Can wind force rain into the soffits? There is 1 and only 1 leak (thank God) that is driving me crazy. When the wind blows from the south and hits the house from that side, there is a drip that develops and comes from above the top of the window (the little 3 " overhang inside the window). The water is not coming from the window, this I know. I believe that the water is being forced into the soffit and somehow drips down along the cinder block wall where it comes out over the window. I hope that makes sense.

There is NO water on the ceiling or along the inside wall above the window.
There is absolutely no access into the attic as the roof slopes to almost meet the inside ceiling, so I can't even get to that side of the house.
When it rains, even pours straight down there is absolutely no leaking.

Can rain be forced into the soffits by the wind, or should I be looking for the leak elsewhere?

Yes, if the interior ceiling is getting wet at the wall and radiating outward this may be the cause. This is a common occurrence in high wind areas especially with the use of vinyl or aluminum soffits or soffit systems that are not inset from the fascia system.

One solution is to replace the soffit with solid wood or solid fiber cement, and provide ventilation through a continuous vent that is only a few inches wide and centred towards the wall. Or install individual vents that have louvres, make sure the louvres are pointing towards the wall.  Another solution that may help is to use a gutter there that provides adequate drainage.

The solution really is dependent on several factors, the height of the soffit relative to other parts of the structure, or other roofs around or underneath the area. The exposure and strength of the wind, and the size and design of the overhang also should be considered.


How to build a mantel on rough stone fireplace I have a very rough stone fireplace for which I'd like to hang a new mantel. Eventually I want to hang a flat screen and the new mantel will protect it from heat and such.

I have noodled this project and noodled it and have not been able to land on a decent solution. I'm open to ideas. I've considered chiseling high places and building up a mortared flat plane. I've even thought about using an angle grinder... and quickly dismissed the idea. All of these ideas have their pros and cons.

As for mounting:  hidden channel bracket mounting, iron under brackets (which I really like), even hidden rods that go into the mantel. As my mantel piece is probably about 50-70 pounds, how I mount it greatly depends on how sure I am of the surface I'm mounting to.

In the end, the issue is: what is the best way to mount it to this surface!?

I'm a blank slate for ideas.
Thank you!

The mantel piece is about 5' long and about 8" high.

Here's a view from the attic crawl space. On the left is the chimney. On the right is the masonry, to which the rock is attached.

The first step is to put the hidden fasteners in. Like you said, I would use a rod system and epoxy it into the stone so that they won't come out.

As far as getting it to sit on a flat plane, I wouldn't chisel the block out. I would build up the area where the mantel will sit with a mortar that is colored to match the stone face. You can pick up mortar tints, like the Quickrete Mortar Tints. Just use a thicker mortar and mask off the areas that you don't want to get covered. Build up in layers if you are laying it thick. Just cover the area that you want the mantle to sit.


Bathroom exhaust fan heat loss How much HEAT is lost in the winter by a bathroom exhaust fan running ALL of the time?  Conversely, in the summer time how much COOL air is lost by the fan running continuously?  It seems to me this would be like leaving a window or door open!

This isn't typically calculated, but here are a couple of gross estimates of the heat loss.

Method 1:

Air requires in the ballpark of 0.24 BTU per pound to raise it 1 degree F.
1 CF of air weighs about 0.0807 lb, so it takes roughly 0.0194 BTU per cf per degree.
A typical small bathroom fan exhausts about 70 CFM or 4,200 CF per hour.  That would take roughly 81.5 BTU per hour to change it 1 degree.
The exhausted air will be replaced by outside air infiltrating through leakage.  Say you're in an area where the outdoor temperature is 40 degrees colder than indoor temperature in the winter.  That would require roughly 3,260 BTU per hour to make it the same temperature as the indoor air.
If you're heating with electricity, 1 watt = 3.412 BTU/hr, so this example would be roughly equivalent to a load of 1 KW.  Running it continuously would  add about 700 KWH per month to your electric bill in the winter if that temperature difference was an average (roughly $100), not including the electricity to power the fan.

Method 2:

There are online BTU calculators, like this one.  They're used to estimate HVAC requirements, which is slightly different.  In the calculation above, I just looked at the heat (or cooling) required for the replacement air.  HVAC sizing considers maintaining a temperature difference inside insulated walls, HVAC duty cycling, and other factors.  But it's another crude estimation.
For HVAC purposes, turning over room air 8 times per hour is a rough rule of thumb.  So 4,200 CF per hour would represent a 525 CF room.
Using assumptions of "normal" insulation and the same 40 degree temperature difference, the calculator comes up with a 5,840 BTU/Hr HVAC unit.

These are very crude estimates, but you can play with the assumptions to get a ballpark idea of the heating and cooling load created by running the fan continuously.


What is the WOG rating for valves? I was looking into getting some ball valves for a plumbing project and I noticed that many of them have a "WOG" number. What does this mean and is it something I need to be concerned about when selecting valves?

Valves carry a variety of markings, some of which are ratings.

  Common (sometimes older) ratings are WOG and WSP (or sometimes SWP).
  WOG stands for the water, oil, and gas rating for the valve and reflects the maximum pressure capability of the valve at 100 F.

  WSP stands for working steam pressure and reflects the maximum pressure rating for the valve at the highest temperature rating.

  Acceptable working pressure for all equipment decreases as temperatures
  increase. The WOG rating is always higher than the WSP rating for a
  valve or fitting.

Definitions:

  SWP: Steam Working Pressure: This designates the maximum recommended steam pressure a product can operate at.

  CWP: Cold Working Pressure: This designates the maximum non-shock pressure a product can operate at. “Cold” is generally defined as a
  range between -20°F to 100°F.

  WOG: Water, Oil and Gas: This was an older, generic pressure rating call-out which has been largely replaced by CWP. In this
  designation, “Gas” refers to any non-flammable, compressible fluid in
  a gaseous state. It does not imply a product’s suitability or
  third-party approval for use with flammable gases. Similarly, in this
  designation, “Oil” does not imply a product’s third-party approval for
  use with any petroleum products.

Some valves are governed by API Spec 6A which will carry the WOG mark, and is a little broader than the above.  In this spec the WOG rating is the working pressure of the valve at whatever temp class it is in.  These valves come in 2,000, 3,000, 5,000, 10,000 15,000 and 20,000 WOG ratings with temperature classes from -75F to 350F.

Bottom line - yes in principle you do need to make sure the valve you select is going to have a pressure & temperature rating which meets or exceeds your requirement. But in a residential plumbing or hydronic heating situation, the pressures are normally << 100 PSI and temperatures < 180 F, so many WOG rated valves would exceed this by far.

(Source 1)

(Source 2)


adding more insulation on garage side of wall, and held in place with plastic sheeting has resulted in a moisture issue I am closing the ceiling of my garage, and wanted to do a few things before that was completed.  It's a 2 story house, and there is a shared wall between the house and the garage, on the second story.  On the garage side this is above the level that the ceiling will be installed at - so will remain a cold spot.  I thought I would add some extra batt insulation to the garage side of the wall.  This wall would already have insulation in it(from when the house was built), and a vapour barrier on the house (warm side) as the garage is unheated.  THere was also a house wrap on the garage side (exposed) and I put the new insulation right against that.
I added the insulation against this wall, and used a sheet of plastic over that to keep the extra insulation in place.  It now appears that I created a moisture issue, as there is moisture trapped between the extra insulation and the plastic used to keep it in place.
I'm located in a Zone 3 area (Canada, just above ND), so considered a very cold climate during winter.  I think the issue is because I used the plastic to hold it in place - can anyone confirm.  Then any thoughts on what else I could use to hold the insulation in place, but not trap any moisture?
Thanks

Yes, you caused the problem by putting plastic (vapor barrier) on the cold side of the insulation (and having two vapor barriers in the wall.)
You can use mesh nets (commonly intended for holding cellulose insulation.) You could use housewrap, in theory, anyway - its an air but not vapor barrier, that's the whole point of house wrap.


How to wire cables - 2-gang switch 3 lamps I've got a 2-gang switch in the wall. It's connected to a cable in a ceiling, that contains 4 cables: black, brown, blue and yellow-green (not included in schema).

Schema:

Expected result:

Left part of switch turns on left lamp.
Right part of switch turns on right lamps.

I'm not sure if my schema is correct. Could anyone take a look and validate, please?

EDIT:

Thank you gentlemen for your input so far.
I need to clarify some things. I'm from Poland, so colors are standarized for Europe:

blue - neutral
green-yellow - protective conductor
brown - hot
black - hot

Here you have a switch. Two buttons:

left (black hot cable) - turns on/off left bulb.
right (brown hot cable) - turns on/off two right bulbs.

Schema:

This is a cable from the ceiling. Colors are I already mentioned above.

Will it work as I expect?

If the only cable at the switch is brown-black-blue then blue is not a neutral.

Brown should be live (hot) to the switch; blue and black should be switched lives and should both be over-sleeved brown.

At some point you have to provide a neutral to the lights, as neutral is not run through the switch.


Do I need to install drainage medium for my sump pump to work well in an old basement? My house is old. Built in 1922. I have installed a sump pump. When we get heavy rains like right now it leaks pretty good. I am in Kansas City and my soil is very clay like. The lowest point in the floor of the basement is original so it is a thin layer of cement on the clay (no gravel). It buckled last year and now water pours in (that's where I put the sump pump). But water is still coming in along the cracks and floor, so its like the sump isn't doing exactly what it should be doing. It is pumping water out that if I didn't have it would be flooding the basement. The pump is in a pit embedded in the ground, plugged in and plumbed outside.

Should I tear out the floor around the pit, dig down 6 inches, lay 2-3 inches of gravel then lay a new slab on top? I think the water just can make its way through all the clay to get to the sump pit.

Sump pumps can't do their job effectively without a suitable route for water to reach the pail. You don't have that. You may not need to remove the entire slab, though. It's possible that evacuation routes around the perimeter would do the job. It's hard to say with the small window into the problem we have.

Note that it's not "gravel" that you'd install--it's washed rock and possibly drain tile (perforated, corrugated plastic pipe), which may have a fabric sleeve over it. If you're going to all the effort and expense, be sure you have a solid plan.


Is this saw blade faulty? This may be the stupidest DIY question ever, but I want to make sure before I return it: is this non-ferrous metals saw blade faulty?

In the picture, see where one of the titanium carbide teeth seems to be too large and to extend into the expansion slot. BTW, I had made 4 cuts of 9-15" or so, in 3/16 aluminum plate, before I noticed this; it cuts OK and seems like it could have been smoother, but I've never cut aluminum with a power saw before, so I don't really know what to expect.

Here is the blade:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LFCMI34/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

... and the picture of mine:

The filling is melted aluminum that galled/melted and filled the gullet and is covering one of the Tungsten Carbide teeth. You can pull it off with a pliers.

The negative rake angle of the blade is fine for cutting aluminum, it will push your workpiece away instead of tending to grab onto it. It will generate more heat and be more likely to melt the aluminum. You can feed the work harder to generate a thicker chip to carry the heat instead of rubbing/melting it off.

A little spray of WD40 on your path can help immensely.

The J Shape is supposed to be there.


How do I stain a pressure treated pine fence? I am putting up a pine PT post fence in front of my home. The fencing is new and green and I would like to stain it a natural wood color.I don't want to put it up green or wait for it to dry or turn a more natural color for a year. Any ideas?

If you stain it now, it will change the end color of the wood. You have to wait for it to turn natural, so either wait six weeks or put it up green. The outside environment will dry it faster than sitting in a pile.

Reasons Green lumber accepts stain poorly, while older wood absorbs stains relatively well. The porosity of wood can vary greatly, even within the same piece of wood. Green treated wood refers to lumber infused with chemicals that delay or prevent deterioration.

These chemicals reduce the possibility of wood rot. Unfortunately, they also infuse the wood with deep-set moisture that prevents uniform stain absorption. Let the green treated wood sit and dry out before attempting the project. Test the stain before committing to full-scale application, or you'll end up with disappointing results.

PS: Make sure your sealer is water- and UV-resistant and contains anti-mildew and anti-algae agents to help the wood stand up to weathering effects.


Water leak from water hose or pump - OK to tip machine on side? My LG WM3987HW (a front loading washer dryer combo) has developed a leak -- water comes out when the machine is pumping out the waste water. I've removed the top and back panels and can see the area that's getting wet. However, this doesn't seem accessible.

Does anyone know if its safe to tip a washer dryer like this on its side -- this would provide access to the pump and hoses from the bottom.

Yes it's fine to tip it on its side. (at least that's what our washing machine repair man did). The water should be drained first.


Help installing ceiling fan in old house I removed the old ceiling fan and found 1 black wire by itself and 3 white wires tied together, the old fan had only 2 wires, one black and one white, the white was connected to the group of white wires and the black to the single black wire. I am replacing this ceiling fan with an clarkston 44 inch ceiling fan. This fan comes with a black a blue and a white wires. Should I connect the blue and white to the 3 whites and the black with the black?

There are almost certainly more colored (non-white) wires in the back of the box which are for other hots.

Is the blue wire blue or green?   It matters a lot.

A green wire should be attached to the ground wire bundle that may be in the back of the box.  Absent that, look and see if the wires enter the box via cable or pipe.  If cable and no ground wires, connecting a ground is pointless.  If pipe, most likely this conduit is the ground, and the green wire  can be attached to the steel box.  There may be a tapped hole for a 10-32 screw somewhere in the back of the box.   If not and you are crafty you can drill and tap one (any machine screw 6 or larger will do as long as the thread is at least -32).

If the wire is honest-to-gosh blue, then is it light blue?  That might be a Euro neutral, but that would be strange.  Otherwise it is assuredly one of the hots, you have a separate hot for fan and light, allowing you to control the two of them individually.   If you want, you can do some extra wiring to exploit it... Or you can simply connect the blue and black together to the power supply,  and fan and light will operate together.    Some fans permit local control of light and fan i.e. With 2 pull cords.  Those are always fun!


Why is there a minimum distance to a corner from a direct vent exhaust? According to the instructions for my direct vent furnace, (item #4) the minimum distance from the center of the vent to the nearest corner is 16 inches. Why is that important?

I understand the minimum distance to a window/door, but this one makes no sense to me.

Item #4 is referring to turbulence.

Wind does not blow smoothly past a building. It will twist and curl on the leeward side. This curling effect could “push” air back the wrong direction near the corners of buildings.


Bubbles in toilet, gurgling sound coming from kitchen sink So, all of a sudden, I have big bubbles coming out from my toilet bowl when the washing machine is pushing water out. Thinking it might be a clogged toilet bowl, I took the plunger to the bowl. I flushed, and the kitchen sink started making gurgling sound.

What's going on?

I know a house that has this all the time because there is no vent stack. Any excess gas in the drain lines bubbles through the sinks. It's possible the snow has effectively blocked the vent pipe on the roof, causing this bubbling.


Where can I get unusual dowel/shelf bracket sizes? I need to put up shelves inside a custom shelving unit. However, the original toggles that held up the shelves were lost in a move. I was thinking dowels but I've been told that the originals were between 3/8" and 6/15". Is there a place where I can find inter-size, graduated or custom dowels?
I've been to all the mainstream hardware stores and checked Amazon too. Anywhere else I should look?

I'm not really sure what you're describing, but have you considered the originals may be metric (9mm, maybe).

Furthermore, if you're thinking of using dowels, you should be able to either:

1)  Get the next size up and sand down by hand with rough sand pape until you're able to jam it in, or
2)  Drill a slightly larger hole in a size you can match, or
3)  Use the next size down and fill the gap with glue (epoxy would be good because it dries very hard)


Possibly excessive noise from Grundfos circulator I've just moved into a house with a radiant heating system, with a non-functional circulator pump (I knew this when buying the house, thinking that I would replace the pump after moving in).

The old pump was a Grundfos UP 26-99F, and I was able to order the exact same model online. After draining the system, replacing the pump, refilling it, and turning on the heat, it seems like the pump is causing an abnormal amount of noise.

I don't really have a basis for comparison, since I haven't lived with this kind of system in the past, but it's definitely not the "whisper-quiet operation" that the Grundfos manual promises. It seems like the pump is creating a slight amount of vibration that reverberates through the pipes and becomes an audible hum on both floors of the house. It's actually more loud on the first floor than it is directly at the pump (in the basement)!

My question is:  is this normal?  If so, are there ways of dampening the noise a bit?  And if not, what can be causing it?  I'm fairly certain that the pump is indeed moving water as intended, and everything else in the system (temperature, pressure) is fine.

I got it! After some more research, it seemed like this was the kind of noise that indicates an imbalance in the impeller. So I pulled apart the pump, and lo and behold: there was a piece of debris stuck in there. After cleaning it out, the pump really is working with "whisper" silence.


SheetRock touching the heating pipe I have recently renovated the basement. I made a mistake of going with cheapest contractor who doesn't seem to care much about safety. I have old style radiator heater on 1st and 2nd floor and pipes are running in basement as shown in image below. I have also replaced my old steam boiler to get a new powerful (146k BTU) boiler. Pipes are going through newly installed drywall and also going up from behind the dry wall.

Should I be worried about fire in case pipe gets too hot? I am not sure how hot these steam pipe will get in winter when boiler runs for hours. Also, I have R-15 Rock Wool Batt Insulation behind the drywall which i am sure would be touching these heating pipes. Is this going to be a fire hazard?

That looks like a beautiful 1 pipe steam system from many years ago. I love these systems and they work fine as long as you do not try to make big changes to them. The maximum temperature should be below 230 degrees well below that needed to cause a fire. So, no problem. You said that you got a new boiler? How is the new boiler and the heating system working for you.


What type of material is my countertop made of and how should I clean/maintain it? Countertop was installed when before we moved in. It has a solid black appearance, when wiping with stone cleaner, it will be shiny but will dry to a matte finish. Also stains do not appear while wet, but after drying the white stains around faucet show back up.

The surface gets water stains very easily (dark and also some white stains that are easy to clean off) so looking to reseal, but would like to make sure I know what material the countertop is made of. I also can't seem to get rid of the white stains around faucet.

We have the same countertop in our bathroom and kitchen. In the kitchen white marks appear on the countertop after placing pots and pans on the countertop. The countertop is a little rough to the touch.

What material is my countertop made of and what would be good to clean it, remove stains, and help prevent new stains?

Edit: Went back and looked at the real estate listing and it stated the countertops were black honed granite.

It is going to hard to tell precisely what type of surface you have. Too many man made look a likes out there.

But to guess, and that is all it will be, that it is a flamed surface granite. I have seen it used in lieu of natural cleft slate which has a great look, but terrible for counter tops. Granite could be sealed, but it does not take it very well, it is just really dense. If it is Quartz, then typically that is man made and does not need to be sealed. The resins bonding the quartz together provides that function.

I have seen, when sealer is applied too heavily and not wiped off well enough, that it will turn white from moisture, otherwise where untreated stone or other material will not. I would consider using a stripper of some sort for your sealer you are using, let it set and see if the white goes away, if you can get it down to bare stone again.

The area around the faucets is my clue as to what is going on, since those tight spaces are hard to access for getting excess sealer up.

As a mention, if it is Corian, it definitely does not need sealer. Nevamar is a Corian competitor, same thing. Silestone and Ceasarstone among many others, are quartz providers. So if you get a chance to look in your records, if you can find them when they installed, will give you and us a better idea on how to proceed.

And yet another mention, about the chip on the corner, there are epoxies specific for these types of tops, as well as colorants to make that chip disappear. If you got a stone top installer over for a visit, they could fix that for you in a jiff. Besides tell you what the material is that you have...


How to use house's built in patch panel So, when i bought this house the builder went ahead and installed a patch panel. Since then the only time I've really payed it any attention was when my house was getting hooked up to my ISP's service. recently I've wanted to start using it to interface with my router so i can easily hook up anything with Ethernet. Only problem is i dont necessarily know where i need to hook everything into. Ive included a picture for clarity.

So, based on what I can see there, that's not an ethernet patch panel.  The cabling is CAT5, which can be used for ethernet, but those are all being used for phone lines.  It looks like there's also a coax splitter, and some unused CAT5 cable.

In general, if you wanted to, you could probably repurpose that CAT5 cable and use it for ethernet, but you'd need to get an ethernet switch or hub, and find a way to get the router to connect to that switch or hub.  You'd also need to turn some/all of your phone jacks into ethernet ports. And hope that the builder didn't do something that would preclude using the CAT5 cable for ethernet.  Depending on where the line from the ISP comes in, that could be easy or hard.

Optionally, you might be able to use those  existing CAT5 runs to pull more cabling, but again, that would depend on how the contractor ran the CAT5 cable (ie, conduit vs staples).

For much more information, I'd suggest reading through https://www.structuredhomewiring.com.


How to ensure all deck posts are sharing the load I'm in the process of levelling my deck. Top down diagram below, showing decking perimeter (black), beams (blue) and posts/footings (red).

Because of the irregular shape posts 1 and 3 are only 20" apart. I found in the process of levelling that beam 1-2 is nearly redundant under normal conditions. The joists above the beam can hold up beam 1-2 at post 1 if post 1 is removed without wincing.

The question is, how do I ensure that all of the posts are sharing the load evenly when I remove the temporary levelling supports, especially posts 1 and 3? It seems like it quite be easy to arrive in some position where one of these posts looks like it's doing something but actually just floating (since the deck can carry beam 1-2 without help). I will likely have to shim the posts because balancing this by cutting would need too much precision. I could shim the posts, but how do I ensure that the weight is roughly balanced as opposed to just tight enough to squeeze the shims a little?

The idea would be to just adjust all the posts so that they are tight and snug the same amount under the deck joists when the deck dead weight is resting on them. The carrying ability of the posts and beams will come into consideration when later you place a live load on the deck and the joists flex some in response. Keep in mind that just because it appears that beam 1-2 is redundant only gives testament to the fact that there is design margin at play.

Note that the beam 1-2 was clearly installed there because it was needed to deal with the joist span from the ledger to the 1-2 beam. If there had not been a 1-2 beam then the joists would have had to be engineered to carry the load for the longest span from the ledger to 1-3. That may have increased the joist height and cost a fair amount.


How To Sand, Patch, Prime & Paint Exterior Foundation? Our 76 year-old block foundation needs a facelift before new vinyl siding is installed above it.

This seems like a simple, inexpensive DIY project but just to make sure the paint doesn't peel by next summer, I am respectfully seeking answers to these questions:

1) What is the easiest, most efficient way to strip the existing paint and sand the surface?

2) What is the best primer to use after scraping/sanding/surface prep?

3) Most importantly, what type of paint should I buy?

4) What is the best method to fill/patch holes and gaps between 1-2" in diameter on the north side of our garage's poured concrete foundation? There is also a 1' long area at ground level that has completely disintegrated.

We live in South Bend, Indiana and our neighborhood is built on a predominately muck soil base.

Thanks for any recommendations you can provide.

Steve

If you want to remove the existing paint, the simplest way short of blasting is one of the combination stripper/paper products such as Peel Away. Boiled down to basics you apply the stripper and cover it with a coated paper, then after a wait pull the entire sheet off and dispose of it. You do pay for the convenience though, you can go cheaper and messier with lye solutions. One benefit of masonry is you can use caustic strippers instead of solvent based ones.

As a practical matter I wouldn't suggest any variety of chemical stripper if you're going to repaint though. You'd be better served by an angle grinder with a wire cup. A 4.5" grinder should take less than a day while being more useful for other tasks than a 7" one. The grinder is also useful with a grinding or sanding wheel for the occasional rough spot or protrusion.

If the patches are going to be 2" thick or more there's no reason you can't fill in with concrete provided you apply a bonding agent first. You should also dampen the old work in any case to prevent it from leeching moisture from the new work before it cures.

If the patches won't be that substantial then you're better off with a type S mortar if water isn't an issue or a hydraulic cement if it is. The lime in mortar makes it stickier than concrete mixes so it's a bit easier to apply, but it also makes it softer so it's not ideal for large patches.

Cosmetic touch ups are best done with a vinyl patching product, which combines polymers and cement. They're typically sold in plastic jugs alongside masonry mixes. The good news is the polymers allow you to apply them very thinly without cracking, for shallow depressions and small cracks. The bad news is you're typically limited to applying them fractions of an inch at a time.

The exact choice often boils down to experience (and what you're going to mix anyway). From the sound of things mortar may be your best bet, but maybe paste a picture of the large hole to get more informed opinions.


Can I use low voltage lights with a motion sensor? I have installed and wired low voltage exterior lights. They required a transformer to bring the AC to 24 volts. I want them controlled by a motion sensor so before the transformer I installed a motion sensor. The lights work, but only with the switch. The motion sensor does not engage.

Is it possible to have the motion sensor control the lights, and if so, how do I do it?

You will have to install the motion sensor (if it is rated 110v) in the feed to the low voltage system.  that is, hot going to switch, then motion sensor, then low voltage transformer then low voltage lights.

that is, sensor powered by 110v, feeding transformer


Encapsulating a cottage crawlspace built on bedrock I own a 3 season cottage that is built on concrete posts that are embedded into the bedrock. I would like to use the cottage in winter and I was thinking that encapsulating the crawlspace under the cottage is probably the best option.

I am looking for some reference material on all the steps that I would need to do to make sure that the water system is usable in the winter.

My thinking was to:
Pour concrete footing between the existing concrete posts around the exterior of the crawlspace. I was thinking about using ICF forms to do that.
Then I would construct 2” x 4” walls on top of the footings.
The walls would then be insulated and I would add vinyl siding to the exterior walls.
Once that is complete, I can add vapour barrier directly on the bedrock floor.
Then I would add a baseboard heater to keep the area at a minimum temperature of 7 degree celcius

Any thoughts on my steps. Am I missing something? Am I making this more complicated than I need to?

The "less complicated" solution is as typically found under mobile homes in cold climates, where the "skirt" if any is typically not insulated.

Pipe insulation and heat tape. Or these days, your better quality, less failures option (at least on the supply side) is an INTERNAL pipe heating cable. In either case, plenty of insulation on the outside of the pipes (both supply and waste) and preferably a "hard shell" of some kind to prevent animals from chewing at it.


York Diamond 80 HVAC - Fan Only Works With Heat Model P4HUB16N08001A.  NEST thermostat says problem with wiring - relay clicks but fan does not start - outside unit runs.  Installed "dumb" thermostat and fuse blows - does not try to start.  Fan does work on HEAT, but not for COOL or FAN.  Originally one of the guys thought it was the run capacitor, which did test weak so replaced - not the problem.

Thank you for pointing me to the problem - we were too close to see it. Replacing the thermostat cable has resolved the issue - it was pinched between ducts in the attic and had worn through the insulation and developed a short circuit on the green wire.


Do I need to prep/clean a new redwood fence before I apply sealer? I just finished installing a redwood privacy fence two days ago. I want to seal it as soon as possible before it starts to weather.

I am going to use this product from Home Depot but it recommends that I clean the fence with this solution first.

Do I really need to do that with a brand new fence?

If the wood hasn't been pressure treated and is dry and clean, I'd skip the cleaning solution. If it has been pressure treated, the product suggests you wait a few months to let the wood "air out". In that case, you'd want to then use the cleaning solution.


How to wire switch to ceiling fan The picture is how the wires are arranged in the ceiling and on the wall switch.
My ceiling fan currently works by pulling the chain on it directly, but the wall switch doesn't work under any circumstances. I've tested the wall switch wires with a multimeter and there is indeed 120 volts running through them. The ceiling fan itself is connected to the black wire, and the light is supposed to connect to the grey wire, but when I tried it the light doesn't work. When I connect the light to the black power wire as well from the ceiling, then both the fan and light works, and that is how its currently set up. I'm guessing the grey light wire protruding from the ceiling is the same as the single red wire in the wall switch box? Then how should the wall switch wires be arranged so that the grey ceiling wire works?

Originally the wall switch wires were connected to a 3-way switch. The top black and bottom white wires were screwed together in a wire nut; the bottom black, top white, and top red wires were connected to the 3 way switch as well as the ground brown. I turned the switch and nothing happens, but there is voltage running through the wires. No voltage through the red wires though.

If anyone can shed some light I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

Alright so we know that whatever you have in place is not following a normal wiring pattern and right know it's a real mess (example brown is never the ground). But if you are able to identify the conductors at the switch box with the conductors at the fan box. Here is generic fan diagram that might help.

This should get you started in the right direction.

Good luck.


What options for replacing a leaking soil pipe? There are tree roots growing in the soil pipe leading from my home to the street.  (The pipe is about 75 feet long.)  When it is time to repair or replace the soil pipe, what are the options and their pros and cons?

Option's include but are not limited to

cured in place, where the pipe is lined with a resin soaked material and hardens in place. I'm not familiar with it but I've heard it works well.
Pipe bursting, I did this at my house and got them to pull a 1" copper line with the waste line upgrading both services at the same time. I don't know how far they can pull. Some machines will obviously be better than others. I watched a civic project and they pulled a (approximately 20' diameter pipe) nearly half a mile.
Trenching, is the simplest method but will require a massive swath of ground to be excavated. For safety shoring needs to be erected if anyone is working in the trench. If you find anyone willing to go in a 8' trench without proper shoring, I wouldn't use them.

It boils down to cost vs. inconvenience vs. quality. Also what each method is capable of doing. My plumber had pipe burst done for a customer of his. 50' under an award winning garden. In that case trenching was not an option.


In-fridge icemaker makes hollow ice cubes. How to fix? My freezer's icemaker is producting ice cubes that are pretty much hollow, with a thin 'shell' of ice in the shape of the mold. Instead of solid blocks, the ice is so thin they break up into tons of tiny little ice shards. The net result is the ice I gets melts virtually immediately and has little cooling power in our drinks. A few cubes produced are solid, but most are hollow.

How can I fix what is going on? There don't seem to be any obvious controls for the ice maker. The fridge is a Frigidaire FRT22IRSH.

I eventually fixed the problem, and it turned out to be insufficient water flow to the icemaker.

The ice maker was being fed via a clamp-on saddle valve. I closed that off, disconnected it, and soldered in a 1/4" brass line with a 'proper' shut off valve. That provided plenty of flow rate, and since then the icemaker has been working flawlessly.


Is my rapidly failing foundation dangerous? I'll be succinct. I'm afraid we're having a full structural failure. Over the past week, crack after crack has been appearing in our plaster and walls. I'm honestly concerned for our safety.

Our home was built in 1890 and is a two-story brick and mortar home, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, newer roof, and an unfinished basement (read: dirt floor, moisture barrier).

A huge crack appeared almost overnight in our bathroom on the ground floor, including diagonal cracks from each corner of the window frame; the crack goes up the seam of the corner of the wall and continues across the ceiling. This is an external, outside wall.

There is a crack in the plaster in our dining room that runs floor to ceiling (12' ceilings) all the way up the seam of the corner. It appeared suddenly.

There is a buckle in one of the walls, which was there when we bought the house in 2005; however, the plaster has cracked open within the past two weeks.

Cracks are rapidly appearing throughout the house at the corners of the windows and above doors.

The floor upstairs (original wood plank) feels sloped and the floorboards are quite flexible -- springy, almost.

On the exterior there are cracks (hairline - vertical) around the foundation. I can see hairline cracking running almost the full frame of a good-sized, curved window we have in our living room.

I know this is urgent, but I don't even know who or what kind of professional to call in this situation to get an evaluation/inspection done. What's going on? Is my house falling apart around me?

ETA: 02.04.12 Well, we had both our homeowner's insurance agent come by AND a hired structural engineer. Here's the verdict: The floor is sinking. It's fixable; the joists need to be either reinforced or replaced. The structural engineer (who did a 1000% more thorough and professional evaluation than the insurance adjuster, who called it "settling" and just said it wasn't covered by insurance. . . thanks for nothing, lady! ;) ) found evidence of a previous fire that went unnoticed by two inspectors. This obviously may have weakened the beams. So we'll be interviewing contractors and having the repairs made. While not ideal, it's a relief that the foundation isn't failing. The engineer who inspected the property pronounced it safe to inhabit -- we just need to attend to the joists as quickly as possible. Thank you all for your well wishes and helpful and thoughtful advice. :)

ETA 2: 09.28.13 I thought I would come by and update this post. Because we wanted to sell the house, we had to make a decision that was safety-conscious, structurally sound, and as affordable as possible. We opted to reinforce the joists and support beams with new steel beams; this cost approximately $5,000. Finding an honest, yet capable, contractor was extremely difficult -- we were quoted estimates of up to $35,000 (!!!!) to fix the damages. Basically, the house settled rather fast and unexpectedly, which caused the extensive cracking of the walls. While rare, this does sometimes happen, and we had had a very dry winter in 2011-2012. I'm pleased to say that after the joists and beams were reinforced, we were able to put it on the market. It was up for sale for only 48 hours before we got a full-price offer with no contingencies, and we closed on 09.20.13. Now it is someone else's money pit. ;)

I think you need to get a structural engineer out there ASAP to investigate; I would be worried too!

Your city's by-law office might be able to refer you to someone who can help.

It might also be worth getting in contact with your insurance company - they might have their own engineer come out.

If you think it's really about to fall over you might opt to call the gas company to come shutoff the gas - the last thing you need is a fire added to this.

You need to make a judgment call on whether to stay in the house while you determine what's going on.  Being dislocated at a hotel is not fun, but if your life is in danger, its a small price to pay.  If you do leave, turn off the water and electricity too.

Good luck!


Is it possible to install flush mount floor vents in a laminate wood floor? My laminate flooring doesn't come with floor vents so I may have to find some and stain them.  I was told I need to get the drop in floor vents that sit above the flooring, but is there an easy way to get flush mount floor vents with 8mm thick laminate flooring?

I know I've seen stain grade wood grilles that could be flushed to the floor. I doubt they were 8mm, but you may be able to rout the subfloor to make up the difference or and/or bevel the grille edges. You would stain and finish to match, but you won't be able to perfectly match the stain. It's unlikely it's even the same wood specie. This wouldn't bother me, but would bother some.

Mind you, drop in vents usually have mechanisms to adjust direction and volume of air. Wood grilles are simply fixed slats of wood with no adjustment. They are also low on free area, which will diminish flow in comparison to similar sized metal vents. But they do look infinitely better.

For that matter, if you're handy, you could fabricate your own. If the least dimension isn't too wide, you could even use flooring. Either drill holes or rout slots, then paint the exposed edges. Just don't locate the leg of a heavy sofa right on the center of it.


Why is this roof covered in pigeons? I was out walking the other day and observed something strange with one house having a number of pigeons congregating on the roof. (This is not my home, so I have no insight into internal details.) A took a photo, below.

It's a semi-detached home, but the birds were noticeably staying on one side. They wrapped around the home, on both the south and west faces of the roof. The roof has an owl decoy installed, so I gather this must be an ongoing problem.

It's cold out (5C/41F), so I figured the birds just gather around the exhaust vent. But then I'd expect to see them closer to the vent and on both sides of the home.

Then I thought maybe they are catching sun, because it's a south-facing roof. But then I would think this would happen on other houses' roof too.

Is this roof just poorly-insulated? Something else going on?

Rock Pigeons (or Rock Doves) live almost exclusively in human structures. There must be a bridge or old mill building or something nearby.

Then, pigeons, like all other animals, operate under the guidance of their instincts. They're instinctively attracted to perches that offer a good vantage point to watch for predators, socialize, and move out to feeding areas. This home happens to be in a location that suits those biological imperatives.

I doubt that there's anything particular about the construction of the home that's attractive to the birds. They're mostly happy with its location, or rather the location of the perching surface.


Electric furnace wiring I am wiring a 240v furnace with 6/3 wire. The furnace has individual breakers as the connection point, one for each phase.
My question is- is it ok to jumper the neutral from one breaker to the other. Is it even necessary since the phases us each other to complete the circuit? Any safety issues?

Thanks for any help

You furnace looks like it is an approximately 20-KW model.  It requires no neutral.  It is not asking for a neutral.  It requires A phase and B phase from a single phase residential service.  And the wiring layout will be as follows: from the top, first breaker, A phase on top and B phase on bottom, and Second breaker A-phase on top and B-phase on bottom. You will need two runs of 6-2 copper or two runs of two 4awg aluminum with ground.  In the house panel you will need two each new 60-Amp breakers.


Why does the cold water pipe rattle when my washing machine is set to hot? When my washing machine is set to wash a load on hot, the cold water pipe rattles. The pipe is firmly anchored to the wall. The pipe makes a noise like a hose that is half-kinked, like theres an air bubble in it. The noise is coming from the pipe on the wall and not the washing machine itself.

How can I diagnose this problem?
Why would a washing machine set to hot use any cold water at all?
What would cause my cold water pipe to make this noise?

Its called "water hammering".   You will need to have a water hammer suppressor installed.    You can buy one that simply screws on to the faucet and then you connect your washer hose to it.

You can buy them at your local hardware store such as Home Depot, Lowes, Ace Hardware, or any other hardware store of your choice.

Here is a link to describe the science behind it
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_hammer


Best option to fix cracks in ceiling with radiant heat? One of friends recently purchased a house with electric radiant heat in the ceiling.  Several rooms have cracks in the ceiling.  Currently they are redoing the kitchen which has a large crack which is about 8 to 10 feet long.  What are the best options to fix?

The ceiling is textured and they are planning a have a sample analyzed first for asbestos.

I am worried about screwing into the existing ceiling as a do not want to screw into a wire and damage the radiant heating.  I don't know too much about radiant heating system in general.  House was built in early 1970s.

Some options I have come up with so far:

Screw new boards on top of existing.  I beleive this will make the existing heating less effective and I am also worried about screwing into the ceiling as mentioned earlier.
Fix cracks and skim coat entire ceiling.
Fix cracks and respray entire ceiling with texture.  They don't mind the texture and could probably hire a professional to respray the ceiling to uniformity.
Take down and redo.  I don't know if that is even feasible without damaging the existing ceiling and/or heating element(s).

Any advice would be appreciated.

I owned a Condo a few years ago with radiant ceiling heat, similar construction timeframe (I guess warm air fell in the '70s). We did not have any ceiling cracks, but skim coating or texturing the ceiling if you avoid screwing anything in should work fine, based on the experiences of others in our complex.

Our unit had had the heat fail in a few of the rooms, and we simply had wall heater units installed instead of trying to replace or repair the radiant heat. I don't think that the ceiling heat was worth the trouble, because at the floor, it was still always cold in winter, given that we had a ground-floor unit and weren't getting the benefit of someone else's ceiling heat.


What is it called when you increase the concrete floor (ramp it up) to avoid using a transition strip? What are the pros and cons of this approach? What is it called when you increase concrete floor by ramping it up, to avoid using a transition strip?

Sometimes sloping the concrete is necessary to drain water or create a ramp. The concrete is usually mixed with fiber to prevent cracking and to keep from using wire or rebar. You don't want to just add a small patch near a doorway to create a transition point, as it will probably crack.


What kind of connection is used to attach the legs to this table? I (a beginner) would like to build a table of this form.

Does anyone know what kind of corners are used to connect the legs, or any other construction tips.

It could possibly be done using Mortise and Tenon joints, however, it looks like this table simply uses  Hanger Bolts.

If you look at a picture from the bottom of the table,

you'll notice there are holes bored in the underside of the table top.  This is likely where the nut would be attached to the bolt, which is in turn screwed into the leg.


Staple Through Electrical Wire I was installing a new bath fan and had it all done. I was cleaning up the wires in the attic and accidentally put a staple through the wire as I was securing it to the lumber. I put some electrical tape around it and seems to be working.

There is not enough slack in the wire for me to cut it at the point where I pierced it. So my question is, do I need to have an electrician come out and replace or repair it, or is the electrical tape a safe solution?

Thank you.

If you damaged the conductor, tape doesn't help. The sharp edges and reduced cross-section result in concentrated resistance, which creates heat. In a max-current scenario it could burn and arc. That means sparks and potentially fire.

If you can determine that the conductors and their individual wire insulation weren't damaged, tape could be a viable (if not strictly legal) solution for repairing the outer jacket. Otherwise, replace the cable. You don't need an electrician to run a new cable between the fan and the switch box, for example.


Do old 2 prong outlets have line/load separation? I have an older home (1959) that I'm working on replacing the all the 2-prong outlets with GFCI (ungrounded).  When I opened this particular 2-prong outlet I found something I don't understand.

The black (presumed hot) is wired on what I'd expect to be the line terminal, whereas the white (presumed neutral) is wired on what I'd expect to be the load terminal.  I've attached pictures.

Why would this be done?  Is it a mistake by the previous electrician/owner?  Does it represent any greater hazard than 2-prong outlets already present?

I noticed that the metal plate under the terminals is a single plate, effectively joining the two terminals (you can see this on the attached picture of the black wire), does this mean there is no concept of line/load on old 2-prong outlets (or at least on this one)?

Normal receptacles don't have "line" and "load".  That is not a thing.  That concept is only associated with GFCI and AFCI where the "Load" provides a protected zone to additional outlets (that are properly wired).

On a normal receptacle of any vintage, the dual side screws are simply a convenient splicing feature to allow two wires to be spliced to each other and also to the receptacle.

It is more compact than a 3-wire pigtail, for instance.  You are welcome to use that, the pigtail or any splicing method you please.  All do the exact same thing and are interchangeable.*

On newer receptacles, you can delete the "convenient splicing feature" and exchange it for the ability to feed each socket independently.  This is done by breaking off special "tabs" that jumper the screws together.  When changing receptacles you must check for broken tabs, that is the #1 mistake.

* A few situations, such as MWBC, require a pigtail or other scheme that lets you remove the receptacle without breaking the supply wire to downstream outlets. In those cases, using the receptacle as the splice is outlawed.


Should a buzzing circuit breaker be replaced for safety? I recently begin noticing a loud humming noise coming from my circuit breaker panel in my basement when I use a 1500 watt space heater on high in my living room in addition to the other electronics using a minimal amount of power. While I hear the loud humming, the circuit does not trip not matter how long I leave the heater running. When the heater is off the humming stops.

I was wondering is this a sign of a circuit not tripping when it should? Is it a fire hazard or does it pose a risk of damaging any electrical components? If I do need to replace a circuit, is that something I could do just by shutting off the main circuit to the house, testing with a voltage tester pen and replace it myself?

Thank you.

If you're getting noise, either the breaker is failing or the wiring is getting loose and so can vibrate.  It might be a simple as tightening the connection that holds the wire into the circuit breaker.  If this doesn't fix it then you can try replacing the breaker.

Don't play with your main panel unless you know what you're doing! :)

BTW, the circuit breaker should not trip unless there is too much current going through it. Are you in the USA? If so, your power is 120VAC. The two standard breaker ratings are 15A and 20A, which should handle 1800W and 2400W, respectively.

So unless you have other significant loads on the same circuit I would not expect the breaker to trip.


toilet slow to flush with bubbles from the jet There are 3 toilets in the house and the one in the master bath when flushed bubbles come out the jet and the bowel is slow to empty. The tank empties well from the tank. No other issues with the other toilets, sinks or tubs.

any ideas

If the tank water level is correct and you don't detect a restriction/blockage between the tank and bowl, and the drain below the toilet is clear;

the problem could be a restriction/partial blockage in the toilet bowl trap.


What do I need to switch power automatically from utility to solar offgrid inverter with no downtime at all during the transfer? I want to switch power somewhere where power outage happens frequently from utility to inverter and back and forth kind of like a UPS without giving up on my inverter and what I already have.

As mentioned in comments, typical inverter switch times are fine for most devices.

The only way I know of to literally have NO downtime is dual-conversion, where your inverter is supplying the AC power 100% of the time, and your grid power is converted to DC and fed into the battery / DC input of the inverter.

That has built-in inefficiencies (thus, wasted power), but is "zero-switch" time as there's never a switch on the inverted power, you just go from float-charging the batteries from AC & solar to drawing down the batteries/solar.


Is the thickness of glass tile important in pool installations? If so, would thicker be better? I have a gunite pool which desperately needs resurfacing. I'm seriously considering going with  glass tile mosaics for the entire thing. What I'm somewhat confused about is whether I should be looking at 4mm or 8mm thick tiling.

I've read that thicker tile are more susceptible to fracturing under the weight of water. I've also read conflicting reports that suggest thinner tile are more likely to pop off.

I think that the thicker the tile in almost any installation would keep it from popping off more.  You would have thinset and grout that have more lateral surface area.  So yes I would say it matters.  How much?  Not really sure.  If you adhere to all installation procedures for your tile it will work.  Maybe the thicker tile has less long-term upkeep (due to the fact that a slight grout failure due to erosion would be less likely).

I will mention too about glass in pools.  It is very difficult to work with.  Most manufacturers require expansion gaps.  Also most glass products at big box stores are not really acceptable for pool installation.   It is actually very difficult to shop for unless you go to a specialty store since it is really impossible to test.  I would say the bigger your pool and the greater the temperature range in your area could both lead to issues with a glass installation down the road.

Not saying that you shouldn't use it but will say that it is a very high-end install for a pool and must be done right or can be very very very costly.


How to fasten wet dog-ear pine pickets I got some fence pickets for a small, outdoor project (a garden box, something like this).

They are super wet (I literally get sprayed when cutting on a tablesaw!) and SUPER soft - with a little wiggling I can pull a #8 screw right out of the board. The boards are only 5/8" thick, so when screwing two of these together a 1 1/4" countersunk screw pokes out the other side, so I'm only using 1" screws.

Is there some trick to fastening these so they won't pull apart? I'm planning to put a few bags of soil into this box and I'm afraid the weight will just rip all of the screws out.

As you suspect, pressure-treated lumber holds fasteners much better when it dries out somewhat. That would take some time, though, as you don't want to rush it or you'll get severe warping.

If you're in a hurry, switch to something like 1/4" carriage bolts. They don't depend on thread grab and will hold better in the long run anyway.

Otherwise go to a heavier screw. A #12 has several times the thread area and will hold much better.


Type of beadpanel to use for wainscoting in a bathroom We're renovating our bathroom and we're planning to do wainscoting.

I found some MDF beadboards whose moisture rating is "moisture-resistant". Can I trust that in a bathroom (assuming I use the proper primer and paint for it) or do I have to go with a vinyl beadboard instead?

Actual wooden beadboard has been used in bathrooms for decades. It needs to be well primed and painted to do well, and it probably should not be used on a tub surround. MDF shyould be significantly more moisture resistant than wood, again if properly prepared.

There is no question that vinyl would be much more moisture resistant than either wood or MDF. But many people do not like the look of vinyl.

If you application is not especially demanding, you are probably fine with MDF.


How can I drill a big diesel tank without emptying it first? Need to make a hole in a big steel diesel tank. I would say it has 5000 liters capacity, and it should have at least 2/3 filled or more.

Metal Sheet: At least 3 mm thick.

Drill hole is 1" or 2", not sure. It's for an ultrasonic meter.

Problem is if I go drilling, all the swarf can get into the diesel. Second problem is to avoid blowing myself up.

How would you do this?

This is a true case, not an academic question.

About diesel flammability, this is not the first time I hear something like:
it's diesel, you can light a cigar with a propane torch while drilling it

These are similar installation, most of them had detachable parts or had a NPT thread built in already.

Seriously: You just don't.
Reasons:

You'll never be able to guarantee you didn't contaminate the fuel unless you clean it thorougly after the work, which you cannot with all the diesel in there. That bears great (financial) risks. If you sell that stuff you might even get sued. Special drills and precautions will surely reduce that risk, but it will still be there.
Any hole added after the tank has been varnished / coated damages that layer and the walls of the hole are naked as well. That is a starting point for corrosion. There is a reason coating is the last thing to do in such constructions.
Finally: Would you rely on statements such as "Diesel has a high flaming point" or "use argon on the empty part, to suppress fire"? With your Life? Really?! If someone told me to drill into so much as a tin can filled with diesel, I'd tell em to have fun trying themselves. In you case 3500L. Obviously Diesel is not an explosive so the effect is different but just for the giggles I did some math: The energy in that tank is equivalent to about 340000 kg of TNT, yep 340 metric tons.

Solution: Hire a professional to do the job.
They know what they're doing and they bear the risk and liability.
There's a reason they're called professionals.


Wiring of a metal detached garage? I am looking to add power to my detached metal (enclosed carport) garage. With that said I am trying to figure out the most economical solution to wiring the garage. I would like to run the wire like normal unfinished detached garages with the wire running behind the metal studs and between the outside wall with 12/2 Romex.  This would then run each span (leg) of the garage inside the rib of the metal to give me power plugs for various things like power tools.  My questions are...

Can this be done and be NES compliant?
Would I have to cover the wall surface to be compliant? (plywood or similar)
Should I run it in PVC conduit (1/2 or 3/4)?
3.a. Can I use Romex 12/2 in conduit or do I have to get THHN?
At the subpanel do I need to connect a copper grounding rod for the sub?
What is the better method GFI breaker or GFI plug at the start of each electrical run for safety?

Assuming when a house is put up for sale during an inspection a detached garage is not inspected does it really matter (within limits of safety) if I leave it exposed?
If you guys have any other advice on this please let me know.

Grounding
Since the garage is detached yes a grounding rod is required.  Last the ground wire from the rod is connected to the grounding buss and the metal frame of the box / the building. The grounded or neutral conductor is isolated from ground an insulated buss is normally available in a main lug panel or a main breaker panel, if the bonding screw or jumper is installed in a main lug panel it is removed.
Running cable behind metal studs of unfinished wall
Any NM-B or Romex running horizontally requires protection below 8 feet. In my jurisdiction even running down the side of the stud requires protection.
Although MC or metal clad is under the same requirements as NMB most inspectors will let this fly on an inspection so I would consider upgrading to MC wire it is a little more expensive but will look a lot better in my opinion than exposed NM-B.
Cable through conduit
Can you use NM-B or romex in conduit sure but why? It would be many times harder to pull (you cannot strip it) and if going to conduit THHN is cheaper and much easier to pull.
GFCI breaker or receptacle
As far as a breaker or first outlet it depends on the location to me because there is no difference in the operation or safety.
The difference is in cost. Usually GFCI receptacles are cheaper than breakers. But again location comes up.
By location if you have a separate room or a large area walking 30-50’ to reset a GFCI can become a pain when the receptacle is just a few feet away so many times I will use GFCI receptacles in a home and garage to save $ and have the reset close.
Hope I hit all your questions we normally ask that they be broken up but these are quite common for a detached building.


Is it safe to run a USB cable inside a wall? I need to extend a USB device from a corner of my room to the above the fireplace.  Since I'm already going to be installing some HDMI and audio cables through the wall, I'd like to have my USB device run through the same wall plate; I'm not having any luck determining if it's safe to do so, whereas it's quite easy to find in-wall rated HDMI or speaker cables.  Would this extender be safe to run through the wall?

If you are going in-wall over 16 feet, you need an active extender as many have pointed out. One alternative to this is to use a Cat5 extender: this allows you to run Cat5e/6 in-wall (riser or plenum cable is rated for in-wall use), then convert to USB at both ends as needed. One I found at Monoprice is rated for 150ft.


Can I use a tap and die kit to change the thread pitch on an existing machine screw? Can I use a tap and die set to change screw threads? I'm having difficulty finding the right size of screws for my project, and wish to manufacture my own. Can any type of screws / bolts be used with a tap and die kit in this manner, or do they have to be made of a specific material?

If you're trying to completely change the treading on a nut or bolt with a tap and die, I don't think that's going to work very well. You may be able to get a new thread pitch, but it will be interleaved with the existing one, and all you'd be doing is weakening the thread material.

If you need to simply fix some mangled threads, then have at.

If you're looking to cut your own bolt threads, you will probably want to start with unthreaded rod. Although, as Cathode mentioned in the comments, if you have hardened steel rods, you're in for a lot of frustration and not much success.

I suppose you could chuck the bolt into a lathe and carefully (very carefully) slice the existing threads off to give you an unthreaded rod with with a nice bolt head, but then you'd have to grab a box of nuts of sufficiently small size that once you ground the threads out of the inside the resulting diameter would match up with your newly "skinified" bolt stock & you could rethread those.

All in all, I'd head to the local big-box and grab a box of what you need for your current project. You'll have some spares for the next project, and will, eventually have a few dozen of everything lying around that you can't find.


Gfci supplies a dock keeps tripping and can't be reset only replaced I have educated myself about gfci's although I am a diy'er. My gfci has my dock plugged into it. About once a year it trips and can't be reset only replaced. All outlets on the dock are weather proof. I am trying to find out if I need to rewire the dock or if the supply to the gfci can cause the tripping. This is a critical issue I need to resolve as I understand the implications of swimming near the dock if electrified. Again, I'm concerned that if I replace the dock wiring and the supply to the  gfci is causing the tripping then I have to replace the supply side, not an easy task.

I have found that GFIs installed outdoors do not last nearly as long as indoors. Your issue is likely the constant proximity to water.

My suggestion is to install the GFI at a point in the circuit inside the house, or even install a GFI breaker.


Shut off breaker but still hot? I started replacing a light fixture with a fan + light, and ran into a weird issue. My contactless electrical tester indicated current despite having turned off the breaker. The light was off in the room, and outlets were all disabled, but I am kind of spooked and want to get a some advice before I touch this stuff.

Any suggestions for what might be happening? I'm afraid there might be a second circuit. It's an old 1906 house, and I just don't trust it to be wired up in a sane way.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/eLhqrqzK6k8KRdzZ6

Switch off all the breakers, then test again.

Turn on the breakers one by one and that way you will locate the one causing the issue.

Many times I have found that what is on the label is not true.

Always test with a multimeter before using fingers...


What is the smallest and lightest wire I can use? I currently use a regular 50 foot power cord rated for 15 amps. I use it only for two laptops and one camera, making a draw of about 5 amps at 120 volts, according to the "input" label on the power supplies.

The 50 foot cord is heavy and I would like to find a lighter replacement. I have seen cords rated for 13 amps that are a bit lighter, but I think I can do better.

If I buy some wire and attach standard power plugs that you can buy at the hardware store, what is the smallest gauge I can safely use, assuming I never try to draw higher than the gear listed above? Would this also be safe for 100 foot power runs, if I connect two 50 foot cords together?

To be clear, I'm in the usa and power would always come from standard plugs.

I would never use zip cord for a long extension cord if you care about safety. SJOW cord would be the lightest safest option with 18-3 for a 50' run but would move to a larger wire gauge for anything longer. Connecting cords is not a good idea especially outside I have seen many cords that the molded connectors have melted down that were used within there rating. When you are looking at cords. The letters SJ is junior hard service cord (just an S is hard service heavier covering).  O is oil resistance, W is wet, damp and sunlight resistant. SJOW is the more common so cheaper, or possibly SJOOW both inner and outer insulation is oil resistant.


How should I disconnect my gas stove? We want to replace our natural gas stove with an electric stove. I've never worked with gas lines before, and the installers who will deliver the electric stove won't disconnect the gas stove for us. When I go to disconnect the stove, are there steps I should do in a particular order?

The gas line from the (outdoors) meter goes straight into the garage for the furnace and water heater. Right before entering the garage it tees off to another line for the kitchen, and there's a shutoff valve for that kitchen line only (I suspect the kitchen line was added about 5-6 years ago when a previous owner remodeled the kitchen; the house itself is about 30 years old in a large cookie-cutter neighborhood). The kitchen line runs around the outside of the house, and is probably about 80-100 feet long. Then there's a shutoff valve inside the kitchen where the stove connects to the gas line.

When I disconnect the stove, does it matter which order I shut off the two valves (inside; and where the kitchen line starts outside)? Should the stove be running when I start closing valves?

Once both valves are off and I disconnect the flexible hose to the stove, I'll cap the line where I disconnected the stove, too.

Considering the fact that you've never worked with gas lines, contact the gas company. They will probably come out and disconnect it for you and then check for leaks from your valves.


Can you replace a Q1 Circuit Breaker with two QO breakers? Just got my Sense home energy monitor and was going to do the install when I realized that the space I thought I had free in my (Square D) electrical panel was actually occupied by a double wide, double pole breaker:

I had not seen these before so I did some research and found that these breakers were made by Square D back in the 60s/70s but have since been obsoleted. From what I've read, you can replace these double wide breakers with the QO style breakers which only take up one side of the panel.

Doing this will free up the space I need to install the double-pole breaker for the Sense. My question is, does anyone know if this is kosher?  Note: this breaker feeds a sub-panel.

Go ahead and replace the Q12100 with a QO2100 and install the breaker for the Sense.  You'll be fine.

P.S. regarding double-stuff/tandem breakers: since your panel is class CTL, it does not support them in any slots.


Taking power from double light switch to GFCI outlet I am redoing some wiring in my bathroom. I have a vanity light on a single switch, a vent fan and ceiling light combo on a double switch and a GFCI outlet that are wired together in that order. It appears to me that these are all powered from one source coming from the panel, with 12/2 wires connecting them. Also at the end of the chain the GFCI is connected to two outdoor outlets.

I actually have managed to get everything working correctly except the GFCI outlet. I have power going to it but it keeps tripping. I got the power to the outlet by connecting the black wire leading to the GFCI to the top black screw on my light switch, that screw is hot whether or not the light or fan are turned on so it seemed to make sense. I took my common (white) wire and tied it in with the other white wires within the double switch box. I think that this is my problem as I am reading that you can't share common wires with GFCI. My question then would be what do I do with the common wire that will be powering the GFCI??? Or maybe that isn't my issue and my problem is something else?

Would love any help people can give. I am a newbie so be gentle. Everything in this series was previously working so I am hoping I can get it put back together without running new wires.

Your wiring should look something like this.

You'll use a twist-on wire connector (or other approved means) to connect the incoming ungrounded (hot) conductor, to three lengths of black wire.
Connect the first length of wire from the bundle, to a terminal on the single pole switch.
Connect another length of wire from the bundle, to the common terminal on the double switch (the common terminal should be black, or some other odd color other than green).
Connect the final length of wire from the bundle, to the brass colored LINE terminal on the GFCI.
Connect the ungrounded (hot) conductor leading to the light, to the other terminal on the single pole switch.
Connect the ungrounded (hot) conductors leading to the light/fan, to the terminals on the double switch.
Connect the ungrounded (hot) conductor leading to the GFCI protected devices, to the brass colored LOAD terminal of the GFCI.
Use a twist-on wire connector (or other approved means) to combine the incoming grounded (neutral), the grounded (neutral) from the light, the grounded (neutral) from the light/fan, and a length of white wire.
Connect the length of wire from the neutral bundle, to the silver colored LINE terminal on the GFCI.
Connect the grounded (neutral) conductor from the GFCI protected devices, to the silver LOAD terminal on the GFCI.
Connect all grounding conductors in an approved manner.

NOTE: Notice that the grounded (neutral) conductor leading to the GFCI protected devices, is NOT connected to the other grounded (neutral) conductors in the box.

NOTE: Since I don't know the exact devices you're using, the terminal layout of the diagram might not be correct.


Copper plumbing component Identification Does anyone happen to know what the component that I circled here. It is a simple thing that I need to buy to go around a 7/8 inch OD copper pipe.

Also - where would I go to get one?

It's called a Square O Strap. The one in your picture is already "set" in place so ones bought separately will need to be soldered to the pipe.


How do I level an unlevel floor? The second floor of my house is not to level. The walls are, everything is straight but the floor has a slight pitch.

I'm about to remove the current glued vinyl tiles and replace it with a regular vinyl flooring and I want to know if I can correct this.

Depending on how un-level, and the sub-floor material/condition, one option would be to use self-leveling compound.  You pour it over the entire floor, it "finds" level (it has a viscosity that allows it to flow until it begins to harden) and let it set up.  And Voila!  level subfloor.


What should i put between concrete and tiles? I am redoing my bathroom and figuring out how to do the floor.

Previously it had lino on top of 26mm of tongue and groove foam-backed chipboard, which also locked into the hall floor. This chipboard was rotten and had to be removed. It sat directly on solid concrete, which is the structural floor of my flat.

I now want to put down ceramic tiles, but am unsure what to put between the tiles and the concrete (tiling directly onto the concrete is not an option)

Many places I have looked suggest plywood but they assume you already have wood underneath to affix it to, and I think that without that it may expand too much in the humidity.

Another option in concrete backer boards, but would I still need wood underneath them to hold them together?

I would also like to include a new foam layer for insulation/sound proofing.

Can anyone recommend a solution that will ensure my tiles will stay fixed down and not crack?

Thanks for reading

No no no.  You do not put a subfloor on good concrete.  You are then allowing for a moisture sandwich (which is bad).  Buy a modified thinset, put tiles on thinset, grout, then you are done.


Depth of 4X4 Fence Post? I would like to repair a  wooden fence, in Florida, similar to the one in the photo below:
Is there a rule of thumb (ratio) for the amount of post exposed to the amount buried underground?
Home Depot  has the  option for 8,10 & 12 foot posts.

I always have used 2' underground so use an 8' post for a 6' fence. I don't know if this would be adequate for a taller fence, but it would probably do at least for an 8' fence.

Once while replacing termite eaten cedar 4x4" posts I encountered a soft limestone 14" or so below ground. I dug 4" or 6" deep into the limestone with a steel digging bar and stopped. I put in the post and then cut 6" or 4" off the top.


Electrical - 50A to 20A Adapter for heater? I am currently in the process of remodeling my detached garage and have run into a snag with the electrical. The previous owner ran 6-2 wiring out to the garage into a 50A outlet but then pigtailed a 20A outlet off of that (see attached pictures).

I have a Cadet Garage Heater that needs the 6-20R outlet. The heater would only be used in the winter and when I am making something out in the garage which is not that frequent. I am assuming the pigtail connection the previous owner ran is not safe.

Ideally, I would run 6-3 wire out to the garage for a subpanel and come off of that but I am hoping for an easier solution in the form of an adapter. As mentioned before, the usage of the heater would be limited to the winter, running maybe 2-3 hours max a couple times a month. I would like to keep the 50A outlet in case I ever decide to flirt with a welder.

The 6-2 wiring is on a 50A breaker and is run underground to to the garage. Also ran out to the garage are two 14-2 lines as well as a 14-3 line. The two 14-2's are on a 15A breaker and the 14-3 is on another 15A breaker tied into a few things inside the house. I have already replaced the fluorescent lights with LED lights and added a couple more plugs off of the 14-2's. The 14-3 controls the lights on the garage (other switch is at the back door).

All help is appreciated. Let me know if I need to provide more details. Thank you!

I believe you could have a safe, code compliant install now if you used the 6/2 to feed a small subpanel with no neutral.  The 240V receptacles don't have a neutral.

There may be a tap rule that would allow you to tap the 50A circuit with #12 if you keep the tap very short, but only if you hardwired the heater, not with a receptacle.


How can I reduce the humidity level in my basement? I have an unfinished basement in my 1040 square foot ranch house. I just bought an energy star  30 pint dehumidifier to replace an old one that came with the house 1 year ago (I set it on the "driest" setting after mold started forming & it ran all the time). I have not been able to get the RH below 61% & fear mold will form again. Should I get a larger capacity unit, or is there some other solution?

An assortment of thoughts which may or may not be applicable to your situation:

In general, larger capacity units are more efficient than smaller capacity units, according to Consumer Reports. They suggest buying a 70 even you don't think you need it.

If you're using the built-in bucket, the dehumidifier stops whenever that becomes full. You have to empty it as frequently as necessary... or set up the unit to drain into a sink or otherwise move the water out of your house automatically. (Mine has been draining into a pump which in turn empties into the washing-machine drain.)

If you have water coming in as fast as the dehumidifier can pull it out, you won't make progress. How well sealed is that basement?

Make sure you have allowed enough air circulation around the dehumidifier and into the rest of the basement.

Dehumidifiers are somewhat notorious for recalls. If you really think yours isn't working properly, you might want to check with the manufacturer to see if there's a recall that hasn't been announced yet.. (The last two I've owned were both recalled; the first seemed to be working OK for me, the second was clearly bad from the moment I turned it on).

Good luck.


ALUMAFLEX Wire + Copper Wiring Greeting Electrical wiring experts !

In consideration of a Southern California house built in 1975, we discovered that most of the branch wiring is labeled as ALUMAFLEX AL/2, so we assumed the house’ s wiring is likely to be Aluminum, however, at the main electrical panel, we noted single strand Aluminum wiring to grounding Bus Bar, whereas the rest are connected to copper end at circuit breakers.  Some of the randomly inspected outlets and switches revealed a combination of Aluminum single strand to outlet's ground screws, whereas others are wired with only copper, which sparked the following inquiries:

How old is ALUMAFLEX wiring?
Is ALUMAFLEX still in production and/or common use, is it safe?.
How can I tell if ALUMAFLEX is properly connected to Copper wiring with the proper type of Aluminum+Copper connector, before connecting to the panel' s circuit breakers?

Thank you]1
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The problem is actually the panel

And the crux of the problem is the panel is overstuffed and lacks space for the protective devices which make the aluminum issue largely moot.

So if I pressed for any concession at all, it'd be for either a new meter-main with a 40-space panel, or simply a 30-space subpanel.  That way you'll have enough breaker spaces for a modern house. You can stay with whatever brand that panel is (presumably BRyant or Murray, possibly Challenger->BR) so you can have same-family breakers in both panels.  To get into the gory details on the panel:

Wires double-tapped, triple-tapped or ???-tapped on the neutral (ground?) bar, which might not be a problem if the panel's labeling allows this and also aluminum wires.
Aluminum wires on neutral bars and breakers that might not be aluminum-rated with any modern meaningful rating system.  Fortunately this is a meter-main panel which is by definition a main panel; so neutral and ground bars can be the same. Further, accessory ground bars are readily available, and some take aluminum wire just fine being made of aluminum.
Breaker screw with 2 wires on it - is the breaker listed for 2 wires? No. Ironically it's a double-stuff with a perfectly good screw right next to it; or maybe the other is broken but a BR2020 breaker costs $10 so why not just swap it?
Alien breakers.  The top 2-pole is a Murray; the middle is certainly not a Murray or BR, and the third one is BRyant and looks like the main breaker. All of these breakers are wrong except one. Every breaker must be either UL-listed for that panel by the OEM, or or UL-classified by a competitor.
Dangerous panels. Yours is NOT one.  It might be Challenger, but that's a safe panel, only the breakers must go and be replaced with Eaton BR aka type C.
The gutter is very narrow on this panel, and there might not be room for AFCI/GFCI breakers.  This means move the circuit to a subpanel. Naturally, this will be the aluminum circuits.
Make sure the breakers actually match the wire size.  10AWG Al -> 20A breaker.  12 AWG Al -> 15A breaker.  I don't care if there's a #14 Cu pigtail on a 20A circuit, that's a codevio but it's only going 6 inches and it's inside a huge steel box.

Every aluminum-wire circuit must land on a breaker that is full-sized (not double-stuffed).  That is because we need to upgrade the breakers to AFCI, which detects arcing, which is the biggest risk with aluminum wire.  It's possible to get double-stuffed 2-pole breakers, so if those top 2 circuits are copper wire, and/or you can find other copper circuits, double-stuff those.

There is nothing wrong with consolidating 2 circuits down onto one breaker (as you see in the blue/red wire above) unless Code says otherwise. However the breaker must be pigtailed unless the breaker's screw is listed for 2 wires.

Aluminum wire can go directly to breaker screws labeled CU/AL. There is no need to pigtail as they had done.  (the AL/CU rating which caused all the problems on receptacles and switches is not the same rating! Complicated!)

Your questions

How old is it?  1975... at the risk of stating the obvious.  Aluminum wiring came into vogue in the 1960s during a housing boom which caused a copper shortage.  It carried on through the 1970s and into the 1980s.
How safe is it?  The wire is safe as houses. The problem is what the wires connect to: the lugs, clamps or screws.  Aluminum wiring approval was all done in a rush, and the AL/CU approval mark/standard proved to be a mistake.  Now, connections must be CO-ALR (R=Revised).

However, CU/AL (note slight difference) is an allowed rating for breakers, and that is good.

Also, as wires get larger, this simply becomes an non-issue. Nobody has ever worried about a #4 Al wire on a big fat lug (which is probably itself aluminum).

Is it still in production?  Maybe not that brand, but a slightly different alloy (AA-8000 vs AA-1350) is readily available, and you can safely wire your house with it.  Of course, every home inspector will freak out if you do.
Are these Cu pigtails OK?  From their lumpiness, these look like lug splices, which are the best kind: see Alumiconn. They were just fitted naked and then shrink tubing slid over them. I'm fine with these, mostly because they are inside a big steel box and protected by a 15/20A breaker, and soon, an AFCI breaker which will catch any arcing.  Don't do any more like that; there are plenty of CO-ALR receps and switches and CU-AL breakers available which can terminate directly to Al.


Why are kitchen base cabinets usually screwed to the wall? I can see a few reasons, but so far none are compelling.

Depending on how large plumbing access holes are you may want to ensure that
 it doesn't shift. (I did mine with 1.5" holes for water lines, and 3" for drain, and installed a larger piece of vinyl tile as a mouse arrestor.

if you don't have a cabinet with a built in back splash, being able to run a bead of caulk along the back edge keeps crud from making a bid for a life of obscurity.

On the other hand:

Free cabinets allow you to shift one over 3 inches to do the side of the stove and the floor.

Free cabinets allow you to pull them away from the wall at painting time.

Free cabinets make life a bunch simpler when it's reflooring time.

Nearly all the reasons you proposed for leaving them free are rare occurrences. (I'm not sure what "doing the stove" means. Cleaning?) On those occurrences it's fairly easy to pull a few 3" screws and do your business.

To my mind they don't outweigh the reasons you offered for anchoring them, which mostly involve stability (safety) and a quality feel. Most folks want a sense of built-in cabinetry, rather than freestanding furniture, which can wobble and shift with use.


What should I use to seal around the perimeter of a tile floor? I recently tiled our bathroom floor (nothing fancy - just a 7 x 5 room).  In between the tiles, I've used a sanded grout and that's worked nicely but I'm confused on what to use around the perimeter of the floor.  There's a gap between the tile floor and the wall - it ranges anywhere from 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch.  Should I use grout here as well? Or something else?

Eventually I'm planning to have a base board so no matter what, the gap won't be seen.

Beneath the tile is hardiebacker, moisture resistant paper (two layers, and subfloor.

If all interior walls or, if insulated exterior walls,no need to fill gap with anything. Just get your baseboard moldings up to finish the job


Additional Subfloor Layer - Glue or Red Rosin Paper Currently my main level subfloor is joist, 1/2" plywood, then 3/4" partical board.  I am in the process of replacing the partical board with 3/4" with Oriented Strand Board Tongue and Groove.

After ripping up the partical board - Should I glue & screw the OSB board down?  Or just screw with red rosin paper in between?

Note: when the subfloor is complete I'll be laying builders felt paper down prior to installing 3/4" solid oak hardwood.

If you truly want to add another layer of subfloor to the existing layer, you will only need to add another layer of 3/8" plywood, or OSB, (I am not a big fan of OSB) glued and screwed. THEN add the 5 lb. flooring paper, and your oak flooring. Otherwise I would go directly over the existing 1/2" subfloor with the flooring paper and oak floor. I suggest the lightweight tarpaper because it reduces moisture from rising into the floor from below, as in a crawl space. Red rosin paper, which I have used also for under wood floors but will no longer, holds moisture. It has been used under many floors over the years, I have demo'ed many floors that had it in place.

My reason for the littlest possible rise in the floor is it affects stairs, which become a safety issue,  doors need to be cut, and other things that need to be cut or adjusted from the additional height all the layers produce.


How to stop cold drafts caused by a warped door sill? One of my external door sill weather-strip is slightly warped near the center producing an area where cold air can flow in.

The door sweep appears to make good contact on the left and right sides of the door so air flows through in the middle.

What is the optimal way to repair this type of draft? (both economically and from a heat retention standpoint)

Should I use an adhesive type door weather-strip (http://www.amazon.com/Duck-1302370-Self-Adhesive-Insulating-1-75-Inch/dp/B002GKC2TY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420496967&sr=8-1&keywords=adhesive+draft+stopper)

or should I find a way to replace the door sill weather-strip? What would the work entail to access and replace the sill weather-strip?

I can't tell from the picture but it seems likely that the floor beneath the middle of the sill is sagging or just lower than the ends of the sill for whatever reason.  If that is the case, and it were me, I'd pull up the existing sill and shim up the area that is too low.  Set a straight edge across the width of the door frame to see how much material needs to be added under the sill.  I would use roofing felt for that.  You can cut it with a utility knife, and it won't rot or compress very easily. Once you have filled in the low area so that no light shows beneath the straight edge, re-install the sill.  Another advantage of using roofing felt is that the screws you use to secure the sill will drive through the felt quite easily.

Here is a link to a website that discusses how to use shingles and felt to level an entire subfloor prior to flooring installation.  http://bit.ly/1Ii80Qi  The scope of that project is much larger that what you are dealing with, but the principles involved are exactly the same.


Replacing chandelier with new, No ground wire in old chandelier I am replacing a chandelier with new one, No ground wire in old chandelier and my vaulted ceiling is at least 30 feet high.  Can I just not connect the ground wire and coil it up so it is out of the way at the base of the hanging part of the new chandelier?

Ground wires are there to prevent a metal chassis from becoming live in a electrical fault.   if the chandelier is out of range of human contact, the ground wire is not necessary (although, legally it may be.). For safety, look at GFCI options- either at the panel, or by taking the power to the switch off a nearby GFCI outlet.  Then, just coil the ground wire up and tuck it away.


Lennox HE propane furnace I have a Lennox HE propane furnace in the cottage that is set to 41 degrees when we are not there. We head up most weekends and when we get their I boost the temp to 65 deg and get a fire going in the wood stove.

The problem is the furnace will run for 40 to 45 minutes then shut down, although the thermostat may only indicate 45 degrees.  The code points to burners failed to ignite.  I reset the trip and again we'll run another 30-40 minutes and shut down.  So it's takes for ever for the cottage to heat up.  I have cleaned the ac condenser, replaced filter, cleaned flame sensor and igniter but problem still exists.  Any ideas before I call a service guy which is over an hour away?

I will assume it is indeed a failure to ignite problem. The way it works is your circuit board puts out about 5 milliamperes through to your flame rod. When there is flame the electrical signal jumps the flame and the ground completes the circuit back to the board. If it doesn’t read approximately 5 milliamperes back to the board it assumes there is no flame and shuts off. It sounds like there is something that isn’t quite making and finally gives up. Common problems are a dirty sensor, faulty board and bad ground. Unless the flame rod is physically damaged it almost never needs replacing. A resistance test should show 0 ohms. Usually the circuit board is bad but I have had issues with the house ground where more than 2 volts were leaking into the ground. This takes a good repair electrician to track this down. If the ground checks out good then by process of elimination I would assume it is the circuit board. The problem with your scenario is that it takes a long time to happen so it may take a while to find.


Do I need to apply polyurethane on stained quarter round? I just finished staining the quarter round for my floors and I want to know if it's necessary to apply polyurethane? I followed someone's advise to condition the wood before staining and I didn't see any difference between the conditioned wood and the wood that wasn't, so I'm trying to figure out if this is another unnecessary step. I was going to poly the t-molding since it gets a lot of traffic, but the quarter round will only have a vacuum occasionally brush against it.

Urethane is a sealer and durability layer. It keeps cleaning equipment and shoes from scuffing through the surface of the stained wood and degrading appearance. It also prevents liquids from soaking in and staining. Whether you do it is up to you, but I've never seen un-sealed wood installed as base trim.


Kitchen / Bathroom sink are very "splashy" - How can I change this rectangular aerator? I just moved into a new flat and I have a problem with the kitchen and bathroom faucets.

They are extremely splashy (if opened suddenly the water will spill out of the sink!) and whenever I clean the dishes, the kitchen easily becomes a watery mess. The bathroom faucet does not even have an aerator!

I'm no hydraulic expert so I took pictures of both the faucets.

Bathroom (nozzle size: approx. 32mm x 5mm):

Kitchen (nozzle size: approx. 30mm x 8mm):

Now, a few questions:

Do you think I could solve the problem by just adding / replacing the aerators? If so, I have took a look on the internet but I have no idea of what kind and size of aerator I should buy since I did not find any "perfect" match. The "unregular" rectangular shape does not help either.
How can I replace these aerators? Should I pull them? I haven't found anything to unscrew.

I hope I explained my problem in enough depth.

Thank you very much!

Those elegant faucets do not have aerators!   You need to find laminar flow aerators to alleviate the issue.  Unfortunately you probably need to buy new faucets!
What brand are they?


Water leaking through vanity, through gap between faucet base and sink I have a bathroom faucet with a leaking issue. Whenever any water ends up on the top of the vanity or around the faucet base, it seems to leak through and drip down the bottom of the vanity. In order words, it doesn't seem like it's properly sealed. Is there supposed to a watertight seal using silicone or plumber's putty to prevent this?

Thanks.

Yes, there is supposed to be a watertight seal. All the valves and spigots are supposed to either have a gasket of some sort or sealed with plumber's putty at the time of installation. They can deteriorate with age. The drain seat should also be sealed. You have two choices: remove the fixture and put on some plumber's putty and reinstall or get some silicone caulk and place a bead of it around the fixture after cleaning the area and letting it dry completely.


Is it common to layout sprinkler heads differently between front and back yards? Context: I'm looking into hiring a company to install a sprinkler system. In both the front yard and back yard, we have some shrubs and small plants bordering the edge of the lawn, with sod in the middle.

Question: In the front yard, the company plans to install heads along the outside edge for the plants and along the edge between the shrubs and grass. In the back yard, however, they're only planning to install heads along the edge between shrubs and grass. Is it common to layout heads differently between front and back yard?

Yes, it is.

Water needs of your yard and landscaping will depend on several factors:

type of grass / plant / tree
different types of plant in the same area
amount of sun / shade the area gets

Based on number 3 alone, back yards tend to get differing amounts of sun / shade than the front yards due to the house itself, and so that may lead to a different layout. It could be that only the part of the yard nearest the house needs to be laid out differently, or maybe just one side of the yard.

Just as important as where the sprinkler heads are laid out, though, is how they are connected. This is done with "zones" - groups of sprinkler heads all connected to the same valve, so they all run at the same time and for the same amount of time. Some areas of your landscaping require more water than others, and so it's important for those areas to be in a different zone. This allows you to water those zones for longer, giving the areas which need more water more water while not drowning those areas that don't.

On top of all of that, the maximum number of sprinkler heads is determined by the incoming water pressure, as well as the flow rate of all the heads. You can't have too many in one zone or they won't put out the correct amount of water.

Shaded areas should probably be in a different zone than sunny areas, so the sunny areas can get watered for longer. Additionally, your plants which require lots of water should be in different zones than those which require little water. And none of the zones should have too many heads.

All that could lead to a lot of zones (they make controllers with 8, 12, or 16 zones, and some installations require multiple controllers!), which could also mean a lot of trenching and PVC installed. You and your landscaping contractor will probably need to balance the "ideal sprinkler layout" with the cost and effort involved in getting it.