Sealing pressure treated deck, to be stained later on I have just finished building a deck from pressure treated lumber. We've put the deck to use immediately and having all our meals on it. I'm worried about greasy food morsels staining the deck.

My plan is to let the wood dry/age for 2-3 years before staining it. I've read that it is recommended to wait a bit for the wood to dry and change color before staining. I've also seen that there are detergents that can remove oil stains before the actual staining. But, is there anything I can do in the meantime to protect the wood from food stains? If I seal with a water/oil repellent seal, won't that prevent the actual stain from penetrating the wood properly?

I would be concerned that sealing the deck now might create a major problem when it comes time to stain it -- I'm thinking big blotches of different shades caused by differing amounts of stain absorption as a result of the sealing.  Whereas greasy food morsels will at worst be a minor problem that will likely be completely solved by the good cleaning you're going to give the deck before staining anyway.


What type of corbels are needed to support a granite counter top? I am having a new granite counter top installed and the counter installer has said that I need to install new corbels on the knee-wall to support the weight of the granite counter top.  The current and the new counter top extend about 12 inches beyond the knee-wall and the current brackets that are there right now (see picture below) will not hold the weight of the granite.

I agree with the installer that new brackets need to be installed but I am having difficulty finding corbels that would work.  I have tried both Lowes and Home Depot and depending on who I talk to either they have no idea what a corbel is (I didn't either up until now) or they point me to decorative corbels which are not made to support weight, let alone the weight of a granite counter top.

Any ideas what type and where I could find corbels that would be strong enough to support a granite counter?

Well Jeff, the term corbel is new to me also. I always thought corbel was a champagne. But as far as supporting the granite:

I think those corbels are quite ugly and rather than replace them with more ugly corbels, I'd be inclined to build a support structure around the top of the knee wall and trim it out.  If you were to add a perimeter of 2×4's dressed out with 3/4" pine on that wall, you would increase the load bearing area from about 4 1/2" (3 1/2" stud plus 2 × 1/2" drywall sides) to 9 inches. 9 inches should be plenty to support the new 12" top. Add a little decorative molding to hide any exposed 2×4 on the bottom and a little Scotia or 1/4 round along the top under the counter and you got a nice finished look.


Toilet occasionally runs shortly after flushing I have a Kohler canister valve toilet that is 3-4 years old.   I used it this morning shortly before leaving for work.  A few minutes after it finished flushing, I was back in the bathroom to finish getting ready and it started running.   Since I needed to get to work, I turned off the water supply and left.   When I returned home, I turned it on and it didn't run.   I flushed it and it ran, stopped, and was fine all evening.   Then I used it again, it finished flushing, and I went to do something else.  I came back and it was running.   It stopped after 15-20 seconds but it was still dripping consistently inside the tube connected to the flap.  Flushing it again caused it to stop running.

I'm assuming that some part needs to get replaced, but not sure what.   I did replace the gasket on the valve about a year ago.

Usually you can adjust the float so that it shuts off at a lower water level. Also, sometimes the float is just getting stuck (and it needs to be cleaned).

Edit: If adjustment or cleaning does not work, then you need to replace the fill valve (it's not an expensive part).

Edit2: Reiterating Ed Beal's comment- you may want to start with turning off the water to the toilet and flushing the water out. Then you can inspect or replace the fill valve. A fill valve kit can currently be had for under $10.


Is it okay to not have a vapor barrier in lightweight tiny house type construction? So, I have a bit of an odd project.  It is a bit outside of the box, and I'm looking for alternative approaches that stick with the theme (if the plan outlined below doesn't work, that is).

Essentially, I'm building a camper, but think "Tiny House".  It will be built on a 17-21 foot camper frame.  The difference is I'm going to great lengths to keep it as light as possible for two reasons:

Camper frames aren't designed to hold the heavy weight that a true Tiny Home build requires.
This needs to be light enough so that it is reasonable to hook up for a weekend trip.  "Tiny Homes" tip the scales well beyond reasonable.

I'd like to keep the "cabin" look as well with a natural looking siding.  I'm also trying to keep it as basic as possible.  More like an ice shanty that may never see actual ice and more be used as a bunkhouse.  It will be heated, cooled, etc... and sometimes not while parked.

For the walls:
2x3 studs will be used for framing perhaps 2' off center, and rigid insulation will be used to fill the gaps.  On the outside my idea is to use an exterior ply paneling that looks something like T&G.  There is a product at lowes that fits the bill.  This will provide both sheathing and siding in one layer.

I would use a combination of 2" and .5" insulation layers to completely fill the 2.5" depth created by the studs.  Some sort of adhesive would be used generously to glue the insulation layers to each other, the studs, and the exterior paneling.  A decorative interior paneling (something thin & light weight, like 1/4" paneling) would be used and also applied with generous amounts of adhesive.

So, it's sort of like I'm creating a big DIY SIP panel that includes framing, siding, and interior paneling.  The purpose of all of this is to lower the materials needed, and keep the weight down, but keep it very strong by bonding all layers together.  It will after all be dealing with the forces that happen on the highway.

So with all that said, I'm sure I'm being naive about many aspects - such as a vapor barrier.  My basic understanding of tyvek is vapor can pass through it, but moisture cannot.

I won't having sheathing to apply a vapor barrier to because the sheathing and siding are one layer.  Is this a terrible idea, and are there alternative approaches?

Window installation is another concern.

Bottom line - I don't want to build something that is going to be a rotting moldy box in a year.

Didn't you ask the same question somewhere else recently? This sounds really familiar.

You should stick to proven wall designs. 2x3s are going to be more difficult to work with. No sheathing will mean virtually no racking resistance against wind. You almost never want a dedicated vapor barrier, especially if you're planning to use rigid foam anywhere (that will result in a vapor trap). Your exterior non-sheathing plan is risky if you don't plan to put housewrap or tar paper under it.

If you really want to do this, here would be my recommendation, inside to out:

Lightweight wood paneling or whatever
2x3s for structural framing with the cavities filled with slightly compressed unfaced fiberglass or mineral wool batts (installed well)
Diagonal steel braces for racking resistance
1+" Foil-faced non-structural foam sheathing (use Polyiso if you live where it's hot; otherwise EPS) over the outside of the studs to act as thermal break, with seams scrupulously taped with high-quality tape to constitute a water-resistive barrier layer
1x3 or 1/2" plywood strips fastened through the foam and into the studs to act as vertical furring strips
siding fastened to the furring strips

This gives you a safe, compact, energy-efficient wall.

Final thought: if you want a weekend camper, that's what you should buy. It will likely cost you far less money than doing all of this yourself.


Is there a test to determine if a nail is galvanized or not? I bought a nailer which came with some old nails that I'm going to use for a shed floor into pressure treated wood.

As you can see, they kinda look galvanized. They have that grey patina. But other than just looking at them, is there anything else I can do to try to determine if they're galvanized?

Those are galvanized. The texture says it all.  Those different dark and light spots of silver all over the nail are crystals created as the zinc quickly cools in the air. Take a look at the image below and at this article by the American Galvanizer Association.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://galvanizeit.org/uploads/publications/Galvanized_Coating_Appearance.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwi4xsy_45vpAhXDZs0KHfSXAmcQFjADegQIBxAB&usg=AOvVaw0wgwaqYYgCGJSuVaKVa8is&cshid=1588649225545


How do I clean paint and glue from bluestone? I have Bluestone interior floors in new construction. Ready to finish but slight paint overspray and several glue spots. Is there a problem using a diluted muriatic acid to clean?

Muriatic could be a bit harsh, causing a 'bleached' spot. Many natural stones are sensitive to acids, most being alkaline (from types of limestone).

A "citrus" paint stripper could be less harsh, but it is acidic, also.

I would use ammonia and a soft nylon hand brush, alternating after rinses with a mild detergent.


How to connect a neutral wire to a bundle? I'd like to replace an existing light switch with a new, "smart" light switch as one of three switches in a three-gang box.

Looking in the box, I see three pairs of hot and load wires, and three ground wires, but there is also a bundle of five neutral wires pigtailed together.

I don't understand why there are so many neutral wires, or how I'm supposed to attach the neutral terminus of my switch to this bundle. Do I simply remove one of the five from the pigtail and connect it to the switches' terminus, or do I get a brand new (6th) wire, attach one end to the terminus, and pigtail the other end to the bundle?

I'm in Canada, for what it's worth.

Easy.  You have five cables coming into the box

supply from upstream
onward supply to other downstream loads.
switched load to device 1
switched load to device 2
switches load to device 3

Each load line has a switched hot and a neutral.  I would mark the switched hots with colored tape, red, blue, yellow etc.
The switches each connect to an always-hot and a switched-hot. Sometimes installers do clever things to daisy-chain the switches, so there aren't 3 always-hots coming from the switches.
So I would expect 5 always-hots nutted together: supply, onward, and 3 switches.
And 5 neutrals nutted together: supply, onward, and 3 loads.
And of course each switch nutted to a switched-hot, if they have pigtails and are not connected directly.
Now with 3 smart switches, you'll have as many as 8 neutrals.  That's too much for a wire nut, especially since smart switches tend to have pigtailed wires smaller than the other wires.
I would get a 6" length of white wire (only white or gray will do) and make a pigtail fo break up that fat wire nut, e.g. Put both supplies, the pigtail, and a couple loads under one large wire nut, then put the other end of the pigtail, remaining loads, and smart switches under another wire nut.
If the wire nuts are >10 years old, replace them.  The new ones are much better.


How can I fill in a large hole in a granite kitchen countertop? This isn't your regular faucet-change hole or a minor cavity - it's a really large hole someone made in this granite counter top. I'm renting this flat so replacing the whole counter is not an option. On the other hand I don't care if the fix is a bit ugly.

The hole's dimensions are 3.14" x 5.11" (photo attached)

I was thinking about sealing it from the bottom and then filling it up with some kind of epoxy or molten plastic.

Any ideas for what kind of material would be appropriate ?
Thanks

The stains near the hole seem to suggest that someone had something like a coffee machine installed in this position that was plumbed for water (and maybe a small drain line) through the cabinet below.

You could consider the possibility to place an appliance over the hole if the location and layout of your counter top was conducive to that.

As far as patching it up.....since you are renting it is just as problematic to patch something like this as it would be going about replacing a counter top. In any case I suggest that you talk to the landlord before doing anything. They may have some ideas that would be suitable to their view of the property. Certainly it puts the landlord on notice that the hole exists and that it was not caused by you when you eventually move away.

From a purely functional standpoint the best patch would probably be an attempt to find another piece of stone with a similar color pattern and cut out a figure 8 shaped piece to fit in the hole then bond it in place from below with another larger support piece that spans across the opening.


refrigerator not cooling I have a GE side by side and the freezer is working fine, but the refrigerator is not cooling (not hot kind og like room temperature). I replaced the relay switch how long before I know if that was the issue.

First off, understand how a refrigerator moves cold air around between the freezer compartment and the cold food compartments. Here is a generic diagram.

So make sure you have not stored something in a way that is blocking the airflow. If not, then find and inspect those air pathways to see if there is ice, mold or some other material built up and blocking it. I have had a small piece of cellophane from something get caught in the vent and cause this.

If that's not it, roll the fridge out and vacuum the dust off of the evaporator coils. Diminished capacity will allow the cooling to handle the freezer, but not much else, so the temperature controls will often prioritize the freezer.


Applying stopping compound on plywood I'm in the process of building the storage area under the stair case. Since I'm already having 15 sheets of 18mm full size plywood each 4'×8' in size, I'm framing the entire project using only this material. Only the door rail and it's suspension race are of the aluminium.

Since I want to have wall-like finish with all screws are invisible, I'm thinking if it is possible to skim the plywood surface with stopping compound.

Is this a good idea? Will it stick or flake off after sometime? I'm living in Malaysia and here the climate is constant thru the year. Thus wood expansion and contraction will not be the problem.

Yes, you can skim coat the plywood.  Use an oil based primer first, then instead of topping compound use setting type compound aka "hot mud", the type of compound that uses plaster of paris.  This type of mud is stronger and adheres better than premixed topping compound.  You will mix it a bit watery, like thick paint, and can put it on with a roller, then use a squeegee to level it off.  I did this over wooden paneling, and it worked pretty well.  It will probably take a couple of coats to level out everything, especially at the joints.


So Cal garage conversion: Proper way to level floor I own a tract house built in southern california built in 1995. There was a builder option to have a 3 car garage (standard 2 car with tandem garage) or a super family room where the extension creating the tandem garage is used as part of the family room instead of garage. My house currently has the 3 car garage and I would like to convert it to the super family room. I pulled the original building plans (which are terrible quality) but I can tell that the current wall separating the tandem garage from the house is not load bearing. I feel like this should be a fairly straight forward conversion but after talking to drafting professionals and contractors they seem to make it out to be a much larger job and have left me with a couple specific questions:

The current garage floor slopes from back to front (as expected) 1 3/4 inches to 4 inches. I am wondering what the proper way to level this flooring is so I can conform with building codes?

Does this require a structural engineer (as has been suggested by a couple drafting professionals)? I thought it would just require additional concrete with some bonding agent...

(Updated 5/18/18) I had one architect+engineer tell me that the city is going to require the slab be replaced because it was not constructed with a moisture/vapor barrier under it. Does this sound right to anyone?

Another suggestion made by someone who used to be in construction was to use 2x4's on their side to frame out a floor and shim up to level. Thought I would throw that out there as a possible suggestion and see what people think.

Here are some images so you can get a better idea of the space and slope:

I would check Cali codes, but here in WA you can do all of those things you asked about without a permit. It would be considered a remodel and only certain things like some electrical work would require a permit. I personally would frame in the garage door area and use the self leveling product you can buy from the local home improvement store that mixes with water. Works well on concrete. I have used it to level and seal over my old basement floor that consisted of thin asbestos tiles over concrete. Have you talked to a local contractor? Ask friends/family for a trusted remodel contractor that will give you an honest assessment would be advice before doing anything.


Can you power LED strips from both ends? I want to get 2 of these 500W power supplies

I have several 5 metre reels of these 5050 LED strips (60 LED/m)

Calculations show 1A per metre = 12 watt per metre so about 60 watts every reel.

I was thinking of hooking up the LED strips like this, will it work?

Your plan is workable.  However, it relies too much on the internal "power bus" running the length of the strip.  The absolute max for using the internal power bus is 10 metres, but that's a bad idea because you will see quite noticeable dimming, and if the strips are not made perfect, they will fail.  What's more, if one of your power supplies fails, you will be driving 5 strips (25m) of load through that internal power bus, and that will fry them for sure.

I recommend you run "feeder wire" and tie it into the strip buses as many places as possible.  The more places, the less dimming; and yes, it's totally fine to feed the strip from many places.

I take it these are monochrome LEDs and you aren't controlling or dimming them.  In that case, yes, you can 2-wire power them, but it's even more important you use feeder, as the power-bus traces on 5050 strips are even smaller, particularly the common.  If you wanted to dim/color-control them, you'd need amplifiers and would want to segment it so 2 amplifiers are not in parallel.

There is nothing wrong with having two DC power supplies in parallel feeding the bus.  DC can be inter-mixed like this, provided they are the same voltage (otherwise the higher voltage supply will do most of the work).  If the DC is "dirty" the power supplies might interact, but that can be solved by putting a diode between each supply and LEDs.

You are right to use 2x500W power supplies; those cheapie "fell off a truck in Shenzhen" products such as you linked should be derated at least 2x.   With 60-per-metre LED strips I assume 400mA per channel per metre, so 1.2A per metre for 5050s, and 6A per 5m.

Another way to deal with the voltage drop is use 24V (yes you read right) strips. They are harder to find and more expensive.


Is this insulation supposed to be there? I was adding some insulation foam into our fireplace as a way of stopping drafts from the chimney. It's obvious that it's installed so we won't ever have it there when a fire is lit (we have not yet used the fireplace since buying the house, though we have had it inspected and swept).

However, when installing it, I discovered that between the fireplace facia and fireplace itself around the edge of the opening into our lounge is stuffed some fibreglass insulation. It looked from what I could see that it was somewhat loose and I wondered if it too should be removed before lighting a fire in that fireplace? I can't be sure but I could see that it would certainly get very hot there and may even come into contact with the flames. Is this normal or should I remove this insulation?

This is sometimes rock wool insulation. Even if not, fiberglass insulation is non-flammable, as long as no vapor barrier is used with it.

Installation of fireplace doors and fireplace inserts usually includes such insulation.


Why did the water pressure in my bathtub change but shower is fine? First, to describe my tub/shower it is a one handle, one spout type setup where you pull up on the knob to direct the water flow to the shower (typical setup).

Recently I noticed that when I go to fill my bathtub the water pressure is significantly less than it used to be and it takes much longer to fill the tub.  The hot water is also not as hot as it used to be when I turn it completely to the hot side.  However, the shower does not seem to lack in hot water (it feels like it gets hotter than the bathtub) and the water pressure does not seem to have changed either.  Granted the shower always had excellent water pressure so I am not sure if it just went from really strong to just strong.

About a year ago I replaced the spout because the knob to direct the water to the shower wasn't working (when I moved into the house).  Also, I don't think there is a leak because I have gone to the meter when I did not have any water running and it did not move.

I am not really sure where to even start here, any ideas?

Your water temperature went down.   As a result, you are using much less cold water when you mix it to preferred temp.  With less cold, total flow is reduced.   The shower doesn't care because it was already restricted below that flow level, so nothing changes for it.


Central air conditioning system isn't working Ok, so I have done all the research I can and nothing is working. About 3 weeks ago my A/C was running fine nice and cold no issues. Came home to a house that was 97 degrees inside and started immediatly looking at stuff and calling friends.

The next day I went outside and the box that connects the A/C unit and inside wires was missing its breaker panel thingy. I replaced the whole box with a GE one that says it can use fuses or not use them model number TF60RCP (Home Depot). I triple checked to make sure it was wired correctly and it is. I flipped every single breaker on and off. The A/C breaker shuts off whatever makes noise in my basement, but the outside system makes no noise at all period and the fan does not spin period.

The batteries in my thermostat are fine.. but I read that if I switch the thermostat to off between heat and cold then switch the other switch from auto to run... and the thing that makes a blowing noise in my basements comes on then maybe my thermostat is bad. I took my thermostat off and it has a black switch on it that says (gas or electric) Tried switching that switch and still nothing. Can someone please help me! :(

If you can verify that there is power to the condensing unit (outside unit) then you have done all most homeowners can do.

The fan on your furnace (the thing in the basement) will come on any time the A/C is turned on. The outside unit has many safety and will not come on if any of those are not on. For instance, if your system has lost refrigerant over the years and the pressure drops below a certain point if will not come on.

Troubleshooting beyond getting power to the unit is probably something for a professional HVAC technician. Call a reputable one and make sure they give you an estimate of the charges before running up a bill.

Good luck!


Duct tape on my range cord? Recently I discovered that my three prong cord for my seven-year-old range has duct tape neatly wrapped around it for about 2 inches. Is this hazardous?

Replacement cords are very inexpensive and should be available at most hardware stores or home improvement chains.  If you're uncomfortable wiring one onto your range's back panel, ask a friend (:-) -- obviously one who's experienced w/ wiring) to do it.


Calculating total energy savings for LED lighting I'm redoing all the electrical in my entire house, and I was running some numbers just for fun on the energy efficiency gains by just having LED, vs incandescent bulbs. I know the basic LEDs use much less power for the same number of lumens, but I noticed that almost no one takes in to account the lower cooling costs. So I ran some quick numbers and wanted to make sure my math was correct.

I'm in a hot climate so that's why I'm interested in the numbers for cooling.

Say my baseline is 1000 watts of incandescent. I move to LED lighting and we'll say the LED lighting uses only 15% of the energy for the same lumens. So now I'm at 150 watts. So I saved 850 watts of heat, and from reading online comes out to ~3.4 BTUs/watt, so I should have saved ~2,890 BTUs which is close to a 1/4 of a ton of cooling capacity that I saved. Assuming I have a SEER 16 AC I saved roughly another ~180 watts in cooling as well.

So it would appear that the total energy savings would be roughly 850+180=1030 watts.

I realize the actual energy usage has many more variables, but I just wanted to make sure that my calculations for cooling energy requirements were generally correct, and that I wasn't missing anything major.

That is fundamentally correct for the time the lights are on, yes. It will depend on the specific LEDs and ballasts chosen (the ballast may or may not be part of the fixture, and some cheesy outfits try to give the lumens per watt INTO the LED itself, ignoring the watts wasted in the ballast converting from AC to DC.)

@Tester101's "wire heating" strawman (in comment) would still be affected in the desirable direction (less amperage draw for same light = less wire heating), and is insignificant for any properly sized and constructed wiring regardless of light fixture choice.

Lumens per watt of LED fixtures vary widely, still, and there are definitely still fixtures for sale which seem to be built on the belief that buyers will see "LED" and think "very efficient" without actually delivering good efficiency (inefficient LEDs presumably being cheaper than efficient ones).


Two hot wires feeding a gfci installed ten years ago just started popping? Replaced gfi figured out a bigger issue I have two hot wires both supplying power to a single Gfci located in a bathroom.  It is only two white two black and two neutral.

Only after investigating through a shock did I learn that it was powered by two separate breakers. I have found people speak about a red wire, but I do not have that. I thought it would be a simple 20 amp gfci to another new 20 amp Gfci.

Now it either trips one way immediately or other way does nothing by swapping load and line back and forth. I have to see what I lose by leaving off one set but did not know if there was something I'm missing that was ok 10 years ago and not now.

It is a trailer built in 1978 but gfci was installed 10 years ago after electrical fire in kitchen. All help would be greatly appreciated.

NEVER "just try random things"

Why not? Think about it.  You are trying things until when?  Until it works. The problem is, there are lots of combinations that will work that will kill you.

No. Only do things based on knowledge and understanding.  If you don't have enough, get more - either by reading more about electricity, or doing more testing, as needed.

The first rule of hooking up GFCIs

Hook up the LINE terminals ONLY.  Fully test.  When perfect, then hook up LOAD.   And if hooking up LOAD results in a trip, then you know LINE is correct and so you know your problem is on the LOAD side.

The second rule of GFCIs is "Never use LOAD unless you know exactly what you're doing." Instead, pigtail all wires to LINE, or double-tap LINE if the GFCI supports it (most do).  Most people have no earthly idea what LOAD actually does... They just know they have 2 extra wires, and look! Two extra screws under that warning tape I didn't read.  Most GFCI trouble comes from people using LOAD thoughtlessly or by default.

Your particular situation

First, the thing about the red wire applies to circuits that are not like yours.  Don't worry about that.

Yours is likely to be an "accidental ring circuit" (rings are a UK thing, not allowed anywhere else), where your circuit travels a big loop from the breaker through the house and back to the breaker, but in this case it's another breaker.  This was a wiring mistake. Wiring layouts are supposed to be "tree style" and never loop back on each other.

If you are able to map this "ring", look for an appropriate place to break it, so it is once again two circuits.  There may be an obvious place to do that once you get into it.  You are likely to uncover an obvious wiring mistake, which you can then just fix. Or maybe  two receptacles side by side in a double box (4 sockets) - wouldn't it be nice if they were served by separate circuits?  Anyway, you break it there - take one hot-neutral pair and cap them off.

While you're doing this, be on the lookout for separation of hot and neutral.  Neutrals must stay with their partner hot, and not cross over to the hots and neutrals of other circuits.  That is because neutrals don't have fuses even though they can burn up just like any other wire!  Their protection depends on being fed only by their partner hot.  If you see anyplace the neutral isn't with the hot, get rid of it.  It's unsafe by itself, and also won't feed properly off LOAD on a GFCI.


Grounding for Outdoor Outlet I have an outdoor outlet about 60' from my house.  It is properly wired using an underground cable with ground.  It is in a plastic box with plastic conduit protecting the stub-up.  Recently a tree near by it was hit by lightning and one of the paths to ground was back into the house, which did a lot of damage.  I have since replaced the ground fault outlet, which was destroyed by the lightning.

My question is whether it would be beneficial or not to drive a grounding rod at the outlet and tie the outlet to both the ground wire from the house and the local ground rod.

Is it practical?  I guess the question is, "does lightning strike twice?"

One problem is with near misses.  Lightning has so much voltage at biblical amperage, that it creates a voltage gradient across the ground.  Earth at your remote outlet could be 20,000 volts hotter than your house.  This is what kills animals; the voltage on their front feet is different enough than their back feet that a lethal current can flow through their chest.

Without a ground rod, you hope the PVC and THWN insulation is strong enough to survive a 20,000V differential.   With a ground rod, you remove all doubt - you are grounding both ends of the ground wire.  That means the ground wire will be participating in this voltage gradient (helping to arrest it also). This has the risk of burning out the ground wire and having this voltage arc internally to the hot and neutral.

So lightning is such a slippery customer that it's hard for me to call it "definitely good".  There are outlier conditions in which it could make things worse, as I described. But it's the way to bet IMO.

Of course, since it's not a mandatory ground rod, it doesn't need to meet standards for mandatory ground rods like the 25 ohm impedance test.


What kind of window/glass is this? I'm wondering what kind of glass this window is made of.
Is this a "strong" window like laminate?
Finally, is it safe to apply a film such as tint or "security film"?

Regular glass
Not laminate or tempered
Yes, you can apply films to it


Replacing bathroom exhaust fan without ground I'm replacing a bathroom exhaust fan. The previous fan is probably about 30 years old and was not grounded. In fact, the wiring in the bathroom does not have ground. The fan will be mounted to a steel stud in the ceiling. Are steel studs grounded or do I need to worry about the stud potentially holding a charge?

The bathroom is in a steel frame high-rise, if that matters.

If you choose a class-II (double-insulated) fan you won't need to add the ground wire.


Should lights on a three-way circuit connect to the switch with the power cable attached? I want to install 3 way wiring for recessed lights in living room.  After some google search, I found 2 options (look at pictures) for my situation to do it. In first one, LINE and LOAD is at same switch. In second one, LINE and LOAD at different switch. Can someone tell me if there is any standard or best practices for this?  Which option should I choose ?

There are several ways to connect 3 way switches.  I always prefer the 2nd method you posted. There is no "code taping" needed, since all the wires are already the correct color.   The 2nd method is so simple and straightforward:  Power in to one switch, x/3 to the next switch then to the fixtures.   Sometimes it's not practical due to length of runs (takes too much wire), but I'll do it that way every time if possible.


How to remove roller shade? The side without the bead chain on my roller shade looks like this:

How do I remove it? Google says to stick a flathead screwdriver into the tab between the bracket and to pull down on the bar, but it doesn't budge and I don't want to break anything;

Here is the picture of the other side with the bead string - the reason I want to take it down is so that I can reattach the bead string

Thanks for great photos. Try putting the flat blade of the screwdriver between the metal of the end of the shade and the plastic bracket and gently pry the bracket away from the shade.


How do hardwood flooring expansion gaps work? I know that when you install hardwood flooring, you need to leave a small expansion gap along the walls. I understand that this is to allow the wood some space to move when the wood expands due to humidity and temperature fluctuations.

My question is why the expansion gap works, especially with floors that are nailed or stapled to the subfloor. If each board is nailed down, how is an expansion gap along the edges of the room going to help when the wood expands? Wouldn't each board just collide into the ones alongside it?

Plus, even if you have a floating floor where most of the boards are not nailed down, the ones along the edge of the room typically would be nailed...so wouldn't they be immobile and prevent any movement into the expansion gaps?

It's more accurate to say that the wood fibers swell rather than the wood moves. A board which is nailed down will still swell and contract around the nails, generally leading to a larger hole and squeaky floor. The nails hold the floor down and prevent gross movements, such as the floorboards sliding around underfoot.

Another key point to grasp is that boards swell along the growth rings in an amount proportional to their size. For practical purposes that means they really only have noticeable changes in width and it's a couple of percent of the width of the board. Adding an extra 1/64" to any individual board isn't a big deal, but it can add up across a lot of boards.

The gap is really about averting disaster. You're a board soaking up humidity. The tongue and groove joint gets a bit tighter, taking up some of the slack. Nail holes enlarge or nails bend slightly as you shove your neighbor aside an imperceptible amount. The floor remains flat and all is well, unless you're tight against the wall to begin with. In that case boards swell, and they press on their neighbors. They can't move sideways or down, so they go up. Boards cup, edges rise, the floor is warped.


Which is more effective in a 3.5" stud bay--"R13" or "R19" batt insulation? I have extra R19 insulation batts (designed for a 2x6 bay)--should I use them in a 3.5" stud cavity, or does compressing them that much make them less effective than R13 batts in the same space?

R-13, will be. When R-19 is cramped in the same space, it is still R-13. R-19 will be a waste of money.

Use spray foam in the bays to achieve R-19.

Use your extra R-19 in the attic if possible, pull the paper off and layer it over the other insulation, if you have access.


How to effectively fire a contractor and avoid liens or other legal issues There may come a time despite all the research, when you realize the contractor you hired just isn't up to snuff. what is the best way to fire them and avoid liens or legal battles?

Is this something that should be discussed while creating the contract, or is it just a down side of working with bad contractors?

If you're concerned perhaps you could draw up a fairly tight contract which included quality metrics and a schedule of work.

Then if things aren't up to standard you could terminate due to breach of contract.

The big drawback with this is getting someone to sign up to such a document in the first place.


Need to fix the grading of my backyard: remove the sod or turn it over? I want to fix the grading of my backyard. I think that I have two options: a) remove the sod, grade the soil and put the sod back AND b) use a rototiller (rent it from HomeDepot) and turn the old sod over

I would like to go with b) because:
-the existing sod is poor quality
-there is less work involved to remove and put back
-I understand that using a rototiller will also help me to aerate the soil, make it easier to be graded

To get my lawn back I can either buy sod or seed and wait for the grass to grow back. This should be easy with the wet summer that we are in for here in To.

Any pros and cons ?

And here is a soil level picture

I have not had a good experience with tilling an existing lawn. The existing grass does not get shredded completely but will form lumps that make for an uneven surface. Depending on how much top soil you have, you may bring out a lot of sand and rocks. Even a small electric tiller can go as deep as 6-8 inches. If your top soil is not at least 12 inches, it will be a long and labor-intensive process to get back your lawn without spreading additional screened loam.

What a landscaper will do with a bobcat (as I have just observed in my neighbor's yard) is

scrape off the sod and discard
try to salvage as much loam as possible and dump it on a pile that is out of the way
grade the land as desired
re-spread the loam, and add new loam if needed
reseed


Calculating Battery Size for 2 Channel NVR Security Camera System I need to install a security camera system on a United States 110v power circuit that is only on a night. The circuit is using an astronomical clock to turn on power and more accurately measure the amount of sunlight in a day before turning on the night power, compared to just having a timer on the circuit.

I need to install a PoE NVR with a 2 terabyte HDD, and two PoE cameras on this 110v circuit. The cameras will run during the day only, no night time operation. I want to charge the battery during the night while 110v power is on and have the cameras power off the battery during the day.

I have selected an AGM sealed 100ah 12v battery, a 12v 5amp battery charger (to ensure the battery gets fully charged during the night when there is power) and a 400w inverter. I do not need 400w at all, I only need roughly a 100w inverter but I do not believe a higher watt inverter consumes more power just because it is capable of a high watt output, it is just the devices plugged into the inverter that consume power, so the 400w inverter in fine and not very expensive. It has the battery connectors that I want is why I choose it.

An NVR with HDD can consume a range between 40watts and 200watts from what I have read online. Since I only have 2 cameras I believe I will be in the 40w to 60w range for my NVR. And remember, I will only be recording during the day, no nighttime recording, no night vision usage of the PoE cameras, the cameras will consume around 4w each.

So I am calculating a 70w consumption average of my PoE NVR and 2 PoE camera system.

By my calculations, a 12v 100ah battery will provide 1200 watt hours of power. To maintain good battery health of an AGM sealed deep cycle battery I want to keep the depth of discharge to 80%.

1200 watt hours * .8 = 960 watt hours.

If I am consuming 70w than that means I should get roughly 13 hours from the battery, 960/70 = 13.7 hours.

I am debating on whether I need a larger battery or not and also if my battery charger will be sufficient to recharge during the night, particularly in the peak of summer when you have the longest days and shortest nights.

For the battery size, I am concerned about the broad range between 40watts and 200watts NVR power consumption. With the battery charger I am concerned about the 80ah that will need charged back with a 5amp battery charger during the night. It will take 16 hours to recharge an 80% drained 12v 100ah battery with this 12v 5amp battery charger.

Any insight into where my calculations might be wrong would be greatly appreciated.

Battery Size
I would want a battery sized, as already suggested by others, roughly 2x your total expected daily output (based on summer days = more usage). That would keep you to 50% discharge on the shortest nights (but remember, you have a couple of months of those in a row) and less on the longest nights (all confusing because this is the exact reverse of the typical "charge with solar in the day and discharge at night"). In other words, calculate your total usage, multiply by the number of hours of the longest day (i.e., longest discharge time) and then double it. That is your battery size requirement. Let's say (for simplicity) it is 70W x 16 hours = 1,120 Wh x 2 = 2,240 Wh. 2,240/12 = 187 Amp-hours. So using your 100 Amp-hour 12V batteries, I would go with 2 of them.
Make sure the batteries can handle the cycles - you are talking about a significant (~ 50%) cycle EVERY DAY. Some battery chemistries can handle that a lot better than others.
Charger Size
Get a MUCH bigger battery charger. 12V 5A = 60W - that is roughly the same as your discharge rate, so at best on a 12/12 (spring/fall) day you would be breakeven. I'd want to charge at least 2x the expected discharge rate to have a fighting chance for long nights and other factors. Obviously the batteries have to be able to handle it, but if your batteries can support it then I would look for a charger that, at peak, charges on the order of 140W for your 70W usage.
AC/DC
Why convert from DC to AC if your equipment (a) can't ever use AC directly because the AC isn't available during the time you need power (which is also quite unusual) and (b) your equipment is all electronics that generally run on DC anyway. You may need some sort of regulator (perhaps as simple as a "car cigarette lighter power adapter") to use 12V DC, but that will avoid the losses of DC->AC->DC conversion, which will further reduce power usage.


How can I get my lawnmower bolt off? I have a Ryobi electric lawnmower, and I want to get the blade sharpened for the first time. I have a 15mm ratchet wrench, just like the instructions say, and I'm immobilizing the blade with a brick.

But no matter how hard I turn, the bolt just doesn't budge at all. I called Ryobi support, and they said the only other thing to try was spraying the bolt with WD-40. I assume the bolt is so tight because it hasn't been touched since being assembled at the factory.

I did that, let the WD-40 sit for a half hour, and tried again. The bolt still won't budge at all. What are my other options? I don't own an impact wrench.

Allowing for the inherent mechanical weaknesses of a ratchet wrench and the limited lever arm provided by such a short handle, consider to purchase or borrow a 15 mm box end wrench. The handle may not be much longer than the ratchet wrench, but will more safely accept a lever extension.

A strong steel pipe of a meter length or better, with an inside diameter to accept the box end wrench will give you an incredible lever arm.

If you are confident that you are turning the bolt in the correct direction and that it is designed to be removed in this manner, you are likely to free it up easily. If not, it's also possible to snap the head right off, or worse, break something internally.

Your local mower shop may also accept the mower and have the necessary tools to pull the blade. You may have to pay a bit more for the first time, but it's also likely it won't be as difficult to remove the next time.


How to fix a chipped door frame I knocked a small cabinet over after waking up in the middle of the night and it fell and hit my door frame, chipping it. As this is a rental I need to fix it, although I have very little diy experience so an easy method would be great

OK, get a sanding block and sand that area smooth. Concentrate on the ridges and smooth them out. Then get some vinyl spackle and fill in the grooves. You could also use joint compound if you have some handy.Smooth it out and try to match the paint and paint the section. The landlord might even have touch up paint.


How to prepare driveway for a pour in a narrow space? I'm planning to make a concrete driveway by myself but planning to call a concrete truck for a pour.
Problem is that my driveway is narrow and there is a hill on the right side. So the truck can't just go along the driveway from that side. The houses are built in a staircase style going down in a slight decline.

In my mind, the only possible way the truck can go is from the end to the front. My worry is that he will need to go over the bar reinforcement. I worry this will damage the rebar spacing.

How is this type of concrete pouring done normally if this is the only way for the truck to go?
Will I need to put the rebars in as the truck moves?

What is the minimum width of the concrete driveway in Ohio anyway?

I would use wire mesh on the driveway.  The truck will be able to run over it no problem and then you pull it up before finishing.


Insulate rigid rectangular duct The problem

My vented attic in Virginia has a straight 28ft of 12" x 8" rigid rectangular trunk duct with seven 6" branches. The insulation is quite low around R-4, and also has many tears and rips, and the ducts need to be air sealed. I would like to replace the insulation with R-8.

After reinsulating all ducts to R8, I plan to bury them in blown cellulose insulation, based on the report Compact Buried Ducts in a
Hot-Humid Climate House.

This question is related to a previous question.

Standard solutions

From what I've read, there are two standard solutions recommended. The first is to wrap the duct in something like Owens Corning SOFTR Duct Wrap FRK, but it can only be purchased from HVAC supply houses that usually don't sell direct to homeowners. They also sell only in 50 ft rolls for 3" R-8, and for 2016 run around $100 a roll. Wrapping the ducts would entail disconnecting all the branch lines, air sealing with mastic, lifting the duct up to pull the insulation underneath, cutting holes for all the branch starting collars, then sealing the seams with UL181 foil tape. Lifting the duct and cutting the holes just right I feel would be rather difficult.

The second solution is to encase the ducts in 2-part spray foam. This has the advantage of air sealing and doesn't require a thick layer, but it is very expensive even if done yourself, requires special safety precautions, and it would be very difficult to seal the bottom of the ducts. At around $1 per board foot (1 sq ft 1 in thick, about R6), this would require about 150 bd ft, and DIY kits come in 200 bd ft for about $300.

Proposed solution

Surround the ducts with 1.5" (R-9.6) polyisocyanurate rigid foam insulation board. These run about $30 for a 4x8ft board, and only four would be needed for my installation with very little waste. As the duct is all the same dimensions and straight, the cuts would be very simple and could be done outside the attic. The seams would be sealed with UL181 foil tape, perhaps with some caulk or construction adhesive where the boards overlap at the corners. If needed the foam board could be cut to fit around the starting collars without even taking off the branch ducts. Near the plenum where it might be difficult to lift the duct, the foam board could be cut to fit between the joists, with simple spray foam or caulk sealing where it meets the joists.

Questions

Fiberglass duct wrap would be pressed right against the duct, but the foam would leave a slight and variable gap. Is there any problem with this? I suppose there could be some convection, but if the ducts are sealed and the insulation is sealed, how could this be a problem?

Are there any problems with my proposed solution?

Your plan to use polyiso foam board will work, but you must be absolutely sure to perfectly air-seal the insulation so that humid summer air cannot reach the cold metal duct surface. The only advantage of the spray foam approach is that it's easier to get this air seal. But you can get it with foam board using canned foam, tape, and caulk, it's just harder.


Air conditioning on a shoestring budget Without purchasing expensive air-con units, or solar panels - and the associated moutings and electrical paraphernalia, is it possible to create a temperature difference of 10-20 °C using materials one can purchase for less than $1000?

Say you have a glass-roofed courtyard (or conservatory of some kind) and the average outside air temperature in summer is between 30-40 °C. With direct sunlight on the glass roof the internal air temperature could easily reach 50-60 °C. Not a very comfortable environment - I'm sure you'll agree.

I would like to design and build some relatively inexpensive system to maintain the internal air temperature to around 25 °C. With the desert-like conditions outside, there is certainly plenty of solar energy available. In fact, before I buried it, water in the black hosepipe that supplied the shower used to reach scoldingly-hot temperatures (say about 70 °C for example.)

I envisage the solution might involve some arrangement of black water-filled pipes, two sealed reservoirs at different heights, a heat pump, a generator and...??? To be honest I really don't have a clue how I could set this up so as to create the desired temperature difference.

It may also be helpful to note that near the building there is an escarpment with a steep drop of about 20m. I've heard that storing energy by pumping water to a greater height is particularly efficient. I doubt however that the same could be said about a cheap turbine/generator used to generate electrical power as the water descends.

If the most efficient/inexpensive solution happened to involve generating a surplus of electrical power - then this could be utilised in the house and would certainly be an advantage.

(Perhaps I should explain - my parents are planning to retire to their small holiday-home in Sicily next year. I'm hoping to build a temperature-controlled courtyard for them as a surprise retirement gift. Also, a water feature incorporating laminal valve jets of water and a Tesla fountain!)

Several thoughts, which could be used alone or in any combination:

1.) Have you thought of so-called "swamp coolers" (evaporative coolers)?

These devices work on the principle of evaporative cooling.  There are 2 basic types: Direct cooling and indirect cooling.  The direct cooling units are VERY simple and easy, but may result in air that is too humid to be comfortable (even though it is much cooler).  The indirect is more expensive and hard (but not nearly as expensive as conventional AC), and results in drier air.  Some systems use both methods: pre-cool the air via the indirect method, then run the cooled air through a direct cooler.  The result is cooler and drier air than either method alone.  All methods work best with very dry air (which it appears you have).

DIRECT method: Dry outside (or even inside) air is drawn through a wet screen or filter.  The cooled, moist air is pumped directly inside.  This method can be as simple as throwing a wet towel over a fan.

INDIRECT method: Dry outside air runs through a wet screen or filter, to get cooled, and then across a heat exchanger which.  The dry air picks up moisture which cools the unit.  Inside air blown into the opposite chamber of the heat exchanger is cooled, but picks up no moisture.  Even this relatively complicated method is easier and very much cheaper to build (and operate) than an AC unit.

2.) The simplest way to keep things cool is to deny the sun entrance.

I had a home with a large skylight  in the kitchen.  Because I lived in a very temperate part of the northwestern U.S., I had no AC.  In the summer I would block off the skylight totally with a very light custom-cut board lined with aluminum foil; then take it down in the fall.  It made a huge difference (probably 5C in the kitchen).

You could do something similar, using greenhouse shade cloth, chimney flashing, or many other items that run the gamut of the aesthetics/functionality tradeoff.

3.)  Venting the hottest air (from the top) and replacing it with cooler air will help; or you could leave that air alone and recirc the cooler lower air, to make it even cooler.  In either case, forcing the air through deeply buried pipes would cool it.

The temperature of the earth, almost anywhere on Earth you would want to live, is roughly in the neighborhood of 50F (10C).  You just have to dig down deep enough to access that temperature.  All the desert critters know this: that is why they stay underground during the day.  Even if you only want to go down two meters, you should be able to access constant temperatures of lower than 15C.  Then you bury some pipes and force the air through them.  The air heats the dirt, but that dirt is cooled by the surrounding dirt.  Basically you are using mother earth as a heat sink.


Need to attach deck ledger to house covering a vent I am building a deck attached to the house, and on one side I will need to have the ledger covering a section of wall that has a crawlspace vent cover. If I have a big enough gap between the ledger and the siding (maybe bigger than what you would normally do -- make it closer to 3/4" perhaps?) would that be enough space to let air escape through the vent? Or is there some other way to make sure I don't block off the ventilation?

I would leave a gap in the ledger where the vent is, then cover that gap with a shorter piece of ledger board that overlaps, and is lag screwed to, the main ledger.  This will give your crawlspace vent 1 1/2" of breathing room, which should be fine for letting your crawlspace breathe.


Leak check mini split AC I am finishing up a 6 zone mini split DIY installation and before closing up some of the walls I would like to do some leak checks.  My set up is that from the condenser it splits into 2 branch boxes and from there on to 3 evaporators each. I would like to check before I call out the HVAC to charge with the few ounces of r410a I need.  I don’t want to hold them up with doing the triple check and was hoping to test it myself. I am willing buy the parts but finding hydrogen in a small amount.  Any idea to help me get the pressure leak test done.

This is really for licensed people, the system needs to be evacuated prior to charging.
If you have the correct adapters you could pressurize the system to 120 psi with nitrogen (don’t use air it is dirty and wet) let the system sit for 15 minutes to see if you loose pressure this is a gross leak test and can identify larger leaks.
The hvac guys will need to pull a vacuum on the system to remove the air (non compressible in hvac terms)  and any moisture , they will usually do a leak back check no change in pressure then charge the system and checks for leaks with a detector.
We use nitrogen for leak checking because it is clean and dry. Using air from your home compressor can contaminate the line set with moisture and possibly compressor oil. Other than this if you have a vacuum pump you could pull a vacuum on the system , EPA recommends a base pressure below 500 microns of vacuum I like keeping a new system at high vac for several hours or even overnight to fully remove any moisture. Anything beyond this would require a licensed technician in most countries. In the US fines up to $25,000.00 For unlicensed person charging a system, the compressor has the charge opening that valve and allowing Freon to fill the line set is charging the system.
So to stay safe don’t go any further than a pressure / vacuum leak test on your line set.


Proper size of header to support new door in load bearing wall? We're going to install a new linen closet off the hallway next to our recently(ish) remodeled bathroom.  The wall in question is load bearing.

I know how to properly build out the King and Jack studs, and if this weren't load bearing I'd just put in cripple studs, but since this is load bearing I figure on installing sistered 2x? over the doorway resting on doubled up jack studs.  The only question I have is - 2 by WHAT?

It's a 30" door if I recall correctly (it's reclaimed from another part of the house and I haven't measured it lately) so I'm thinking sistered 2x12's will be MORE than sufficient.

International Residential Code 2012
Chapter 6 Wall Construction
Section R602 Wood Wall Framing
R602.7 Headers. For header spans see Tables R502.5(1) and R502.5(2).

So if you're on the top floor, you can use 2 2x4's (unless the building is 36' wide, in which case you'll need 2 2x6's). If you have a floor above, you'll need 2 2x6's (unless the building is 36' wide, in which case you'll need 2 2x8's).


What nails to use for PT wood? I'm re-framing my first floor and using PT wood everywhere where there is a possibility of area being flooded.

PT wood is your typical 2x4(s) from Home Depot MCA - micronized copper azole chemicals.

I guess I've never realized that PT lumber is corrosive. Which collated nails should I use in my framing gun? Stainless?

In general, the codes require fasteners to be of hot-dipped, zinc-coated galvanized steel in accordance with ASTM A153, type 304 or 316 stainless steel, silicon bronze or copper.  [source]

FWIW, everything you ever wanted to know about pressure treated wood here.


Where can I find legitimate wood shed designs? Where is a good place to find good shed designs?

Googling around just gives me a bunch of poorly designed websites that scam people into their site by advertising free designs and charging for them. If they need to advertise like that, I can't assume their plans are that great.

I'm looking to build an 8x10 wood shed on a concrete slab.

Take a look at your local Lowe's, Home Depot or even Amazon online book store.  They have several books with lots of different designs.  You can look them over and just buy the book that suits your needs.  They will have diagrams and material lists.  Also these books are fairly cheap.  Good luck.


What could cause dripping noises when I turn on my central heating? When I put my central heating on and I sit in my living room there sounds to be something dripping coming from my ceiling.  The drip sound can be slow then speed up a little, then it stops only to start again.  I cannot see any evidence of water on my ceiling but the noise of the drip worries me therefore I turn my heating off and the drip stops.  Is this something to worry about?  Can it be easily fixed as I would like to get rid of the drip sound?

My guess is that it's a vent pipe from your heating system that's resting against a part of the wood joist in your ceiling. As the vent heats up, it expands, and the expansion causes a dripping like sound as it slips and sticks against the joist. If this is the case, it will start slow when the heating cycle begins, speeds up as the hot air starts to come out of the vent, and then slow down to a near stop when the heating cycle has been going on for a while.

The same thing can happen with plumbing drain lines. I hear it all the time when the dishwasher dumps the hot water.


How do outdoor mist-cooling A\C units fare in real-world usage? I live in Phoenix where summer outdoor temperatures regularly exceed 110°F and humidity around 15% or lower is not uncommon. In this environment a mist system can easily pull the temperature down 20 to 30 or even 40 degrees in some cases. I've been toying with the idea of cooling my outdoor AC unit using mist, and did a little research.

There are several commercially-available systems to do precisely this such as this industrial unit and this residential one. But I wanted to get an idea of what other people think of these systems. In particular, I'm interested in the long-term effects of using these systems, especially with respect to mineral build-up and corrosion. The vendors of the commercial systems claim to have these factors under control, but I'd rather hear it from a neutral POV.

I'm not particularly interested in unfounded FUD or enthusiasm, and comments like, "if it works so well then we'd all be using it" are particularly unhelpful.  Instead, I would like to know how these units actually fare in real-world usage. Also, bear in mind that this is Phoenix, not New Orleans; in the dry summer heat nothing stays wet for more than a few seconds. Factors like mold are an absolute non-issue.

For the record, I tried it out myself. I installed the Cool-N-Save system on a 4-ton A/C unit that was scheduled to be replaced in three months.

After that three month period in the middle of the summer, the positive effects of the system were negligible at best, and probably detrimental. There were no detectible savings in cooling costs nor increase in cooling performance. And after that three-month period, despite using the manufacturer's own anti-calcium system, the calcium build-up on the outdoor unit was extreme, with a thin layer of rock uniformly covering all of the heat-exchanging surfaces, effectively destroying the unit.

So that's a strong "Do Not Buy" from me.


residential plywood roof deck: does the long edge have to rest on a purlin? When a 4x8 sheet of 15/32 plywood is laid lengthwise on 1x4 lath (the lath is running perpendicular to the rafters) is it permissible for the long edge of the plywood sheet not to be supported by lath directly below the edge?  Is there an allowable amount of overhang?

Here is a cross-section of what I mean, where XXXXXX is the 4' edge of the plywood sheet and [p] is a purlin:

                                    |????|
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
[p]       [p]        [p]         [p]          [p]
                                         ^

If overhang is allowed, what is the maximum length of the overhanging plywood section marked with the question marks, where where is no purlin directly beneath the long edge?

If overhang is not allowed, additional lath would have to be added below the long edge of the sheet as a fastening surface, at the location marked by ^.

P.S. I've found an APA document (Bulletin P300C) on the subject of decking over lath; it shows the addition of lath to support the edge. "Panel edges should not be cantilevered". Here's a screen cap of the relevant drawing (the document requires a login/registration and cannot be accessed via a URL):

There are little metal joining clips that are used for light duty application of roof decking to rafters on 24" centers without lathe. If this is allowed when there is no lathe, then surely it would be sufficient if there is lathe.

The plywood is stiffer in one direction (I think the long direction) and it may be that the stiffness along with the joining clips (if used on the long side) are sufficient. One side of the plywood (I think the short side) is more flexible and that is what needs support by joining it on the rafters.

Editing If I could do it, I would get extra lathe and support the joints with lathe. How much better will you feel for all the time you'll be under that roof to have the joints fully supported?

More This roofer uses plywood strips to connect the long sides of the decking sheets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij00l1PzgU4 But I don't think his strips are wide enough. I would think 2" min, 3" best.

He says in this video he uses 1 x 2" battens and supports the long edge. The batten or lathe supports the edge by tension. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwsHolj_bnc


How can I fix an uneven and damaged transition from drywall to tile in the bathroom? We recently replaced some old, cracking shower walls in a bathtub area with tile. Looks great.  However, on one wall the drywall next to the tile bows out so it's not even with the tile in the middle section of the wall. That drywall edge also was damaged a bit as it was cut for placing the tile.

As you can see in the photo below the drywall sticks out about 1/4" - 1/2" on this part of the wall. There's only about 2 feet where it sticks out, the rest is even with the tile and looks nice. At minimum, the drywall needs to be fixed, but I'm a little worried about it getting damaged in the future.

What's the best way to fix and/or hide this? Our tile guy suggested running some sort of flexible molding the entire length of the transition to hide the gap.

The tile extends out past where the water will likely splash, so there won't be a lot of direct water on the transition but certainly humidity and some wetness, so I want to avoid further damage to the drywall.

It looks like all that is seperating the drywall from the tile is a bead of caulking.  To fix this, I would first remove all of the existing caulking.  Then I would cut out the area of the affected drywall and patch in a new piece, using the factory taped edge as the end that butts up against the tile.  Tape, mud and sand the new section and paint to match. Once finished, install a new bead of caulking along the entire length and it should look like new!


What type of arbor should I use to fix this holesaw? Where can I buy the arbor for this type of holesaw. The ones I've found are hex shaped. Could you recommend a n arbour that would fix this hole saw

For that type of setup, you usually use this type of bit.

The nut on the shank side screws off, then the bit slips into the hole saw and the nut is tightened back down to hold the saw in place.  I found this one at ACE Hardware. But they should be available at any hardware store.

Your best bet would be to take the hole saw with you to the store, and ask an associate to help you find what you need.  I found it online using the search term Vermont American #18303 Mandrel.


Mounting a TV above a fireplace So, we have a 65" TV that we are thinking about mounting above our fireplace.   The fireplace is made of brick and has a wooden mantel.  Is it really a bad idea to mount the TV above the fireplace?   I mean obviously I know that heat doesn't do anything good for electronics but we would, at most, have gas logs in the fireplace.  I just wasn't sure just how bad an idea it was.  Thanks.

It is a bad idea. TV screens are designed to be viewed basically level from your eyes as you sit in your TV room. If you mount it above the mantel you will forever looking up to see the thing.

The heat thing is also a concern for electronics as you have mentioned. Raise the temperature some and in the best case you will age certain components and shorten the life of the TV.

You would also have to deal with the disfiguring of the brick face of the fireplace when you find that it is a less then optimal place for a TV and decide to take it down.

I fail to see why this is such a fad idea to put TV's up high on the wall.


When installing a 14-30R dryer receptacle, do I need an additional ground connection to the box? Thanks to Stackexchange's Hot Network Questions, I found out that my 3-prong dryer outlet was a safety hazard and I'm replacing it with a 4-conductor 14-30R receptacle and matching cord. I've replaced the dryer cord and now I'm working on the receptacle. The circuit feeding the dryer has a 4-wire cable, with the ground wire screwed to the old 3-prong surface-mount receptacle.
I had been thinking that in addition to connecting the ground wire to the new receptacle, I would also need to run a ground wire from the ground terminal on the new receptacle to a ground screw in the metal box I'm mounting the receptacle in. However, the new receptacle seems to have a built-in solution to this problem: the ground terminal has a metal strap connecting it to the mounting plate. So it seems to me that once the receptacle is screwed into the box cover, and the box cover to the box, the box is grounded and therefore I don't need a separate ground wire. Is that correct?
A few other details:

The new receptacle is a Utilitech 2105S.
I am planning to mount it in a RACO #8232 4-inch steel box, surface-mounted on a concrete wall, using a RACO #810C steel box cover.

Here's the metal strap connecting the ground terminal to the outlet's built-in mounting plate, which in turn is screwed into the box cover:

Metal boxes must be always be grounded.
For a surface mounted metal device box NEC 250.146(A) allows omitting the jumper to the device if the yoke mounts flush and at least one paper washer is removed or omitting the jumper if using a cover mounted receptacle if the cover and box are "listed as providing a satisfactory ground...".
Really the Code paragraph is a little long and detailed, if you wish to omit the jumper between box and receptacle I suggest you find a quote of NEC 250.146(A) or read it directly on the NFPA website.
Edit: The Hubbell product page for the 810C indicates it meets the requirements of the NEC Article 250.146(A) that allows connecting the ground only to the box.


Split sub-panel box with dual feeds? Is this a thing? Kinda goes with my first question on here. Again i am not an electrician nor will i be doing the work. I am the builder and owner. In the designing stages of a tiny house on wheels and im trying to figure out if we will be able to have two feeds coming in. one 20amp and one 30. on separate circuits but in the same box?

So are split sub panels with dual feeds a thing? thats my question

Running solely off a 30 amp service would be really really tight given what we need to run. Mostly propane for the larger pulls but no need for a 50amp 240 nor do we have that set up like we already do with an existing 30amp rv hookup on site. So it got me thinking the 30 amp taking some of the load off of that and putting it on a separate 20 amp feed and having both the 20 and 30 in the house at the same time yet separately...? if this makes any sense.

If you run two feeds into one panel, the current will flow through the lower resistance path. You will end up tripping the 20 A overcurrent limiter.

If you want to supply 50 A to your tiny house using a 30 A feed (the RV connector) and a 20 A (you don't specify 120 or 240 V) feed, divide your loads into two, and install two separate subpanels.

You may find you can run the entire home off a 30 A feed. 7200 VA is a substantial amount of power.


How can I repair the damage to this wood floor? We just moved into a new house, and the flooring in the entrance and kitchen is a little beat up.  I am not sure if it is hardwood or laminate flooring.

There are some spare boards in the attic that are about 3/4" thick - they do not have a wood-looking layer on them, so I suspect they are not laminate.  The spares are much lighter in color than the ones on the floor.

Here is a picture of the damage:

This is from the entrance where there are some dings and chips.  The floor in the kitchen has some of the shiny parts flaking off, but the wood itself doesn't appear to be damaged too much.

Is there a way to repair this type of damage?  Is there something I can do to maintain and protect the non-damaged boards?

Like I said, I do have spares, but since I have no flooring experience I would probably have to hire someone to replace the damaged boards.

It doesnt look too bad. I think when you sand the floor will take care of 95% of it. The clipping may need to be filled in with a little wood filler.
If it was me.. A nice runner or area rug in the entry would look nice.


Comapatibility with dedicated hot water recirculation plumbing Can this Watts Premier hot water recirculating pump (0955800) be connected to a dedicated plumbing (already intalled in the house) that recirculates water back directly to the tank and does not go through the cold water line? Or does this only have to be connected to the hot water pipe out from the tank and has to use the sensor in the farthest faucet in the house for the return?

Looking at the pump here and at a Lowes store, I would have to say yes to your question. I see nothing on that pump that forces you to install it on the tanks discharge or under a sink, per instructions.
I have a re-circulation loop I installed in my home. I brought a dedicated 1/2" line from the 3 bathrooms in my home. I soldered in a "Tee" and brought all 3 dedicated lines back to the hot water tank. After each tee I added a check valve to each line to stop any back feed through that line. All 3 lines were collected into a 3/4" copper line that went to the smallest B&G pump I could find (38 watts) and connected it to the tank at the bottom drain. I added a cheap timer so the pump runs 15 minutes per hour, except at certain times when more hot water is needed for things like showers and turn it off at night.  Hope this helps.


Moving wet appliances away from sink around kitchen L bend and past oven I am renovating my kitchen so that I can introduce a dishwasher and extend my counter top. My kitchen is a small L shaped one, and in order to get everything I want in the design I need to move my wet appliances (washing machine and dishwasher) across to the other side of the kitchen, around the L corner and to across to the other side of the oven from the sink.

The distance from the sink to the new appliances, measured along the wall, will be about 420cm for the furthest appliance.

I have spoken to a handful of tradesmen and kitchen designers and I have been getting mixed responses about whether this will work from a plumbing perspective. Some have suggested that it will be fine and others have suggested that there will be drainage issues with the appliances.

So I wanted to get the opinions of the experts here before committing to this new design.

Here is a picture of the current kitchen with the positions of the new we appliances annotated. Other things to note about the picture; there will be a small thin cabinet introduced to the left of the oven so the dishwasher will not be immediately next to it, and the fridge is moving entirely out of view.

If you could let me know if you think that this design will work out that would be great!

Thanks in advance!

Why do the contractors you've spoken with believe there will be drainage issues, and why are you unsure about what they are telling you? They have a strong incentive to do what you ask: it's what they get paid for. If some of them are apprehensive, and unless they are trying to sell you a different solution that is even more complicated (ie. expensive), what else could be motivating their response besides "doing the right thing" ?

Put another way, the ones that are willing to do whatever you ask might just be willing to move your sink into the ceiling and install your toilet on the back patio, as long as they get paid for it. The ones that are apprehensive get nothing out of it by telling you to not proceed, besides maintaining their professional integrity.

I would weight heavily the advice from the professionals that are willing to forgo a quick buck to maintain their reputation.


Are light socket to outlet adapters safe for outdoor holiday lights? We just moved into a split level house about 40 years old.  This will be our first Christmas and I cannot figure out how to put up lights because we don't seem to have any outlets outside.  I could buy socket adaptor and put it on one of my outside lights but I don't know if this would be safe or not.  Suggestions welcome.  Not enough time to get an electrician out to put in some outside sockets.

As long as you don't overload the fixture or the circuit, those socket adapters would be OK, especially for a temporary setup like Christmas lights. The key is making sure you're not overloading anything.

Figure out what else is on the circuit with the outside light, and what size breaker protects that circuit. Figure out what size wire is used inside the light - this will typically be smaller than the #14 used in lighting circuits. Determine the current capacity of that smaller wire, and keep the total load less than that capacity. Using LED bulbs will allow you to run more lights this way.

Of course, using an actual receptacle is the preferred option, so make sure you don't have any outside. Check around the AC unit for a receptacle, and near each entry door. Check in your garage (including on the ceiling, where an opener may be plugged in). Running extension cords all over is quite normal during the holidays.

You may prefer to run an extension cord from inside; just make sure that it isn't crushed when closing the window or door it passes through.


Caulking Vertical Seams in Three Piece Shower/Bathtub I recently purchased a condo and the upstairs bathroom has a shower/bathtub with three interlocking pieces making up the shower wall.  After some research it is unclear if I should caulk these vertical seams.  Some responses suggest that every seam in a shower should be caulked while others suggest that these types of shower wall seams are left un-caulked for a reason.  Is there any consensus on this?  Thank you.

Here is a picture of the seam:

Here is a picture of how the pieces are joined together:

This can be a subjective question. Here's how I'd approach it.

Read the installation manual. It's often spelled out clearly which seams should be caulked and which should (or must) remain uncaulked. Sometimes caulking the wrong place results in leaks or overflow.
Consider the problem of trapped moisture and mold/mildew. If caulking a seam would result in puddling or extended moisture accumulation, and doens't resolve a drainage problem, it may be worth avoiding.
Does the caulk joint improve or degrade the aesthetics of the unit? Well-done caulk joints virtually disappear into the structure. Poor ones look amateurish and messy. Can the joint be done well in a given location?

If you decide to caulk a joint, I recommend 100% silicone. Latex-based caulks collect surface soil, shrink considerably, and may not bond as well to non-porous surfaces. Be sure the surface is very clean beforehand.


Why do basement walls need less insulation than crawlspace walls? I used this DoE calculator:

http://web.ornl.gov/sci/roofs+walls/insulation/ins_16.html

For Washington, DC, it recommended R25 for crawlspace walls and R11 for basement walls.  Why would they be different?  What is the recommended value for above-grade vs below-grade concrete block walls?

The earth is a good insulator itself relative to cold air that may circulate outside a crawl space.  The temp of the ground even few feet down is much warmer (or, in the summer, colder) and more stable than the outside air.  If the air outside is in the 20s, the soil even a few feet down is much warmer (in climes as far south as yours). Ground source heat pumps take advantage of this fact.


18 inch lag screw protruding from stud supporting 20lbs I  need advice on how to keep a 48" diameter  "cat exercise wheel" axle made from 3/4" pvc pipe free floating on an  [18" lag screw] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009ZZJCB4/ref=biss_dp_t_asn?&tag=rnwff-20)  that I'll screw 3" into the stud in the wall, affixed  so the 15" deep cat exercise wheel spins in place but doesn't move too much from side to side?
(picture a 20lb  price is right wheel spinning on a bolt coming from the wall)
The 18" lag screw  is  only partially threaded so i can't screw a bolt on each side of the wheel to keep it in place.

I went with an  18" lag screw to hold up the wheel & cat (~20lbs max)  to minimize the footprint of the structure .
How  do I address concerns about the daily movement on the bolt from use of  the cat wheel to keep the bolt from coming out of the wall?
The  design had to be sub-$50 and super easy as my cat may not even use this wheel so I can't do the more expensive designs that include plywood, etc.
Thanks

I would add a collar with a set screw on each side of the wheel bearing.
These come in many sizes and finishes to match your project. You may need an additional brace to prevent the shaft from sagging.


Trouble getting bathroom fan/light working I know this is wired correctly, the outlet has power but yet the light won't turn on nor will the fan... Any thoughts?


How to wire a Hunter Remote Ceiling Fan (Exeter) and utilize both wall switches I want to install a Hunter Exeter fan. The fan is remote operated for both lights and fan speed, however, I have two switches on the wall - one for the fan and one for the light.
I would like one of the switches to turn on the light, and the other to provide power for the fan (which I can then use the remote to control).
Here are the installation instructions
Diagram 1: This is my 'hack' attempted at it. Left switch goes directly to the light, the right one powers the fan.

Diagram 2: Below this is the version the manual says. I'm not sure which functions the yellow and blue wires from the receiver, so I'm taking a guess in Diagram #1. I don't like this one because the right switch is a dud after you've wired it.

**Update 8/15
I finally got around to wiring the fan, and the experts here on stackoverflow were right. The blue wire from the fan goes directly to the black wire from the ceiling to turn on the light directly from the switch. And yellow wire from the reciever connects directly to the black wire on the fan. Both switches work! I capped off the blue wire from the receiver.
Important Note: You might need to wire it per the manual first to make sure the light on the fan is turned on from the remote. The fan remembers the last setting and when powered goes back to that setting.**

That should be fine. The receiver shouldn't care or be hurt if the light kit isn't connected to it (it's the exact same situation, electrically, as not installing light bulbs or having the bulbs burned out).
Be sure to cover the light wire from the receiver securely - put one of the supplied wire nuts on it tightly, then secure with electrical tape so it doesn't fall off.
If it's not clear from the instructions which wire on the fan is for the motor and which is for the light, you could try powering each (one at a time) and the white with a cord and plug before you hang the fan. Do it before you install the blades and you won't have to worry about hitting anything if you happen to find the fan wire first.


Asbestos between floors I have a layer of white paper or cardboard like material houses between the subfloor and a layer of wood on top. The stuff crumbles pretty easy. I do not intend to demo the floor or anything so my question is, will this potential asbestos be okay living there between wood floors or as I walk do I grind it up and move it about to the point where it will leak through cracks etc.  thanks.

As long as the asbestos material is contained between your subfloors you are fine.  It doesn't matter if it crumples up being sandwiched in there.  You may have to take extra precautions taking it out in this case but it isn't a concern in current state.


Wall Painting Equipment / material I am attempting to paint a room in my house for the first time.  I have read the article
How do I prepare an already painted wall for new paint?

Now i need to know what are the equipment and material I need to do a good job?

Congrats on joining the world of DIY.  I'll give you a short simple answer, but I think you need to talk with a knowledgeable sales person at your paint store for specific details.

The basics will be drop cloths for the floor, good grade painters tape to mask out your trims, a good grade 2 or 3 inch Purdy brush to edge out around trim and along ceiling, a cut in bucket, a paint tray, roller handle with short extension and a good grade 3/8 inch roller cover.  Good luck


How can I determine what grade air filter is appropriate? I'm trying to figure out what kind of air filter is appropriate for my house. My local home warehouse store stocks over a dozen options. The primary difference between them seems to be Microparticle Performance Rating, but there are also differences in material (fiberglass vs. composite), shape (pleated vs. flat) and Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value.

This is a two-part question. First, what factors about my home and/or environment should I consider? For example, I've heard that people who smoke, have pets or live in humid areas may, broadly speaking, want higher quality filters.

Second, once I've figured out what factors to look at, what filter characteristics do they correspond to? To extend my previous example (assuming that smoking really does matter and that MPR is legit, not just a number made up for marketing purposes), is there a minimum MPR value that a smoker should get?

Air filters are intended to:

Protect HVAC equipment.
Mitigate air-quality issues.

The manufacturer will specify requirements necessary for normal equipment service life.

Until there are actual air quality issues, there is no reason to upgrade filters.

Monitoring air quality may be appropriate because some air-quality issues are better mitigated elsewhere from the filter.


Add-A-Wire - COMMON / C Wire to a 3 Wire Thermostat I am battling a Nest and losing at every turn. I have a 2 zone system and was able to install a Nest on the 1st floor by repurposing a wire as a COMMON wire. Unfortunately, the 2nd floor only has 3 wires (POWER - RC/RH; Y - HEAT; W = A/C) and it is on the other side of the house relative to the zone controller in the basement. Instead of running a 24V COMMON / C wire from the basement to the master bedroom on the 2nd floor, can I use an "add-a-wire" product such as Venstar (https://venstar.com/thermostats/accessories/add-a-wire/). I searched a bit and reading it only works with 4 wire applications. I have an outlet right below it so there must be something I can do without running lines through the wall from the basement.

Don't even bother with that goofy multiplexer.  Just get a small 24VAC transformer - 10 VA would suffice (common ones are 40 VA, that's fine too).

On the secondary side, connect one of the transformer secondary wires to R. You do this on the Nest's wall plate, you don't even need to install the Nest proper for any of this.
Now, check the phasing of the transformer.  Measure AC voltage between the remaining transformer wire and the R terminal (the place you just connected the first wire).  Note that voltage, it's gonna be around 24V, because it's coming right off the new transformer.  We just need it for a reference: it should be the highest voltage we see.
Now, measure between that remaining wire and all the other terminals on the Nest one at a time.   All these should be equal or lower.  If any or all of these voltages are higher (you might even see 48V), then you picked the wrong wire in the first step.  Switch wires and start over.
Now that phase is correct, connect the remaining wire to C.
Don't connect any other wires from this transformer to anything else. Don't connect C to anything but this transformer.

If someone rewires the furnace, changes the furnace or replaces or rewires the furnace's transformer, I would redo this phasing step in 2-3. The idea is to have these transformers work alongside each other, not "stack" to 48V, which asks a lot of the insulation on the Nest and technically violates the low-voltage wiring rules.  (I'm sure it's built for that, but why tempt fate).


Easy and effective way to clean a very dirty plastic broom What is the easiest way to clean a plastic broom (I mean such as the one in the photo) that has collected a lot of floor dust etc?

Just hitting it against a wall to throw out all left overs is not good enough as it is too dirty

Vacuum it.

You could also comb it, with a hard metal rake. Since you didn't tell us what it is dirty with, this is my best (fits most cases) answer.


What materials could be used instead of cement for a water-tight trench I'm trying to create a water obstacle to walk horses through - maybe even deep enough for them to swim through.

I'm having trouble coming up with an idea for what to use to keep water in and have good footing (without mud) at the same time, but something that's a lot easier on the pocket-book than cement.

Any suggestions for what I should use for the walls and the floor? they can be different if necessary. I figure since sailing ships and canoes were created long before concrete, I should be able to make something that holds water. I could probably even spray on a water-proof liner that has traction for the footing.

Note that cement (or, rather, concrete) in and of itself isn't going to hold water. It's still have to be waterproofed.

I don't know the dimensions or schematics, but my first thought would be a pond liner (basically, giant rubber sheets) and then topped with sand or other material to provide the traction.

I think a bigger issue might be to figure out how to maintain it, though. I imagine this water could get pretty nasty after a while without some form of filtration system.


How to install an earthing system? How can I wire an earthing system if I am installing a single phase panel board?

Which type of grounding/earthing would be okay for such installation?

Here in El NEC country, we like to see 2 grounding rods at least 2.5m long. They should be at least 2m apart, but the farther the better, ideally opposite corners of the building.  Their job is to protect you from voltage gradients caused by lightning.

Those grounding rods are connected to the grounding/earthing bus, which is kept separate from the neutral bus.

In addition, we tie neutral to earth at exactly one place: the first point past the electric meter/service beginning.  Beyond that point, neutral and earth/ground are kept rigidly separate and never connected.  That means for instance, if we have a subpanel (a second panel fed by the first), we run separate neutral and earth/ground wires and keep separate neutral and earth bus bars also.

This separation is especially important downstream of an RCD/GFCI.

It isn't our thing to put an RCD on an entire board or facility, that's Europe's thing.  We put RCDs on individual branches, and they are sensitive 6 ma RCDs which assure trip before a person can possibly be injured.  You probably can't use one that sensitive on an entire panelboard, you will get a lot of nuisance trips if you try.  The European method uses a 30ma RCD.


Wiring a light fixture I am replacing a light fixture in my bathroom with a LED fixture. My house is from the late 20s so there are some quirks. In this case I have 3 sets of wires into the box. There are 6 other lights, basically every light in the front of my house daisy chained from this fixture.

As far as I have been able to figure, one set of wires is from the breaker, one from the switch and one to downstream fixtures.  Everything works fine until I add the new LED fixture. As soon as I add that and turn the power on the light comes on then when I toggle the switch the breaker trips. Is there an issue with the fixture being LED? The previous fixture worked, I just didn't like a chandelier in the bathroom.

Any help is appreciated as I am very frustrated right now. What should have been an easy task is now a PITA.

I am adding a picture so you can see what it looks like. With it wired like this and the switch off, all the downstream fixtures work but if I toggle the switch it blows the breaker.

Note: This answer was written before the photo was added to the question and country identified.

Problem

  when I toggle the switch the breaker trips

You have connected the wires incorrectly. You have probably connected the switch between neutral and live.

Wiring a light fixture

In the UK, a pre-2004 ceiling box with three sets of wires would be connected like this:

A comes from the breaker, B goes to the next light fitting. The wires to the lamp holder use the post-1977 colours.

Note that C is labelled "twin red & earth" this means it has a second red wire instead of the black wire. In practise, most electricians use normal "twn * earth" for the cable to the switch. This means the black wire is switched-live not neutral. It should be marked with red-tape to indicate this.

If you then just connect all the black wires together, you would connect the switch across live and neutral, creating the problem you describe.

The correct wiring looks like this in a typical UK ceiling rose (with post-2006 fixed-wiring colours. Arrangement is inverted compared with above diagram):

Photo - own work, © RedGrittyBrick. Licence: Creative-Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0

Note the red tape on the blue wire from the switch, indicating this is switched-live not a normal neutral. See that this particular wire is NOT connected to the other same-coloured wires (blue in this example).

Colours of wires

A brief history of wiring colours in the UK

                     neutral     live     earth
Before 1977:         black       red      green
1977-2004:
   Wires in wall     black       red      green
   Other† wires      blue        brown    green/yellow striped
After 2006‡:         blue        brown    green/yellow striped

† pendant light cords, appliance cords, lamp cords, etc
‡ Between 2004-2006 you could use either set of colours in fixed wiring in walls.

Other countries

The same principles apply but the wiring colours will differ. For example, the US usually has white for neutral, black for hot (live). The specific methods for connecting wires will differ. For example, a US home will probably use wire-nuts.

However, to repeat, the principles are the same, make sure the cable from the switch is not connected incorrectly, you do not connect all wires of the same colour together.

Related reading

Electric shock - was I stupid, unlucky, or a combination of both?
When doing electrical work, what do I use to check wires are safe?


water leak underground We can hear water running through the pipes in our kitchen and think we have a leak underground. If we turn the water supply off and then back on again can it cause a surge which may make the leak worse? We don't know whether to turn the water off when we are not here to save water leakage. It may take a while to get it fixed.

You definitely want to turn off the water supply at the demarcation point where your responsibility begins during times that you do not need the water service.

Last thing that you would want to be surprised at would be to receive a water bill notice for $940 when you have been away for three months. I had that experience once when I knowingly had a cabin side shutoff gate valve that would not shut off completely due to sediment deposits in the pipe/valve. I had taken to turning off the water supply at the street by the water meter when we left this mountain property for a long period of time.

Also it was always advised to leave certain valves open at the back of the cabin during cold weather to drain the water lines to prevent freezing of the water lines under the cabin. Well it turned out that an industrious water meter reader turned the valve back on at the street when they found it off. Needless to say this caused a huge amount of water to flow until a couple months later when I received a gigantic water bill in the mail.

In the end I had to take to installing a padlock on the main shut off valve to prevent a repeat of the problem until I was able to flush the water lines to get rid of the sediment in the gate valve by the cabin.


Well pump wont stop running Well pump runs non-stop shows zero pressure replace pressure switch no change -  still l have pressure on the house.

Just can't figure out why the it is running all the time?

A typical well installation includes a pressure tank in the circuit. The tank contains a bladder which is inflated while the system is turned off and no water pressure is indicated. You use any inflator device such as a bicycle hand pump or tire pump to load the bladder to the recommended pressure.

When the pump is powered on, it will load the tank with water, compressing the bladder until the internal pressure reaches the cut-off switch setting. Let's say that's 50 psi as a reference level. Also, your cut-in setting should be lower, say 35 psi for this example.

The bladder pressure now matches the cut-off pressure and will continue to apply that level of pressure to the water in the system as it is used. When sufficient water has been used to expand the bladder to the original inflation level, the overall water pressure will drop during use until the cut-in figure is reached.

If your bladder has lost pressure or otherwise failed, you will have the circumstances you've described.


Can ceiling fans push heated air down? We are remodelling two large open spaces with 12' ceiling heights. The flue ducts hanging from the ceiling. The ducts will be hanging from the ceiling and the registers will be high. Will ceiling fans be able to push hot air downward? Can the reverse mechanism be remotely controlled without manually switching on a tall ladder?

Yes, ceiling fans can and do move air downwards, regardless of which direction the motor is spinning. The direction of the motor determines where the downdraft air will be coming from, as well as its relative temperature:

In the summer, you set your fan to spin counter-clockwise, so that air is directed downwards underneath the fan. This provides a cooling effect on your skin, and the air being forced downward is relatively cool.

In the winter, you reverse the fan direction. This directs the relatively warm air above the fan outward and then downward, making the rest of the room feel warmer.

There are certainly some fans on which the motor speed can be reversed using a remote; just search your local fan store. However, this site indicates that fans mounted on cathedral or vaulted ceilings are too high to produce a wind-chill effect and should be left spinning CCW (in "summer" mode) year-round (although it is the CCW direction that produces the wind chill effect, so maybe a typo?). Another site indicates that high ceiling fans should be reversed. The US government's energy star site doesn't take a position either way, so you may just have to try it and see.

In any case, ceiling fans only cool people, so there's no need to run them when nobody is in the room. And their effect is felt pretty quickly after they're turned on, so no worries about having them on before you get into the room.

Fans installed over tables are probably the exception to the above rules, as you'd always want them running CW. This prevents the downdraft from being right over the table, cooling off food too fast or blowing homework, playing cards, etc around.

Images taken from here