Two black, two white, two ground, one red wire in bathroom receptacle: huh? I'm going through my house (built 1940s) and replacing a bunch of receptacles with GFCIs.

Most of the receptacles that I've opened up have one black and one white: I hook them up to the hot and neutral sides, pack it back in to the box, mark it ungrounded, done.

We have a square metal junction box in the bathroom next to the sink (mounted on the wall, no less) that I want to throw a GFCI in, but I can't figure it out. Flipping each breaker on the main panel and a subpanel, I couldn't even stop power to it (?): I had to flip the main breaker to do so.  When I open it up, it has:

two whites pigtailed to one white, connected to the upper terminal on the receptacle (neutral)
one red connected to the upper terminal (hot)
two blacks pigtailed to a stranded white, connected to the lower terminal
two grounds pigtailed to two more grounds, one connected to the box, one just hanging free
the receptacle says 15A on it, but the wires are all solid 12 gauge (except for that stranded white one going from the two blacks to the lower hot terminal)
the tab between the upper and lower hot terminals is intact, so both plugs are always hot (neither seem to be controlled by a switch)

I tried hooking up a 20A GFCI in the same configuration, but with the loose ground attached, but no dice. Any ideas what's going on here and how I can safely attach the GFCI? (Bonus points for actually being grounded!)

My next steps are going to be to crawl under the house to see if I can figure out where the wires are coming from/going to, I guess. Any input is much appreciated

This is a multi-wire branch circuit (MWBC) that has been wrecked by idiots, and made rather dangerous by their bungling.

North American houses use split-phase power.  A normal MWBC takes advantage of this to bring two full circuits' worth of power on only 3 wires. Two hots share a neutral: the hots must be on opposite poles (240V between them) so the neutral only carries differential current, and can't be overloaded.

The neutral being pigtailed is a normal safety requirement of MWBCs.  That's so you are able to remove a device (receptacle) without interrupting the neutral for the other half-circuit.  That is still required, but it's a bit obsolete because now, both breakers must have a  common shut-off.

Yes, this circuit is powered by two breakers.  They should have been next to each other.  Modern code requires they have common maintenance shutoff to avoid the problem you had finding the right breakers, so either a handle-tie or a 2-pole breaker.   It's possible someone changed the panel and put both of them on a double-stuff breaker - that's a common blunder, and very dangerous on a MWBC.

The black supply wire is one half-circuit, the red supply wire is the other.  The receptacle must have its tab broken off, because red and black are supposed to be 240V apart!  Why isn't it?  I don't know what happened.  I suspect either

somebody moved the breakers so both sides are on the same pole (0V apart) and then someone changed the receptacle, and forgot to break off the tab. (Probably didn't even realize tabs exist).
somebody replaced the receptacle, didn't break off the tab, and got a big BLAM as they shorted the entire service. Chasing that problem, they moved the breakers  around.

Either way, all the current from both breakers is being returned on the same neutral wire.  The currents are not canceling each other out - they are stacking, with the 20A rated wire carrying as much as 40A. Neutrals do not have fuses. Nothing protects them except care not to do this!

What was originally intended

The original idea was to provide dual 20A circuits in the bathroom so you could run a heater and a hair dryer at the same time.  They served them on the split receptacle.  One pole, the black, also went off to serve other bathroom loads e.g. the light or fan.

This is a very deluxe setup, because it means not worrying about overloads. I highly recommend it for every bathroom or kitchen receptacle if you can afford the 2-pole GFCI breakers.

15A receptacles are allowed on 20A circuits **if there are two or more sockets*.   If no tabs are broken, a duplex receptacle has 2 sockets. On the original setup here, a 20A receptacle would be mandatory because each half-circuit had only 1 socket.

How to fix it: Quick and dirty.

Cost: $18

Cap off the red wire, and never use it again.

Somewhere in your panel will now be a breaker that does nothing.  Next time someone has the panel open, eliminate that.

Get a GFCI+receptacle combo device, or "GFCI".  Attach its LINE terminals to the black and white pigtail.  As always, leave the warning tape on the LOAD terminals.  They are not extra general purpose terminals, they are for wizards only.

How to fix it: As the original architect intended

Cost: $93+++

Swap the current 15A receptacle for a 20A receptacle (required to meet Code as discussed). Break off the hot-side tab.

Plug a radio and a vacuum cleaner into them.  Flip breakers until the radio OR vacuum cleaner are silenced, then keep flipping to find the other.  Mark those breakers, on the breaker not the cover.  You'll be taking the cover off and playing with live busbars.

Pull the red and black off those breakers and sanity-check to make sure they go to the same cable.  Also find the accompanying neutral and pull it off the neutral bar.

Now, figure out how to rearrange space in the panel to give you two full spaces. Be careful: this house may be full of MWBCs, others may be wrong too, fix them and don't break any.  This is the problem with this approach: you may keep stumbling across more problems.

The two spaces need to be adjacent.  They need to be full spaces, you cannot use double-stuffs here because GFCIs are not made in double-stuff.

Now buy a 2-pole GFCI+breaker combo device, or even better a dual-mode GFCI, combo AFCI and 2-pole breaker.  Expect to pay $90.   On this super-breaker, land the two hots and neutral from this circuit.  Take the breaker's pigtail and put it on the neutral bar.

Now you have full dual 20A capacity  in the bathroom, and will never trip a breaker (except for GFCI/AFCI of course).


Is it normal to have your load bearing wall not line up with your basement support posts and joist? I am looking to do a pass through in my kitchen, and I was looking to confirm in the basement if everything lined up nicely for the 5-6' header I was going to put in. I noticed that the wall (load bearing) is not actually over the basement posts and joist but about 1 foot away. Is this an okay / normal occurrence?

Yes, it’s acceptable to have bearing walls NOT align vertically, provided: 1) the walls are less distance apart than the depth of the joists, or 2) the side that has the upper bearing wall rests on a considerably shorter span, 3) the load is accounted for in the design of the joists.

1) If the upper wall is slightly off center, the upper load will transfer at about a 45 degree angle vertically down through the joists.

2) Usually all the floor joists are the same size (and spacing) throughout the house. The size is based on the longest span, so the shorter spans are “over designed”. Therefore, if the upper load bearing wall rests on a set of joists that have have a much shorter span, it’s probably ok, as long as it’s not in the middle third of the span or the load is minor.

3) Often we’ll just calculate the loads and verify that the joists are not overloaded.


Split Bus electrical panel Looking for a single phase split bus load center No main required , and 100 amp is plenty big.
about 14 to 24 circuits total is large enough (12+- on each)
don't have room for a sub panel so I need the split bus to house the inverter circuits.
Anyone know where I could find on of these

You can't put that in a new structure anyhow

While the rule of six (230.71) is not a dead letter (there are still cases in new construction where a panel lacking a main disconnect can be installed), the "split bus" type panels you speak of are no longer Code, as they violate 408.36, Exception 1:

  408.36 Overcurrent Protection. In addition to the requirement of 408.30, a panelboard shall be protected by an
  overcurrent protective device having a rating not greater
  than that of the panelboard. This overcurrent protective device shall be located within or at any point on the supply
  side of the panelboard.

  Exception No.1: Individual protection shall not be required for a panelboard used as service equipment with
  multiple disconnecting means in accordance with 230.71.
  In panelboards protected by three or more main circuit
  breakers or sets of fuses, the circuit breakers or sets of
  fuses shall not supply a second bus structure within the
  same panelboard assembly.

But, marine panelboards are totally different beasts

Marine electrical gear is a different creature from the household stuff you were initially thinking of, and a bit beyond the scope of this site in some cases.  I'd talk with a specialist familiar with the subtle hazards AC on a boat poses if I were in your shoes -- electric shock drowning hazards are brutal.


How To Cut/Shave Existing Drop In Sink To Fit New Faucets Old but very customized Master bathroom remodel (circa 1992)included twin drop-in sinks & exclusive use of Hardin polish brass fixtures. Hardin now long out of business. Want to replace with new bathroom fixtures. When installed over tile in 1992, the rear rims were installed such that there is just a 2 inch space between the sink rears & the tile back splash---which worked then & left just enough space (the 2 inch gap) for the Harden spouts to fit in. Today's replacement hardware requires more. Have found suitable faucets with a circular base that are 2 1/8 inches in diameter. Is there a way to cut/shave/sand paper (or any idea) the rears of the existing sink overlaps to create space to fit in the new faucets? Trying to keep this a low cost project and do not want to replace existing sinks, counter & backsplash tile

What is the material of the drop-in sinks? If it is porcelain on cast iron grinding would expose cast iron which would rust. I suppose you could paint it, but this probably would rust through. If the sinks are solid ceramic you might be able to grind it away with a diamond wheel on an angle grinder or diamond bit on a high speed rotary tool.

I think it would be easier to cut off parts of the flanges on the new faucets. Would you have to cut off parts on both sides of the flanges? If you could confine the cutting to one side (the back), then it would be against the back-splash and would not visible. Of course you want to leave enough flange to seal.


Adapter to interface camping propane tank like big grilling one I have a propane torch that is made to go on a big grilling propane tank (like you get at the Home Depot). I don't have a tank like that and also where I will be using the torch it would be too big, heavy, and impractical so I would like to use a small camping one.
Which adapter should I get to put on a camping tank to give it a nozzle like a big grilling tank I can hook my torch to?

Shopping questions are off-topic here.
However, I was able to find what you're looking for by searching for "coleman" (since they're one of the most popular makers of 1lb propane tanks and the camping grills that use them) and "1lb propane grill adapter".
I was able to find this at Amazon in pretty short order.

Various other adapters likely exist, but I would caution you against trying to make your own with two ends and some tubing. Liquid propane can be 100-200 psi and it's difficult to handle that with DIY tubing.


Need Help With Strange Multi-Phase Plug I'm replacing an duplex outlet in our kitchen and when I removed the outlet, I uncovered some surprises that have me baffled and concerned. There are two cables entering the box, one with three conductors plus ground, the other other with two conductors. Here's a crude diagram, with measured voltages:

All three wires were connected to the outlet via backstab terminals, but I wasn't smart enough to take note of which wire went where.

In a lot of ways, this looks to be wired like a split outlet, with one separate phase going to each plug. In that case, wire 2 (white) would be the common wire for both outlets, with Wire 1 and Wire 3 beings the two hot wires from different phases. BUT the original outlet is not split - both tabs are in place and a check with my DMM shows continuity between the respective plugs. So how this was wired is a total mystery.

One or both of these circuits also seem to connect downstream to a built in microwave which is no longer functional with the outlet removed, regardless of which breaker I throw. I really wish I'd taken a photo of the existing outlet with wiring intact before I removed it, but I didn't. Can anyone help me figure how this was wired?

Depending on the year built this could have been a totally coda compliant multi wire branch circuit. The red being 1 leg and the black being a second leg with the white neutral common to both circuits. In the past the breakers did not require handle ties for the last few code cycles this has been a requirement. Some electricians will split the hot tab on an outlet and wire the top outlet in kitchens with 1 leg and the bottom on the second . others would wire every other outlet with 1. Then the other on the next. All of this was up to code and before the late 70's gfci's were not required. Installing GFCI'S on multi wire branch circuit can be problematic.


Is it normal for subfloor to extend under walls? If so, how can I replace it? I'm trying to replace some rotted subfloor in my guest bathroom. For some reason, I was expecting there to be an extra wide rim joist on the outside wall and that the floor would end right next to the bottom plate for the exterior wall.  Instead, it appears to go UNDER the bottom plate for the wall.  Here are a couple pictures (sorry that they're not more clear).

So my questions are:

1) Is this a standard practice in home architecture?

2) How can I attach a replacement subfloor without an edge?

The only thing I can think of is to "make" a new edge by adding a cross-member between the floor joists at the edge.

Utterly standard - the subfloor goes on, then the walls go up. Doing it any other way is rather fraught with difficulties to no benefit.
You've got the general idea, though it is not really critical on the cross-joist direction (as pictured) and often the parallel to the joist direction is solved by putting blocking between the exposed joist and the hidden under the wall joist. The floor can span between joists (which is the argument in favor of not bothering) but can be more prone to move at an unsupported edge (see another recent question, which you asked, Why is plywood with tongue and groove preferred for flooring?) But there is an approach that's valid (if more of a pain to do) where you make continuous support all around the edges.
If the couple of inches of flooring you have not removed at the wall is solid, you can screw through it and into a piece of wood below it that the new floor can also be screwed to in order to make the edge supported, in a somewhat easier fashion. It's crudely equivalent to having a T&G joint in that the floor acts as a single piece.


What is the name of a roof section between converging valleys? I have a similar situation as the member in this thread:
How to flash a roof valley on parallel roofs
However, I'd like to know if this roofing solution has a name. I'm thinking since it diverts rainwater, maybe it's called a diverter? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

tl;dr: It probably doesn't have a formal name because it's not special.
You rectify the problem of a horizontal valley by making it into two non-horizontal (sloped) valleys. You accomplish this by raising one end of the valley, which has the effect of widening the valley floor and sloping it. This, in turn, results in two valleys.
Call it a diverter if you like, but it really doesn't divert anything--the water ends up at the same place it would have, more or less. It's just another roof plane, really, equivalent to any other roof plane. It just happens to have converging valleys flanking it.
The same situation occurs between two dormers, for example:

Image source


How much weight can a 2 inch screw in a wood stud hold? I am building some industrial style shelving for my office. Basically I need to know how much weight can one 2 inch screw in a stud hold? This will answer my question. Thanks.

How much load a screw can hold does not depend on its length, assuming it is long enough.  Instead, the load is a function of its cross-sectional area.  A typical range for proof strength for steel is 50 to 100 kpsi (i.e., a screw with a 1 square inch cross-sectional area of steel can hold up to 50,000 to 100,000 pounds).

See here and here.

Of course, as the diameter of your screw increases, the stud is likely to fail first.


Adding sub panel, odd main panel configuration I am in the process of adding a sub panel to a detached garage and I have the proper gauge wire connected up to the sub panel (neutral and ground NOT bonded) with 3 conductors + ground running in conduit between the house and detached garage. I am just about to connect everything up to the main panel and after looking closer I noticed a few things that seem odd to me based on everything I've read:

I see what appears to be more than one neutral bar
One of the neutral bars doesn't appear to be connected to the service neutral?

Here is a picture of the main panel. It is a Westinghouse 200amp (B20 2040CT). You can see the neutral connecting to the bar on the left. The bar on the right does not appear to have anything connected to it yet I see neutral wires from the house connecting into it.

Here you can see the ground bar bonded to the case but no connection between the ground bar and the neutral bar (the neutral bar is isolated from the case)

Here is a closer view of the neutral bar on the right side of the case. This also appears to be isolated from the case and no connection to the ground bar or other neutral bar that I can tell?

Any help here would be greatly appreciated. I'm not completely sure what the best way to move forward is. I have a double pole 60 amp breaker that I'd like to put in the last remaining slots on the left to connect the sub panel to the main panel. Thank you!

Picture of the main panel diagram in case it's helpful

When I decided to hook up a continuity tester to the right side neutral bar, there is somehow a path between there and the left side neutral bar as well as the ground bar, service ground and some of the screws in the case. Is it possible that there's somehow a hidden connection between the left and right side bars?

It's still not clear to me whether the ground bar is bonded to the neutral bar but the continuity test seems to indicate so?

Left side neutral bar (top) with service neutral:

Left side neutral (a little lower down to show the rest of the bar)

Right side neutral bar (top):

The black strap behind the main breaker ties the two neutral bars together

According to the wiring diagram on your panel label and the photos you posted, the inter-neutral tie in your panel is performed by the black insulated strap that sits behind the main breaker.  This configuration is relatively common for loadcenters, and works relatively well for keeping the inter-neutral tie out of the way when dual neutral bars are used.

The bonding screw is on the left side, but looks like it needs to be tightened.

The bonding screw on your panel is the 13th (yes) small screw down on the left side neutral bar.  It appears to be present in your photos, although backed out --  turning off the main breaker, tightening it down firmly so that it makes good contact with the cabinet, and turning the main breaker back on again will cure that issue and provide you with a solid neutral-ground bond at your panel.


Heating system problem that kept happening at the house part far away from the heat boiler Not enough heat at the front house part far away from the heat boiler. The front house part had baseboard install but with the heat pipe through back of the house first, I am guessing that the heat energy is losing to the atmosphere before reaching the front house part.

What are some possible major reasons aside from mine that making the problem persist? Is it just because that heating system power isn't enough. I am sure that heat pipes aren't leaking.

It is a water heat using gas.

Notes: 1) Hot water heating 2) steel finned tube 3) It is controlled by one thermostat throughout the first floor(one unit on first floor but as large as the two combine in the second floor); two units on the second floor had its own boiler and separate thermostats respectively (so three boiler and three thermostats total) 4) Three Separate boiler is used in different units and only one pump is being used for first floor

Some information is needed. Is this system hot water or steam? What type radiation is installed; cast iron radiators, cast iron baseboard, in the wall convectors, copper or steel finned tube? You said it is a 3 family building so how is the heat controlled? Does each apartment have it's own thermostat or is it a single thermostat? Is the system zoned? If it is zoned, how is it zoned?  Separate pumps or zone valves or a combination of both? Has the system been updated or is it original. You need to answer the above questions so people can make informed solutions to the problem. Sorry for all the questions about your heating system but we are not at your residence and trouble shooting from far away is difficult.


Replacing overtightened molly bolts I’m attempting to hang a 12.5kg mirror on plasterboard using a French cleat fixing. The studs are in the wrong place, so I’ve used three molly bolts. Unfortunately one is spinning (perhaps overtightened?). Moreover, I’m not confident that the other two are properly tight on the other side, as I don’t know what I’m looking for.
Would it be possible for me to neatly remove the bolts and replace them in the same spot with others (otherwise the mirror won’t be positioned correctly). I’m thinking of using snap toggles instead, but I don’t know if this is excessive for 12.5kg.
Thanks!

A French Cleat is a piece of wood (or metal) that runs most or all of the width of the object to be hung. It is installed on the surface of the wall, sized to hide behind the object being hung. Unless you're hanging a mirror that's less than 16" wide and the only place you can hang it happens to be exactly between two studs, some place on that cleat should cross a stud. If you want to hang it here for aesthetic reasons, then you may want to reconsider the aesthetics for practicality and safety and move the mirror an inch or two one way or the other to find a stud. If, of course, the mirror is more than 16" wide, it should cross a stud somewhere. (Note: assumption of US building codes and standard, modern building methodology. If you live outside the US or your house was built prior to 1900, all bets are off.)
Put a proper screw/bolt into the stud, then use mollys/toggle bolts/whatever to prevent the ends from spinning around the central support point.
One good screw/bolt should be able to support your 12 Kg load, so any additional attachment points are bonus weight bearing support in addition to their "anti-tip" job.


What is the typical water pressure for a sprinkler system outside a home? What is the typical water pressure for a sprinkler system outside a home?

Not clear what the reason for the question is.  However, nominal water pressure for most residential homes is in the range of 40-70 psi (pounds per square inch).  It can vary due to the distance from the home to the water source (such as a water tower), how much water is being used by surrounding homes (higher usage will lower the pressure), the capacity of the water company to maintain pressure as usage varies, etc.  Most heating systems and water heaters require pressure reducing valves in order to make sure that the water pressure into those systems does not get too high which can cause damage.  In special situations, where the home is far from the water source and/or on high ground, a water pump may be necessary to maintain a reasonable pressure.  Getting back to your question, are you talking about a sprinkler system for watering a lawn or a sprinkler systems for putting out a fire.  In any case, both systems will have minimum pressure requirements based on how many sprinkler heads are in the system.  Too many heads would prevent either type of system from working properly.


Why are sink-mounted garbage disposal units usually banned in Europe but allowed in the US? Garbage disposal units are extremely common in the US but virtually unknown in Europe, mostly because of local regulations which ban them. What is the rationale behind this? Is there really a risk of damaging the local sewage if you install one despite the ban?

Part One: valid reasons
Different communities will  have built different sewage treatment facilities, with different design load capacities. There are newer communities in various spots in the USA which actually require food waste to be Dispos-al-ed, as this cuts down on edible waste in dumps (reducing gas emission and vermin population). Their treatment facilities were built with capacity in mind. Other communities, or older regions, do not have such capacity and need to minimize the amount of solid waste in the sewer system.
Part Two  actual reasons
Sadly,  many laws and regulations get passed with the best of intentions, and 5or 10 or 50 years later the world has changed.  Getting a legislature to review and fix old laws is almost as difficult as getting quarks to exist as solo particles.


What advanced features are available for sprinkler systems? I'm making a sprinkler system for my house before summer gets here. So far I'm thinking of an embedded microcontroller with light and temp sensors, so when the sun goes down and it starts to cool your sprinklers turn on for 20 minutes or so. I might also add soil moisture sensors to regulate time to water per day. What other features are available that I may not be aware of?

Some additional things to consider:

1) You could put a flow detector in the water line that feeds to the input side of the sprinkler valves. This way you could detect when one of the sprinkler valve has failed to work according to plan. I.E. if you detect flow when you expect the valve to be off that means there is a problem.

2) You could add timer / calendar features to your microcontroller so that you can setup a watering schedule. It could very well be that some of your sprinkler zones do not need watering every day. Secondly many times in summer certain localities may impose watering restrictions to certain week days or odd/even schedule according to house number. You would want your controller to be able to comprehend that.

3) A water controller can often be extended to assist in automating the process of keeping a bird bath, fountain or swimming pool properly filled to account for evaporation. Adding some level switch inputs to the microcontroller hardware can make it easy to regulate when the water fill operation should be started and completed. Such filling and monitoring can still be applied to a schedule as in 2) above.

4) You could add in circuitry to detect the current flow going to the sprinkler valves. Detecting no current when you've turned on the valve can indicate that the wires to the valve have become disconnected or broken. Detecting excessive current can indicate that the wiring has been damaged and the conductors going to the valve have become shorted together.

5) Many times home owners will have landscape accent lighting or sidewalk/driveway perimeter lighting. A controller of the type that you are proposing can easily be extended to provide automated turn on/off for such lighting according to a schedule.

6) And if you go so far as to implement lighting control you can extend that to schedule the on/off cycling of other seasonal lighting such as outside Christmas lights.


Advisable to install a service check valve in front of a thermal expansion tank I am installing a thermal expansion tank and the maker (Watts) recommends installing a service check valve between the tank and the pipe.

While I understand the convenience factor of the SCV, my concern is that I would be introducing another potential point of failure into the system by adding a service check valve. Is it advisable to do this?

Yes, it is good practice to fit an isolation valve.

This makes replacement of the expansion tank easy without draining the whole system.

This is also a practice followed for many components in a water system, as these valves are cheap & reliable, so putting them either side of a pump can save a lot of hassle when trying to bleed a system.


Furnace failing intermittently, is it a faulty furnace pressure switch? Furnace info
Type: York Stellar Plus (HE down-flow condensing)
Model number: P2UDD12N09501C
Problem
My furnace is intermittently failing, i.e. it stops producing heat. When it fails, the induction blower motor is running, but nothing else is happening. Turning the heat off (either via my Nest thermostat or via power breaker) and back on resolves the problem in that the induction motor will start running again and the furnace will start producing heat again as well. There don't appear to be any discernible factors that determine how long it will take for the problem to recur. It will recur anywhere from several days to only a few hours.
Question
The pressure switch is obviously reverting to an open state at some point, thus disabling the heat. I've confirmed there is no obstruction of the air intake. My question is how do I determine if the pressure switch is faulty or if there are other conditions that are causing the pressure switch to open? It seems any such conditions automatically correct themselves when power is reset, leading me to believe it's just a faulty switch.
Update
I cleaned the flame sensor as suggested, however, the problem persists. (If anything it's now occurring more frequently.)
After further investigation I found there is an LED indicator on the control board (Honeywell S8910U) that I hadn't previously seen (it's behind a panel that needs to be in place during operation), and when the problem occurs the LED flashes on and off (one flash), indicating the control module is in ignition lockout mode.
I don't know what is causing this, and I'm not really any closer to knowing if this is a faulty pressure switch, a bad flame sensor, or something else. Any suggestions for how to isolate the problem so I can replace the appropriate part?

Nest is well known to cause short cycling.
Go back to your old thermostat.


Can this sliding door hardware support solid wood doors? I have 138F Johnson Sliding Bypass Door Hardware. I bought two 30 inch solid wood doors, and they are top mount and comes with 4 #12 1-1/4 long screws per door. The door feels like it weighs around 70lbs. Can these 4 screws hold a 70lb door that's top mounted?

As long as it is a solid wood door and not a veneer. Drill the proper sized pilot holes too, so the door rail does not split.

The only thing you may want to be concerned about the screws are is the one on each roller that will go into the end grain of the stile. If it was a longer screw, it would be good insurance. End grain does not hold a screw as well as the grain running perpendicular to the screw. There, a 2 1/2"-3" screw would be well placed. Running it at a slight angle help cross the grain a little too, making it grip better. That trick will not be needed on the other screw.


Which respirator filter do I need? We will be doing renovations shortly which will involve a lot of dust.  Whilst we are to try and keep this to a minimum, we are in need of respirators.

Looking around I can see there are filters marked HEPA, TH2P, P100 and the like. I assume they are different standards, but which would be appropriate for protecting ourselves during the renovations?

The CDC has a technical bit about the regulations for respirators (in the US, at least). There are two types of respirators - particulate and chemical / gaseous / vapor (they also make combination).
Particulate respirators are the more important for the average home user, and are regulated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). They fall into three main categories, depending on how resistant to oil they are: N, R, or P. Filters also have an efficiency rating, which is based on how many particles they are able to remove from the air. These are 95%, 99%, or 100% (or really, 99.97%). Put the two ratings together, and you have P100, N95, and more.
From the CDC link, they provide a summary for selecting a particulate filter:

If no oil particles are present in the work environment, use a filter of any series (i.e., N-, R-, or P-series).
If oil particles (e.g., lubricants, cutting fluids, glycerine, etc.) are present, use an R- or P-series filter. Note: N-series filters cannot be used if oil particles are present.
If oil particles are present and the filter is to be used for more than one work shift, use only a P-series filter.
Selection of filter efficiency (i.e., 95%, 99%, or 99.97%) depends on how much filter leakage can be accepted. Higher filter efficiency means lower filter leakage.
The choice of facepiece depends on the level of protection needed--that is, the assigned protection factor (APF) needed.

TH2P seems to be related to some kind of power / active filtering. HEPA is another standard, based on efficiency of removing particles. If you have allergies, you may want to look for a HEPA filter, but any of the standard NRP 95/99/100 would be suitable for you. Given that you likely will not have contact with oils, an N-rated filter would be sufficient. Get the N100 unless it's a lot more expensive than the N99 or N95.
Gas / vapor filters are color-coded by the types of vapors they filter, but that's beyond the scope of this answer.


What sort of dust is this? I'm trying to identify the sort of dust shown below.
Several days after wiping a surface in my older apartment it shows up. It looks like synthetic fiber, yet there is no vent or isolation material that I can see, nor is there a carpet, bedding, or clothes in that room. No pet either.
Any idea?

As indicated in the comments I did ask a related question regarding the origin of the dust. The answers didn't solve the problem so I'm now asking about the nature of the dust, which isn't quite the same thing. Some folks may recognize it for what it is without wondering where it came from.

Answer: It's fiberglass, see Apartment dust mystery.

That is a little bit of you. And others in your house. You shed about 30,000 to 40,000 skin cells per MINUTE the vast majority of dust in a house is the dead skin cells of the occupants. Along with all the dead microscopic critters that inhabit our bodies.


Can I install heat mat and backer board over cork flooring? I am installing a new bathroom floor. I plan on getting an electric underfloor heating mat, 2 backer boards for under the heating, screed the mat and tile over this.

My question is can I place the back boards on the cork vinyl(even though it's got glue on top) or do I need to remove the cork.

Another option is cleaning the glue off the cork and using the cork as the subfloor. Is this possible?

Thanks for the help, first timer here.

When I am redoing a bathroom and adding the needed backer board to a subfloor assembly, I would remove all existing finish floors no matter how many to get back down to the original subfloor. Then evaluate that, repair it if needed, add to it if needed to make it stiff enough for tile, then add the one layer of 1/4" backer board, then the heating wires, screed, then thinset and tile.

All these layers together will add up to a reasonably thick floor, if the all original flooring is not removed, you will have a potentially sizable rise in height from one floor to another


Can I run my sink & disposal into my basement's sewage pump? Can I run my sink & disposal into my basement's sewage pump?

My basement has a bathroom in it that uses an ejector pump. It works great.

Meanwhile, my kitchen sink & disposal are in the opposite corner from my sewer line to the city. The long travel distance causes it to get backed up. (The kitchen's sewer line is practical flat in various places.)

If I can safely run my kitchen line into the ejector pump, it should significantly reduce the tendency of my kitchen to get backed up - assuming the ejector pump itself can handle it.

I see no reason why you can't run the kitchen drain into the basement bath ejector pump basin.  You will have to get the kitchen drain dumped into the ejector basin in a sanitary fashion.  The pump will cycle more often. You will probably shorten the life of the pump a bit.  If the pump is designed to handle the effluent from the basement bath it surely can handle a kitchen sink and dishwasher.
I would prefer this to a regular visit from the rooter man.


What can I use to create a "chair rail effect" for my outdoor privacy fence to separate the two different materials? This is a question on improving the aesthetic of my outdoor space. I did an extension panel on my cinderblock fence to help improve privacy and I'm very happy with the look. I used shade fabric that is supported with some wood and EMT piping that I attached to the upper half of the wall to make the total height approximately 8ft. My question is I'd like to run some type of strip along the wall that would sort of look like a chair rail that I'll paint a medium gray (accent color of our home to tie it all in together).
The reason why I'm asking for advice is because I live in the desert and the temps can get to 121 degrees in August. So I am not sure if lumber would be the best bet. I wasn't sure if some sort of metal flashing that I can prime and paint might be better since it won't warp. I'm open to ideas. But since I'm painting it a medium charcoal gray color I'm guessing that will also make this area absorb more of the hot desert sun. I'm just looking for something that is about three to four inches wide that I can buy in 8ft lengths or longer and attach to the .5" thick wood that is running along the middle of the wall (where the shade fabric was stapled to the bottom). Of course, something lightweight would be important. Here is a photo to help with a visual. The lighter color below is the painted cinderblock. The slightly darker color above is the shade fabric. The gray border would basically be a way to make the area look more finished:

Fabric.
You already have that beige fabric up.  It is already attached to the wood.  Go back to wherever you got the beige fabric and get some in gray.  Fold the edges under to make a strip the width of the wood underneath.  Attach the strip to the wood with staples or upholstery nails or whatever you used for the beige fabric.  Of course there will be a layer of beige fabric underneath.  That is fine.
You will have a line in a different color at the junction of wall and beige fabric.  It is lightweight and easy to attach using a method you have already successfully used for the beige fabric.  It can a different color as you request and a textural echo of the beige fabric above.
Plus if you don't like it, it will be easy take it down.  You could do a mockup first using paper as a test run.


How do I remove these screws from an IKEA Micke table? I have assembled a Table Micke for the 1st time ...

but I have some screws I want to remove. or didn't fit well (shld have tighten all screws more), 110126, 103430, 110630

the look like below

they are put in like below

Those don't actually screw in.  They just press in the hole and then tighten to the connecting bolt attached to the  opposing piece of wood.  Just loosen the cam so you pull the connecting bolt out.  Should be fairly easy.

After that, if you still need to get the cam part of the fastener out, it should just fall out.  If it doesn't, I just stick a small screwdriver in the connecting bolt hole and lift it up.


Placing stove in center of island or on an edge I'm not entirely sure if this is the correct place to post this question since it does border somewhat on decorating, but I'm looking for a more inclusive answer rather then just 'does it look good'.

I'm having an island put in as part of a kitchen remodel. The island is going to be about 54 inches wide by 48 inches long with a 30 inch wide stove in it. Which leaves us a total 24 inches of counter space left over. I'm trying to decide if the stove should go in the middle or off to the side. Off to the side I think is more practical since i think it's more functional to have 2 feet of space on one side of the stove vs 1 foot of space on both sides.

Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on this? I need to make a decision relatively soon - few days at most.

http://imgur.com/1wW0fDD here's a link to the current proposed layout

thanks

It is a question I deal with all the time as when I tear down walls between a kitchen and dining room I often add an island.  The answer is really simple for this.  The stove goes in the middle.  You need to find 12 inch cabinets.

There are two issues here.  First the sides of ovens look crappy.  Makers don't spend time on the sides so you don't want it showing.  Second is if you hide the side with a wall then how do you construct this, what sort of countertop goes on top of the wall... it is just odd.

First I have run across almost your exact use case before but I generally would tend to not try to put a stove on an island that small.  But you can still do it and it can look really nice.  You will need to buy a slide in oven.  Run the countertop full length with the over cut out - so you should have counter behind oven.  Let the counter overhang on the sides a couple inches to provide prep space - 15" is a good amount of space.

For your 12" cabinets get a drawer one cabinet combo and put in full width shelving that pulls out all the way.  The right pull-out shelving can make a 12" cabinet very functional.


How do I seal ventilation vents while sanding a hardwood floor? How do I stop the wood dust from entering the vents while I'm sanding the hardwood floor? I am thinking that stuffing with newspapers will do the trick, but this may have two flaws:

It will not completely seal the vents. Some dust will make its way. (Does it matter?)
The newspapers may be a fire hazard during the brief time the sander will be over the vents. (Can paper ignite from friction this easily?)

How does a professional solve this problem? The rectangular holes seem to be of standard dimensions. Is there a special device that will fit just right?

I cut a piece of cardboard press it in the hole and seal with duct tape approximately 1" down. When done I vacuum the dust and wipe with a wet rag. My customers like the few minutes I take to keep the dust out of their vents.


Bathroom exhaust fan/light combo only fan works I bought a new bathroom exhaust fan and light combo. It came with two sets of wires, one for the fan and one for the light. It also came with an extra ground for the motor (where should I put that)? So I wired the two hot black wires (one for the fan and one for the light) onto the one red wire for the switch. I then wired all the neutral wires together and all the grounds together, even the one for the motor. This was all done in a junction box with three sets of wires coming in, plus the wires from the fan/light combo. When I turned the breaker back on and flipped the bathroom switch, just the fan came on with no light. All other connections seem secure. Does a fixture like this have to be wired onto two separate switches? I figured just the one would be enough. I am also using LEDS for the lights. The instructions don't even have a number for the company... Any help would be greatly appreciated!

You will have a light ground and a fan ground...so read the directions that came with the purchase as it will tell you where to attach the additional ground.  In many cases its a metal strip that the other ground also is attached to... otherwise try contacting the company that manufactured the unit and they have help desks.  But you also may want to hire a qualified person to install that for you...


Can I run a plumbing vent through a wall instead of the roof? I'm working on a tiny cabin bathroom. I would not like to run a vent pipe and cut an opening in the roof. Are there any other options on the placement of vent for waste?

You will need some kind of vent or the gasses will end up inside the house. In my jurisdiction tiny homes follow very similar rules to standard construction so a minimum of 1 vent will be needed. A second vent could be achieved by using an air admittance valve if allowed in your area.

I wired a mobile home not long ago and the owner had his vent on the trailing wall below the ridge. We passed electrical and I did not notice any plumbing changes so that may be an option. I would verify with your local inspector.


How to wire a 4 prong outlet in my generator to 3 prong dryer? I have a generator that I want to be able to run most of the house on in the event of a hurricane, I live in SE Texas.
I also have a couple of welders that I plug into my dryer outlet via 8/2 Romex.
So I have an extension cord for my welders, 25 feet, 3 prong to 3 prong.
My generator has a female 4 prong outlet. My question is how do I use a three wire cable, one is bare ground to the 4 prong plug that I just bought?
I would rather not have to buy another cable and change the dryer outlet if I don’t have to.
Thanks.

I hate to break it to you...
But this really needs to be done better than what you plan.
Let's tackle the big ones first.
There MUST be an interlock to protect linemen
Electricity is distributed at high voltage (50,000V) which is knocked down to medium (10,000V) at a transformer, then down to 120/240V at another transformer.
It's absolutely possible for a generator to push electricity back out onto the grid.  When it reaches a transformer it'll just go through in reverse, so your generator will cause a 10,000V section to light up at 10,000 volts.  And that will "light up" the linemen who's out there at 4am away from family working to get your power back on.
Some consider that impolite.
A lot of homeowners get this genius idea that they'll just have a procedure: "Turn THIS off, then plug in THIS, then start the gen, then turn on THAT".  They've got it all worked out.  But when The Stuff Hits The Fan and the pressure's on in the rainy dark to get the lights on, fog of war, it ain't working, trying anything, or you're away and the wife asks the neighbor to help.  The long experience of accident investigators is that procedure lists Just Don't Work.
As such, a line-generator interlock is mandatory.
For a lot of panels, this is actually pretty easy - I had somebody who had run out of circuits on a klutzy $550 10-switch Reliance transfer switch, and the panel was a Siemens.  I instantly realized the Reliance was unnecessary, the whole panel could be switched with an ECSBPK01 interlock (go price that lol) or possibly an ECSBPK02 if >125A was needed. Even with the needed breakers it'd have been under $100.
Get us some pics of your panel, and we can see if there's an equally easy answer for yours.
No Suicide Cords.  Ever.  Use an inlet.
You don't want to ever have a cord that has males (pointy ones) on both ends.  It is a matter of time before tragedy happens.  Things which  take power have pointy ends, so "your house" should have the pointy ends.  You should not be using a normal socket and a suicide cord, you should be using a "reverse socket" called an inlet, and a normal cord.
When the inlet is combined with the interlock, it is impossible for the prongs to ever be energized.  This makes it safe.
There are 2 ways to get an inlet.  First, they sell actual inlets, that mount where you please and look a lot like a socket but have prongs instead of holes.  They can be a bit pricey.
So instead you can just use literally a cord and plug. You have to terminate the flexible cord in a junction box with a strain relief.  And you need to put some thought into avoiding physical damage when the cord's not in use.  But it's just that easy to Git-r-Dun.
Yeah, it's legal for flexible cordage to be part of a building's wiring, if it's something that is frequently connected, disconnected or moved.  NEC 400.6-8 somewhere in there.
Permanent wiring, done temporarily
Very often I need a circuit to operate for a few hours. I just use proper permanent wiring methods so it's OK to run forever.  Then, when the crisis is over, I undo all the wiring and change it back.
This has the elegance of making the "interlock" question moot, since you are de-wiring the circuits from the grid.
Knock a knockout out of the side of my panel, run a cord from the generator into it, put a cable clamp on it. Legal.  When the power fails, turn the main off, take the cover off the panel, identify the circuits I want to power, pull their hots and neutrals off the breakers and bars, and nut them to the generator hot and neutral. Close up the panel. Now those circuits are permanently rewired to run of generator only.
Or, if there was a disconnect to de-energize the main feed coming into the panel, I'd do that.  Then yank the main feed hot wires off and cap 'em off.  I'd attach the generator supply wires there, and button the panel back up.  Now the whole panel is permanently rewired to run off generator only.  Of course as soon as the power returns, I'd reverse it.
All the stuff I'm saying is Code legal, except the first one if you are connecting 15A or 20A branch circuits to a 30A generator breaker, that's over-fusing obviously. But it may come down to choosing your code violation wisely.
Romex/NM cable as cordage
You're familiar with cordage; it's appliance cords.  It's stranded and very flexible and durable.  You're supposed to use that for temporary or flexible cables e.g. to appliances or between generators and inlets.   It's also more expensive.
Romex/NM/UF cable should not be used for that, because it is solid wire - it's not flexible, and repeated flexing will fatigue and break it.  It's also not made to be underfoot, pulled on, or any of the daily indignities that cordage suffers daily.
Use the Romex to run in the walls to the panel, or an isolated run between an outlet and inlet/cord/plug.   For instance once you upgrade your dryer socket, you could use the #10 Romex to continue as permanent wiring to a convenient location for a welder receptacle.  Turns out you can have 2+ 30A receps on the same circuit.
But speaking of that...
That old NEMA 10 dryer recep is dangerous as heck
We see loose neutral wires on here all the time.
Now, it's common for people to 'bootleg ground' where (at an outlet) they connect ground to neutral so the tester reads good.   The problem with a bootlegged ground is, if you get a loose neutral wire, the neutral floats at 120V and so does the ground/chassis of the machine.
Now, the obsolete NEMA 10 uses hot-hot-neutral.  No ground. But when grounding came along, the appliance manufacturers asked to be allowed to simply attach the appliance chassis to neutral.  Well, that's bootlegging ground!  And yeah, it has the same problem, and from time to time, this kills somebody.
However this is easy to fix.  #1 change the dryer cord to 4-prong NEMA 14-30, and remove the internal bootleg jumper from the dryer.   #2 run a plain old #10 ground wire from the dryer socket junction box back to the panel or any other #10 ground wire going back to the panel... water heater, grounding electrode, metal conduit, whatevs.  #3 change the socket to NEMA 14-30.
Once it's changed to 14-30, it's legal to use with both dryers (hot-hot-neutral) and welders (hot-hot-ground).  Since it has both.


Who do you call when there is actually carbon monoxide in your home? The CO detector goes off. Probably bad batteries, but let's get everyone outside just to be safe. Then you put brand new batteries in, and it still goes off. You have a carbon monoxide leak.

Again, you make sure everyone is out of the house, pets too (if you have the time).

Now, who do you call, and how do they normally proceed? 911 seems obvious, but in this scenario, no one was injured and so 911 might be overkill. Local fire department seems like a next-best alternative, but I live in a small town and I'm not sure if they would know what to do next.

Obviously, you need to find the source of the leak, and then call in the right contractor (furnace/heating system technician, etc.). But you can't call the right contractor until you know the cause of the leak. And if you can't even go inside your home, then how do you find the source of the leak?!?

So, who ya gonna call?

The fire department is the appropriate place to call for a carbon monoxide situation. I would call their non-emergency number and ask them to come by at their convenience. If you are in a building with other occupants it's possible the situation is caused by something elsewhere.

FYI most carbon monoxide detectors have a limited life (~7 years). There should be an expiration date on the back. Older CO alarms were extremely sensitive, e.g. to a puff of cigarette smoke or a little bit of fumes from a gas stove. Modern ones have a time-delay function where they will wait a bit, depending on the level they detect.


Should I be concerned about ventilation in a small room? I have a 10'x10' room in my garage that I use as a drum set practice room.  I've been sealing it up better to provide some sound proofing. The sealing is not extreme, but I have an exterior door (like a front door) with no blatant air gaps, and there are no vents into the room. I don't want normal vents because the sound will pour out. There is also a normal, but quality window.

My question is whether I need be concerned about the lack of ventilation if the longest I'll ever be in there is 2-3 hours without opening the door. I'm not asking about building code, but whether a person could actually use up too much oxygen relative to what will seep in through the gaps in the windows and doors?

I know I can make a project out of building a muffled ventilation path, but want to avoid that work if not really necessary.

Yeah, we drummers always have to worry about others complaining. We practiced in a storage building 20x20 for hours (4 guys) and we lived to play another gig. You should be okay. If you are terribly worried, just open the door or window every once in a while for a few seconds to let a bit of fresh air in.


Where to seam concrete countertop? I'm looking to do a concrete countertop and would like some advice on where to make the seams.I was thinking either where the red or the yellow lines are. Thanks, greg

you dont need to seam it anywhere.  just pour it in one shot, and make sure you have steel reinforcing mesh and the glass fibre additive in your concrete.  its only 12 s 5 total size, so its an easy lift for 6 men.  this way you dont need to worry about fit up or future cracking.

this is one of the reasons concrete countertops are used.  they are no where near as durable as granite or silestone, but they don't need seams.


How to drill the perfect hole in a kitchen cabinet drawer for a handle? I am having new Mid-Continent kitchen cabinets installed.  The vendor has attempted to drill holes in the cabinets drawer faces for the "Pull Handles" that we selected.  I would think that this would be easy.  When he drills a 1/8" hole in the front of the drawer to mount the handle, the drill bit tears the surrounding wood surface finish around the 1/8" drilled hole.   And the "Foot print" of the Pull Handle does not cover up the torn finish.

So how do I drill a 1/8" hole without marring or tearing the wood surface around the hole?

One way to avoid splintering the front of the drawer is to clamp a small piece of wood on top of the area to be drilled, and drill through that bit of wood, into the front of the drawer.

This should (if you have the clamp firm) prevent any sparring or splintering on the finished surface of the cabinet drawer.

Try it on an inconspicuous area first (like a drawer near the floor or ceiling) to be sure it will work.

Another option is to try using a brad point drill bit (like one of these). They usually create a cleaner hole than standard bits.


What technique(s) is recommended for waterproofing exterior foundation walls? I have a late 70's split-entry, so my basement foundation wall is roughly 4 feet under the ground. The basement is finished with wood framing, spray foam insulation, and sheetock. Recent heavy rains have caused me to get water in one room at the end of the house - this is the gable end, so gutters are not the answer. I had a foundation repair "expert" take a look, and all he could say is that water must be sitting against the foundation, and finding a way in somehow, but with the interior walls finished, it's impossible to say exactly where the water is coming in. It seems to be traveling along the bottom plate and leaking through where one 2x4 meets another. He suggested digging to the footings, cleaning the block wall, priming it, then attaching a rubber membrane, then platen on top of that. Is this the best option for exterior waterproofing?

The water issue has only happened twice, each time when we had considerable rain, so I don't need to fix it tomorrow, but I definitely want to fix it within the next few months. I am looking for a permanent (and preferably diy) solution. It seems that every article I read about similar water problems, the author has a different opinion about cause and solution.

I also considered an exterior drain tile, I think this may also be called a French drain. My lot does not have the necessary slope to easily get rid of any water an exterior drain system might collect, but there could be other options. I don't know anything about these kinds of drain systems, so I'm open to suggestions and recommendations.

More details following the answer by DA01 - Thanks

I have gutter extensions that are about 4' long, which I believe are sufficient. As for the grade, this is something that can be improved. I would estimate the current grade to be about 2-3 inches of slope over a 4' span (this slopes away from the house), but I'm hoping to bring in dirt and increase the slope a few more inches.

It would be great if all I had to do to eliminate the water problem is improve the slope of the grade. But on the other hand, while I'm going through the trouble of hauling in dirt and re-seeding, does it make sense to just do it right and waterproof the foundation at the same time? This obviously adds a great deal of expense, however. Also, would waterproofing the foundation alone be enough? Or do I also have to add a drainage system at the same time?

Thank you in advance.

Before going through the waterproofing hassle, do check your gutters again. Even though it's the gable end, you want to make sure your downspouts elsewhere are carrying the water away from the foundation as far as they can.

Then, check the slope of the ground. Is it sufficiently sloping AWAY from the foundation? If not, fix that too.

After that, if you still have issues, if you're going to be digging out the foundation, you definitely want to consider a drain tile system while you're down there. That typically has to go near the footer, so be careful doing that (you'll likely want to consult an expert before digging out the footer.)

At that point, the typical waterproofing system is some form of a rubber membrane then covered with dimple-board. The dimple board protects the membrane from the backfill and also acts as a drainage plane into the drain tile system.


Bottom shelf of cabinet, support weight of itself? I have another question posted about making my kitchen island movable.

To do this, I have to put it on casters.  The most aesthetically pleasing method is to have the casters inside that 4" void below the cabinet's bottom "shelf".  We all know cabinets rest on the edges of the piece that comes down where the toekick is.... however, to make this babe roll I will plan on installing 3/4" ply, the side of the underside of that base, with 4 casters.  Then the cabinet will sit down "on" the plywood platform.  However, this means those 4 side pieces that normally hold the base won't make contact with the floor at all since it's going to be mobile.  My question is, can that typically hold all the base cabinet? or is it not designed for that upward force from the weight on the plywood platform?

Knowing nothing about the construction of your cabinetry, I would not trust the bottom shelf to carry the weight of the cabinet, the cabinet's contents, and all the children and dogs likely to be on top of it all. That shelf is designed to carry load applied downward.

Instead, get some heavy angle brackets and fasten them to the side panels of the cabinet using backer plates of 3/4" plywood, which you'd mount with construction adhesive and 1-1/4" screws. Mount your casters to the angle brackets.


20 amp breaker with 12 gauge and 14 gauge wire I am looking at replacing a couple of old, porcelain style single bulb fixtures in my basement with some 4 lamp fluorescent fixtures.  I am actually running new wire to the fluorescent fixtures from a 100amp sub panel in the basement, and not reusing then existing wiring that goes to the current light.

As I was taking the porcelain fixture down I discovered that there is 14 gauge wire going to it - ok.  There are 3 such fixtures in the basement.  There are also other things on this same breaker upstairs in the main living part of the house - 3 or 4 outlets that are on 12 gauge wire.  The breaker is a 20 amp breaker for all of these.  Is this ok to mix 14 & gauge wire like this?  If not, why did they do it?

It is generally NOT okay to have a 20A circuit breaker on a circuit that has any 14 gauge wire -- and most homeowners won't run into the exceptions

If there's any #14 wire anywhere downstream, you must use a 15A breaker to protect that wire. It's about fire prevention. #14 wire is rated for 15A. Sure, it will carry more, but the N.E.C. ampacity ratings take into account the resistance of the wire insulation to heat and other factors. Bottom line, #14 wire equals 15A breaker.

It's fine (or even required) to oversize the conductors, but not to oversize the breaker (except under rare circumstances that you'll never need to know about unless you become a licensed electrician or wind up doing funny things with motors that invoke Article 430). #12 wire on a 15A breaker is fine. The wire is protected. For longer runs, for example using #12 wire on a 15A breaker or #10 wire on a 20A breaker will reduce voltage drop. There are calculations for wire size related to voltage drop over distance that tell you when you need bigger conductors.

Why was this done?

Hazarding a guess, the person who did it might have had some #14 Romex lying around the garage. Maybe they didn't want to run out and buy some #12, or felt they couldn't afford it. Maybe they bought #14 on purpose just because it was cheaper and they didn't understand the requirements. Or maybe they reasoned that it was okay since the only load on those #14 wires would be the lights, which would never draw more than about an Amp per fixture. That's true enough, technically speaking, as long as nothing ever goes wrong, but it still illegal (actually illegal, because it violates the N.E.C. rules).

But stuff does go wrong, so you never intentionally create a situation that has the potential to start fires or electrocute people.

A few (far from exhaustive) examples of things that could go wrong include; somebody comes along and replaces one of those fixtures with a bigger fixture, or with one of those fixtures with a receptacle on it, or adds a convenient receptacle elsewhere on the 14 gauge stretch of the same circuit, or both. Or something goes wrong with one of the light fixtures that causes it to steadily draw more current than it was meant to, and all of a sudden you have a circuit breaker that will happily feed 20A onto #14 wire for long periods of time.


How long can I expect my painted metal door to resist rust? A number of older metal exterior doors (northern FL 1 mile inland) exhibit small rust spots, similar to petechiae on skin.

The first door lent itself to sanding and was sprayed with aerosol Kilz Primer\Sealer.

How many seasons can I expect the Kilz to stay white before the rust spots return?
If I spraypaint a second door without sanding, can I expect at least
2 years before rust spots return?

If you have experience with this matter please state this in your reply: thank you.

TLDR: 1 and nope.

Paint snob here.  My life's goal is to never paint something twice.  I think nothing of spending $300/gal. on aircraft grade paint.  I've evaluated a lot of the work in the field, including NASA's acclaimed book Hell of a place to put a million tons of military-critical steel latticework, seriously, we couldn't have done this in Arizona? now a website at http://corrosion.ksc.nasa.gov.  Which has some interesting stuff, mostly the idea to take paint seriously.

It's mostly in the prep

If you knock it down to SSPC-SP10 (sandblasting), even a poor primer will perform quite well because there isn't any rust. I bought a ton of $10/gal primer from a paint company right after the lead ban (when paint wasn't so great), and it's lasted 30 years on a sandblasted surface.

You're doing more like SP2 with the sander (they're categories, it's not linear) and you plan to do SP-nothin' on the next door.  By the way, that's gonna look ugly as sin.  It will be obvious to the buyer that you just painted over rust.

Keep in mind the rust is acting under the paint, and one more paint layer won't do anything at all, even if it's the aircraft stuff.  Needless to say I don't waste any aircraft paint on poor prep like that (even when necessity forces me to do it).

Water content accelerates rust. When I must paint over any rust, I prefer to do it in direct sun in low humidity days with the surface temp nice and hot at 130-140F. That removes as much moisture as possible from the pores of the rust.

Paint matters too

Especially if prep isn't fantastic.  I've found over rust, the exotic $100/gal primers don't work... rust converters don't work at all (NASA backs this up)... ironically what works is plain ole cheap Rustoleum 7769 Rusty Metal Primer.  Yes I know it's brown.  If you want a white one, I don't know what to tell you.  I haven't found anything that works. **  What I do is wait for the 7769 to dry fully then top it with 7780 Clean Metal Primer just for the white coverage.

So if it were me, I'd go back and wirebrush and then sand each exterior door til you've removed as much loose rust as possible, 7769, then whatever other paint you want from there.

Don't leave it in primer

Primer is not paint.  It is not a protective coating.  It is designed to prepare the surface for a protective coating.  You need to follow up and put a compatible topcoat on top of the primer.

If you need evidence of this, just look at any old car driving around that has been laboriously sanded, bondoed and primered, and now has rust eating through the primer   because the owner couldn't get paint money together. That is good primer on a well-prepared surface, that is failing because primer isn't paint.

** in fact, I intentionally use white primer on surfaces I'm unwilling to fully sandblast -- let it sit a few months (yes, in primer) and rust punches through wherever it will, easily seen against the white.  Sandblast those spots and done.


Light bulb suddenly only turns on for a moment, tried multiple bulbs So when it happened, I tried to turn on the light (that worked fine before) and it lit up only to go off shortly after. subsequent tries were met with failure. So I changed the bulb for a new one.

No luck. What is especially weird, is that after leaving the light off for a short while, it will do it again: being on for a moment and turning off. If one tries to Turn it on after such a "burst", the time it is on gets even shorter and weaker until it can't be noticed that it is on.

It's an LED light bulb and the apartments electrical system is kinda old.

This is my last attempt before calling an electrician.

The symptoms fit a loose connection in your wiring somewhere. You NEED to call an electrician before something catches on fire.


How can I flatten a warped board on a picnic table? As seen in picture, one of the pieces of wood is sticking up.  The top panels are secured by nails that go through the perpendicular supports.  I tried hammer the top of this wood panel back into the nail with no success.  Then I tried just hammer up the entire piece so I can remove this nail but the other nails that secure this piece to the perpendicular supports are not budging.  The nails from the bottom are embedded to deep to try to pull out too.  Any ideas?

The chances are you are not unwarping the board.   You can try but its been there a while and will probably go back.   I would hit the really high point with a planer, get it close to even then sand (for a while) this thing flat.   Yes it will take some labor time but the alternative of trying to make this straight will take far longer and probably not work.


How do I cut nice mitered corners? I will be adding moulding and trim to a few rooms after I lay laminate flooring. I have already done this in one room and I was really discouraged with my miter cuts. In most corners, I had a gap of at least 1/4" that I had to fill with caulk even though I set my compound miter saw to 45 degrees.

Does anyone have any advice on cutting better corners?

Keep in mind that for inside corners, you shouldn't be using miter cuts at all -- you should cope them instead.  That gives you a joint that appears mitered, but is more forgiving of slight errors and with less tendency to open up over time.


Pex bend supports keep breaking I've used PEX bend supports in the ½" size before which worked great, but trying to use them for ¾" has been difficult. Regardless of the method I've tried, the plastic ones keep snapping.

Using the bend support itself as a lever to bend the PEX is definitely wrong, it breaks right away.

But even bending the PEX first by hand into more-or-less the right shape, and then inserting into the bend has caused many of them to snap & break.

This is PEX-B which is rather stiff. But I am trying to bend it in the direction it was coiled in. I'm working in a basement which is usually 50-55 °F all the time.

Is there some particular method of doing this right?

(I've also tried metal ones which don't break but refuse to stay on the pipe. But that's a separate problem).

I think you've hit on the problem. I'd carry a bucket of hot water with me and dunk the segment to be bent for a few seconds before doing so. Pex is really stiff when "cold" (below 60° F or so). It should then bend more easily and somewhat hold the shape after it cools.

Use plenty of pipe hangers adjacent to the bend support to, er... support the support. Alternate sides as appropriate.


How to use the 2015 IRC Chapter 24, G2407.6.2 to determine combustion air? The 2015 International Residential Code (IRC), Chapter 24 ("Fuel Gas"), Section G2407.6.2 allows for one permanent opening to be used to supply outdoor combustion air into a mechanical room for gas appliances. How is the area of opening calculated for a gas furnace and gas water heater with a total input of 140,000 Btu/h?

How do you check that the calculated area is "not less than the sum of the areas of all vent connectors in the space"?

2407.6.2 requires the opening to have a minimum free area of 1 in.2 per 3,000 Btu/h of total input.
140,000 Btu/h / 3,000 Btu/h = 46.667 in.²
It also says that the opening cannot be "less than the sum of the areas of all vent connectors in the space."
For example, If you had a water heater with a 3" round exhaust duct, and a furnace with a 5" round exhaust duct. The opening would have to be at least 26.704 in.².
A = πr²
A = π * 1.5²
A = π * 2.25
A = 7.069 in.²
A = π * 2.5²
A = π * 6.25
A = 19.635 in.²
Total Area = 7.069 in.² + 19.635 in.²
Total Area = 26.704 in.²

Section G2403 (202) General Definitions
Connector, Chimney or Vent. The pipe that connects an appliance to a chimney or vent.

It also says that the "minimum dimension of air openings shall not be less than 3 inches". So the opening for your installation would have to be one of the following sizes.
Rectangular

3" x 16"
4" x 12"
5" x 10"
6" x 8"

Square

7" x 7"

Round

8"


How to Ground When No Spot for Wire/Screw Weekend-warrior DIYer here. I'm replacing a light fixture. The electrical box doesn't have a grounding wire coming out from it, so I was going to go the green-screw-to-green-screw route.
However, the grounding wire attached to the mounting strap on the previous fixture was not actually attached to anything on the other end.

I think it was left that way because there is no area on the box to attach a screw to. In other words, there are no other holes besides the two to attach the strap.

How can I fix this? I'm assuming I couldn't just tape the screw/wire to the metal box so that it's touching metal?! TY!

There are two simple ways to connect a ground screw to the box, a screw or a grounding clip.

If there's no threaded hole for a ground screw, a clip is the easy way to go, rather than drilling and tapping the box.

However, without a ground wire, the box itself may not be grounded, so understand that clipping the ground wire to the box might not do anything.

I can't quite tell how the wires are fed into the box.  It's possible that the box is fed by an armored cable and the armor is an effective ground.  It's also possible that the ground wire is attached to the strain relief fitting that secures the cable jacket to the box - that's an old method I come across from time to time.  But it's possible the box is just not grounded.


Is my 2 prong outlet grounded? I have a bunch of 2 prong outlets in my house. I am using a multimeter to see if they are grounded (1 in the hot slot and 1 on the screw). Almost all have read either zero (not grounded) or 120 (grounded). However, there are two outlets that read 50-60 volts when testing. Are these grounded or not grounded? Maybe they are grounded and the wiring on the box needs to be fixed?

Thanks

Your house is grounded but doesn’t have an equipment ground. How a 2 wire system works (120v) is one side is actually grounded and the other is at 120v. A 240v receptacle has 2 each 120v legs that are 180 out of phase but single phase or split phase is the proper name for residential us power. So your maximum voltage to ground is 120v , leg to leg is 240. The common leg is grounded at the transformer that supplies your home and is called the neutral. If your receptacles that show a voltage are switched it is normal to measure a “phantom” voltage of 40 to 120v phantom voltage is induced into a wire that is not powered by running parallel to a live wire this is how transformers work. If you plug a load like a light into the receptacle the voltage will normally drop to zero.
Phantom voltages can be found in just about any home.
To have an equipment ground or a 3 prong outlet that is functional you can add a ground wire to that circuit this is a recent code change. The other way that you can add 3 prong receptacles is to add GFCI protection and label them GFCI protected no equipment ground.
So your system has a grounded conductor by code the white or gray colored one but no grounding conductor the bare or green one. Hope this helps.


Wire in parallel thermostat and timer to an air extractor as the title:
i have a room with with a heat generation that i need to keep under a certain temperature. Anyhow, i want to grant a minimum of air circulation even if the temperature is not reached (winter scenario) and i thought it can be a good idea to connect a thermostat and a timer in parallel to the air extractor (set for 10 minutes every 2/3 hours for example). In this scenario, if the temperature is reached, the fan is working thanks to the thermostat, if is not reached for as long as 2 hours, the fan is activated by the timer.

Thanks for help!

When it calls for fan, the thermostat is going to short the R wire to the fan-control wire.

You are proposing a timer which also shorts the R wire to the fan-control wire.

Assuming it's all this simple.

For the timer, easy enough: use any common lamp timer which allows hourly on/off.    Plug a "wall wart" type transformer into that which makes 24VAC.    Then add a 24V relay in the right place that connects R to the fan-control wire.   This way everything is Code and the most vulnerable component - the timer - is easily replaced.

The arm-waving magic inside the furnace is what concerns me.  If you want help with that, you'll need to be a lot more specific.


What is the best way to close gaps between a chimney and roof from the inside? From my attic I can see gaps to the outdoors along the outside corners of the chimney.  Primarily this is a problem with both wasps and bats squeezing themselves into the attic.  Also, a recent rainstorm with lots of wind leaked water into the house although most rains, even heavy ones, are not leaking in.

Climbing on the outside of the house is a non-starter for me, and I'd like to see what I can come up with that I can do myself without hiring someone.

What options do I have to spray up in there that will be both:

water resistant
safe/legal to have against a chimney?   (likely to be legal in USA - I don't expect absolute confirmation on that point)

I'm hoping that there's some sort of spray foam that will fit the bill but most of what I'm seeing are interior foams meant to retard fire between walls and floors.

Pretty much any fix that you attempt from the inside has the potential to create issues in addition to the primary problem, which is that your chimney isn't properly flashed.  Spraying foam or shooting caulking/tar into the gap is very likely to create water traps somewhere in the roof decking, most likely underneath the existing flashing. You would basically be hiding the problem more than correcting it, and could also make it more difficult to fix the underlying issue in future. I would strongly recommend having the flashing corrected.


Low hot water pressure I have a gas water heater. Put in in 09. Low after pressure in all faucets. Have drained water heater, changed piping to pex and new pressure valve. Still same low pressure. Could it be heater itself?

So you have low flow rate out all the hot water lines. This indicates a restriction in the hot water system which could be in a pipe or in a valve. The latter is more likely in my experience.

The restriction could be in the cold water line that feeds the water heater or it could be in the hot water line before the dividing into the various usually smaller lines that go to different areas.

All systems have a cut-off valve on the cold water feed to the water heater. Sometimes these valves develop a restriction, if they are of the old gate valve type. I am not aware of quarter-turn ball valves developing restrictions.

Some systems in addition have a cut-off valve on the hot side of the water heater. This valve could also develop a restriction. Do you have one of these?

Did you recently operate one of these valves before this low flow condition has occurred?


AC Voltage on Coaxial Cable (Cable TV) I have an issue with my cable box (with DVR).  Every morning it displays the word "Boot".  I have to reboot it in order to restore cable service.  I called the cable company (Comcast) and they came out and replace the DVR box as well as it's companion box. Comcast stated they reboot X1 boxes every night and mine is getting hung during the reboot.

The new boxes didn't help. I called again and they sent out another tech. This tech did some testing and stated there is AV voltage on all four of my cable line.

I have much more detail but when I included it and tried to send this question, I got a response stating this question looks like spam.

Has anyone experienced this issue with AC voltage on cable lines?

Here is more detail . . . . .
The cable comes in to my house (which is grounded with a grounding hub) and goes into an signal amplifier.  I have four home run cable lines going to 4 different TV's from the amplifier.  If I disconnect any one of these home run lines and using a volt meter measure from either the center conductor or the connector itself, I get anywhere from 42 VAC to 54 VAC (depending on which line I measure).  With the cable still disconnected from the amp, I then measured at the cable box.  I disconnected the cable from the wall (cable still connected to the cable box) I get the same AC voltage. (Measuring from the cable to the ground prong on a standard 120v wall outlet).  The cable box also as an HDMI cable going from the cable box to the TV.  I disconnect the HDMI cable from the TV and measured the outer shield on the HDMI cable to ground and again, AC voltage (????).

I then measured from the back on one of my TV's from the male coax connector to ground and AGAIN AV voltage?  No other cables were connected to the TV other than the 120V power line.  I attempted to isolate which circuit might be causing this very strange issue.  By the way, all four TV's are on different circuits coming out of my breaker panel.  If I turned off the circuit that I was measuring, obviously the AV voltage would go away.  However I was unable to isolate any single circuit.  I ended up calling an electrician.

He came out and was puzzled from the start.  He disconnect every ground wire AND neutral wire from the panel one by one but we could not isolate a bad circuit.  He checked all grounds and outlets the TV's and cable boxes are plugged in to and all were good.  I forgot to mention above that if we connect the cable back to the cable amp (which is grounded), I get no AV voltage back at the cable boxes.  To try and narrow this down, I got my generator out and connected one TV with it's cable box to it.  The TV and cable box was totally disconnected from anything in my house.  It was only connected with an extension cord to my outside generator and I was able to measure AV voltage on the coax coming out of the cable box.  The electrician gave up.  But now I am out $200 and I still have the issue every morning having to reboot my cable box.

If your cables are running parallel to a power cable they will induce a small voltage on the line. The cable should have a ground wire at the entrance of the house this is usually bonded to a metal water pipe.
Verify that the cable ground is going to a well grounded place (metal Pipe or Conduit that is grounded). If you do not see a ground wire from the external cable box at the entrance to the house it was not installed properly, a ground needs to be added and that should eliminate your problem.


Is it ok to screw into a steel door? I am looking to hang some blinds over the window on my front door.  Is ok to screw the mounting hardware directly into the door?

It's definitely not a problem.  As @ChrisF mentioned, the best way is to drill a small pilot hole (1/8" would probably be about right) and use a self-tapping screw.

"Self tapping screws" suggest that you don't need a pilot hole, but they're really meant for sheet metal.  They'll never get started in the steel skin of your door.  A small hole will let them engage.

Drilling steel is not like drilling wood.  Please forgive me if this is too basic, but someone else might find it useful.

To drill the hole, first locate where you want it with a pencil.  Then use a center punch with a hammer to tap a small indent right where you want the hole.  If you don't have a center punch use a nail.  If you don't tap a center mark, your drill will skate right across the surface of the door and scratch the paint.

Then drill at the full speed applying some pressure directly behind the drill motor, in line with the twist drill.(1)  If you're used to drilling wood you might be surprised how much pressure it takes.

(1) A bit (ha ha) of anal-retentive vocabulary: the thing that you plug in is the "drill motor".  The thing that actually drills, which most people call the "bit", is not a bit, it's a drill, usually a "twist drill".  I only bring this up because the the anonymity of the interwebs makes me bold.


Restoring steel casement windows I’m dealing with some 1930’s era steel casement windows, Tudor revival style, that are in reasonably good shape for the most part. They need some maintenance and would like some suggestions for how best to handle this as gradually applied DIY work.

Some windows aren’t fitting so well and are hard to close. I’ve used WD-40 on parts and cleared out excessive paint layers that were in the way. This helps but perhaps there is warping that needs to be addressed? Anyone have experience with this?

Another thing I’d like to address is draftiness. The windows are just steel, no gasket material anywhere. That may have been the original design, or perhaps the gaskets all disintegrated over the years? Are there standard practices for ensuing well sealed steel windows? There is a sizeable air pocket between the outer and inner mating surfaces that perhaps was where a gasket used to live.

Finally, I’m wondering if there is a way to replace the single pane glass in the casement with double pane or some more insulative glass at reasonable cost. The pocket is probably deep enough to fit standard thickness double pane glass, but I don’t know any supplier that produces double pane glass in such a small size that I could glaze into there. Is that even something I would want to do? I’m guessing it would cost a lot, even for a few windows. I’m familiar with window films that can help with radiative losses, but perhaps there are other window glass options I should consider? Any laminated options, like what some cars use,  for strength, acoustic, and thermal improvements?

I have steel casement windows, love the look.  House is unquie and beautiful.  However in the NY winter they are a problem.  I got a product that made a huge difference called a Indow.  Expensive, but it’s a custom fit for each window frame of hard plastic w foam edge around.  Creating a second barrier to single pane glass.  Made a big difference...I’m slowly getting to more windows in house.  For the ones I don’t have yet, and very big windows I use the 3M plastic sheet shrink wrap.... it’s time consuming but works.  If you can recommend a weather strip I would add that


how to open windows without handles or locks some of my smaller top windows can't be opened as there is no handle or lock.
Anyone knows how these can be made to open? How do I remove them in the first place?

A few shots here http://imgur.com/a/5WIMv

No hinge amigo. Time to get new windows if you want these to open.


How to protect wood when applying concrete patch I uncovered a situation where a couple header boards were embedded into the basement foundation. You can see in the photo they punched a hole in the foundation and ran the boards through it.

I can't move the boards, so would like to protect the end grains before putting on a concrete patch.

Is there a good way to seal the wood from the concrete?

The end of that  wooden beam will move slightly with humidity and temperature changes, attempts to fill that shallow void with concrete may end in dissappointment.

I'd cut a small rebate using a oscillating tool or grinder and place a piece of fibre-cement sheet over the opening, glue it in-place with builder's filler. then render over it to match the existing footing.


installing shower in basement without rough in plumbing my basement is plumbed for a sink and toilet already. does anyone know if you can install a step-up type of shower into the basement without a rough plumbing job (putting pipes under concrete floor) for the shower? it seems like there would be a way to do this and pump the water up to the sink drain pipe.

fyi my sewer is underneath my basement and it is a gravity feed. see picture of unfinished basement and layout plan of my hopeful bathroom. the shower is in the bottom left. fyi the small hole/square is the space where my main water shut off valve/piping is located.

It sounds like you want to install a sump pump drain system so that the drain can be pumped overhead. I find that sump pumps generally last a few years... replacing the pump every few years is onus, and these sytems add a stink to the living area. If the septic or drain system is above the shower drain level (above the basement) then this is your only option, anyway.

But if the septic/drain system is down hill (gravity fed), then my advice would be to run the shower drain in an inconspicuous area and attach it to an available stack. If that is not practical or possible then my advice would be to cut the concrete with a water saw and install a drain; then you will need to lay new concrete over the drain... cutting concrete is kind of a major task... depending on the length of the drain, but believe it or not, I would still recommend going with gravity- over a sump pump for problem free plumbing that doesn't stink.

If you need to contract this job, then price-wise, your best bet may be to run the drain where it is not a tripping hazard (to a stack pipe). The next cheapest option would be the sump installation. Cutting the floor will cost labor... the most expensive part of a contract. But if you do try a sump pump, you can still change your mind later.


Why does my shower goes cold when any other faucet is turned on? My hot water goes off in front shower any time hot water is used anywhere else in house.  It is a single handle delta. The same bathroom sink takes several minutes to get hot water to it, but it's a double handle faucet. There is a tub in that bathroom with a single handle faucet and the kitchen is a single handle faucet as well as the back bathroom shower.

Is this the cartridge in the front shower? Or could it be the mixing valve in the wall?

When someone turns on another faucet it reduces the flow of water go to the hot water tank so less hot water is available for your shower and then you just get the cold. I suspect if you had the shower set to totally hot, you'd just notice reduced flow.

I believe they make kits for shower values that help prevent this by reducing the cold flow if the hot flow is reduced, I know they make anti-scald ones to prevent the opposite problem. There are also strategies for plumbing to help balance things better so the effect isn't as strong.


Shower door for a Attic shower I am working on adding a shower in the attic. The hard part is that the attic ceiling is at an angle and I am looking to find options for the shower door. Could anyone suggest any solutions to that??
Homedepot has rectangular tempered glass panels, but I found it cant be cut and I cant use annealed glass as per code. is there any other options for shower doors ??
Below is the shape of the door that I m looking for to have.

You might consider a longer shower base - we found one about 1.2m long and 80 wide which meant we did not need a door at all as there was very little splash out.
And we had this with a sloped ceiling as well, the shower head had to be in the top corner as I am 6ft plus - for my (ex)wife that was not an issue.


How to seal garage floor edge The wall sits on the wood which sits on a rough 2" concrete block.

How should I cover this edge so that I have a single clean surface from the floor to the wall?

In all cases like this, I have this covered with a durable paintable material. In your case I would use a 1X PVC material to cover from the floor to the top of the 2X plate and another piece of PVC or 1X wood to cover the top of the plate and PVC edge and paint it all.


Lid stays for shallow box I have a window seat with shallow storage underneath (100mm deep storage, 560mm deep lid of 18mm birch ply). I've not had any luck finding soft close lid stays. The piston ones I've tried are soft close until 45 degrees and then they slam shut because I can't put the piston deep enough to get a relatively decent angle. The hinged stays (hafele duo flap) require about 180mm of clearance so I can't use those.

Due to the weight of the lid (5-6kg), I can't rely on soft close hinges. Poorly sketched diagram below:

Anything else I can try to keep small fingers safe?!

I'd suggest looking for soft close cabinet hinges. Unless I misunderstand your situation, what you have is equivalent to a cabinet on its back. These are commonly available at most home improvement stores. There are also retrofit kits that are basically a tiny piston that'll slow down the very last bit of closing, which is the important bit.


Water heater pilot lights but burner doesn't ignite My hot water tank heater won't work. I held the knob thing down, clicked the ignite button, and the flame came right on, but the status light won't flash and I don't know what's wrong. :( Any help would be of great use

If I understand correctly, your pilot flame is lighting correctly. But the main burner won't turn on because the electronics in the Gas Control Valve don't acknowledge the pilot is lit.

There are two likely faults:

Thermopile is not sensing the flame correctly, or
Circuit Board in the Gas Control Valve is defective.

To test for case 1, use a multimeter to measure the Thermopile output. It should be at least 350mV. Here are instructions on how to do that:

http://waterheatertimer.org/pdf/Test-thermocouple-and-thermopile.pdf

If the Thermopile output is less than 350mV, you may remove it from the burner and clean off any corrosion.

If the Thermopile output is adequate, the fault lies within the Gas Control Valve. Unfortunately, there are no user-serviceable parts in there, so you would need to replace that entire assembly.


tar joint between garage wall and asphalt There's a kind of a gap between the asphalt and the garage which causes moisture to accumulate there.

I'd like to seal that gap by making a tar joint:

https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.sealant-asphalt-black-300ml.1000409856.html?autoSuggest=pip[

How should I proceed with this? Is it a complex job? Do I first need to clean the gap as much as possible? What do I need to watch out for? And so on.

Thanks in advance for your kind help.

While the asphalt-base (tar) crack filler would probably work, it is also sticky and messy and will probably end up being ugly against your stucco/plaster wall.

I recommend a self-leveling flexible urethane filler, often sold as "concrete crack filler".

Either way, you will need to sweep out that crack as well as you can, then blast it clean with a stream of water from a hose, then let it dry thoroughly. Take your time when applying so you get a clean, nice looking, even bead.


Why does my ice maker make a knocking sound and not produce ice? My ice maker is making knocking noises every few hours and rarely produces ice. Every now and then (once a month or so) it actually starts making ice and the noises stop for a day.

It's a GE french door with bottom freezer.

Any ideas on why it knocks and how to permanently fix this?

Edit: I checked the water intake. It's getting water and the pump sounds fine. Sounds like the knocking noise is coming from inside where the ice is made. Gonna try the defrost scenario Mike Powell suggests.

Our ice maker recently had its water inlet freeze up, preventing water from filling the trays.  The mechanism kept dutifully trying to push nonexistent ice cubes into a bin that never filled up, which might account for the knocking noise in your case.

To defrost it we just unplugged the unit, took all the food out of the freezer section, and left the door open for a couple of hours.  It wasn't long enough for any of the frozen food to defrost, and since we were careful to minimize opening the refrigerator section's door, the food in that part stayed cold enough to be safe as well.


Can't get boiler to stop heating! It's 80 degrees in the house I have two boiler systems. One for the heating of the house, and one for sink/shower hot water.
The boiler for the house will not turn off! It does kick on and off for a duration of time like it should, but the problem is that it shouldn't be kicking on at all anymore.
Thermostat is set at 60, turned off, and even the safety switch on the boiler unit is set to off. But it is STILL kicking on every 20 minutes or so.
It's 77 degrees outside... And 80 inside. I'm not only staying very hot even with air conditioner units going, and my pets aren't comfortable either, but I'm wasting money at this point.
How can I get it to stop! Asap?:

If this is a hydronic heating system using wax zone valves, which act both as water valves and as thermostat, these sometimes fail in the "on" position. If that is the case, disconnect one of the wires from the switch.
That said, as @Ecnerwal states, there is a serious issue with wiring if the boiler still fires with the safety switch "off". Is there perhaps another shut-off switch??


How can I improve the stability of this DIY pull-up bar? I built this pullup rig:

as part of my calisthenics workout.  The problem is that it there's too much swing.  The first version also suffered from instability issues, even with more pipes:

A Lowe's employee suggested I add diagonal pipes that attach to vertical pipes at an angle, using angle brackets typically used for fencing (suggested to me), but I'm not sure how that looks like.  I've also seen this solution using clamps with diagonal supports (video).

What are my options in reducing the swing?

I'd like to optimize for ease of installation and cost, as I don't have experience drilling.

Added 2 eyelets per corner and used rope to tighten the tension.  Not quite an A-frame like the other answer, but it's now very stable.  I also noticed the instability was due to the wooden planks not being completely flat, so I padded the gap with magazines and doorstoppers, and now it doesn't budge at all.

Thanks for all the suggestions!


How can I get my sprinkler / home irrigation system to not ruin my car with water spots? I have a sprinkler system (i.e. irrigation system) at home. Occasionally I park my car too close and it gets hit with the water. This causes horrible water spots. I've seen that some do-it-yourself car washes have a "spot free rinse", that is to say water that does not cause water spots. I assume they use some sort of filter. Is it possible to add such a filter to my system? Where would I get it? How would I install it? Does anyone know a good way to remove water spots from a car?

Consider replacing the pop up onmi-directional heads closest to the drive way with directional heads that will direct the water in a pattern that won't spray on your car.  Short of that, don't park there!