What insulation should I use when converting a metal shed to a pool house? I need to know which insulation I need for my 20x12 metal shed.  I am making it into a pool house. Bathroom, sink, bed. Is made of 2x4s, and plywood floor on beam, sheet metal siding, aluminum type doors, 2 small windows.
I live in north Texas, summer can be over 100 degrees and some winters 10 degrees for a few days.
Am putting in ductless air/heat unit.  Using Lifeproof Luxury vinyl plank flooring.
Studs are mostly 22 in apart, some 18 and 30 inches apart. Ceiling is studs and sheet metal also.
Also, can I add this before my electrician and plumber get started?  Or wait.?  on a budget, need cheapest solution, but do NOT want to deal with roll fiberglass insulation.
Thank you

Cheapest solution (build cost) - don't insulate, costs a lot to run and performs poorly.
Cheapest solution (lifetime cost) - insulate well, costs more to build, less to run, performs better.
When to install - after your electrician and plumber are done, because doing it before they are done is going to increase your cost for them to do their parts of the job, and you'll have to repair the insulation after they are done.
Type of insulation - there are many. They all work, they all have costs which vary with your location and method of installation, they have varying levels of performance which sometimes but not always follow the varying levels of cost. There is no one right answer to be given here, it's a choice you have to make.


Is water taste an indication that my softener is failing? My softener uses potassium chloride and it seems to affect the taste of the water when it recharges.  The bad taste would come and go after a few days time.  I put it on bypass and the bad taste has gone away.  I put a small piece of the potassium chloride in a glass of water to let it dissolve and sampled it and it seems to be the culprit.  Do I need a new softener?

I have a water softener unit that would put a bad taste in the water after the regeneration cycle, although I could flush it out in a few minutes versus a couple of days. I fixed it by replacing the valve mechanism at the top of the tank - the valves had become clogged with sediment and weren't closing properly, thereby allowing the salt-infused water to enter the drinking water pipes. Replacing the valve system cleared up the problem for me.

I found the product I needed and instructions by searching for the water softener model on the internet. This may be an easier and less expensive fix than replacing the whole unit.


Trying to understand "smaller" in 334.15 Exposed Work and across joists I'm trying to understand 334.15 Exposed Work:
"Where cable is run at angles with joists in unfinished basements and crawl spaces, it shall be permissible to secure cables not smaller than two 6 AWG or three 8 AWG conductors directly to the lower edges of the joists. Smaller cables shall be run either through bored holes in joists or on running boards".
Question:

When they say smaller do they mean in diameter or by gauge number? I want to run 6/3 with ground NM on the ceiling of an unfinished basement.
Are they also saying that I can run 6/3 perpendicular to the joists attached to their underside without running boards?

It means actual size, not designator number.
6/3 is larger than 8/3 or 6/2, you do not need to bore holes or use running boards on the ceiling. Running down a wall requires protection.


What is the right way to connect 7 conductors in an electrical box? What is the "right" way to join 7 different wires in a single electrical box?

Here's the situation. I opened up a four-gang light switch. There were four switches controlling five lights.

As expected, the four switches were interrupting the hot (black) wires.

The neutral (white) wires also went through this box.

The previous electrician had connected all the neutrals together--five lines going off to the lamps and the house neutral source--all told, 6 conductors. The solid copper wires were stripped about 1 inch, twisted together, and shoved in a wire nut that was probably intended to be used with about 3 conductors.

I had never seen 6 conductors twisted together like that.

I was replacing one of the switches with an RF switch so that I could control a patio light remotely from the car. The RF switch required neutral itself so that it could operate even when the circuit was open. So I had to add another pigtail from this neutral mess, and now there are seven neutrals all just twisted together in one big heap and shoved in a wire nut that was probably intended to be used with about 3 conductors.

Is there a "proper" way to do this or is this pretty much the state of the art?

Add pigtails between wire nuts. You might need 3 or 4 chained together for your situation, depending on the size of wire nut you use.


How to go about building an aquarium into a wall? I plan to install a 180 gallon aquarium in my basement. The dimensions are 72" x 24" x 25" About 2000 pounds after sand and decorations when filled

How should I go about doing this without having structural issues in the future?

I am not a licensed carpenter but I have replaced walls and doors in my old house. Here is how I would do it.

I think you should not try to use a cantilevered or bracketed shelf for this. Make a strong table to hold the aquarium.

In the following I am assuming wood construction, with your walls made of the usual 2"x4" studs and wallboard.

The front edge of the table can rest on the bottom edge of the opening, with the back edge resting on four legs.

When you make the opening, cut the lower studs 4 inches shorter than the finished opening, and frame the lower edge with two 2"x4" standing on their short sides. This forms the front edge of the table frame. Don't worry if the ends of the edge don't line up with the studs.

EDIT The single 2"x4" studs may not be strong enough to serve as legs for such a heavy load. You should add more short studs by inserting them into the lower wall and nailing or screwing through the drywall. If the boiler side of the wall is unfinished then you can toenail the new studs but this is not strictly necessary.

Make two of the new studs line up with the ends of the front edge. You should have eight studs in all under the front edge. END EDIT

Make the side and back edges of the table frame similarly of paired 2"x4" nailed or screwed together.

The surface of the table can be of lighter construction because an aquarium rests on its own lower edges. The table surface serves mainly to keep the frame rectangular. 1/2" plywood should be enough.

The legs can be more paired 2"x4" or single 4"x4" each. Use four legs evenly spaced along the back edge.

Here is a rough sketch of what it might look like from the boiler room:

EDIT As Kyle points out, this sketch is incomplete. I have not drawn in the table top, the leg bracing, the header at the top of the wall opening, or the finish framing of the wall opening. END EDIT

You will have to figure out a way to keep the bottoms of the legs from being accidentally moved during any future work in the boiler room. In my house I would use a sill plate nailed directly to the concrete floor. You might want to use angled braces from the frame to the foot of the legs. Make the braces of 1"x3" or 1"x4".

Give the whole construction a couple of thick coats of paint to keep the splashes from soaking the wood and starting wet rot.


How do I fix an uneven cement floor prior to hard wood flooring install? I have recently ripped up carpet and padding on a cement floor for a sixth floor condo unit. I plan on installing 3/4" Bella, 3' wide flooring on it. The problem is that there is a ridge, about 1/8", running the length of the room in the cement floor that will buckle the planks if left unaddressed.

What (if any) methods are there for smoothing this ridge?

Edit: I believe the floors are precast concrete slabs and looks like one slab is a little off level, or it settled a bit, thus this ridge.
Maybe another way to ask this - Is there a way to compensate for the slight off levelness as it runs about 20'? The rest of the floor slabs are level with each other.

A picture might be helpful but I think you have two options:

1) Grind down the ridge.  This will be messy and create lots of dust

2) Use a self-leveling concrete mix.  This is a special mix that starts off almost like water, levels itself and sets relatively quickly. Follow the directions carefuly as usually you have to work with it pretty fast from the time you mix to the time you pour.  It will flow into any cracks and holes so make sure that any of these that might cause problems with another floor below you are sealed before you start.


Can't remove wires from a circuit breaker I'm trying to remove a breaker in the electric panel.  It's an ITE GFCI in a Gould panel, now owned by Siemens.  It can be as old as about 38 years.  The load line releases easily with a set screw.  Then...

There are 3 wires connected to the breaker through the same port, with no visible means of releasing them --- no set screw and no hole in which to insert a tool to push on a spring-type release  The 3 wires are:

the load neutral (white)
the panel neutral (white with a black spiral stripe)
a 2 or 3" wire (dark grey) which loops around and enters another port in the breaker with a set screw that is blocked from use by a cover over the screw-head slot.

Since I have to remove the load neutral to replace the breaker:

How do I release the load neutral or all 3 wires at once?
Do I have to cut the load neutral at the breaker and re-strip the end of the wire?

The dilemma: do I cut the load neutral at the breaker, or is there a way to remove it from the breaker?

Remember: the load line is purple; the load neutral is white; the panel neutral is white with a black stripe; the short loop from one side of the breaker to the other is dark grey (may look black in the photos).

The first 3 photos (below) show different angles of all 4 wires and where they connect to this ITE GFCI breaker. Notice: There are 3 ports where the wires connect. 3 wires (the white, the striped and one end of the grey loop) enter a single port. The purple and the other end of the grey loop have their own port for connection.

https://i.stack.imgur.com/M2OWE.jpg
https://i.stack.imgur.com/0LGLP.jpg
https://i.stack.imgur.com/5oVE0.jpg

The second photo (above) also shows the top of two set-screws. (Look at the breaker in the middle of the three shown.) The one on the right releases the line load (purple) wire, and looks normal. The one on the left releases the stand-alone end of the grey wire loop; but you can't see any groove for a screwdriver or other tool because ITE put a cover/block over the head of the screw. Clearly, they don't want someone removing that screw, especially accidentally.
The third photo (above): Look at the broad side of the breaker. Notice 4 small shallow holes with something somewhat bright inside each one. These bright objects are either rivets or another type of fastener that either hold the breaker case together or hold internal parts to the breaker case.

I mention this because when I found no set-screw(s) to release the 3 wires in the same port, I looked for a hole in which to insert a tool to push on some kind of spring release of the wires. As you can see, there is no such hole, and this is the broad side of the breaker closest to those 3 wires. You can also see fairly well, from all of the first 3 photos, that there is no such hole on the thin side of the breaker to which all the wires attach. There are also no such holes on the opposite broad side of the breaker (no photo).
The fourth photo (below) shows the same broad side of the breaker as above. Notice:

You can see all 4 wires just above the top of the image of the breaker.
You can see two of the four rivets/fasteners.
You can see 3 embossed labels. I couldn't get a half-decent photo of these labels, but...

The one just under the 3 wires in the same port identifies those wires. It says, one under another: "Load Lug", "Plain Wire - Load Neut.", "Stripe Wire - Neut. Bus"
The one in the center of the breaker includes "Use only UL approved..." and "ITE Imperial Corp...Pennsylvania".
The one in the upper left corner says "STRIP GAGE" and has an embossed line of the length to strip the wires.

There are a few identifying codes stamped in white, not all still entirely legible, even in person.

https://i.stack.imgur.com/OWLui.jpg

In the fifth photo (below):

You can see directly into the 2 set-screw ports, and see that you can see the screwdriver slot at the top of the set-screw on the right, but not the one on the left, which is covered/blocked. (There's no need to access the one on the left in order to replace the breaker.)
The L-shaped yellowish-brownish area below the set-screws is the residue from the glued-on breaker label, which came off during my handling of the breaker, probably when I pulled off the tape that I used to hold the switch in the off position while working. The label included:

i) "Class A 1 Pole Unit Issue A-345"

ii) "Current Interrupting Rating"

iii) "Gould Corp. Circuit Protection Division Philadelphia, Penn. USA"

iv) "I-T-E Circuit Breaker & Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter"

v) "CAT. NO. OFI-B015" (The letter "O" may actually the number zero and the letter "I" may actually be the number "1" in "OFI". The number
"0" may actually be the letter "O" in "B015". I think I got it right, but my own handwriting is unclear and I don't have the label anymore to double-check it.)

https://i.stack.imgur.com/KRyjj.jpg

In the sixth photo (below), our breaker is the highest one. Notice:

You can see all 4 wires.
If you follow the white load neutral, you can see that it connects with either two other wires or a split wire, which is/are grey, under a yellow wire nut.
(Note: These wires at the wire nut are irrelevant to changing the breaker, except in one case:  If the load neutral has to be cut from the breaker and it ends up too short to reach the new breaker when that breaker is properly attached to the panel, then you have to replace the load neutral (white) wire with a longer wire (of the same/correct gauge), which means undoing the wire nut to remove the "far" end of the old load neutral wire and replace it with the "far" end of the new load neutral wire.)
It's not all in the picture, but if you carefully follow the striped panel neutral, you can see that it heads downward, then curves back upward and proceeds above the breaker, along the right edge of the line of the breakers. (It's hard to see the highest part.)

https://i.stack.imgur.com/Ah9J6.jpg

7)  In the seventh photo (below), the breaker is not installed into the panel. Notice:

You can see the striped panel neutral where it went above the breaker and finally turns and connects to the neutral bar.
You can see the yellow wire nut containing the "far" end of the load neutral (white) and the two grey wires. (It's hard to see both grey wires.)
In the lower left corner of the image, you can see the empty slot from which the breaker was removed.

https://i.stack.imgur.com/YOQP4.jpg

8) The eighth photo (below) shows the utility side of the breaker.  Notice:

You can see the white "TEST" button and the ON/OFF switch of this GFCI breaker.
You can see the yellowish L-shaped area where the glued-on label used to be.
You can see part of the "back" broad side and two of the four 'rivet-holes' there.  There are no holes to insert a tool to press a spring to release those 3 wires in the single port.

https://i.stack.imgur.com/EYi8v.jpg

I included all the details I could about this breaker for those who really want to "see" what I've been looking at and who may want to research further.  Especially, because the issue was finding a way to remove the load neutral from the breaker, I wanted to show you every square inch of the breaker so you could look for yourself.

It turns out that one of my relatives has a friend who has been a master electrician for over 40 years, has lived in this area for his whole life, has not only worked for many years for the county where this house is located, but done so as an electrician and as an electrical inspector.  He agreed to come here to give me some honest input about some significant electrical work we have been considering doing. ("Honest", because he is a good friend of my relative and because he will not be doing the work.)

I also informed him that I need help with the breaker.  I sent him a photo at his request because he also couldn't picture it from my description.

Before he arrived, I saw a former neighbor and good acquaintance who also happens to be a master electrician who I trust, also with over 40 years' experience.  I described the breaker to him, and he was also puzzled by my description.

When the electrician arrived, we went right to the breaker.  He turned it every which way to look it over, then looked where each wire led.  After assessing everything, he told me he had never seen a breaker like this, not the short wire loop and not the 3 wires in a single port.  Then, he confirmed what seemed obvious to me as the answer to my question, but what I did not want to act on without such confirmation:

There is no way to release those 3 wires.  The load line has to be cut at the breaker. (Fortunately, after cutting it, it was still long enough to reach the new breaker.)

The design of this breaker may be a dinosaur that went extinct long ago.


Anchor for insulated double plasterboard I have 20mm previously drilled holes in double thickness insulated plasterboard.
I think a toggle bolt will be the most appropriate, but I’m struggling to find something that will be appropriate given the thickness of the wall and the insulation.
Any recommendations welcome!
Edit: I’m hanging a 12.5kg mirror, but the large holes are already there.

These toggler anchors will work for thin to very thick walls.
You do not say what the insulation is, The insulation may be a factor in getting them to toggle into place properly. I sometimes use a wire to push fiberglall insulation aside a little so they sit properly.
I have posted several answers about installing these anchors read a few for info and tip/tricks.
https://diy.stackexchange.com/search?q=user%3A56737+toggler


How can I convert an enclosed deck to an open deck? I have an enclosed deck that is basically worthless. It has a metal roof and bakes in the summer (and spring and fall for that matter) making it way too hot to use, and leaks in the winter (and retains no heat). I'd much rather convert it into an open deck. There are a few obstacles I have to get through first.
Edited to include only The first question here:
1 - While the pier is anchored in concrete, that concrete is below the level of the dirt.
In this images the dirt around the pier is on top of concrete, however you can see the wet area where the dirt was and the the wood is beginning to rot. Will I need to replace this pier (and thus, all the rest) or can I pour concrete around it in a sonotube?

You'll need an engineer to tell you if those posts have enough good material remaining.  But one thing you can do is figure out if your post sizes and spacing is over-built for your local codes.  You'll have to find the codes for your area.

Here is an example of deck specifications.

If they are OK, you'll want to re-grade and treat them to prevent more rot.

If they are not OK or you just want them to look better, you can cut off the bad portion and pour new (higher) footings. (Make sure the footing depth and diameter and height above grade meet local code)  Make sure you cast a metal post base in the footing.  Don't cast the wooden post in the footing.


Hanging exercise equipment on cinderblock wall I live in a townhouse and am separated from my neighbors by a cinderblock wall. In my garage it is pretty exposed.
I would like to hang a kayak, punching bag and pull up bar off of the wall.
Kayak will weight about 70 pounds (plus 10 pound for the hangers). Punching bag will weight 100 pounds (plus 15 pounds for the hanger). Pull up bar will weight 15 pounds plus it needs to be able to hold my 250 pound body that will be spasming out on it trying to perform a pull up (so I am guessing that might generate about 550 pounds of force).
Can I, and if so how would I go about hanging each of the three items listed above?

The heavy bag hanger will be this: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B011UF54RW
Pull up bar will be similar.

I already hanged kayak and it seems to hold.

My biggest fear is cinderblock wall collapsing since I heard that cinderblock can't handle anything being drilled on it. It is supporting second floor and I don't want the wall collapsing.

EDIT: added pictures and more description

Based on your information I would have to go with toggle bolts.
C-90 Hollow Block (1 1/2-inch wall)
An anchor sized at 1/8 inches can take 310 pounds, at 3/16 inches it can take 700 pounds, and a 1/4-inch anchor in a 1 1/2-inch thick wall can take 1,390 pounds. This increases to a whopping 3,620 pounds for a 1/2-inch anchor with a 1 1/4-inch embedded depth.
Good luck with those pull ups.


How can I change the bulb in this three-clawed, ceiling-mounted dome light fixture? I am having trouble retrieving the light bulb in this fixture:

I tried bending the claws to release the dome, but that did not work. I tried twisting the whole fixture many times in either direction, but it did not seem to help to remove the fixture. I tried pulling and wiggling the fixture out of the hole in the ceiling, and it came down a little bit, but it did not come out completely, and I am afraid of breaking something if I pull harder.

What should I do to replace the lightbulb here?

Usually at least one of the "claws" is spring-loaded, and can be pulled straight out to release the glass.


Can I replace all the Qest pipe in my home by myself? I have Qest (polybutylene) pipe in my thirty year home. We bought our home in 2007 and since then we have had two tiny pin hole leaks in the attic. Replacing those sections of pipe was pretty easy with the shark fittings. I am thinking of replacing all the Quest pipe in my home before we have any other leaks.

Should I get a pro to do it, or can I do it myself? I am reasonably handy and can figure things out.

If I decided to do this on my own is there a guide out there to help?

It's really difficult to say if you can do this yourself or not. It certainly could be a DIY job, though that doesn't mean it should be in your case.

The first thing I think you need to get is an understanding of the scope of this type of project. It will require tearing up walls to replace pipe, adding fittings, etc.  During this time, you will have the water to your house turned off. How long this will take depends on how large your house is and the complexity of the plumbing system.  Are you able to allocate enough dedicated time of your own to get this done in a reasonable amount of time? Do you have others living with you, and if so, how are they going to feel about not having water for some time?

If I were you, I'd bring in some pros if only to quote out the project. This will give you an idea of how complicated it is. If a master plumber tells you it will take him 5 solid days to do it, count on it taking you a lot longer - is this something you want to get yourself into?

If you want to take a trial and error approach, pick a small section that you feel comfortable working on, like a guest bathroom.  Do the work - how long did it take? Were you able to successfuly complete it without outside assistance?

A lot of time DIY'ers start projects that they can't reasonably finish on-time, and this often leads to stress and unhappy spouses.  It's OK to acknowledge that you are in over your head and you need a pro.

As far as resources, you will certainly find a lot of how-to's on the internet, but you will not find a guide on how to complete your house.  Every project has some unique properties to it and this is where skill and experience really come into play.

Good luck!


Running extension cord and Cat6a through wood closet shelf? I'm in the process of installing a wireless router on a closet shelf, and I'd like to know the proper procedure for routing the extension cord and Cat6a cable. Per the picture below:

The extension cord will go into the top hole that goes through the
shelf
The Cat6a cable will go into the bottom hole that goes through the
wall

What needs to be done to make this code compliant? Also, the 2nd picture shows the bottom hole that goes through the wall where the Cat6a will be routed.

I'm not 100% clear on your description but the NEC and CEC prohibit extension cords in the walls.  There is more info at this link, obviously biased but in this case correct:

http://www.powerbridgesolution.com/info/extensioncordwarning.html

From NEC:

  400.8 Uses Not Permitted (ref. Extension Cord) Flexible cords and cables shall not be used for the following:

      (1) As a substitute for the fixed wiring of a structure
      (2) Where run through holes in walls, structural ceilings, suspended ceilings, dropped ceilings, or floors
      (3) Where run through doorways, windows, or similar openings
      (4) Where attached to building surfaces
      (5) Where concealed by walls, floors, or ceilings or located above suspended or dropped ceilings

The Cat6, generally nothing to worry about, may not be code compliant depending on the locale, but believe me telcos and cable tv companies do worse things on a daily basis most places, low voltage is much safer.


How to increase light from a vanity cabinet? I need to seriously increase the amount of light from a bathroom vanity cabinet.  The picture below is a little blurry because I didn't have a tripod handy, and it took a 1/10 second exposure to take a picture of a powered-on light bulb:

The actual amount of illumination is pathetic.  I need to increase both the indirect lighting toward the ceiling and the direct lighting downward toward the sink area.

The light is produced by a simple strip fluorescent tube fixture mounted to the wall behind the top of the cabinet.  It was originally a 36" fixture centered over the open area in the middle with the mirror.  I replaced it with a 48" fixture.  Downward light from most of the extra length is blocked by the side cabinets, but it adds some light toward the ceiling.

Roughly the upper third of the fluorescent tube emits light toward the ceiling that clears the top of the cabinet for indirect light and general room lighting.  Maybe the bottom quarter of the tube emits light to illuminate the sink area below.  The rest of the light is blocked by the front of the cabinet.

I could line the top front of the cabinet with aluminum foil to reflect the wasted light, but that won't come close to what's needed.  A double-tube fixture would double the light output, but would be wider, so the top of the fixture and upper bulb would be visible over the top of the cabinet.  That also wouldn't add a lot of downward light.

I contemplated cobbling together two single fixtures, each with an LED fluorescent-replacement bulb.  They're very directional, so it would require one facing down to light the sink area, and one facing up or diagonally up for the ceiling.  That will take a little engineering to deal with mounting brackets, the ability to replace the bulbs if needed, etc.

There's a second, matching vanity and cabinet on the same wall, so I will need to duplicate the solution there.  I also hope to avoid a "remodeling" effort, installing different fixtures in other locations.

Before inventing a new light fixture, I was hoping people here might have a better idea on how to get seriously more light in this area.

Fluorescent

Cram more tubes in there. Don't use T12 tubes, they are too bulky.  You can get four T8 tubes in that space if you really cram them tight.  Better still, use T5 tubes, which are almost half the size of T8.  All are equally bright to the old T12.

48" (45-something for T5) is a good length as this will be the most common tube and ballast.

You need ballasts matched to the length and T-code (which is the diameter in eighths of an inch).

LED

Using low voltage LED strips, you can out an essentially unlimited amount of light in there - just a case of how much 12/24V power you want to supply.  The low voltage LED strips are cheap Chinese but they are unlikely to give any trouble.  Use a UL listed power supply such as a GE or Meanwell.


What is this pipe coming up out of our driveway? Bought a house last week, which -- Canadian winter -- had been mightily surrounded by snow, including in the driveway. Today, with the snow melting, I saw this in front of the garage door. It extends about 2" up past the driveway surface.

The cap on the pipe is black and has some sort of little handle on it.

It comes off very easily, and underneath there's about 8' to 10' of pipe (I think? I'm lousy at eyeballing things), rimed with frost, leading to what looks like standing water.

The fact that there's a big ol' PVC (or something) pipe jutting several inches out of the driveway in front of the garage is kind of annoying, but not having any idea what's going on here (sewer vent? In my driveway?) is more annoying. What's this pipe doing here? What's it for? Can I chop it down, fill it in, seal it shut?

It's a cleanout for the sewer line.  You can shorten it to grade level, but you cannot remove or pave over it.

You'll probably never need it, but if you do,  you'll want quick access to it.


I just got a 12 x 18 foot utility shed, 120' from main 200 amp panel. What size subpanel should I use? I want to wire a 12'x18' utility shed 120' underground in PVC from a 200 amp main panel. The shed will power a refrigerator, freezer, small 115 volt 8000btu window AC unit, LED shop lights (3), and wall outlets(6 to 10).

I may also use some small electric tools on occasion. I'm running 12/2 & 12/3 in shed.

What size wire (alum. or Copper) and what size sub panel should I use?

Fat conduit, fat aluminum, and fat panels are your friends

Given your circumstances, there is no reason not to provision ample space for future use; some would simply direct bury a 12/3 UF for now, but that means you'll have to dig it up if you want more juice at the shed.  Instead, I would provision a 1.5" and a 1" PVC, buried side by side with 18" of topcover (so about 20"-21" deep); the former provides enough room for a full-sized, 125A, four-wire feeder to the garage, while the latter will be left empty for future use as a communications duct (in case you want to extend network connectivity to the shed, for instance).

Furthermore, unless your AHJ has a severe aluminum allergy, there is no reason not to run fat aluminum for the feeder here.  1/0 Al XHHW-2 is suitable for the hots and neutral on said 125A feeder paired with a 6AWG bare copper ground; of course, if you wish to run a smaller feeder for now, nothing stops you.  Just make sure to run a four-wire feed (two hots, a neutral, and a ground) to the shed!

As to that panel? There's no reason not to get something big and beefy here, either; shop spaces consume panel spaces like a teenager addicted to Mountain Dew, especially if you're doing more than just light woodworking, due to the heavier electrical requirements of machine tools, welders, and other such heavy-duty tooling.  As a result, I'd put in a 24-space or 30-space, 125A, main breaker panel; the main breaker here simply serves as a disconnect, so it's no big deal if it's bigger than the feeder wires going to it.

Since this is a detached structure, you'll need to fit it with a grounding electrode system, too; running more 6AWG copper from the panel to a pair of 8' ground rods spaced 8' apart will get the job done.  Don't forget to make sure your panel has separate neutral and ground bars, with the neutrals all landed on the neutral bar, the grounding wires and grounding electrode conductor all landed on the ground bar, and the neutral isolated from the box!

Last but not least, don't forget to torque all panel and breaker lugs to their labeled torques with a torque screwdriver or inch-pound torque wrench, lest your shed's electrical system give you the loose lugnut!


Glass Glazing Requirement! Can a glazing guru confirm the requirement for safety glazing since there is no permanent barrier between the picture-single pane glass and the double door, approx. 4 inches between the doors jamb and the glass.. Can I use a film to add a layer of safety, rather than replacement of the entire glass? .. Built early 1970' s California

There are only two issues that are required to be changed and are NOT covered by any “grandfathered clause”: 1) smoke detectors for sleeping rooms, and 2) safety glass within 18” of a floor (ICC R308.4.3) or 24” of a door (R308.4.2)

The Code says “safety glass”, not cover plate glass with film.

Look near the corners of the glass to see if there is an inscription indicating it’s tempered glass or laminated safety glass (like what’s in cars).  If none, then it’s not safety glass.


Mystery circuit breaker causing odd behavior in other circuits such as polarity switching and power on ground There is one romex that runs from my box to the upstairs. This romex has 4 wires, black, red, white and green. The black wire goes to breaker 30, the red wire to breaker 32, the white wire to the neutral bar and GREEN TO BREAKER 22.
Breaker 22 is the mystery breaker, meaning I cannot find anything it directly powers.
Whilst 22 is on, outlets on 30 and 32 have reversed polarity, according to the plug-in tester.
If I then turn off either 30 or 32, it shows that ground and hot have been reversed on the one that was shut off.
My voltmeter shows 24V hot to neutral, hot to ground 90-100V and neutral to ground 120V.
If I turn 22 off,
30 and 32 show floating grounds. If I then turn off 32, 30's outlets go to "correct"
What I am thinking is that the green wire connected to breaker 22 was supposed to have been the ground.
It is very hard to get to the wiring, it does not go to the attic and down but rather up from the basement to the second floor. As such, I have not yet been able to find the other end of the romex to see exactly what was done with the green wire.
Is that what is going on here?

Omg turn off breaker 22 green can only be used as a ground .
I believe someone had heard about multi wire branch circuits wired them wrong and tried to make them work. I would turn all 3 off until getting this corrected. Go up stairs pull the receptacles out white should be routed to each receptacle and attached to the silver screw. Green should go to each receptacle and go to the green screw, red and black are the hot(s) and should be split up black on the brass or gold screw and some with red on the brass or gold screw , if the tab is broken on the brass side red on 1 brass black on the other this will put 1 circuit on the top 1 on the bottom (I do this often)
Move the green wire on breaker to the ground buss if the main panel the buss with white or green,
This should get your receptacles working correctly. When you turn  the breaker back on 30&32 they should have a handle tie or be a double pole (not 22).


What is the Source of the Approximate "R Value" Chart? There is a Chart labeled Approximate "R Value" of Walls, Windows, Ceiling & Floor in one of the responses to the question How can I measure the r-value of a wall? What is the source of this table?

Journal of Civil Engineering Research
p-ISSN: 2163-2316    e-ISSN: 2163-2340
2014;  4(2A): 42-50
doi:10.5923/c.jce.201401.09

PDF

  To determine the "R value" of a wall, insulated window or ceiling
  requires three simple temperature measurements:

  The "air" or ambient room temperature.
  The inside surface temperature of an exterior wall.
  The outside surface temperature of the same exterior wall.

  The difference of the interior and exterior wall temperatures is
  calculated and this is labeled as "Temperature Difference, Interior to
  Exterior Wall". Now the difference between the "air" or ambient and
  the interior wall temperature is taken and this is labeled as
  "Temperature Difference, Air to Interior Wall". The interior to
  exterior difference is taken and the corresponding point is selected
  on the bottom of the graph given below. The air to interior difference
  is selected on the vertical axis of graph. Curve is chosen from these
  two points.


Hide an adapter in ceiling I am installing in-ceiling speakers. However those come in with an adapter that transforms from 100-240V to 24V. I want to hide the adapter, preferably in the ceiling of my house. According to NEC that is not allowed.
The manufacturer of the speakers is based in UK and they explicitly state on their manual that for US installs(only) NEC prohibits the adapter being stored in the ceiling.
Reading on here I think the reason is this:
NEC requires a distinct separation of low voltage wiring and high voltage wiring
More information here.
What other options do I have to hide the adapter or hide it in the ceiling but make it NEC compliant?
EDIT As requested I am adding a few images of the setup.

Don't put this DC PSU inside the ceiling.  These kinds of adapters are not 100% reliable.  Sometimes they get hot.  Sometimes they fail.  Sometimes the connector for the AC supply fails.
Find a suitable serviceable location for the PSU, near an existing or new power socket where it can be plugged in.   You can run the DC cord into a wall and to the first loudspeaker.
If the location you want the PSU is too far from the speaker for its existing DC cable, my suggestion would be to cut that cable in half, and splice in a length of 16/4 individually shielded pairs (two pairs).  Use one pair to extend the power, and the other pair could be used for the speaker's Aux In connection should you wish to use it in future.  The shielding may not be necessary but it's cheap and might help reduce hum and noise.  Ground the shielding at the PSU end.


Adding a door to water shutoff valve in ceiling I am having my kitchen redone and during demolition, a pipe comes loose and I get water damage in my basement. The contractor fixed the damages and is working on the kitchen now. In the basement ceiling, they did not leave me a lot of room to reach the water shutoff valve to the outdoor faucet. I could nag them to make a bigger hole and put a door in, but is that what it is called? Should I ask for a closeable door or is there a better way to describe it?
I think I could do this myself in an hour. Do I just need a tool for cutting a bigger hole in the drywall and some kind of door? Let me know what I would need to DIY. I would rather them continue working on the kitchen and just knock this out during the weekend.

Access door or access panel.
You can buy them in various sizes off the shelf, order more sizes, or do it completely DIY by building a frame around a chunk of drywall (or plywood) with screws if you don't access it often, or with hinges and a latch if you need easier access.
The bought ones may be plastic or metal.


Can anyone identify what brand this faucet is? I wanted to replace this faucet and had a hard time figuring out what brand it is.does anyone know what company this is ?

The only company's it similar to is Pegasus, Cascade, and Peerless. Very nice faucet whoever the manufacturer is. Maybe Grohe?


How many outlets can be wired to the load side of a GFCI? I have read a few places that the longer the wire is and the more numerous the outlets hooked up to the load side of a GFCI, the lower the threshold for tripping becomes as a result of leakage current, which may become a problem from frequent tripping. However, I cannot find any hard numbers on the limitations.

Check the specs with the GFCI manufacturer.

Square D for example has a few requirements for GFCI breakers.

Must be located no more than 250 ft. (76 m) from the load being served.
UL requires that
GFCIs must be operational at 85% of the rated voltage

Other than that, there is no restriction per se for how many outlets can be on one branch circuit,  residential speaking that is.


Is my Outdoor Mini Fridge Doomed? Wont get cold I'm having issues getting my Bull Mini Fridge to cool. It was not working when we bought the house, but we never really needed to use it. I have been trying to figure out why it doesn't cool. The lights come on when the door opens, but the wiring in the back is kind of a mess.

I'm guessing a rat got into it, there are some frayed and severed wires, mostly the green ground wire. I tried reconnecting them all as I thought the ground loop would work, but still no cooling. I hear something turn on when i plug it in and the temp selector is at 6, but just never gets cold.

Is this thing doomed? or could it be something I am missing? Anything else I can check?

I'll take a picture of the wiring when I get home

The only moving part in a mini fridge is the compressor.  If you plug the uint in and hear something come on, that is the compressor.  If the compressor is running, the wiring is probably ok.

If the compressor runs for a while and the fridge never cools, then you most likely need a professional to check out the sealed refrigeration components.  Normally this isn't worth the cost on a mini-fridge but outdoor units are much more expensive so it's probably worth a repair call to check it out.


hanging a water hose holder on stucco... do I need to find a stud? I am hanging a water hose holder for a 50 foot all-rubber hose.  This holder can be mounted with 6 screws (2 rows X 3 columns).  Would it be necessary to try to at least get that middle column attached to a stud or should standard wall anchors be sufficient?

I would recommend just getting a stand. Once you get through stucco it's not sealed and moisture and air gets in and causes rotting behind the stucco.
Most carpenters and cladders may tell you to just spray foam or some sort of sealant will do the trick. But I am a restocking specialist, I have the carpenter and fire flood and mold restoration experience. I tell you to think of it deeply, the stucco acts like cement it stretches and shrinks there for once the sealant is cracked it's not going to expand or shrink with the stucco.
Some will tell you to fill it with stucco. But again unless you are the one who installed it to know the exact brand that was originally used there is different ingredients in different brands meaning again expansion and shrinkage are all off set. I know alot of people won't think it really matters one little hole. But moisture once behind the stucco becomes drops that can infiltrate the tightest spots and go far. Rotting everything behind it.
But that's just my 2 cents based on almost 2 decades of experience dealing with this stuff.


How to remove watermarks from porcelain sinks? I bought a new (ceramic) soap dispenser a couple of weeks back and now there's a watermark on my porcelain sink where I used to keep it (picture below with increased contrast).  First off, I don't think it's a hard-water stain.  There's always a layer of water between the soap dispenser and the sink.  I think this water caused the stain (it smelled very bad too -- like ammonia and rotten eggs).  Any ideas on how to remove the stain?

EDIT: After some investigation it seems that such stains are caused due the porcelain absorbing water.  This is more common with granite counters and to prevent further staining, the granite has to be "resealed".

Wipe with a paper towel with detergent, then apply chlorine bleach, small amount, let sit a few minutes then wipe off so someone doesn't come along unaware and ruin some clothes or worse get it in eyes. This can be Bon Ami with bleach, Tilex, etc., or can be chlorine laundry bleach.


What is the easiest way to remove the old grout? I am going to regrout the tile in the bath/shower area.  What is the easiest way to remove the old grout?

Easiest:

Easy:

A rotary tool (e.g. Dremel) with a grout removal bit:

Also Easy:

An oscillating multi-tool with a grout bit:

Least easy:

A grout saw:

Downright Painful:

Dr. Pickems approach:


How can I make prepasted wallpaper stick better? We bought some roles of prepasted wallpaper to use as a border in a nursery. This was our first time ever putting up any sort of wallpaper; I don't think we did it exactly right (I don't think we got the paper wet enough before sticking it to the wall in some spots).

After it dried, we were actually pretty pleased with the results but noticed a couple of places where the edges don't stick like they should. Some of these spots don't look too bad, but I'm worried they'll get worse over the next several years if I don't address them.

Can we just "paint" them with water and re-press the spots that aren't sticking?

I added some pictures below - sorry they're so large, I don't know how to resize them on here.

Using wallpaper paste when hanging it will make it stick better.

From the photo it looks like the paper is too short in the corner.

To fix peeling paper use dilute white (PVA) glue.

Probably the you would have benefited from doing more preparation to wall surface too (sand it and size it). it looks very lumpy.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/need-size-walls-hanging-wallpaper-77898.html


How do I install a ceiling fan with remote control when there are separate switches for the fan and light? Our house was wired for ceiling fans. Currently there is only a light there. I purchased a Casablanca isotope 5000 series ceiling fan with wall transmitter.  So, we have 2 wall switches.  One for the light and the other for the fan. Which one should I use for the transmitter?

Always turn off the power. The wall transmitter will work in either switch spot, as long the transmitter is light and fan. The other switch would just be a dummy switch. You can get a new two gang switch cover from the HI Store if you do not have one.


How long will Douglas fir planks last if left untreated outside, not directly exposed to weather, but some moisture occaisionally I have to replace some bad plywood underneath a roof overhang. I have some Douglas pine planks left over from another project, that I like to use.
The (painted) plywood currently in place lasted 55 years, but is starting to fall apart in some places.
It was actually directly in view until about 20 years ago, when it was covered with vinyl siding.
(Previous owner of the house decided to cover it with siding as he didn't want to re-paint it every couple of years.)
The siding is stapled to the plywood and because of the bad plywood the staples are coming loose.
The spots were the plywood is bad are all due to water damage. Occasional overflow of a gutter, caused some water to penetrate inside the overhang of the roof and get into the plywood.
This happens 2 or 3 times a year when we have excessive rainfall that the gutters can't cope with.
Otherwise, underneath the overhang, weather won't reach it. Just regular humidity which is typically 40-70% here.
The plywood lasted quite long in that same spot, so I'm thinking the exposure can't be that bad.
As I have not much time to do the job (need to rent a boom-lift to work on it, which gets very expensive, real quick) I'm looking for a short-cut.
My idea is to take the siding of, rip out the plywood, replace with the Douglas planks and simply put the siding back up.
As the Douglas planks are not in view I don't need to paint them, which saves a lot of time.
Obviously I will seal the ingress point of the water from the gutters as best as possible, but I can't 100% prevent some of it getting to the wood eventually. There is plenty of wind around the house so if things get wet it will dry quickly.
Can I expect Douglas fir planks used like this to last 20 to 30 years?
I'm not worried about the looks of it. Just the structural integrity of the planks.

Plywood is actually stronger inch per inch because of the cross grain used in the core. However it will delaminates with repeated moisture as you have found.
I have resided a couple of old homes 20’s& 30’s era that had fur sub siding that on occasion did get wet and it was still good this was back in the 90’s so a 20-30 year life span as a sub siding is realistic for sub siding and being solid wood you don’t have to worry about delaminating.
The only thing I could think of off the top of my head is the fur planks may be a slightly different thickness but that will probably be true with modern plywood compared 60’s thickness but the siding over the top will probably hide the small difference.
You might consider a quick brush on  copper naphthalene treatment on the exterior to stop decay for longer.


Can I apply joint compound over drywall primed with PVA? I hung drywall ceiling in my basement. I got impatient/lazy and decided to "finish" the project already by painting it with Kilz PVA Drywall Primer, even if the mudding & taping is not perfect yet.

I would say some taped joints need one more layer of mud & light sanding to be completely hidden (especially the outside corners with the CGC Perfect 90 tape (If I used normal folded paper tape, It would've shown less).

I haven't painted it with Latex. The primer is white and flat, which I think looks OK for now.

Should I decide to "fix" it, can I mud over the PVA primer?

You can absolutely mud over cured primer. (Or cured finish paint, for that matter.)

Use all purpose mud (not a setting compound) and scuff the primer gently with 120 grit.


4-way switch - common wires are not normal I am not an electrician and I have read all I can about 4-way switches/circuts. I am trying to replace a 4 way switch + 2 three way switches with zwave. I have done other 3-way installations (with only two switches) but this has me stumped. Once I can determine where is line and load, I can do the rest on my own.

As I understand, one of the 3-way should have a constant line from the breaker and the other 3-way should have the load going to the light. I have a Voltage Tester (not multimeter).

Here is the problem -

When the light is on, I cannot detect any voltage on any of the three
terminals of the 3-way switches. Two of the 4-way switch terminals
have voltage.
When the light is off, 1-2 terminals of the 3-way switches have voltage.
I haven't run all the permutations but it is very weird and not following anything I am reading online.

What the hell? :) The way I have been testing other 3-way circuits is that the terminal that always has the voltage whether the light is on or off is my line from the circuit breaker. The terminal that only has voltage when the light is on is my load to the light. The other two are travelers. I was hopping to apply this concept to my 4-way circuit (at least to the ends of the circuit, I know the middle has 2 pair of travelers) but it's not following the laws of physics :) All 3 switches work - I can open and close the light from any switch.

It is supposed to work like this

My 4-way switch

My first 3-way switch showing no voltage when the light is on

My second 3-way switch showing no voltage when the light is on

I would really appreciate any pointers in the right direction!!

It sounds like the voltage tester has issues.  There are other ways to identify the wires.

Usually 3/4-way complexes are a mess (not least because the wire color does not correspond to the purpose in any way). But your 4-way switch makes this surprisingly simple: both pairs of messengers are on the red+black wires.

So go to the remaining 3-ways.  Find the red+black pair that goes into the same cable: those are the messengers. The remaining wire is the always-hot or switched-hot.

You will also note the messengers are on brass screws, and the always-hot or switched-hot is on the black screw.


How to properly link 2 phone cables with different diameter? I'm thinking about how to link 2 cables .

I have the phone line from my provider that comes in with a cable made of 2 internal strands, each of this strands is 0.75mm on average along all the length of the wire ( just the copper section, of course each strand has white or red insulation ) . The cable has open heads .

I would like to rewire my phone and data lines inside my house and use ethernet / rj45 / FTP cabling for everything .

The main problem is that the phone cable from the provider is basically 21-20 AWG, the internal strands of an FTP cable are way smaller in diameter, basically half of that: how I can link the 2 ?

The first thought was about LSA cabling, but 0.7-0.8mm are too much for most LSA systems, I haven't tried yet in practice, but basically all the most reputable brands produce networking plugs and junction box around the 26-22 AWG mark .

A patch panel is the same thing since all the patch panels I know of are based on LSA style type of internal wiring .

On this line I have both data and voice and I would like to use something made of copper, with a really good insulation / shielding , possibly with IP67/IP68 protection .

tl;dr

the provider's cable is 2x thicker than a single strand of your typical FTP cable and I want to do a good job with it

PS

I don't want to fiddle with the provider's cable, I just want to plug it in somewhere and forget about it, so I can't just crimp an rj11 plug on it .

Typically the line from your provider is, or should be, terminated in a "customer interface" or "network interface device" which also usually have surge-suppression for the telephone line built-in - and those have large threaded studs or other screw connectors for the larger wires to connect to.

I frankly find it odd that this would be missing, as it's remarkably standardized across many countries; and the surge-supression is not something you should be without, since telephone lines can pick up all sorts of unpleasant things in thunderstorms.


3 white wires and 3 black wires. Only need 2 of each What should I do with the extra black and white wire? The new light fixture has two lights, a black wire and a white wire for each. Should I assume just to pick any two and cover the extras with wire nuts?

Connect all the whites together and connect all the blacks together. This is known as wiring the two lights in the fixture in parallel.


Do acrylic glu-up tub surrounds require backer boards, waterproof membrane underneath? I'd like to replace my aging PVC tub surround with an inexpensive acrylic 3-panel one. Assuming I am down to bare studs after removing the existing surround (perhaps the backing wall will be damaged), what must I install on top of studs before I can glue the acrylic panels?

If it's a cement board, like Durock, Hardibacker, or Wonderboard, do I need to apply a waterproofing membrane (like RedGard) as well?

I use green board for this with redgard over in some cases (cheaper systems that don't overlap well).  My take on it is if there is a water issue.  I would rather the water be trapped in drywall and mold vs. drip down into stud bay and rot the wall or what is underneath it.

Taking out plastic sheets to repair a wall and adding more drywall is easy.  The alternative isn't.  Also my biggest concern with backer is the hollow sound it often projects when PVC surrounds are glued to it.  Sometimes it sounds/feels like you are in a tin can.

This is all opinion though and you can go with backer or greenboard and regard or not.  Local inspectors that I have dealt with don't care at all about whats behind tub kits.  They are fine with putting it directly on studs.  Really if installed right and caulked properly you shouldn't ever have a water issue.  That is why I choose to go with what gives the best experience.


Shower Retaining Ring? I had a ring on my shower before removing it to paint the room.

I placed the ring in a certain area, but our house's friendly ghost aparrantly needed it more and took it.

Needless to say, I still need the ring. What is the name of the ring? I couldn't find it anywhere on Home Depot's website.

Here is a picture after the ring is missing.

It seems that it's commonly called a Shower Arm Escutcheon or Flange.


code approved way to cut 5"x30" out of a 8" x 10" support beam I need to cut 5" x 30" out of a basement support beam to accommodate a door and secondary suite height requirements.  Would the jack and king posts for the door be enough support for the 5"x30" or do I need to put in 6"x6" posts? footings?

If you really have an 8"x10" beam in your basement it is probably supporting a huge amount of weight. Please do not even consider cutting into it without getting an engineer to determine what kind of supporting columns are required. (Cutting away 50% of the depth will reduce the strength by 75%.) I am guessing that in addition to the columns you will need to add footings to avoid punching through the floor, but those kinds of questions depend on exactly how your foundation is built. ("Code requirements" would depend on your location but major structural work like this would almost certainly require a permit and inspection. But frankly the safety ramifications of undermining the house's structure are probably more important.)

In short, this is an enormous project. Is there nowhere else to put the door?


Nylon "expansion" anchor in drywall Here we have an anchor named "universal anchor", that is supposed to work in every kind of wall (concrete, hollow, drywall, etc). I've used it in concrete and it is very good, but I'm a bit worried about using it in drywall, since I know expansion anchors are terrible in soft materials.

In drywall it is supposed to pull the anchor and deform it until it is snug on the wall. Won't it also expand a bit and damages the hole? Any luck using something like those? See the pictures below:

Your post contains a picture that shows exactly how this will perform in drywall, and normally it works very well.

The first 3/8"-1/2" (closest to the screw head) of the anchor does not expand at all, so it won't damage the drywall.  The next 1/2" of the anchor is designed to twist and "knot up" in a hollow cavity, and the tip is designed to slightly expand, but hold the screw securely.

One very important detail that gives these types of anchors a bad name, is that they must be installed into a cleanly drilled hole of the exact right size.  Many people are sloppy with the holes, or just pick a drill bit that looks about the right size.

When the wrong sized hole is used, the "teeth" around the brand name in the picture don't hold strongly in the drywall, and the rest of the anchor will not twist and knot up properly in the wall.  The entire anchor could start twisting which will give the whole installation a loose feeling.

So, follow all the instructions exactly, and drill a clean hole in the right spot the first time, and enjoy.


What are these toilet washers/retainers for? Installing a new toilet, it came with these plastic washers, but I've never seen them with any other toilets I've installed, and I'm not really sure what they're for.

The center is slightly conical and is raised by about 1/4". They came in the bag with the other metal parts, and the white plastic covers came in a separate bag.

What are they, and where are they supposed to go?

If not to hold the white cap in place as Robert suggested, I would say they are used to hold the bolts upright while placing the toilet. There would need to be a void under the toliet of course.


Can I hone Silestone from a glossy finish to a matte finish? I would like to hone (make the glossy finish matte) my Silestone kitchen countertops.  Is this possible either through an acid wash, sanding or other?  Sanding works on samples but will be difficult to get uniformity on that large a surface.

Silestone is made of quartz (mohs scale of around 7 if I remeber correctly). Try wetsanding with > 1000 grit so that you don't get scratches in the surface.


How would I go about turning a tree in to a tabletop? My father-in-law is about to cut down a large Ash tree (on the insistence of a neighbour).  At the same time, we need a dining table, and quite like the idea of a simple wooden slab on legs.

Unfortunately I only have basic knowledge of woodwork, and know almost nothing about seasoning the wood etc. Hopefully there is someone here who knows about this stuff!

There is a local sawmill willing to cut up the tree as required.  And I'm able to make the metal legs etc.

What we want to end up with is a thick (about 10cm if possible) chunk of wood for the table top.  If this can be done in a solid piece (or 2) then great.

The question is - how to go about this?  Should I just ask the sawmill to cut a slab of the required size?  Is it better to ask for smaller planks that will together make the required size? Should I leave the top to 'season' after it has been cut?  How can I expect the wood to behave as it matures? (I don't mind some cracks and a slightly rustic feel - but not a twisted table top or legs that no longer touch the floor properly).

Lots of questions I know - any advice appreciated!

Sorry, but I think you may be looking for trouble here. I'm a bit of a perfectionist in my own work, and you may well be willing to accept something more rustic than I'd tolerate. Even so, there are things you will want to do.

This will take some skill to do well, and a lot of time to season that top, and some luck to hope that it does not warp and split too badly. A thick piece of wood will take time to dry until you can be confident that it has stopped moving around. I'd want to give it a year at least, and in a place where both sides will have equal opportunity to lose their moisture at the same rate. Otherwise it will warp or split. Find a spot to store the wood that will avoid it warping under its own weight. For example, if you just stand it against the wall in your garage for a year, next year you will find it bowed under its weight. Worse is if you put it on a pair of sawhorses, as then the bow will be serious. So you might want to store it in a spot where it is supported by wooden stickers every foot to let air in. I might even add stickers on top, then weights on them to try to keep it flat.

And slow drying can be better than a fast dry. So, for example, suppose you put a fan next to the wood, hoping to dry it quickly? A bad idea! This will draw out the moisture near the surface of the wood quickly, but leave the center wet. Splits and checks will form before you can blink an eye. As a wood turner, I've learned to coat the surface of a partially turned bowl completely with wax, letting it dry very slowly over the course of a year. Then you finish turn the warped bowl next year if it has not split or warped too badly.

Dealing with wet wood fresh from a tree is very different from working with wood from a lumber yard, where they were able to dry the wood in stacks in a controlled process. Then you get to select only the wood that is not warped anyway.

Drying the wood can be helped in several ways. First, there are waxy coatings specifically designed to coat things like endgrain. Woodturners use them a lot. This will indeed help reduce end checks. The idea is to prevent the end grain from drying more quickly than the rest of the board, which would then cause end checks.

Another product is also useful, pentacryl. Again, it is available from wood turners supply houses. The idea is it gets into the cells of the wood and keeps them stable in size. It won't be cheap, as you need to completely soak the wood with it. I recall reading that some turners will actually dunk a bowl into a tank of the solution, letting it be completely absorbed into the wood. But it does seem to work from what I've read. (I've never used it though.)

Once it has dried (a moisture meter is a useful tool to test that) then you will need to flatten the top. Some of the tables you see of this kind are made by individuals with access to huge pieces of woodworking equipment, able to flatten very wide boards. If not, then you will use a hand plane and need a good eye for flatness. A long jointer plane is nice for that. (You can buy planes in antique stores, and they are surprisingly inexpensive.) Again, it depends on how the wood has moved after cutting to know what you will need to do.

There are also tricks with dovetailed keys that one can do to deal with any splits, preventing the splits from going any further. In fact, if done artfully, these can be very pretty, the mark of a skilled woodworker at work.

As for the legs, personally, I like the look of a set of wooden trestle table legs. The nice thing here is it actually decreases the probability of the top warping at the corners being a problem. If you have a top held up by posts at the 4 corners, then any warping will be magnified.

Next, consider what you will do at the bark edge if you were planning on leaving it natural. Removing the bark is best, especially since this is where beetles thrive. Ash borers will vacate once the tree is dead, but there are also powder post beetles to consider. Don't bring them inside your house.

Finally, consider how you will finish the top. A thick slab like this should probably have the same finish on top as the bottom, as otherwise you will again have warping issues. Water will enter the pores of the wood, causing it to swell with changes in humidity. (One humid day will not matter. But seasonal changes will cause problems.) A thick top that is sealed on one side will be an issue.

So while I don't want to completely dissuade you on this table, I'd also suggest you do some research into the idea. And don't expect that you will have something to use next week.


Does tung oil odor last as long as linseed oil odor? One week after two applications of linseed oil on a desk tabletop, followed by rubbing and wiping, the odor still fills the room, despite reasonable ventilation.

It's not particularly unpleasant, but it's strong and the bottle (Ikea's Behandla brand) lists some additional ingredients that I am concerned would qualify as VOCs, and hence I'd rather not breathe it.

Tung oil is an option for the amateur woodworker. (Boiled) linseed oil turned out to require much more patience than I have: The bottle lists applying daily, weekly, then monthly for a year for proper curing.

This answer suggests that I can indeed seal the wood with tung oil after having applied linseed oil. My two applications were on the generous side (with a brush), but the wood still feels dry to the touch.

Does the odor of tung oil disappear a week or two after application? Would it seal in the odor of linseed oil?

Tung oil also leaves a lingering smell, quoting:

  Tung oil produces a mildly disagreeable odor for a few days after it
  is applied. This odor lessens with time, however some find that it
  continues for quite some time afterwards. If the tung oil is to be
  coated with some other finish such as wax, shellac, lacquer or
  polyurethane, this smell is no longer noticeable.


Can gutters be installed on top of shingles? I saw the strangest thing in northern New York State in an area that gets a lot of snow.
Gutters were installed on top of the roof, maybe over the 4th or 5th row of shingles up from the bottom.
This couldn't possibly be up to code or even a good idea could it?

Sometimes the stars align and answers are provided.
After i posted my comment this morning I was watching a previous episode of This old house in which they are restoring a  New England  Victorian house that is regulated by the local historic commission. One of the requirements needed to be met was the restoration of the   Yankee Gutters.
A web search led me to oldhouseguy.com where i found an article about gutters of all kinds including Yankee gutters for old houses.
More about Yankee Gutters at InspectAPedia.
More than you want to know about the history of gutters.
 Credit oldhouseguy.com


Minimum height of step between two interior rooms I'm trying to figure out the minimum safe (and code compliant) height of an interior step between a kitchen and mudroom. I'm pretty sure 7 3/4" is roughly the max height but is there a minimum height specified?  This is for a remodel. The height of the kitchen is fixed but I am replacing all floor framing in the mudroom so I can basically set it at whatever height I want. Headroom in the mudrooom requires a step of at least 2" but that is certainly a trip hazard.

I figure a step of 5" to 7" is OK but what about 3" or 4"? At what height does it go from step to trip hazard?

Thanks! I'd prefer to avoid asking the code official any unnecessary questions. He rarely gives me a helpful answer.

Maybe not official, but this (old) link from National Association of Certified Home Inspectors gives 4" as the minimum height for a riser.


Can I use two UPSes to power the same device? I have two identical 230V single-phase "line interactive" UPS'es, powering a few devices which only have one power supply each – half of the devices are connected to UPS 1, half to UPS 2. (The devices are Ethernet switches and a PC.)

What sort of connection or device would be needed to allow both UPSes to power the same device? (I have a feeling it would be easy for devices taking DC input, but not for those which only have AC in?)

And would it still be possible if the two UPSes were fed from outlets connected to different AC phases? (Which the room happens to have – the building has a standard European 3-phase supply, except it's a bit unreliable – and it's what prompted the question in the first place.)

I'm only looking for theoretical knowledge and not actually planning to do any such connections in reality. I don't want anything to be on fire.

The "safe & sane" approach is to replace the current PC & switches with models that DO have redundant power supply inputs. If, in fact, there's anything like a reasonable NEED for that. People often get overly concerned with slapping UPSes on non-critical systems, in my experience. If the system was, in fact, critical, you would, in fact, have good reason to get one with multiple power supply inputs. Replacing the PC with a laptop that has a battery is another option for that piece.

Alternatively, you get a single UPS with multiple power supply inputs; if feeling creative you connect battery chargers to each phase and a true-sine inverter (or perhaps a cheaper MSW, depending on the loads you are feeding and what they think of MSW inputs - most computers don't mind) to the battery bank, but you waste power (generate heat) since the conversion in each direction is not 100% efficient - with one battery charger that is a "dual conversion" UPS, and with two it's a dual-input dual-conversion model.

But really - how critical are the systems? If the system is critical, should you move it to a server farm where these things are Standard Operating Procedure rather than running it in your house? As a professional computer support person, I have quite a few systems where I'm quite happy with just a surge suppressor. Many modern systems shut down gracefully on power loss, and a surge suppressor does not need a constant stream of money to replace batteries as UPSes do. Few things are as annoying as a UPS that claims it can run for an hour when you ask its interface, but that dies in 5 minutes when subjected to real-world testing. [Or the "even more annoying" totally killed its battery, no indication, and then trips on a power event so short that non-UPS systems stay up, while the UPS shuts off instantly.] How often is one phase out for long enough that the UPS won't hold things up, while the other phase stays up? Should you just get much bigger UPS batteries instead? Should you just tell your PC to shut down gracefully after a minute or two of UPS operation to cover brief outages?


Is it really energy economy to use movement sensor for turn lights on? I want to install those movement sensors in my house in replacement for the old light switch. I want to use those from elevator halls which has a 3 way switch to leave on,  leave off and leave monitoring.

The thing is: is the sensor energy consumption lower than a 15w to 25w white cold lamp in the hours that I simply leave it on when nobody is around?

These sensors are still expensive in my country. So I will install them only if it's worth the energy economy on long terms.

Edit1:

This is the kind of sensor I am speaking of:

And this is the bulb I am speaking of:

Can't find that one. Another company's model that gives numbers (after looking more - MANY don't, which seems sketchy) claims 10mA @ 24v, or 0.01A x24V = 0.24W - less than 15, yes; Quite a bit more than 0.002, though. Whether it's actually worth buying (since you mention that it's expensive) would depend on how much you pay for power and how many hours it would save you 14.75W (or so) - it might take many years to pay for itself, unless your power is also very expensive.

This link has a rather more pessimistic assumption about the sensor at ~3W or so.

And this link has some specific numbers from another brand, ranging from 0.06W to 1.04W (1.04W is a dual-sensor/ ultra-sonic/PIR - highest is 0.18W for PIR only)


Can I remove or relocate a beam that acts as a rafter tie? I’m an converting our 20x25 detached garage to an in-law suite. I have a 12x20 beam spanning cross our loft. It used to hold the joist together, but I cut them off and opened the ceiling. My question is can I replace the beam with a collar tie, relocate the beam, or do I really even need it? You can see there is a jack stud holding the ridge board up, and the original building used 2 ridge boards.

Before you make any structural changes to a building it would be very wise to hire a "structural engineer" to make sure that you do not reduce the integrity of the building. Just removing braces that may be there so you can change the internal space in any structure, move any walls or load bearing wall could be a costly mistake for the building and for anyone inside the building. PLEASE, hire an expert to make sure that you do not do anything stupid or make a mistake that can't be undone. my 2 cents


Is it okay that the earth wire is exposed when installing an outdoor security light? I have just installed an outdoor security light with a junction box I bought (weatherproof). I wired the old red source wire to the new brown, old black source wire to the new blue in the terminal block, but noticed the third ground wire was just exposed copper. I wired that to the new yellow and green, but wondered why is it exposed, and will it function OK? I put some electrical tape round it as a little bit of it was still exposed outside the inlet to the junction box. Previously all 3 wires were completely exposed in the terminal block from the previous occupant, which was a little worrying!

Assuming that it's twin and earth wiring (which it sounds like from your description), yes the earth wire in the cable is typically uninsulated once the outer sheath has been removed. It's usual to use a piece of yellow and green sleeving to slip over the earth wire to provide basic insulation.

I'd recommend that you run the outer sheath of the cable into the junction box, or you could likely run into water ingress issues in the future.

As to why it's exposed, I'd hazard a guess that it's a cost saving measure to avoid the additional insulation. Except in a fault condition, there should be no current in or potential on the earth conductor, so it doesn't need the same level of protection as the line conductors.


Dedicated 20 amp outlet tripped twice In 2017, I had a new 20 amp circuit (with dedicated GFCI outlet and AFCI breaker) installed by an electrician, which is right below my then two-year-old Square D electrical panel box (with aluminum bus). I run my .62 amp air purifier 24/7. But often, I also run my 1/2 amp fan and my 12 amp space heater at the same time. I have the space heater plugged directly into the outlet, while the other two appliances are plugged into a 3 in 1. The space heater runs for no longer than two hours at a time. But I would leave the fan on for hours.

Lately, this circuit has tripped twice. I don’t believe I’m overloading the circuit. And appliances with a ground fault would trip the circuit immediately upon being plugged in. So I’m wondering if it’s an arc fault trip. How can I tell the difference between a real arc fault trip and a nuisance arc fault trip? Also, could the aluminum bus circuit breaker be a factor (as opposed to a copper bus)?

Since you said the breaker is AFCI and the breaker is now tripping I would guess the controls in the air purifier or the heater control contacts are getting dirty. When contacts get dirty or pitted they arc more than new and will trip AFCI circuits. I love square d but AFCI and GFCI breaker troubleshooting stinks as they don’t have the indicators that other brands have to show what the trip was caused from.

I agree that you probably were not overloading the circuit and that it has recently started tripping can show some arcing in the contacts.

AFCI protection is there to detect wiring problems, being right at the panel and in your garage I would eliminate the AFCI it is not required but the GFCI is required.
Some might say it is protecting the home but a UL listed air purifier and space heater may keep tripping the breaker (the breaker could also be going bad). I have had many problems with AFCI breakers tripping on circuits that have speed control or ballasts all electronics no contacts so my state allows them to be removed with problem equipment.


How can I repair a section of carpet that a cat scratched up? Much to my displeasure, my (wife's) cat has torn up a large section (2'x6') of carpet. Eventually we would like to sell the house and this would definitely be noticed. Is there any way to repair the carpet or should I plan to sell the house with the damage as is, or replace the carpet in a single room which is likely to be a different color than the rest of the house.

Ah, the wonders of carpet ...

The answer is that you would be able to replace the carpet in that area, typically seamlessly, if you have more of the same carpet, such as remnants that the installers left in your attic or garage. If you don't have more of the SAME carpet -- as in, same batch, same manufacturing date, same everything -- then you will end up replacing the carpet, or giving the buyer an allowance to replace carpet as part of the closing/sale costs.


Is HVAC device a heat pump? A Florida HVAC device keeps a bank of storage units frosty in the summer time.   A wifi thermostat is desired: a determination has to be made as to whether the device is a heat pump or not.  The device is manufactured by [International Comfort Products Model WAHL364B2][1]  A google search was not successful in determining

Is the device a heatpump?  If not is it only an AC?
If the thermostat has a brown wire (Emergency Heat per color code convention), does this confirm the device is a heat pump?

A related question to the same system is posted here.

The model number provided is an air handler. The "heat package" shown in your picture is a electric element heating which may or may not be installed(was not factory installed). The unit shipped with a evaporator coil installed as per the rating plate, but that didn't come charged with refrigerant. An air handler is capable of running a heat pump. The simplest way to tell if it's a heat pump is the model of the outdoor unit, without easy access to the condenser (if it's on a roof or something) check how many wires go to it from the air. Usually 2 wires go to a cooling only condenser. Sometimes 2 stage applications or onboard diagnostic require more wires. Never assume the color of the wire to correspond to any standard practice. I'm leaning towards no heat pump due to the TXV shipped with the coil. Heat pumps with TXV either need dual TXVs or a bypass check valve when reversed flow is happening. There may be some new methods being used in the southern states that I'm unaware of. I'm from Toronto and don't often deal with heat pumps as our electricity is very expensive.


Any "upright freezers" that have a water/ice dispenser? I'm trying to pick out kitchen appliances for a new kitchen.  We like the idea of having a "freezerless refrigerator" side by side with an "upright freezer" so that it has the appearance of a massive refrigerator but it's actually 2 separate units.

The only issue is I can't seem to find any upright freezers that have a water/ice dispenser.

I'm hoping someone on here is more knowledgeable on kitchen appliances and can tell me if such a product exists.

They exist but I have only seen them for very high-end application.  Here is an example.  I bought one for a house I was redoing a few years ago but have to say it is a little out of my price range.  Most of the models are made to take custom front panels (match cabinets).


There is water in my basement and the outdoor sump pump failed. What am I doing wrong? My house has water problems with the basement.  Here's what the entrance to my basement looks like.  When I get a really heavy rain storm, water manages to rise up and start seeping in under the door.  Given an hour I have a real mess on my hands (like today)

I have a sump pump hooked up underneath the black cover in the picture.  It's a simple automatic pump I bought at the home depot.  It sits inside a 5 gallon bucket with holes drilled in it and gravel in the bottom.  This bucket sits in a pit filled with gravel.  Here's what it looks like when you lift the cover

The pump has a garden hose hooked up to it.  The hose then runs through some pvc pipes and into the back yard.  The power cord runs into the house.  Currently it's attached to a power cord but I plan on adding a power outlet next to the door that it will plug into.  Here's a picture..

So that's my setup, which works well enough for regular amounts of rain.  But here are the two situations my setup fails:

Flash flood warning level rains.
Power outage.

So here are my questions:

What am I doing wrong?
What should I do to make things right?

For the case of the power outages, there's basically two options --

UPS or other battery backup for the sump pump.  (which only helps for as long as the batteries hold out)
A water powered sump pump

As for the flash flood issues -- you might be able to either regrade the area to change the catchment area that drains towards the door, and possibly add a lean-to roof to reduce the amount of rain into the area, or increase the size of the pump to deal with the increased flow.

The water powered sump could also help in the case of the flash floods, as you'll have both the regular pump and the backup pump so long as the power's still on (and you route them separately, so they're not sharing an outflow route.)


Is it safe to ground a portable generator using the house ground at the service panel? I've bought a portable generator that I'll use when the power goes out. The instructions in the paperwork state that the generator needs to be grounded before use. Can I use the house ground at the service panel to ground the generator?

The generator must get its ground from whichever main service panel it feeds (e.g. it could have its own main panel), which in turn must be grounded any way that's legal. If you are simply running extension cords to the generator, it must be grounded legally.

It's legal to share grounds.  You do that by running your own ground strap to the same pipe clamp, pipe or ground rod.  You cannot go inside the other panel.

If generator power is entering the same service panel as utility power, then you absolutely must have some kind of transfer switch, which makes it impossible to have both utility service and generator connected at once.

The transfer switch can be as simple as two 240V breakers with a piece of sliding metal so they can't both be on at the same time.  No big deal.
https://www.google.com/search?q=panel+transfer+interlock&rls=en&tbm=isch&sa=X


Potterton EP3000 programmer HW and CH buttons not working I've got a Potterton EP3000 boiler and the programmer won't respond to me pressing the HW and CH buttons.

It was working fine until I switched off the power to the plugs (to do some electrics). After about an hour, when I switched the power back on, we tried to get the heating back on and no luck.

The clock shows up fine, and we can program the time and day of week. Setting it to 24-hours or twice and trying the CH or HW buttons has no effect.

Any ideas or suggestions on why this won't work are welcome.

This was resolved by disconnecting the freeze sensor. There was a separate sensor attached to connections on the right hand side (I forget the numbers and I'm not at home now). If anyone is interested I can give more specific details.


How can I verify how much refrigerant was put in my home AC unit? I had a routine AC system check. the system was cooling just fine. The reps were here 15 minutes total. They said they had to put in 4 lbs of recycled r-22  refrigerant. they charged me $125 per pound or $500. How do I know it need that much refrigerant? It was cooling fine before they came.

You could refuse to pay the bill until they provide you with documentation of the pressure levels that prompted the addition of refrigerant and the amount of refrigerant required. They should have recorded this on the service sheet. Ask for a copy of their service sheet. Also, justification of their price of R-22 and why it is $125 per pound.

I believe HVAC contractors are required by the EPA to meticulously document all exchanges and uses of old refrigerants like R-22.

They should have discussed all of this with you BEFORE they did any repairs or additions of refrigerant. Especially since the cost was going to be so high.

Good luck!


Tips To Inspect/ Popcorn ceilings My wife and I are considering buying a house that was built in the 1960s and has acoustic "popcorn" ceilings.  I want to know if there is a cheap, effective way to do a home asbestos test.

I'm still reviewing some of the inspection reports but I don't think they've specifically checked for this.

Tips, anyone?

-M

For future reference- there is no need to buy these kits.  They are essentially selling you a zip-top baggie for $10.00.

Simply wet the area, and scrape a very small sample into a zip-top bag of your own.  Then place this bag into another sealable bag (i.e.- double-bag the sample).  Then you can call one of several national testing labs, that will perform the test for around $10-15/sample, and email you the results. Google asbestos testing labs.  Some labs will only test for professionals, but many will take home-owner samples- you just have to call around a bit.


What is the purpose of GFCI? There is a circuit breaker in every home, which trips the switch if there is a fault somewhere in a circuit.
And there is a GFCI outlet/switch which also trips if there is a fault downstream.
If circuit breaker is there, then why do we need GFCI ? May be dumb question but I am dumb when it comes to electricity.

Circuit breakers trip on overcurrent, including too many devices. A low level fault to ground may not pass enough current to trip a regular circuit breaker.
A GFCI device compares the current on the hot and neutral, if not equal it breaks the circuit. It does this by running both wires through the same current transformer (donut), if the current is equal the magnetic fields cancel each other, and no current is detected by the current transformer. Current flowing a 150% of circuit breaker rating should trip the circuit breaker, but if the outgoing and returning current were the same no magnetic field would be detected by the current transformer and the GFCI would not trip.


electric panel near hot water heater I am having my house rebuilt after a fire and, given that the basement floods occasionally (sometimes up to the top in a bad flood), i'm having the breaker box and hot water heater moved to the first floor.  they just put in the pluming and elctric lines and they made a small "room" within a room for the hot water heater.  On the outside wall of this hot water heater room is where the breaker panel is.  It's definitely less than 3 feet from the water heater but it's on the outside wall of the heater cubby so the back of the breaker panel will be very close to the heater (although most likely in a wall once they're done).  Is this up to code and, more importantly, is it safe?

It is absolutely safe. There is no clearance issue with regard to a water heater, or even a sink, and an electrical panel.  The only issue is with working clearances, and this is an issue regardless of what is around the panel. Based on the letter of the code it is perfectly feasible to have a water heater or sink immediately next to a breaker panel.

Contrary to popular belief, an electrical panel, or most other electrical equipment, will not explode and blow up the house if contact with water is made.

I have seen with my own eyes, basements flooded to the rafters, with the electrical panel completely submerged, and on and working. There are many videos online with small appliances like hair dryers, submerged in a sink full of water while still powered and working....completely under water.


How can I correct a gap between joists and a beam on a new construction deck? I am building a new deck. It's a basic 16' by 20'. I installed the posts, ledger, and 2 beams. I am working on the joists. When I hung the joist hangers, I didn't check their contact with the beams from the joists, just for level. Now that all of the joist hangers are hung, some of the joists don't make contact with the center beam. Some of them are off by nearly 1/4".
I know I can pull the joist hangers off and install new ones slightly lower to solve the issue, but I'm trying to avoid that.
I thought about shimming under the joists but I didn't think that would be structurally sound.
Is there a way to fix this without having to take down the joist hangers or the outer beam?

A pair of opposed shims (synthetic better than wood) would be fine. Just don't crown the joists by banging the shims in too tight. Trim the ends and forget it ever happened.


Air Conditioner Draws a Lot of Outside Air When Door Opens If I open a door when home ac is running, the air blowing in is very noticeable. Not so if ac is off.  The air volume out the vents is also low IMO but 2 service guys said "no".
In a closed system like a home, there should not be a pressure differential with the outside to my way of thinking so I'm wondering if there may be a air leak in the attic on one of the runs and I'm blowing that expensive cold air into the attic. The blower wants to make up for the loss by drawing air from whatever opening is available.

The local A/C contractor performed a door blower test prior to our upgrade to a heat pump. The particular door opens to the attached/integrated garage and the outside lift door was open.

A manometer in the fan assembly showed a certain pressure differential. Had it been particularly excessive, it would have indicated that air was being pulled from the attic through the ducting. I can't recall the figures, but we had all new ducting installed and the test was improved on the post-install check-out.

In your case, I'd suspect your concerns are valid, but it might not be leak related.

The primary return, often with filter, pulls air from all the other returns, which in my house, dumps into the main living area. Prior to the upgrade, the bedroom and bathroom doors did not have grill or grate type returns. If any of those doors were closed, those rooms could have "pressurized" and prevented return air from reaching the main return.

Opening an outside door might have then created the inrush you've described.

Alternatively, the pressurized air from the handler could be leaking, but would the leaks be of such volume that it would match the volume of air during the inrush?

I suppose an easy enough test would be to tape covers over your venting to see if the door air rush still happens. If all the vents are sealed or otherwise closed and there are no leaks, the air handler has no place to push the air and would have no need to pull air from the opening door.


What interior door will fit a rough opening of 47-3/4"? When we bought our house it had an opening as shown in the picture below.

There is white wood trim on top of the rough framing.

The trim is nailed to hide the 2x4 stud that forms the frame of the opening.

The opening inside the trim is 46" and the rough opening width is 47-3/4". The rough opening height is 81-1/2".

What door option do I have for this space?
I checked and it seems that most prehung doors are either 48" or 42". I think the first is too big and the second is too small.
Has anyone had experience with this?

I have a rough opening in my house that is the exact same size (47³/⁴ by 81¹/²) which is a very odd dimension, leading into a downstairs makeshift bedroom. A pretty small room but I still wanted to cover it up with some kind of door. I couldnt find a double door set that could fit in the given width and I didnt really want a barn door because I wanted a locking door knob with a key. After a few hours of looking around on the internet, I think I found a decent solution. (https://bit.ly/2wUdzM5) Two of these 22 by 80 doors will leave me with about 3³/⁴ wiggle room which I think will work out fine. Assuming everything will fit fine I hope this helps anyone with the same problem. I will update this if anything goes wrong but im sure this will work. I just ordered the doors and will try to remember and post pictures of the before and after.


Can this pull down attic ladder be fixed? Looks like the rivet/flange thing popped out of the square piece.  I don't know how I would get the rivet back in there with the ridge/flange whatever you call it on the end, which I assume is what holds it in there. It also looks like I would have to be in the attic with the ladder pulled to have any hope of connecting that J-shaped bolt back to the spring.

Here are some pics

The last pic is the way it should look.

I'd say "yes".
Start by removing the quadratic piece of metal with some sort of lever, then place a screw from the "inside" through the hole and check if there is room for a nut to hold the loose part in place.


Plastic shower pan about to crack. Any preventive measures to take before it is too late? Recently our shower pan started to make really loud, cracking sounds when we step on it. I feel that it will crack, if we don't take any action. The paint has already come off slightly in the places where I suspect it would crack first.

Any ideas how to fix it or at least extend shower pans lifespan so that more expensive repair could be avoided?

See pictures with annotations.

This is happening to one of my tubs.  I discovered that the tub is sitting on a block of styrofoam, and apparently rats chewed holes in it and created unsupported areas that flex when stepped on.  I'm going to have to replace the whole thing sooner or later, but I temporarily fixed it by epoxying fiberglass patches over the weakened areas.

Update: the patches held up for two years before I sprung for a new tub.


How can I improve recovery time of my hot water baseboard system? I've just purchased a 15-year old house heated with a gas boiler and multiple baseboard zones controlled with zone valves.    The house is built to be energy efficient, and I have no doubt that there's plenty of capacity to maintain reasonable temperatures, but recovery times are very long (on the order of 1 hour/degree F at cooler temperatures).   I've been told by our heating contractor that our boiler is oversized for the house; this correlates with my observation that the duty cycle of the flame is fairly low even during a long recovery, indicating that we are not extracting heat from the system as quickly as it can produce it.

We have two use cases for recovery - zones that aren't used daily, or only used part of the day (i.e., office), and when we are away from the house for days up to a few weeks.   I'd like to focus on the kitchen/living room zone, for the "returning home" scenario.   This part of the house has a good size run of baseboard in the dining area (approx 15-16'), a kick panel blower unit in the kitchen, and four in-floor blower units in the living room.   There really isn't room to add any more baseboard capacity (except possibly a second run above the existing), so I'm looking at other options:

add an air handler in the basement or coat closet and configure it as a second stage (there's plenty of room for a modest unit, but supply and return ducting might be messy)
explore options to increase the capacity of the existing in-floor blower units (I have not investigated these at all yet)
explore increasing the operating temperature of the system (currently set for 160/180˚F; perhaps only on the low end
get used to it, and start the recovery earlier with remotely accessible thermostats

Are there other options that might make it possible to eke more out of the existing baseboard runs (i.e., fans)?

You could investigate adding additional baseboard heating units in each room either longer if there is room or double stacked units.  You could adjust the boiler water temp to 190/200 to increase the heat output of the existing baseboard units. If this were my problem and I didn't know what to do I would call a professional and ask for recommendations. Knowing what to recommend from a statement made or question asked is difficult since no one can see the house, the floor plan, or the actual installed equipment. There may be a lot that can be done to help but actually being at your residence would allow for the best outcome. If you could, post pictures of your location, situation and the installed equipment for better suggestions