Need to run underground wire 530 feet from main 200 amp box, not sure how to get started? Basically i have the electrical service routed down to my main meter, then a 200A breaker box off of that.  This is permanently mounted to a service-pole outdoors.

I need to add power from that pole to a small cabin 530' away. There will be a 100A panel at the cabin.

I am worried about voltage drop, but will only need about 50A of service to the cabin.

I will be able to bury the wire 3' without problem I suspect, but I am not sure what gauge wire to use.

This is why Tesla won the War of the Currents

The great advantage of moving power around as AC is that one can step up the voltage easily using a transformer to move it a long distance with minimal losses, then step it back down to something more suitable for household utilization when it arrives at its destination.  While this is normally the province of electric utilities and heavy industrial facilities, nothing in the National Electrical Code prohibits the application of dry-type distribution transformers in a more...residential setting, so given the length of your run, the use of a transformer at each end to step the voltage up for the run and back down at the cabin is an option here.

I will cover the conventional (no transformers) way of doing it, first, with example pricing, and then show what it takes to use the genius of AC power distribution to your advantage here, again with example pricing.  If you are not comfortable with any of the installation instructions here, of course, please speak with an electrician -- most electricians who have worked in the commercial/industrial space should be comfortable with installing a setup of this nature.

Doing it the hard way, first

Without the aid of transformers, we wind up running 240V @ 50 or 60A over the 530' distance.  This requires fat wire in order to keep voltage drop from becoming excessive, (3% is the typical limit for feeders) -- a typical choice would be 3/0 aluminum XHHW-2 for 50A (you could use 250kcmil instead for 60A, but the bump of two wire sizes should tell you why this isn't promising already), and you'd need 3 of those + a 4AWG (10AWG is the minimum for 60A, but the upsize for voltage drop forces us to upsize the grounds by the same ratio as per 250.122(B)) bare copper ground for this, as well as 540' (the extra is so we can do the stub-ups at the end) of 2" (the wires in question take up about 465 mm2 of fill, so it's slightly too fat a run for a 1.5" conduit) Schedule 80 PVC conduit and fittings.  (We are doing the run in conduit in both cases as it'd be nonsensical to trench direct bury cable this far only to have to dig it all up again if requirements changed in the future.)

As to cost? The PVC costs $3 a foot or thereabouts, so we are out $1690 for the conduit here ($1620 for the conduit, and $70 for the fittings).  Adding the phase and neutral wires puts us at another $.85/ft, or $1377 for 540' per conductor (so we have some left over to terminate with), and last but not least, the ground wire  adds $.73/ft, or another $395. This adds up to nearly $3500, quite the sum for providing electric service to a humble cabin, no?

It's transformer time!

However, with a pair of transformers of appropriate rating, we can step the voltage up to 480V for the run, allowing us to use 6AWG copper or 4AWG aluminum for the phase and neutral conductors instead.  Furthermore, we can get rid of a wire by running the 480V as single-phase instead of split-phase, leaving us with a single hot, a neutral, and a ground, at the cost of needing a beefier overcurrent device in one spot, which isn't that big a deal in the grand scheme of things, as it turns out.

The transformers we need are what are called dry-type distribution transformers.  Unlike the oil-filled transformers on utility poles (which can burst into flame under abuse), these transformers have their windings air-cooled and use flame retardant insulation materials, rendering them fire-safe for use in or on buildings of all types.  Specifically, we need a pair of NEMA 3R (outdoor rated), 15kVA (15,000 Volt-Ampere, or equivalently 15kW of resistive load) dry-type transformers with 240/480V primaries and 120/240V secondaries, the slash indicating that that side of the transformer can be wired for either voltage.  These cost about $650 apiece if you can get a good price on them, particularly if you can find used ones in your area, and you will need two, putting your cost for the transformers at about $1300 for the pair.

With this, we can use 4AWG aluminum XHHW-2 for the hot, neutral, and ground wires, giving us a wire cost of $422.  These wires only take up 150mm2 of fill, as well, so we can downsize the conduit to 1.5" and still have ample fill left over.  This translates into a conduit cost of $1/ft, or $600 once the fittings ($20 for the pair) and expansion fittings ($40 for the pair) are included atop $540 or so of conduit.

Last but not least, we'll need a way to protect the conductors between the two transformers, and the primary side of the cabin-transformer, from overcurrent.  The most cost-effective way to do this is with fuses due to the fact modern fuses give you better voltage ratings for your money than circuit breakers do.  A fuse block will also be needed here: the appropriate fuse, namely a 30A, 600V, Class J fuse, costs roughly $10 apiece, and a matching fuse block for Class J fuses adds another $20.

This sums up to a cost of about $2400 including some miscellaneous parts (such as a 1" RMC or EMT run from the cabin's transformer to the cabin's loadcenter), or about a thousand dollars less than not using the transformers.  Even if you can only get a bad ($1000 a piece) price on 15kVA single phase transformers, this is still cost-competitive with the straightforward approach.

Implementing the transformer approach

Implementing things The Hard Way™ is a well-trodden path, so I will not cover it further here.  The transformer-based approach, though, requires a few different elements, so we will go over the implementation caveats first, and then cover the procedure involved in doing this.

Notes, cautions, and caveats

First off, the transformers will need homes -- at 220lbs a piece, these are the heaviest pieces of electrical equipment you will ever meet, atop being quite bulky (nearly 30" tall, almost 24" wide, and another 15" deep)!  If you want to hang the transformer at the pole from the pole, this is possible, but will require quite a hefty crossmember for the transformer's mounting brackets to bolt to and a metal shield attached to the bottom to prevent sparks from starting a fire should the transformer fail; otherwise, a concrete slab with appropriately placed studs can be used to padmount the transformer onto the ground.  Likewise, the transformer at the cabin can be bolted to a sturdy crossmember integrated into the frame of the cabin (with a spark shield if outdoors), or set on a studded concrete slab.

Furthermore, you must be able to mount the cabin's loadcenter in a place with sufficient clear working space -- this may require some slightly tricky conduit routing to do so.  Otherwise, trenching the conduit in and pulling the wires from the pole-transformer to the cabin-transformer is as you would do for any other underground installation, and so is the short conduit run and pull of 4AWG Al from the cabin-transformer to the cabin's loadcenter.

Note also that you will need to torque all connections (both mechanical screw lugs and bolted joints) to manufacturer specified torques using a torque screwdriver or torque wrench calibrated in inch-pounds. You will also need to identify wires correctly -- 240V wires can use conventional black/red/white phase taping in this scheme if they are not already correctly color coded, but the 480V wires should be identified using yellow for hot and grey for neutral, with green being suitable for ground as always -- this helps prevent embarrassing disasters involving 480V power being fed to 120 or 240V appliances.  In fact, you should apply the phase tape to the wires  before you put the wires together and pull them through -- this makes sure the wires are properly identified at both ends, which will avoid mixups down the road.

Last but not least, all of this, especially the 480V work, must be done with the power off, and preferably locked out at the pole using a lockoff and cheap padlock fitted to the newly installed breaker in the pole's loadcenter.  This is because 480V not only will shock the living daylights out of you, it can blow you to high heaven in what is called an arc flash event.

Finally, the how-to

As to wiring this all -- the wires from the 50A or 60A breaker that will feed this all (using whatever Chapter 3 wiring means you wish -- you only need 2 hots and a ground here, so you can use 4AWG Al XHHW-2 in 3/4" or 1" metal conduit, or a short length of 6/2 UF with cable clamps at each end for that matter) in the pole's loadcenter go to the X1 and X4 terminals on the pole-transformer, while the X2 and X3 terminals should be jumpered together if they are not shipped that way from the factory.  Likewise, H2 and H3 should be jumpered together on the 480V side, with H1 jumpered to one of the fuse block's lugs, and H4 jumpered to a connector that also is jumpered to the transformer's grounding stud -- there will need to be two ports left on this connector, as both neutral and ground will connect to it.  (It serves as a bonding point for the separately derived system created by the pole-transformer, in other words.)

We then move onto the cabin -- the H2 and H3 terminals are jumpered together on the cabin-transformer, taking care of the primary side for now.  The X2 and X3 terminals on the cabin-transformer are jumpered together and also connected to the neutral wire running off to the cabin's loadcenter, which is taped white, while the X1 and X4 terminals each connect to one hot wire running off to the cabin's loadcenter.  In the loadcenter, the white-taped neutral wire from X2/X3 lands on the neutral lug, while the wires from X1 and X4 individually land on one hot lug of the main breaker each, and the bonding screw or strap is installed if it is not already present.  Again, this is because the transformer is providing isolation from the rest of the mains-world for us, giving us a separately derived system at the cabin.

At this point, if all is going well, you will want to perform a test (or have an electrician perform a test for you) before you make the final connections and energize this configuration.  In particular, you or your electrician should perform an insulation resistance test using a special high-voltage insulation tester (often called a "Megger") on the long run of wires before hooking them up to at either end.  This will show if the wires were damaged during the pulling process, preventing a nasty breakdown and fault-finding process down the road.

Once the wires pass such a test, you can then make the final connections.  The yellow-taped hot wire in the long run connects to the open terminal on the fuse block, while the grey-taped neutral and green-taped ground wires go to the connector in the jumper from H4 to the transformer's ground stud.  At this point, the fuse can be installed into the fuse block as well.

Moving on to the final connections at the cabin, we then hook the yellow-taped hot wire up to the H1 terminal on the cabin-transformer and the grey-taped neutral wire up to the H4 terminal on the cabin-transformer.  Last but not least, the green-taped ground wire gets hooked up to the ground lug on the cabin-transformer.

As to the rest of the cabin

The rest of the cabin is wired the same way either way.  You will need a grounding electrode system at the cabin in any case, and the panel at the cabin must have a main breaker in it to serve as a shutoff, whether it is a subpanel (in the conventional approach) or a main panel (in the transformer approach).  Furthermore, there is no sense in being stingy on panel spaces here -- I would use a 100 or 125A, 30 space, main breaker panel at the cabin if I were in your shoes, as adding breaker spaces later is far more expensive.


Installing Honeywell RTH9580WF on ICM280 Furnace Control Board I bought for my new apartment thermostat Honeywell RTH9580WF to replace my old Honeywell TH3110D1008. I watched almost every video I could find on internet "How to do it", but I couldn't fined anything to fix my problem.

I have gas heating system/cooling system controlled by one thermostat. My old thermostat doesn't require "C" wire but the new one does. My heating and cooling system are controlled by ICM280 Furnace Control Board witch doesn't have "C" terminal - the one that I need for my new thermostat.

I'm attaching some images where you can see that my old thermostat works with 4 wires - white for "W", blue for "Y", green for "G" and red for "R", also I have jump wire between terminal "R" and "RC" on my old thermostat. On my control board I have only 3 terminals: W, G, R.

My question is where should I get wire for my terminal "C" on my new thermostat? Thanks for any help. Also I'm attaching picture of the same control board as mine but different brand.

According to the Manufacturer's documentation, the common wire from the transformer connects to the board at pin 6 of the Molex connector.

According to the wiring diagram, there should be a junction off the transformer, where one wire goes to the Molex connector, and another goes to the ground (chassis).  This junction may be directly at the transformer terminals.  This would likely be the best place to connect your new C wire.

Make sure you use a voltmeter, to verify that those are indeed the correct pins.

If there's not an extra wire in the cable that runs up to the thermostat. Then you'll have to pull a new wire/cable.


Anyone know what faucet brand this is? Its a ball tub valve, appears pretty old I have  leaky tub faucet that's pretty old, went to big box and realized I had no idea what to get. Anyone know what brand/model this might be?

A single handle faucet will have seals called o-rings they wear out over time, dissemble and take the the o-rings in to a plumbing or big box store and they should have replacements there are not that many different sizes of o rings in the range used for faucets.


Shower valve washer on hot needs replacing constantly We've got a setup very similar to the picture in the answer to this:

3 valve shower allowing flow to tub and shower

I've read some similar questions here, but none is just like this:

The washer, whether it be flat or domed, on the valve next to the seat wears out by being crushed all the time, by requiring more pressure each time to close the hot valve completely to keep it from dripping, trickling, or leaking eventually becoming completely destroyed so as to require replacement. The water continues to come from the tub faucet head, as the diverter is left in the neutral position when not in use. They will come from the shower head eventually if left in that position, or the third option...

Replacing the seat once caused this not to happen for the longest period, but I just checked it, and it's still looking great/fine.

Any ideas? Using a 3/8" L type right now. Maybe there is some other solution that isn't quite obvious, or maybe a special material that won't just become completely more crushed with each turn. This last one lasted like a month...

Here's what I could find in way of brand marking. It looks like a "DI" in a square, then the "CSA" mark (C wrapping around SA).

Here's an image of the crushed dome washer

Here's the new flat style (rotating out the dome), installed:

That washer presses up against another surface called the "seat" inside of your valve. If that seat becomes damaged or there is a buildup of corrosion on the mating surface, it tears up the rubber very quickly whenever you close the valve. Some valves have a replaceable seat. You need a special tool to remove that seat, but they are relatively inexpensive. See the picture below.

The thing is, some people wont buy that tool no matter how cheap it is and attempt to remove the seat by jamming in a screwdriver or something. That seat is soft brass, so if the screwdriver can't do the job and slips in the hole, it creates even rougher edges. They give up and resign themselves to replacing the washers much more often. Remove the stem again and take a look inside at the seat. Replace it using the tool if it looks at all rough, which I suspect will be the case.


How to determine if a 20 amp breaker can be upgraded to 30 amp I recently purchased my first home and the breaker the electric clothes dryer is connected to is 20 amp.  I was told it should be 30 amp by a home inspector but foolishly did not have the seller correct it.  If I run the dryer on its highest heat setting it will trip the breaker so I would like to swap out the 20 for a 30.  How can I tell if the wiring and such is adequate for 30 amps?

Location: North-eastern U.S.

It depends upon two things:

The gauge (thickness) of the wire; and
The length of the wire.

For 30 amp, a typical household installation requires 10 gauge:

To measure it you'll need to use a wire gauge measurement tool on an uninsulated piece of the wire:

You can get these on Amazon


How do I convert a light circuit with a single pole switch to use two 3-way switches? I have a box in the hall which includes a 3-way switch (with another switch at the other end of the hall), a single pole switch to the garage lights and a single pole switch to the exterior lights on the garage.  The single pole switch to the garage is wired with a 3 wire plus ground. The white and black wires feed the garage lights from the switch and the red wire feeds the garage ceiling outlets and is hot all the time.

In the garage I would like to add a 3-way switch for the garage lights and another 3-way switch for the exterior garage lights.  In other words I would like to be able to turn on both of those light locations from both the inside hall and the garage as well. I know that I will of course have to replace the existing single pole switches in the hall with 3-way switches and add a junction box in the garage with 2 3-way switches in it.  The thing that I don't know is what wiring connections I need to make.

Can you help?

Since the red wire is already being used for the outlets, you'll need to run a pair of 3 wire cables from the existing switch box to the location in the garage where you want these light switches.

This is what you'll likely have to do:

Here are some other options:

Image Source


Are easily broken slate tiles an indication of poor quality? I have bought a few boxes of slate tiles to be installed on my kitchen floor. They were on special (previously 6.5 dollars/sq ft, now 3.5/sq ft).

To my annoyance, some of the tiles broke easily when I unboxed them (three tiles out of 36 pieces so far). The guy at the shop said it's normal (he would say that wouldn't he!). How do I know if the tiles are of good quality? I wonder whether I have bought myself some cheap tiles that wouldn't last very long. Any opinions? Am I worrying too much? Or should I return the tiles?

Slate floors are beautiful...rich colors and a great natural look. However, they need to be laid perfectly and maintained constantly.

Make sure each tile is "back-buttered" when you install. That is to say, you can't just press them into a layer of mortar when you install them. Make sure you apply a layer of mortar to the back side of each tile before you press them into the bed of mortar...and don't get too far ahead of yourself. Make sure the mortar is pliable. Otherwise the tiles could break if they are not fully embedded.

Immediately after the grouting, make sure you use a two step sealer process. The first seals the small holes to keep the dirt out and the second seals the surface. You'll need several coats, but slate is rough enough to keep the floor from being slippery.

Lastly, re-seal at least once per year, depending on traffic. If the sealer wears off and dirt gets into the slate, it will show wear marks, traffic patterns, etc. and it's nearly impossible to fix.

I like slate, but lay it right and be prepared for regular maintenance.


How to remove old single-hole kitchen faucet I'm replacing my old kitchen faucet. Disconnecting the supply lines is no problem, but then I get stuck loosening the faucet from the deck. The lines go through a metal C-shaped washer-like thing, and I'm not sure what's holding it fast. I'm also not sure what to do with the gray plastic piece between the C-shaped piece and the sink.

Photos:

Some interaction between the center threaded rod with the slot in it and the outer tube is what holds "C" clamp in place. I would try holding the center rod with a large flat blade screwdriver in the slot and loosening the tube with pliers by turning the rod CCW. If that doesn't work, then try turning the rod CW and see if this releases the outer tube.

The outer plastic nuts just unscrew.


Anyone know the name of this tool? Does anyone know the name of this tool?

That is a lock nut wrench and are ideal for tightening and removing lock nuts on strainer baskets. Easy to find online by searching for that term; looks like an exact match to me.


Framing Exterior Long Wall in Sections I am planning a 12'x24' shop. For the 24' walls I had planned on framing them as two separate 12' sections, vertically sheathing them on the ground and then raising them. I would ensure that the studs were 16" o.c. from one end (so basically one extra stud in the middle). I would make sure the double top plate would not break anywhere near the middle of the wall.

With a 12' wall there would be exactly 3 sheets of vertical sheathing per section. Even though the double top plate would join the two section together, it seems like the wall would be much stronger if the sheathing covered and joined the two sections of walls together. On the other hand, it means I won't be able to do all of the sheathing on the ground and I would either have to rip the sheathing or apply it horizontally.

What are the requirement for framing and sheathing a long load-bearing wall in sections?

This question is similar to the following, except the major difference of it being a load bearing wall.

Framing Long Walls and Where to split long wals

As Ed's comment said, you can still do all of the sheathing on the ground, you'll just end up having to nail one stud once the wall is up.

Rip one sheet of plywood at 16 inches, and start from your layout end with that. That will provide you 16 inches overlapped onto the second wall section, and the 32 inch cutoff piece should finish the second wall out. Try and keep it all as flush as possible with the wall ends so you have a small gap between the overhanging piece and the second section's first piece, it probably won't line up exactly and a small gap means you won't have to trim it once the walls are up.

On the other hand, you don't really need to lap the sheathing. When you layout your studs, put a stud at each end of both 12' sections. Once you raise the walls, nail the two studs in the center (at the end of the wall sections) to each other. Run the top top-plate at least 2 feet onto either wall.


removing and capping a wall plug that works in series with other plugs I need to remove a wall plug.  There are 4 wires connected to the plug.  Two are black (actually one is black and white and one is all black) which are connected to one side.  Two are white connected to the other side.  Then there is the ground wire.  Is it proper to connect the two black together and two white together and the grounds together so I can put a cap plate over the hole?

Yes, that's probably fine. Assuming the tabs connecting the two screw terminals on each side of your outlet are intact, the outlet is being used both as a receptacle and to join those wires. Simply connect the wires (including grounds) directly using wire nuts and remove the outlet, then install a blank face plate. Make sure the location remains accessible, this is required by code for future service.

If the tabs (particularly the black/hot side) are not intact, then the outlet is likely partially switched. (This is a little more likely because you mentioned a black+white wire.) If you do find that it's a switched wire, then you should simply cap the black/black+white wires individually rather than bonding them, so you don't create a loop in the circuit.


Cabin bed attached to wall on two sides I want to build a 4'6" bed 6' up in the air which will be attached to the walls of my bedroom on two sides (so three corners of bed attached to wall) and have a wood 'leg' coming from the ceiling beam to the bed for the fourth corner. One wall is a chimney breast so 3'6" of the length of the bed will not have wall to attach to. The other wall is not load bearing so I would be attaching to its joists.

Has anyone ideas of how thick the wood would need to be? I hope to have the slats going straight to the edge of the bed to save room as my room is tiny. I thought of perhaps using 3" x 1" attached to walls and across to 'leg' and at least 3" x 3" for the 'leg'.

This bed is for adults not children.

I was thinking I might need to spread the hanging load by attaching wood across two or three ceiling beams and hanging the leg from that. Does that sound like a good plan or is the whole thing ridiculous?

For any load bearing construction, you want wood-on-wood carrying the load, rather than lateral bolts carrying a shearing load.  Give your bed some legs.

You can still screw it to the wall, but the load should be going from the wood frame, to wood legs, to floor.


Floor lamp - what is this part? I would like to repair this floor lamp. The piece in the picture has snapped but I’ve no idea what it’s called to get a new part. Can anyone help?

Pendant lamp holder or Pendant socket (or perhaps Pendant lamp socket, you never can tell what mixture of words will work best when there's a choice.) That's a very typical stock design with the large threads to hold the shade. As Ed says, you replace the whole thing.

If you can't find one with threads on the back end (since pendant can mean "hanging by a cord" as well as just "designed to hang down", drop the "pendant" but then you have to sort out the ones with the large threads to hold the shade.

Here's an example in black:

And one in white that looks similar to yours:


Is an ungrounded GFCI outlet safer than a plumbing-grounded non-GFCI outlet? I'm in the United States. I have a handful of three-prong outlets that have been grounded to the underground water main just as it enters the crawlspace. All of the ground wires are home runs to the same clamp on the water main. This rules out ground-to-ground potential differences but maybe not ground-to-neutral differences, since I believe the panel is coupled to the water main only through dirt.

It's my understanding (correct me if I'm wrong) that the ground terminal on GFCI outlets can safely be left unconnected as long as the cover plate is marked "NO EQUIPMENT GROUND." Is this safer than the existing plumbing-ground situation I described?

I realize that neither choice is ideal, but replacing all of the 14-2 NM with modern 14-2/WG isn't an option at the moment.

This is not even a contest. A non-GFCI outlet will happily send 1A through hot, into a faulty or misused appliance (think: submerged toaster), from there through you into some other ground (any ground will do, it doesn't have to be that same appliance's ground), without noticing anything's amiss. You, meanwhile, are dead several times over. The ungrounded GFCI-protected outlet, OTOH, trips as soon as the current imbalance reaches 30mA or so. If all the current leaving the GFCI eventually returns, there's none left to be going through your heart.

Yes, the GFCI could fail to open when it should (so test it regularly), but the counter-objection is that having a ground on the outlet doesn't guarantee that the circuit breaker will operate when a loose wire in an appliance touches the chassis. This is why my local electrical code doesn't like the idea of a single failure causing harm, so all socket outlets must be both GFCI-protected and grounded. For some reason I don't quite understand, lighting fixtures are exempt from this, as are stoves/ovens.


Is a soap and water gas leak detecting solution more likely to cause rust than the store's version? Will a water and soap solution (one tsp of soap in a cup of water) cause a pipe to rust more than BrassCraft Gas Plastic Water Heater Gas Leak Detector?

Neither should cause any problem if the solution is dried off after.


What kind of damage is in this attic wall? We were looking at a house to buy and one of the walls in the attic was damaged as shown in the picture below.

The house was the middle of three terraced houses so this particular wall was shared with the house next to it.

We ended up passing on the house because of an overeager other buyer.

I am curious as to what kind of damage this looks like and if it would have been expensive to fix.

Looks like, but may not be,  water staining on concrete which in and of itself is not damage per-say.

But it raises the question of  how and why did water get to it and what water damage may or may not be in the non-concrete construction part of the house above it.

I would guess a roof leak around where this concrete exits the roof or compromise in the concrete itself above the roof line.

No way to know about the cost of repairs until one knows the extent of damage, if any, to the rest of the house.


Crack in wall over heating duct thanks in advance for any advice. We bought our 100-year-old house last summer, so this is our first winter in it. The walls are not insulated, so we can tell where the heat ducts run not only because of the placement of vents, but also because we can put our hands on the walls and it will feel warm if the duct is behind it. In the living room, the wall has always looked patchy in front of the duct (like patched plaster), but recently a new crack has appeared--still hairline, but it definitely wasn't there before. It runs vertically, parallel to the duct.

Is this due to the temperature difference between the cold and warm parts of the wall? Why is it just happening now after many years of this heat system being used? Should I be concerned?

Could it also be that the walls were patched prior to selling, and the cracks, which were already there before, resurfaced?  Just as @DanielGriscom suggested, a hairline crack on an already patchy, uninsulated wall, in front of the heating pipes, points at "it's nothing".


no water coming out of the hot water faucet in my tub Space heater has been pointed at the tub for 12 hours and heat has been above 74 degrees but still no hot water just a trickle from the faucet.

Start under the house with the space heater. The house temp inside is fine. Turn on all the cold water sources all the way. The more water you can get flowing the better. The cold water feeds the hot water heater. Go to the street and place some insulation inside the meter box (towels, rags,etc.) If you have any exposed piping outside... wrap it. If it's a townhome you may be sharing water with a neighbor and its on their side. If your water is off and the meter is spinning it may not be on your side.


Light fixture wiring I might be a bit paranoid but it's electricity!
I removed an older light fixture from my kitchen ceiling and am ready to attach the new one (Ikea). I just want to make sure that I am doing it correctly. I am assuming that it's from the house connect the copper wire to the green, the black to the black and the white to the white. If I sound dumb, that's ok, I'm new to this and like to err on the side of caution!

The green wire coming out of the new fixture, should be connected to the bare copper wire from the ceiling.  There should also be a pigtail from that connection, that connects to the green grounding screw on the strap (metal bit attached to the box).

Then it should be black to black, and white to white. For future reference, you should take photos, draw a diagram, or simply list/label all the wires when you disconnect them from fixtures before you remove them. That way you'll know how it was wired, and can wire it back up the same way.


Installed a dimmer and now it's controlling everything I have a bathroom switch that contains 4 sets of wires. From L to R it's: Exhaust fan, Power in, Hall lights, Bathroom light.
I tried installing a dimmer just to control the bathroom light, but because there's only one hot in, I can't figure out how to control the light with a dimmer without controlling everything else with it. Either I join all the fixtures with the hot, or there's no way to give power to the fan and hall.

How about we start by marking some wires with colored tape.

Wires that are supposed to be hot all the time get marked black.
Wires associated with the fan hot (that we switch) get red.
Wires associated with the lamp hot (that is dimmed) get blue.

Mark the appropriate hot wires amongst those five cables.

On the dimmer, you mark the supply wire black (is probably already that way) and mark the load wire blue (since it goes to the lamp) (it might supply as red, but we mustn't connect it to the fan!)

On the plain fan switch, you mark one terminal as black and the other as red.

Now, hook like colors together.

I don't understand how to hook colors together if the switch doesn't provide an on-board splice point for that many wires.

Then you use "Wire Nuts" generally, or you can use Wago style "lever connectors".   You probably want a red wire nut to connect as many blacks as you'll have to connect.

But one of the blacks is not a wire.  It's a switch terminal screw.

You need to use a technique called a pigtail. For this you need a few scraps of wire.  Buy 1 foot of 12/3 Romex, and cut it into two 6" sections and then peel the sheath off of it.  That'll give you a supply of pigtails in a variety of colors.

I use pigtails pretty much by default.  If I know my switch needs to go between black and red, I'll stick a black and red pigtail on the switch. This often makes for some redundant connections, but I don't care, and they work fine.


Why does the pop-up on my sink's drain keep popping up? After 3 years of good service, the plug in the pop-up waste in a bathroom basin won't stay down/closed for more than 30 seconds. It takes me 2 minutes to shave, and in that time the plug pops up 4 or 5 times.

While it is closed the basin is water-tight and when it pops it drains at about the right speed, so I don't think it is the height of the adjuster under the plug at fault. It seems as though the weight on of the ball on the end of the control is pushing it down, but until 2 weeks ago this didn't happen.

What should I try adjusting to make it work properly again?

If you look under your sink, where the rod from the plunger enters the sink's drain, you'll see that it passes through a screw-on cap.  Tighten that cap a little (not too much!) because it has come slightly loose.  The cap holds a ball that the rod pivots around, so by tightening it you'll make the entire plunger assembly harder to move.  Play with it a little until you get it how you like it.


Separate or combined boiler and hot water heater I'm looking to replace my boiler and hot water heater.

For background, I live near Boston, my home is about 2000 square feet, we have gas for heat, stove, and dryer, and we are two people in the house.

It seems that there are three basic options:

Combination boiler and tankless hot water heater
Combination boiler and hot water tank
Separate boiler and hot water tank

For a novice, the first option seems to be the most efficient option, but one plumber strongly advocated for the third option.

His reason is that the boiler is expensive and it is only really needed for 5 months of the year.  A combined unit requires the boiler to be used all year and thus puts unnecessary wear on it.

What else should I consider in selecting between these three options?  It is an expensive job so I want to make sure I do it right.

I have always used your item #3 since I believe it would be a lot less expensive to operate and service this arrangement. Why run the large boiler in the summer just to get domestic hot water? my 2 cents.


Two separate gauge wired switch in one double gang box I finished my  basement using 12/2 wire. In the furnace room I built, there is an existing pull string light with 14/2 gauge wire. I added another light in that same room using 12/2 wire. My question is can I use a double Gang Box to have two light switches, one for the 14/2 wired light and one for the 12/2 wired  light? Although they are both separately wired to their own switch using two different gauge wire they will be in the same box. Anybody know the rule or code on this?

They can be in the same box but the breaker that feeds the switch and light with the 14/2 has to be a 15 Amp breaker. No exceptions. you might want to leave a note in the panel as to why the 12/2 is breakered at 15 AMPS. If that circuit needs to be 20 amps, you'll have to replace the 14/2 with 12/2.


How should I connect my humidifier to my furnace's circuit board? I have ganeralaire 1042 humidifier.it connect direct to transformer . my question is can I rewire to furnace control board. model is hk42fz0222105.just want to be active when heat is on. but I don't know which terminal is for that. any one can help will be appreciated.
Edit: wiring diagram:
hi. my circuit board doesn't have hum terminal, can I connect 1 to com24v ,another connect to w1 is it ok or not? thanks a lot.
hi. thank you so much to answer my question. I will try when I am home. Hopefully it work, thanks again and have a nice day.

Connect to W1, yes
You are correct that you want to hook up the W wire from your humidifier to W1 on your furnace control, along with C to COM and R to R.  This is wiring diagram 6(B) in your humidifier's installation manual, BTW.


Can I extend #12 wire on a 15A circuit with #14 wire? Okay, so here is what I got.  I have done a fair amount of replacing switches and outlets but this is my first time adding outlets.

I have a 15 amp breaker in the box running a couple of lights and outlets in my basement.  I want to move one outlet and add 3 more to the series.  The outlet at the end of the stream is a 20 amp outlet, and it looks like it has 12/2 wire attached to it.

I want to know if I can add 14/2 wire to finish adding the outlets, or if I need to continue the 12/2.

You can extend the circuit but it is bad practice to put #14 awg wire on a circuit that originates with #12 awg wire. For example; the reason is because someone tosses a mini fridge on the circuit and now the breaker trips, going back to the panel you many years later or the next owner sees #12 wire and installs a 20 amp breaker not knowing or remembering there was 14 in the run. This can result in a fire especially with back stabs in use and the smaller wire size. I have actually found this exact change of events on several occasions over the years. 12 awg is not that much more than 14 awg so it is best to continue with 12 awg , if you go cheap make sure to label the wiring in the service panel as connected to #14 , but even that is a bad practice compared to running #12.


Trying to hang my self-made gymnastics workout machine in my garage I basically made this machine referencing two videos:

Power Moves Training System
How to Make Your Own Breakdancing Flare Trainer

Mine is a tiny bit different than both but same basic design. It's basically as compact as the first one but uses simple items like the second one.

I had also built a 10ft long, 8ft wide, and 10ft tall structure that contains several workout items that I can swap out with carabiner clips attached to eyehooks.

The problem is in this system my legs swing across the whole structure and the crossbeams I placed for support get in the way as they are only 4ft (and some inches) away from me on either side. I should've made the whole structure 10x10x10 so that issue wouldn't exist but I wasn't thinking obviously.

So now I am trying to hang the machine from a joist in the top.

There are two problems:

1) It is stucco and I am unsure if something like this will eventually crack it over time due to movement. If that is the case I have no clue how to prevent such damage.

I've seen solutions such as this and this but have no clue how either were accomplished without damaging the stucco or making sure the movement wont damage it overtime.

2) The garage is directly under a room and I have no idea how I would get on the other side of the joist in order to secure it with a nut.

The only easy solution I see is an exposed beam that is still stucco covered but I could put the eye hook horizontally and place the nut after drilling it through the other side. However there is one problem with that as well. There is a garage opening mechanism close to it and I'm afraid that when I use this flare machine it will hit it pretty often if not every time. Thus why I'd prefer using a joist.

The first example to support looks like a cement anchor to me. The second would be better in my opinion because you can distribute the weight acrost several joists or trusses with the supports across 2 or more points I don't think wou will have a cracking problem with the stucco but I do think a single point may be strong enough but crack the stucco, plaster or whatever covering, so I would use that option. Several 1/4 lag bolts should support the boards to the ceiling. I like predeilling so the joist dosent crack. Large fender washers will provide additional strength since it will be a vertical pull down on the wood.


Adding a new electrical outlet to lighting circuit My house was built in the mid 70s, MBWC everywhere. Many lighting circuits are also connected to the outlets. What I want to do is connect a receptacle upto the switch for the pantry so that when someone turns on the pantry lights, the socket will turn on (I will be connecting this socket to LED light strips to illuminate the shelves). What do I need to think about to be within code?:

Am I allowed to add new sockets onto lighting circuit nowadays?
Do I need to worry about lighting per square foot?
Overloading the    lights - well I only use LED lights, but someone
in the future might stick    something else in, right? What do I tell
the inspector? I currently    count at least 17 lights (14 of those
recessed) on this branch (15A    110V), and like I said earlier,
there are some sockets on this as    well. I use all LEDs, but
someone in the future might stick 100W    incandescent bulbs in,
overloading the branch. What does this mean    for me.
The pantry is also the washing machine area, so I'll use a    GFCI.

I'll have this permitted and inspected.

Thanks

Am I allowed to add new sockets onto lighting circuit nowadays?

Yes.

  Do I need to worry about lighting per square foot?

Other than for your own personal preference since it's your own home, not really.

  Overloading the lights - well I only use LED lights, but someone in the future might stick something else in, right? What do I tell the inspector? I currently count at least 17 lights (14 of those recessed) on this branch (15A 110V), and like I said earlier, there are some sockets on this as well. I use all LEDs, but someone in the future might stick 100W incandescent bulbs in, overloading the branch. What does this mean for me.

The load is done as is installed. If you put this outlet in and later someone wanted to run a 5000W heater on it, that's still on them to ensure that they can, not the original designer. Since all of your lights are LED, you should very well be okay. It all depends on the wattage of the fixtures on the circuit and the overall load.


Connecting a vent fan I have a new vent fan, but no instructions.  The old van had a light and fan, and I have two wall switches for it.  The new fan has a light and fan as well.

In my ceiling I have a black, white, red, and ground.

The new fan has a black, a white, a white and blue (both labeled 'light'), and a neutral.

Any suggestions on how to set this up?  Thank you,

First of all, the "neutral" that you listed for the new fan/light is NOT a neutral, it is a ground. The standard colors are:

White = Neutral (you have one in the existing wiring, 2 in the new unit)
Green & bare = Ground (you have bare in the existing wiring, green in the new unit)
The other colors (black & red in the existing wiring, black & blue in the new unit) are all Hot.

1 - Wire nut all White neutrals together. Your existing wiring has one neutral because the fan & light are on the same circuit so they can share neutral.

2 - Wire nut Green & bare ground together.

3 - Wire nut Blacks together for fan switch.

4 - Wire nut Blue to Red for light switch.


Anchoring post brackets to textured concrete slab I want to bolt posts to a concrete patio to make a roof.  The surface of the concrete has texture to it. I figured the texture is meant for a better grip in wet weather.
Should I smooth out the concrete areas where posts will be, so the bracket and concrete have full surface contact or is it fine to bolt brackets as it is?
If I should - would some watery cement/sand mix do the job? Texture is 1mm pores at most, I was thinking of filling those up with cement or other solution.

I'd just spread some siliconizer on the concrete and place the bracket on top. That will keep any water/moisture from accumulating under the brackets. In doing similar work, I've had great results using lag shields and stainless steel screws.


Conflicting instructions on refill tube with Fluidmaster universal repair kit In the part that describes installation of the refill tube (via refill clip), the instructions say: "Warning: Placing the refill tube down the overflow pipe can cause significant waste of water".

But then on the other hand, in the troubleshooting section for the problem of "Water level in bowl is too low" it says "Make sure the refill tube supplies water to the overflow pipe".

What gives? How can those both be correct?

I'm guessing that if the refill tube is placed fully down the overflow pipe it is possible to setup a siphon, pulling the water valve open and using large amounts of water.
The correct installation is to use the clip so the refill tube is aimed at and enters the overflow pipe. There should be a visible air gap between the bottom of the refill tube's nozzle and the top of the overflow pipe. See the attached image:


A type of compartment that rises out of a desk I'm building a computer desk and I had the idea to hide some speakers in a compartment towards the back. I'd like the speakers to pop up out of the desk on some kind of mechanism that rises up, kind of like an old top loading VCR, maybe something hinged at the back. I'm fairly mechanically minded, but I'm struggling to imagine a way to make something like this that doesn't need visible handles and I'd love it if I could open the compartments by pressing on the top and having it open at least a small amount.
I know this is a long shot, but are there any products out there that could help me achieve this?
I genuinely have no idea what search terms to use.

Search for "Lift up" hinges. These will let you lift up a section of desk to reveal something underneath, but won't let you click in the desk to lift it up. For that, you'll want push latches.
I'm not quite sure how well those will work in combination. As a fallback, consider some kind of recessed handle. (There's a bunch of options out there.)


AFCI Breaker Randomly Tripping - No New Devices We did a lot of investigating and found several clarifications that I didn't have correct in my previous post. New summary of the problem:

It's a Siemens Type QAF 20 amp breaker, 2006-built home - the circuit has been labeled "beth plugs." We isolated the outlets that this controls, and they are several 2nd-Floor outlets as well as our TV/Cable box outlet on Floor 1.

There have been no trip incidents for the 3 years we've been here, and we have not added any new draws to that circuit.

The first time it tripped was Monday. We were watching TV while installers were putting radiant barrier up in the attic. They said they hadn't plugged anything in.

When this breaker tripped, I found that the GFCI outlet on the counter in the kitchen had also tripped. It is on its own separate "kitchen plugs" circuit, however, I was unable to reset the tripped "beth plugs" breaker until I reset the GFCI outlet in the kitchen.

This kitchen GFCI outlet and its associates are on the other side of the wall from the downstairs TV outlet controlled by the tripped AFCI breaker. It appears that both are served by wires dropped down inside that wall from 2nd floor crawl space.

Yesterday, my wife was at home watching TV (installers/equipment gone as job was finished Monday) and it happened again. Same outlet tripped in kitchen, same breaker tripped in garage.

What could be going on here? With no new equipment adding draw and the GFCI tripping as well? Some have suggested faulty GFCI receptacle tripping the nearby AFCI breaker, even though they aren't same circuit. Others have suggested faulty breaker. And others have said installers probably messed up a connection somewhere. Any clues?

I can't make the breaker trip for experimentation, which makes it very difficult to investigate. We went through the house using one of those wiring testers and all showed as good.

Thanks for any help at all.

AFCIs work by literally listening to the power line for the telltale sound of arcing. This is why they are new developments, it requires signal processing power akin to that seen in The Hunt for Red October.

The relevant thing is AFCIs can hear arc faults nearby on other circuits. So your arc fault may not be on the protected circuit.  However a circuit cannot arc fault if its breaker is off.  So if you can stand to have a circuit off for awhile, you can test whether it is the cause (or is not).

AFCIs were developed to protect from electric blanket fires, but mainly ended up detecting failed "backstab" wire connections.  Backstabs are a cheap and fast method to attach wires to receptacles and switches. A tiny spring of metal clamps the wire, causing localized heating.  Pushing everything into the box puts strain forces on the wire which makes the contact area even smaller than designed.

Most modern houses are full of them.  Most of us here on diy.se have experienced them failing in scary and melty ways. Screw terminals don't do that as a rule, especially if properly torqued. So as a process of elimination, I would first get rid of all backstab connections on that circuit.

As for the kitchen circuit, Code requires that circuits powering kitchen countertop receptacles, power only them. So that circuit should go straight from the panel to the kitchen and nowhere else.  If that doesn't go anywhere near your recent work, we can exclude that.


Heat large pool with electric via solar panels? Where might I go for help with this? Should I try to price it out myself or find a contractor?  What type of contractor should I look for?

My community of 60 families owns a pool.  It is about 30' x 60'. It is heated by gas now, and the gas is the major expense of the pool each year. We spent $7,500 for gas last year.

How might we go about evaluating the costs and other pros and cons of switching from gas to electric heat?  The current gas heater is about 1/2 way through its expected life.  The goal is to reduce the annual cost for energy.

We are located in NY and there is a 1/2 acre grassy area near the pool that is communally owned and which is not used much because it is gets boggy.  Perhaps we could put some solar panels there.

I guess we could estimate the amount of electricity needed to heat the pool from the $7,500 for gas.

How do we calculate the number of solar panels needed?

Can solar panels be put close to the ground? I have only seen them on roof tops.

I estimate we use the pool 4 months a year.

Update: I've heard that you can "bank" electricity you make over what you use.  Since we will use the electricity in only 4 months, the electricity we make in the other 8 months can be banked and used for free when we need it.

PV panels are ~15% efficient. Hot water panels are much more, and probably much cheaper.

Way more efficient to just heat the water, rather than convert to electric and then to heat. Maybe with the exception of a heat pump... $$$


In an AC circuit, where does hot end and neutral begin? I understand the differences between "hot" and "neutral" and their positions in a circuit, but it's not clear to me where hot ends and neutral begins.

In principle, you could cut the wire at any point in the circuit, and one length would be hot and the other neutral.

Reading between the lines, my impression is that the  convention is that "hot" continues up to the load, after which the wire is designated "neutral", but I don't see any literal specification to that effect.

While I don't necessarily like using plumbing as an analogy for electricity, it can be helpful in this situatuon.

Think of a kitchen sink as an electrical device, or load. The supply lines are "hot", while the drain is "netural". The supply lines have pressure, which forces the water out of the tap. Once at the sink, the pressure is released.  The water then flows down the drain with no (very low) pressure.

It's a similar situation in the electrical world. The "hot" conductors have a "pressure" (electrical potential). Once the electrical energy is used by the device, it flows down the "drain" ("neutral") conductor at very low pressure (electrical potential).

To answer your question directly. The "neutral"; or grounded conductor, "begins" after the load. Where the electrical potential is near zero (relative to ground).


Bathroom exhaust fan and light switch separation new here and I tried the search but can’t seem to find an answer to what I’ve got.
In my bathroom, I have 2 switches.

When top switch is on, bottom off, the vanity light and the exhaust fan light both come on.
When top switch is on, bottom on, both lights and the exhaust fan are on.
When top switch is off, bottom on, everything is off.
I’m in the process of relocating the switch to a more convenient (slightly lower) position and I would like to be able to turn the fan on when the lights are off. I was planning to install 2 side by side switches for the relocation. Is this possible with what I’ve got, or would it be a big ordeal to set up that way?
Thank you in advance for the help, I will try to figure out how to post photos!

1: https://i.stack.imgur.com/lXwCF.jpg![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/mPLKL.jpg)

It looks like you have a switch leg but they should have used x3 with ground cable. The black mark on the white cable I would guess is your hot the black is the switched hot that is working. I normally would have the 2nd switch on the red wire with the 14-3 or 12-3 wire from the fixture. with the white marked black always hot jumped to both switches With the extra cable this may violate code depending on how it is wired. We would need a photo of the wiring connections at the fixture or box where this is fed from. If the 2nd cable is connected as a switch leg white always hot then the black to the fan  it would be ok. On an older home that did not require a neutral in the box.


can I splice underground 12-2 UF cable run to a water pump Can I run 12-2 NM-B wire from my 20 amp dedicated breaker under my house and then using a four by four box splice 12-2 UF wire to run underground to my water pump house?

Running the wire would be in a dry crawl space, and the 4 x 4 box that the splice will be will also be in the dry crawl space mounted to a floor beam.

You can splice the NM above ground in a box above ground then run the UF to your pump. The depth for UF cable to be buried as you exit the foundation is 24” per NEC table 300.5.


Can level quik be poured over wood subfloor HOME Depot will install Laminate in all the floor of my house. My first floor is concrete, my second floor is wood, they use level quik to level my second floor. My question is that if they can use it? In the future is it possible that it will crack and I will hear noise in the first floor when somebody walk in the second floor? Or some water is possible to go into the wood subfloor? Thank you very much and appreciated your advises.

The self leveling compounds work quite well on both wood and cement floors.
My house is a daylight basement and the upper Kitchen floor was in rough shape. The only problem I had was a hole I forgot to patch.
Some of the compound did make its way to the lower level and I did have to add some to a little over 18 inch square to make it flat.
That vinyl has been there since 2008 and I have had no problems.
Even with all the small cracks the only area I had anything come through was the hole that was 1/2" wide by about 3" long it had some sawdust in it and I forgot about it untill the wife asked me about the stuff dripping in my Man Cave.


3rd white wire in electrical outlet with different power source? I was replacing wall outlets and came across an outlet that had 3 white wires, 2 black and the ground. I turned the power off at the breaker box and proceeded to replace.  The extra white wire still had power to it. I located and turned off another breaker for that power as well.  This is definitely not a light switch.  Any idea why this outlet would be wired this way?

Any idea why this outlet would be wired this way?

Because someone before you didn't follow basic electrical practices. Was this wire connected to anything when you opened the box?  Was this a standard duplex outlet? The only situation I would think of is if the outlet was wired with one half to one white wire, and one half to the other white and sharing the black - but that would be horrible.

Label the that wire with something obvious and the number of the odd breaker and put a wire nut on it.  Replace your outlet and secure the outlet (but don't fully button up the box yet)

Turn on the power to the outlet breakers and check to see everything works.  Then turn on power to the other line, and test everything in the house.  If something isn't working, you'll have to start investigating the rats nest of wire in the walls/ceiling/floor and try to determine how it should have been done originally.

Hopefully, everything works with it capped and you can secure the box and go on your happy way.  When you rip out the walls for some reason, plan to have someone rewire as needed.  Who knows what else is messed up.


Repairing a notched rafter in a truss roof I had a guy install a whirlybird-type vent in my roof.. those non-powered turbine types.  Upon cutting the hole to install the vent, he accidentally cut a notch in the rafter:

).

There are two notches in the rafter (one on each side of the circle he cut, 15 inches apart).  I'm looking for advice on how to reinforce it.  I'm thinking of putting a nail plate like this, spanning each notch:

)

Should I put nail plates on both sides of the 2x4 (sandwich the 2x4 between two nail plates.. meaning 4 nail plates in total.. two for each notch)?  Or would you recommend a different approach entirely?

Edit:

If you're interested in more detail. The 2x4 is the er.. 'top chord' as defined in the attached pic.  I've circled the region that was notched.  It doesn't support anything other than the roof.. single story house.. about 32 foot span (i.e., the 'clear span' in the pic is 32 foot).  Sounds like a nail plate is a dumb idea, I'll scrap it.  I'll either sister a board to it or just leave it alone.  If the added detail changes anyone's thinking on either of those tacts, please let me know.

.

Roof trusses tend to be highly engineered and not designed to be altered, and I don't consider myself knowledgeable enough to know exactly how dangerous this is. My suspicion is that you've reduced the possible load your roof can support which would be an issue in strong windows for heavy snow.

The typical solution is to sister another board onto this one. To transfer the load, you'd want it fairly long, several feet to each side, the longer the better. Put some construction adhesive on the current rafter, clamp the sistered board on tight, and screw it with a bunch of 2.5" screws (I'd probably put one every 8" with 2 on each end). That's likely over engineered, but you're better off overdoing the solution than underdoing it and having it fail later.


How can I loosen a hard-to-reach square nut whose holder is broken? I've been attempting to disassemble a generator at work to replace the starter cord. Being a suitcase-type generator, it's proved to be excessively painstaking. However, it's almost apart - I just have one bolt holding the remaining cover onto the generator. Unfortunately, I can't get the bolt undone.

The bolt is a fairly standard hex bolt, with the head on the outside of the generator. I can get a socket over the bolt just fine. My problem lies inside the generator with the nut, which is a square nut that's supposed to sit in a plastic holder to stop it from turning when you try to loosen the bolt. Annoyingly, the plastic holder is broken, so when I try to get the bolt out, it just results in the bolt and nut turning endlessly in the holder.

Being as the nut and holder are inside the generator, they're fairly difficult to get at - I've removed the side panel, so I have some access, but it's fairly limited. There's enough space to get a screwdriver in onto the top of the nut, but not much more - certainly not enough to get a socket or spanner or pliers onto the nut.

I should also note that this bolt will require significant torque to get started - it's been tightened by a power tool of some sort (no idea what); our rather limited selection of power tools don't have enough torque to do the job. It is possible to do by hand, with some effort - I've got the other bolts off - but this does mean that whether I'm trying to turn the bolt or keep the nut in place, it takes a lot of force.

A liberal application of WD40 hasn't helped; nor has any other combination of tools I've managed to come up with. What else can I do to get this bolt off?

Sounds like a nice project for a couple hours that grows into a multi-weekend odyssey!

OPTION 1  I'd wedge a couple of thin paint scrapers under the exposed bolt head outside the shell of the unit, and take the bolt's head off with an angle grinder and a thin cut-off wheel

BUT CONSIDER spark danger - given this is a generator there was probably petrol or diesel in the area.  You'll want to vent it absolutely to remove all trace of gas fumes.  And do this outside, with an extinguisher and sand handy.

Once the bolt head is off, the bolt should drop into the housing and you can fish it out when the covers are removed.

Assembly, well that's not the reverse.  You'll want to find some way to bolt it together without risking the same again.  A dirty hack is to put a new longer bolt in from the inside-to-outside.  The nut will be on the outside and a bit of thread should be exposed.  You can file two spanner-flats into the thread before or after assembly.  Or you could hacksaw a flat slot across the end for a screwdriver.

Also consider what other bolts on the unit might do the same in the future, and either reinforce their mounts with epoxy or fibreglass, or preemptively do a similar bolt hack.

Option 2  - Cut the casing around the bolt head, and deal with it once the cover is off.   You'll probably want to do a patch job on the case after-ward to control fumes etc.

Option 3 - Make a tool to suit.  This is probably the most laborious solution, but you know exactly where the nut is and how long your tool would have to be.

 From http://www.performanceforums.com/forums/showthread.php?67243773-dodgy-homemade-distributor-spanner

Given how cheap tools are these days, there's no shame in sacrificing a cheap combo ring/open spanner to get the angle or reach you require.  Or sometimes bike chain can be used to grab something you can't otherwise get to.  Example:

 From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8qN9oK8Hzc


Why can't a swamp cooler and a furnace be active at the same time? New to living with a swamp cooler.  I've been told by several sources (people and internet) that the swamp cooler and the furnace can't be on/active at the same time, and indeed my landlord switches one off and the other on at the same time.
However, the swamp cooler is not connected to the duct work that the furnace uses.  The cooled air has a single entry point in the ceiling of the house.  The two systems use separate thermostats as well.  I do not understand why the swamp cooler and the furnace could not be active at the same time.  (Not that I would run them at the same time.)  Is it true that in two isolated systems as I describe, one must be all the way off and deactivated in order for the other to run?  Or have I been told wrong?

As long as the heat is turned off the air handler fan can be run while the swamp cooler is running.
Swamp coolers work on evaporation the water flowing over the plates causes the cooler and more humid air then the blower pushes this into the home.
Folks may think the fan on the furnace air handler can’t be run because you don’t heat and cool at the same time.
When I lived in Ohio back in the early 80’s one place had a swamp cooler and the way it was set up the furnace could not be turned on.
I added a fan switch to turn on and circulate the furnace air handler and our unit was much cooler.
We had an office party at our place and the next week I was fixing all my coworkers units and eventually all the units in our block. I got a few attaboys from senior enlisted as it made the units much cooler and back then AC was not available in enlisted housing. So I think it may be the way it was set up the thermostat only had heat or cool. I came from the west coast and had been involved in building several housing tracks and had only seen 1 swamp cooler in my life so I did not know it was unusual and added the simple toggle switch to turn on the fan but the thermostat still controlled the gas valve and would turn the fan on if the switch was in the off position.
So possibly because it has always been that way and many did not know it could be done.


Wondering what my countertop is made of The previous owner installed this countertop, who cannot be reached.  I have no idea what kind of counter this is and wonder if I should be treating it, what I should clean it with, etc.

It does seem quite porous. When I wipe it with a damp cloth it is shiny and very quickly turns matte.

Many hardware stores have swatches of laminate and other countertop material you can bring home. Take some home and compare visually, and after washing. Home Depot, for example, shows "Durable clink vinyl plank with reclaimed grey hardwood look", looking something like your good photo.

Usually, samples picked up in-store are free.


Should I put grout or something else between hardwood floor and slate stone gap? This is a new hardwood floor that is next to my slate stone flooring:

The cut was nice and there is about an inch gap in between:

My hardwood floor guy recommended to just leave it like that and not fill with grout.

Is it a good idea to leave it alone like that? And if so, would it get dusty and even broken at the edge over time?

If I fill with grout, would it look ugly? Maybe due to color mismatch with the old grout?

Any other idea or suggestion?

Thanks.

That is not acceptable finished work and the hardwood floor installer should deal with it. There are many options for finishing that kind of transition and leaving a 1” gap with the subfloor exposed is NOT one of them.


Fast hot water - tankless heater as backup or recirculator My master bathroom is the farthest from my electric water heater (traditional with a tank) on the other side of the house. All other faucets are much closer and receive quick hot water. During the bathroom remodel I've been spoiled using the guest bath that is directly adjacent to the hot water heater with instant hot water. I've looked into recirculating pumps but they seem to waste quite a bit of electricity having hot water in the pipes all the time. My pipes are mostly in the unconditioned crawlspace, however, they are insulated with fiberglass wrap or foam.

I was wondering if instead of a recirculating pump could I get a smaller model tankless water heater like the Rheem RTE 13 or the Ecosmart 13 and connect the inlet to my hot water line at the master bath. This would in theory have the tankless heater heat the water when it receives the cool water from the pipes and then stop supplying heat when it receives heated water from the tank. It seems like this is a similar arrangement to solar hot water backup, see Where can I find good resources on solar thermal backup options?.

One review of the Ecosmart says thermistor issues result in inconsistent heating when the inlet temperature is too high (> 120F).
http://www.amazon.com/review/R2AH7NY585PJN3

Based on the calculators/ground water temps in Eastern Washington to supply my entire hot water demand for the bathroom would require a larger 18kW heater and it would be great to be able to get a away with a smaller model in the proposed back-up arrangement.

Does anyone have experience using a tankless heater in this way? Can it be done or should I simply go the recirculating route, although most evidence suggests this is a waste of electricity. Also, I would prefer not to loop my hot water down my cold water line so I'll probably run a separate PEX hot water line back to my hot water heater if necessary.

We have a circulation pump that was in the house when we bought it.  The instant hot water is nice, but it is a huge energy waster, as you suggested.  Our solution was to put switches on the circulation pump.  It's plugged into a receptacle near the water heater, so it was as easy as making that a switched receptacle.  We have switches (timer type that turn themselves off soon after you turn them on) next to the shower and by the kitchen sink.  It only takes about 30 seconds for the circulation pump to get the hot water to you, so we just turn it on while getting ready for the shower (or while stacking the dishes).  So convenient, but without the wasted energy or water.


I need to know if I can run a 30 amp dryer off of a 20 amp breaker I have a Square D electrical box. I need to know if I can run my 30 amp dryer off of a 20 amp breaker.

No the dryer is two large of a load for a 20 amp.  Code requires the size for calculations at 5000w, this would require a double pole 30 amp breaker to be properly sized. Number 10 wire from the breaker to the outlet.


How can I make these semi-gloss paint patches blend with the wall? I recently tried to fix a number of small holes in a wall that is painted with brown semi-gloss paint.  Unfortunately, the paint patches are still very obvious, even after several days of drying:

Notice that the color itself matches quite well - what doesn't match is the glossy-ness of the patches, particularly around the edges.  The center of each painted patch actually matches the wall quite well.

I painted these patches using the wall's original paint (although the paint is several years old, I think) using a small brush.

How can I paint over these patches so that the end result blends in with the existing wall?  Or is there some other way to blend these patches in with the wall?

Since you have the original paint and it appears to be good, I would get a roller and work the entire area with a 2nd coat, I would work from the patches out so the roller is not putting as much paint out towards the edges this will help to fade the change in new to old and the second coat should cover the patches to not be noticable, with this said you may always be able to see the patch because you know where the repair was. But some one else may not be able to see the spots.


Sill plate on an 8 inch wide cinder block wall So I have a cinder block block that is about 4 feet high.in which I will be putting a framed 8' wall. I will be using a 2x6 sill plate PT. How much space do I leave for the sheathing. It's an exterior wall. Also once the sill.plate is down, can I put.my studs on it or so I need an additional plate.

It's recommended (and possibly required by building code) to add a sill seal below your sill plate. These are usually inexpensive rolls of foam, and serve to protect the sill plate from rot. The sill plate also needs to be properly anchored to the foundation, generally every 4ft is required. As far as a second sill plate, this isn't required.


Re-oiling a wooden worktop I've sanded down a wooden worktop and I'm attempting to re-coat it. I've done 5 thin coats of oil so far, a day between each, but it's still quite dull compared to previously. How many coats should I need to get a good finish? I've heard it needs a lot, but how many is a lot?

Also, what kind of oil is best to use? I've been using special Worktop Oil. It's quite expensive but is it just a gimmick? Am I just as well off using a generic teak, linseed or danish oil?

Well, old timers would saturate the surface with 3 parts boiled linseed oil and one part mineral spirits, let it soak in overnight, then buff it dry. If one coat didn't give the desired results, give it two!  Smells, but would give a nice shiny finish.


Can I increase air volume by adding more fans? I have a straight 25 foot rectangular duct that is 0.9 sqft in cross-sectional area (11" by 12"). There are openings on either end, and nowhere in the middle. I wish to move about 1000 CFM through the duct.

My plan is to use "duct booster fans" to do all the air movement. I can get a 10" diameter 650 CFM fan, and a 12" diameter 800 CFM fan (which is slightly larger than the duct). Here are some options I'm considering:

buy two 650 CFM fans, and install them in series: one where the air goes in, one where the air goes out. So the fans will be about 25 feet apart. Will their throughput add to about 1300 CFM? I suspect the answer is no, because nothing good ever adds linearly. But would I get close to 1000CFM?
buy two 650 CFM fans, and install them in parallel at one end of the duct. This would require either widening the duct or somehow splitting it into two ducts, as two 650 CFM fans side-by-side will not fit in the duct. My intuition is that this would be worse than putting the fans in series, but maybe not?
buy one 650 CFM fan and one 800 CFM fan, and install the 650 blowing into the duct and the 800 sucking out of the duct (or maybe the other way around?). Because the 800 CFM fan won't fit in the duct, I would have to build a larger frame for it, then connect it with some sort of funnel to the duct.
same as above, only with two 800 CFM fans.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Its been a long time since I did any fluids, and even then, it was not much. But I'll take a shot just from simple logic.

Suppose we have a single fan at the front end of the duct. It is rated for 650 CFM, and without any duct there, you will get essentially that. But suppose you put this fan in a duct. Moving air will see friction against the walls of the duct, slowing down the air flow. The back pressure reduces the flow, so you really don't get a full 650 CFM out the end of the duct. Of course, bends in the duct hurt even more, but you said it was a straight duct.

Now, suppose you add a second fan at the tail end of the duct. This is sucking air out at a nominal 650 CFM rate too. But in the end, all it does is give you something closer to the full 650 rating for the two fans. You don't get 1300 CFM, you get roughly 650 CFM.

With two fans in parallel, both feeding into the duck (or both pulling air out) if they are not limited by air flow through a duct that is big enough to handle one fan, then you might get more air through in theory. But the problem is, now you have higher velocity air. The link that gregmac provided tells us that pressure losses are proportional to the square of velocity. If you could double the velocity (and in order to double the air flow, you must double the velocity of the air as it moves through the duct) then you would quadruple those frictional losses.

It gets worse. As is pointed out in gregmac's link, with two fans right next to each other, the air flow into those fans will interfere with each other. So you really wont achieve the full rating for those fans if they are set side by side.

How about the 800 CFM fans? If they are too big for the size duct you have, then you again will be limited by the back pressure. You may end up with only a net of 650 CFM anyway.

It seems to make most sense to have a second duct. Run two ducts in parallel, both adequately sized for the fans they are fed by. Yes, I know this may not be an option.


What can I do to solve the moisture problem in my bathroom? My bathroom walls are done in concrete not drywall. I installed a ceiling fan. After showering, the walls are covered with moisture.

What can I do to eliminate the moisture?

Condensation happens whenever hot air meets cold surfaces, and the air after a shower is hot and very humid.

You'll always get some condensation, but there are a few things done to mitigate this:

Normal interior walls and well-insulated exterior walls are usually not a lot colder than the air temperature. (The colder the walls are, the more condensation will happen.)
An exhaust fan will remove some of the humid, hot air (and since hot air rises, the exhaust fan is on or near the ceiling which has the greatest effect), and regular (room temperature, and regular humidity) air will be drawn in from HVAC vents or under the bottom of the door. Opening the door will help even more.
A semi-gloss or high-gloss paint is used (usually these are labelled Kitchen and Bath) which holds up better to high humidity, condensation and regular cleaning.

If your walls are actually solid concrete or concrete blocks, then they definitely are going to be colder as concrete is a poor insulator. This is why in the same room concrete will feel cooler to the touch than drywall, which will feel cooler to the touch than a towel.


Do these 60s kitchen drawers have narrower boxes than the faces? Many modern kitchen drawers will have drawer faces that are slightly larger than the drawer boxes so that the faces appear flush with each other, while the drawer boxes are narrow enough for a divider all in between them, to which they are often attached with slides.

I have seen a lot of pictures of older kitchen drawers with visible dividers between the drawers. Here are some examples:

I am trying to figure out if these drawers also have narrower boxes than faces, which would make them quite narrow indeed, or are the boxes the same size as the faces? Are these things on sliders, or are these just boxes in boxes?

This style of cabinet is called a "face frame". Its typically an American style cabinet that is a little easier to install but you lose access to some space since the opening for the door is smaller than the carcase of the cabinet. Typically there isn't a smaller box inside its just a frame around the door.  Contrast this with European style cabinets where the doors and drawers cover the full front of the cabinet box.


Install door handles on opposite sides of a pocket door I am new to DIY and bought some custom door handles; I'd like to install them on both sides of a pocket door, but I'm not sure how. I asked the manufacturer for an installation guide, but they haven't gotten back to me.
The handle has two holes, one for a 1/8" screw and one for a very small metal dowel, about 1/32" wide and 3/8" long.
The 1/8" screw is 1 7/8" long and goes in 1/4" deep into the handle. It has a cap nut that covers 1/4" of the other end, and a washer that is 1/32" wide.
The 1/32" dowel is 3/8" long and goes in 1/8" into the handle.
My door is 1 3/4" thick.
I'd like to install handles at the same height and mirrored orientation on both sides of the door; it seems like I could do that by drilling a single hole through the door and using a dowel screw 1/4" + 1 3/4" + 1/4" = 2 1/4" long, but I'm not sure that would work. On the other hand, I don't want to have the fastener for the screw showing on the opposite side of the door, which would also prevent installation in a mirrored conformation.
Pictures of the assembly below:

I think you’ve got the wrong type of door hardware. Pocket door pull handles is like this:
https://www.rejuvenation.com/catalog/collections/pocket-door-pull/products/5977ec6101925b619487597b?cm_ven=PLA&cm_cat=Google&cm_pla=default&cm_ite=C4017&gclid=CjwKCAiAyc2BBhAaEiwA44-wWwjZiKLZl6cZuvH4-hMghtLEze3cgeAgOheeq_23q20v5e0mF4F7gxoCerQQAvD_BwE
You can Google “pocket door hardware “ and you’ll see many styles to choose from.


Reduced hot water pressure after closing and reopening water supply in one upstairs tub A week ago, my dad had shut off the main water supply to our house to repair a leaky shower head. Upon opening water supply, our faucets sputtered for a little while as they normally do and water pressure returned to normal throughout the house. However, one of the tubs upstairs sputtered normally, and suddenly had very low water pressure on the hot side.

The water pressure is fine when set to cold, but it is immediately reduced when moving from warm to hot. No other faucet in the house is facing this issue. When switching from the tub faucet to the shower head, the water pressure has the same problem.

I inspected the faucet by removing the faucet handle, closing the hot and cold water supply on the faucet valve, and removing the cartridge. I am no plumber, but I didn't see anything that looked obviously broken. After putting everything back together, the hot water pressure did not change.

Could the escaping air from turning the water main back on have caused something to get lodged in the hot water supply for just this tub? Is there anything else I should check before I call a plumber?

Yes, there could be a connection between the two. In fact several things. Sometimes scale buildup (lime deposits) will occur especially in hard water areas. If the hot shutoff valve is old or your water is particularly hard you could have builup in the valve that is preventing full flow-through. Sometimes turning the main off and then on will loosen some of the scale resulting in a partial blockage. First make sure the shutoff is turned completely on. Turn the valve on and off a few times to loosen any debris. If it looks corroded I would replace it with a new quarter turn valve. The other trouble spot is in the cartridge which could be having the same issue. It could be either.
There are some tests you could run to determine if the problem is the shutoff but without knowing your setup and your knowledge level I would suggest that you replace the cartridge and if that doesn't work, replace the shutoff valve - in that order.


Can a doorbell transformer sit loose inside main panel? Can a low voltage transformer for a doorbell sit loose (not screwed to anything) inside the main panel or does it have to be affixed somehow? It came with holes but I'd need to drill holes in the panel to attach it, unless I can just wire it and sit it on the bottom of the panel.

You won't want to install the transformer inside the panel. Instead you'll install it on the panel.

Remove the retaining nut from the threaded fitting on the other side of the transformer (the bit in your hand).
Feed the wires and threaded fitting through an appropriately sized knockout in the panel.
Thread the wires through the retaining nut, and tighten the nut down on the threaded fitting.
Connect the primary wires from the transformer to the proper terminals in the panel.
Connect the low voltage wires to the terminals on the secondary side of the transformer.


Need advice on how to move forward with self-build conservatory I recently bought a self-build conservatory. It is to be built on the foundations of a previous conservatory so the sides, foundations, frontage, and drainage are all there to begin with. Myself and my father bought it as a joint project, I was going to do most of the physical work while my father would take care of the technical side of things (he used to be a builder).

The problem is my father has had a stroke and is therefore unable to oversee the project so I need to get someone in to help erect the various bits of conservatory in line with the specifications. I don't think its a difficult job but I will need someone to help me. So my question is who could I get in to do this and how much do you think it could cost?

Apologies if this question is a little basic but this is my first home improvement project.

Here's a nice time lapse video of our DiY conservatory going up. What's not shown were all the 'difficult' parts.

Unless you can find someone like Aloysius mentions, you'll need to straight up contract this out, as DA01 says. No contractor that I know use would let you just strap on a safety harness and start glazing some windows.


Is "bronze and silumin" mix actually possible in a ball cock? In my apartment bathroom there's a thick steel pipe with hot water going from the floor beneath through my bathroom and to the store above. There're two pipes welded into that vertical pipe and a towel dryer (actually it's just an U-shaped pipe) connected to them. Each of the pipes to which the towel dryer is connected has a ball cock on it so that the dryer can be shut off.

Now the utility company that services the house tries to threaten me that those ball cocks are unreliable and can break apart at any moment and that will cause flooding my apartment and apartments beneath and I'll be liable for that. The remedy is (of course!) to pay them a fortune for replacing the ball cocks and live happily ever after.

AFAIK there're four major metal alloys used for manufacturing ball cocks and other similar stuff - they are cast iron, brass, bronze and silumin. Cast iron is very rarely used, brass and bronze are used in quality stuff and are quite reliable, silumin is used for cheap imitation stuff and breaks apart easily.

Since I really care I tried to check what those ball cocks are made of. I scratched one of them with a kitchen knife and yellowish surface turned silver, then in about two weeks it turned yellowish again. So I assume that the ball cock is made of brass - yellowish is the typical color for brass parts.

Yet a serviceman from the utility company told me recently that those ball cocks "look like bronze but are made of silumin" and when I told him my findings about the colors change he said "it's emmmm... bronze plus silumin mix". Since brass and bronze look similar I assume he just confuses them and also tries hard to upsell the pricey replacement.

My question is - is it really possible that such "bronze and silumin" mix ever exists and is used for manufacturing a ball cock or is the utility company likely upselling to me?

Well, I cannot find a conclusive answer but I have a very educated guess.

Bronze is an alloy of mainly Copper(Cr) and an additive Tin(Sn). Silumin is an
Aluminum(Al) alloy with 12% Silicon(Si). It is highly resistive to corrosion under wet environments.

During the alpha phase of metalic cooling, rapid crystallization occurs that is visable under a microscope at 5 µm. I will spare this answer from the nitty-gritty but with the addition of Sn to a bronze alloy, the hardness increases by 55 on the Brinell test.

Ergo, if you added Silumin to Bronze, there by adding Si to bronze, you make is harder. So it is plausable to say this mixture is used for this application, especially since we are dealing with plumbing.

Spoke with my college chemistry prof. who agrees that this is an entierly possible mixture of transition metals.

(will post pictures once I find them)


Leviton Wallplate does not fit standard electrical box I pre-wired my house for a lot of low-voltage applications. I installed new-construction green plastic boxes of the appropriate sizes (e.g. 1-gang, 2-gang, etc.); at the time, I wasn't ready to finish, so I placed cheap blank wallplates over them - which fit perfectly.

Fast-forward, and I'm ready to complete the wiring. I bought a bunch of Leviton-brand wallplates with the "Decora" rectangular cutout, and several appropriate snap-ins for the cutouts. These Leviton things are sold everywhere - as far as I knew, they were a standard item.

Here's the problem: the spacing between the mounting holes on the green plastic low-voltage boxes is 3.25". The spacing between the screw holes on the Leviton plates are 3.75". Has anyone else run into this problem? Do I have to tear out the plastic boxes that are nailed into the studs and replace them with some special retrofit box? How do I make this work?

You don't screw a wall plate into the J-box (with the exception of blank plates). You screw it into the device that's mounted inside the box, and that device will have standard holes at the measurements you made. So if you have a GFCI outlet in there, the GFCI will be screwed into the J-box and then the wall plate is screwed into the GFCI.


What is the process for draft proofing windows I need to try to prevent drafts coming through and around my double glazed window units as much as possible. How can I go about detecting and sealing any leaks that are letting air through the window? Preferably without having to remove the windows.

I would like the solution to be a permanent as possible.

(I have arranged alternative source/extract of ventilation air so there are no problems with reducing the leakage of the windows)

Start by removing the trim from around the window, this will give you a good look at the problem.  Once you have the trim removed you'll be looking at something similar to this...

You may notice gaps between the window frame and the wood frame or between the wood frame and the wall, these are the areas you'll want to fill to stop the draft.
Get a can spray foam (like GreatStuff  they make some specifically for this purpose, which is "low pressure" so it will not bow the window frame), fill any gaps (be careful not to use too much, this stuff can expand quite a bit).  Once the foam has hardened (about an hour), use a sharp knife to trim the excess foam so it's flush with the window frame.  Reinstall the window trim, and your done.


Electric range spark and house fuse blown multiple times I have this electric kitchen range for 3 years. Yesterday, when cooking, there was a spark in the back and the home's fuse was blown. On turning things back, it worked for a few hours, and again a spark and the fuse got blown. Attached are the pictures of the back side where its burnt. This is where the plug from the wall connects to the range.

Looks like the black wire is burnt. I have almost no knowledge of how things work. Really looking up to you for some help on how to go about fixing this. Big thank you once again for reading. I have more photos and videos of the area.

This is sort of a common problem, caused by loose connections.

A loose connection causes a higher resistance, which leads to excess heating at the connection.  When the connection heats up, the resistance goes up more, which leads to more heat.  The heat will also cause expansion, which can lead to the further loosening of the connection. Eventually components become weakened to the point of failure.

In this situation you're going to need a new terminal block, and a new cord for the range. Ranges don't come with cords from the manufacturer, so you should be able to find one easily at your local big box or hardware store. Looks like you've got an old style 3-wire cord, so you'll want to ask for that when you go shopping. Just ask for a "3-wire range cord", they should be able to get what you need. The terminal block might be a bit more tricky to get, and may require ordering it right from the manufacturer.

If you're not comfortable with this type of work, you could contact a local appliance repair shop. They should be able to do this type of repair fairly quickly, and hopefully cheaply (cheap in price, not in quality).

When the new terminal block is wired up, make sure all terminals are tightened to the manufacturer recommend torque. Then come back after a few days/weeks of use, and tighten the connections again. Most folks never tighten the connections after the initial installation, which (in my opinion) is why the situation you're in is so common (another factor is that folks don't tighten the terminals to the manufacturers recommended torque in the first place).

On a side note... There should be a grommet in the hole where the cord enters the range. This grommet is meant to protect the cord from the sharp edge of the hole, and prevent damage to the cord. You might want to measure the size of the hole, and pick up a grommet while you're at the hardware store.


Replace one of the 3way switch to sensor switch in the hallway I have TWO 3-way switch in my hallway for light fixtures and I tried to replace one of the them to be a motion sensor switch.  Both are working before the replacement, I can turn on and off with both way.

1st New motion sensor 3way switch will be nearby door and 2nd is located at the end of the hallway.

I find out the problem is if I install the motion sensor on the main door, when i open the main door, it will trigger the switch to turn on the light. Then, i switch off the light at the end of the hallway. When second guest come in, it won't trigger the sensor (i dont see the led light flashing on the sensor, unless you press the button manually to power on the sensor switch). when i switch ON the 3 way switch at the hall way. the sensor switch is flashing and it works.

This is the wiring on the sensor switch

May i know how to wire it correctly.
Thanks folks

After wrestling with 3way (i call them "two pole" but to each their own) switches I have learned that the only way out is patience and testing.  Don't trust the wire colors.  Unhook the switches from both sides (or just one switch if you are sure the other hasn't been altered since it was working), put wire nuts on the open wires, and power the circuit back on from the breaker/fuse.  Get a multimeter and look for where the hot/neutral is and try to work out the other wires (which ones run to the fixture and which run to the other switch).  If it's not obvious yet, check the fixture for voltage, you might find voltage there even with the switch off (second scenario below).

There are two types of 3 way switch wiring layouts.  One has the power running from the panel to switch A, then 3 wires running to switch B (two alternating hot depending on switch position, plus one neutral) and finally 2 wires running from switch B to the fixture.   The other option is similar but power runs to the fixture first and then to the switches to make/break the path.

You need to know which of these applies to you in order to know which terminals on your motion switch to use.  From the look of the switch you have the black (live) wires hooked in but it's not clear if there is a neutral in there too (most motion switches need a neutral to work in a 3way setup).  More details will be needed on your situation to provide a specific answer.

Edit, more info:
Came across this good discussion (in case you haven't seen it): How do I wire a 3-way motion sensor?

The crux of the problem is that in a normal 3-way switch set up, neither switch really "knows" if the light is on or off, flipping it just reverses the state (for example you can have two switches up and the light is still off) so with a motion sensor you really need it to be in total control of the light, otherwise it might just turn it off after sensing motion when the light is already on per the other switch (not what you want).  Most motion sensing switches have an accommodation for this but it is specific to the model.


Filling gaps and holes in dry wall We had an electrician come to do some work, and he had to move an outlet from one area to another, and do some other stuff on another portion of the wall.  I'm left with a square outlet-shaped cut out in my dry wall, as well as another cut out that he filled and nailed together. How can I fix these?

The first repair is a piece of cake. Get some drywall tape and a bucket of joint compound and tape away. Rather than explain it here, just Google "taping drywall" and you'll get more information than I could ever provide.

The second one is little trickier because you'll have to support a square plug of drywall. You can get drywall clips from your home store just for this purpose. You can also get a strip on wood a few inches longer the hole and screw it into the inside portion of the hole from the outside. Then cut your plug and place it in the hole and secure it to your support with a few drywall screws, the tape like you did to the first one.

If you think you'll ever have to access the second hole for other electrical work, you can just mount a blank outlet cover over the hole.


South Florida roof softit roof ventilation and of insulation batts I live in south Florida and am insulating the roof by placing batts between the rafters. I'm not sure if placing the batts up against the edge where the beams and walls meet is ok or not.

The rafters that correspond to the ventilation grills in the softit will have plenty of space for air flow.

Should I back the batts off from the edge? If so how much, 6" alright?

The distance to the wall isn't the concern. You need some space for airflow between the insulation and the underside of the roof. There needs to be a path for air to enter in the soffit vents and out the ridge vent, passing under the roof. They make baffles that you can install between the rafters and top plate of the wall if you are concerned about pushing the insulation too far back, these are commonly used with blown insulation. You do want the insulation as far over the wall as possible without blocking the soffit airflow. This creates a continuous insulation envelope around your home and avoids cold/hot spots in the corners.

See this blog post for more details.