Electrical box in ceiling has too three cables coming in. How do we know which ones to use for hook-up? Three sets of wires come into our overhead light electrical box. Two with white, black, ground, one with white, black, red, ground. Which wires do we use to hang our fan/light? It comes with white, black, ground. Why are there so many wires into one box? We don't have an electrical tester to see what's live.

Figure Out What You Have First
The instructions below are based on a typical configuration. This is very likely to be the case if:

The 2 Black/White cables are currently connected together
Power is coming in on one (and if you disconnect them, only one, of the black wires). You need a tester to verify this before continuing.

If these 3 cables are all sitting capped (wire nuts) in the box then this will be tough to figure out. More typically though, one set is "in", another is "out" (to other devices sharing power) and the third is "switched". All grounds go together, so they can be ignored for purposes of figuring this out. A typical configuration is:
In - Black, White

Black = Hot
White = Neutral

Out - Black, White

Black = Hot
White = Neutral

Switched - Black, White, Red

Black = Hot
Red = Switched Hot 1
White = Switched Hot 2 (note, this one of the rare situations where White is not Neutral) or Neutral in the Switch Box (required in most places in new installations)

If that's the setup, it is designed for a combination ceiling fan + light with separate switches for fan & light. That used to be very common. Now with inexpensive remote controls it is less common.
New Fan

Black = Hot or Switched Hot
White = Neutral

Connections - Using a Single Wall Switch

All Cable Hots (Black from all 3 cables) together
All Cable Neutrals (White from In & Out) together plus white wire from fan
Switch connects to Hot (Black) and Switched Hot (Red)
Cap the Switched Cable White wire on both ends - you're not using it right now.
Red (Switched hot) to Fan Black wire.


What type of wall texture is this? I'm trying to repair a wall and need to know what type of texture this is. Thank you.

It is not specific so it is a matter of trial and error. Various sponges but also mops are used. It also depends on pressure and movement of the tool. My builder called it "Stomp"  and says he always uses the same painter who has sponge that is decades old so he can make matching alterations later.


Determine highest "carbon reduced per dollar spent" option for reducing pollution generated by home? I've been talking with friends and coworkers about how I can reduce the amount of pollution generated by my house (heating the air, heating the water, cooking the food, etc.)  Everybody has a different suggestion -

Replace my natural gas water heater with electric
Put solar panels on the roof
Buy wind energy credits
Carbon offsets
Geothermal
Don't replace my electric oven with gas (which I had been thinking about, since I hear how great they are for cooking)

I'm thinking that each of these has an amount of carbon reduced, and a cost, resulting in a "carbon per dollar" value.  And yes, I realize that will require a calculation that is specific to my house, my specific energy usage, and how my electric utility generates its electricity.
Is there a resource that lets me figure out, for each one, (1) how much of an impact it actually has, and (2) how much would it cost, so I can figure out the carbon reduced per dollar?

Pick the low-hanging fruit.
For the vast majority of homes, improving insulation and airsealing (caulking cracks, foaming gaps, etc.) will make the largest impact on both operating cost and pollution produced, by reducing the amount of whatever energy source you use to heat and cool your home.
Maintaining the appliances you have to ensure that they operate as efficiently as possible also reduces wasted energy and excess pollution and your bills. Have you flushed the water heater this year? Is the vent/chimney clean, have the burners been adjusted or maintained to burn clean?
In many (not all) cases, replacing a functioning appliance before it becomes non-economical to repair is contributing to pollution, since large parts of the appliance are not actually recycled and end up as trash.
If you improve the airsealing enough that you need one, a Heat or Energy recovery ventilator will save additional energy on heating or cooling fresh air, while also keeping your house healthy to live in.


Minimum distance from a water pipe to a junction box Is there any minimum distance required between a junction box and copper water pipes?  This is in an exposed basement ceiling and the box is near a couple of 1/2" water lines.  There is currently about 5" spacing.

Hmmm...  Assuming, from your use of 1/2", that you are in North America, it's actually something that people argue about (in the US anyway). Here is how the NEC reads in Article 110.34, Work Space and Guarding:

(F) Protection of Service Equipment, Switchgear, and Industrial
Control Assemblies. Pipes or ducts foreign to the electrical
installation and requiring periodic maintenance or whose malfunction
would endanger the operation of the electrical system shall not be
located in the vicinity of the service equipment, switchgear, or
industrial control assemblies. Protection shall be provided where
necessary to avoid damage from condensation leaks and breaks in such
foreign systems. Piping and other facilities shall not be considered
foreign if provided for fire protection of the electrical
installation.

The argument is in the interpretation of "Service Equipment" when it comes to residential panels. If the panel is a "sub-panel", meaning NOT the first place where the utility feed lands, then some people say this rule does not apply. Other inspectors do not make the distinction.
Then, there is the term "... in the vicinity of...", because it doesn't state a distance. In a previous portion of the same article, they call out for 3ft clearance as "working space", but some inspectors interpret that to mean only IN FRONT OF the gear.
Then there is the phrase "... or whose malfunction would endanger the operation ...". Is a 1/2" water pipe likely to burst and spray on a load center?
My best advice is to as a local inspector, they are the final say-so.


idea for mounting lcd tv on plywood please suggest some ideas for mounting tv on plywood . I need to do  clamp the lcd tv on the window. So i think it's better to cover the window using plywood first. After mount the tv on plywood . Is that good ? is there any suggestion, is there any other designs ?

I would strongly advise against trying to make an ad hoc mounting for a TV. Its a lot harder than you might think. Use a production mounting arm of some type. A typical example shown below:

If you screw it into the window frame it will probably hold.


Cutting acrylic bath panel to fit profile of baseboard trim We are decorating our bathroom and the current bath panel is looking a bit yellow.

We have found a lovely clean white bath panel made from Acrylic, but we have a skirting board on both walls where the bath panel touches.

What i am wanting to know is the best way to cut the acrylic so that it fits nicely with the skirting without any gaps.

The skirting is similar to the image below.

I'm guessing the "panels" will cover the existing (fiberglass?) tub walls? The skirting (molding?) from your photo looks to be made of MDF (medium density fiberboard). MDF won't last very long in a wet environment.   To install the acrylic sheets, if possible, remove the skirting and then measure the wall height and subtract 1/2-3/4 inch. The panels will easily install and the skirting will cover the gap.


Should a water heater's anode be replaced? I hear conflicting information on replacing the anode bar on a water heater or not since the water heater will be replaced anyway.

Should the anode bar be periodically replaced? Why? How often?

The anode rod corrodes over time, and once it does, cold water is not properly delivered to the bottom of the heater which results in luke-warm water.  The simple answer is that it should be replaced as-needed.

On some water heaters, this rod is part of the cold water supply, so replacing it requires disconnecting the tank which can be a fair bit of work. Some heaters have what is known as a sacrificial anode rod that is independent to the intakes and exists solely to protect the rest of the water heater from corrosion - usually this one is easier to remove and replace.

If you have plans to shortly replace the whole tank, I would not replace the rod unless you suspect it is already corroded and causing problems.


How do I secure the bottom of vinyl siding before work is complete? I've got some repair work to do that involves removing the bottom 4 or 5 feet of vinyl siding. I think, typically, work would start from the bottom and work up, and if I was done for the day all the pieces would be interlocked and the top edge would be nailed, so no problems walking away overnight.

In my case, I've got to split the siding and strip down, and this means the bottom edge of the siding is now free to flap about when the (strong) winds come in tonight.

How do I prevent the siding from getting damaged? I was thinking I could install a starter strip and re-fasten the siding to that, but it seems like an awful lot of work for a relatively short period of time. If that's the answer though that's fine; I'm just looking to see how this scenario would normally be handled.

Unless you're expecting storms or high winds, it's not really an issue. Even if it flutters a bit it won't make a lot of noise.

Otherwise, a few strips of scrap plywood screwed gently to the wall sheathing and lapped over the siding panel will do. It doesn't need to be sophisticated.


What is necessary to make my old 3-wire 30-A dryer connection compliant with current code? I have a 3-wire connection for the clothes dryer, and I would like to make it compliant with current code the simplest way consistent with reasonable safety. I haven't looked at the connection block but it must be that the neutral is bonded to the chassis because the chassis is grounded.

The heavy ground wire that leads to the panel is grounded to the cold water pipe supplying the clothes washer and is exposed right next to the dryer. I could connect a wire from the ground terminal of the dryer to that ground wire and not change to a 4-wire plug and cord. In the connection block of the dryer I would remove the neutral to chassis ground bond.

Code violation? Someone could later disconnect that ground and the chassis would not be grounded. I could change to a 4-wire receptacle and connect a ground wire inside the wall or outside to the nearby heavy ground wire going to the panel.

NEMA 10-30 receptacles are grandfathered, illegal for new installation but legal to leave alone if already installed. It is not safe and it has a body count.  It is legal because of lobbying by the appliance industry.

By modifying it you lose your grandfathering and make it illegal.

Your proposal solves the safety problem electrically, but mechanically it is not code legal.   I am reluctant to say it would be "safe" because generally, code is written in ash and blood, and they wouldn't outlaw a thing unless experience has shown it causes fire or fatality.

Your best bet is to retrofit a NEMA 14-30 4-pin receptacle, and connect hot-hot-neutral to those same wires on the 14-30.  Connect ground as follows:

Code (as of NEC 2014) allows you to retrofit just a ground wire, simply by running a solo ground wire.   It does not need to use the same route as the conductors.   It cannot simply go to the rod/pipe ground source that the panel uses.  It must go back to the panel, and the same panel as the conductors.

The ground path must be the required wire size its entire run.  As long as that is true, multiple circuits (out of the same panel) can share a ground wire when retrofitting grounds.


Floor to ceiling bookshelf design: anything missing? okay to use MDF? Novice here. Building a book shelf along the full wall and floor-to-ceiling of my basement. Made up some plans, since I couldn't find any that really matched.  Wondering a few things.

Am I missing anything?
Do I need any additional support (will attach to wall)
I know MDF is looked down on, but am I "okay" to use it for the verticals like this? They seem SO Much easier with the pre-drilled holes...etc.
Do I need the header 2x4s?

Notes: Was thinking the bottom would be 2x6s (treated, since on concrete), and the top would be 2x4s (not sure if needed, but figured I want something for the crown molding to go on.
Any thoughts/suggestions/insults welcome. Thanks! :)

Done! Ended up building the base and two verticals with treated 2x4s, and regular 2x4s for cross-support around the fireplace.  Then sandwiched-in the verticals with MDF.
As you can see, I also used big L-brackets to support the long horizontals.  Likely a bit overboard there, but I think they'll look okay once it's filled. Was hoping for a long, open spans aesthetic instead of putting extra verticals in.
The MDF looks nice for now. It does have little dings and nicks. Went with a rustic looking wood pattern, so it doesn't seem to affect the overall look. So far. We'll see how well it holds up over the years.  It was certainly nice to work with, and saved a lot of painting. I think I'd use it again if I were to make another.
I haven't put the baseboard across the bottom yet. Haven't decided if I'm going to use the white baseboard that will be in the room, or more of this wood-looking mdf 3.5" pieces like the verticals.


Are these 3 switches wired correctly? I updated the switches in my master bedroom. It used to be 3 switches - one for the ceiling fan's light, one for the ceiling fan blades, and one to control a few outlets (for floor lamps).

I added a dimmer to the ceiling fan light, a three-speed fan control for the fan and a regular switch for the outlets. I simply followed the wiring as it was originally installed in the box - replaced each switch one at a time while being sure not to mix up the wires.

Everything works but I want to double-check that the wiring is correct since this is more complex than anything I've done before.

Here is a picture:

The switch on the left controls the outlets. The switch in the middle is the 3-speed fan control. The switch on the right is the dimmer for the ceiling fan light.

The box has three wires coming into it. Two of the wires have white, black, ground and red wires. The third wire is just black, white and ground.

All of the white wires are spliced together and don't connect to any switch - I haven't seen anything like this before. All of the black wires are spliced and then go out to the switches. The ground wires are spliced together and then one wire leaves the splice to connect to the green screw on each of the switches.

As I said, everything works exactly as it should. The only odd symptom I'm seeing is that the small LED light on the fan speed switch is noticeably dimmer than the LED on the ceiling fan dimmer. They're the same brand so I assume they should be the same brightness. The fan speed switch's LED also flickers off and then on when you adjust the speed.

In terms of electrical connectivity, yes, the switches appear to be wired correctly. BTW: the big nut o' white wires in the back means that power's actually fed to the switch box first instead of being fed to the light first with a switch loop to the switch.  This is a good thing because it makes installing fancy timers/smart-switches/etal much easier than in a switch loop configuration.

However, there are a couple of minor workmanship issues that I'd like to point out before the inspector does.  First off -- there is no reason to double-tap the pigtail for the left and center switches -- the center switch provides its own pigtail which can be nutted in to the nut o' black wires with a wirenut of sufficient capacity.  Second, your box has lost the clamp plate for the cable on the right -- it may be possible to hack it by transplanting the unused clamp plate from the left top to the right top, though.  (Of course, you can always clamp the NM as if it were a standard metal box provided box fill allows for that...)


AC switch with two mutualy exclusive power lines I have deconstructed my bathroom fan and found three wires coming from the wall:

N -- neutral
A -- has 230V only when light switch is on
B -- has 230V only when light switch is off

I wonder how such a "device" can be constructed when powered only by standard household 230V wiring (line, neutral, ground). Does it have a name? What is the schematic of such device?

What seems to be happening is something like the function of the diagram shown below. The light switch is a single-pole, double-throw switch. When it is off, 230 the OFF contact supplies 230 V to the relay contact labeled CR NOTO. That contact is normally open, so no power is supplied to the fan motor. When the switch is turned on, power is supplied to the fan motor and the CR relay coil. When CR is energized, CR NOTO immediately closes. When the switch is turned off, 230 V is supplied through contact CR NOTO. That contact remains closed because the contact has a normally open timed to open function. It closes immediately when the relay is energized, but does not open immediately when the relay is de-energized. It opens only after the set time has expired. When the time expires, the contact opens shutting off the fan.

Such a relay should be available to buy. You may have difficulty finding one with a 230 V input or coil. You also need to be concerned about where and how to mount it in a manner that conforms with electrical safety regulations.

Rather than restoring the original operating scheme, it might be preferable to just disconnect the wire wire that is live when the light is off and install a timer switch for the fan next to the light switch. There may also be such a thing as a combined light and timer switch that could replace the light switch. Two switches may require a larger wiring box for the switches. The available components and preferable configuration will probably be whatever is common in your part of the world.


Sprinkler: Water leaking from the black box with the screws After the winter storm when I turned on my water valve for my sprinkler, water gushed from the top. I notice the black top was cracked and I could take it off with my hand. Inside was filled with water and the rubber plastic ring and white and red plastic piece was floating at the top. Is this something easy to fix?

That appears to be the backflow preventer and you may be able to find replacement parts for that specific make/model at a local irrigation supply house.
Otherwise, you'll need to replace it.


Where should shielded data cables be grounded? In the comments on this question (Using PEX as wire conduit), the issue of grounding shielded data cables on one end vs both ends came up.

For any arrangement of cables (ex. single cable, multiple cables into splitters/hubs, multiple parallel cables. etc.), how should they be grounded?

I am especially interested in both CAT6 (Ethernet) and coax (<3GHz) since I am actually about to run some underground between two different structures. In my case, both structures share a grounding electrode system, but an ideal answer would also address instances where this is not the case.

My current plan is to ground the coax on both ends with a grounding block and a grounding conductor going back to the nearest service panel, and to ground the CAT6, which is shielded, on both ends with surge protectors and a grounding conductor going back to the nearest service panel.

The industry practice is to ground the main panel end and leave the field end ungrounded.

If you ground both ends you create an antenna for RF interference. Search the web for dipole antenna design.

Good luck!


I need another joist in my garage I am replacing my garage doors and the new door set has all the necessary hardware except the rear hangers. This is fine as I have punched angle iron I can use. The problem is that the top bar does not reach where the old doors did which is where a joist currently sits. Because of this, my top bar does not reach a joist, so I don't have a place to hang my rear hanger. What can be done about this, if anything?

You do not need to add an additional ceiling joist to simply support the new garage door opener. Instead install some blocking between the existing ceiling joists similar to how it shows in the following picture. It may even be convenient to install two blocks to pickup both sides of the garage door opener top bar.

(picture image from build-my-own-home.com)

The blocking can be nailed or screwed in place through the two ceiling joists. Once in place the brackets or mounting bar for the door opener can be attached to the blocking.

Note that if the spacing between your existing ceiling joists is more than the nominal 16" or 24" then make use of a wider piece of material for the blocking to maintain it's rigidness even up to and including a piece of 2x12 material.


What's a nifty way to restrict my dog run without re-installing it? We have a "dog run" in our back yard that we hook our dogs to when they need to go out. Their harnesses hook to a lead, and then lead in turn hooks to the wheel you see in the picture below. The wheel runs along a line that is about 40 feet in length. This way, they can run around the entire back yard (pretty much) without restriction, but are still bound by the run.

The problem is, one end of this run (the line you see the wheel running along) is sunk (drilled) into a tree, and my dogs always end up wrapping themselves around the tree. I've finally had it! I'm sick of having to put on my boots and tread some 50 feet out into my back yard to unhook them and unwind the lead from around the tree. The time has finally come for me to find a solution that prevents them from wrapping around the tree.

I've thought about putting up some kind of fence that hooks into the tree (that way they can't wrap around it), but this tree is smack dab in the center of our lawn and anything I put up will be an eyesore for my wife.

Also, this lead was a real pain to put up, so I'd like to avoid taking it down and reinstalling it at all costs.

So now I'm considering putting something on the run itself; some kind of block that prevents them from getting to the tree in the first place. This would limit their run from about 40 feet to 30 feet, but I don't think that will rob them of any exercise.

But if I just simply wind duck tape around the run, the first time they go running after a squirrel or something, the wheel will get lodged on the duck tape and then they'll be stuck in the center of the lawn; plus I'll have to go un-lodge them.

So I ask: can any DIYers out there think of a way that I can:

Attach something to my dog run that will hold resolute but not allow the wheel to get lodged or wedged on it; and
Not require me to take the run down and put it back up

They make clamps that you can very easily install onto the line. They come in a range of sizes to fit most any line size. Here is a picture of what they look like.

You can procure these at most home supply centers and at any decent hardware store. Look for Steel Cable clamps.

There is another type of connector that may be an alternate choice. These, as pictured below, will be found in the electrical supply section of the same types of stores mentioned above. They are typically made of copper and so will not rust. Price will be a little higher though.


How to do a flush transition from concrete wall to metal stud wall? I have an existing 8" thick concrete wall 10' above finish grade, and I would like to add a 6" metal stud plaster wall above the concrete wall.

With a 1" plaster coating, there will be a 1" recess from the outer face of the concrete wall. Is there any way to have a flush transition from the concrete wall to metal stud wall?

Additionally, do I have to have a horizontal control joint in the corner of an L shaped wall built as above, or is there anyway to hide that transition?

In order to join a plastered masonry wall to a new plastered stud wall, you must do surface prep and moisture barrier, offset the wire lath from the studs using some combination of sheathing and or furring, plaster, then do a skim coat to blend seamlessly.

You’ll account for any “missing” thickness such as the missing inch in your 6” new / 8” old joint problem by using furring or shims etc to separate the base of the coating away from the wall structure.

It is possible to flare the surface out so that the old and new wall sections can be different thickness along the bulk of their spans.

Easiest way that comes to mind is to draw the curve and cut out curved plywood strips to stand out from the new wall structure to act as anchors for the wire lath.
Or if you’re not trying to have a notable curved lip at all, calculate to under 1/32 per inch like it’s shelf deflection allowances, and shim out as you move down the wall.
Attach anchors/shims to new wall
Staple a little tighter wire lath to the plywood anchors if it tilts a lot
Mix and go to town plastering.

BUT BEFORE YOU START...

Are you sure it’s plaster and not stucco?

To be successful, you must be aware of what material you are seeking to blend into. Repair or add to like with like to minimize cracking and separation over time.

There are 3 major categories of spread surface covering.

Gypsum Plaster
Lime plaster
Portland cement stucco

To identify what you have:

Check photos of each type online, compare, then watch & gather the wasteage as the metal stud wall is mounted.
You can field test for gypsum by taking the powder from the drill aside and check texture as you add drops of water.

Gypsum really moves if you give it some motivation.
Lime pretty much won’t move except in a sandy way after it’s cured.
Portland cement-based (“traditional”) stucco is sandier. Think peanut buttery grout.

If this is an outdoor wall anywhere that gets regular moisture you should hope that it’s not finished in gypsum plaster. Otherwise be extra diligent about maintaining a water barrier of paint or the like.

Lime plaster is hydrophobic and although it’s not perfect, it will do well as a moisture barrier. If you told me I’m going to be plastering on a long weekend, I would wish I was working in lime plaster. There is a bit of a learning curve to delivering an even texture though, and the drying process is... for some it’s burdensome and for others it’s a labor of love.

If you’ve used grout or mortar before, Portland cement will likely feel the most familiar.

Whatever coating you’re using, mix according to manufacturer’s directions.

You’ll want to mix the biggest batches that you can apply before they cure.
Try not to waste too much, but err on the side of bigger batches because especially when you don’t have much mixing practice you really want to avoid high texture variability.
You’ll probably want a small rotary hand mixer.

Surface Prep:

Clean off any dirt and debris on the existing concrete and plaster wall. Hopefully you don’t see exposed concrete, especially at the corners. If there are big chunks missing you’ll need to fill them carefully.
Wash the original wall. You’ll want to add some moisture during application later, but right now the goal is removing or identifying anything loose etc that could interfere with adhesion.
Watch how the original wall surface takes water, especially for a few inches on either side of the seam.
If an area isn’t getting wet like its neighbors, then your covering won’t stick there without help. If you need the new coating to stick here, either clean the surface, or give your skim coat a framework to stick to.
Prep the whole original wall because you are going to do an end to end skim coat at the end.

Add furring strips to the studs so you can hang metal lath at thickness.

To calculate furring thickness:

Measure from each side of the studs at intervals matching your furring strip length to the existing finish to get the offset on that side. Yes, the studs should be aligned with the original wall edge but surprises happen.
Feel free to select furring strip length based on whatever is convenient to acquire, cut, and maneuver into place. This is less risky than drywall since in your application, you’ll be building out a paste over the whole surface.
Subtract completed sheathing thickness and your chosen material’s ideal application thickness from the total offset to get furring strip thickness.

For example, if this is an outdoor wall in the US, there’s a good chance the old work is probably Portland cement stucco, not plaster.

If you’re adding stucco over the new section, then the per-side application thickness for this calculation is 5/8 inch or 7/8 inch, but not quite 1 inch.

Apply paper or wire over the sheathing

If you’re doing the finish work yourself, do yourself a favor bear in mind which materials you’ll be working with in what climate. Proper match to the application is essential.

Apply your coating according to best practices for the materials, location relative to water sources / concentrators, and climate.

For example, Hunker provides an excellent training on stucco application.

No matter the coating, do a top to bottom skim coat at the end to bring up to final thickness and smooth out the joints.

Going into detail on best practices on all combinations of conditions is out of scope for this answer, but it’s fascinating to see how much of weatherproofing is surface-agnostic. It’s just another layer, you’ll do great.


120V and 240V outlet in same box I am installing a new 240V circuit for an EV charger. I would like to put the outlet for this in a 2-gang box that would also have a 120V outlet. I'm in California. Is this OK?

Yes, 120V and 240V can cohabitate.  Both of those are classified as Class 1 circuits.  The highest voltage present in the box will be 240V, and with any normal wiring (NM, THHN in conduit, MC, etc.) all the wiring will have insulation rated well above that voltage.

However, depending on the plug on your charger, it may not fit in half a 2-gang.


Can I use interior oil-based primer on window glazing? I'm re-glazing some windows with DAP '33'.  The instructions call for an oil-based paint or oil-based primer. I have a can of Sherwin-Williams oil-based interior primer. Will this work over the glazing?

I've read that exterior oil primers are more flexible. Will this be concern for priming the glazing?

I personally would use it, presuming I'm going to top-coat it with exterior paint.  Of course, the very designation of the primer as "interior" means that the manufacturer did not INTEND for you to use it outdoors.  So you're taking a chance.

But I'd do it and not give it another thought.  What's the potential downside?  Probably something like "If it doesn't hold up, you'll have to repaint the glazing in a year or so..."  I can live with that.


Kenmore glass-top oven range shorting out My husband and I own a Kenmore slide-in glass-top oven, model 790-46359400.  Recently, my back right burner stopped working, so we ordered a replacement and put that in. The new burner works fine, but now we have a bigger problem: using any of the four burners for a few minutes results in a loud POP from the active burner and the stovetop shorting out.

When we look at the burner we were using, we see scorch marks on the wiring and harness. While replacing the original faulty burner, we removed the glass top itself from the oven instead of removing the assembly underneath. We think that the newly-loosened top is bumping/pressing on something.

Replacing this stove is not cheap.  Anyone have any idea why we're getting the short, and what we could do to fix it? We have some ATV high temperature sealant coming from Amazon that we plan to use to reattach the glass top. Is that enough, or do we need to do something else?

It's practically identical to this one on Sears.com.

Thank you in advance!

The damage to the wiring in your third picture is the reason the stove is shorting out.  You can see the metal wire terminal has melted.  This is because it is much too close to the black metal frame that is surrounding it.

When using the stove, the movement and vibration cause the terminal to touch the frame and short out.  You will have to move this terminal away from the frame to solve this problem.

However, from the picture it looks like the terminal is compromised.  Due to parts of it being melted, and the carbon build up from the arc flashes, this could now be a poor electrical connection, which could lead to further issues/failures of this burner down the road.

You will likely have to crimp a new female sta-kon connector onto the wire connected to this terminal, and at a minimum clean the carbon off of the terminal itself.  If the terminal is damaged to a point where the wire does not attach snuggly, you may have to replace the element.


how to fix a poor spackle job? I've never spackled before and I tried to fill in some space between the wall and the stairs after we took out our carpet. Suffice it to say I used way too much spackle and now I have an uneven mess. What is the best way to fix things now that the spackle has hardened?

Get yourself a drywall sander

Sand down the high spots using rough grit (100 grit) sand paper (they sell it to fit the sander - you'll find the sander in the drywall area and the sandpaper in paints) then smooth it with 200 grit.

If you have low points, fill them in after sanding.

Next time use less mud (little applications, not big ones) and then use a really really big sponge that's been slightly dampened to even it out.


How should I install a partition wall perpendicular to a finished exterior wall? I wish to install a partition wall with a header made of 2x8s (7 feet long). The header will run perpendicular to ceiling joists. I know the no-nonsense approach is to cut channels in the ceiling drywall and exterior wall drywall to anchor the header and end stud. Unless I am extremely lucky I will have to install some blocking between exterior wall studs to anchor the end wall stud (implies opening a couple spots to install blocking and repairing vapour barrier and drywall).
Is the opening of existing drywall overkill?

If this is just going to be a partition wall, why do you need the header? There will be no load-bearing issue to address. Thus, no need for a header.

If you want an opening through the partition wall and you want to drop the frame down from the ceiling, just use cripple studs, or put a header just over the opening.

I would strongly consider cutting a channel in the sheetrock. attach the top plate of your wall to the joists above, then build the wall directly under that. Again, no load-bearing issue, no need for a big header to bear the non-existent load. ;-)


I'm looking for a drywall finish that will hold a magnet I want to modify a wall so that small magnets will stick, and even hold a small dead weight. I would prefer that the magnetic area not look all that different from the rest of the wall, I don't want to just hang a sheet of steel. I am imagining that 1/4" mesh hardware cloth could be attached to the face of the drywall, and skimmed over with joint compound. We will be skim-coating the walls in any case to get a specific plaster texture.

The hardware cloth I've looked at has 1/4" openings, and is woven from 23 gauge steel and zinc galvanized. Magnets stick nicely to the bare cloth. My concern is that the joint compound will react badly with the galvanization causing the wall surface to check or fail in time.

The wall in question is in a full bath, and so humidity is likely to be higher than in the house in general. One of the proposed locations is directly behind the sink, the other is open wall. We are still discussing the right spot.

Is this a viable approach? If not, what else should I consider?

Update: My intent is to use rare-earth magnets to hold up a glass mirror behind a bathroom sink. The mirror is a 20 inch square cut into seven pieces forming a puzzle. Using magnets to mount the mirror will allow guests to play with the shape of the overall mirror on the wall. My plan is to epoxy three NdFeB magnets to the back of each puzzle piece, or possibly just one on the smallest pieces.

The back of an envelope says that 400 square inches of 0.25 inch glass should weigh a couple of pounds, but I probably should go weigh the actual pieces since Amazon thinks the shipping weight is 4.6 pounds and there can't be all that much cardboard in the box.

Assuming the 4.6 pound figure is correct and that the box accounts for about .6 pound, the smallest pieces would 1/16 the total weight, or about 4 ounces, and the largest pieces would be 1/4 the weight or about a pound.

So the bottom line is that I do need a surface that will allow magnets to hold up about a pound.

Final Update: As all things in a home remodel are in continuous flux, this plan has fallen by the wayside. The answers and discussion have been helpful. I believe the mirror will find a home on a steel-backed whiteboard in the home office, and something more conventional will end up on the walls next to the sink.

I still plan to play with the magnetic primer paint, but from all I've read I'm not expecting it to work out to hold up anything more than a few sheets of paper. With that in mind, the answer pointing to the useful permanent magnet calculator gets the coveted green checkmark mostly because it has been the most useful in guiding us towards a location and use for the mirror.

If you really want to securely hold objects that heavy to the wall using magnets, I think you need to be working with sheet metal on top of the drywall (or in place of the drywall).

The magnetic force will fall off very quickly with distance away from the plate, so even skim-coating with plaster will dramatically reduce the holding power of the magnet.

If you want the surface to blend in with the surrounding walls (you didn't actually state the finish on the walls, but I'm assuming it's painted sheetrock or plaster), try simply painting the steel sheet to match. The texture of the finish might be slightly different, but I'd imagine it wouldn't take away from the feeling that it "blends in" with the surrounding walls.

As others have stated, I'd also consider a polycarbonate mirror rather than glass.


Patching Base of Fieldstone Foundation So I have a field stone foundation and recently had gutter put on the house. There are a couple spots were water has been getting in. Once those areas are dry I'd like to try and fill them in. I was planning on using type S mortar. Is there something else I should consider using since these holes are where the foundation wall meets the floor?

Thanks

Since this is a foundation type S is a good choice. I think type M may also work but you need the high strength mix,  is the repair above grade or below?


Water hammer (maybe) so I live in a 1950's era bungalow, and a few weeks ago I started to hear I 'hammering' noise in the upstairs wall whenever the downstairs water taps were turned off. Before I hire a plumber to the tune of $$$ does anyone have any advice for me?

If there are taps or a bathroom up stairs a small leak can cause water hammer make sure all the water is fully turned off and the problem will stop. There needs to Be water flow to create water hammer.


Adding partitioning stud wall anchoring to sides instead of top and bottom Hi I want to add a partitioning stud wall in my basement. Ceiling and floor are concrete and sides are brick walls. I want to know

Must I build a full height wall touching the ceiling and anchor the top and bottom plates to the concrete to hold the wall or
I can build a 3/4 height wall not touching the ceiling and anchor the two last vertical stud woods on the two ends to the brick wall only to hold the wall?

Thanks

Your local building codes would, of course, depend on your location.

It it's OK most places to build partition walls that are not full height.  It's done in offices to create cubicle-like spaces, it's done in homes to give some separation between rooms, etc.

If you consider the wall to be part of the structure, I'd bet in most places it's not building code compliant to attach only at the walls, not at the floor.

If you consider the wall something like a cubicle partition, more of a piece of furniture rather than a part of the structure, those are often attached only at the wall and not at the floor.  Of course you have to follow the manufacturer's instructions for the system to get something that won't fall down.

Common sense - in normal wall construction the last stud isn't attached to the rest of the wall with much strength.  Without attachments to the ceiling and / or floor, all that's holding it together is a few nails into the header and sole, and the drywall.  It would be big enough to do damage or hurt somebody if it fell over.  I wouldn't do it.


Goodman GM100 Failure to recycle Our Goodman Furnace Model GM100 Serial# 9412063230 will start up and run but will not recycle after initially satisfying the thermostat.  If you wiggle the gray,(ground), wire on the gas valve, it will start again. It may run OK for up to three weeks and then fail, (3 times), to ignite and go into lockout.  This has been going on for about 3 months, but wanted to wait until the warmer weather before getting the furnace replaced, due to a possible extended time of replacement.

Does anyone kow what is in the little black terminal box on the gas valve?

Can the two screws and the black cover,(?), be removed to reconnect whatever is not making a good contact inside?

If wiggling (which is the correct technical term) can make it stop, or start again, the problem is most likely a broken or mostly broken wire.

The wire can be broken inside of the insulation, and look fine.

I have the broken wire inside the insulation all the time, my cats love my rubber phone charge cord, and will chew it. When I go to charge my phone, the charger will not work sometimes, and i can find a single cat tooth mark that was able to cut the wire.


How should I ventilate an air-tight concrete room? My house has an unused cistern that abuts the foundation.  I've cut a doorway into it from my basement and would like to use it as living space.  I would like to install a door to obscure and soundproof the room, but that would cut off the only source of air to this air-tight space.

I can install a vent by drilling through the basement wall at another location, but I am wondering how can I safely ventilate the 600 ft³ room so that several people can sit in it for hours at a time.

I would prefer a smaller hole, which will I imagine will require an fan as opposed to just a hole.  Does this mean I would also need a second hole to return air, or could enough air escape around the door?

A 4 inch diameter hole with a good fan might be sufficient to move air from the basement into this room under the use you describe. The space under the door might be sufficient to allow the air back into the basement.

Is the roof of this cistern room exposed on the surface, and, if so, is it shaded from the sun?


Recommendations for staining a deck that lives in the sun all year long? I live in Colorado and have a new deck. It is hot as hell here in the summer and my deck has direct sunlight all summer.

I've been looking for a type of stain that will work well in desert like conditions. I have been warned to stay away from big box stores; even from the products that reputable companies might offer there.

What type of stain will hold up to harsh sunlight conditions? Should I be looking for another type of product, like a sealer? I just don't want it to end up looking blotchy or start to flake off.

Pretreating the wood with a UV absorber (like bis(Biphenyl)triazine or a benzotriazole) will be helpful. UV Boost or other UV protectants will help with whatever stain or sealant you use. You can also mix light inhibitors with stain or sealant.


Bypassing a defective heating element in an oven toaster So I have a typical oven toaster and based on my research, one of the heating element is defective (no continuity).
My oven has 4 heating elements and only 1 is defective.
2 elements are in the upper area and 2 are in the lower area of the oven.
I don't want to buy a replacement heating element since it's hard to find and expensive (it's cheaper to buy a new oven toaster nowadays)
I am trying to find a way to bypass this defective heating element and make the other 3 elements heat up.
If I put the defective element in the upper area, both elements in the upper area won't heat up.
If I put the defective element in the lower area, both elements in the lower area won't heat up.
Is there a way to make the 3 elements heat up without replacing the 4th and defective heating element?
I'm hoping to bypass the 4th and defective element.
BTW, I put the defective in the lower area, far side
Please see pictures for more details.
Thanks for your help.

Your heating elements are wired in series because it takes two elements to match the voltage of your electricity supply.
because they are in series the dead element has disabled its partner. There's no cheap solution.


Can a portable bedroom fan be slowed down? I have a Vornado Heavy Duty Shop Fan in a bedroom for the purpose of making white noise at night to help sleep.  The speed switch only has a medium speed and high speed.  I wish there was an option for a slow speed, but it does not have this.
Is there any way to add some electrical device between the wall circuit and the fan plug that would reduce the voltage going to the fan, so that it would run at a slower speed?

I have once made a lamp with a light dimmer enclosed in a PVC box. If you get a box and make holes for wires then wire a fan dimmer to it, you can precisely control it's speed. But make sure it is dimmable. If it doesnt say "non-dimmable" or something like that, it should be dimmable.
EDIT: Since it has an integrated dimmer, it is very likely to be dimmable.


electrical switch and outlet issue I have a room in my house with both a dimmer switch and a flip switch. The flip switch controls the ceiling light and fan, and the dimmer controls the outlet by the entrance. It seems now we cannot use the outlet (for the tv) and the light at the same time. Does anyone know what could be happening or how to fix it?

The breakers dont trip when we try to turn on both.

If I understand you right, you’re using a light and TV on a dimmer switch controlled Plug (outlet)

If so that is a extremely bad idea as this is totally unsuited for TVs, Stereos, Computers, and other equipment. Equipment of this type will likely kill the electronic switch (triac) inside the dimmer switch and will put the attached appliances into a condition where they are likely to be destroyed when the dimmer is set at anything less than 100% on.

Solutions:

Put TV on different non controlled outlet (You will still have to replace the defective Dimmer switch)
You can if you want to keep the on off switch, remove the dimmer and put a regular light wall switch
The best would be to remove the Dimmer/light switch all together (After shutting power off from Breaker) and connect the switching wires together(NOT THE GROUNG)and cap, Then put a blank wall plate on.


Why was the ground for this fluorescent fixture not connected to the ballast? I just purchased a set of fluorescent fixtures that are fitted with a plug to connect to a standard 3-prong receptacle.  My intention is to replace the plug with Romex cable, and wire the fixture directly into a switched-controlled circuit.

When I disassembled the fixture I noticed the plug's ground wire was attached to the fixture chassis via a screw, while the live and neutral attached to the ballast.  However, the ballast has a terminal for live, neutral, and ground wires (see photo), which is confusing.  Why not just attach the all plug wires directly to the ballast?

I suspect this happened because the plug ground wire is stranded and that it may not make good contact with the spring-loaded terminals on the ballast.  In any case, is my plan to connect the three Romex wires directly to the ballast sound?

My guess would be that because the fixture has a metal frame, the ballast is grounded via its contact with frame.  If the frame were plastic, you would need to use the terminal on the ballast.

If you're converting it to hardwired, you should definitely connect the ground wire to the grounding screw.

You're also going to need to cut a hole if there's no punch-out available and make sure to use a cable clamp/strain relief suitable for using with romex.


Making or obtaining replacement parts for a multi-point window locking mechanism When I bought my house, it was fitted with multi-point locking systems on the windows. One or two of these have failed - an internal cast-metal half-cog has disintegrated. There is no manufacturer's name or other marking on the parts, that I can find.

My wife thinks it must be possible to source replacement parts. I suspect I'll have to try to fabricate parts or replace the window frames because I think these parts are proprietary and unlikely to be standardised.

Here's a photo of the mechanism, there is a metal bar with three locking studs (one visible at right of photo) each stud engages with a locking point on the outer frame. The metal bar slides vertically up and down. It is driven by the toothed insert to the left of the photo. The rectangular part with three holes should contain a half-cog that engages with the toothed section and which has a square hole. This square part sits in a rebate in the edge of the opening window frame (PVC). The window handle (with a key lock) fits into the square hole so that turning the handle turns the half-cog thus moving the locking bar up or down.

The square part is a metal sheet folded around the sliding bar (over which it slides freely) and bent at right angles. From the side it is L-shaped (two layers). The machine-screw inserts appear to be acting like rivets to hold the folded metal together.

Is likely that parts such as the missing half-cog can be sourced or fabricated?

Espagnolettes

For reference, what I eventually discovered was that these parts are called espagnolettes (in the UK at least) and that you can buy generic replacements that can be cut to fit.

There are a limited range of common rail-widths and lock-backsets that you need to measure before ordering. Fashions change, so older style parts are harder to find.

  Dimension A - Backset
  Dimension B - Mushroom Height
  Dimension C - Rail Length
  Dimension D - Rail Width

A suitable search term might be "upvc window espagnolette"


What are the differences between hot and cold roof systems? Can someone explain the differences, pros and cons of a hot roof vs a cold roof?

I would like to vault a ceiling in an addition off of our family room, taking the drywall all the way up to the roof rafters.

I do not believe this addition has soffit vents nor ridge vents. Do I already have a hot roof because of this lack of air circulation?

Can rigid foam be used for a hot roof or must it be sprayed?

Cold and hot roofs are an unfortunate terminology that leads to misconceptions. I shouldn't complain, since I'm not sure I have a better idea. Perhaps ventilated or unventilated sheathing? That is the deciding factor.

In cold roofs, the outside air is allowed to freely flow under the roof sheathing. In hot roofs, the insulation is typically installed close to the roof sheathing, but the main characteristic is the space under the sheathing is closed to fresh air flow. Thus, your unventilated roof is indeed a hot roof. You should be aware that according to most building codes, all structural voids not filled with some material should be ventilated.

The main advantage of cold roofs is for cold climates. Snow is much less likely to melt, and if it does melt, ice dams are less likely to form, or at least will be much smaller. With unventilated roofs, heat leaking from the building melts the snow. The water flows down to the eaves, which are much colder, and freezes. This causes a tiny dam which inhibits the water flow, which causes more water to freeze, making a bigger dam. The cycle repeats, and many tons of solid ice can accumulate.

Not only is the weight on an overhang an issue, but the water that hasn't frozen yet just pools. Most sloped roofs are not designed to resist pooling water. It easily backs up under the shingles and other joints and leaks into the building. This is particularly a problem in valleys.

In warm climates, a cold roof is still an advantage, but much less critical. The ventilation prevents any significant temperature differential from building up in the roofing system. The smaller the temperature change, the longer the roof will last. The ventilation will also carry off any moisture that may enter the space, avoiding mold issues. Unventilated roofs must have a good reliable vapor barrier, because any moisture entering the space will have nowhere to go.

The only advantage I can think of for a hot unventilated roof is it allows cheap, easy construction of vaulted ceilings without any special details to ensure the sheathing is being ventilated. These special details often end being a double sheathing system which significantly adds to the cost of a vaulted cold roof system.

You can use foam insulation of any type with either roof system. It's all a matter of correctly detailing the roof system to ensure it is either ventilated or that all voids are closed and filled.


Running UF-B cable in PVC conduit along house exterior 6/3 for 100' Can I run 100' of UF-B 6/3 cable alongside house exterior in 1" PVC conduit? This is a run from the main breaker inside the house and outside along the restricted access side of the house in 1" S40 PVC, then back inside the house to a dedicated spa breaker sub-panel. 240v 50amp at both breakers for a Spa that draws 31 Amps. Alternatively, I would like to run four 8 AWG individual wires (blk, red, wht, grn) in the same 1" S40 PVC that can handle 9 wires of fill-rate. Is either solution OK, or is there a preference? The run along side the house is gated, cement floored and locked, extremely unlikely to be disturbed or damaged in any way.

Since this is for a spa you have no choice but to use individual insulated conductors in conduit since code requires it (with few exceptions).

If it is exposed and above ground most inspectors would require Sch80, unless as you imply it is totally out of harms way.


How should I go about fire proofing my garage? I am working on an old house that has a garage that needs some updating.  The shared wall with the garage has the old house siding (when presumably there was no attached garage).  There is a partial ceiling (50%) that holds attic space.  The part that doesn't have attic space has the rafters exposed.  I also have crawl space access behind the stairs leading from the garage to the kitchen.

After reading several of the questions and answers in this DIY exchange, it appears I need to:
(1) Install 5/8" sheetrock on top of (or in place of) the old siding that is installed in the shared wall.
(2) I need to find a fireproof solution to the crawlspace access (or close the access entirely with 5/8" sheetrock)
(3) I need to figure out a way to make the ceiling/roof fireproof.

For (3) I was thinking of extending the attic floor to cover 3/4th of the garage.  I would build a wall on the edge that I am not extending.  I would then install 5/8" sheetrock to the "new" garage ceiling (attic floor) and to the new attic wall.  Now, what do I do with:
(a) access door to attic?  Does it have to be fireproof?  Can I build same access door that I see built with pull-down stairs?  This access door doesn't seem tightly sealed like some of the answers I have seen suggest it needs to be.
(b) what do I do with the exposed rafters in the area i did not extend attic?  Do I need to install 5/8" sheetrock like a vaulted ceiling would have?

Depending on the answer to (a), can I use the same technology to fireproof the access to my crawlspace?

Lastly, on the 3 sides of the garage that do not share a wall with the house, can I just install 1/2" drywall?  And, any additional considerations regarding insulation of any of the 4 walls?

For the Access to the Crawlspace and Attic you can use a Fire Rated Access Hatch. We used one in our Garage. I can't seem to find the Make/Model, though its something like this. They come in all sizes.

You also want to have Any Wall Penetrations with Fireproofing. If you have Plumbing (water heater, Vent Stack, Electrical, etc that is not behind the sheetrock you need a fireproof barrier. They make several things to do this


How can I determine whether I have moisture issues behind a brick facade I removed a wall panel next to the window in my garage and removed the wall insulation to expose a particle board (think that's the right term) panel that's behind the exterior brick facade. The particle board looks darker than expected, as if it is or was damp at some point. How can I tell if it is damp or had moisture damage?

I don't see any blatant signs of fungal growth.

Updated: Added an image. This is to the right of a window. The entire length of the panel looks like this.

Seems like there are a couple of things going on here:

First, you say, “next to the window.” Typically, I see a lot of leak problems around windows and particularly at the corner of the sills. This is a “leak” issue and not a lack of moisture barrier issue, as implied by your title question.

Yes, darkened wall sheathing is an indication that moisture has been there, but has dried out. If the sheathing is solid (not punky) and stained on the surface only not throughout, then it would indicate that not much moisture has entered or not very frequently.

Second, you don’t mention a moisture barrier between the wall sheathing and the brick, but if there isn’t one, then You have a bigger problem. Hand-in-hand with the moisture barrier is the need for “weep holes”.  I’d check to see if there are weep holes and if they’re “open”.

Where I live, brick veneer is installed with a 3/4” to 1” air space to the wall sheathing with a moisture barrier on the face of the sheathing. The brick veneer extends down about 4” below the top of the floor line (finish floor) with weep holes at the bottom to allow water that gets behind the brick to drain out.

Third, brick is porous and needs to be sealed with a clear liquid sealer from time to time. Wind driven rain will “push” the rain water through the brick veneer. That is why a moisture barrier and weep holes are required.

I’d verify if the “leak” problem is at the window only or lack of moisture barrier and weep holes. If the darkened sheathing is punky or darkened throughout the sheathing, then it could have mold and you may want to have it tested.

If the brick wall is 8” thick and not 4” thick, then it’s a structural wall and not a veneer wall. We usually don’t use a moisture barrier for structural walls.


New toilet handle – not flushing all the way Replaced the toilet handle only – for appearance purposes (a fluidmaster one). Now you have to hold the handle down till the toilet does a proper flush. Otherwise it just does a half flush basically. I even have the chain all the way right. If I go down even one more link, the flapper won't seal properly. So the chain isn't the problem. I bought another cheap handle and it does the same... sort of confused, The toilet is only a couple years old. Maybe this is normal for new, universal handles. Any advice is welcome. It's not a big deal, just a little annoying.

Toilet tank flapper valve geometry varies all over the place. Some contain air and float when opened, some contain air but have a bleed hole and eventually sink. Some are made to tip over their hinge, counterweighted with water that then runs out through a bleed hole. The exact solution to your problem will depend on which kind of flapper valve you have.

In every case, though, the trick is to adjust the chain so it is just tight enough to pull the flapper open, and no shorter. Once the flapper has been pulled far enough to stay open, it must be free to continue moving on its own.

Your description suggests that your chain is too short. That's why @Jimmy Fix-it wants you to experiment with the chain -- not to see if the flapper is working properly, but to see exactly how far you need to pull to trip the flapper's action.

The other thing you need to do is to inspect and adjust the angle of the chain. At the point where it becomes taut, the top of the chain must be directly over the flapper or its hinge. Pulling at a large angle may not open the flapper far enough.

Trouble with toilet flush plumbing is very common. I am always surprised when a flush toilet in my house works properly for as long as five years without some kind of attention. Just be thankful your problem does not involve a leak.


What type of string lasts in strong UV and pool environment? I need to use a string near or in a pool for one summer. It has to last strong summer heat (TX), sun, UV rays, and pool chlorine.
My chlorine dispenser float keeps going next to the skimmer area. Some people say high chlorine levels can damage pump and other equipment. So I thought of reeling it and attaching to the opposite side of the skimmer. The float will weigh much less than 4 lb. when in water but better safe than sorry.
Any suggestions?

Nylon and polyester are typically considered the most UV-resistant rope materials.  However, neither do particularly well with Chlorine. Polypropylene is better with Chlorine, but degrades in sunlight. It has the benefit of flotation, so it's widely used in pool applications. You may need to replace it annually.


How do I open this flush ceiling light to change the bulb? I am trying to open this flush ceiling light fixture to change a burned out bulb, but I can't figure out how to open it for the life of me.

It looks like this:

I am not sure what the brand or model of the light fixture is, but I was able to find a similar light fixture on this website (http://www.galaxy-lighting.com/item.aspx?item=24826), but there are only minimal installation instructions!

So far, I have tried unscrewing the screws around the base and then twisting counter-clockwise, pulling straight down, and wiggling it around. I tried using (what I thought was) some considerable force in all these actions, but it won't expose the light bulbs inside. At this point, I'm afraid of breaking it if I use too much strength.

Does anyone have any experience with this type of ceiling light fixture?

Update: I was able to take off the cover. It required a counter-clockwise twist after removing the screws. I had tried that, but it required a lot more force than I was comfortable using. It had guides along the glass cover to tighten the glass piece to the metal base, kind of like a lid on a jar. I think that after 6 years or so, it must have settled tightly into place, and when I was able to finally get it to twist, I actually ended up breaking the glass cover because it jerked open. I wasn't wearing gloves, but thankfully I didn't cut myself.

While I was at it, I changed the other ceiling light in my hallway and was able to take it off without too much trouble after "wiggling" the cover for a little bit before twisting it off. It also jerked out of place, but it didn't break. I took a picture of the cover, in case it helps someone else in the future.

The installation instructions seem pretty clear.  You should remove the three screws around the perimeter and then you may have to twist the shade portion to pull it down.  The bump visible next to the screw could be an indentation that holds on to a notch in the shade that requires it to be twisted before it comes off.

Maybe you just need to use a little more force than you did, but that diagram seems to show that there's nothing else holding the shade on.


Closet where AC/Heater fan is located is very cold I noticed that the closet where my heating unit/AC fan lives is super cold.  I measured the temp using a black and decker IR thermal leak detector and the temp in the closet is about the same temp as the air coming out of the vents.  I'm guessing I have a leak but is this particularly bad, or relatively common?  I have a super old AC (like 25yrs old).  Above the heating unit is a lot of old looking fiber glass (with no lining), should I just remove all that, duct tape the crap out of it and re-insulate it with new fiberglass?

There's a couple questions that have to be answered, before you'll know for sure if there's a problem or not.
First is if there's any combustion appliances in the closet (e.g. gas furnace)? If there are, they'll need to draw combustion air from somewhere.
Which leads to the second question, is there a duct to draw combustion air from the outside into the closet? Some furnaces draw air from the outside, but pull it directly into the combustion chamber. If this is the case in your situation, you don't have to worry about that. You'll only be concerned if there's a large open duct that leads to the attic, crawlspace, or outdoors.
If there are no combustion air ducts to the outside, then there's no problem with the air handler being in a conditioned closet. In fact, it's often recommended to install the HVAC system within the conditioned space.
In a lot of installations where the air handler is in the basement, you'll find a register within a few feet of the air handler.  This conditions the basement, bringing the HVAC into conditioned space.  Whereas when air handlers are in attics, they have to insulate the crap out of them. This is because the unit is in unconditioned space, so they use insulation to try and prevent the unconditioned air from interacting with the conditioned air.
tl;dr

If the closet is conditioned space, there may be no problem.
If the closet is not conditioned space, you'll want to seal up the ducts and insulate.

In either case, leaky ducts are not good. You'll want to seal them up with foil faced tape, and/or mastic.


What components need to be changed when upgrading from R22 to R410a? What equipment will change when I convert from R-22 to R-410A? I don't want to get rid of my current heater as it's a hydro-thermal unit that uses free heated/recycled hot water. Can I get away with just replacing the A/C unit and orifice tube? Or will I need to change out the entire cabinet, heater core, and evaporator?

On the AC side everything really needs to be changed R22 uses mineral oil based lubricants.
R410a uses ester oil lubricants. Getting all the residue out would cost a bunch and these can’t be mixed.
The compressor will need to be changed and the TXV / orifice will need to be changed.
You might be able to have the evaporator cleaned (indoor coil) if it is in good shape and the size will work.
Most of the time the older outdoor coils are in rough shape and of older less energy efficient design. Cleaning and changing the parts are not cost effective.
It would help to have the model because some units have adjacent coils and some the coils are interlinked for improved efficiency. I have only worked on a couple of old units but they just needed a recharge, I know some charge $100/LB for R22 but it can still be purchased if the system is working.

Just an update, another Stack exchange member posted there system had been upgraded and now is not working well from under sized lines and possibly contaminated oil. Just thought I would add this to help your decision.


Hot Tub/Spa 70A Subpanel/Electrical Disconnect Box Wiring I will be installing a Caldera Cantabria hot tub soon and need to run the electrical from my main panel to the GFCI sub panel. I will be installing a non-GFCI 70A circuit breaker in my 200A main service panel. I will need to run the two hot wires, neutral and ground wires approximately 55-60 feet from my main service panel in the front of my basement to the side and then the back of my basement and then finally outside. I am planning on mounting the Subpanel/Disconnect box on the back of the house approximately 1-3 feet after the wires exit the basement to the outdoors. The hot tub will be at least 5 feet away from this, but probably about 6-8 feet away. It will still be within the line of sight.

I have attached a picture of the wiring diagram provided by the manufacturer. Can I use #6 wires from my main panel to my sub panel like the wiring diagram says that I can? Or does it need to be #4 wire? Also what type of wire should be used for this application? The majority of the run with be indoors in the unfinished basement ceiling area, but I will need to run the wire in conduit outside for approximately 1-3 feet.

The sub panel has 2 20A GFCI breakers and then one 30A GFCI breaker. Wiring the 2nd 20A breaker is optional, but required if you wish to use the 3rd dedicated pump for the lounge seat at the same time as the heater. I live in New England so I figured in the winter time the heater will most likely need to run at the same time as we are using the hot tub. I figured it is worth it to wire the 70A option with the 3rd breaker over the 50A wiring with 2 breakers and do it right the first time. I am planning on using copper wiring and not aluminum.

Thank you!

You'll need conduit for the whole run, but that means you can use 6AWG wires

You will need to run conduit for this entire run; loose wires by themselves just won't do as a wiring method (see NEC 300.3(A) for the reference on this).  However, this means you can use 6AWG THHNs (/THWN, since the stuff you get these days is all dual-rated anyway) for the hots and neutral as wires in conduit can use 75°C ampacities when terminating onto suitably rated lugs (as present on all modern distribution equipment), 6AWG copper wire can handle 65A when terminated on 75°C lugs, and NEC 240.4(B) permits you to "round up" to the next higher breaker size under most circumstances we encounter here.

As to what size conduit to run? I would use 3/4" ENT through the basement run through bored holes in the joists, and then use a LB and a short length  (<24") of 3/4" Schedule 80 PVC at the outdoor run to make the turn into the disconnect box.  The wires exiting the disconnect, then, are run in 3/4" LFMC, using appropriate fittings at each end.


Should I hire a structural engineer or an architect? Our house is a standard 2-up 2-down terrace (well, end terrace) with the usual kitchen / bathroom extension on the back done many years ago.

Beside the kitchen, in the gap between our kitchen and the neighbours, is currently a temporary style utility room - single brick course low height wall, uPVC windows and some form of sheet plastic slightly-pitched roof.  I want to knock this down and rebuild properly with a flat roof design and also knock out some walls, involving RSJs, to open the kitchen up a little.

I also have a very similarly constructed front porch that I would like to slightly enlarge and build properly with better insulation and a stronger front door. The roof on this would be pitched.

My question: proper planning is going to be required, but do I need the services of a structural engineer or an architect in order to draw up the plans? These plans would then be presented for any planning permission and also to builders for quoting.

I could be confusing the roles a little, I am assuming SEs do drawings and I'm assuming the job is a little basic for an architect (after all, I'm not after anything adventurous - the end result will look very similar to what is currently there). But in either situation, I need proper calculations doing as removing the walls impacts a double-course outer wall and the utility currently has limited-to-no foundations.

At least in the USA both architects and structural engineers will do this type of work.  Not all architects will want this small of a job (but you may be surprised how many will) and not all structural engineers will want to draw up plans.  Basically you are on the right track; I would just call around to the architects and structural engineers in your area and talk to them about the job.

I have used a structural engineer in the past but I did not have him draw up plans (it would have cost more).  He come out and looked at the situation and wrote a report on what was needed.  However my job was even smaller than what you are discussing.  I would start with local architecture firms and see if they will do what you need, if they don't want the work they may refer you to a local structural engineer.

The important thing is that you get plans created by (or at least signed off by) a certified architect/engineer.  This should make getting a permit really easy and you will know you are doing the remodel in the right way.


Wainscoting and Wallpaper: which to do first? I’m looking to put wainscoting on the bottom 1/3 of a wall and wallpaper the top 2/3. Is there a recommended order in which to do this? My thinking was that if I put down wallpaper first, leaving maybe an extra inch on the bottom which the wainscoting would cover, the wallpaper won’t have a visible end seam. Not sure if it would actually work out though.
Lastly, I should mention that the wall has a small concave or bow inwards. It’s hard to see even if examined closely but since the wainscoting won’t be bent, there will be a gap between the wall and the top edge of the wainscoting which will need to be filled. This might play a factor in the order of things as well but that’s just a guess.

I put the wallpaper up first once and put the wood trim on top. When you go to change the paper you have to score it. That works. I am doing a project now and didn't buy enough wallpaper so am putting board and batten wainscoting up.
Basically I don't think it matters which goes up first. But if I had a choice I would put up the wainscoting first. That way the wallpaper is easier to change.


Which is water shut off valve here? I need to shut valve to fix bathrooms

This appears to be the plumbing for your water heater - as such, while there are shutoff valves for the cold into the heater and the hot out of the heater, the cold running to your various fixtures (and to here - the main water shutoff) is almost certainly somewhere else.

The water shutoff valves here are the red and blue metal handles that are shaped somewhat like:

-\_/-

Turn them 90 dgrees so the handles are out of line with the pipes they are on, not in line with them to shut off - reverse to turn on.

Check your water heater manual to see if you need to shut it down before turning the water off. That's pretty common.

The other red and blue handles near them appear to be for some sort of flushing procedure with the capped ports near them.


Hard wiring Undercabinet kitchen lights made to plug in So I have undercabinet lights for my kitchen. They are 120v led in a plastic case and no place to put in a romex, just a 120v cord. I'd like to hardwire these in so I don't Have an ugly wire hanging down, plugged in.

I thought about running the extension cord through the wall and hardwiring into the nearby receptacle box but that has got to be against code. Then I thought about running romex through the wall and using wire nuts to connect the two, but I imagine then I'd need a box under the cabinet. Any ideas?

You're correct that running an extension cord through the wall would be against code. Some undercabinet lights are convertible between hardwired and plug-in use, but it doesn't look like yours are. The best options would be to replace them with units designed to be hardwired. Otherwise, you'll have to keep the plugs, but you can take some simple steps to hide the cord such as:

Attach the cord to your cabinets using surface-mount raceway so it does not hang down.
Reposition the lights so there's less slack in the cords.
If it helps reduce cord clutter, interlink multiple lights rather than plugging them into separate switched receptacles.
Move the electrical outlet they're plugged into to a spot where the wiring will be hidden (perhaps including placing it inside a cabinet).


RO reverse osmosis filters need replacing? I tested the water & there's copper in it (about 1.0) but everything else is good. Is it possible that used filters might fail to filter only one contaminate & still filter others?

If this is unlikely then perhaps I need a better model? Ours is a membrane plus 3 filters from Culligan.

There is no decrease in water flow so I believe the membrane is still good. We only use about 1 gal. a day so I don't go by the recommended "replace every 6-9 months".

Any water filter will need to be replaced with a new one eventually. This is because the filter medium gets clogged from the particles it was designed to capture. It is best to check the replacement schedule according to the filter manufacturer. A good guess is roughly every 3-5 months if the date hasn't been written on the filter case.   There are several filters available and each is specific for according to what needs to be removed from the water. There are also "all-in-one" type filters that can remove several maladies if needed. You can also upgrade your R.O filter by adding-on additional cartridges for additional filters. When the new filter has been installed and checked for leaks allow the system to flush any factory residuals by running the water for several minutes before using the water for ingesting.


Bathtub Drain Stopper too large? Is there a smaller size that's standard? I pulled out a broken bathtub drain insert because it was broken, and the standard 1-1/2 inch size does not fit. Is there another standard size that fits maybe older homes? The house was built in 2002, but it looks to be a pretty standard shower/tub insert.

The thing is the 1-1/2 inch tub stopper DOES fit through the hole in the tub but not in the actual pipe below (it's too big to thread in). Any ideas?

You also find drain assemblies with 1-1/4" tailpieces, but they're almost exclusively used for sinks. They're used with a 1-1/2" to 1-1-/4" reducer since the PVC drain plumbing usually won't be smaller than 1-1/2".

The diameter of the actual threaded drain assembly isn't smaller in these cases. They fit the sink/tub the same way. Just the tailpiece is smaller.

Post photos of your situation for more specific advice.


How to remove embedded mailbox in wall? We have an old house that has a mail slot on the side of the house. That leads straight into a mailbox is that is embedded in the wall. We can access that mailbox from a door on the inside wall in our dining room.

I want to essentially remove the 'feature' of the house. :) It is a place where water comes in when it rains (not too much in Los Angeles, but is still a concern). It is also where cold air leaks in and warm air leaks out.

We have plaster walls. Stucco on the outside.

What is the most non-intrusive way of doing this?  I don't want to open up the wall to remove the internal mailbox.

In the pics I basically used blue tape to seal it temporarily.

If the current flap is still intact on the outside and you can remove the grille on the inside, you could fill the void with expanding foam, which would stop the draft. Carve back the foam on the interior side recessed enough to cut a piece of stiff paper or metal the size of the interior of the setting of the grille, paint it black and reset the grille over it, unless you wanted to patch the area with drywall, which is what I would do.

If you do it this way, be certain the outside flap does not get forced open by the expanding foam. After the foam is set, use a high grade caulk to seal the flap to keep the weather from seeping in.

This is not the way I would fix the outside, although a good grade caulk will last years, but it may become a maintenance thing. It would be preferred to break out the flap, repair the sheathing, add tarpaper that gets that layer intact again, add wire mesh and repair the stucco in the way it was originally installed, that way it can be maintained with the rest of the house and not reliant on caulk.

This is a cutaway of what I figure is behind your stucco. I am also assuming the mail slot is in 2 parts, the exterior with the nail flange and the interior part that meets in the middle liner somewhere and one "sleeves" over the other so it can telescope to accommodate different wall thickness, still a guess.

This is what you should have after you demo the stucco... I forgot to color the wall to depict the tarpaper, the brown should be black to represent that. At least I caught it on the pic below....

The step where you lay back the wire mesh is important here. Both layers of wire mesh together one on top of the other should be not much thicker than 1/4".

When you add the first layer of cement, the scratch coat, it should be about a 1/2" thick, leaving a 1/4" for the finish coat, an less for the finish coat, it will not act right, if it is thicker, is better, but you must start with a good base coat first. When you successfully get the scratch coat in place and let it set, take the scratching tool, nail, sharp stick, whatever and with the tool almost perpendicular to the cement, draw the scratches in. If you do it too deep, it will release from the wire mesh and chunks will fall out, like the little squares or diamonds you are making by the scratches. If your original stucco is thicker than 3/4", great, you got a little grace going for you. If it is thinner, just make light scratches, light is better than none. Keep trhe scratch marks about 3/4" to 1" apart, if they are slightly farther apart, still not a problem, the idea is to get them there, but not too close.

Now the next step, the fun part, the part you will see for eternity, the final coat.

This can be done with the same material that was used for the scratch coat, after the scratch coat has set for a day or 2. The scratch coat when mixed to the right consistency is like peanut butter, the finish coat will be a little more "loose", more water to the ratio, so it is more like the consistency of toothpaste. You may want to mask off the area so the finish doesn't get everywhere. If it does, it is really not a problem either, when I am doing this type of work I always have a half filled 5 gallon bucket with water and a sponge handy to keep the area clean. Be careful with this, it CAN DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD, but when the sponge is wrung out nearly dry, it will clean up any soft or near set up cement with ease. Get the sponge to wet, you will have a sloppy mess or worse, cement getting over saturated and running off the wall.

At first look, you stucco is a coarse sand finish, in other words, the finish has a coarse sand added to it. not as coarse as aquarium sand, and not as fine as masonry sand, that is already in the mix, but perhaps for the small repair you have here, the sand that is already in the mix may suffice. There is a special sponge float that gives this type of sanded finish. I am going to let a video do some of the talking for me. Here is another with a recommended material.

Good luck


Has my breaker gone bad? I have a 20 amp breaker that recently tripped.  I tried unplugging a couple of appliances ( was running too much at that point) and resetting the breaker.  I tried turning the breaker off but it did not click and feel firm in the off position like it normally would.  Once I reset it, it tripped again almost instantly.  Also, the lights in the home dimmed slightly just before it tripped.

Is this a sign of a bad breaker or a wiring problem?

Your description would indicate a severe short to ground. I would also think about changing out the breaker as this type of short may have damaged it. you need to start opening up boxes, pull out the wiring and look for a damaged wire. Once again from what you are describing it shouldn't be hard to find.

PS to all DIYlfers please do not keep trying to reset a breaker multiple times that has tripped. The only thing you can accomplish is further damage to your circuit and any appliance or device you may have attached to it. If you get a trip you should remove all portable equipment and appliances as you can. Then reset the breaker and see if it trips. If it does trip then leave it off until you can determine what is causing the trip. This advice not only has financial considerations but also has a high safety risk for starting a fire.

Stay safe in you endeavors.


How often should I wash my hands when cleaning the bathroom? As someone with a little touch of OCD, I find that I feel stressed when cleaning my bathroom because I worry about cross contamination.  When I finish cleaning one part of the bathroom floor, and then clean the other part, if I end up needing to touch something I've either already cleaned or a cleaning product, I tend to wash my hands before doing so.

For example, while cleaning the toilet, I feel the need to wash my hands before grabbing the spray bottle, as I'm concerned that there may be cross contamination between the spray bottle and the toilet.  Overall, I tend to take cleaning the bathroom in the same light as if I were in a Nuclear Bio Chemical attack zone.

I know it's not the same.  Unlike NBC (Nuclear Biological Chemical), cross contamination isn't (and hasn't) killed me yet, but I wonder, what is the general rule of thumb for hand washing while cleaning the bathroom.

Should we hand wash after cleaning each fixture, wait until the end, or is there some other procedure?  What research is out there on this topic?  I tried googling the title of the question "How often should I wash my hands when cleaning the bathroom?" and nothing came up; hence, I ask here.

I generally wash my hands once at the end. I'm very conscious of keeping clean, but don't have any OC tendencies when it comes to germs. I'm not concerned about cross contamination while cleaning my bathroom. Ideally, the cleaning products are doing their job, and the amount of pathogenic germs around the sink, tub, and most of the floor are minimal. I'll use a sponge or scrub to wash the sink and bathtub first, then floor, and do the outside of the toilet and floor around the toilet last (I use a toilet brush for the inside). Doing it in that order prevents carrying any potential pathogens from the toilet to the sink where someone might set their toothbrush. I usually wear rubber gloves, but either way my hands are mostly just touching the sponge so they wouldn't be likely to cross contaminate anything.

I think in general people are a bit overly concerned about fecal contamination. A few weeks ago I caught my 1 year old daughter with cat poop in her mouth (gross!), I casually cleaned her hands with antibacterial wipes, and tried my best to wipe the inside of her mouth out. She is absolutely fine. Just an anecdote, but it at least proves that you're not guaranteed to have problems if you eat poop.

Just an anecdote, but hopefully it gives you peace of mind that you're doing a good job cleaning your bathroom and that you don't need to wash your hands multiple times throughout the process.


How should I attach a pergola to my rooftop deck? I know my sketch is pretty rough but I want to add a pergola like this to my rooftop deck. I obviously can't sink the posts into the ground. What is a recommended way of attaching the posts? I was thinking of using one of these post brackets and then bracing it at the railing with additional L-brackets.

Also, I would like attach the ledger to the wall but it is hollow block. Is there a safe way to do that? I've heard it doesn't have much lateral "pull out" strength.

I'm pretty rookie so any advice would be great. My only other real project is that table and benches in the background there.

I would use titan post anchors for the posts.

For the ledger on the hollow block wall you can buy masonry anchors designed for that. Hilti makes tons of really good anchors. For hollow CMU walls, how they work is you drill the hole and insert a screen tube and fill it with the adhesive. Then when you insert the bolt it pushes the adhesive through the screen making it expand wider than the width of the hole.

Hilti

Simpson Strong Tie


How can I replace an aluminum window spiral balance? I would like to replace the spiral balance on my single hung (non removable) aluminum windows but I can't figure out how to remove the clip on the window that the bottom of the spiral hooks into.  There are no screws or attachment points I can see on the outside of the window, so I can't figure out how to remove that clip so I can remove the balance for replacement.  Since the window cannot be removed, I don't know how to go about getting the clip off to replace the balance.

Here are pics of the inside of the window (you can see that the spiral balance just hangs down now.

At the end of the spiral balance is a small hole... you will need a tool for this... (look on line and buy one ) it has a small hook on it... move your spiral up by hand until it stops... take  the tool insert tip into hole  and turn the spiral about 10 times... ( clockwise ) ... then using that same tool move the spiral up in to the area that will hold it...( this might not be easy ) but it will kind of be on a ledge that will hold the two small pins... the tension will hold it up... do both sides so the number of times is 10 and giving the same tension on both sides.... slowly raise the window...
Good luck !


Garage subpanel wiring I recently bought a house that has a subpanel in the garage served by a 50 amp circuit from the main breaker.  The breaker has 4 wires coming in: red, black, green, white.  Currently, the subpanel feeds a 30 amp and a 20 amp circuit  Each served be a 3-wire connection where the third wire goes to green for one, white for the other.

I want to rewire to install a NEMA 14-50 with a single 50 amp breaker in lieu of the 20 amp service (bottom right exit), and leave the second circuit unused. That would require a 4 wire connection, do I just use green and white?  What about the second circuit?  Disconnect it?  Leave it in place?

I'm looking to connect an EV (Model 3) that draws under 45 amps.  Based on the cerrowire application chart, 8 AWG would be sufficient? => https://www.cerrowire.com/products/resources/tables-calculators/applications-charts/

Did I forget to ask anything else I should?

Looking at your sub it was done correctly , the white neutral bond was not connected so you can connect the 14-50 , you will need to remove one of the double pole breakers and yes you use all 4 wires 2 from your new 50 amp breaker 1 ground and 1 neutral. , great question and good photos.
Make sure to get the correct brand and type of breaker for the sub I can’t quite make out the brand but the main is a Murray , but the tandem breaker is Bryant this is something I have seen many times and usually not code compliant for 2 reasons , Bryant breakers were not listed for a Murray panel even though they fit. Item 2 is early panels were limited on the total number of spaces so manufacturers came up with “cheaters” early tandem breakers that did not have a rejection feature allowing the buss to be overloaded, these breakers usually have a sticker stating they are Non Current limiting. (Just want you to know).
If you can find the proper double pole breaker for the sub all may be fine but I would want the main panel updated so there is not a problem if there is a fire later even though everything on the sub is correct there could be problems because of the alien breakers in the main.


How to seal/stabilize crumbling particle board counter top? I have a typical laminate kitchen counter top which is built of particle board under the laminate. The bottom edge, at the front where it hangs over the cabinets is bare particle board.

The section over the dishwasher is crumbling and releasing wood particles all the time, due to the steam from the dishwasher. We're having the counters capped with engineered granite/quartz and I'd like to stop the particle board from deteriorating any further first.

I am planning to brush it vigorously to remove all the loose particles. Then I would like to paint it with something to lock down the particle board and seal out moisture. I have some Zinsser 123+ sealer but that mostly is described as sealing stains from bleeding through. Is there anything better? Maybe some type of glue?

EDIT: I used a solvent-based polyurethane as suggested by @dbracey. It has held up well for two years.

The door gasket on your dishwasher may not be sealing - check that for sure.

I would:

Stop using the dishwasher for a week to let the area dry out.
Mask off the formica/laminate in front.
Use a solvent-based polyurethane (exterior grade) on the particle board that is crumbling.  This will soak in and hopefully glue it all back together.
Think about gluing a thin plastic of some sort over the area so that the particleboard isn't exposed to moisture anymore


Why does significant condensation gather on my bedroom windows overnight? When we wake up in the morning, we're observing a significant amount of condensation on the bedroom windows around the edges on the inside (inside the house not between the panes).  We had new windows installed in the spring, and we didn't have this issue last winter.

Is it likely that there's a draft around the windows keeping the windows cold?  If so, how do I detect and/or fix that?

Notes:

We have an electric radiator that we keep near the windows that we run typically for 2 hours starting when we go to bed
We have thick curtains that we draw closed when we sleep
We sleep with the door closed to block sound

I would guess that the problem is not a draft from the windows, but moisture in the room, probably caused by having two people sleeping in a closed room.

The warm, moist air in the room will hit the cold window and water will condense.  To eliminate the problem, get more air circulation - open the door, or open the window a tiny bit.  At least try it for a couple of nights to see if that solve the problem.


How to open a lock without handle?(with pic) I don't know how to open this, detail is shown in pic.
Plz tell me if you have a clue, thank you in advance.

Now I have solved the issue.
The mechanism is in a reserved direction. To open the door, I need to push towards the latchbolt direction instead of the hinge side. Guess my lock is bit of different from others.
Thank you guys for your helpful advice.


Confused about an outlet Outlet worked fine for years.  It stopped working...changed with new one (wired just as the other was, Black to gold, White to silver, Ground to green).  Nothing.  Nothing Hot to Neutral, nothing (2v) Hot to Ground, 122v Neutral to Ground (both in outlet and wires without.  This is on same leg as three other lights, all of which still work, breaker not tripped.  Help

I have seen this hundreds of times. The problem is almost always in the first non-working outlet or the last working one! The very few that this has not been the case it has been in a junction box or breaker panel very rare!

Go to the last working outlet--it may be a bad back stab feeding to the next outlet (quite common) or a broken wire usually because of a nick where the wire was stripped. Again, rare, but a possibility.


Black/brown substance from/in cold water Noticed some dark substance which comes out from faucets. Wonder what it might be and what I should do next.

Probably algae - not sure I'd do anything.  You can get a bag fill it with white vinegar and tie it around your shower head and leave it over night.


How can I remove white 'splatter' which has partially seeped into a wooden panel? I'm looking at a wooden wardrobe, which has... well, seen a lot of punishment. But in this question I'm focusing on how its side was splattered/stained with white material which is either whitewash, or more likely, in-door wall paint.

I started by scrubbing (sort of) gently, with a rag. I then went on to make the rag moist and scrub again. I continued with applying some mild pressure through the rag (mostly to the areas with thick stains). These stages all helped, but a lot of white was still left. I tried scrubbing somewhat harder, and also scrubbing more gently, but with a (non-metallic) scouring pad. That also helped a bit, but I'm really not there yet.

I feel I was already kind of pushing it with the scouring pad, and hurting the varnish. I'm wondering - what should be my next step? I'm guessing some sort of material compound should be able to loosen/disintegrate the white splatter without affecting the wood/varnish much. Am I right? If not, what else should I do?

Here is the wardrobe side's original state:

and here is the current state (possible variations in lighting):

PS - Wondering about the gray swath at the bottom? 1. It's not my doing. 2. Just don't ask, I'm still traumatized by that. Suffice it to say some people should be behind bars for crimes against aesthetics and workmanship.

Looks like wall paint marks from a roller getting too close as the wall was painted, but there's no easy way to know if it is oil based on latex based paint. Either way now that it is dry and old, it's going to take some sort of solvent to remove it and that will also remove whatever finish is there as well.

You really don't have any options that I am aware of to avoid having to refinish it, I would just plan on doing that.

One possible option is to try using some nail polish remover, because it is decidedly mild since it is intended to make contact with skin. That might soften it up enough to make it come off without doing too much damage to the original finish. Try applying it very sparingly with cotton swabs.