Wainscoting a wall that has windows without casings. Is there a typical trim method? We're redoing our front room in our house. We're thinking of going with a 'seaside cottage' feel and installing some wainscoting on the walls about 2/3rds the way up.

The catch is that our house currently has doors with casings, but the windows are using a finished sheetrock return. They do have a stool, but not casings around the outside.

Is there a typical way to handle finishing wainscoting around a caseless window short of tearing out all the sheetrock and actually fully framing the windows?

I had two ideas:

Bring the wainscoting up around the windows but stop short 1" or so to the corner. Allow the sheetrock to be exposed around the window.
Do the same, but extend the wainscoting right to the corner, and then apply a small (easily removable) trim piece to cover the outside corner around the window.

Has anyone done/seen that type of finish detail? Any other typical solutions for this?

I would case the windows too. No need to tear out the sheetrock if it's sound - nail right up over it to the framing wood behind it at the corners. What you use to do this and how exactly is up to you, the functions of the windows, and the wainscoting. The wainscoting is going to add visual bulk and interest to the surface of the otherwise blank wall, and leaving a window in the same room as it uncased is going to make the window look naked and unfinished. I might take it a step further and suggest adding crown molding to the room as well, for the ceiling-wall corners are also going to look naked and unfinished with the heavy wainscoting present in the room. Wainscoting is part of a larger system and method of finishing a room that I don't think it can be divorced from without sacrificing harmony.


Will my refrigerator be damaged by pump operation on the same circuit? I have a Samsung inverter fridge connected on the same circuit on automatic water pump that turns on and off to keep pressure in the pipes. Will it damage my fridge in the long term?

The fridge should be designed to handle standard house hold equipment. With that said I would get a power strip that has surge suppressors in it to reduce the possibility of damage like this. if you get a supressor make sure it has indicator lights to show if the unit is still ok. Surge suppressors work by dumping the spikes to ground and when they take a large hit they are damaged. Once the suppressor fails the fridge will still work but the suppressor wont be dumping the spikes so one that has an indicator is best so you know that it is doing its job or it is time to replace it.


Multi-wire branch circuit I have a long distance from my breaker cabinet to my basement.  I ran a 12/3 with ground to the basement. Now I would like to add some outlets. Can I do as shown in image? or do I need to run 3 wires to each outlet?

The drawing as-done is fine.

Breakers will need to be a 2-pole 240V breaker, or two breakers with  an official, UL listed handle tie.  There must be 240V across the two hot legs, a duplex/twin breaker won't do.

Any recent Code will require GFCI protection. This can happen at the breaker or at the first receptacle in each string.

AFCI protection may be required in the most recent Codes, that must be at the breaker and will intersect with the 2-pole/handle tie requirement.


PEX vs PE coiled pipe for underground use I couldn't find exactly a direct answer; what should be used for an outside, buried water line? I've seen mention of using PEX, but had the black polyethylene pipe recommended.

I'm curious because I need to put in two 60 ft runs of pipe. I'll have to either buy two 100 ft rolls of PE or a 300 ft roll of PEX for roughly the same price and then cut what I need with spare.

From what I see, they are both 160 PSI and can both be used outside, so is there any reason of one over the other?

"Black polyethylene" seems to commonly refer to HDPE pipe, which is pretty comparable to PEX.  "Just" PE pipe is cheaper and less durable than HDPE - I'd advise against that underground.

PEXa ("Uponor/Wirsbo", "ProPEX", "F1960") is the best option, especially underground and in places with a potential for freezing, since it simply expands and contracts instead of bursting and leaking.  However, PEXa is a bit more expensive and requires "expansion" style fittings, which while they are most reliable and free-flowing of all PEX connections, typically require more expensive tools that may not be worth it for a one time job if you can't rent them.

PEXc is the more common and typically cheapest form; connections are commonly "crimp" or "clamp" style which are more restrictive than expansion style, but the tool tends to be cheaper.  PEXc will also expand and contract, but to a far lesser degree before risk of splitting.

Ultimately, PEX is the best option these days, but the type of PEX is more dependent on your situation.

If you plan to do more plumbing in the future and/or the pipe could be subject to freezing, PEXa along with Milwaukee's expansion tool (Milwaukee #2432) is the way to go for worry-free connections.  There are also hand tools available for about half the price of a used Milwaukee kit ($160-200 on eBay at the time of writing).
If you can't rent or find the expansion tool for a reasonable price, or are simply more budget minded, PEXc using crimp or clamp style connections is likely the best path.  Home Depot near me rents the tool for $16/day.


Why doesn't the "fan on" mode work after I installed a new thermostat? We moved into a new house.  I installed a new Hunter Thermostat.  I have a furnace only and the old thermostat only had 3 wires connected.  SO I connected those three wires (G, RH and W/B).  The heating system is working fine, except that when the heater is not engaged and I turn the fan switch to ON the fan does not come on.  It will only come on when the furnace is on.  Why can't I turn the fan on independently?

You haven't provided a whole lot of information, such as if the fan worked with the old thermostat. Regardless, I can help diagnose the problem.

The wires involved are:

R or Rh (possibly red) - 24V AC power
G (Possibly green) - Fan
W (Possibly white) - Heating call

Don't make any assumptions on wiring. You need to open the furnace, find where on the control board the thermostat wire is attached, and verify its wires are connected as you expect. If the wires look right, and your thermostat wiring matches, it's possible there is a break in the wire.

To check for a break in the wire, you can connect terminal R to G on the control board itself. I highly recommend turning the entire furnace power off while connect wires to the control board -- shorting something out can mean frying the board. If the fan powers up, then the board is good, and you need to find where the thermostat wire is damaged (or replace it entirely).

If the fan doesn't power up with the R and G terminals connected directly, then there is a problem with the control board itself, which most likely means replacing the board, unless you can diagnose and solve it yourself.


Did I install this motion detecting light switch correctly? It works, I just want to make sure I did it correctly. It's a Leviton ODS10-ID Decora 120/277-Volt Wall Switch with Occupancy Sensor

When I took the original switch off the wall it had no ground connected and a red and black wire going to it.

I installed the green ground wire from the switch into the existing 3 bare copper wires that were in a yellow wire nut which I upgraded to a red since I was now adding a 4th wire. One bare wire connected to the metal box and the other two go into the wall.

I attached the black hot from the new switch into the black wire in the wall that was connected to the old switch. I attached the blue wire from the new switch to the red wire that was attached to the old switch.

Looks good. If you were concerned about the "red" .vs. "black" on your load wiring, don't be. Generic instructions often don't do well in specific cases.


Cabinet screws per linear foot of width Is there a standard for how many screws should be used to secure a single floor cabinet to the wall, per linear foot of the width of the cabinet? E.g. if I only have one 2x4 available behind a 30" wide cabinet, is that not sufficient?

One 3" screw per available stud through the top rail is usually adequate unless specific conditions warrant more. For long cabinets, one every second stud is probably fine.

For your specific example, one screw is fine assuming additional anchoring to adjacent cabinets or end walls. If you find that things don't seem secure, add one low as well.


physical connections to a standby generator I'm helping my son build a house and he wanted a whole house standby generator.  I did the research and found a 14,000 watt Kohler generator and service rated transfer switch the most highly rated. It will be fueled by propane. The generator will be mounted to a concrete pad near the house. 2 underground conduits will connect the transfer switch to the generator (one for low voltage signal/control, the other for power).

I know how to do the electrical connections.  My simple question is what's best practice for type of conduit above ground? The underground conduit will be stubbed off right next to the pad. I'm thinking of extending it via typical PVC and entrance ells into the generator, but wondering if flexible, rain tight conduit might be better.   I wish we could have come up underneath the generator, but the Kohler install instructions literally say to drill a hole in the "dog house" cover for the power and control. There isn't room to come up under the generator.

Well just FYI, "rain tight" is false advertising.  Code requires you  to assume all exterior conduit is 100% full of water 100% of the time; the defense against wet is in the insulation.

Code requires you fully assemble the conduit first, and then pull the wires through it.   I don't like pulling through flexible conduit; it fights too much.  So I'd either go Schedule 80 PVC or (if I had a pipe threader on site) IMC or Rigid.  The latter two can be used as the grounding path, so one less wire.  Sched 40 PVC is too fragile and easily cracked, especially after being sun-bleached. The sun is not kind to PVC pipe; paint it.

Sched 80 has a smaller inside diameter (since the OD is the standard dimension for fittings), so you need to upsize the pipe sometimes.  You should upsize anyway if this is a DIY install, as it eases pulling - the last thing you want is get stuck on a pull and have to call an electrician merely for his truck full of pulling tools.

A bit for that reason, I would split it up, and have a conventional main panel straight off the meter, then a 100A transfer switch (the gen is only 70A anyway) to a 40-space subpanel.  Put most of the house circuits in the sub, and the non-generator-critical biggies in the main.  That way you're muscling around #1 aluminum (or #3 copper if it's short enough for the price not to matter) instead of #4/0 or #2/0.   The bigger reason is the main/transfer/sub will play well with emerging technologies like Tesla Powerwalls, EV chargers and solar. That stuff's price is just gonna keep falling.


How to tile over cinder block holes? I bought a house that has cinder block wall in the backyard. Whoever installed this wall opted to place the top blocks so that the holes are facing the side rather than the top and bottom. They then covered the holes with ceramic tiles. From what I can tell, those tiles were attached using some kind of grout or caulk. I'm not really sure, but I can the tiles were about ready to fall off anyway because most of them popped right off without much effort. I'm trying to make this look bettee, so I'm going to paint the wall with masonry paint and put new porcelain tiles up to cover the holes.

What is the best strategy for attaching the porcelain tiles to the painted wall? I'll be using 6 inch tiles (same size that were previously installed).

Here is image of what I'm working with:

Instead of tile, consider 9/16"-ish thin brick veneer, which looks good in combination with concrete block.  Something like this:

You could put a wire lath over the blocks, and then just use mortar to adhere the brick to the lath/blocks.

Another option would to be run a 1x8 cedar "trim" board to cover the horizontal concrete blocks.  This would look really good once you clean up the dogears above.  For this you could use tapcons, to attach the board to the block.  Even better might be to run a pressure treated "sill" on top of the block.   That would add 1.5" to the trim board though so you then could nail a 1x10 to the pressure treated sill.  Ideally the sill would be sloped away from the dog ears, so that it would shed water away from them.


What is mineral spirits called in Australia? I'm looking at cutting Polyurethane to use for a rub on finish, and the marvellous instruction articles and videos all say to do this with "mineral spirits". I am in Australia and unsure what this is.

Is it just mineral turpentine (turps), the same stuff that you use to clean up from oil based paints?

Is there any difference between normal turps and low odor turps for this purpose?

Or is mineral spirits what we call "white spirits" or dry cleaning fluid?

Hope someone can resolve this for me!

Gday mate i just had a read what ya up to , try shellite , that should work .by the way polyurethane is not meant to be rubbed on , normaly brush or spray . if you realy want products to be rubbed on try a french polish supplier .


How can I fill a hole in a brick wall so that it can be redrilled I'm trying to put up a coat hanger into a brick wall. The house is an old apartment block in Berlin and the coat hanger is quite heavy and sticks out from the wall so it will need quite a lot of support. Especially to hold up all the clothes.

I have tried to drill at several places but either end up hitting something that I can't get through or the opposite, the wall is weak and crumbles and the hole becomes too big and too lose. I've tried inserting screws with plastic anchors into those lose holes but they simply won't hold. I also don't have another place for the coat hanger.

So my plan is to refill the lose holes and drill again. As far as I can tell I have two options but both with their cons.

Option 1: Fill the lose holes with epoxy and stick in the screw before it sets. Con: I won't be able to get the screw back out and take my coat hanger down in the future.

Option 2: Fill the hole with hydraulic cement. Con: I'm afraid I won't be able to completely fill the hole and that it will leave air pockets. (The holes are 8 mm wide and quite deep).

So, is there anything I'm missing here? What would be the best way for a layman to fill a small drill hole in his brick wall so that he can drill again in the same place and later remove whatever he stuck in that hole?

All the best,
Eythor M.

P.S. I've tried doing my research and seen similar questions here. But none of them address the cons I mentioned above.

Variant on 1) Fill the hole with epoxy, let harden, drill pilot hole in epoxy for screwed, mount the coathanger.

You might want to make the original hole slightly oversize so a good ring of epoxy remains after drilling pilot holes. Using this method, the screws will be removable.


What are the different kinds of "spackle"? By "spackle" I mean the material used for smoothing over joints & small imperfections in drywall / sheetrock.

I have seen & heard of numerous terms for this material:

Spackle - not sure if this is a generic term or something specific
Joint compound, including...

"All purpose"
Lightweight, ultra-lightweight

Setting compound
XX minute mud (where XX is something like 5, 10, 20, 45, etc.)

This may not be a comprehensive list at all.

I'd like to know what the best-practice use of these different materials is. It seems that different types are used in different situations or in a certain order.

Also these may be USA-centric terms but I know drywall is certainly used in many parts of the world and an international answers would seem useful.

Thanks

Spackle is a brand name for a wall patching compound.

Joint compound is what is used to smooth over the butt joints and corners of newly installed drywall aka gypsum wallboard in order to achieve a finished surface.

Setting type joint compound such as Durabond 45 or similar (the number indicates the 'open time' or workable time but it's usually significantly less than the number stated in real life) is a fast setting and tough compound that can be used for either patching or for the first coat of 'mud' when taping drywall joints.

Be careful when using the pre-mixed 'spackle' type products. The are easy to use and dry or 'set' quickly but they are very soft and more easily dented than the setting type joint compounds.


How do I prepare a chipped, peeling, deeply cracked wall for painting? I recently moved into a new apartment where it was understood I would handle the maintenance if they provided the materials. This was an attractive proposition. I am little excited to get my hands dirty and learn some new skills. One of the first tasks is to put on a fresh coat of paint. However, the paint on the wall is really chipping. How much should I chip off? My inclination is ALL of it, but this will leave a bit of an uneven surface. How should I handle this? Painting over it will not look great.
I have been living in apartments the past decade and haven't really done any work in those years. I can't wait to get started, but I do not want to mess anything up. I Attached a picture below.

UPDATE:
This apartment was built in 1910. I can confirm there is no lead paint. I went ahead and chip the paint off and sanded. Most of the paint on the wall came off. However, the wall itself started chipping off in the corner. I am sort of unsure how to handle this.
I've attached a picture below. You can sort of see in the first picture posted above in the corner that there appears to be a crack. It gets worse.

I am glad you want to learn to do this type of job yourself. Before you jump in let's answer a couple of other questions first. How old is this place? If it was build before 1978, then you must by Federal EPA Law in all non owner occupied rental apartments test the peeling paint for lead before any scraping or sanding can be done. Simple test kits can be purchased at most HI stores, however it is the owners responsibility to have these tests done. If the test is positive for lead, then the work MUST be done by a licensed EPA Renovator with the training and tools to remediate the lead hazard and dispose of the wastes. There are no exemptions to this law in rental units and failure of the landlord to comply carries a $10,000 fine.

Now let us assume no lead is present and you can proceed with the job. The first step is going to scrape off any and all loose paint. Using a 3 or 4 inch stiff putty knife, carefully remove as much old loose paint as possible. Applying new paint over an unstable base will lift the old paint as you roll it on and make a mess. If the surface is too rough and uneven, then a skim coat of drywall compound will be needed if the entire wall surface needs to be leveled.  If just small areas need leveling, then you can use spackle compound. If a complete skim coat is needed, the compound is best applied with a 12 inch knife about 1/16" thick over the entire wall. Smaller repairs with spackle can be done with a 4 or 6 inch knife.  After the compound has dried, it has to be sanded smooth. Use 150 grit paper on a large sanding block. Do this gentily to remove ridges and give an overall smooth finish.  You can go over it a second time if necessary with compound and finish sand with 220 grit to achieve a very smooth finish.  Once you are happy with the smoothness of the wall, then prime it with a drywall sealer/primer, not regular primer. After you seal/prime, but before you paint, check the surfaces and make minor touchups using lightweight spackle.

There are several other tricks of the trade to help make a full skim coat go easier. Mix the compound well, add a little extra water and some Ivory dish soap as you mix. The idea is to make the compound a little thinner so it will be easy to spread evenly and minimize the tiny air pockets/bubbles. The larger the knife or trowel you can use will make the job go faster and leave less ridges. Do not overwork the compound or try to work it if starts to dry.

At this point you will be wondering why you agreed to this big job, but it will look great. So finally you can get to work painting with your selected color.


I have a swinging garage gate that is hitting my driveway when open, how to mitigate? When the gate is closed, there is about a 3 inch gap from the bottom corner of the gate to the driveway. When the gate opens, it comes up against a higher part of the driveway and skids on it, getting the garage gate arm stuck.

Right now, I've propped up some bricks near the fence to stop the gate from hitting the driveway fully (it only skids when it's nearly fully open), so that the arm knows to stop before.

I have an idea of putting a caster wheel on the corner that skids with the wheel as close to the bottom of the gate as I can get, so that when it hits that part of the driveway where it skids, it instead rolls and the wheel helps lift up the gate a bit.

The complicating part is that when closed, there's that gap.

My thought is to get a wheel that has 3 inches of 'give'; when the gate is open, there is no give left and the wheel is fully supporting the weight of the gate; and as it closes, the wheel falls down its 'give' until it's fully extended at the end.

Does such a thing exist? I've seen gate casters that have springs, but I believe those springs are mainly to account for shock absorption. Alternately, should I not care about the state of it being closed and just get a static caster (which is touching the ground when open, but hanging off the corner when closed)?

If you angle the gate pivot slightly such that the line passing through the pivots is tilted slightly forward at the top, the gate will rise as it opens.  If you accomplish this offset on the gate side rather then the post side, the gate can still be vertical when closed, but that might take a bit of fabrication. For a small rise, it probably won't be very noticeable, but that depends on the length & height of the gate.


burning smell when using miter saw I just bought a ryobi 15 Amp 12 in. Sliding Miter Saw with Laser.  I never use miter saw before. Cut a few 2x4 to learn how to use it.  The problem is everytime I cut, I get a "burning" smell. Not sure if its normal or blade touched other metal parts caused that burning smell.

I also adjusted the depth. I don't think blade touched anything. but still get burning smell.

It's burning wood you smell. If it's not a new saw, the issue is likely that the blade is dull. Time for a new blade.

If it's a new saw, it could be that you're cutting too fast through too hard of wood.


Is it ok for electrical wires to run underneath a beam in a basement? Question: Is it OK for electrical wires to run underneath main beam of prefab house to get from one side to the other?
The picture shows what has been done by an electrician before I bought the house, so I’m assuming it’s OK.
I just wanted to be sure, because I’m finishing the unfinished basement now and I’ll have all of my work inspected by the county or state. I want to do the same thing instead of having to drill through 10” of beam.
The current is in the storage/utility room and I would be only doing this in that same room. Everything else I’m running in that room would be running through the joists, it’s just getting from one side of the house to the other is my concern.

Since it is in a basement it could be run along the bottom, per code 334.15.A. My state requires protection in a crawl space along the bottom.


Should I block my basement air returns to better cool my top floor? My house has three floors (basement, main floor, and upstairs) and the top floor is much warmer than the basement, especially in the summer. I have an air conditioner attached to my furnace, and it works well, but it mostly cools the basement and the main floor, while my upstairs floor is still too warm.

My brother suggested using magnetic vent covers to cover my basement air returns. His logic was that this would force the system to suck more warm air from the top floor air returns. It made sense to me at first, but now I'm thinking that I'd like that cool air in the basement to be sucked into the basement air return and distributed to the top floors.

Can somebody tell me the most efficient air return/vent setup for cooling my top floor in the summer?

Heating and air conditioner units have a fan that pushes air and it has a maximum ventilation capacity. The air return “allows” the air conditioner to draw air back into the system and is called “make-up air”.

That is to say, the fan can only “push” so much air, whether you’re heating or cooling and your unit will draw the same amount of air back into the system.

If you are “cooling” the basement too much and not cooling the upstairs enough, then you want to distribute more air to the warm areas. This is called “balancing the system”.

Without re-sizing all the ducts, you could cover the “supply” vents in the basement, which will force more air to the other areas. (You may be able to just partially close the downstairs vents, if you have adjustable vents.) By redistributing that air to other areas, those areas my get too cold, so you’ll need to “balance” the system by adjusting those vent covers.

During the cooling season, we like return air vents where we can bring cool air into the system and re-cool it to the desired temperature. (Likewise with the return air for the heating season, we like to have warm air returned to the system so we can re-heat it.)

I doubt if you have 2 return vents, I’d just cover some of the supply vents in the basement until it’s comfortable.

BTW, by covering some vents, you are forcing more air into other ducts. If those ducts are too small to “handle” the additional volume, you’ll hear a slight “whistle” sound. If so, you’ll just have to re-adjust how many vents you cover in the basement.


Repairing a boom lamp that keeps falling I have a boom lamp from CB2 that's about two years old in my living room. The angle between the arm and the stand is adjustable. Unfortunately, the mechanism that holds the lamp up (I'm afraid I don't know the correct term for it, but you can see it below) seems to have stopped working and now within a day or two of my adjusting it, it succumbs to gravity and the lamp head falls to the lowest possible setting. Is there anything I can do to keep the head of the lamp up short of epoxying it in place?

EDIT: at the risk of outing myself as a complete noob I have attached an image below with the component I plan to fit the washer to circled in red. The washer will go inside of the joint mechanism so that it's not visible when the lamp is fully assembled.

It sounds as if the knurled knob loosens over time. There are a number of solutions.

The knurled knob seems to be either the head of a bolt or a specialized nut. In either case, a washer between the knurled head and the body of the lamp arm may help. A flat washer may be enough.

If not a lock washer should help.

Another approach is a locking fluid spread on the threads of the bolt that prevents loosening, such as this stuff.

There are different versions, depending on whether you want it to be removeable or permanent.


Moving electrical panel. Do I need to rewire all circuits? We are planning a large remodel in our home. As part of creating a basement apartment we have to relocate the electrical panel so that it's accessible to us as well as the tenants. We will do that by moving the panel a few feet and flipping it to face the outside of the house so it can be accessed from the exterior.

Here's the question: Our GC tells us that as part of moving the panel we need to run new wiring for all existing circuits in the house. The reason for this is that we are effectively establishing new service and the existing wiring can't be extended and/or reused. Is that correct? Is there a way we can meet code and not have to run new wiring for every circuit in the house?

Update: Reading the answers to Relocating Main Panel, seems like it would be possible to install junction boxes and use them to splice the wiring for the existing branch circuits. Is this correct? I'm located in Seattle if it makes a difference.

Yes.  I fit steel junction boxes in places the old wires can reach.  Then run EMT conduit between the panel and those boxes.  No more than 3 circuits (MWBC counts as 1) in each conduit and use 3/4" conduit, for easy pulling and future expansion. NEC limits each conduit run to 9 conductors (4 circuits: grounds and MWBC neutrals do not count) unless you upsize conductors.  I'd use the biggest boxes I can get, no smaller than deep 4" 2-gang boxes, because they will be full of splices.   I use THHN/THWN through the conduit to the panel.  Terminate grounds at the ground lug in the junction box, or run a wire. EMT is a ground path.

But try this.  Leave the panel where it is, and install a sub-panel in public or tenant space.  In fact, forward-think: if in the future you wanted to set up the tenant with a separate meter, what could you do now (cheaply) that would make that cheaper and easier later?   Setting them up with a sub-panel easily converted into a new main panel, would be awesome all around.   This isn't necessarily a large investment, mostly just forethought to not paint yourself into a corner.

Honestly I'm surprised your GC is trying to feather-bed the project with unneeded work when the sub-panel is a really worthy effort.


Putting a microwave in an island? We are remodeling our kitchen, and we are going to put the microwave inside of our new island, Below the counter top, Built-in with the cabinets.  Our old microwave is an "over the range" microwave which hangs down from the cabinets above the stove.

Our problem is that we're not sure if a traditional countertop microwave can just be put into a space that we're building into the island?

Do we need to account for a certain amount of airflow around the microwave when we try to build in a countertop microwave?

Is there a standard amount of space to leave around the microwave?

Are there specific microwaves that are built for this?  (I understand there are under-the-counter drawer microwaves, but we're trying to stay away from that due to cost)

Are there any specific microwaves that we should definitely avoid while trying to do this?

Some manuals talk about "trim kits", how do these work?  Do they solve my issue?

Any feedback would be helpful. Thanks!!

There are three kinds of microwave ovens:

Countertop - rely on airflow typically on sides, back or bottom
Over-the-cooktop - typically include a fan underneath for cooktop ventilation and may use the same airflow path to also provide ventilation for the microwave oven
Wall Oven - like a typical wall oven, does not rely on any ventilation except in the front.

The over-the-cooktop ovens will probably not work for you. You would be paying for extra features (fan and possibly even a light underneath) and they are just not designed for this setup.

The countertop models may work well. You need to check the specifications. For example, I picked a GE 2.2 cubic foot model (essentially at random) and downloaded the installation manual. That referred to trim kits (as you mentioned) which are specifically designed for mounting specific models in a wall. That is exactly what you need. You are then relying on the manufacturer's design for proper ventilation. In the example I looked at it, it appears that the microwave has bottom vents and the trim kit raises the oven slightly so that it can ventilate properly despite being inside a wall or cabinet. Trim kits can be very expensive, so you may find that a "wall oven" will be cheaper.

The first wall microwave oven I looked at (Frigidaire, again essentially random selection) appears to be a countertop microwave oven packaged together with a trim kit - very similar to the GE in design, with vents on the bottom and the trim kit raising up the oven for proper ventilation.

There is a very wide range of prices (and this isn't a shopping site anyway), but just keep in mind that for safety's sake you must follow the manufacturer's guidelines for installation. Don't try to "roll your own" - not when dealing with appliances that can generate a lot of heat very quickly in a confined space.


Cannot remove the Delta kitchen faucet spigot from the base I have a Delta kitchen faucet that began leaking many months ago.   I tried to fix it today so I'm following instructions online that tell me to take out the spigot so the o rings can be replaced. Unfortunately, this spigot wont come out. I've tried pulling it straight up, tried prying it out, tried using wd40 on the bottom since it does lift out for a small gap then wont move any further.

On the back there's a word that says C 150 series. I see no screws or anythign of the sort to take out the spigot, and twisting clockwise or counterclockwise does nothing.

How do I get the spigot out in this case to gain access to the O-rings?

Looks like all I needed to do was wait a little longer. The WD-40 did its job and there was lots of corrosion in the spigot at the bottom where the spigot ring met the spigot.


Why do exterior decks not use 2x12 or 2x10 lumber? It is time to replace the exterior decking (mostly cedar, but some planks replaced by Douglas-fir).  Alas, the finishing work 12 years ago did not endure; some planks have rotted— particularly at ends and where fasteners penetrate.  The deck uses 2x6 planks.
A few years ago I constructed raised garden boxes inspired by wonderful pricing at a lumberyard sale on 2x10 cedar; they have a similar sale every Spring.
Is there a good reason not to use 2x10s or 2x12 for decking?   Fewer planks.   Fewer fasteners per unit surface area.   More robust boards.   Seems like many advantages, but the lack of examples of actual use seems foreboding.

There’s many reasons: 1) twisting, 2) cupping, 3) aesthetics.

A larger board will twist more than a smaller board will as it dries out. As it dries out, the grain will shrink and a larger board will have a larger variety of different sized grain throughout (across) the board. This will cause the size of the gap between boards to shrink and enlarge as it dries out. This will be unsightly.

As the boards are installed, the boards will need to be inspected (looking at the end grain at the end of the boards) so the grain is installed with the curve downward. With a large board, the grain at the end of the board will be more of a “S” rather than a “C” (that can be turned downward). This will allow part of the board to cup and collect and hold moisture, which will cause rot, etc.

Seeing a large board laying flat is a bit unusual. Yes, because a smaller board is more customary it’s more aesthetically pleasing.


What can we use as a wireless switch for a ceiling light? I removed a light/ceiling fan that had a pull string when we installed my son's bunk bed (we didn't want the fan blades knocking him in the head).  We now want to install just a ceiling light.  There is electrical at the light location but no wall switch.  What wireless options for a ceiling light are there so my son can turn on the light when he walks into the room?

You can use something like this, if there is room in the fixture:

The switch just mounts on the wall and uses a battery. There is no direct wiring to the fixture.  This company also makes a hand held remote that would work with the socket adapter (instead of or in addition to the switch) as well:

There are also hard wired switching units that fit in a junction box, such as this one

This last one uses the Z-Wave remote system and needs compatible remote controls.

I would not suggest using a fan control box because there is much less venting/air space in a junction box than in a fan housing.


How should I hang a receptacle on a rim joist? So I am wiring my cabin, and here I have a crawlspace which I will button up with some mesh & skirting, but for all intents & purposes, I am considering it open to everything (dogs, rodents, armadillos, pterodactyls, you name it ... this is North Texas) ... But I need power outside, so I have two of these outlets to wire.

They will be supplied by a 20A GFCI breaker just for these two 20A receptacles. I plan on putting PVC (or metal?) in-use boxes for them. Under the cabin I plan to run properly supported 1/2in grey PVC using the little t-boxes shown below where the wire splits out to the receptacles. Wire will be 12 GA THHN/THWN copper stranded hot,neutral and ground, and making wire-nut connections in the t-box.

The receptacles are the kind where you insert the wire and the clamps down on it. It's this one: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-20-Amp-Commercial-Grade-Duplex-Outlet-White-R62-CBR20-00W/202066702

So, I like the first method, where the box sort of "hangs" from the rim joist, except of course I'll have it backed by a 2x6 screwed to the inside of the rim joist and hanging down. In this way I imagine I can get a cleaner install by drilling though the back of the board, and joining up the PVC to the center of the back of the box.

Is there a better way?
Have I thought this out correctly?
Am I being too cautious with the PVC, when just UF (or heck even romex) will do?
Should I also use a combo AFCI/GFCI? Seems like GFCI-only is the
right choice here.

You guys have been really terrific with the advice, which I appreciate in advance!

--Kerry

If I were doing this I would use Carlon Type FS boxes and rigid NM conduit. These boxes can be fitted with water-tight covers and have screws for surface mount to the existing rim joist. I would run conduit under the joist then up to the boxes. Either with a T as you suggest or use one Type FSC box for inline connection. If you need more volume the 1-gang Type FD boxes are 25 cu. in. and 2-gang versions are also available.

If this were a home and not a cabin I might go to the trouble of mounting boxes flush inside the rim joist. But that seems unnecessary here.


What are the tools and procedures of a re-grout task in shower room? I found some black mold on shower grout; and some grout may need to be re-grouted. Please refer to three red-circles in the attached photo. Would you like to let me know the right tool, material (like water-proof sealant or grout) and procedure to do this kind work?  Thanks a lot.

I have done this many times in the past.

Make a weak solution of bleach and warm water (this works best) or if you don't want to use anything as aggressive then make a paste out of Bi Carbonate of Soda and Vinegar. Apply either solution to the affected areas and leave to soak for half an hour. Take an old toothbrush and scrub until the mould has gone.
Remove the grout (if needed). This can be done manually with a knife or you can buy tools to do this. Here are some Grout Removers. In my experience they don't work as well as they should. If you only have these 2 small areas, then just use a knife but be very carefull not to crack the tiles.
After grout has been removed, the sections can be re-grouted.
The area where the wall meets the floor can be siliconed after you have re-grouted. I am not sure which country you are in but this is the bees knees in the UK - it won't mould over! Dow Corning Silicone

Tips for applying Silicone

Apply the silicone in the form of a thin bead along the required area.
Make a weak solution of washing up liquid and water in a spray bottle and lightly spray the newly siliconed area.
Run your finger along the silicone to smooth it down

Hope this helps!


What to use to fill mouse access point? My wife and I have some field mice that have found refuge in our home through a gap between the foundation and the side of our house. We believe this point to be their only access, as they’ve made distinct paths through the yard leading to this gap, and lots of droppings immediately outside of it. There are no other signs of entry anywhere else.

We’re currently dealing with the mice via traditional spring traps with immediate success, and I plan to continue this treatment until we go about 48 hours with no sign of them (obviously, we wouldn’t want to trap them inside).

Once we’re in the clear, what can I use to block their entry to prevent others from moving in? Do I need to buy an entire bag of concrete and go through all of that hassle just to mend a very small hole, or is there an alternative that might be as effective?

Copper "wool" or mesh is sold for the purpose of plugging such holes. The mice cannot chew it and it doesn't corrode, e.g., https://www.amazon.com/Stuf-Fit-Copper-Mesh-Birds-Control/dp/B0001IMLTY


Replacing a spanned "beam" with a cantilevered beam I have a support post in my attic that is holding up one side of a minor ridge beam.  The post is sitting on two 2x6s on their backs, and which span 20 inches.  Yes, these 2x6s are not on edge -- they are on their backs (height = 1.5 inch, width = 11 inch).  I want to replace the 2x6s with a cantilevered beam and am wondering if I am thinking about this correctly.
Okay, so there is no visible deflection in the 2x6s (maybe I should say 6x2s) but since I have no idea what kind of load the post is holding up, I found a calculator that determines deflection and put in a heavy load to establish a baseline.
(Beam Supported at Both Ends, Load at Center).  I entered 4500lbs, 20inch beam, a modulus of elasticity of 1,400,000 (typical for wood joists?), and 37 for the moment of inertia.  I calculated the 37 with w*(h^3) or 11*(1.5^3).  My end result is a maximum deflection of 0.0145 or less than 1/64".  Since I don't detect that, my assumption is that the load is less than 4500lbs.
Stop right here.  Are my assumptions correct so far?  Are any of my values suspect?  What about calculations?
Okay, assuming that is correct, I move to the cantilevered option.  It needs to support 4500lbs with at worst a deflection of 0.0145.  I use this calculator
(Cantilever Beam - Single Load).  I use 4500lbs, a length of 36 inches (it won't be that far, but I want to be safe), 0 for b (the post will be on the edge), 1544 for I and the same 1,400,000 for E.
The 1544 for I is assuming four 2x10s sandwiched together (6*(9.5^3)).  I may actually get a glulam that is beefier than that, but again, I want to be a little conservative.
With those, I come up with a deflection of 0.0097 or 1/128".
That tells me that even with those extreme measurements, I'd still have a beam that is TWICE as strong as the existing support, even though it is cantilevered.  If I went with a 8x12 glulam, then my deflection would be 1/256", twice again as strong.
So.. am I wrong?
The entire reason for this is because I am expanding the room that happens to be under that post.  The room is going to expand out by about 2 feet, which leaves the post with no support on one side unless I do something about it (which I have to).
Here's roughly what the situation looks like now:

The doubled up 2x4s are walls.  The joist-like beams are joists.  That's the two 2x6s holding up the post, which is three 2x6s sandwiched together.  The wall going off to the left will be completely removed and the other three walls will be moved to the right by about 2 feet.  That means that all of the walls will be to the right of the post.  The joists are all going away, too.
My proposed plan looks something like so:

The supporting beam is either four sandwiched 2x10s (maybe 2x12s) or one big glulam.  The two side walls are shortened by two feet and the perpendicular wall is moved those two feet.  The back bolstering will be done by two 2x10s (or 12s) that are attached to the walls with hurricane straps.  The support beam would use a joist hanger on one end and straps on the other.
Confession time:
I actually did bring a structural engineer out earlier for an informal consultation.  He gave me some solid ideas on how to support that post with an expanded room -- basically install a 8x12 glulam from the other side of the room (not shown) to the new location of the moved wall.  That's definitely an option.  HOWEVER, since then, I also realized that I want to raise the ceiling by a few inches and if I do so, the option of resting the long beam on the opposing wall is gone (exterior wall with a low pitch roof).  So I'm trying to figure out a way to support the post entirely from one side -- hence a cantilever.

OK first let me say that if you're going to be making major structural changes to a building (and this counts as a pretty serious structural change in my mind) it would be well worth your while to get an engineer or other qualified building professional to help you with your design. If you just "wing it" you may be endangering the house and its occupants. There may also be legal or insurance-related ramifications to doing this outside the proper channels. However, let me offer these pieces of advice:

Do not confuse "service loads" (the day-to-day loads on a structure) with "design loads" (the loads the structure is built to withstand — typically much higher). Whatever condition you observe on a given day is probably not the worst-case scenario.
Deflection (stiffness) is not the only consideration when designing a structure, you must also consider its strength - i.e. how much weight it can take before it breaks. Strength and stiffness are both important.
I don't know where you came up with the 4500 lbs quantity, it sounds somewhat arbitrary since you haven't provided any background info. The amount of weight you design the structure for is based on your local building code, which includes factors like snow loads, wind loads, etc. which may be difficult for you to estimate. The weight of the roof itself is only a portion of the load you must take into account (usually less than half). These loads are typically specified as pounds per square foot (probably in the range of 30psf to 60psf) in addition to the weight of the roof.
Your existing 2x6 situation sounds weird, I wonder if someone added an addition and the columns didn't quite line up. I would not assume that it's OK as it is now unless you see some reliable documentation. You should design your new solution for the geometry of the house and the requirements of your building code, not just matching the existing solution.
Stresses on a cantileved beam are more complicated than a simple span between two supports. You haven't described your proposed cantilever at all but the backspan is an important part of the design. And again, you must consider the strength of the beam, not just its stiffness.


How can I temporarily fix rotted soffit, fascia, and vented panels? There are very large openings in my soffit/fascia/vented panels that allow water, bird and insects in.  I don't have any woodworking skills, and I'm old and financially not able to repair it properly at this time. How can I temporarily fix the problem?

Would you suggest a roof tarp to cover all and over the sides, stapled, until my situation changes, at least for now?

If there's really no possible way to fix it then yes, a tarp which is properly added willhelp protect from any further water damage. Simply stapling it isn't sufficient for more than a day or two: winds will either pull the staples loose or tear the tarp, or both. The best way would be to get a tarp which is much larger than you need and some 2x4s. In the places where you are affixing the tarp to the structure, wrap the end of the tarp around the 2x4 a couple of times, and then nail or screw through the 2x4 into the structure. Make sure you get into some solid wood (a joist or stud) instead of just the sheathing.

In your situation (older, not financially or otherwise able to fix it properly) I would reach out to family and friends, and/or check with local government. Someone should be willing to help you out, or maybe there is a local non-profit who can help.


Measuring voltage from home to outbuilding I want to make sure all the power going from the house to the outbuilding is getting to it. I have installed meters at the point leaving the house and at the point where it is entering the outbuilding.
The voltage is 120V. The wire is 12 gauge double insulated and in metal conduit, buried in ground. The distance traveled is approx 100 ft. I am losing about 3.5 % of what I am sending, using about .85 kilowatts a day.
Is this a normal loss?

For a 120v circuit to have that loss, Your load is in the 12 amp range this will produce 3.47% voltage drop or 4.167v so you can look at the cost of running a small conductor.
the wire is consuming some of the power.
I am not sure how you came up with your numbers
If your actual voltage drop is 3.5% 120v 100’ 12awg copper this would provide 12 amps, based on 1.9029 resistance per 1k feet 0.054 ohms reactance per 1k feet with a actual Voltage drop of 4.167v as stated above. Southwire.com used.
P= I x E  12a x 120v =1440w  but power is charged in watt hours so your .850 kw or 850w means nothing and is not matching up with a 3.5% voltage drop on a 120v line.
If you would like further assistance figuring out what is really happening we can help there but with the info provided things don’t correlate.


What is 1" minus recycled concrete mean and does it also include stone sizes smaller than 1"? What does 1" minus recycled concrete mean? Does this also include stone sizes smaller than 1"?

Concrete is a mixture of cement (Portland Cement), water and aggregate (rocks).

Strength of concrete is largely based on the aggregate: size, blend, grade (hardness), etc.  Crushed rocks are used in concrete and they are graded by size. Yep, they pour rocks through a sieve and sort them by size...down to sand. Then they mix the various sizes together so they can compact. (If you used all the same size they would not compact and would not be as strong.).

The term “minus” refers to the smaller rocks that are used and the 1” is an indication of the largest rock used in that “batch”. (The largest I’ve used is 3” minus, but 4” minus is common.)

Contractors like smaller aggregate (3/4” minus) for slabs because they don’t want a big rock sticking out of the surface to trowel around.  They use larger rock mixes like 3” minus for footings because it’s cheaper and no one will ever see the finished product.

Recently everyone wants to “recycle” used building materials rather than dispose of them at a landfill, especially concrete because concrete has a very large carbon footprint. The trouble with recycled concrete is that we don’t know where the aggregate came from so we don’t know it’s “hardness”. Normally when we mine rocks from a river or mountain, it can be tested (crushed) and we know how hard it is. But recycle concrete can’t be crush tested because it has cement attached to it and does not give a true reading.

I don’t like recycle concrete and don’t use it. If they tell you it’s the same, ask to see the ASTM crushing test.

Yeah, there are other ingredients too, like air entrainment, fly ash, binders, etc., but this is just the basics.


Refrigerator not cooling, freezer is cold, no ice obstruction Yesterday, I noticed that the refrigerator portion of my unit was not cooling, but the freezer was like sub-zero.

I've seen this problem before: typically it means that somebody didn't close the door all the way, a lot of moisture got inside the unit, and the airflow from the freezer to the refrigerator got blocked by the resulting ice.

I unplugged the unit overnight, and I observed that there were no obstructions this morning, so I plugged the unit back in.

To my surprise, I am still observing a sub-zero freezer with a non-cool fridge.

I see that the compressor fan is running, the freezer fan is running, and there does not appear to be any obstruction in the duct at the bottom of the freezer that carries the cold air to the refrigerator.  I also do not see any sort of additional fan that is being used to force the air into the fridge, so I do not see any other components that could possibly be causing this problem.  Yet, even if I put my hand right next to the duct, I don't feel much cold air entering the fridge (and certainly not enough to keep anything cool).

And, yes, I've turned the refrigerator control to coldest, so that's not the problem.

This one is very confusing... any ideas?

There should be airflow from the freezer down to the fridge, but this can become blocked by ice, especially in some specific models. Try doing a complete manual defrost and see if that solves the problem. If it does, a modification to the defrost heater may be possible to keep this from recurring.


Identify this plaster cornice coving from the UK I am in the UK and need to replace some coving, and am not sure how to track it down. It's probably 20 years old now, but I'm not sure if it's a generic size?

Thanks!

Looks like pretty generic coving to me.

If you're not sure if it's a generic size... then find out! Easiest way to check that is to walk into your local DIY store (B&Q, Wickes, whatever) with that small bit and check to see if they stock something similar.


Can I replace a quad breaker with a tandem breaker? My panel has a 15-amp breaker for two-bathroom outlets and two outdoor outlets. Is that normal? I would like to replace that with a 20 amp breaker. Also, I want to replace my water boiler with the "Ecosmart ECO 36 - 36kw 240V 150A Electric Tankless Water Heater" but that requires 4 x 40 amp breakers (my electrical panel is 200 amps).
So I'm trying to make room for it on my electrical panel by replacing the quad breaker with a single-pole tandem 20 amp breaker since the water boiler won't need the quad breaker anymore. Is all of that possible and correct to do?
In the future, I will remove the furnace and replace it with an all-in-one heat pump, perhaps some of the furnace breaker slots will be freed up.
Another thing to note is that my refrigerator and microwave are on the same line and when the toaster and microwave get used the microwave power dims a bit. My microwave keeps dying every few years. Perhaps the fridge and microwave should be on their own breaker, right now it feels like too many things are competing for power on that line/breaker. My electrical panel is exactly the way the electrician left it when the home was made in 2006, except for the labels.

I would SERIOUSLY reconsider an on demand, tankless electric water heater.   All the hype about the tankless: IE: Why keep 50+ gallons of water hot all the time when you don't use it?   Well, once the water is heated it pretty much stays heated given the quality of the insulation on electric water heaters these days. While tankless gas WH might make some sense (I still don't like them), a tankless electric WH is a MAJOR POWER DRAW and more complicated than a tank type.
I don't think you'll ever get cost recovery on the small energy savings you might get from a tankless.   Have you considered a HP water heater?  I don't know a lot about them, but they operate on a heat pump principle.  I hear their recover time is very slow, but there are real energy savings there.


Do deck coatings work as claimed? Home improvement stores have been stocking products in the paint section that appear to put a thick coating on the deck boards, giving them the appearance of synthetic decking. They claim to offer superior protection to the lumber, and eliminate splinters, nail-holes and minor cracks, and they claim a homeowner can apply them over the course of a weekend.

Do these deck coatings work as claimed? How durable are they? How difficult is it to apply them? Will they cause the wood to rot by sealing in moisture?

What makes one coating product more desirable than another? What dangers or pitfalls should we look out for?

The jury is still out on these types of products.  I was at a contractors day at my local Lowes and the rep from one of the manufactures of the epoxy style coverings was there demonstrating the product. The end result was a smooth, not sandy, but mottled non skid finish. the dried samples on display revealed about an 1/8" coating on the wood. I did spend a little time talking with the rep and he cautioned that the wood needs to be clean and free of any loose decay, oil or grease (like from a BBQ). Any loose nails should be replaced, better if the deck was screwed down so nails would not work up through the new finish.  He did not claim that this was a "fix" for rotting wood or a surface in very bad condition. This product seems to me to be an alternative to conventional sealers or stain. The claim to fame is that it will outlast regular sealers and stain for years. The previous points about spacing and the top of the joists are very valid. My biggest concern is the holding ability if used over bad wood. I think lots of people will try this hoping to stretch the lives of aging decks. Since this product is so new, there are few anecdotal cases with which to compare it. I might be tempted to try if if a customer insists on it, but think I'll wait until I get some feedback from other contractors or users. the cost is also a consideration, it is expensive.


How do I protect paint on a steel outer door from scratching? I need to attach a plastic guard onto an outer steel door, to protect the paint from scratching by my dog (and visiting dogs...this is a rural setting).

Is there a glue that is clear that I can use?  Should I screw this onto the steel door?

I would avoid drilling into the door for a couple of reasons. It may void any warranty on the door and if the dog was able to get a corner or edge loose they may damage the door pulling at the plastic. Cut a piece of lexan or plexiglass large enough to cover the area of potential damage. It needs to be large enough so the dog cannot grab the top while on its' hind legs. If it is a large dog you may have to cut a hole to go around the door knob. If the door has a paneled design stamped into it drill several small holes in the bottom side of the Lexan. This will prevent condensation from forming between it and the door. I would then adhere it to the door with clear exterior chaulking applied around the entire perimeter of the panel. It may help to lightly sand the Lexan where the adhesive will be to get a better bond. Position it in place with clamps or duct tape until the chaulking has set.


How wasteful is a voltage transformer? If an appliance that is rated for 220V is used with a 110v-to-220v transformer in a 110v country, or an appliance that is rated for 110V is used with a 220v-to-110v transformer in a 220v country, how much of the electricity is wasted? That is, how much more will it consume compared to the appliance used in its native current country?

If it matters which type of appliance, let's assume something like a humidifier, dehumidifier, air purifier type.

The bigger problem is the transformer is going to set you back about $100, so it spectacularly fails to make sense for a $40 humidifier.

Dollar for dollar, if you're coming to North America, you may be better off just adding a couple 240V circuits to  your house, and running the appliances off 240V straight shot.  North America has both 120V and 240V available.


Ideas to reinforce piping shelter structure I have bought a motorcycle shelter that is likely to blow away in a storm. I'm looking for a couple of ideas to make this a bit more permanent. My main concern is the tent hitting any parked cars around me, but ideally I'd like to make it more structurally sound. The car park it's in is at least partially sheltered from the wind. I'm very much spitballing here as I have little experience in this field. This is the shelter frame :

My initial thoughts:

Spray the whole thing in galvo spray to give it a bit more weather
protection (I live near the sea so rust will be an issue)
Bolt the entire thing to a heavy plank of wood - not just using the
cross plate (which I imagine will not have much strength, but also
with some saddle brackets. I can't bolt this to the concrete as I
rent, so it would have to be structurally sound enough to hold the
bolts (and I'll weigh it down with sand bags), thinking some kind of
structural plywood?
The top sections of the frame pipes come off, and I was thinking of
using some expanding foam, or maybe some sand, to fill it in and
reinforce the angles to minimise the lateral flex.
On a similar note, I have bought some p clips and metal bracket
things to create a kind of cross section support across the right
angle, again to minimise the flex.

The tent section looks like this

and so far the only thing I can think is to spray with waterproofing...It's quite thick, but the Australian sun is absolutely brutal so I'm sure there's additional things I can do perhaps?

I have that structure for a trike. The tubing is galvanized steel electrical conduit and has held up relatively well for the last ten years. The fabric is not doing so well in the sun. I'm on the third replacement and it's become ragged and deteriorating. Unfortunately, I've not found a coating which will provide additional protection (yet).

The cross brace on my shelter is different, consisting of two plates. It's similar to what yours would be if you chopped the center flat portion away. I own, which allowed me to use concrete anchors.

The shelter has held up structurally through three hurricanes during the last decade. You cannot attach the moving portion to the ground on a permanent basis, obviously, but for storm situations, a temporary clamping method would be beneficial. I usually backed a motor vehicle until it was over the lowest "ring" of the shelter. This prevented it from flying upward during the storms.

If you attempt to add weights to portions of the structure other than the base, it should be noted that there will be distribution of the weight through the fabric attachment, which may exceed the strength of the fabric, especially as it ages. I can push my finger through almost any part of the existing canvas. Recent movement of the lifting portion also has torn some of the fabric.

Your idea of sandbags on the cross brace is sound, as well as any other weights attached to p-brackets. If you have room inside the enclosure, lining the perimeter with brackets and concrete blocks will provide additional security.


LED strips: Red lights can't be controlled A while ago I ordered these led strips. Yesterday they arrived and I immediately installed them in my room. Everything worked fine and it looked great. But since just an hour ago something seemed wrong: when I turned them off, the red lights stayed on. After trying different settings I noticed that the red lights are on all the time: I can't turn them off or even dim them. Every color (except red of course) looks different now and to turn them off I literally have to pull the plug.

I don't know what happened. They worked fine, I turned them off yesterday night and today it was broken. I'm guessing it is the poor quality since they were pretty cheap but I'm not sure.

Hopefully someone knows a way to fix this.

Cheers!

Exactly.  It's a cheap cheese controller, if the price tag wasn't a dead giveaway.

Get another one from anywhere, long as it's

your same voltage (almost certainly 12V, some don't even care) and
the same number of channels (RGB and RGBW controllers are different).

In fact, I'm now seeing RGB controllers from top tier makers  (I can't remember the brand, GE, Siemens, Philips, Sylvania, one of those) - also IKEA makes surprisingly good stuff that performs very well IME, and is top rated by the Youtubers who do teardowns.


Smallest (laser) holes in hardware stores for eclipse viewing Needless to say: this is a question that can best be answered by the crowd in the group, who are regular shoppers at hardware stores.

I'd like to view and show the upcoming solar eclipse. I do not wish to view it with protective gear—only through a projection.

The hardware stores nearby sell various pre-drilled metal parts.

What is the smallest, most accurate hole, I can find at a hardware store?

Ideally it would be drilled by laser and have a perfectly circular boundary.

There are plenty of small drill bits available out there. Can you just drill something yourself? That way, you could be sure to drill something that was the right size/configuration for whatever your mount will be.


How to seal gap in HVAC plenum framing Picture is my HVAC plenum chamber. My contractor is going to install new ceiling in few days. I wanted to see if there is any leak in that area, so I used flash light inside service panel door after turning off light in room. The bright area you see is gap in plenum chamber framing. How can I seal it ? What can I use?

Upon close inspection of the first picture, it appears that the backing piece behind where light is escaping was cut too small, which is unfortunate.
I'd recommend a sheet metal screw or two where the two pieces of metal do overlap, just to be sure gravity doesn't work against you over time, then a layer or two of duct tape to cover the gap and metal on both sides of it. Use the proper silver foil & plastic stuff available in the HVAC aisle at a hardware store, not "duck tape" available in 8,000 colors and patterns at your local convenience store/big box everything store. You can use it on the small corner, where light is peeking through, as well.
I'd actually recommend using tape on all joints to keep them from allowing air to escape. I believe that this is a fairly standard practice these days, and it's rather unfortunate that your HVAC contractor didn't do this for you.


how specific must rocker switch specs be? My son has this little car he drives around and the reverse direction stopped working. I took it apart, did some hard-wiring tests and found that the switch was failing (both gear work if I hard-wire the connection that the switch is responsible for making.)

This is the exact switch but it is out of stock, and I can't find it anywhere else online. Must a 6 pin replacement switch be exactly 20A, 250VAC? Or can either parameter vary? if so, how much more or less?

Here is a switch that should do the trick for you. It is rated at 22A/250V. Mounting hole size looks to be the same as the Aliexpress item that you linked.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/AC-20A-125V-22A-250V-DPDT-6-Terminal-2-Position-Boat-Rocker-Switch/272975729244?hash=item3f8e9f125c:g:XFsAAOSwnPla8b-Z


Why does my ceiling fan turn off when I turn on the lights? I just installed a new ceiling fan in my kids room earlier today.  There are two switches on the wall.  I started the day with a dimmer switch and a regular switch.  Once everything was installed I turned the power back on and the fan worked, but as soon as I turned on the light (on the dimmer switch) the fan would start making a humming noise and would start slowing down.

I couldn't get it to work right so I thought maybe the dimmer switch was the issue.  I had a regular switch laying around so I swapped it out for the dimmer so now I have two regular single pole switches.  I turn on the fan at the switch, works like a charm.  I then turn on the light (at the newly installed regular switch) and the light turns on BUT the fan turns off!  No humming any more from the motor, but it just turns off.  As soon as I turn the light back off the fan turns back on.

What gives?

I had that same problem I fix the problem bye checking between the fan and the light there wire connection connected wrong just disconnect the 2 wires coming from the fan to the light switch them around and your problem should go away. You have one common and one power switched. Good luck.


230 V single phase wired to 220 V dual phase? I have a building in The Philippines. Electricity there is 220 V dual phase for all the lights and outlets (wired like a US dryer but without the ground).

We are installing solar power and the contractor is installing 230 V single phase inverters (1 230 V hot and 1 ground on each unit).

We also have a 30KV 220 V dual phase generator installed. The utility drop and the generator will be separated from the solar by transfer switches (on just the 1 hot 230 line) but all of the 110 US appliances are wired to the individual 110 lines with a neutral and a ground like in the US.

He says it will be fine, I say it will blow everything hooked to it up and short out the utility feed and generator as well since he will be hooking one of their 110 V lines and 1 of the 110 generator lines to ground. I'm sure no one has experienced this but I would sure like an opinion from a professional.

If you have any 110/115/120V appliances, they can't work on unsplit 220/230/240V, period. In theory they could be ran in series, but the reality is that series work only as long as both loads are perfectly same. If the load varies (as it always do) the overloaded leg will get less than nominal and the underloaded will get more - and those appliances are at risk of blowing. The proper way of running those is to use a transformer to convert 220 into 2x110. Depending on how many 110V appliances you have, it could be cheaper to simply replace them with 220V ones and remove the last remains of 110V wiring.

For connecting 2X0V mains, generator and solar together, it's impossible to tell not knowing your exact wiring. You should consult a local electrician, because 1-pole transfer switch doesn't sound right without clear grounding. Understanding your grounding is the key here  and as @Harper says, Philippines grounding is a non-trivial one.

As you're currently describing it, I'd say that solar should use 2x110V inverters with 2-pole switch. But, it's also possible that you already have the 220V/2x110V transformer on the mains line and your contractor simply plans to hook up there.

The situation could be far more dangerous than you're describing. If 220V with 1 leg grounded gets connected to 2x110V center ground, at first everything may seem like it's working, but the moment the mains or generator goes live too, 110V will appear between "solar ground" and "generator ground". Again, it could still appear superficially working, but a person touching the generator or a solar panel casing will get electrocuted with 110V. That's why I can only advise consulting an electrician that fully understands both the Philippines 110 to 220V conversion issues in general and the wiring of your building in particular.


How do I make ground connections at my receptacle boxes? I searched for my question but could not find the answers. I had the inspector out for my rough in on electrical inspection. He said I did a very nice job but I need to make all my grounds at all my boxes. (Receptacles, Lights, etc.)

My question is how do I properly make my grounds at all boxes. Example. I have my feed wire coming into my receptacle box and then my 12-2 wire continues out of the box and onto the next. Do I have to install the receptacle and piggy back a wire from both grounds to the receptacle or is there a proper way to do this?

There's a many different ways to do it, and how it's done depends on personal preference.
Example Methods
Long tail
In this variation, the Electrician will leave one of the grounding conductors long. He'll install a ground screw in the threaded hole in the back of the box, and loop the long conductor around the screw around the middle of the conductor. Then he'll collect all the grounding conductors in the box, and twist them together with the remainder of the long grounding conductor.  Once twisted, he'll use either a crimp or twist-on wire connector to "permanently" connect the conductors together.
Pigtail
Another option is to gather all the grounding conductors together, and twist them together with an extra bit of grounding conductor. Again using a crimp or twist-on wire connector to "permanently" connect the conductors together. Then connect one end of the extra bit of conductor to the box using a grounding screw, or a grounding clip.
Greenie®
More recently, guys have been using  Greenies from Ideal industries. They're basically a twist-on wire connector with a hole in the top. This method is similar to the long tail method, except that the long tail feeds through the Greenie, and the remaining grounding conductors are connected to the long tail using the Greenie as a twist-on wire connector. The bit of wire protruding from the end of the Greenie is then wrapped around the ground screw, or attached to the box using a ground clamp
Materials
Twist-on wire connectors

Crimp Connectors

Ground Screw

Ground Clip

Greenie® Grounding Connector


How to use ceramic glaze to waterproof an earthen tank? A rammed-earth architect and myself have had the idea of building rammed-earth water tanks that would be coated with ceramic glaze on the inside, as an alternative to a cement / concrete tanks, for remote areas of Nepal, where transporting cement would be logistically unsound.

We have yet to experiment and see the cost effectiveness of our idea.

As for now, I would like to know what type of glaze I could use to coat the inside of the tank and how I could fire it?

Is there a recommended low-temperature glaze?

Can it be fired cheaply? (For instance I was thinking of filling the tank with saw-dust and feeding oxygen / air through a ventilation pipe so temperature would soar).

I am merely speculating here, but it seems like a valid idea.

Would you have some suggestions regarding glazing?

Glaze is essentially glass that is formulated to bond with the supporting clay body such that it's physical properties such as coefficient of expansion are similar. Since your "clay" body is unfired earth of varying composition, even if you were to succeed in applying it, it will quickly crack and spall off.

You also will never get the consistent temperature control required for a homogeneous glass surface. A good part will be either over or under fired and not water proof. Also, pure glass fires at very high temperatures. To produce glaze that fires at lower temperatures, a flux must be added. Traditionally, low fire fluxes have been various lead compounds, which have been proven unsafe for food and water contact. I believe alternate food safe fluxes have been developed, but their functional temperature range is very restricted, so may not work for the application that you envision.

I commend your out of the box thinking, but this idea is just not practical. Keep the ideas coming though, you're bound to hit a good one eventually!


Water heater drain pan pump capacity needs? In the event of water heater failure, I'm considering installing a water heater pan with drain pump per this answer.  How can I determine the necessary pump rate?

According to the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, for insurance claims, water heater failures make up 20 percent of all residential water loss incidents, and incur over $5,000 per claim.

From past experience with failed water heaters, it seems that the flow rate might be the full incoming flow rate?  Either way, what is a conservative capacity?  If I can't find an off the shelf condensate pump with sufficient power, I assume there's no reason I couldn't attach multiple pumps--plus I'd get the benefit of some redundancy, right?

It depends on what type of failure are you talking about. The rate at which water flows from a leak, is going to depend on the size of the leak. It could range anywhere from less than 1 ml per day, to the full supply flow rate.

If it's a catastrophic failure, you could be talking about the full contents spilling out in a matter of seconds/minutes, followed by the full supply flow.

In the case of a T&P discharge, it could be a tablespoon to a few cups. If the T&P fails fully open (not very likely), it would be close to the full supply flow rate.

If you want to plan for nearly worst case, you'll want a pump that matches the supply flow rate.  In the event of a catastrophic failure, there's not much you can do about the initial surge. But if the pump can match the supply, you'll reduce further flooding until the supply can be shut off.

I don't have solid data on it, but I'd guess that serious failures are rare, and catastrophic failures are even more rare.  Therefore, matching the supply flow could be a waste of money (unless of course the tank actually fails).

An automatic leak detection shutoff valve, is another way to reduce damage caused by a water heater failure.  Though it won't do anything to prevent the water that's already in the tank, from leaking/gushing out.


Can I install new construction lights into old ceiling with attic vs remodel lights? I want to put in can lights throughout my house. I have attic space to do it and from what I have read it seems like the new construction lights are better than the remodel lights that appear to put all the weight on the drywall ceiling. Any advice on this?

If you can access the space above (or in the case where you are ripping off & replacing the sheetrock from below, even if that's not your case) you should be able to use "new construction" style can lights, yes.

It may involve hot, filthy work in the attic space, and depending where you want the lights and the configuration of the attic, it may be a tight squeeze (or there may be plenty of room - attic spaces vary, a lot.) Depending on your type of insulation, you might be well advised to wear a coverall suit, gloves and a respirator and/or goggles when working up there, which will make it hotter, so beware of getting overheated (passing out in an attic is not a great idea...)

With advancements in LED technology, surface-mount "can style" lights are also a recent option. Look like a can-light trim ring, but don't require a can above them.


Laying plywood over floorboards for a vinyl floor I'm installing a vinyl floor in my bathroom (replacing carpet). There is currently no underlay, so my plan is to screw down 3mm plywood sheets directly onto the boards, I can then use adhesive spray to smoothly fix the vinyl on to these sheets.

Should I leave any kind of gap to allow for expansion? Is this the best method to achieve a level vinyl floor? My biggest concern is the gap between floor and wall (tiled), and how to stop any sort of curling or spaces opening up (essentially basic waterproofing)

Advice really appreciated on this!

Underlayment for vinyl flooring isn't screwed down, as this would require that every screw be skimmed with patch material to create a flat surface. Ordinarily, narrow-crown (1/4") staples are used to prevent the need for skimming. Underlayment must be fastened on a 6-8" grid to prevent movement.

No expansion gaps should be left. In fact, any gaps that aren't tight must be skimmed to fill and smooth them. Vinyl flooring does not span gaps without showing them through.

Normally vinyl is installed, then base trim or base shoe is installed over the edges. It's caulked against the bathtub. Rarely have I sought to "waterproof" the perimeter of a room's floor. If you have that much water sloshing around on the floor, a lifestyle change is probably in order.


How to fix damaged wires in receptacle box in new installation? While cutting holes for outlet boxes in new drywall, my contractor (ahem, me) managed to damage some wires in one of the outlet boxes with his RotoZip.  Now there's not enough undamaged wire to meet the 6" Code requirement (there's about 4" left).  What's the correct way for my electrician (ahem, also me) to address the wiring?  I have to imagine that there's some safe/per-Code remedy to address something like this in a new construction situation without tearing off multiple sheets of drywall for a new wire run?

Location is Seattle, USA.

Thanks in advance for your answers.  Please cite Code if you can!

I don't think that leaving a 4" tail in a box instead of a 6" is the worst code offense you can commit. The reason it is in the code is to match up with the NESC (National Electric Safety Code). This allows while doing maintenance on the device to pull it clear of interference and perform work on it safely.

You could do what Jim Stewart suggested, just make sure you have the right color code, you attached a pigtail to it, or you could check to see what the AHJ has to say about it and let him make the final decision on whether to allow it or extend it.


What is the best time of year to remove bee nests? Is there a season when it's easiest to remove bee nests?
I.E. The bees are dormant?

Honey bees are different than most other kinds of bees (yellow jackets, wasps, hornets, and bumble bees): Honey bees survive in the winter by staying in their nest, consuming their honey, and huddling together to keep warm. Yellow jackets, on the other hand, have a life cycle basically of:

In the spring, the queen finds a location and starts foraging and building a nest
The first workers hatch, and continue building the nest and foraging, the queen now stays in the nest and just lays eggs. The nest gets much bigger later in the summer, as there are now many more bees.
In the late summer/early fall, new queens are hatched. After mating, they leave to hibernate for the winter (and then repeat the cycle in the spring).
The old queen and all the old workers die in the winter.

So first step is to identify honey bee or not.

If it's not a honey bee, then you have two choices. If it's not in a spot where you're likely to be stung and they're not really bothering you, you can just wait for the winter for them to die naturally. If you do want to eradicate the nest, then get a can of insecticide and use it late in the evening when most of the bees are in the nest. Spray it into any holes in the nest, and wear protective gear while you do this.

If it's a honey bee, and you do want to kill them, the best time is the evening, and may be easier in the late winter/early spring when there are fewer of them. It may take two or three tries to get them all, especially since the young larvae are protected by wax inside the honeycomb.

Source/more details: http://www.sembabees.org/toplevelpages/bees_in_wall.html

After you remove them, if they were in a wall or somewhere they shouldn't be, then you should figure out how they got in and seal up the holes so they can't get back. Don't seal up holes before they're gone, as otherwise they'll look for another way out, which may be to the inside of your house.


What records should I make of underground infrastructure, before covering it up? We're putting utility services (water, electrical, sewer, telco) in trenches to and on my land.

Before we bury everything, what records should I make? Maybe I should take some photographs or draw some maps. (Accurate mapping is difficult, though!)

EDIT: I learned today that the utility company is only responsible for the stuff in they ground that they own. If you have a sub-panel for electricity to a garage, for example, they won't mark that. Same for a water line to a spigot in your garden. So, it's particularly important to keep your own records, etc.

ALSO: Even though code doesn't require it here, I'm going to put a strip of CAUTION tape a few inches under the soil as we fill in the trench.

There are several things you can do:

Pictures, with clear reference points (eg, natural features of the land such as rock cuts, streams, as well as man-made structures).
Drawings using graph paper, and with GPS marking locations
For non-metallic water pipes (anything without a metal wire in it), bury a metal wire alongside (really, any kind of continuous wire will do). This will allow you to use an inductive cable locater to trace that line later. There are also some newer RFID-based tags you can get that specifically indicate types of cable/pipe (power, water, waste, gas, telephone, etc), and can be read by a special receiver.

Inductive cable locator:


How can I determine if it's safe to remove this beam in my garage? I want to remove a roughly 18' beam that goes across my garage. Oddly, it's the only one at this level. The ceiling beams are all about 28 inches higher. When I touch this beam it wobbles quite a bit, though it's firmly attached at the ends, leading me to believe there isn't much if any load on it. It seems like the beams above it are doing the same job. What the heck is it doing there, and how can I figure out if it's safe to remove? I'm hoping it's just there as a byproduct of the building process or something.

One potentially interesting note: I measured where the beam would come into my house (to the right of the garage as pictured) and it looks like it would come i directly above my front door. Interesting?

Edit: the "suspicious rope" was installed by myself just prior to taking these pictures; I was about to cut the beam and didn't want it to fall. Then I thought I'd better take a moment to reconsider, and here we are :)

There was previously a garage door opener which I removed; it ran just under this beam and wasn't attached to it. There WAS an electrical ground stapled to it (can be seen in the pictures) which I moved up to the beam above. I can't imagine someone would install a 2x6 just to run a ground when the beam above serves just as well.

From studying your picture it appears to me that the timber is intended to tie one wall to the other. If so, I would be asking why. A couple of clues I would look for are:

Is the height of the placement of the timber, on each end, possibly where the top plates of the framed wall are, behind the drywall?  ( As opposed to the studs inside the wall running from the floor plate all the way up to the roof rafters.) If so, this connection between lower studs and upper studs could be a weak area for lateral wind loads to cause some unwanted flexing of one of the walls.
You mentioned your front door was on the other side. Is it possible that the front door wall, beyond, is located in a sturdier wall that has sufficient bracing and the timber in your garage is using the strength of that wall to tie the opposite garage wall into something more stable. If that opposite garage wall is an exterior wall subject to wind I would think that might be the case.

There are some DIY things you can do to experiment with it a little bit. Try flexing the timber back and forth to see if one wall stays rigid but the other moves just a tiny bit. If so, that would indicate that the wall that moved needs that timber.

A good framing carpenter ( think This Old House) could probably access your situation adequately. Maybe for free if it is easily apparent to them what is going on and they can give you an estimate for any modifications that would enable you to remove the timber.

Hope this helps. Good luck!


AAC (aka Aircrete, Thermalite) wall + IKEA ALGOT shelf weight load capacity I got some IKEA Algot shelves tall uprights. The PDF manual can be found here.

The installation instructions say:

  Hang the wall uprights from the mounting rail, correctly space them and then secure them to the wall. Use roundheaded screws with a 4–4.5 mm diameter (screw head max. 9 mm). You will need:

3 screws for the 56 cm (22″)
4 screws for the 84 cm (33⅛″)
8 screws for the 196 cm (77⅛″) high wall upright.

And these are the weight ratings per shelf:

  40 cm (15¾″) width

38 cm (15”) depth 15 kg (33 lbs)
58 cm (22⅞") depth 23 kg (50 lbs)

  60 cm (23⅝") width

38 cm (15") depth 22 kg (49 lbs)
58 cm (22⅞") depth 34 kg (75 lbs)

  80 cm (31½") width

38 cm (15") depth 30 kg (66 lbs)
58 cm (22⅞") depth 46 kg (101 lbs)

I live in a block built with beams so inner walls are not structural. All internal walls are 10cm AAC (autoclaved aerated concrete aka aircrete or thermalite). How does one estimate the load capacity of a shelf and also multiple shelves put on 2 uprights or 2 sets of shelves put on 3 uprights? Is there a way to calculate an estimated weight support.

I'll use AAC Wall Plugs (1st) or universal Fischer Duopower (2nd).

So we have:

10cm AAC 2.5m tall wall
wall plugs 4mm diam, 30-50mm deep (I assume this affects load capacity)
uprights with 8 screws (196cm)
2 uprights with a 6 shelf max (16 plugs)
3 uprights with a 12 shelf max (24 plugs)
60cm spacing between uprights (shelf size)
shelf weight capacity is available above

Is there any way to factor this in and get some load capacity estimates? I want to put some books on some shelves and they're not eBooks. :)

Here you go - Multiply the number of brackets by the safe load of the bracket to determine the safe load capacity for the entire shelf. For a shelf that has three brackets rated for 250 lbs. the safe load for the brackets is 62.5 lbs., and the capacity for the shelf, as a whole, would be 187.5 lbs.  I was going to do the math but math.


What is the best way to remove a broken screw from a deck board? I used stainless steel trim screws (3 in x 9 gauge) to rebuild our deck and one of them broke off when I was drilling it in. There was about a 1/4 of an inch left (just the shank, no head) but when I tried to twist it out with locking pliers it broke off and now there is not enough of the shank to grab onto with locking pliers.

Any recommendations as to the best way to extract it at this point? I've thought of cutting a slot with a hacksaw and using a screw driver, using an extractor bit, or using a hole saw and putting in a plug to cover up the hole that would be left.

Thanks!

cheap grinders are cheap, get one.

Before grinding erect a shield to prevent sparks from hitting the windows or any other delicate surface. (they will stick) cardboard or an old blanket would be strong enough.


This white wire is hot right? I have an outlet that is controlled by a light switch. I hate these and wanted to make the outlet always hot to avoid turning it off by accident when turning off the light switch
However, when I pulled out the light switch it looked weird to me. I have a single black, single white, and ground wire going to the switch only.
I suspect that whoever installed the outlet used a white wire as hot but didn't label it, but I wanted to ask if anyone else thought this was weird or if this is done special way to wire an outlet I couldn't find online.
The first image is the light switch. The second is the outlet. The wire I'm touching is actually black, but it looks white at the end because of some historical painting by my guess.

Having a white that is hot at a switch is called a switch leg and code required the white wire to be always hot so it would not be mistaken for a neutral if it was on the switched side this has been code for decades.
Put a wire nut on the black to white and there will be no more switch interference with the receptacle.
Note if there is not a light in the room it is a requirement to have a switched receptacle so taking out the switch may violate code.


How do I determine what pieces of vinyl siding to buy? My house has vinyl siding.  I am considering installing vinyl siding on a shed also.  How do I find siding to match what I already have on my house?  (It is only a year or two old, but installed by the previous owner.)  Can I expect to find what I need at the local Lowe's or Home Depot, or are many brands of vinyl siding only sold by specialty retailers or directly to contractors?

Looking at my house, there seem to be a lot of different pieces: regular, top, and bottom boards; corner pieces; special pieces around doors, windows, sillcocks, and electrical outlets; and so on.  How do I find out what pieces I need?  Is that particular to each manufacturer?

If you can remove one panel carefully you might find the manufacturer stamp on the back. It will narrow down the search down a little bit. Otherwise just a small sample would be nice to have when visit the stores. I've seen websites on the web that identify manufactures based on the sample that you send. Both Lowe's and Home Depot sell some vynil siding. Not a huge selection.

Honestly, it doesn't have to be exactly the same. The previous owner used a similar siding on the addition and i didn't notice until i had to replace a panel.


Replacing whip on AC condenser I'm trying to replace the whip on my ac condenser and disconnect but the previous whip was not color coded and I'm not sure where the red and black should go.

If you have two colored leads and one green then it does not matter which place the red goes and which place the black goes.  They are interchangeable. The green or 'bare' wire is not interchangeable with either of the colored leads. The Green must be the ground and it goes between the container of the disconnect to the body of the condenser.  No place else. The colored leads well interchangeably go between the two pole fuse block or the two pole breaker in the disconnect and land on the two pole contactor in the condenser.


Why is it a good idea to finish sanding a hardwood floor with a fine grit? Why does everyone recommend finishing floor sanding with a high (e.g., 120) grit sandpaper?

What would the downfalls of leaving the last sanding at 60 grit be?

Finishing with a low grit sandpaper like 40 grit or 60 grit will leave too many scratches on the floor, making it rough. When you apply stain and finish, these scratches will actually be visible. Use the 40 grit and 60 grit for surfacing, then finish with 100 grit or 120 grit. Especially with stain, which will pick up on scratches, you don't want to skip the final sanding. It should be less visible if only finishing with a polyurethane, but is still an important part of doing a job properly.


How to best clean the inlet vent screen on a microhood? Over the years, my microhood has developed a greasy buildup in the inlet vent screens on the underside of the microhood.  They're an aluminum mesh that comes out easily with a label near it saying not to use harsh chemicals or excessive water.  The verbiage stops short of recommending the best way to clean them.

I ended up using degreaser and it worked better than I thought.

First, remove the vent screens.  In a sink, I sprayed liberal amounts of degreaser on both sides and let sit for a couple minutes.  Spray down with water and repeat cleaning if necessary.  Dry on a towel.  Afterwards, they looked like new.

I guess sometimes the simplest approach is best; don't overthink the situation.


Is voltage on the ground conductor a sign of short circuit? When we touch the ground wire(!) on some of our power outlets, the tester lights up. Not as bright as when touching the live wire and the circuit breaker doesn't tip, but there is definitely "something". On the search for the potential cause, we opened up a few walls and found the following phenomenon: The copper wires in one of the distribution thingies are discolored. All three wire strands are affected.

Is that an indicator of arching? Are we getting close to the culprit? Or is there another problem present?

I am not sure where you live, but I have never seen that particular type of conductor connector. In answer to your first question you probably don't have a short circuit. If you did you wold have your overcurrent protection tripping or blowing if it was a fuse.

In answer to your last question, yes you have a problem with the splices. I appears they are not making a good mechanical or electrical connection. This is causing a fluctuation in your normal current flow. From what I can see is that your splices are failing. You need to go through you residence and clean and  replace as many of these as you can find. I would use a standard wire nut.


How do I determine how my outlets and switches were wired after I removed them all? I have very little electrical knowledge. I now believe I have done one of the most ignorant things I've ever done. Updating my home to sell, figured I'd switch out the switch and outlets. And here we go. I removed all outlets and switches all at once. Just figured black, white, ground. Nope not at all that's not how it works. I am lost where to start, I've been searching for whatever type of wires are in the box, that doesn't work either. The only switch I've been able to properly change is the important on, the bathroom. I appreciate any guidance at all.

There's two ways to approach this.
One, spend time learning about how your house was wired. You'll need to be comfortable with hot wires dangling in space while you poke at them with the meter probes and figure out what's hot and what's not. I can imagine that you're also a little bit under the gun, since most of your breakers should be off and it is getting dark.
Two, just chalk this up to experience and get a real electrician as soon as possible. They'll fix everything in relatively short order.


cracked shower tile/underlayment I had three cracked floor tiles in the shower and just removed them thinking I'd just simply replace and grout.  However, after removing I noticed a lot of moisture and as you can see from the picture, there is a crack underneath exactly where the tiles were cracked.  The shower hasn't been used for two days and if I dry this area it becomes saturated again within minutes, with water seeping up through this crack.  Do I need to keep going down further?  I don't believe the liner is torn as I have no leaks below.  The home is 7 yrs old.

If the liner is good you don't need to go down more, though if you replace with the same size tile it may crack in the same place if there's a (evidently) structural issue there.

I'd be inclined to fill the hole with an "accent stripe" of 1" tile so the crack (when it re-cracks, as seems likely) can follow a grout line rather than crack the face of a tile.


Am I using a multimeter incorrectly? Or is there a short in the cable? I'm trying to troubleshoot some electrical issues myself before I hire an Electrician. Partly out of curiosity about what the #$@%! the previous owners of the house did, but also hopefully to save the Electrician a few hours, and myself a few $$$ :)
Multimeter usage - Am I doing this correctly? When I attach the black probe of the multimeter to the ground in a 3-wire cable, and touch the red probe to the other wires in the SAME cable, I get these voltages: black 30V, red ~6v, white ~6v. But, when I attach the black probe to a completely SEPARATE ground (like from an extension cord coming from a completely different circuit on the other side of the house), I get: black 120v, red 0v, white 0v -- which was closer to what I was expecting. Are you not supposed to use a ground in the same 3-wire cable when testing with a multimeter? Does this mean there's something wrong in the cable??

You are doing correctly. All grounds should be connected together and should all read the same. The readings you are getting indicate that the ground in your cable is disconnected (“floating”). You are getting non-zero reading due to phantom voltage. That is to say, your volt meter is high-impedance and so picks up stay energy.
To verify this, you can do the following with the power turned off (I’d suggest turning off the main breaker): switch your meter to resistance and connect across ground and neutral in your cable. These should be tied together back in your main panel and should read close to 0 ohms. I suspect you will see a high resistance or open (display just shows “1”).