Is it dangerous to use polyisocyanurate without covering it with drywall? I would like to glue sheets of polyisocyanurate to one basement wall which is very cold in the winter. Due to plumbing and electrical panels, I will not be able to cover the polyiso with drywall.  Are there any dangers to glue this to an open cinder block basement wall and not cover it?  Thanks in advance for your guidance.

Polyisocyanurate, AKA: PIR, polyiso, or ISO –Wiki

During a fire, polyisocyanurate can release a considerably higher level of toxins than other insulating materials. Other than PVC (which will release dioxin), I can't think of a worse building material to inhale fumes from. Other types of foam might be 'better' but all of them should have a fire barrier. I haven't installed ISO in 20 years, others are much cheaper (like, half the price) and nearly the same R-value (~5 vs. 6).

  A 2011 study of fire toxicity of insulating materials at the University of Central Lancashire's Centre for Fire and Hazard Science studied PIR and other commonly used materials under more realistic and wide ranging conditions representative of a wider range of fire hazard, observing that most fire deaths resulted from toxic product inhalation. The study evaluated the degree to which toxic products were released, looking at toxicity, time-release profiles, and lethality of doses released, in a range of flaming, non-flaming, and poorly ventilated fires, and concluded that PIR generally released a considerably higher level of toxic products than the other insulating materials studied (PIR > PUR > EPS > PHF; glass and stone wools also studied).


Can I shut off the cold water supply to an oil furnace while away on vacation? I have a hot water baseboard oil fired system. I am going away for a while and would like to shut off the cold supply to all the house in case of a water leak. If I leave the furnace on to heat the house, will shutting off the cold water supply to the furnace be a problem?

It should not be a problem. Your boiler should have a cut-off switch so if, for example, a baseboard springs a leak then the pressure drop will turn off the boiler. If your boiler is old enough to not have such a switch, then turning off the water is probably a bad idea.


Smart thermostat for single-zone HVAC I bought my first home (townhouse) I want to install a smart thermostat
I have only one HVAC and the thermostat is located in the main floor.
I have noticed that upstairs is hotter than the main floor, ecobee 4 has sensors you can buy for each room.
If I only have one furnace is this an overkill since the HVAC will blow air to the whole house?

Zone system

A true zone system allows different areas of the house to be isolated, by closing off certain areas using dampers, or just having completely isolated air handlers.

This allows fairly accurate control of the temperature each zone, allowing a specific (and if desired, different) temperature to be maintained in each.

Multiple sensors

The Ecobee is more of a "multiple thermostat" or "zoned sensors" system (not sure if there's a more proper name). The limitation is there is no isolation in air handling, so multiple zones cannot be controlled independently.

However, there are two distinct advantages over the typical "single thermostat" setup:

1) The house can be maintained at a temperature based on averages of all sensors

As an example, let's say right now the upstairs is 26 while the main floor is 21, and your target is 21.

By averaging everything, it'll keep the house slightly cooler and set the upstairs to 23 (a bit above target) while the downstairs is 19 (at bit below target).

2) Which sensors you're using can be scheduled

This means during the day, you can give priority to the main floor living spaces, while at night you give priority to the upstairs.

The downside is during the day the upstairs floor is uncomfortably hot, and during the night the main floor is colder than desired, but the areas where people mainly are stays at a nice temperature.

Aside, I have an Ecobee3 and this works extremely well for me. I also use the "ensure fan runs for at least x min/hour" feature which recirculates air and (I think) keeps everything more even.


Bouncy Ball stuck in toilet So I had some of my wife's friends over and one of their kids threw a bouncy ball down the toilet and flushed it, and I don't know what to do, anything will help at this point

Go buy a new wax seal (well, ideally step aside as the plumber hired by the responsible parent comes and sorts this out, but I guess that's asking for too much.)

Swab out all the water you can, unbolt and remove the toilet; plug the open pipe with something you won't forget to remove before you replace the toilet - typically a rag and a plastic bag, to contain the sewer gas.

Most toilet outlets are sufficiently restrictive that the ball is probably stuck in the toilet, presuming you mean the size of ball that would not represent a choking hazard to a small child. A small ball would flow through a toilet and the rest of the plumbing without causing problems until it got to the sewer treatment plant, in most cases. While you could try to hook it with a drain auger, removal is more likely with the toilet dismounted so that gravity isn't working against you and you can work from both ends, and if for some reason the ball got out (and then stuck), it might be lurking just below.

Or, if it's throughly jammed and you can't get it loose, you buy a new toilet (...or the responsible parent does...)


Hanging a heavy edgeless mirror so that it tilts down I have a mirror similar to this:

I'd like to hang it like this:

...where the angle can be easily adjusted whenever I'd like.

I'd like to figure out how to simply, cheaply, and securely (living in CA - earthquakes may strike again) achieve this.  I was considering using french cleats like this on the bottom edge of the mirror:

... and then some D-rings up top to control the angle.  But I don't know if the "lean" of the cleat will damage the wall at the bottom if I do this.

Another alternative is to just build a thin shelf with a small lip, but I'm trying to go as minimal / unobtrusive as possible here.  I'd prefer not to see any hardware.

Not sure about how well it is for earthquakes, but for better security, I'd go with hinges at the bottom, instead of cleats. That would provide less chance of mirror jumping from its position during a minor earthquake, and also wouldn't bruise the wall during angle change, if the hinge is hanged at the very bottom of frame.

For top I would go with with D-ring free-angled bolt anchors in the wall, something on these lines:

, with D-rings at the top of the mirror frame (as you said), and appropriate thickness chains linking the two. This would also provide for easy change of mirror angle -- just control the angle by inserting pins or similar fasteners in appropriate links of the chains.

As a bonus, nothing should be visible from front of the mirror.


Changing the input voltage of oscillating fan I have a pedestal fan which is rotating too fast. It's on the lowest setting yet it's stronger than the highest setting of any other fans I've seen. It's noisy as a drone, unnecessarily fast and i think it consumes more energy than it needs to.
Can I just use an adapter or something to reduce its input voltage so the motor rotates slower? Does it make sense? Would it harm the device?
Thanks,

Reducing the input voltage of a motor cooled by a fan (as your fan's motor is) can cause it to not get enough cooling, slowly cooking the insulation until you end up with an electrical fire.  The fan was designed for a certain voltage, and it can be dangerous to run it on another voltage.
Also, unless you were to spend a lot of money for a Variable Frequency Drive, any adapter you would put between the fan and the wall would end up using the energy "saved" from running the fan at a lower voltage.  In other words, if the fan was using 100 watts before, in order to reduce the fan power consumption to 80 watts, the "adapter", in the process of reducing the voltage, would use 20 watts.
I would recommend selling this fan and buying a new one that is not as noisy.


Securing 3-3-3-5 SER at sub panel entrance When installing a 100A sub-panel with larger wire (3-3-3-5 copper SER), is there a specific size of wire clamp I need for this? Do I use the same type of wire clamp as I would for NM cable, just larger (like the type that go into the knockout with a nut and have some screws to tighten the cable)? Is there a specific size of clamp I need?

I think the codes I've seen (which I haven't search through exhaustively) just say the wires need to be secured and follow the manufacturer guidelines or something. Would appreciate any specific parts I should buy.

Yes, you're looking at a larger NM clamp here

Looking at some sizing data, a 3-3-3-5 copper SER is 0.91" in diameter.  This fits neatly into the .790-.980" cable range supported by an Arlington 843S or equivalent 1" trade size NM/SE clamp.


Can remodeling work around a window cause moisture / condensation problems? I had flashing repair work done around one of three windows in my bedroom last summer. When it started getting cold, I noticed moisture / condensation on one of my windows. I thought it would go away in a few days; it did not. There is continuous moisture on the main window where the work was done. I've been in my home 10 years and have never experienced this problem. And, there is no moisture on the other two windows in my bedroom or on the three windows in my adjoining bathroom. I am wondering if the flashing work could have caused this problem.

Did the flashing repair involve removing/re-positioning the exterior trim/siding/sheathing?

If so, the simplest scenario might be due to the insulation being disturbed/removed.

You can check on the inside by moving a burning incense stick around the trim and window, which should reveal air movement.  If you find a "windy" area, remove the interior trim and add low E foam (low expansion) if there are any air leaks.


How do I sound-proof a bathroom? I think most people would agree that sound proofing a bathroom is a swell idea. Since bathrooms are special rooms (high humidity), what are some tips and techniques you can use to sound proof one without running into water/mold problems down the line?

I am asking in the context of a bathroom in the process of being remodeled. This allows major "design" changes but probably not significant structural changes.

Add a second layer of drywall with Green Glue for sound isolation; not shilling, just heard very good things about it and plan to use it to soundproof a den.


Can I feed this new transformer/subpanel off two 120vac legs of the 480vac panel? I am putting in a 165amp 240vac 25kw electric-vehicle charger and, since the GE 480vac panel cannot accept a 175amp double-pole breaker, I must install a dry-type transformer to feed the new 175-200 amp subpanel and breaker(s). Can I feed this new subpanel from two legs of 120vac on the 480vac panel?

A 25kw EV charger is enormous.  It's not a residential-grade unit.  It is aimed at commercial outfits, and most of them will expect to put a 25KVA load on 480 volt 3-phase.  This is for at least three reasons:

they want to evenly load all three phases, so their power bill isn't wacky.
they will not want to provision a 30KVA transformer for each charger.  Keep in mind a place fitting a 25kva charger is likely to be fitting several.
They want to put three 10AWG wires in a 1/2" conduit and call it done, not wrestle 1/0 Al into 1-1/2" conduit.

The upshot is this: the manufacturer of this unit will certainly, also, make this same unit in 480V 3-phase.  And may even be able to sell you a kit, or simply instructions, to jumper the unit for 480.  Or you could sell this unit to the plentiful supply of people who have 240, and buy a comparable 480 charger.  Putting in a 30KVA transformer is just crazy.

And while we're on that subject...

480V is not for touching.

Your skill-set is way-deadly-not-nearly enough to even be opening the door on a 480 panel. That stuff is different by nature and much more deadly than 120.  You lack key concepts of how 480V power works.  You only just now discovered that you can't take 240 off 480 the way you can take 120 off 240. Those figures are "not even wrong".  It seems like you have little bits of  knowledge, like that gained on the way to a singular goal but without comprehension.  Sorry, nothing personal but you are way out of your depth here.

Rarely do I say this, but hire a professional.

What's more, since you are not in a single-family home, doing so is mandatory anyway.  A company or landlord must hire professionals unless it retains an electrician on staff.  You'll need to pull a permit anyway, and they will want to know who the electrician is.


Hardwood flooring: transitions and expansion gaps I'm gearing up to start installing flooring in my remodel, and I'm looking for input of a few finer details. My house is a split level, and I'm installing hardwood on the upper level with the exception of tile in the bathroom and a small area in front of the fireplace (see the diagram below). I'm planning a nail down installation of pre-finished 3/4" solid hickory parallel to the direction that the stairs run (this is perpendicular to the joists).

My main question relates to the interface of the hardwood and tile in front of the fireplace (neither have been installed yet). I purchased T-molding for the interface, which will allow for an adequate expansion gap, but I have also seen flush hardwood-tile interfaces that just have a thin strip of metal between them (see picture below). I find this much more aesthetically pleasing and would prefer this type of transition, but it doesn't allow for any expansion gap. Thus, am I looking for trouble if I go this route? If I do go for this type of installation, what considerations should I make?

My second question relates to the "drop off" in my diagram. Since this drop off is open to below, my intention is to install stair nosing along this edge and butt the flooring up to this stair nosing with no expansion gap. Is this an acceptable installation? What are my alternative if it isn't?

Thanks in advance for any help here.

The metal edge you see is a Schluter trim that installs under the tile.

The expansion rate changes radically based on the climate you're in--drier climates tend to shrink more. Regardless of where you live you should have done moisture tests on the wood, the subfloor and the air in the home. Relative humidity is ideal between 30/ 55% in most cases and for most pre-finished hardwood floors. They do sometimes vary so read the instructions.

For 3" wide and below the moisture readings should be with in 4% of each other; 3" and above should be within 2% of each other. This is pretty normal but again read instructions--some manufacturers vary.

With all that said if its 3/4" thick, leave 3/4" expansion on the perimeter. this doesn't work well for baseboard install so cutting the drywall up 7/8" allows you to set wood 1/4" away from wall and any base will cover.

Stair nose is part of the floor, so install it tight. 1/8" gap at tile to hardwood is plenty. Use a color match sealant to fill that gap for movement.


Is Complete Ductwork Required to Start the Condensor? I'm in the middle of rebuilding my entire AC system. I've got one 14" return and two 8" supplies hooked up to the blower (on a 2 ton system). I plan to add much more, but for now I want to start the outside unit and make sure the system is functional before I proceed.
I've had 3 different licensed HVAC professionals tell me that I needed to finish the ductwork before they could start the condensor -- otherwise the "pressures would be off"
I'm very confused. In my mind, the condensor and A-Coil are a separate closed-loop system from the air being blown across the A-Coil. So why would more/less ductwork ever affect the condensor and its "pressures"?

The air handler, blower, is designed to blow a certain amount of air over the cooling coils which in turn converts the refrigerant back to a gas from a liquid. It can only get the correct amount of air if all the returns and supplies are installed, otherwise the blower will not function as designed and can ice up the coils. This affects the compressor operation as the transformation of the refrigerant from gas to liquid back to gas is compromised. If the outside unit has to be charged or topped off if it's a precharged unit, everything needs to be running correctly to get the right refrigerant charge in the unit.


How to affix a wooden branch to the ceiling as a chandelier? I am making a chandelier that consists of a wood branch and some hanging lights. However, I'm not sure how to hang it:

Should I have 3 parallel ropes hanging from the ceiling (2 to support the wood, 1 for the cable), or 2 ropes originating from the center, with a pulley on the ceiling. (See images).
How do I tie the rope safely to the ceiling and to the wood? I'd love to use knots, but I'm not very confident in my knotting skills.

More information:

The wood  branch is about 15-20 kg and about 2m long.
It is meant to be over the dinner table.
I want to use jute rope

Hanging with 3 parallel ropes

Hanging in a triangle

How to attach the rope to the wood/ceiling

I'd suggest three supports as a minimum - Any less and the branch will wobble about when touched or with any sort of draught/breeze.  Also consider rigging the fixtures not in a row, also to minimise swing.

20 kilograms (42 pounds) is also a lot of weight to hang up in the air from jute rope, which does deteriorate over time.   I'd strongly recommend some braided steel rope/cable, perhaps with a thin sheathe of cosmetic jute weaving over the top.

Knotting your rope might work, but over time the rope will sag and thin, putting stress on the power wire.

I'd recommend putting three stainless steel eyebolts into the top surface of the branch and three more into the ceiling.  Make sure you hit something solid and load-bearing above the ceiling!

Then use a swage tool to permanently secure three braided stainless steel cables to the log eyebolts, and attach three positively-locking hooks to the other end, to clip to the ceiling eyebolts.  This will allow removal of the log without cutting the wire rope.

  cable eye and a swage closure.

 An uncrimped swage.


Extension cords flexible in cold weather 25+ year old 14/3 extension cord.  Blue jacket.  Still nice and flexible.  Jacket stamped "-50C".  Surprisingly, it is also stamped "SJTW-A".   I thought flexible-in-cold carried the E, not the T designation.  What is it that makes some extension cords flexible in cold weather?

You may notice a child's outdoor toy blanches and cracks in 6 months from UV from sunlight, but your car's interior holds up for 20 years despite much hotter conditions.  It is a different grade of plastic.

Also, nothing requires a cable claim every rating it's entitled to, or it may comply mostly, but fall technically short of what is needed for the rating.   You're always allowed to make a great product.


Light Switch/Dimmer Question Looking to re-wire a room with a bit different design.

Goal: I have a room which is a living room on one end and an office on the other (two zones if you will) where I am installing can lights. I would like to have each zone of lights separately dimmable. Additionally, both banks to be turned on/off together via switch. So, each rooms light level could be set to 0 - max individually, and all banks able to be turned on/off via a switch.

Existing: I have two working switches wired up in three-way. One switch in the office and one in the living room. The hot feeds into the switch not from the light fixture.

My thinking: I could keep the three-way switches. Wire two dimmers in-line to the three-way.

Am I crazy? Any thoughts appreciated.

Thanks, Mike

So if:
1) power goes into 3 way switch
2) switch legs go to other 3 way switch
3) combined switch leg which powers lights now goes into 2 dimmers
4) each dimmer feeds a wire to a different set of lights

It can work.

An easier thing might just be to get a bunch of philips hue bulbs and program and control them with home automation software - with an added benefit of colors!


How can I get the pneumatic brace on my screen door to release? I have a screen door that has a pneumatic brace that keeps the door open.  It is currently stuck open and I'm trying to press the release mechanism, but I can't get it to release.

Any ideas on how to get it to work?

I just utilized Tester101's method of opening the door further and it worked perfectly. Just open the door as wide as it'll go and the locking gizmo disengages.


Are these blue spots on stove coil cups poisonous Verdigris? I live in the USA and have one of these stoves:

For me who comes from Europe, the design of these stove tops always baffles me compared to flat (metal or glass) stove tops seen across Europe (it seems to be losing a more energy, the materials rust easily, and it's always so hard to clean!). Today, I met with this strange situation where the cup under the coil, after I cleaned it, started showing scary blue spots:

Although these marks are very photogenic, I am afraid that they might be Verdigris.

Is it possible that the material used in stove cups would be that easily corroded that it actually produces poisonous substances such as Verdigris when cleaned?

Obviously this one is a bit old and might need changing - probably for one that is made out of a material that doesn't corrode that easily (I love spending money on this stuff! ❤ ), but if someone can confirm that these stains are not dangerous, I'll try and make it last a little longer. At least till I find a really cheap one that is rustproof on eBay (since I'm not really keen on giving to this "bad design makes the end user waste money having to fix stuff" philosophy).

Thank you for your help!

Try a magnet - dollars to doughnuts, those are somewhat peeled and rusted chrome plated steel, and the blue is a normal steel oxidation color, and not toxic (also, were you planning to drip food down there, scrape it off and then eat it? If not, nothing to worry about regardless.) They are stunningly unlikely to be copper, though there may be a minuscule amount of copper plating as part of the chrome plating process

This is reinforced by the purple color, which is a slightly different temperature in the steel oxidation colors (we use them for determining temperature when tempering hardened steel.)

Image from Maille Artisans International League website

While you could waste money and effort replacing them, you could also make them more efficient (reflect heat better) and easier to clean by applying aluminum foil to them (shiny side up - you want to reflect as much heat as possible.) As a side effect this would also contain the non-toxic steel oxidation. When something is too badly burnt onto the aluminum foil, remove it and replace with new foil.  Mold the foil to the pan, wrapping over the edges - cut stars in the openings and fold the cut parts onto the backside.

FYI - stainless steel will also blue, at slightly different temperatures.


How do I locate studs in my wall? First, I'm not the handiest of men, but can usually figure this sort of thing out. I just moved into an apartment in Manhattan and we're wanting to mount shelves, desks, and televisions to the wall to make use of our vertical space.

Classic of knocking on the wall led to no definable progress. I haven't torn a hole in the wall yet, but from what i'm seeing our building is using a technique of filling the gaps between studs with this brown/pink clay substance to prevent spread of fire, which in turn means the hollow knock doesn't exist. (thanks Google)

Roommate pulled out this little magnet thing which should pop when finding nails, well that worked at corners but only there- the corners are using metal fittings.

Electronic stud finder, I purchased one with a standard mode and a deep scan mode. Our sheetrock is about 1.25 inches thick making it a little difficult for this device to work- in addition to struggling with that clay i'm finding everywhere.

Next I drilled at every 16 and 24 inches given that's the standard widths between studs (also did a hole -/+ an inch for margin of error).

that tell tale sign where the drill bit pops through the wall i've not yet had due to this clay filling..

Anyways, I'm humbly accepting defeat and seeking any advice.. thanks!

The studs will likely be at 16" intervals from a corner, but that corner could be the corner of the building and not the room if you have a wall T'd with another wall. The first 16" could also be more like 15" depending on how the walls are laid out. There are several places you can check to give you more hints:

The first, and easiest is any outlets and switches. They should be attached to a stud in new construction.
The next is any trim around the floor or molding around the ceiling, which should be nailed at the studs. You may be able to see small bumps from any nail filler on these.
And the last method I can think of is to use a light at a sharp angle to see if you can notice bulges in the drywall at 8' intervals. Those are the non-beveled edges at the end of the drywall, and you should be able to notice them if the drywall was installed horizontally (frequently done, but not always).

Beyond those non-destructive options, and the stud finder that you've tried using, you're left with drilling test holes. I'd suggest making the holes close to the floor where they will be less obvious, but not so close that you're hitting the base plate of the wall (you need to be about 2" up).


How can I run 2" sink vent stack through top plate? I'm renovating my kitchen which used to have soffits. We've pulled out all the soffits and framing of the soffits.
The vent stack for my sink goes up the wall and comes out of the wall just before the top plate - then it goes into the ceiling where it runs in between two joists. The wall is an exterior 2x4 wall.
If you saw it from the side it would look something like this:

I'm wondering - can I reduce that 2" vent to 1.5" vent and drill through the top plate and feed the 1.5" PVC through and then enlarge it back to 2" inside the ceiling?
I'm thinking something like this:

Is that possible? Are there any other safe ways to get that vent through that top plate and into the ceiling?? This would be in the state of IL if that matters.

Depends what it's venting, which may be just the sink, or may be more than the sink, depending how things are presently arranged.
Per ICC, a kitchen sink (alone) is 2 DFUs, so if this is a dry vent serving ONLY the kitchen sink, if could be as small as 1-1/4" (which is suitable for JUST 2 DFUs, no more) or it could be 1-1/2" (suitable for up to 8 DFUs.)
However, your plan to expand to 2" after making the corner (as drawn) fails 905.2:

Vent and branch pipes shall be so graded and connected as to drain back to the drainage pipe by gravity.

since the lower part of that upper 2" pipe will not drain into the 1-1/2" pipe because reducers are centered, not offset. At least all the reducers I've met are - could be someone makes them that way.


GFCI equipped machines into GFCI receptacle I have a personal bowling ball cleaning machine that states "plug to a non-GFCI outlet" which means it has built-in GFCI however, in the area I am living, all receptacles must be GFCI protected and this comes from the main breaker board to every receptacle in the facility.  So whenever the machine is plugged in, the breaker goes off.

Firstly, are GFCI equipped machines supposed to work when plugged into GFCI protected circuit?  If not, is there a way to connect GFCI equipment to GFCI receptacle by by-passing through, say a transformer, between the cleaning machine and the receptacle?  I want to stay away from doing tricks at the receptacle level as I would think the circuit itself will detect and will not work.

I really need help here, thank you so much for any help you can give me in advance!

There is no reason one GFCI should cancel out another GFCI. Don't trust that the device is GFCI-protected unless it specifically states so. As Ed Beal mentioned in his comment, it seems likely that the device is actually leaking current, and thus causing a (not unreasonable) trip in your GFCI-breaker.

My advice would be to call the maker of the device to ask specifically why it states not to plug into a GFCI outlet. They should also be able to tell you what they recommend you use, since you don't have a non-GFCI outlet.

If, as you mention, the GFCI protection is in your breaker, you are correct that there aren't any outlet tricks you could perform to create a non-GFCI outlet, and in most cases you should avoid removing this protection anyways.

UPDATE: I'm updating my answer in response to more information from the OP in comments.

Since you have confirmed the device has it's own GFCI, I would recommend calling your local planning/permitting authority, or a licensed electrician, and asking them what your options are. It may be possible to install a dedicated outlet, or perhaps hard-wire this device, within code. Without knowing exactly what your local code is, I can't recommend any other action.


Crumbling brickwork on exterior wall House is approximately 40 years old. On a wall on a balcony the brick work appears to be crumbling. What is causing this to happen and what can be done to fix this?

We can see both sides of the wall since it is the edge of the balcony and the other side is similar to this as well. We had a couple of tradesmen comment on this and suggested rendering it to make it watertight, but this would obviously be out of place with the rest of the brick work of the house (which is fine)

Water is a common destroyer of brick, even if it isn’t freezing and thawing. Water will dissolve bricks and mortar over time. Brickwork must be designed carefully to keep it reasonably dry. The next time it rains, go and look at the damaged areas of brick and see if they are getting splashed from water falling off of a roof edge or something similar. A wider picture providing more context for the location would be helpful for us.

How is the wall capped, if at all? Is water permitted to enter the wall from above? Brick walls need caps on them, wider than the wall itself, that will shed water. Water entering open joints at the top of a brick wall will ruin it quickly.

Not all brick within a batch are created equal, especially older bricks that were fired in kilns with uneven heat distribution. Some brick in the batch will be underfired, making them softer and more absorbent, and weaker in wet situations. So a brick can fail while the one sitting right next to it hangs in there just fine.

I won’t say it’s the only cause of your problem because there are many factors at work and I’m not there to witness them all, but I will say - the condition of those mortar joints is not doing that brickwork any favors at all. In a wet environment brick joints should be finished as below, except for the “raked” and “struck” options.


Lights not working after replacement I have 5 lights all have their own switch. 2 upstairs 3 downstairs all run off the same circuit. I replaced the downstairs light first. Checked to see if it worked and it did. So I moved upstairs replaced the light up stairs and it also worked. Went downstairs and have no power to 3 of the lights and the outlets don't work either.

I put in the old fixture and now that doesn't work either. I am not a expert by any means.

Here is a photo of the downstairs light.

Edit
After checking the bundles again i get 120v when touching the black bundle to ground. Also getting 120v when checking the white bundle to ground. I must not have been touching the white proper when checking the 1st time. There is no power to the fixture or to the switch that controlled the light either.

After messing with the two fixtures and ensuring I didn't have a loose wire. (It kept showing open neutral). Turns out it was a plug outlet that was the problem. When I had first checked the plug with the tester it told me it was correct. When I pulled the outlet out the burnt wire pulled out of the backstabbed outlet. Thanks everyone for their help.

There must have been some wire splices in the junction boxes of the upstairs lights that were disturbed when you installed the new fixture.  Take the last fixture down (the one installed before the downstairs lights failed) and look at the other wire connections.  If there is a bundle of wires (or two bundles), take off the wire nuts and make sure everything is tight and twist on a new wire nut.  Of course, all the power should be off when you do this as you will be in contact with multiple wires.

If you don't find any bundles, take down the next fixture you installed and check that junction box.  Home electric fixtures are never wired in series, so one fixture working shouldn't depend on another being installed.


New basin waste leaks, only when plug is removed I've just fitted a new basin waste with a plug in a chain. I've tried with the supplied washers etc, and with plumber mait, and have the same results each time. The seal holds whilst the plug is in, however if I run water without the plug in or when I release a basin full of water, I get a significant leak coming out directly under the sink.

The waste has a hole either side for the overflow (seems fairly standard?) and I have lined this up with the overflow at the back of the sink, but it seems that when I release water down the plughole, it is coming out of these overflow holes and then travelling down the outside of the waste.

Despite watching many YouTube tutorials, I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong!

The holes in the drain are supposed to be "inside" the sink. Most china bathroom sinks have a double bottom in the region of the drain. The holes in the drain for the overflow must be inside the cavity between the two bottoms. The holes in the drain cannot be outside this cavity or water will pour out when the sink is draining.
Some bathroom lavatory sinks are single bottom and have an exposed overflow tube conducting overflow to the drain. These may require a different kind of drain. You may have a mismatch between the sink and the drain.
EDIT
You cannot (permanently) stop a drain leak from the outside using plumbers' mait (putty) . There is something mismatched and the leak can be expected to reappear. Consult someone in the UK. They will quickly recognize the problem.
Perhaps the seal you are using on the bottom (outside) is not the proper one for this application. I think this seal is supposed to be conical on the end to protrude into the cavity. This causes it to tighten around the drain when it is compressed.  Or the holes in the drain are too far down to be fully enclosed by the cavity around the drain. Perhaps there is more than one type of drain and you are fitting the wrong one.


Basement drain without a trap What do you do if your basement đrain doesn't have a trap? I tried shined a flash light down and the pipe just goes straight down. The house smells and 3 buckets of water have not helped.

In the short term, try 5-10% bleach solution in water, not just water. i.e. a cup of bleach to a gallon of water (1:15, or about 6.7%)

It may be a "floor drain to soakaway" rather than connected to septic/sewer, but those can still get quite nasty (especially if something crawls down there and dies).

A "test plug" can give you a way to reversibly plug it until you decide what to do about it in the long term. Image for illustration only, does not imply endorsement of any particular brand or store:

Responding to Comment:

To determine if the drain is or is not connected to septic/sewer: Access manhole at septic tank or sewer connection. Pour non-toxic septic dye into drain. See if it shows up at the septic/sewer. On a public sewer you will need the cooperation of the sewer department as they take an understandably dim view of the public opening their manholes for safety reasons, unless you have a sewer cleanout before the street that you can look into and spot the dye (or lack.) If you don't see the dye, the pipe presumably does not connect to the septic/sewer.

As for why it might not connect to the sewer/septic - to reduce volume handled by septic/sewer, or because the sewer pipe is higher than the floor and the drain was installed before drain pumps were popular/common. Floor drain waste should not be particularly pathogenic or contain septic waste, and particularly in older systems design to limit "non-septic" waste going into the septic was quite common, to limit the load on systems that were quite small by current standards. In a fully configured city environment it might connect to a storm drain rather than a sanitary sewer for similar reasons.


Acceptable locations for junction boxes in a kitchen I'm trying to do some wiring in a kitchen with a that's somewhat below grade with a slab floor and another floor above it.  I'm going to need some junction boxes for the wiring.  Usually I see these in an attic or basement, but these locations aren't an option here.  Would it be okay to put them in the cabinets?  Behind stove?  Behind a refrigerator?

Thanks

Any of those should be fine.  The junction box has to remain accessible - that means you can't drywall over it or such but doesn't mean you can't park a major appliance in front of it.  Just put a blank cover plate over the box and call it good.


Is it possible to sanitize leather without damaging it? I am wondering if it is possible to sanitize leather (primarily leather couches and car seats) to avoid potential risk of coronavirus. I know rubbing alcohol is a common option but I recently read that especially applying to to a big area will dry out the leather and potentially strip away leather dye. Are there any other options?

Soap and water are even more effective than alcohol on covid-19, per a number of sources. Here's one.
Saddle soap is literally soap made for use on leather.

Enjoy.


Remove wallpaper that has been textured over Our bathroom has textured plaster work that seems to have been put on over the top of wallpaper. You can see some of the seams and the wallpaper was also still there under a mirrored cabinet. Above the door, for example, the wallpaper is peeling. We would like to get rid of the texture on the walls.
Would it be possible  to just   take down the wallpaper that the plaster is on top of and hope that the walls underneath are acceptable for repainting?
Or
Can we sand down the textured plaster work?
(We would like to be able to paint and  have it be a smoother surface).

Removing wall paper   can be a major pain in the posterior  at best. With plaster on top it may be a nightmare, if doable. You could try it in a small test area.
It may be? easier and or less time consuming to skim coat a new layer of mud and sand smooth, but that requires skill that a DIY'er may not have (but with practice could do).
Maybe remove the dry wall and install new drywall, Again mudding and taping is an acquired skill, especially when you want a smooth non textured wall, it take a lot of prep to get smooth.


Can I use DOCSIS 3.0 to connect to my LAN over coax? Let me describe the bizarre situation here in simple terms.

I need to get an Ethernet connection from the network closet to the garage TV.
My main router is an OpenWRT Linksys wrt32x which has 5 gigabit Ethernet ports (1 WAN, 4 LAN; although this can be reconfigured for 2 WANs if we want for whatever reason), a USB 2.0 port, and a USB 3.0/eSATA port, both of which I can do whatever USB shenanigans I want (I own a rare USB-A male to USB-A male data link cable, and I've heard of running PPP over serial? if that's at all relevant).
There is a single data line (CATV over Coax) that runs directly from the closet to the garage. This coax line is marked "DIRECTV RJ-6 75 Ohm High-Performance 3.0 GHz," which is kind of weird because we've never used DIRECTV on this line notwithstanding.
The CATV signal isn't that important so replacing it with a data-only line is A-OK (but my ISP runs both on the same wire so I assume it's possible to do that myself as well).
I have a DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem/router combo, the Cisco DPC3825, that as of now is being used just as a 4-port gigabit Ethernet switch. It has 4 gigabit Ethernet, 1 coax, and 1 USB port. This one doesn't have OpenWRT support unfortunately.
The most obvious solution, wireless, is not usable because it's what we already have-- it hasn't been working at all. Given how terrible the speeds on even 802.11ac with the device 15 yards away have been I think there's some sort of interference in the garage due to some electrical equipment, but I'm no expert. It could also be that the access point is shitty, but regardless I prefer static wired setups to wireless ones if possible.
I want to run a DOCSIS signal on this coax wire, over which the LAN (Link layer Ethernet/PPP/etc bridge OR network layer IP tunnel are both good) connection will run, that can be modem'd by the DPC3825. Essentially I want to be both the "customer" (garage) and the "ISP" (closet) at the same time.
The topology of the link I'd like to achieve is this:

|_______Accessible_________|_Inaccessible_|_____________________________Accessible____________________________|
|                          |              |                                                                   |
Router <--Ethernet--> [???] <--Coaxial-Line--> DOCSIS 3.1 Modem <--Ethernet--> Switch <--Ethernet--> Garage TV

Basically all I'm looking for is the [???] listed above. I've spent a while trying to find documentation on using DOCSIS for a LAN but nothing's turned up. It's not typical to run what's typically used an ISP's protocol WAN-LAN connection as a LAN-LAN connection, but I've actually done this kind of thing before, only with DSL/PPPoE instead, and it worked despite being super weird (all I did then was use OpenWRT as a PPPoE server and attached an old DSL modem). I want to take advantage of the modem I already own-- yes, MoCA/G.hn could solve this problem easy, but devices for them're quite expensive. Is it practical to emulate the PPPoATMoDOCSIS that my ISP uses?

I've no preference as to whether it's a solution involving layer 2 (Ethernet/PPP/etc) over DOCSIS or layer 3 (IP) over DOCSIS: just as long as I can get to my local subnet from both ends, it'll work; and since I've not been able to find anything about a sort of system like this, I'll try to try out what I can just for future reference if nothing else.

You need an ethernet-over-coax device for RG-6 cable.

A slightly surprising source of these is CCTV suppliers, as there is a lot of analogue CCTV wiring out there, and people want to upgrade to higher resolution IP CCTV, without running new cable. Therefore, converters to run Ethernet over Coax are available.

Example

  VHW-HW    HIGHWIRE Ethernet over coax converter (2 required per link)
  100BaseT up to 350m (1150ft) full-rate over RG-6

https://www.veracityglobal.com/products/ethernet-over-coax-devices/highwire.aspx

One supplier

http://www.eaccu-tech.com/by-vendor/vhw-hw-veracity/

There is also a possible hack solution - connect wifi antennae connectors directly to the co-ax cable.

  There are some problems with this plan. WiFi is 50 Ohms, TV coax cable
  is 75 Ohms. Only one MIMO channel will be available meaning the
  maximum theoretical bandwidth will be 433 Mbps. WiFi is also at much
  higher frequencies than what coax is designed for.

  With two WiFi antenna to coax adapters, [Tobias] simply connected the
  coax directly to a router set up to bridge Ethernet over WiFi. The
  entire thing worked, although testing showed it was only getting about
  60 Mbps of throughput.

https://hackaday.com/2018/10/19/wired-wireless-over-coax/


replace remote control for ceiling fan with light to wall switches How do I use existing double pole wall switch for ceiling fan with light kit when replacing with Casa Viejo Revue that only has remote control? I don't want the remote control feature but the fan does not have manual speed control hanging chain like the current one. Can I NOT install the provided receiver (and remote control) and instead use an after market wall mounted fan speed controller/on-off and a separate on-off light switch?

Currently the wall double pole plastic switch box has a 12-2 from the wall plugs and a 12-3 out to ceiling fan/light box in the ceiling. The white commons (12-2 & 12-3) are spliced together and wire nutted in the box. The black 12-2 is spliced and wire nutted in the box with two black wires; one leading from the splice to the fan switch and the other to the light switch. The fan switch also has the 12-3 black attached to it. The light switch has the red 12-3 attached to it. The 12-2 green ground is attached to the fan switch and the 12-3 green ground is attached to the light switch.

What you propose is indeed possible. How difficult it is, depends on what wiring is currently in place.

You should start by connecting all the bare/green grounding conductors in the switch box together, including a pigtail to both switches. Other than that, it sounds like the wiring in the switch box is good to go.

If you want to control the fan with a wall fan control, you can install that in place of the fan toggle switch.

In the ceiling box, you'll likely find the 12/3 cable from the switch box. If the existing fixture uses a remote module, you'll likely find that either the black or red wire from the 12/3 cable is simply capped off. You'll see the black/red, white and ground wire connect to the remote module. The remote module should connect to the fixture with a black, blue, white, and bare/green wire.

If you want to remove the remote module, you should disconnect it from all the wiring. Once disconnected, you can remove the module, or cap off all the wires and leave the module in place.

To control the fan using only the wall switches.

Connect the white wire from the ceiling to the white wire from the fixture.
Connect the bare/green wire from the ceiling to the bare/green wire from the fixture. If the box is metal, include a pigtail to the box.
Connect the red wire from the ceiling to the blue wire from the fixture.
Connect the black wire from the ceiling to the black wire from the fixture.

Now the switch connected to the red wire, should turn the light on/off. The switch connected to the black wire, should turn the fan on/off (and optionally adjust the speed).


Is it safe to use dishes that have had turpentine on them? A rag that had turpentine on it was rinsed off in my kitchen sink that had dishes in it. If I wash the dishes with soap and water will they be safe to use? Should I just throw out the dishes? I don’t want to be over dramatic but I also want to be safe. Thanks!

Perfectly safe. The surfactants in the soap, combined with hot water and a thorough scrubbing, would remove the turpentine effectively. Even if the dishes were of a material that was not as non-porous as, say, glazed pottery, there would still be so little residue as to make any health danger minimal (if not nil).


Is it ok to add an outlet from an Exit sign? I'm trying to install WiFi expanders in our mostly brick building. The barrier is a lack of outlets where we need them. There are literally no outlets in locations were the WiFi expanders could also connect to the main WiFi router. The easy solution would be to tap the junction box from the exit sign and place an outlet 12-18 inches to the side. Picture of what I'd like to do attached. Is this allowed? (In New York State if it matters)

Edit to add info:

The building is a church built in the 1950s.
The Exit sign source conduit comes from one of the hallway fluorescent light fixtures.
The Exit sign is an LED, always on light with battery backup in case of AC failure.
Behind the exit light it's just a standard steel junction box

I don't know whether it's ok or not from a code perspective, but I wouldn't do it.

If I were you I would install access points and power them with POE. You'll get much better and more reliable wifi. It will be a little more expensive especially if you already own the extenders, but would definitely be cheaper if you have to run new circuits.


How do I fill a hole surrounding a boiler flue? The flue for my boiler has a large hole around it, presumably from when it was put in. I'd like to fill it in because it's unsightly, but in not sure of the best way to do it, as it's a large hole and near a boiler.

Would expanding foam and a layer of plaster/filler work, or should I be using mortar?

The house was built very early 1900 so there is little chance of it having a cavity wall.

There are several spray foams in the marketplace designed specifically for this situation. I have used Great Stuff Fireblock and Pur Fill Fireblock in many commercial applications and have passed all Fire Marshal inspections. They should work well in a residential application as well. Both of these products are rated at a 240 degree flashpoint and can also be trimmed flush after drying.

Here's a neat video that shows how well these products work.


How will I extend my speaker wire? The wire is too short for me, and I want to extend it...

I'm thinking that the audio quality will lessen if I connect a different wire.

I don't know as well if where will I get or what wire will I use

You can twist together a string of coat hangers and I'd bet you wouldn't notice the sound quality difference.

  After 5 tests, none could determine which was the Monster 1000 cable or the coat hanger wire. Further, when music was played through the coat hanger wire, we were asked if what we heard sounded good to us. All agreed that what was heard sounded excellent, however, when A-B tests occurred, it was impossible to determine which sounded best the majority of the time and which wire was in use.

Solder, crimp, or twist on a length of wire equal to or larger than the existing wire and be happy.


Can this storm door be repaired Update: Unfortunately Chamberdoor does not sell hinges even though it's pretty simple to replace them. They do sell the Z Bar but with shipping it's almost $100. These hinges were not sold at either the big orange box or the big green box. I ordered online and fortunately what I ordered I was able to make work. I bought a pin kit and the only issue was my hinge had some casting flash so the nylon pin wouldn't slide in. A 5/16 drill was the perfect size to remove it. None of these hinge kits or pin kits have an application or brand listed. Most of them do list dimensions so if you disassemble you should be able to get the right kit. If I were to do this again I would remove the door take out the hinge measure it and then order based on the measurements.
This door is starting to sag, when it closes it hits the other door near the top. It looks like the hinge has worn out. I was at the big box store and I didn't see any replacement hinges so I'm thinking the hinge is integral to the frame. Is there any way this can be fixed. If it was just the single door I wouldn't mind replacing it but not likely I can find this same door five years later.

I have a similar setup, but in my case, it's screen doors, so very lightweight in comparison to yours.  I may be wrong, but I don't think you can repair individual hinges on that type of door. I think you're going to be needing to replace the entire hinge rail on that side.  This component is also known as a Z-bar.  You should try to determine the manufacturer of your door, and then you can check with them to see if they sell replacement Z-bars for your door - they run anywhere from $30-$60, depending on size.  Here's a URL to an example replacement part for a brand that appears to be similar to your design: https://www.menards.com/main/doors-windows-millwork/door-window-hardware/storm-door-replacement-parts/survivor-80-aluminum-storm-door-hinge-side-z-bar/71922/p-1444423382755.htm  Good luck!


Using non-metallic cable with this metal box having armored cable attached? I'm planning to using this existing outlet to add an additional outlet for a TV directly above. The kit I purchased has a plastic old work receptacle box. Can I use building wire (Romex) into this metal box to connect to the new box? And how do I ground the outgoing cable - can I ground it directly to this metal box using a pigtail?

You can't use Romex. You need AC cable.

Your jurisdiction does not allow the use of Romex cable for electrical wiring. Romex is a brand name of a type of plastic cable called NM-B.

I'm well aware that the Internet is full of instructables and videos that say to use Romex.  This is a cheaper wiring method that is not allowed in your town, for reasons.

This is obvious from the builder's use of AC type armored cable and backstabs.  The AC type with steel boxes is a deluxe wiring method the builder would not have used if it wasn't compelled by law.

If you have any doubts, go talk to your city's permit issuing office and ask them about wiring requirements there.

But I only know Romex, I don't know anything about AC cable

It's not that big a deal. You use AC cable obviously. The cable clamps appear to be built in to the existing metal box. You'll need to make a bottom entry because all the top holes are full, then loop upward.

So you'll need to get a metal box that has AC cable clamps built in.  The local electrical supply house can help.  If you bought from the local big-box, you can try there but their advice is terrible, so don't rely on clerks.  If you wonder why they're consistently terrible, it's because electricians and electrical supply houses constantly troll the big-box stores looking for competent clerks, and hire them away.


Soundproofing around water softener I'm trying to come up with options for soundproofing around our water softener (and the mechanicals that go alongside it - not including water heater). Currently when it goes through it's regen cycle, it makes a lot of noise that echoes through the basement and upstairs (open concept to basement). Since this runs every few days, and we are planning to start our family soon, I would like to get this noise under control.
I've read several articles about soundproofing for a home theater, and am tempted to go that route, but I'm wondering if any one has experience with this. Do the home solutions (like double drywall with green glue) actually work for this, or is this sound a different frequency or some other properties that make that useless? Since it's such a small space, could I build up a box or covering with some MLV, and would that block enough noise? If I just layer up insulation, is it possible (within reason) to block the noise?
Or any other ideas that anyone has. I'm open for suggestions, preferably if anyone has done this before and can recommend do's and don't's.
Thank you!

Sound isolation is sound isolation. Lower frequencies (bass) are harder than higher frequencies (treble) to block, but anything helps. If you have the space, a purpose built wall with staggered studs (so each stud only has one wall surface connected to it) packed with insulation is good. You can add as much of whatever other product you care to onto that (resilent channel as well as the other products you have mentioned already) but if you start there, you are fighting less as you have a good isolated base construction - many of the "products" are more of a band-aid on top of a wall structure that was not built from the ground up for isolation.
"Open concept to basement" sounds like a firetrap waiting to happen - I'd want to get your utilities behind a couple of layers of Type X drywall and rockwool and a well sealed firedoor just for the fire rating, and consider the sound reduction as a pleasant side effect. Let the children you want to have live to adulthood.


How to replace porch joists? My covered porch has seen some better days. The 2x10 joists are rotted on top causing the wood on top to sag. The 2x10 is notched and inserted into the brick on both sides. I have a feeling that this was done while the house was being built. This makes it impossible to replace them without changing something and all the joists need to be replaced.

My questions is: what is the preferred method for doing this type of repair?

Would I attach a ledger board to the house and notch in the joists on the other side or put up two ledger boards. Perhaps there is some trick or system that I'm not aware of.

it depends how far those holes go. if you can over-feed one end of the joist, you can then align the other end with with the other hole and
back it in.

ledgers, as you suggest are a legitimate solution too, also brackets, but on brick ledgers are easier.

ledgers both sides is probably the easiest to get right. you're then not relying on any unseen features of the building construction, and avoiding any potential unpleasant surprises.


New door in 47 inches wide corridor I need to install a door in a corridor 47inches wide and 90 inches tall with laminated flooring..
The door we picked is 36x80...
How to I feel the gap on the side and top to fit my new door?
Do I keep adding 2x4 on both side?

This is a condensed version for a wall installation, but it should help a bit (I hope). The door should be centered in the width of the hallway. To do that you will need to build-out a wall to accommodate a 36 x 80 inch door. This is typically done with 2 x 4 inch stock. If it is pre-hung plan on a rough opening 1.5 inches wider and 2 inches higher than the door dimensions. Start by cutting 2 pieces of 2 x 4 to 47 inches. This is the bottom and top  plates. You will need to build out the side walls by about 5.5 inches on each side for the R.O width. Cut the studs closest to and on either side of the door to 81.5 inches for the R.O height. Cut a header to span the distance of the R.O plus 3 inches. Install header on top of the 81.5 inch (jack or cripple) studs.


How do I bring 50 amp service to my detached garage? I would like to run 50 amp service to my garage.  The run is about 100 feet in total.  About 60 feet will be in the basement, 20 feet in conduit attached to bottom side of wooden deck floor joists, and the remainder in conduit buried.  Is this feasible? If so, what size and type wire do I use?  Does the wire running in basement need to be in conduit?  If so, what size & type?  When it goes outside, what size & type conduit do I use?  Please see diagram attached.  Thank you for your assistance.

This is quite feasible to do

The hardest part about a job like this is getting your wires down the conduit.  Even with that, though, I would use conduit for the full length of the run to keep things simple.  Schedule 80 PVC is likely the easiest and best solution for a mixed indoor/sheltered/buried run like yours -- it is rated to protect wires against physical damage, is weatherproof, and assembles much the same way that PVC plumbing pipes do (i.e. with cemented joints).  Just keep three rules in mind:

PVC will do the worm on you due to thermal expansion if you don't put expansion joints in every 12' or so in the exposed (i.e. not buried) parts of the run.
Conduit needs support -- for PVC, attach it to the wall or deck joists every 3' and at expansion joint locations.
Keep the number of bends between pull points to a minimum.  Code only allows a single loop (360 degrees), but less is better -- you can use conduit bodies to change direction and reset the bend-count at the same time, provided they're accessible later.

Once the conduit's in, along with a pulling-string to help you get those wires in it, it's time to get some conductors in there.  You'll need THWN wires as the conduit outside is considered a wet location, and four of them at that: two hots, a neutral, and a ground.  The neutral must be white, and the ground must be green or preferably bare to save conduit space, while the hots can be any other color than white, green, or grey.  As to size, you're looking at 6AWG copper or 4AWG aluminum for the hots and neutral, and a 10AWG copper wire for the ground.

Last but not least -- you'll want to size the conduit generously, and a 1.25" PVC conduit will easily fit 3 4AWG aluminum wires and a 10AWG copper ground with room to spare.  Of course, if you want to put in a bigger conduit, knock yourself out -- it'll pay dividends if you want to upsize the wiring or pull more conductors later.


how to wire a timer without negative using ground I have a switch i would like to replace with a timer like this

http://www.amazon.com/forum/-/Tx3DCN3HLSARWFS/ref=ask_dp_dpmw_al_hza?asin=B004SOZHXY

i only have a positive wire in my switch box,

could i use the (ground) box as a negative?

is it safe?

EDIT: i linked the wrong model above

would this do any better?

http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-RPLS530A-7-Day-Programmable-Switch/dp/B004SOZHR0

No.  The device you have requires a grounded (neutral) conductor to be connected to function.  There's no other way to hook it up.

I believe Honeywell offers timers that don't require a grounded (neutral) connection. You might want to purchase one of those instead.


Order in size for fixture drains to enter the main stack I am adding drains for a first floor bath and have replaced the main stack and vent.  In what order should I connect the drains into the stack?  Should a 1.5" sink drain enter the stack above or below the 3" closet bend?

I'm not sure if your stack is coming off of the sink or the water closet. Does this help?


Deeply notched deck post also supporting a roof This seems like a lot of lost beam for a support that is also supporting a complete roof structure.  Am I being paranoid?  Please help ... before the builder gets farther into this deck construction.  IT'S NOTCHED THIS DEEP ON TWO SIDES.  Context - midwest with snow and thunderstorm loads.  My concern is twist and sway from wind and weight.

I'm sure another pair of beams is to be added across the outside once the opposite support beam is notched out.

The picture isn't 2 vertical beams that's 1 vertical beam that's had 3/4's of it's body cut out to support the deck beams.

I don't know if this is to code or not. But what appears to be happening is something like - view from looking down on the top:

Original post:

XXXX
XXXX
XXXX
XXXX

Notched as follows:

----
----
||XX
||XX

Where one beam - currently in place - goes across at the || section and another in the other (perpendicular) direction goes across at the -- section.

The results is nominally the same as using an ordinary post to support those two beams and then adding another post on top to support the roof.

If everything is actually tied together properly (i.e., bolted together + metal brackets - not just a few nails or small screws) then this may actually be stronger than two separate posts would be. Instead of looking at it as "3/4 notched post" instead look at it as ONE post instead of two.

There are numerous instances - the Hyatt walkway collapse is an extreme case that comes to mind - where structures can, to the non-engineer, appear to be just as strong with 2 pieces as with 1 but in reality one piece is actually much stronger. In your situation, a single, though notched, post should not affect the support of the deck but should increase stability of the roof.

All that being said, my theory could be totally wrong. I recommend asking your builder and, if they can't provide a satisfactory answer (e.g., plans showing approval by a structural engineer) then speaking to your local building inspector may be a good idea.


Light switch specs - max amps vs. watts I’ve been replacing light switches in my house to Lutron switches, because I think they look pretty.
I’ve noticed that Lutron sometimes specifies a switch as having max load of 600 watts, and sometimes as 5A. Why this variance? Since our electricity in the US is 120V, aren’t these two the same? Thanks!

Power Factor
VA and Watt are sort-of the same, but not exactly. The difference is based on the power factor.
From a practical standpoint with residential lighting these days it makes little difference because with LEDs (and even with fluorescent), 600 Watts is a lot of light. On the one hand, with incandescent bulbs (a simple resistance load), the power factor is essentially 1, which is ideal, LEDs and fluorescent use so much less power that for typical residential usage this more than makes up for any power factor issues. It is easy to hit 600 Watts with incandescents - 10 x 60 or 6 x 100. But with LEDs, a 100 Watt equivalent might use 14 Watts, so it would take an awful lot of lighting on one switch to get even close to 600 VA or 600 Watts, no matter what the power factor.
In commercial settings the power factor becomes a real consideration as even LED lights can add up when you are lighting a warehouse or an auditorium or other large area. Large customers often have charges based partly on the power factor and may install equipment to improve the power factor. But that is not normally the case for residential customers.


How to loosen a rusted nut/screw I have been trying the change the screws connecting the toilet tank, i managed to remove the tank but the nut it completely rusted and became one with the screw.

I tried holding the screw in place and rotating the nut to no luck. next i used WD-40 (sprayed it and left it for an hour then sprayed it again and left it for another hour with no luck).

I don't have access to a drill to drill out the screw top also i don't know if it may damage the porcelain which is the same reason i can't use a blow torch.

Is there a way to remove this without cutting it off ?

Update: I actually cannot drill the head off as to avoid any damage to the porcelain.

Update 2: Here are some images from the top-bottom view (sorry about things being dirty):

The most expedient and practical solution is to drill out the bolt.  Probably access is better from the top through the tank, but it can be done from either side.

The goal of "drilling out" is to weaken the shaft of the bolt enough so that either the friction on the nut is reduced to the point where it turns, or the shaft breaks and separates into two pieces, both of which are easily removed.

Your concerns of damaging the porcelain indicate the choice of too large a drill bit.  Choose a diameter smaller than the diameter of the bolt's shaft, preferably in the range 60 to 95%.  If kept to the center of the shaft and parallel to it, the drill bit won't touch anything outside the bolt.

In the case of drilling from the top where the head is, drill into it about 6 mm/0.25 inches and then try turning the bolt.  The head should break off and free both pieces.


Why do I have a reduced flame in my natural gas fireplace when the furnace or water heater runs? I have a natural gas fireplace, furnace, water heater and barbecue.

This year I've noticed that my barbecue blows out occasionally when it's on low, even in the slightest wind. I figured the burner was dirty so I vacuumed it clean, but it still blew out.

The pilot light in our gas fireplace runs all year. I start running the fireplace near Christmas for the atmosphere. I fired it up the other day and for a few minutes it ran normally until the furnace started up.  The flame in the fireplace then dropped by almost 2/3 of its normal size.

I'm thinking that it is a gas supply problem because of the similar problem with the BBQ.  Does this sound reasonable?

It sure sounds to me like a problem with the gas pressure or regulator/meter. Since gas can be dangerous if leaking into your house if a pilot blows out etc, I'd be on the phone to the gas supplier. They should be able to check the input pressure and assure that the regulator is working properly. Trying to trouble shoot and repair this type of problem is not a job for a DIYer. Here in Maine, only a licensed pro is allowed to work on gas lines. I am a general contractor and if there is a problem, I'm on the line to a pro immediately.  Good luck.


Water based concrete paint peeling and cracking. What to do? My indoor walls are concrete. I've painted one room with a water-based paint. Now 12 hours later it's cracking and peeling. I think it's because two thick layers were added without proper drying in-between.

For info, prior to painting only one layer of original paint was on the wall and a primer was applied first and properly dried, so the wall was pretty much clean before the real paint job started.

What do I do now? Do I have to scrape the entire wall prior to paining again, or is there some easier solution? I'm assuming painting it over again will only make it worse.

Not waiting between coats would be the cause, 6 to 8-hours is the usual wait for normal evenly rolled-on coats. But, with top-quality paints like Behr or Valspar I wait a day, because of rare lift-off issues. They take a month after that to cure & solidify. Another cause would be Cold, but you didn't indicate any such situation & if would need to be below 50-degrees.

You can strip it or you can skim-coat it with drywall Joint Compound to then start over with the primer & everything. Don't run your roller dry, just try to even everything out. Paint in floor to ceiling single strips & don't do a "Z", "N", "V" or "W" application pattern. Do 3 strips & then go back over those to smooth & even them out. Typically, only 1-coat is needed unless you're jumping to the other side of the color spectrum.


Identifying this part used in awnings? I’ve seen this used in many awnings, but I don’t know what they’re called.

So a few questions:

What’s the name of this part?

Can they be bought separately or are they only sold in kits?

It depends on the manufacturer.   For most manufacturers this is an awning arm.   However a lot of times if an arm is detached from the awning unit to rest on the home it is referred to as a pole.


Why did an HVAC installer add this PVC pipe? We recently had a VERY old central heating furnace replaced and I noticed that the HVAC installer added the following PVC pipe shortly before the inspector arrived:

The metal vents were already part of the original furnace.  I'm confused on what the PVC pipe is for.

I don't think it's the condensation water escape - those are going out both sides of the house.  So what is this for and why is a metal vent insufficient? Does this pertain to newer standards/codes?

That pipe looks like an air intake.

All "direct vent" style appliances (high efficiency on-demand water heater, gas fireplace, etc.) have an isolated air intake and it is common to have it suck in air from outside the building so as not to force air infiltration through doors, windows, etc.

Indeed, that is ugly.  Our fireplace and tankless water heater have something far more elegant:

The stack on the left is a natural gas tankless water heater.  The right is a direct vent natural gas fireplace insert.


120 v to 12 v puck light conversion I have 7 hardwired under cabinet puck lights which are 10 year old halogen type . All 7 or powered as 120 from one wall switch . Limited access to each light other than removing old puck and pulling down about 8" of the existing wire . Desire is to replace all with Similar in style, LED puck lights which are the 12 v . Question is can I go to the output from wall switch and simply install 120v to 12v transformer between there and the first puck light ?
If so how to you choose the right transformer ?

What you want to do is fine but, it would all depend on how many puck lights you have and the distance between them. Or for example if the puck lights connect to other puck lights on a different cabinet.  Using a typical 12 Volt electronic transformer may not be ideal because of voltage drop.

Due to how electronic transformers "chop" the sine wave, the frequency on the load side is increased by a factor 400% or more.  A typical puck light transformers load frequency is 28,000 Hertz compared to a magnetic transformer at 50 or 60 Hertz.

This increase in frequency directly affects the voltage at longer runs.  The higher-end electronic transformers use 24 Volts to help compensate the voltage drop.

When using electronic @ 12 Volts anything over 10' I think should be avoided, especially if multiple lights are involved.


Running a series of LED lights I have questions on 12 v power Hello and thanks for your help.

I will be as precise as I can

I have 112 feet of 8 foot flouersent bulbs (14 8 ft units)  The current configurations are so that the fixtures are run in a series of 110v 3 wire with every other fixture on the same circuit.  I am leaving the fixtures and disconnecting the ballast.  I am running strip LED lighting over the existing fixtures.

I will be replacing four bulbs with two stips of 5 meter led strips.  The strips are rated per 5 meters at 12v 5a per run.

My question is:
1- do I have one massive transformer at the end of each unit and run individual wires from the transformer to the end of the light strip?

2- where the end of 4 light stips come together do I put in a 12v 20 amp power supply and run off of the 120 lines already there.

3- trying to achieve the most consistent lighting, do I chain the lights together and then run one common back to the supply.

4-  I am up to suggestions as it can get very expensive as I have 4 sets of 112 feet to run and power supplies can get very expensive placing one at every junction.

FYI The 110 currntly running is 12ga stranded wire and I can use that if needed.

Thanks in advance as I have no clue about 12 volt stuff.

Rich

While @cde 's comment is noteworthy, I try to answer your question as good as possible.
One note: the right word for the things providing power to LED-lighting systems is "LED driver" in the US and "electronic control gear" (ECG) in the rest of the world. Naming it transformer leads to confusion. I'll use "transformer" here, for consistency, though.

Option 3 will yield the probably worst result. 112 ft will pile up astonishing 35 A current on your wires. While gauge 12 is sufficient to bear that load without causing fires, it will suffer a significant voltage drop of up to 1V at the end of all striplines. This means you may encounter dimmed or even no light output from the most remote LED striplines.

Option 1 suffers the same drawback but not to this extent.

Option 2 is probably the best option for minimized power loss and homogeneus light output.

You do not write if all your 8ft tubes are adjacient, so there may be significant cable length to add for the calculation of a voltage drop.

I'll try to summarize some general advice for your situation.

If you can, mount the transformers as close as possible to the LED strips in a 12V system.
Compare prices. Single huge transformers do not necessary save much money compared to smaller ones. Smaller transformers can be placed closer to the LED and in confined spaces.
If you have to run long lines with high light output, switch to 24V-Systems. Transformers are smaller, you can chain more LED-strips together and you can use longer and thinner cables to connect your LED-strips.
Pay close attention to the specifications of LED-strips and transformers. In most cases a 12V transformer for halogen lights is incompatible with LED-strips. You need a LED driver or ECG (electronic control gear) specifically designed for LED lighting.
consider using retrofits, as cde suggested. But you have to pay close attention if they meet all regulatory laws in your country. There are plenty retrofits on the market which pose a fire hazard or hazard of electric shock to their users.


Adjusting deadlatch so it doesn't fall into strike pocket Our front door's deadlatch falls into the strike pocket when pulled close -- if gently closed, it's ok.  So it just needs a minor adjustment.

If you look at the latch, you can see where it has been worn from rubbing against the pocket.

The strike plate we have is one of those larger ones so I can't just replace it with an off the shelf adjustable one.

I've seen some articles talking about shimming -- but I don't see how shimming the strike would keep the deadlatch from falling in.  The strike plate does have the piece of metal that bends into the pocket, but I doubt bending that out would make a difference as the bend would pretty much be in the same place.

Making new holes so close to the existing ones seems like a bad idea.

I don't see any way to effectively adjust the weatherstripping to keep the door from closing so far.

I'm thinking the only option is to remove the strike plate and maybe make the screw holes a tad wider to allow it to be shifted.

What's the best way to deal with this?

Edit:

Finally got around to finishing this -- I had to replace the latch again because the latch jammed as it has before from wear on the dead latch mechanism.

So in the end I did remove the strike and toothpick'ed the holes, redrilled, and moved it slightly towards the outside.  It was surprising how finicky this was to have the door click shut with an appropriate amount of force and still have the deadlatch not fall into the pocket.

In anticipation of having to move it several times I used shorter screws until I was sure of the position.  I also used shims (pieces of 14g wire) and tape to hold it in place during testing.

Best approach for adjusting the strike plate.

Size up where it seems the plate needs to go and how much offset it seems to need.
Remove the existing strike plate.
Fill the existing screw holes with a whittled pine plug that you glue with wood workers glue and pound into the hole.
Optional - If you are not into whittling a pine plug for the old screw holes you can try what many people do which is to dip tooth picks in the glue and shove as many as possible into the hole till it is not possible to insert any more.
Let the glue dry on the screw hole plugs.
Use a sharp chisel or very fine toothed hobby saw to cut off the excess screw hole plug material even with the jamb surface.
Mark and drill new pilot holes for the strike plate screws at the offsetted location. Remember that pilot holes for screws are smaller than the outside thread diameter of the screws but not smaller than the inner diameter of the screw thread.
Reinstall the strike plate using the screws into the new pilot holes.
If you messed up you can always go back to step 1 and repeat.


Should expansion gaps in an OSB3 roof be filled before installing EPDM roofing? I've boarded a roof in OSB3 prior to laying an EDPM membrane. I've left 3mm expansion gaps between boards. Should these be filled with anything prior to covering?

Gaps between the sheets are specified by the manufacturer because the gap allows for a bit of movement - expansion, in particular - to be absorbed without causing any buckling in the roof deck. If the gaps are filled, whether with sawdust, other debris, or an intentional sealant, then their ability to absorb expansion will be compromised.

Laying an EPDM membrane directly over the panels does pose a challenge: the gaps between panels may telegraph through the membrane and this may be unsightly. Ask the membrane supplier for a recommendation. For example, they might suggest applying some kind of tape over the OSB joint gaps and possibly applying a mastic over the tape to smooth it further.


Isolating a bulb from stairwell timer I live in a block of apartments with 6 floors having a stairwell timer that lights all bulbs of the floors at once. I would like to make my bulb switch on independently from the timer so that I can install a motion sensor which would only light my bulb. When I opened the wall socket that is used to light the bulb (and the others) which is a push button switch similar to that used for doorbells, I found a red wire connected to one of the terminals which seems to have continuous electricity supply and two brown wires joined together and connected to the other terminal. The neutral is wired directly in the light bulb holder. I disconnected the two joined brown wires to run some tests and found out that one of these wires is connected to the bulb however, I cannot understand why this wire has electricity when there is no bulb in the holder. Can someone help me out on how to go about this please? thanks

I suggest that you don't have the right to interfere with communal wiring and lighting, one because it is not part of your property (leased, rented or owned) and two, because you may not have the qualifications or insurance coverage to do that work.

However, If you want a light for your door controlled by a motion detector then there are LED lights with batteries available to do what you need.


How do I attach plywood over 2" x 6" deck boards in preparation for a waterproof cover? My two decks (12'x26' and 12'x14') are in good shape. Minor rot has been repaired.

I am applying 5/8" Tongue & Groove plywood over the 2x6 deck board as a base for 68 mil vinyl covering.
I know I need to align the plywood end butts solidly on the 2x6, but I am not sure of the size of the end gap, 1/8"?

I am also unsure of the spacing of the deck screws that I will be using to secure the plywood to the 2x6. I believe 12" spacing may be adequate on both the edge and the field of the plywood?

Deck specs:

Joists are 2x8 on 16" centers and running perpendicular to the house, the gaps
between the 2x6s range from 1/8 to 1/4".
The long side of the deck is fastened securely to the house with a ledger board and hangers.
The outboard deck supports are 3-2x10s fastened together, with those being supported by
6x6 posts on concrete pillars.
There is appropriate grade away from the house.

I was finally able to get in touch with the manufacturer.
mfarver, they echoed your comments and also told me to leave 1/16 between the butt ends of the plywood.

The proper answer to your questions is "find the manufacturer of your vinyl and follow their installation guidelines". They can give you answer to all of the questions that you are asking.


Door squeaks - which oil? I have a squeaking door hinge and a some things that may possibly fix it, but which one should I prefer for the use case?

Fine Oil
"Grease" (other languages say sth. like "Oil lubricating and adhesive")
Graphite

(This set of 3)

There is no list of ingredients on either bottle.

I prefer graphite. It will act as a lubricant, but since it is a powder and not a liquid, it will not capture dirt like oil will. Oil would be my second choice. Grease is normally too thick and would require taking the hinge apart to really get it in there good.


Why does my smoke detector chirp when my bathroom lights are turned on? We have an wired smoke detector that is right outside a bathroom.  Often, when we turn on the lights in the bathroom, the smoke alarm will chirp.  The bathroom used to have a fixture with 4 40-watt incandescent bulbs, now it has one with 3 13-watt CFL bulbs.  It chirped with the old fixture and the new one as well.

What causes the chirp?  Can it it be fixed?

The smoke detector is not on a switched circuit. It also has no battery (at least no user replaceable one)

It is probably close to 10 years old.

I don't think I've seen a smoke detector that only chirps when it's light out, but I'd love to get one if that's the case. Mine always seem to chirp at night (typically because it's colder and batteries fail in the cold).

I have seen smoke detectors with a light sensor used in place of a test button, but this typically requires a flashlight shined directly on it.

My guess is that you don't have a battery in there at all and when the lights come on the smoke detector is getting reset and doing an activation chirp. Replacing or installing a battery would fix this. But I would double check that the smoke detector is working when the lights are off, on the off chance someone screwed up and wired it into the switch.

My second guess is that the voltage drop from the lights turning on, combined with a borderline low battery, is enough to cause the low battery chirp to trigger. But this would get worse as the battery dies until it's constantly chirping.


what size of sub panel do I need for a small in law unit Im converting my garage into a small inlaw unit for my daughter I have a 125 amp service to my house. she will have a burner plate, fridge and an mini split ac unit for air and heat. it has a gas water tank. large tv and computer. the Main panel is out side our house about 30 feet from garage.
there is not going to be laundry, unless you count the convienent laundry services provided by my wife in the main house!

I would use a 30 space panel, because that is a cost sweet-spot between "Make sure you never run out of spaces" and "sanely priced".  Electrical equipment is so cheap that there's no real economy in scrimping to the point of inconvenience.  And believe me, you will want to upgrade things later, if not in the near term, in the far.

The panel does not need a shutoff switch if it's in the same building. Generally if a shutoff switch were required, people simply get a panel with a main breaker; it's cheaper, but nevermind that.

If the panel has a bus rating or main breaker, that does not matter (as long as it's equal or larger than the feed breaker). So don't be bashful about getting a 150A or 200A panel.    The important thing is to get plenty of spaces.

I suggest a 60A cable feed and 60A breaker from the main panel.  The cable to use is #6 copper or #4 aluminum. (Aluminum starts to make sense at these large sizes).


Running a new 240v circuit for a dryer I just bought a home with a gas hookup for the dryer, but I have a fairly recent, perfectly working electric dryer, so I've decided to run a 240v line instead of purchasing a new gas dryer. This is what I plan to do and wanted to run it by you folks to see if it makes sense and if there are any gotchas I should be sure to look out for. (I'll also be re-reading Richter/Schwann's "Wiring Simplified" to make sure I do things correctly.)

Dryer is rated at 240V, 30 amps. It comes configured for a 3-wire connection, but this can be changed to a 4-wire connection by separating the neutral and ground wire inside the dryer. (Instructions are provided for this in the manual.)
I'll need to use a 4-wire connection since the circuit I'll be installing is post-1996 (per NEC)
House has 200 amp electric service
I'll add a 30 amp breaker to the main panel and use Romex 10/3 NM-B w/ground.
The run from the dryer to the panel is about 50 feet or less

Any suggestions or worries about the above? Thanks.

You got it.

Just make sure to separate the neutral and the ground on the dryer and use a 4-wire dryer whip and receptacle.

Sounds like a plan.

Good luck!


Downstairs exhaust fan venting into upstairs? I recently purchased a bi-level home with two full baths. The inspection didn't include ductwork, but it seems to me that the downstairs bathroom is somehow venting into the rest of the house. There is a very large vent in our upstairs hallway, and when someone is going #2 downstairs, the smell upstairs becomes pretty strong as long as the exhaust fan is left on. It seems to be coming directly from the hallway vent. It's very unpleasant and definitely something we want to fix. The exhaust fan downstairs is very old and very noisy -- is it possible that simply replacing the fan might solve this problem?

If the downstairs fan is vented into the upstairs, replacing the fan will not do anything.

In order to determine where the fan vents from the bathroom you will need to find a way to trace the ductwork from the fan to it's exit point.  A camera probe can help with this, or if it's a short enough run you might even try a flashlight and a 2nd person looking at the hall vent to see if they see the light.

If the vent is confirmed to be venting inside the house the only way to correct this is to open the walls/ceiling of the bathroom in question and re-run the ductwork.  Something that should be done as the point of the fan is to remove moisture from the bathroom (not smells although that's a secondary benefit) and get it out of the house to reduce mold risk.


What are these metal fittings called? On the amazing The Fletcher Capstan Table video, I can see some very useful metal fittings, but I can't for the life of me find them anywhere. This is probably because I don't know what they're called.

I'd describe them as metal biscuits, which allow two pieces of wood to come together edge to edge, and align perfectly flush.

Metal biscuit joiners, according to Lee Valley Tools.

Lamello, also offers a wide variety of biscuit type connectors.


Is 4 ten-feet 4x4s enough for a shed foundation? I've ordered a 10x16 shed and building a shed foundation right now.
Basically I did 8 concrete piers and I'm planning to just run four 4x4 timber  posts in parallel.
Will that be enough of a support?

P.S> - shed will have five 4x4 runners along the floor, like shown here:

Edit 1:

Here's the manufacturer spec for the foundation.
According to the manufacturer this is according with CT building code:

http://imgur.com/a/KOQ2M

Edit 2: Well shoot. I've just realized that I've made a terrible mistake.
Manufacturer chart called for 8 ft on center (so 1 ft would be sticking out on each side). I've build it with 2 ft sticking out -> so 6 ft between concrete posts... wow. ho  w th hell did that happened. I think Ill be using sistered 2x8 now instead for support. wow.

4x4x10 (spaced 4'0" apart) is rather questionable and I would expect it to sag in the middle where the shed "runners" (labelled #10 in diag.) rest in the middle of the 10'0" span.  If the shed floor joists (FJs) (#9 in diag.) are attached to the runners (#10) the sagging could be minor.

4x4's are inferior to sistered 2-2x4's because the grain in 4x4s is directionally uniform, whereas, 2-2x4's will have differentiated grain.

I couldn't find a link to a span table for 4x4's but found this one (which recommends 2-2x10's for a 10'0" span): span table  However, this assumes underlayment only and your shed has runners and FJs.

While I think 4x4x10 is "doable", I think (sistered) 2-2x6's should be a minimum. It really depends on what the live weight load will be (ie. what's going to be stored in the shed...especially toward the center).  In my 6x10 shed I used 2x10x6'0" (@ 24" center) with a 2x12 rim joist.


New Water Hammer Problem I have recently started experiencing water hammer in my house.  I have lived in the house for 30 years and it is about 80+ years old.
Never had a problem with this before.  The only thing that has changed is my neighbor recently had his water line replaced.  He was getting $700 bills when they should have been $140.
His line connects to the county at the same point as my water line.   I am thinking without the leak on his line, that the pressure is now up and causing the hammer on my house, though he says he doesn't have this problem.  Though I am not sure if he has a regulator or arrestor.
We do not.
The current cutoff being so old, leaks a lot when fully closed.
I have been thinking of replacing the last big run of galvanized as pictured with a new cutoff and regulator.   Is that the right thing to do?
I am weary of trying to get such old pipe apart, how long do I have to heat the joint to get it apart?

You can't go wrong replacing 80 year old pipe and valves especially since your neighbor has had a serious leaking problem.
You shouldn't really need to heat the joints to take the pipes apart, just two 12 or 18" pipe wrenches. If your referring to the copper to galvanized fitting in the picture, just cut the copper pipe above the copper fitting and continue on.


Is it OK to use 15 amp receptacles with 12 gauge wire? Is it OK to use 15 amp receptacles with 12 gauge wire?

With a 15 amp breaker?
With a 20 amp breaker?

If you are asking about wiring in conformance with the USA National Electrical Code, 15 amp receptacles are often used with 12 gauge wire. The only problem may be in using the quick-connect feature where you just stick the wire in a hole and it is automatically caught and retained. Those are only for 14 gauge wire. With 12 gauge, you need to use the screw terminals. You can use 15 amp outlets on either 15 or 20 amp circuits. 12 gauge wire is the minimum for 20 amp circuits. 14 gauge wire is the minimum for 15 amp circuits. Knowing the proper wire size is only one of many requirements for wiring. If you have to ask about that, there are probably other things that you don't even know to ask about. Do you know how to determine how many wires are allowed in a given size box?


What is the difference between a Combination AFCI Breaker and a AFCI Breaker After reading many articles and comments concerning AFCI and GFCI breakers I set out to my local Lowes. In the old days buying a fuse or a circuit breaker was pretty straight forward. Not anymore!
Based on the updated building code for new homes I am required to use AFCI circuit breakers so I bought one. Well, I attempted to buy one.
As you can see from the picture its a "Combination AFCI circuit breaker."

I tried to find out the difference and I really could not find a straight answer, which led me back to here. If anyone can answer it's the experts here!

Will this work or do I need to return it and buy a standard AFCI breaker?

From Wikipedia: (emphasis added)

  The AFCI is intended to prevent fire from arcs. AFCI circuit breakers are designed to meet one of two standards as specified by UL 1699: "branch" type or "combination" type (note: the Canadian Electrical Code uses different terminology but similar technical requirements). A branch type AFCI trips on 75 amperes of arcing current from the line wire to either the neutral or ground wire. A combination type adds series arcing detection to branch type performance. Combination type AFCIs trip on 5 amperes of series arcing.

and

  A combination AFCI breaker provides protection against parallel arcing (line to neutral), series arcing (a loose, broken, or otherwise high resistance segment in a single line), ground arcing (from line, or neutral, to ground), overload protection and short circuit protection.

So it appears that "combination AFCI" is a short way of saying "protect against more potential problems than the original AFCI devices protected."


Can we apply Formica directly to bare drywall? Can Formica be applied directly to bare drywall? If it can, which adhesive is best to use?  We want to apply it to the walls around a toilet in an unfinished basement setting.

Sure you can.  It will be a better water deterrent than painted drywall and will certainly be easier to maintain and clean.

Is it recommended?  Probably not.  But not everything has to be approved.

I would adhere Formica with the same mastic for applying vinyl tile.  It is easy to apply and work, and has more than adequate adhesion.


Should I replace my breaker box due to its age? Our house has a Square D QO style breaker box, where it uses single pole breakers that have 2 clips on them like this:

I am looking to add a new breaker and am out of physical space in the box currently.
The box currently has 4 tandem breakers, so I figured I would just replace a single with a tandem. (Based on info from this thread, physical space is the limitation.)
When shopping for a 2-20 tandem breaker, one of the guys helping me at the store told me my box is super old, and I should just upgrade it.

It seems parts for this box might be harder to acquire compared to a new box, but should I legitimately be considering upgrading my box just cause its old?

Don't listen to the guy at the store telling you to toss out a perfectly serviceable QO box.  Parts for the QO line are available through practically every supply house in North America, and most of the big-box stores too -- it's quite common to this day in both residential and light commercial work, and as far as I know, hasn't been altered in a backwards-incompatible way since its introduction in 1955.

As a general rule -- if the panelboard is of a type still in use today (i.e. QO, Homeline, CH, BR, QP, or THQL), has the ampacity and physical space (incl. tandem/double-stuff slots), and is in good condition inside and out (no hot spots, arcs, or burnt insulation), it's a keeper.  It's those pesky FPE, Zinsco, and to a lesser extent Pushmatic panels that need to be sent to the smelter....


Semi-flush mounting a surface mount (NEMA 3R) panel This is a new one for me. The owner needs a new main panel in a wet location but wants the box inset in the wall. I cannot find a reason not to do it, other than it will be a bit harder to wire. The feeder is in conduit and the local AHJ allows the feed in conduit at the nearest point of connection. Has any one run into this before? I was thinking it would not be code compliant but the inspector said 230.70(A)(1) would allow if the service feeder was in conduit. Does anyone have tips or advice?

I think the box will protrude from the siding about 3/4" so the door will function.

Leave yourself strategic access for future wiring, like access doors above and below the panel if the homeowner is game for that.

Otherwise, sounds pretty cool looking.