has already linked to the adapter, for occasional use why not just clamp the SDS in the chuck? If you plan to do even a medium sized project, get a proper SDS drill. Besides small holes, these little hammer drills will be frustrating. My Bosch SDS cuts through brick, block, concrete like butter - like drilling into pine, even for 3/4" holes 14" deep. And you can use the chisels to break up concrete and tile. This is a well respected - and huge bang for your buck - model. I paid over $200 for mine five years ago and love it.


Putting a new finish on engineered hardwood floors Recently, I dropped a jar of pickles on my engineered hardwood floors.  I cleaned it up immediately with a little Mr. Clean and water on a paper towel.  It was still sticky and I used vinegar and water on a paper towel and then a little soap and water on a paper towel.  The shine is still there but the finish is not the same.  When you walk over it with socks, you don't glide over it like you do elsewhere.     You can not see the difference, you can only feel it.  What can I do to make the floor smooth again on that spot?

Before you do all of that, or considering you asked back in August (my apologies) hopefully this helps the next person.

Try floor wax first.  If it APPEARS fine you don't need to refinish the floors.

Rub it on, buff it off, viola the floor is slippery again.


How can I make a splice in a 30 amp 240 circuit? I have a splice in a 30 amp 240 corcuit.  There is an outlet box on the three way splice.  No junction on the extension from the initial cut to the three way splice.  Please see the attached picture.  What do I need to do to make this compliant?

The garage is used as an outlet for tools like a welder and compressor. The dryer isn't used as we have a gas dryer. Access is not really possible in the supply and dryer direction as they are new construction wiring. Garage is retrofit wiring and easily accessible.

I am a huge fan of steel boxes for things like this for a couple of reasons.  First, they contain arc faults very well, they won't melt or burn through like plastic, and if anything will help the breaker trip if a hot wire comes loose.    Second, they solve a problem the last guy had: finding a proper cover for the box.  Blank cover plates are perfectly common in metal boxes.

I would use 4" x 4" x 2-1/8" (deep) box and lid for the splices. You will also need cable clamps that fit into knockout holes, a bag of enough of those should be $2-ish.

The constraint on box size is cubic inches required space: in each box you need 5 cubic inches plus 7.5 cubic inches per cable. That's 20 cubic inches for a 2-splice and 27.5 for a 3-splice.   That box is 30.3 cubic inches. You can get 7.0 more with a domed cover.

Lastly you will need some #10-32 ground screws and two 8" lengths of #10 bare wire (which can be cut down from spare 10/3 cable, e.g. if you scrap the current middle section).

Position the boxes

One hole in the boxes will be threaded #10-32 for a ground screw. It may be on a little dome.  Otherwise be careful to position the box so the ground screw is usable.  Put an 8" ground pigtail on that screw.

The key is to position junction boxes in locations that are a) properly mounted, b) allow at least 7" of wire ends to enter the box; and c) allow routing of the dryer and supply in a neat and workmanlike manner compatible with any future plan you might have with the use of the space.

You don't need to worry about having that short jumper reach; we can easily replace it.   You also don't need to worry about the garage run reaching either of these box positions (It might be nice, but don't sacrifice a good box placement to get it).

Boxes can be attached to rafters, or you can lay a 4" wide sheet of plywood between rafters if you want a particular position.

Linking

After the junction boxes are mounted, attach the cables via knockout holes and cable clamps. The cable clamps are mandatory, don't just bring it in a hole.

Feel free to reuse any wires in good shape.  Install the run between the boxes.  Then also install the garage run.  If it's not long enough, either replace the whole run or add a third junction box to splice and extend it.

There is nothing wrong with wire-nut splices if they're properly done.  For #10 wire, that means use the big nuts, line them up properly, and twist gorilla-tight.  Then do a very firm pull test (hold nut, pull each wire in turn). There is no way a #10 will come out (if done right).

Nut the junction box's ground wire in with the other ground wires. This is cheap insurance in case a hot wire ever gets loose.


LED track lighting question i had 4 Par38 75W bulbs on track.
replaced them with 4 led 13W bulbs.
all work but last one .
i tested bulb on another fixture works  fine.?
when i put old "incandescent" bulb in last one all works fine
the track is on dimmer and all bulbs dim except when led is in  last fixture
is there limit of led on track?
thanks

You're saying "last one", but that has two meanings.  First as position: the last one in the row.  Second as time: the last one remaining.

The second meaning is relevant here.   What's actually the case is all 4 sockets are wired the same.  What's causing the problem is removing the last (final) incandescent.  It wouldn't matter if you removed it from position 2, 3, or 1.  Once there are no incandescents left, the problem occurs.

The root problem is one we are familiar with here, and has many, many Q&A.  The short answer is a bad dimmer, a bad choice of LEDs, or a combination of the two. For LED dimming to work, you need both dimmable LEDs and an LED friendly dimmer.  Assuming you bought these LEDs prudently, it's time to look at the dimmer.


Can I add additional lighting to a standard motion security light? I have a 2-story house with walkout basement, so my existing under-eave security light is essentially 3 stories above grade in the back. I swapped out the existing 100w flood bulbs in my motion security light with 24w (250w eq) LED flood bulbs which helped but due to the size of the yard I'd like to add a few high-lumen LED panels. Can I wire standard 3-wire light fixtures like these panels to turn on/off with the integrated motion sensor?

The wattage limit of most fixtures is such due to heat concerns. It's difficult to say how much current the sensor circuitry will handle. You're safe up to the limit on the sticker, though.

Otherwise, swap out your fixture for a standalone sensor and abide by its stated limitations.


High humidity in bedroom and condensation I have a Bungalow build 1950s cavity walls not sure if they have insulation in the cavity.

Suffering from really high humidity in main bedroom 74% overnight dropping to 59/60 in day. Window and external wall is dripping in the morning with moisture. Also for the first time in 5 years had mold in the 2 bottom corners. Not too sure how to combat this.

Tried sleeping with window open even though its freezing in UK at this time but still have the issue.

There is an old fire place that has been boarded over thinking of adding a vent into that to help with airflow?

Also maybe adding thermal wallpaper wallrock to that wall to keep it warm?

Dont suffer with this anywhere else in the house? Any ideas appreciated!

In general, high moisture levels can be reduced by exchanging the room's air only during night, best time in the morning before sun rise.
Best method would be to open 2 windows at 2 different walls of the apartment/building, west and east sides would be the best option.

If there is a noticeable air flow, just 1-3 minutes are enough and should not be exceeded.

That way statistically colder and dryer air is replacing the warmer air without cooling down walls, furnitures etc.

This method is extremely counter-intuitiv since most people do not want to get colder air into their home.

But warming up dry air needs only a fraction of the energy needed to heat up moist air.

Without this air exchange the building's material, furnitures and interior have to be heated up above the dew point what needs much more energy.

Since the humidity level in the mentioned bedroom is reduced during daytime, it could be due to the regime "airing during daytime, reducing temperature during nighttime", which is likely causing high humidity levels in the nighttime.
If the hull is not tight enough, statistically moist air comes into the building, since normally the wind blows stronger during daytime. Could be checked via candles, smoke, thermography or 30cm long hanging strings scotched to door and window frames.


Can I substitute halogen bulbs for incandescent bulbs? Instead of three 40w light bulbs, can I use only two 43w halogen light bulbs in a ceiling light fixture with 3 lamp sockets rated at 40w maximum per socket?

Each socket (and the wire associated with it) is rated for its maximum wattage. While the overall wattage in the fixture may be less than the maximum allowed, the wattage in two of the sockets will be over, although only by about 8%. Most equipment is fairly conservatively rated, but it will not be compliant. And halogens do run hot.

Have you considered using LED bulbs instead. 60 watt equivalents use about 10 watts each. The price is dropping to less than $8 a bulb and they are rated to last for decades. Savings in electricity will probably pay for them in a little more than a year.


Can't friction fit insulation I have interior walls that are 24OC and I'm insulating them with 15.5 OC Denim/Cotton batts (they don't make a 23/24" version of this insulation)

Because they're interior, normally a friction fit would be used.  However, it seems that using 1.5 batt width as a friction fit seems unstable.

Any ideas on how to make this happen without having to put drywall up on the opposite side?  Insulation ties, insulweb, anything else?

From the comments it sounds like you have drywall on one side. I'd set up a measuring jig to give consistent, square cuts, and cut your batts to length so that they fit well horizontally. Stack them in the stud spaces.

If necessary, apply a sheeting over it to give additional support. Something with a textured surface might be preferable to polyethylene because it will give additional friction support.


Installing Smart Water Monitor/Valve We recently moved into a new home and have been blessed with sloppy plumbing and high water pressure. The whole home is copper and since moving we have had 3 leaks in various joints. I'm no expert but I can clearly see poor soldering, overfilled joints, burnt flux, and poor clean with flux everywhere, etc...

Given the above I want to install a "smart" valve, I bought a Phyn Plus for the job. Originally, I had thought the line coming into the home was copper but after taking things apart I found what looks like PEX with an interesting PVC coupler to copper with newish looking crimped couplings. There is also no Pressure Reducing Valve so I will need to add one. At this point I'm wondering what scope of work I should ask the plumber for.

I think these are the problems:
A) No PRV. I'd also like a pressure gauge to see what the pressure is on both sides of the valve. Worthwhile?
B) Within the first few feet of pipe into the house I already have multiple couplers and nothing is strapped down. I'm thinking I could clean that up.
C) Would it be worth going from the incoming PEX to my own new Uponor PEX run. That PVC coupler looks super sketch. This would be a good start towards repiping the house down the road.

Any thoughts would be great!

That blue water service line could be PEX, but it also could be HDPE. If it's HDPE then it might be CTS (copper tube size) or IPS (iron pipe size). Based on the shade of blue I'm leaning toward HDPE, but it's hard to tell in a photo. Use a small mirror to inspect the full circumference of the pipe -- it may have something printed on it indicating the type. You also can measure its outside diameter and based on that narrow down the possibilities. In my (limited) experience, the blue coating on HDPE tubing is thin. If you scraped a little away and found black plastic beneath then it's HDPE. You could also test opacity with a flashlight: PEX is somewhat translucent but HDPE is very opaque.

Because the PVC adapter makes you uncomfortable you could replace it with brass. If the blue tube is PEX then this is easy an inexpensive: use a barbed fitting with a crimp or clamp ring, or use a push-on fitting ("Sharkbite" or other brand). These are readily available in any home improvement store. If it's HDPE, though, you'll need a different kind of adapter. These are going to be harder to find because they're normally sold through waterworks distributors. Expect to pay about US$30 for one of these. They're likely to sell over the counter to the public, but figuring out the name of your local waterworks distributor may be a challenge. If you got lucky at Home Depot you might find a plumbing associate who'd know a name. Somebody in your municipal water department may also be a good referral source.

In any case, I'd adapt the blue plastic tube to a brass male pipe thread and set a quarter-turn ball valve on top. The PRV would be down stream of the valve. Pressure gauges are a fine idea (I've done the same at my house), and if you want to incorporate these, then insert a tee between the valve and the PRV and another downstream of the PRV. Use tees with a threaded branch so you can screw in the right reducer bushing to work with your pressure gauge (probably 1/4").


Service Wire Type coming out of weatherhead Is this the correct wire type to use for my 24" pig tails coming out of the weatherhead to connect to the service drop coming from the power pole?
I'm worried that this wire is not suppose to be outside in the environment, even thought it's just 24" in length and in the air, coming out of the weatherhead.
The electrical store gave me this type of aluminum wire for my pig tails coming out of my weatherhead.  I'm using 125 amps.  I'm worried it could be the wrong ones.  The power company is coming out in a few days to connect and I don't want to run into issues.  See pictures below, but it says:
Alumaflex (R) AA8176 Type THWN-2 or THHN or Gasoline and oil resistant II for CT use sunlight resistant
Southwire S/N..?.. (TM) E23919 (UL) 600 volts (AWG 1/0) 53,508 mm2..?..
I guess I need a service entrance wire, type SE?
Or is this the correct wire?:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Southwire-1000-ft-1-0-1-0-2-Black-Stranded-AL-Triplex-URD-Brenau-Cable-55415201/204788216?keyword=1000048075

If you mean in conduit up to the weatherhead the that is perfectly fine. It has a W rating (THWN) for wet location and is sunlight resistant.


How can I fix pinewood flooring that got skewed after oiling? I oiled my pinewood flooring a few days ago, and now after it has dried up the flooring is skewed. It bends up close to the edges, on both sides of the room. Each plank is straight lengthwise. It's the joints that seems to cause the problem.
The flooring lies freely upon a concrete surface. One of the walls is concrete while the others are drywall / plasterboard. The concrete wall is on one of the sides with a single board all the way over (and not a side with many edges).

Before oiling the floor, the skriting was nailed to the drywall on three sides, and into the floor on the concrete walled side.

Now I'm afraid the nails in the drywall won't hold, and nails in the floor on the side with concrete isn't really an alternative, as that won't make it stick to the ground.

Does anyone have a suggestion as to how I can fix this?

The first picture below is how it looks now, while the second one is how it looks if I hold the planks down to the ground. As you can see, there is big difference.

First thing is to try and remedy the situation. Adding finish to one side has caused an imbalance in the woods ability to absorb and release ambient moisture, causing it to twist.  If at all possible pull up the offending members and oil the underside as well to help mitigate this affect.

Once that's done reset your base moulding by shooting finish nails into the studs where applicable. In the areas with the cement wall, use a quality construction adhesive and (if possible) spring board the trim in place off the opposing wall until the adhesive cures.

Otherwise try a combination of adhesive and double sided carpet tape to secure your trim. Hopefully the tape has enough oompf to keep the trim held down and there by keep the flooring where it belongs.  Cheers!


Replacing a screen door Recently, our patio screen door has begun to show damage and the screen itself has started to peel off of the damaged frame.  We are now looking to replace it.
We measured the door as 36 1/2 inches wide and 79 5/8 inches high. Our problem is that we do not remember what type of screen door this is.
Does anyone know the screen door type and where to find it?

As noted in a comment, unless the frame itself is damaged, you just replace the screen in the existing frame. I'm guessing that the "damage" in the outside picture is just an odd aberation caused by your camera, or you'd be asking how to repair siding, too! :)
You pull the spline out of the groove and remove the old screen. You might be able to reuse the spline, but if you can't they're not expensive.
You lay out the new screen over the door, then, using a spline tool, you push the spline into the groove to hold the screen in place.
The hardest part is keeping the screen nice and smooth so it looks good when you're done. This shouldn't be too difficult, though, if you take your time and employ a helper or two to hold it tight.


Lighting wiring questions 101 I'm working on a remodel of a 1960's home and redoing the wiring from scratch. I'm drawing up electrical plans. I understand most of the codes and have all of the outlets planned out. I'm having a hard time understanding modern lighting wiring. I see many examples of loop-in wiring. It seems strait forward, but code requires a neutral in the switchbox. I don't get how its done in modern times. The examples I see in modern lighting only have 1 light in the diagram. The house is small a little under 1000 sqft 2bd 1 bath. I want to run all the lights off of 1 circuit if possible. Except for the bathroom shower light/fan which needs GFCI protection when installed in the shower area. I want to run a total of 10 - 11 light fixtures and 8-11 switches (depending on if I use pull chains in the closets and pantry or switches and if I keep the bathroom light on the lighting circuit). I will be wiring from the main panel through the attic to each light. I'm In AZ. Local code just refers to the NEC.
My questions are:

Can I run all lights off of 1 circuit?
Can I run the shower fan/light off of the bathroom circuit?
Should the bathroom light also be on the dedicated GFCI circuit for the bathroom or on a non-GFCI lighting circuit?
Should I not have a lighting circuit and pull from an end of run outlet from each room? I have receptacles planed out which are dedicated for each individual room. In the kitchen I have 2 counter circuits. I dont know if that is allowed to be used for lighting?
If I do a lighting circuit and do a home run with 14/2 to a switchbox and 14/2 to the fixture where do I splice the next run to the next light? In the switchbox?

That is what I'm assuming the code wants. Basically all switchboxes wired together in a parallel fashion, pigtail to the switch and run to the lighting receptacle. Or is that wrong? I wish I could see a full diagram of how this circuit works and what is normally done these days. Any help is appreciated!

Forget switch loops, those went out years ago. If your wiring layout would be happier with "cables running off to switches" like a switch loop used to do, pick up some 14/3 cable to run neutral and hot to the switch, and carry switched hot back from the switch. You'll need that for cabling between any three way switches anyway.
1: Code doesn't give a fig if you run a dedicated lighting circuit or not, so long as you meet code minimum provisioning. My opinion having grown up in a house with shared receptacles/lights is that a dedicated lighting circuit is far better, people who have not had that experience often think otherwise. You do need to provide 3 VA per square foot for "general lighting and receptacle loads", but code does not specify how you split up that 3000 VA (25 amps) for your 1000 square feet. These days you probably want a good deal more for receptacles and don't need a huge amount for lighting unless you abhor efficient lighting.
2: The required 20 amp bathroom circuit cannot* be used for lighting. (*if it serves only one bathroom it can)
3: You don't need a separate circuit for a GFCI. Just put a deadfront (no outlet) GFCI on the bathroom lighting feed. That can be fed from the lighting circuit if you choose to use a lighting circuit.
4A: Code doesn't give a fig how you arrange the wiring, just that it meets code. You can wire it 17 different ways that all meet code. None of them are more right than the others. What makes sense tends to depend a great deal on the actual physical layout of your walls, switch locations, and light locations. Lights need switched hot and neutral. Switches need hot, neutral, and switched hot. How they get there is up to you.
4B: You CANNOT pull from the dedicated countertop circuits NOR from the dedicated laundry circuit. Those circuits (and the bathrom circuit) also do NOT count towards the "general lighting and receptacle loads."
5: see 4A.


Replacing front door buzzer Hello:  I just had my front door buzzer replaced by my co-op's handyman and the new buzzer is lousy.  I want to replace it myself with a chime.

The rating of the current co-op buzzer is 8-12VAC. Can I use a 8-12VDC chime?  I'm not sure how much of a difference, or if there is a difference between 8-12VAC & 8-12VDC, if there is a difference will a 8-12VDC still work.  The transformer and all wiring and button are all good.

There is a difference.  Some bells are dual rated, but normally the maximum voltage is lower for DC than for AC.  Chances are your actual transformer is producing more that 12VAC, and your chime will actually be fine above it's rating.

Give it a try.


Reducing humidity with a fan: top or bottom? In the basement of my apartment block we have several little storage rooms (~65 sq ft), one for each tenant. Inside of mine the humidity gets a little high to my liking because although it has 2 holes in the wall with gratings that communicate with the rest of the basement, the air doesn't really move and becomes stagnant, which I think makes the humidity rise. The humidity outside that room in the same basement is OK, since it has good ventilation.

The 2 gratings are in the same wall, one at the floor level and the other at ceiling level. So I thought that in order to circulate some air and potentially reduce the humidity, I should install a fan in (at least) one of the two grates.

My question is: what grate would be the best choice for this purpose? The top or the bottom? And what direction should the air flow? Would I benefit from putting two fans, one in each grate?

My understanding using (possibly flawed) logic would be to use the top one and blow the air to the outside of the room, because the humid air would accumulate near the ceiling and this way it would be ejected out.

Dry air is more dense than humid air, so your thinking about humid air accumulating near the ceiling makes sense. Because it's a basement, however, I'm going to assume humidity is coming through the floor or walls. Tackling the source of the humidity by letting drier air circulate along the floor and walls will probably be most effective at drying the space.

Your best bet may be to mount the fan as an intake on the bottom grate, so less humid air blows onto the floor and quickly disperses rising moisture. It would also help to open up some air space along the floor. You could achieve this by storing your items on a raised shelf or pallet. Providing this extra space for air circulation might even be enough to keep your storage room sufficiently dry without forced ventilation.


Looking for the least expensive way to level Basement floor How can I level my basement floor, which has a 2-3inch dip in the middle?

If there isn’t a moisture problem, I’d use a gypcrete self-leveling compound. Feather to edges and cover entire floor with your final floor finish. (Gypcrete can’t be left exposed. It’s not a walking surface.)

Gypcrete can only be installed to 3”-4” depth, so it would be fine. If there’s a moisture problem, you must take care of that first.


Is it okay to connect a round supply duct directly to an air handler? I removed all of my existing duct work that was designed as a radial system with a sheet metal rectangular plenum with very long flex runs poorly attached. I am replacing my system with all round sheet metal duct as an extended plenum design.  Assuming proper duct sizing calculations, I am wondering if it is reasonable to attach a flat piece of sheet metal to the air handler to make the connection to the round duct instead of installing a new sheet metal rectangular plenum first to connect the supply round sheet metal duct.

Resources: Duct System Design Considerations

Manual: Model: chpf3636b6ca

This picture illustrates what the end result would look like: A round duct directly connected to a rectangular air handler.  This picture is not of my existing system.

Such a connection introduces more friction to the system, reducing the available flow. If the system is sized adequately to accommodate this, then yes, it is OK. If I understand you correctly, this large round duct you are connecting to the air handler is serving as an extended plenum. Partly depending on the relative size of the duct and air handler, this may be the one place where it would be worth constructing a proper transition fitting instead of a simple flat adapter.

In a way, the flat adapter is crippling the entire system before it even gets a chance to get going, just my opinion, based on my innate desire for efficiency. As stated earlier, if the system can accommodate an inefficient transition, then it is OK to use it. I just happen to not like it.


Should I be concerned about a green crust on the copper pipes on my boiler? I have a boiler system, about 9 years old, with copper pipes. Many of those connections and handle faucets have a green crust. Is this a sign of something wrong? What do I do? Should I be concerned?

When copper oxidizes, it turns green.

Usually there has to be some kind of catalyst to cause oxidation. Potential catalysts include salt, iron and any kind of acid.

Acid will form in water due to dissolved carbon dioxide. Usually if copper is getting green, it is because it is getting wet. In the case of a boiler, this could be due to water in a humid environment condensing on a cold pipe.

A quick fix is to clean the pipes by rubbing with scotch brit pads, polish with a metal polishing pad (do not use metal polishing compound, just a dry pad), then rub the pipes with a 10% solution of lye. Lye is powerful stuff, so handle it with care and use rubber gloves and eye protection.


Dry Rods for Rising Damp I have installed dry rods for rising damp on on the outside of my property. I wanted to ask the holes, should they be left open of filled with something like polyfiller?
Thanks

Barry I am about to do the same job, and the video's I have seen show the rods being sealed in with Silicone sealant. I am not sure if this is correct but that is what I will be doing.


Do I need one zone valve for each thermostat on a gas boiler? If you have a natural gas hot water baseboard heating system that has 5 thermostats that control the heat do you need 5 separate zone valves on boiler?

If you have 5 zones (thermostats), then you need some mechanism to control which zones are receiving a flow of hot water. There are two typical ways to handle multiple zones with hot water heat:

Use a single circulator pump, plus one valve for each zone. The boiler and pump runs whenever any zone is calling for heat, but the valve controller only opens the relevant valves to allow water to flow to the calling zone(s).
Use a pump for each zone. When zone(s) call for heat, the zone controller triggers the boiler to run and powers the relevant pumps.

There can be some variation from these, especially if your boiler also heats your domestic hot water, but most systems will use either pumps or valves for zone control.

Also note that the valves or circulators used for zoning control are not really part of the boiler. They're attached of course, both to the plumbing and to electronically control the boiler, but are designed and installed per the needs of your home. And while they're typically located near the boiler, they could be elsewhere in your home, perhaps near your radiators.


Open a locked (broken) washing machine We have a washing machine that is kept outside, and we forgot to cover it so it got rained on and when we started it we heard a pop and smoke came out, and the circuit breaker went off. And now the clothes are trapped inside! :)

I don't care to pay any money to fix the machine right now, as I bought it second-hand for less than the cost of hiring a technician. My only concern is to get our clothes out now.

How do I open this washing machine door (hopefully in the least destructive way?)
I opened up the top, and tried jiggling the lock from both sides.

The machine model is Spectra WM2605 (made in italy), but the manual cannot be found online anywhere.

Because your electronics are probably fried you can just pry it open.

The cost of replacing the electronics will probably be more then it is worth to fix and you can get a used one cheaper.

But if want to make sure you can pay to have an appliance repair person come out and tell you what it would cost to repair.

The latch in most cases is just a plastic piece that is being held by the electronic mechanism.

I would just pry and break the plastic locking mechanism.

A big crowbar would do the job.


Brick pillars gone now what? I have a back concrete patio in pretty good shape.  Surrounding it on 2 sides are concrete pads (| is one pad and the other is -).  These two pads are about 1 foot a piece wide.  The X's are the brick pillars.

X
|
|
|
|
X---------------X--------------X

So I demo'ed brick and moved electric.  Now I am left with about a 1 inch base that seems pretty attached to concrete where the pillars where - they were about 1 foot by 1 foot.  This 1" base looks like a smooth concrete - it isn't mortar and is definitely different from the rough/normal concrete pad.  And there is a rebar anchor sticking out the middle hole.  Any ideas beyond demoing these two large concrete pads?  Do I have a chance of taking out these small (smooth) concrete pillar bottoms and flattening these things out?  And I am guess that I just hit the rebar with angle grinder and fill the middle if I can get the pillar bottoms out?

It sounds like your 1" pads may be non-shrink grout. If it is different in texture and color, it should pop off the concrete, and yes grind off the metal bar with a thin cutting wheel on a small right angle grinder. If the surface is to be part of the finished job, I would consider chiseling down around the pin with a neat hole or use a core drill, to cut it off below the surface. Then you can fill the hole with an expansion concrete mixed with sand and pea gravel to mimic the surrounding finish as best as possible. You could wipe it off a little with a damp sponge to expose the aggregate a little after it has initially set to mimic ageing a bit. Be careful with this step though.


Repair L-shaped notch in drywall I cut some L-shaped notches in the corner between my walls and ceiling in order to pull some electrical wires through.  Now I'm not sure how to repair the hole... should I just cake in joint compound to fill in the hole, or cut some small pieces of drywall to fill in the hole?

One method that came to mind was to cut small wood pieces an inch or two longer than the (already small) hole, put them behind, screw them to teh existing wall/ceiling, cut small drywall pieces to fill the notch, screw those into the wood, then put on joint compound + corner tape, but that seems like a lot of work for a hole so small.  I'm not sure I could even fit the wood bars through a hole that size.

I found many resources online describing the process of pulling wires through corners using the notch method, but nothing describes how exactly to repair the drywall when complete.

Hopefully there was a notch drilled in the plate, so that when a wire staple is set it will pull the wire in behind the face of the drywall. It should have been cut out large enough to allow a metal plate to cover the wire to protect it, although it is unlikely there will be any nails or screws going into the corner right there, but you never know....

Anyway, after the wire is held in place with a staple, pack the slot with drywall mud if you prefer, but it will take a long time to dry, unless you use a fast setting type and scrape that flush with the wall, do not allow that to build up or sag. Add another layer of mud for a setting bed for the tape, whether it be paper or mesh. Set the tape over the whole slot, running it into the corner and out onto the wall and ceiling. It may be a little tricky, but you can do it. After that has set add you finish coats, let dry and sand smooth.


Using leftover Romex in conduit (surface mount application in an attached garage) I am planning to add an outlet circuit to my garage.  Strangely, when they built the house, they only put two outlets in the entire garage, both of which are on shared circuits with the rooms on the other side of the wall (living room and kitchen).  I have more than 100 feet of 12-2 Romex left over from other wiring projects, and wanted to know what my options were for using it in a surface mount application.  I really don't want to open the walls up in the garage.  Quick research indicates that it's NOT against code to run Romex in conduit, but it's not best practice for heat dissipation purposes and can be a pain to pull.  I know THHN is relatively cheap, but not if I need to buy 3 separately colored spools of it rather than buying one larger spool and remarking the wires (which is against code, correct?)

Thanks,

You need big conduit

A flat cable like Romex is treated the same as a circular wire of the large dimension.

With 1 cable in round conduit, the conduit inside diameter must be at least 138% of the widest cable width.
With two same cables in round conduit, the conduit ID must be 259% of the widest cable width.
with three same cables in round conduit, the conduit ID must br 274% of the widest cable width.

Note that at minimum sizes, it will be a bugbear to pull.  You may be wise to upsize further for ease of pulling.

-

If you are using non-round conduit, then you need to look up the cross sectional area of the conduit and compute the cross section of the (rounded out) cable.  Compute

  cross section of cable  = (cable widest width ^ 2) * 3.14159 / 4

Cable cross section can't exceed 53% of cable cross section for 1 wire in conduit; 30% for 2 cables in conduit, and 40% for 3 or more.


Why am I hard pressed to find framing nails that meet code at my local retailers? I'm specifically talking about collated framing nails for a pneumatic nailer.

For example, the IRC calls for 16d common nails (3-1/2" length, 0.162" shank) all over its fastening schedules. Clearly a 16d common will cover a majority of the scenarios one would encounter. Yet every local retailer that sells collated framing nails does not stock such a nail. The closest I can get is usually 3-1/4" with a 0.131" shank. Does everyone skimp on the fastening schedule because most inspections won't catch it, or am I missing a crucial piece of information?

I get that most professionals aren't going to be shopping at blue box or orange box, but even those folks are going to come up short sometimes and need to make a quick run to grab a few more nails. Surely retailers would only stock/sell the most in demand sizes, how is a code compliant 16d nail not that?

Admittedly this sounds more like a rant than a question, but I'm genuinely curious if I'm missing part of the picture. Are folks just sloppy when it comes to sizing their fasteners, or are pneumatic nails slightly smaller but "equivalent?" What's going on here?

You say, "For example, the IRC calls for 16d common nails (3-1/2" length, 0.162" shank) all over its fastening schedules."  This is true, but it also lists (in same schedule) how many 3" x 0.131" nails or staples are required. (See IBC Table 2304.9.1)

For instance, Item 16: Stud to Bottom Plate: 2 - 16d; or 3 - 3" x 0.131" nail; or 3 - 14 gage staples.

I don't think the Building Officials are ignoring the nailing requirements for various fasteners.  I think they know the required nailing for pneumatic nails or staples.


Toilet flange slightly angled, options So i must have glued the closet bend about 5 degrees off or my subfloor isn't quite level, but I'm about to install the toilet flange.
I can force it down flat and screw down the flange with a bit of effort but will this tension in the ABS be a problem long term?
Another solution with be either gluing the flange slightly crooked or heating the abs pipe to bend it slightly with a hair dryer or pouring boiling water into it.
Thoughts?

The simplest option, assuming that the flange would not stand too high above the finished floor, is to do nothing. The wax ring used to seal between the flange and the toilet can take up quite a lot of misalignment. If the difference from the high side to the low side is less than maybe 1/4 inch (or even more, possibly) it'll be fine.
I'm not sure that a hair dryer will make enough heat to soften the ABS pipe but a hot air gun would.
It sounds like you're still in the rough construction stage where pipe replacement is simple. If so, and if the angle is really bothersome, cut it out and re-do the work. Mistakes happen and sometimes we have to re-do stuff but that's ok.


Unable to turn knob on Rheem hot water heater to pilot I have a Rheem heater (Model# PROG50-38N RH60). The pilot has gone out. This tutorial suggests I must turn the knob to pilot to start the process of relighting the heater. When I try to turn my knob to pilot, I am unable to do so. Is there any trick to getting the knob into pilot mode? I don't want to break the heater by forcing things.
Here is the knob on my heater

Below is a picture of the lighting instructions for your water heater taken from Rheem's website. Make sure to follow the lighting instructions carefully and do not skip any steps. This same instruction set should be available as a sticker on your unit.
It looks like you do in fact have to depress the knob in order to turn it so avoid using force.
If you are unsuccessful with the instructions then it is a good idea to call a professional.
Page 17: https://cdn.globalimageserver.com/FetchDocument.aspx?ID=1109693C-C799-48A7-9045-F812119FBDF8


How to support a turn in a staircase? This is for a shed.  I'm having problems finding enough support for either stringer and I can't find any close-up images of how this might be done.  My only choice seems to be to pull the lower staircase back from the upper.  Is there a way to make this work within this tighter space?

Dog-Leg stairs

  Structurally, the flights of a dog-leg stair are usually supported by the half-landing, which spans the adjoining flank walls.

Image: Bill Bradley. CC by SA 3.0

In this arrangement, the stringers are joined to a newel post. The lower landing is also partly supported by the newel post. The upper by only the flanking walls and, I guess, effectively braced by lower stringers.


Is the combination switch and outlet circuit in my 1970s home ok? I’m replacing an existing incandescent light fixture in my garage with two LED fixtures.  The light is on a set of 3-way switches.  I expected to remove the existing fixture and find a hot and neutral.  However, the light is fed by a switched hot and tees into neutral.  It was a bizarre enough setup that I pulled all the faceplates and did some investigating.  If you look at the sketch, L2 is the light fixture that I plan on replacing.

O1 (outlet) and L3 are always hot, and control the garage opener and exterior spotlight, respectively.  S1 has a backstab going to S2 and two wires wrapped around the gold screw.  The part that concerns me is the combination of switched and always-on branches.  Is this type of setup ok?  I imagine it was back in the 70’s when the house was constructed, but now it seems like a ball of yarn.  Thanks

Every wire is there for a purpose and there are no extra wires.

It seems like a ball of yarn because wiring is like that.   What helps a great deal is color-coding the wires by function.   As an example, I prefer

white for neutral (well, that's mandatory)
black for always-hot, circuit 1 (usually the only circuit)
red for switched-hot (between switch and lamp)
blue for alt-switched-hot (second lamp)
yellow for the two 3-way switch travelers (the ones on the brass screws) - there is no need to distinguish them from each other

Get a 5-pack of colored tape and apply that by wrapping the appropriate wires.  Yarn no more.


Potential complications running data cables I just got the idea to run cables through the walls to transmit data around the house. In particular, I was thinking of buying a few HDMI/RCA/Coax/Ethernet wall plates and installing them in a couple of different rooms so that we can, for example, plug in a blu-ray player in one room and have it output in another room. (Ideally, we'd be able to set up one room as the "hub" and use splitters to send the data to the other rooms, but one step at a time here)

Basically, the plate in one room should serve as an "input," while the plate in another room should serve as an "output." Of course the cables themselves don't care, but that would be the "rule" so to speak. In one room, you plug in something that makes a signal, but in the other room, you plug in something that uses that signal.

But with the device on the other end of the cable being in another room, it would be pretty easy to forget and accidentally hook up a blu-ray player to a PC, or a DVD player to a DVD player, or a TV to a TV.

So my question is, what happens in these cases:

HDMI out to HDMI out (eg blu-ray to blu-ray)
HDMI in to HDMI in (eg HDTV to HDTV)
RCA out to RCA out (eg DVD player to DVD player)
RCA in to RCA in (eg SDTV to SDTV)
Coax out to Coax out (eg VCR to VCR)
Coax in to Coax in (eg TV to TV)

Hopefully, in each of these cases, nothing bad happens (or nothing happens at all). But the older standards worry me a little bit. Would any of these situations result in damage to the devices, or are these standards "smart" enough to detect this kind of thing and react properly?

Sorry if this is more of an electronics question.

Thanks for any help.

The problems you are trying to solve -- so is everybody else.  There are a lot of consumer products on the market aiming to solve the "how do I put my TV here" problem.  Their "universal solvent" seems to be ethernet or WiFi.

You're saying pre-run all the above wires to an appropriate central place - somewhere a wife would authorize a bunch of tech gear to be stacked up.

I wouldn't do that.  I'd run the fattest conduit you can manage.  That way you can pull any cable that may be required in the future - Cat7, Lightning, USB3, whatever.

Coax (I assume you mean RG6 cable TV coax) generally implies RF frequency.  Two Coax devices can drive into each other without incident.

RCA (which is also coax)  - I would not expect two outputs to damage each other since their output is line-level.  (a line output against a phonograph needle output - different deal.)  Anyway that makes me laugh - I haven't used RCA connectors in AV for over a decade, except obviously for line-level audio, and that doesn't like going a long distance.

Ethernet will be fine.  Plugging nose-to-nose happens all the time when you use a regular cable when you should've used a crossover cable, or vice versa.

HDMI is negotiated. But HDMI is not going to work over any kind of distance, and you have a lot of gratuitous distance going to the concentration point and back out to the other room.  Also several connectors.


Removed an outlet attached to a lighting circuit, now the room sockets have lost power My wife has finished cooking so I reattached the socket and the circuit is now working.
So my question becomes - how can I remove this socket and the wire without breaking the circuit?

I recently had a load bearing wall removed from my property and the leftover electrical work has been dangling between two rooms.
It's a triple gang light switch with a socket attached to the end. Two of the three lights are 3-way switches although all three switches are using 14/3 cable.
There are two sockets coming up from the floor that are on a different circuit if the extra wire is confusing. These are not connected to the circuit in question.
I removed the socket from the bottom of this 3 gang box. It was connected by a 14/2 cable spliced with neutrals and hots in the box.
All the lights are still working but I've lost power to the electrical sockets and my outdoor light.
I'm puzzled because I wouldn't have thought that removing the socket would have impacted the circuit. Is it this or is it something else?
Troubleshooting steps I've taken:

Cycled every breaker into a fully off and then on position

.

A receptacle with a single cable running to it will have no effect on the rest of the circuit (unless you short the white to black and trip the breaker).
I would suggest you wiggled the wires going to the switches (they look to be back stabbed). Backstabbed wiring is by far the largest failure cause in modern wiring.
If you search you may find answers on this site that tell you to check the devices and when you turn the power back on and it works the stab started working because of the wire wiggle. Since this in new use the screw terminals not backstabs or this will end up being a common issue until the stab / wire is burned off from arcing and you find the root cause.


Is exposed Roxul insulation safe? My basement is not occupied and I would like to put Roxul insulation against the windows so it adds a bit more insulation in the winter. The material I plan to use is Roxul, my question is would it be safe to have exposed Roxul insulation around the house?

Roxul is our #1 choice of insulation in exposed areas.

It is non-flammable.
After installation it releases very little dust comparatively.
The dust released has really no harmful effects other than slight irritation.
It molds and conforms stronger than fiberglass and other roll insulation.  Just make your cuts bigger than the area and compact the material in.
It has little to no smell.
Mice/Rats don't like it.

I personally have exposed ROXUL in my laundry room which is the only unfinished room in my house.  It is jammed into ever joist crevice on outside walls.  It also is in at least 30-40 basements I have finished.  It is the best performing insulation I have used - my laundry room is an oven in the winter and was cool with fiberglass sheets.  I would also suggest that you do not put up a vapor barrier unless the ROXUL is below human height - and really unless you are in a very cold climate you should not be insulating that low on a basement.  For basement windows it is the perfect choice.

(Not affiliated with the company at all nor a fanboy.  There are just a few products out there that beat the competition by a lot and I recognize that.  Mike Holme's uses it on everything too.)


Light fixture has no ground on it Putting a light fixture up but there is no ground wire on it, there is a ground comeing from box in celling , how would I hook this up

Peterborough Ontario Canada

If the light fixture has no exposed metal parts then it doesn't need a gorund wire.

Many new fixtures are all plastic and hence are inherintly safe since there is nothing that can become energized.

Just coil the ground wire up and leave it in the box.


How do I drill a mortise and tenon joint so I can reinforce it with a dowel? I want to make a mortise and tenon joint that will be held together with a dowel instead of glue. How can I drill the hole in the mortised stock and the tenon so that they line up accurately and produce a tight joint?

The simplest solution is to drill the dowel hole after you fit the joint together.

Fit the joint and make sure everything's square and true, then drill straight through the mortice and tenon in one go and insert the dowel. Chisel/plane and sand it flush and you should be good to go.

Making a mark on the outside of the mortice where you want to drill will ensure you get the location right.


Should the neutral for a GFCI be separate from other neutrals? What I found at the sub panel in the garage was an old Murray 120/240 being fed from the main with a 12/2 or 10/2 (dont remember) bx. At each phase I get 120 from phase to neutral. It has 2 double pole 15 amp breakers, which they used for 4 circuits. One for a swimming pool filter (8 amp) ,and a few light fixtures (keeping in mind that the filter is on a timer so it's not constant). Second side of the two pole is feeding a refrigerator, but the other breaker has two other separate circuits. One serving a GFCI, and two outlets. The final pole is feeding two other outlets.

What concerns me is that they went with three circuits into a junction, and in that junction all the neutrals are together (one being for a GFCI). Shouldn't the circuit feeding the GFCI's neutral be separated, as if to be a dedicated circuit? In the subpanel they are all in individual on the neutral bar.

Another thing is that they had to jump the phases to get the other half of the panel to work. I just never seen a circuit wired that way, or the phases jumped.

If it truly is three separate circuits, then none of the "neutrals" should be tied together in the junction box.  Parallel conductors are not allowed (according to National Electrical Code), so they should all be separate.

I don't know what you mean by "jump the phases", so I can't comment on that.


Why did a bulge appear after I mounted a wine rack to my wall? I'm new to 'DIY-ing' and this evening I mounted a wooden wine rack to my wall. I used a stud finder, made my marks and when I drilled the hole on the left hand side it felt like.. nothing.. no stud. I shifted the drilled a little to the left and tried again, still nothing. I tried once more, shifted the drill a little more left and I got the stud. No issues with the stud on the right hand side. Hung the wine rack and it looks perfect. Pretty sturdy too.

A couple hours later a 'bubble' appeared.. Its weird, it looks like a bubble from when water is trapped behind paint but when I touched it, it was hard, almost like the drywall raised, but only in that one area on the left hand side.

Does anyone know what this could be? All help is greatly appreciated.

Thank-you.

You have a textbook screw pop there, where the drywall hanger didn't run the screw in snug, leaving a gap behind the drywall. When you mounted your rack, the drywall was pressed tight and the protruding screw forced the surface out.

The fix is do drive the screw in (through the joint compound) and repair the damage. Even if you remove your wine rack the outline of the bulge will probably remain visible.

Fortunately, you have smooth walls. I'd pull down the rack, run the screw in tight (remove it or drive it through with a hammer and set if it spins free), cut out the loose material, and skim with drywall joint compound. It will probably take several applications, with dry time in between, due to shrinkage. Sand, paint, and hang your rack again.

Of course, you could also drive the screw in, then raise your wine rack a bit and pretend it never happened. :)


What's the difference between "physical damage" and "severe physical damage" in the NEC? The 2014 NEC uses "physical damage" at various points to refer to well, hard knocks, if you know what I mean.  However, certain passages in the NEC, such as 358.12 point 1 on EMT:

  Where, during installation or afterward, it will be subject to severe physical
  damage.

380.12 point 3 on multioutlet assemblies:

  Where subject to severe physical damage

and 388.12 point 2 on surface nonmetallic raceways:

  Where subject to severe physical damage

Why is it that the NEC changes the terminology for these and a few other wiring methods, and what is the difference between plain ol' physical damage and severe physical damage, or is that left to the AHJ to decide?

P.S. if it helps -- I'm trying to decide whether surface nonmetallic raceway would be suitable for a branch-circuit extension in a residential attached garage, or if I need to use something sturdier, such as schedule 80 PVC, as I'd much rather not rip into the garage walls.

I don't know for certain but my interpretation of that language would be that "severe physical damage" would result from impacts or accidents caused by machinery, and "physical damage" would be an impact or accident involving people and objects only. For example, a forklift or pallet jack could easily crush even heavy-walled Rigid Metallic Conduit (the stuff with threaded ends and connectors). However if you had EMT conduit on the wall and a leaning 2x4 falls against it, it will probably be fine.


Repairing wire dishwasher racks Possible Duplicate:
  How to repair (and is it worth the trouble to) a rusty dishwasher rack?

We have a dishwasher with wire racks on the inside. The racks have a plastic coating on them, but after years of use, this has worn off in critical places. Now, rust is being deposited on the edges of our dishware. I'd like to clean off the rust and find some way to stop it, possibly by applying a new coating. I'm thinking of using a wire brush to clean off the rust and then applying some red RTV silicon gasket maker to replace the plastic coating. The color wouldn't match, but aesthetics don't really matter. Do you think this would work, or do you have a better suggestion?

This question was answered before with a good solution shown at this posting:

How can I repair a rusting dishwasher tray?


AC can only go one direction I'm currently sending grid power from my house to a shed, and I'm now trying to send solar power from an inverter back to the house. I'm confused because the house can power the shed (120V AC displaying from an outlet in the shed, but when I connect an inverter to the shed outlet, I am reading negligible AC output at the house outlet (60V AC) after disconnecting the outlet from the grid. Why would it be that AC can go from the house to the shed and not vise versa? Is it possible there is some diode underground that blocks current from going the reverse direction?
I wish I could provide more details about the wiring, but I'm kind of working in the dark because it's underground and inaccessible. I've provided the crude drawing below based on my most likely flawed understanding.
EDIT
Sorry I remeasured the AC voltage from inverter to house and am reading 60VAC (not 6VAC) on the house end. Seems like only half of the sine wave is being sent for some reason.
I've included some pictures of my setup. The first one shows the outlet on the home, the power comes from the attic down the tube into the box, which feeds the outlet. The cord in picture 2 plugs into this outlet and powers the shed through underground wire with 120V AC. When it's not connected, the extension cord has no power. What's weird is the cord has 60VAC when connected to the inverter (nothing else) so something must be going on underground since the shed has 120VAC from the inverter.

This is something the inverter's most likely doing, not your wiring
Grid-tie solar inverters are designed to feed power into an operating electric grid, and thus need a grid AC source to synchronize to.  If you deny them that grid source, they will refuse to invert.  This is to prevent the inverter from trying to power up a dead grid, which poses hazards to the linesfolk out in -20°C, 20m/s winds, and 20 cm of snow trying to get your power back on, as well as the health of the inverter.  Furthermore, grid-tie solar inverters don't have the ability to stably regulate grid frequency and voltage, or provide something called reactive power in order to keep the grid functioning properly, for that matter.
Note that if the shed is connected normally to the grid, and the grid is functional, a grid-tied solar inverter will supply power to everything: the shed, your house, and if anything is left over, up through the meter and service cable to the utility for somebody else to use.  It's doing this by synchronizing its own output to the grid-supplied AC waveform, though, hence the limitations described above.
For what you want to do, you'll need a proper inverter, not some Cheese-pipeline special, though
The bad news is that for what you're after, your inverter is likely the wrong tool for the job.  Your average cheap inverter purchased on Amazon/eBay/AliExpress/... is meant for RV(caravan)/portable power usage, and thus isn't made or tested for grid-tied service, or for long-term off-grid use for that matter.  For what you're doing, though, you need an inverter that's been independently tested to meet the applicable national/power utility standards ("grid code") for interconnection to the electricity grid, even if you're running an off-grid system.  Given that you're outside North America, I would recommend a Victron MultiPlus multimode inverter.  These have good support for worldwide grid standards, extensive testing to verify that they comply with those standards, and are also going to be more rugged with regards to motor starting and such than your average cheap inverter will be.  Furthermore, they have models in the line that support 120V operation (vs. 230V), and can support off-grid operation either in addition to or instead of grid-tied service, as they have an internal switch in them that lets them automatically disconnect the inverter from the grid when mains power goes away while still providing inverter power to a set of standby loads wired to a second set of AC terminals on the inverter.


tub overfowed, didn't realize floor and pad are wet. pulled up thought was dry. when i cover with pad and carpet gets wet I have been drying with space heater and dehumidifier,. however if i put carpet back it gets saturated. I am drying for several days, then cover with carpet, after 5 days carpet is dripping wet again.It is a corner about 3x4. I covered with foil and tape it wasn't wet just with pad and carpet. Stays dry if not covered

If you dry up all the water, and then the water comes back, then you have a leak somewhere. It was probably just a coincidence that the tub overflowed and the leak made itself known at the same time. You need to find the leak.


Staining and varnishing a new floor board to match the rest of the floor Recently removed a wall between our lounge and dining rooms to create a nice big open space. I installed new raw floor boards in the hole where the wall was. The new floorboards are the same timber (cedar) as the rest of the house.

What is considered the best way to stain and varnish the new boards to match the rest of the flooring?

The only way to get close is to use a scrap piece of the lumber that was used in the repair, then test different stains/finishes until you get real close. From your picture, I would start with Minwax Golden Oak stain followed by clear water-based varnish.


How can I bore deep straight holes through wood? I wish to bore a 12mm hole in a 9x2 vertically.  How do I keep the bore hole straight through 9 inches?

This is where a drill press comes in handy.

Drill guides are also available, but I've not had good luck with them.


Are water heater warranties really relevant quality of the product? I have a new water heater with an 8 year warranty and I noticed that the warranty length is included in the model number.

On the manufacturer's website I couldn't find any information about differences in the fabrication process of a water heater with an 8 year warranty and one with a 4 year warranty (for instance, a thicker layer of glass or a bigger anode rod).

My question is, did I buy an "entry level" water heater with a hidden extended warranty or is it really built better?

For water heaters, the warranty duration is an indication of approximately how long the included anode rod will last before it needs to be replaced to preserve its protective qualities. Since almost nobody replaces their water heater's anode rod, the number of years listed on the warranty can actually be taken to show about how long the unit will last. For example, a 6-year-warranty unit will probably have a warn-out anode rod in 6 years, so by year 7 or 8 it might leak if not replaced.

Longer warranties on glass-and-anode-rod units usually point to more and better anode rods. One aluminum rod would be the minimum (4-year warranty) while two magnesium rods would probably be the best (12 year warranty).

This implies that you can make your water heater last much longer than the warranty duration simply by replacing the anode rod(s) every such-and-such number of years, and this implication would be correct.

Or you can buy a unit with a stainless steel or plastic interior tank and no anode rod at all, most of which have a lifetime warranty. They're not much more expensive than the glass-lined tanks with aluminum or magnesium anode rods. The HTP/Westinhouse Everlast and Rheem Marathon are two such products.


Microwave not heating - replaced magnetron; now what? We've got a over-range microwave that's part of our 4 appliance set, so I'm not particularly interested in replacing it. It previously had an issue where it was buzzing very loud and not heating and I replaced the magentron and that fixed that issue.

Over the weekend it started behaving the same way (loud buzzing, no heat), so I ordered a new magnetron and replaced it last night. Now the loud buzzing is gone, but still no heat. I get the hum that I assume is related to the fan activity, but the slightly louder hum that goes along with heating is missing (I'm inferring a little here - what I hear all the time now is the sound that I get when I'm running it at less than full power and it's not in the heating cycle - I never hear the sound that I used to get when running at less than full power and it was heating).

Any clues on how I should troubleshoot, what other component might be bad, and whether or not the magnetron was bad in the first place?

"Don't do that"

I'm not saying that you should not repair your microwave, but as a general rule, I would not recommend it:

  Careless troubleshooting of a microwave oven can result in death or
  worse. Experienced technicians have met their maker as a result of a
  momentary lapse of judgement while testing an oven with the cover
  removed. Microwave ovens are without a doubt, the most deadly type of
  consumer electronic equipment in wide spread use.

  The power supplies for even the smallest microwave ovens operate at
  extremely lethal voltage and current levels. Do not attempt to
  troubleshoot, repair, or modify such equipment without understanding
  and following ALL of the relevant safety guidelines for high voltage
  and/or line connected electrical and electronic systems.

  We will not be responsible for damage to equipment, your ego, county
  wide power outages, spontaneously generated mini (or larger) black
  holes, planetary disruptions, or personal injury or worse that may
  result from the use of this material. -- http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/micfaq.htm

"Try this instead"

For most people, replacing the unit or professional repair is a more reasonable risk.


Does this NM cable require protection? We're selling our home and the buyer's inspector says the white cable in these photos must be protected from damage, by either a conduit or instead using a metallic cable.  It's connected to the furnace, which is in our attic (no stairs/ladder access -- a ceiling hatch 6.5 feet away, instead).

The furnace installer, the electrician, and another home inspector all say it doesn't need protection.  If these folks are right it could save me an expensive electrician visit that it sounds like I don't really need!

I would love it if somebody could cite the code for me so I can give the inspector more than just a bunch of opinions.

Thanks,
- Rich in Woodinville

They are apparently considering the attic accessible although it is not readily accessible. Most furnaces in basements have NM cable protected with EMT conduit and that is probably where they are equating that situation to this one. However, in a normal basement the cable would be readily accessible, meaning you can walk right up to it without any tools or ladders.
So, it doesn't need protection since it is not readily accessible being that it is in an attic that needs a ladder for access. However, it does need to be secured and supported according to the code. Meaning within 12" of of the switch box in your picture and every 4 1/2 feet thereafter.
From the 2014 National Electrical Code:

334.30 Securing and Supporting.
Nonmetallic-sheathed cable shall be supported and secured by staples, cable ties, straps, hangers, or similar fittings designed and installed so as not to damage the cable, at intervals not exceeding 1.4 m (41⁄2 ft) and within 300 mm (12 in.) of every outlet box, junction box, cabinet, or fitting. Flat cables shall not be stapled on edge.

It is up to the HVAC technician and electrician to agree on a method and location of securing it to the AC cabinet.
Good luck!


Remove or replace exhaust fan assembly I am trying to remove old exhaust fan in my bathroom. I took the grill and motor apart but I do not know how to remove the housing assembly. The reason I want to replace it because the higher cfm fan and motor (70 cfm) I bought is larger than the space where the fan fits. I am including the pictures of the fan housing. Let me know any suggestions on how to remove or find smaller fan blade with higher cfm.

You will most likely have to open the ceiling, remove the fan housing which was presumably nailed or screwed in place from the outside before the ceiling was fitted, install the new fan and repair the ceiling.
Drywall repair is a fact of life for getting things done, many times.


What is the best way to seal this old fireplace vent? I am doing some minor renovations to my basement with the drop ceiling and found that one of the geniuses that owned the house before me, used fibreglass ceiling tiles to seal off an old vent for a gas fireplace. Obviously this will not do. I'm thinking of building a section of 2x4's around the old exhaust and then filling it with rigid foam and spray foam. I can't take the old exhaust off the side of the house, since it is a condo and I doubt that I'm going to convince them to replace the siding where this exhaust vent is, not to mention it will probably cost me. Open to any suggestions. I would post a pic but the settings don't allow it, kinda odd.

Not sure exactly where this vent is, but here in the UK it's pretty much essential to include a vent whenever a fireplace is blocked off.  Otherwise the air inside the chimney goes stale and damp takes effect.  Generally the vent is to the room in which the fire used to be situated.  Just be sure that there is ventilation to the chimney before (more thoroughly) sealing the vent.


When painting a house exterior, do you need to scrape and sand the entire house or just the peeling parts? I'm repainting my house and everything I've read on the subject suggests scraping the old paint before applying new, but it isn't clear if you're only supposed to scrape just the peeling parts or the entire house.  My wife thinks I'm crazy for planning to scrape and sand the entire house, and after more than 6 hours of work and probably less than 1/3 of the house scraped and sanded, I'm starting to think she might be right.

On the one hand, there are some areas where the paint looked more or less okay but it's coming off, but on the other hand, not much paint is coming off in most areas.  Do I really need to scrape the entire house, or just the areas which are peeling?

In my experience in painting my own house over 50 years I only sand when necessary, that is when the paint is loose, or, the surface is glossy. I just repainted some trim on my house that has Semi-Gloss paint. And, I sanded it first. I did this to improve the adhesion of the new paint. But, most of my house has flat paint, and I never sand it unless I'm blending an area where I had to remove some loose paint.

Update, 11/14/13: I re-read this today, including all the posts. It's interesting to see the different opinions about this subject. No wonder you had a question after searching the net.

My take on this is that if you are a perfectionist, you'll decide to remove it all. If you're just painting to resell, you'll scrape the loose off and paint. If you're going to keep it and use common sense, you'll scrape, sand where you need to feather edges for aesthetics, and paint. That's assuming its flat paint. For glossy finishes, you really better sand it to ensure the new paint sticks permanently. Incidentally, I always clean before scraping with Tide and bleach solution and brush hooked to expandable pole, and sometimes with a power washer to quickly knock off loose paint. Also, after sanding, I blow off the sanded surfaces with a blower, or brush it with a big paintbrush, or wipe it with rubbing alcohol or water.

Recently I used the tool below to "sand" the loose paint off my deck before repainting and was very impressed with it's efficiency. I like how it gets down into the cracks between the paint and wood and smooths out the ridges, as well as how quickly its use is. You might want to pick one of these up and give it a try.

Finally, one last tip. You can always do a test by painting a small area, waiting several days, then trying to scrape it off. That's how I learned how important sanding is for glossy paint.


Replacing toilet shut-off valve and need to turn off water; Need to turn gas water heater to pilot? I'm replacing a toilet shut-off valve (clean water flowing into tank) on the first floor of my (100-year old) home. I'm reading that I need to shut off the water, then drain the lines, before making the repair. This toilet is on the 1st floor of a 2 story home, with the water heater in the basement. For example, here it says:

Shut off the water at the main shutoff valve. If you have a gas water
heater, turn the knob to the 'pilot' position. Shut off the circuit
breakers to an electric water heater. Then open a faucet on the lowest
level of your house and another faucet on an upper level to drain the
pipes. Then disconnect the supply tube from the shutoff valve. Replace
the valve.

We have a gas water heater in the basement. My impression, though it may be wrong, is that if I shut off the water in the house, I also need to shut off the boiler such that it doesn't empty out and try to heat air, creating pressure and possibly an explosion. I could be wrong about this, and strangely enough I'm having trouble finding advice or readings.
My plan is to open the faucets on the floor below the floor with the toilet I'm changing in order to drain the system.
My question is: do I need to set the water heater to pilot, in order to avoid the dangerous scenario outlined above? Doing anything to our water heater makes me a bit nervous.
I've found a lot of advice on how to replace a toilet shut-off valve, but surprisingly little on this specific and incredibly common scenario.

Do I need to set the water heater to pilot, in order to avoid the
dangerous scenario outlined above? Doing anything to our water heater
makes me a bit nervous.

NO, In the amount of time that it will take you change the valve there will be no issues with it set to the current temperature.
Once you turn the water off, even if someone opened a hot water faucet there would be no water pressure to push hot water out of the water heater (WH), so the WH will not need to fire up.
Once you turn off you main water supply you will want to open all the faucets in the house to bleed out what you can of water in the pipes to minimize the amount of water that come out of the toilet supply pipe when you remove the valve. You can turn it to the pilot setting if you want to feel more at ease, its easy and the pilot will stay on so no need to re-light it.
The boiler is a closed system, except for a one way valve that is designed to add water to the system if it runs low. It will not "empty out and run dry" if you shut of the main water supply for a short time. You can turn off the power to it if you feel you need to.


Do I need USA-color-coded wire on fixtures with flexible cable? I often obtain lighting fixtures with flexible cords (but no plug) intended to be fed into a box and spliced.  (e.g. this LED flood light).

They are made in China for a world market, and have Euro color codes on the cordage: notably blue for neutral, with brown for hot and green/yellow for ground.

Do I need to tear the fixtures apart and replace the cordage with US color codes (green-white-black), or is the Euro-cord legal?

Short answer: No
The National Electrical Code contains no particular color code for phase conductors. Brown is an acceptable color for the ungrounded conductor.
Green with a yellow stripe is used in a lot of equipment imported from Europe and is also acceptable to the NEC

250.119 Identification of Equipment Grounding Conductors. Unless required elsewhere in this Code, equipment grounding conductors shall be permitted to be bare, covered, or insulated. Individually covered or insulated equipment grounding conductors shall have a continuous outer finish that is either green or green with one or more yellow stripes except as permitted in this section. Conductors with insulation or individual covering that is green, green with one or more yellow stripes, or otherwise identified as permitted by this section shall not be used for ungrounded or grounded circuit conductors.

The blue neutral is also not a problem.

200.4 (C) Flexible Cords. An insulated conductor that is intended for use as a grounded conductor, where contained within a flexible cord, shall be identified by a white or gray outer finish or by methods permitted by 400.22.
400.22 Grounded-Conductor Identification. One conductor of flexible cords that is intended to be used as a grounded circuit conductor shall have a continuous marker that readily distinguishes it from the other conductor or conductors. The identification shall consist of one of the methods indicated in 400.22(A) through (F).
(C) Colored Insulation. A white or gray insulation on one conductor and insulation of a readily distinguishable color or colors on the other conductor or conductors for cords having no braids on the individual conductors. For jacketed cords furnished with appliances, one conductor having its insulation colored light blue, with the other conductors having their insulation of a readily distinguishable color other than white or gray.
The insulation shall be permitted to be covered with an outer finish to provide the desired color.

So, you could argue the fixtures are not appliances and therefore the neutral cannot be light blue but the last line says you can re-identify the light blue to white or gray.
So, it appears you can use the cords either way.
Happy day!


What do I do if drywall screws won't penetrate the studs? We have begun a bathroom remodel project.  All the studs were exposed by removing plaster, wood lath and old plastic tile.  We began attempting to install  the ceiling drywall first.  We were able to drive 1-5/8" drywall screws partially in,  just enough to get it up there, but we were totally unable to drive the heads down just below the surface.  (The drywall is 5/8" thick).

I tried removing them and re-inserting, with no success.  I suspect the studs are really hard old-growth wood, believing this house to be 100 years old.  Our next attempt was predrilling, which may have worked but the required drill bit was not long enough to penetrate the wood completely.  We were able to "sink" the screws, except for approximately 1/16", that protrudes above the drywall.  I really don't want to use shorter screws or nails. The drill used was 3/32".

How can I drive the screws to the proper depth?

I suspect the studs are really hard old-growth wood

Lubricating screws can really help when driving them into wood. I've seen various lubricants suggested. For exterior projects I've used LM grease and petroleum jelly (vaseline) but I'm not sure if there are any problems using either in your situation.

The other common solution is to drill pilot holes to the expected depth of the screws, but this would be pretty tedious. I usually pick a drill size by holding screw and drill up to the light together and checking that the screw's threads are wider than the drill and that the drill is almost as wide as the core of the screw.


No shower water until sink turned on! Last week plumber installed new vanity faucet, supply lines in small hall bath.  Now the shower in that bathroom and the one in master bath do not have water until the sink is turned on...when sink is turned off the showers go off and there is no hot water...HELP!!


Surface mount troffer on ceiling I found these 2x4 LED troffers at a big box store. I'd like to surface mount them on my basement ceiling. I have low ceilings and they are only a half inch thick. They would be perfect. Can you think of an appropriate u-shaped bracket, corner bracket, or rail I could mount to the ceiling and then slide these into? They weigh about 3kg/7lbs.

so you plan to get 2 of 4' pieces of C channel and screw it to your ceiling 2' apart then slide the troffer in from one end.

not to scale

possibly you could use two of these drop ceiling edge moldings
 riveted together to form a C

Else you could get a sheet-metal place to fold C channel for you, or see what you can find in aluminum extrusions.


Wiring thermostat fan ON My thermostat is a Honeywell that goes to an old furnace with a Honeywell furnace controller (the board that provides the spark for my gas furnace, among other things like 24V, TH-W, etc.). The thermostat is using the red (R), white (W), and green (G) wires. R and W seem to be connected to the furnace controller correctly, because my furnace and fan work fine when heat is needed. The G wire is connected in the thermostat, but then goes no where in the furnace. I would really like to be able to turn the fan to ON without having a heating cycle activated (fan ON is readily available in the thermostat, it just does nothing because the G wire is not hooked up in my setup).

Where do I connect the G wire in the furnace?

Photos of furnace:

After looking at all the photos, it looks like the fan is controlled by a fan and limit switch (the black thing with a silver dial and three black wires).

So basically, the thermostat calls for heat by energizing the TH W terminal on the gas and ignition controller (Black Honeywell box with all the wires connected to it).  This opens the pilot, turns on the spark, and ignites the main burners. Once the temperature in the heat exchanger gets up to the FAN ON temp., set on the fan and limit switch, the blower comes on. When the thermostat is satisfied, it removes power from the TH W terminal. This tells the ignition and gas controller to turn off the main burner.  When the temperature in the heat exchanger falls below the FAN OFF temperature setting, the blower turns off.

To control the fan via the G wire from the thermostat, you're going to have to use a relay to turn on the blower.  You'll energize the coil of the relay using the G wire from the thermostat, and the 24V common terminal from the transformer.  You'll have line voltage (120V or 240V) connected to the common terminal on the relay, and a wire to the blower connected to the normally open (NO) terminal on the relay.

If you don't understand the information provided in this answer, or don't feel comfortable making this type of modification to the furnace. Please don't hesitate to contact a local licensed HVAC technician.

Side Note:  The gas and ignition controller is installed upside down