Undersized grounding Does an undersized grounding is cause for concern about improper / unsafe condition(s) that I noted at the house’ s electrical sub panel.
The House that was built in late 1950’s, Southern California, However, The original main panel was replaced with 125A, which supply central HVAC / 50A and sub panel / 60A.  All branch wiring, including 30A sub, is fed into the aforementioned 60A sub panel. Grounding to the main panel is done via rod and connection to a water-supply metal piping.
The concerns are;
Undersized ground conduit from the main to the sub panel, not #6.
The lack of proper ground from the 60A sub panel to the 30A sub, laundry.
House’ s receptacles are a combination of 2 and 3 prongs.
Do I need to upgrade the ground’ s conduit from the main panel to the sub panel / 60A?  Is the 30A sub panel wiring of concern?

The main panel appears to have a nice fat braided ground on the ground rod.

For the 60A subpanel and 50A A/C service, a 10 AWG ground wire is perfectly adequate.  Not seeing the problem.

The 30A sub is a Zinsco, which some very serious fire-starting problems with its buses, which can't be fixed by swapping breakers.  Since it appears to be configured as a disconnect switch anyway, maybe you can replace it with that.

I could do without the artiste "runt"-ing off all the wires to barely long enough to go where they're going right now.  You'll hate that guy if you ever have to put in GFCI or AFCI.


Install tiles on top of laminate floor in kitchen This is my remodel kitchen here done 5 years ago.

Notice that everything is new BUT the floor. As I decided not to do the floor at that time. But now it looks dated.

The kitchen floor is same level as my wood floor.

Questions:
1. Should I just put tiles on top of the laminate flooring? It will be a bit higher than the wood floor so would it look OK like that?

If I remove the laminate piece, what can I do to ensure the level is close?

The existing vinyl flooring and existing underlayment should be removed. All types of ceramic tile, stone tiles, porcelain tiles, etc. need to be installed on a different type of underlayment. Removing the existing underlayment will give you a chance to install the new tile floor level with your wood floor. If not exactly the same level, there are off-set wood covers that can adjust for various heights.


Does a broken TPR valve disable the water heater? Would the pressure release valve going bad on a water heater cause the water heater to quit working?

No, a water heater will continue to heat the water with a bad TPR valve. A failed TPR valve is a safety issue since the water heater could heat the water to the point that the tank explodes and does significant damage to your home, roof, and probably the home of your neighbors. Several other components would also have to fail for this extreme situation to happen (the thermostat would have to heat beyond the normal cutoff, a check valve preventing water going back into the city water lines needs to exist, and no other valves in the house can be leaking) so it's fairly rare. But with the danger to your life, it's still a good precaution to ensure this valve is properly functioning.


warm water only when we replaced the hot water heater with a tankless heater We replaced the hot water heater with a tankless version. We now only get warm water from the faucets and showers even though the temperature is set at 140 0F on the heater and the outlet pipe from the heater is very hot.  Also when the cold water supply to the heater is turned off, we still get cold water flowing when we turn the hot water faucet on. So two questions
1. Why cant we get hot water from the faucets and showers
2. Something is causing cold water to be introduced on the hot water line

It could be a thermostatic shower faucet, where the backflow preventer is defect. Or a backflow preventer is defect/removed at any other place. That way the cold water is getting into the warm pipes/hoses, sometimes even if the shower faucet is closed. Normally the warm side has lower (dynamic) pressure, sometimes tankless heaters have a throughput reduction.
Backflow preventers can be easily missed since they are available as small coin sized inlets for water valves.


Installing a chimney rain cap with no exposed flue I have a large masonry chimney that doesn't have a rain cap. The brick portion is about 2' x 4', and it has an 8" x 8" tile flue in the center. The flue is flush with the mortar chimney top, so there is nothing to clamp a standard chimney rain cap onto.

How can I attach a rain cap to the flat top of the chimney? I can't find any rain caps that don't clamp onto the sides of the flue.

There are a couple of different ways, but you probably would need a custom cap made up:

1 - You can mount the cap to the brick from the side as in the first picture:

2 - You can mount the cap to the top of the chimney:

Pictures from: https://www.riversidesheetmetal.net/chimney-caps/

To mount from the side of the chimney, people normally use anchors, such as these or these. You need to drill the side of the cap or get it made pre drilled for this.
You can also glue it down if you want, either mounted from the top (more common) or side.

A lot of people like to use something called liquid nails for that (top mount). If it was me I'd probably do both (depending on how much you actually pay for a cap, its not a bad idea) just to be sure, but if not, then I would anchor it from the side. Liquid nails is quicker, just make sure you get something appropriate.


How can I adjust a door latch so that it engages securely? My cousin has an external door with a knob lock and a double-deadbolt lock. She prefers not to keep the deadbolt locked. If she goes out through that door, she normally turns the knob, leaving the lock engaged, exits, and pulls the door closed, expecting it to lock as it closes.

The problem is that it is possible to close the door such that it feels fully-closed, but isn't quite closed enough to allow the lock to spring into place, and unless she's taking particular notice, it's not obvious to her that the lock hasn't closed. Then, the door remains unlocked, and a strong enough wind later in the day can cause the door to blow open.

The most obvious solution to this problem is simply to be more vigilant about making sure the door is fully closed and locked every time. However, I am wondering if there's some physical modification that she could make to the door that would make it less likely that a momentary lapse in vigilance would result in the door being non-obviously unlocked.

What modifications could be made to this door either to make it so that it's obvious to even an absent-minded user when it's fully closed and locked and when it isn't, or to ensure that it closes fully every time?

If this can be done with a minor adjustment or modification, that would be greatly preferable to any major equipment or structural changes.

Here are photos of the strikeplate, the metal box behind it, and the cavity in the wood behind that. Note the indentation in the wood where the upper-right edge of the strikeplate fits snugly. Note also that there isn't room in the cavity for the base of the metal box to move to the right.

You should check the hinges, and make sure the screws are tight and that the hinges are not worn out. Evidence of a worn out hinge will be that the door hangs at an angle, which is likely to be visible along the top of the shut door. If the door appears to be crooked, or if it wobbles when you lift it, then you should replace the hinges before moving making further adjustments.

In order to move the strikeplate so that the door shuts, you may need to enlarge the hole. Sometimes the adjustment is minor and you might have trouble putting the screws close to, or half-way overlapping previous screw holes. If you have a wooden door jamb, you can plug the old strikeplate's screw holes with a dowel rod. You should make sure the dowel is tight fitting (maybe requiring a light tapping with a hammer); use a drop of wood glue with the dowel so that the repaired screw holes are nice and solid. Let the glue dry before piloting new screw holes.

Here's a how to video about adjusting a door so that it closes.

Edit- based on pictures above here are some more details:

Double check the hinges. If they are okay, then you need to move the strike plate about 1/8" toward 5:00.

Shopping list:

Sharp 1/2" chisel
Box cutter
Flat-head screwdriver
Hammer
1" paddle bit
1/8" dowel
Wood glue
Drill
1/8" drill bit
Dremel tool with cut-off disk


Why is my water heater's relief valve popping? I haven't seen it, but there is water on the floor and also on top of a hose that is rolled up next to the water heater.

It is a A.O.Smith electric ECS 40 200. Both upper and lower thermostats are set to 120°, but water temp from the tap is 149° and jumps back and forth to 151° and 149°. The unit is 12 yrs old.

Should I start with replacing the thermostats?

I suspect that one of you elements have gone to ground and is running away.  As the elements age the sheath will eventually split.  The elements always have 110-volts available.  This voltage will go to ground and drive current indefinitely. Recommend you renew the lower element.  Remove the lime deposits while you are at it.  Should be good to go.


Porch flooring: vinyl click & lock planks an option? I am contemplating finishing an outdoor porch floor with vinyl click & lock planks. Is this feasible?
The porch is 100% covered, and is on the North side. It receives no direct sunlight, except at late sunset, and no precipitation except the occasional rain splatter. Winters are generally -5C / 23F. It slopes 1in/4ft outward.
The subfloor is 5/8 PT plywood. It is open underneath that, and might in the future be closed with breathing aluminum soffits. Area is 400sqft.
Is this feasible? Any special considerations? Any better ideas?
Sealed vinyl decking (e.g. Ducan) is not preferred as I am looking for a DIY solution.
Tiling is an option, but I am concerned about longevity outdoors (thaw/freeze cycle).
Your suggestions, cautions and other input are much appreciated!

I'm not a flooring expert, so take this with a grain of salt...
So long as you're willing to accept the fact that you're using a product designed for indoor use in an outdoor application and that means:

it's likely to fail earlier than you'd like
it's likely to fail in less time than is claimed on the tin
that any guarantee on the flooring probably won't be honored for being installed outside recommended parameters

I can't see a reason not to.
Some points to consider:

It might be slippery when wet, you may want to choose something textured
I've seen ads for "100% waterproof" flooring designed to resist spilled drinks, dogs peeing, etc. This is probably more expensive, but may be better suited for your more humid outdoor installation.

As far as your concern about tiles, remember that many in-ground swimming pools are tiled and have tiled/concreted decks and they survive in northern climes. Of course, they have the advantage of being directly on the ground and getting some heating from the ground itself, but the upper edges are well above the frost line.


how much can i have on a 20 amp breaker? I have a 20 amp breaker, with two lights and a outlet in on it, (the outlet normally runs stereo equipment), can i add another outlet for a tv and a fan?

Add up the wattage on the lights, the stereo gear, the fan, and the TV, then divide by 120 and see if it's more than 20 -- although unless you have a monster amp on your stereo, I doubt you'll run into trouble there.

As to the receptacle itself, it's fine -- Code only apportions 180VA per receptacle yoke or lighting outlet.


Proper Height of Basement Weep Holes I recently got my drain tile replaced by professionals. They poured new concrete over the new drain tile. The thing that struck me as odd was that the weep holes are partially to fully above the level of the new concrete. I was under the assumption that weep holes were supposed to be drilled just above the footing to allow water to drain into the drain tile. After weep holes are drilled, it is then covered up with gravel, then the fresh concrete. Am I just speaking out of ignorance, or am I correct? Are weep holes supposed to sit above the floor level? If so, it looks terrible.

My friend, you are in trouble.
I guess have a wet basement and wanted to keep it dry by diverting water to the subdrainage enclosed by the drain tile. Then you encased the drain tile in concrete in order to prevent the groundwater from getting into the drain tile and backflow into the basement. This scenario has several problems:

The concrete can crack, so the groundwater will get into it and flow back into the basement.

At certain times, the water at the discharge point could be higher than the elevation of the drain tile, then again, the drain line will be filled and backflow into the basement.

The water in the basement wouldn't drain or drains slowly due to the reasons above.

Most importantly, your wall wasn't designed for the hydrostatic pressure from the groundwater. Now as it has nowhere to go but stay still pushing against your wall, the wall can crack or even collapse depending on the height of the groundwater.

The correct ways to solve the problems of the wet basement:

If the local groundwater elevation is high, you shall keep/restore the drain tile, then waterproof the exterior face of the wall, and backfill with granular material. The finished ground shall be sloped away from the house.

Inside the basement, you shall install a drain pipe and slope the base slab towards the drain. The drain pipe shall end at a sump pit that pumps the water out automatically. The water shall be disposed into the stormwater line at grade level.

I suggest having an engineer look into your plan. But no weep holes, please.


Proper way to repair old plasterboard walls? my basic question is: what is the proper material and method for repairing defects on the walls in my old house?  To give context, I am in Virginia, United States and the house is a concrete block construction Cape Cod style built in 1946, and I believe the walls in question are all original.
My first issue is identification - I'm not even sure "plasterboard" is the correct terminology for what these walls are made of.  They are definitely not modern drywall / gypsum board, they are more dense. I don't suspect they are lathe and plaster, but instead some kind of sheet material that seems close to "cement board", with a plaster coat on it. The best clue I have is where there are penetrations through the walls, at outlets and light switches:

So what is this really called?  I would be willing to drill some exploratory holes (perhaps in a closet) if that helps identify, but currently there are no larger openings or exposed areas. I feel like proper identification will help me track down better resources on this, but for the moment I'm a little lost on what it actually is.
The second and ultimate question is what's the proper material and method for surface repairs on this type of wall?  I have built and repaired plenty of drywall before, but am not sure what's appropriate for this type of wall.  Is it a problem to use drywall joint compound?  That would be the first obvious choice, but I'm wondering if that's detrimental for some reason, like over the long haul it will not adhere properly.  Or should I be using some kind of plaster mix?
The types of defects I want to fix are places with some cracking, previous screw/nail holes (from hanging things, some of which were obviously patched with drywall compound by someone previously with little care for detail), and a couple spots where the surface layer is broken off:

That looks like plaster to me. They would typically (there are many variations on this... a pro-plasterer could be more definitive) apply what is called a brown coat over a substrate (maybe wood lath with scratch coat, maybe button-board, maybe gypsum board, maybe wire, etc.). The brown coat was cement mixed with a large proportion of sand. Then they would trowel on a finish coat of what you might think of as typical plaster.
You should be able to use whatever plaster material you want, including cutting out sections a installing gypsum board and feathering into existing wall sections. You could just skim-coat the entire wall with plaster (after addressing cracks/defects).The key is to properly prepare the surfaces prior.


Is my washer clutch in need of replacement? I'm not entirely sure if this is a problem or not, but I've got an Admiral washer that's at least three years old, (it came with my house).  When the rinse cycle hits, it fills up like normal and everything seems fine.  When it's in the middle of the rinse cycle, I think it's supposed to drain all the water while spinning the tub at the same time.  The problem is that it doesn't spin the tub, but it makes sounds like it should be; I can also hear the water draining.  If I open and close the lid, the machine starts to spin the tub.  Is this a sign that my clutch needs to be replaced, or is it part of normal operation?  The agitator works fine, and it always seems to catch during the spin cycle, so I'm not sure.

Thank you for your help.

I had a similar problem a few years back, and as a novice, had to look it up on YouTube.  This was one of the best videos I found for troubleshooting and replacing the clutch.  I was able to do it myself.
https://youtu.be/TB_W6sPdzkM


What can I do to make my new bathroom vanity more stable? Note: Feel free to edit the title of this question if you know of a better way to put it.

I got a new bathroom vanity (cabinet and sink top).  In spite of its high price, the quality is not so good.  It's rectangular in width and depth, but it skews like in the picture below when any kind of pressure is applied to any of the sides.

I would like to lock it into shape somehow so that it doesn't move.  Even with the sink top on, it still moves.  I can tell because the edge of the sink top squeaks against the wall behind it.  Rather than fix the symptom by putting something like a rubber strip along the back, I would rather tackle the actual problem.  I imagine there is some kind of sturdy metal brace that I can screw in to each of the corners.

Screw it to the wall. A typical vanity has a wood strip along the upper back. Run some screws through the strip into the studs in the wall.

Do not use long screws. You run the risk of screwing a long screw into a pipe in the wall.


Can you paint Dow THERMAX WHITE FINISH INSULATION? Can you paint the insulation boards after installing them?  This would be for an attic interior installation. Then could I skip the dry wall?  How good would it look compared to drywall?

Thermax is rated for fire exposure and those particular boards are intended for interior finished space, so yes, you can paint the boards instead of covering them in drywall. However, I'm not sure the result will be very aesthetically pleasing or durable if this is going to be a finished residential space, which, based on your previous question, I'm guessing it is. But it should work.


Safe to install a resistor (of sorts) on a wall switch to force a light to dim? I have a tiny inner courtyard that needs a very dim antique light, but not too bright that it shines into the bedrooms.

Finding low-wattage replacement bulbs is a hassle, and I can't imagine ever needing anything bright for this circuit.

Is there any way I can add a resistor to the light switch (or to the light socket itself) to lower the brightness?

Remember a resistor dissipates heat, if you have a 50 w bulb and want only 25 w of light a resistor would now be heating the area where it is connected also 25 w resistor would be fairly large and more expensive than A dimmer. A dimmer switch would be a safer and more energy efficient way to dim the bulb as the circuitry limits what part of the AC cycle is allowed to pass. So use a dimmer not a resistor.


Boiler backflow preventer leaking Our boiler's backflow preventer valve started to leak out of the vent around Thanksgiving. I read that it may have to do with system pressure and it may stop, which did stop dripping after a few days. Then around Christmas we have all 3 zones going with family in town and the dripping started again. I have a Solo cup under it and after 3 weeks or so the cup is full.

My question is, at this point is the issue probably either a old valve or crud effecting the valve inside? If that is the case, I would probably rather just spend the money on the valve to replace it unless it is not too time consuming to try and clean. What suggestions would you have for me? Thanks

This can happen if the pressure difference goes the other way, like if the water feed is shut off. Some common models like the Watts 9D-M3 have rebuild kits available, but they cost almost as much as a replacement valve, which is $30-35 in the US. (I just checked that at one of the big box stores here)

So the answer is replace it, though a plastic cup after 3 weeks is pretty slow. Note that since this particular model has (threaded) union connectors, if you get the same model as a replacement, you can swap it in without soldering.


Wire at the end of the circuit activates my tester at about 12-14 inches away Have a new circuit in the basement that includes a dimmer switch and 4 recessed lights, in addition to 6 outlets.
The switch and the lights are at the end of the run. The order is:: panel > AFCI outlet > 5 outlets > switch > 4 recessed lights
When a contactless tester (Kline Tools) is brought very near (about an inch) or touched any wire of the circuit, except the part between two last lights,  it beeps/blinks red, which is correct.
Checked the wiring (after turning off breaker) and all seem to be ok.
All are new products from Home Depot. Tester is also ok and all outlets functioned ok, including AFCI outlet (trips and resets).
When the tester is at about 12-14 inches from the wire between the two lights at the end of the run, it starts to beep and blink.

Why is this happening?

I'm planning on rechecking the wiring/connections etc., but any tips would be greatly helpful.

Those testers detect electromagnetic fields.
It's downstream of a dimmer
There are three dimmer technologies.  Variacs are a variable transformer which steps down voltage, giving a sine wave, but they are huge and heavy.  Rheostats are a variable resistor that adds impedance, giving a sine wave, but they make stupefying amounts of heat.  Both of these, being sine waves (as in (a) below), produce a 60 Hz electro-magnetic field. (50 Hz in the rest of the world).  Which is what that tester is designed to detect.
However both those dimming methods are totally impractical for the home.

So a third method is used: semiconductor dimming, which uses electronic switching to alter the sine wave (as in (b) and (c) above).  However, nature likes sine waves, and nature will treat a mutilated sine wave as if it were a conglomerate of various sine waves summing up. The science of this is called "Fourier analysis".
Which sine waves sum up to (c)?  Many of them, at odd multiples (3x, 5x, 7x, 9x etc.) of the base frequency.  So 180 Hz, 300 Hz, 420 Hz, 540 Hz, 660 Hz. and so on. Janky shaped waves can create lots of these and they can be strong. Depending on the setting of the dimmer, these other frequencies will have different strengths, and depending on the room, will propagate certain ways.
The tester's sensitivity to these harmonics will depend on its own design.
I bet all these factors are lining up in a way favorable to detection.


Fixing minor tape blemishes/bubbling after a fresh paint job Unfortunately 1 week after a new paint job was done with a decent job of skimming and all, there was a small flood in a laundry room above.  Some water came down, but we averted disaster.  It's very minor.  You can see some small lines from some joint tape around 1 panel of sheetrock on 2 of 4 sides of that panel on the ceiling.  In another spot it looks a bit wet but I think that part will just dry and I can throw a bit of paint over it even if it discolors slightly.  It's just visible enough to be annoying.  The laundry room itself has a drain, but a bit of water pooled in a corner and a small amount made its way down.  It could have been a LOT worse without that drain.  Most of it just drained out, but the floor wasn't quite level.

OK enough background ... the tape has bubbled a tiny tiny bit and it kind of looks like an unfinished joint tape job.  Someone put mud in between the sheetrock panels, threw on some tape, and did a cruddy job throwing mud over it.

I ran a putty knife over the tape and flattened it out pretty well while it was damp.  Some tiny creases, but it's pretty flat.

OK so here's the question.  Should I remove the tape, or just throw a tiny bit of joint or spackle over it and paint or prime+paint?  Which is better?  Joint or spackle?  I'm thinking I can get away with a very thin skim of the dap pink stuff -- the joint compound OR the spackle (despite warnings), but maybe I just suck at DIY.

I've done decent patching with spackle for holes and whatnot.  The ominous warning NOT to use the spackle as joint compound confuses me.  I thought it might just be a bit harder to sand.

Unless the tape is badly torn up or loose, just sand high spots and then put one or two coats of drywall compound over it. I have no experience using DAP spackle as joint compound - mostly because I'm a professional and just use joint compound for joints. Spackle is more expensive when you're dealing with large quantities.

It would make a better job to go two coats - one feathered out eight inches each way and about 1/16" thick in the middle, and then the second coat feathered out 10-12 inches. But you could get away with one coat feathered out 10-12 inches, and flattened off at 1/16" thick for the middle 4 inches or so.


Asbestos in old furniture adhesive? I just bought a nice 1920s table which has obviously been fixed up a bit throughout its life, and thought I’d check before touching it whether there is any likelihood that the adhesive you can see in these photos could contain asbestos? I haven’t been able to find any authority on such things and I’m a bit paranoid. Any help appreciated!

As I've posted before, the risks of asbestos exposure on a very infrequent basis in a residential setting are highly over-blown. The real risks were for construction workers (pipe insulators, HVAC insulators, etc. ), back 50-60 years ago who where exposed to asbestos dust on a daily basis. I know the lawyers will hate me for saying this, but frankly asbestosis only occurred in an industrial setting not one off residential exposure to tiny amounts of asbestos.   It's not a poison, just an irritant that can lead to lung damage over a long period of time.  It's serious, but a one time exposure, probably very little, isn't anything to worry about.


Fitting dishwasher under granite Replacing a dishwasher and noticed they had tiled underneath and the dishwasher I purchased wouldn't fit. So I used an angle grinder and grout removel tool to remove the tiles down to the backer board and now the dishwasher fits. Yay! The ONLY issue left is that the granite countertop barely, and I mean barely scrapes up against the right corner of the dishwasher door. I feel like if I carefully grinded/sanded down the underside of the granite just a smidge, then the door would move freely. The only other option I can think of is to take the thing out, demo the backer board and subflooring, install new subflooring, and put the dishwasher directly on the subflooring, but that sounds like time or money I don't have, so leaning towards just grinding the granite a bit. Thoughts?

Many dishwashers have adjustable feet that may help.

The other thing to consider is the floor - is that level? And matching the worktop?


Why do we fit skirting boards to collect dust? In all the UK homes I remember, the skirting boards (baseboards) are designed to collect dust by exposing a horizontal or sloping surface. See a cross-section on the left of this image:

Surely we could fit a rectangular profile piece of skirting to the walls before plastering, and make the plaster flush with the front face. See cross-section on right above. A bead of flexible caulk would bridge the join to conceal the crack (you often need this on normal skirting anyway).

I'm not about to demolish my house to fit new skirting boards, but why didn't some genius think of this 100 years ago? Or is there a flaw in my design?

Wikipedia

  In architecture, a baseboard (also called skirting board, skirting, mopboard, floor molding, as well as base molding) is a (generally wooden) board covering the lowest part of an interior wall. Its purpose is to cover the joint between the wall surface and the floor.

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseboard

The purpose of a baseboard is to easily cover the joint so that it does not have to be seen. It's much easier to finish the plaster and then tack on the board that take the time to ensure everything is flush and not get any plaster onto the board. I don't believe that they are "designed" to collect dust, that is simply a side-effect of using them.


Grohe Kitchen Faucet Membrane Replacement Instructions I have a Grohe K4 kitchen faucet and need to replace the rubber membrane covering the on/off switch. I could not find any instructions and am wondering how to replace it.

Try and pick the old one off with a fingernail, toothpick, or some other pointy bit of plastic. (Avoid metal, as you might scratch your finish.)

The new one should pop back in with simple finger pressure.


How do I relight the pilot light on my Magic Chef stove? I have a Magic Chef stove (model: 31203KAW) which is not lighting/igniting.  We're using a butane lighter to light the stove-top burners (the gas still flows) but I'm nervous about turning on the oven "just to check" (visions of suicidal housewives are dancing in my head).  How do I relight the pilot light... if that's even what I need to do?  Help please.

Do you have the manual for the thing? I've done a little poking around (I even found a bunch of parts diagrams at Sears website), and I'm getting the impression that it's got a spark ignition system, not a pilot. Is the range plugged in? Is there any chance that the circuit it's on has tripped it's breaker? I've got a cooktop with a spark ignition system, and it has a special 'light' setting on the gas control - you turn it to 'light', which turns on the gas and starts the sparker. Once it ignites you turn it further to whatever setting you want. Does yours have anything similar? Does it make a 'clicking' noise when you start the gas?

Also, has it ever worked? If so, when did it stop working? Did you make any changes to the kitchen at that time?


No hot water at faucets after replacing water heater No water comes out from any hot water faucet--only the cold side after replacing water heater. How do I fix the problem?

Check all the supply valves to ensure they are open.

It is not uncommon for old valves (particularly gate valves) to break whilst operating, leaving you with a low or no-flow situation (sometimes called a "dropped wedge"). This would require you to replace the suspect valve. If you did a DIY install, were any of the valves particularly corroded or hard to operate?

It is also common for debris to be dislodged during the work, causing plugging of downstream faucets (although this would be unlikely on large faucets, such as a bathtub filler).

Did you shut off the main supply valve to the house or out at the meter and forget to turn it back on? If a plumber installed it, call them back right away.


Does the code inspector look at preexisting work, or only at recent work? I would like to have my service panel upgraded from 50 to 200 amps by licensed electrician, but am worried about preexisting code violations. If I had it upgraded and a building code inspector came out to inspect it, would he/she just inspect the new panel work or do they check the whole house for all building code violations?

Under the NEC, electricians are held to a very high standard when upgrading systems in existing homes. In many areas, the last electrician to have worked on a system can be held responsible for the whole system.  For this reason, most electricians will be very careful to check for any visible or obvious problems and insist they be corrected before new work is done.
As for building inspectors, they come in all degrees of harshness. Older style electrical work that does not meet current codes, but was and still is safely operational is most always grandfathered and the code enforcement inspector cannot force you to upgrade them unless it effects the new work or presents an imminent hazard. However, if you have substandard or unsafe conditions, any good electrician or inspector are going to point it out and insist on repairing it properly. This is to fulfill their obligation to assure your safety.


Finishing drywall: How do I finish over screws that refuse to recess/dimple into the drywall? Update 10/30/2012:  See comment I left under gregmac's answer

I just finished installing QuietRock 525 over existing walls.  Half a sheet of 525 is heavy backer board and I am thinking that's the reason why several of my screws are having so much trouble recessing into the wall.  If I had known in the beginning what I know now, I would have installed the QuietRock as the first layer and used special backer board screws with a square-shaped bit since this phillips bit wants to slip out of the screw head with a loud "ratta tat tat!".

So now I am stuck with some screws that stick out slightly from the surface of the drywall.  It's not as much as 1/16" or anything, but you can feel it raise as you take your finger over the head.  I could remove the offending screws, drill out a wider hole, and screw them back in, but I don't want to deteriorate the integrity of the grab.

I'd like to finish over them so that the wall is smooth.  What do I do, tape over them?  Use an extra-thick layer of mud?  Eh?

Though you might be able to mud over them, you're looking at 1-2' of mud (feathered) around each screw to make it not noticeable, which basically means you'd be covering the entire piece of drywall with mud. Like pretty much everything in construction, it will be much easier to do it properly now rather than try to fix it later.

If your driver is slipping out, you are probably not using the right bits (or your bit is worn out) or are not pushing hard enough on the drill to prevent the bit from slipping out. Make sure the bit fits well in the screw head: it should not have any room to wiggle in any direction, and should not slide around. #2 Philips is the usual here, but depending on the screw head it may need to be a sharper/longer or blunt tip.

It could also be that your screws are not the right type. If you're going into wood studs, generally you should use coarse thread screws. If you're going into metal studs, it should be fine-threaded screws.

Since the board is also 5/8, it may be that the screws are not long enough. Try longer screws, which should get a better grip on the studs behind so once they start going in, they'll go in as deep as you need.


What kind of glue is best for a black plastic kitchen appliance (ABS plastic)? I have a built in microwave oven with a broken door open button (the hinge plastic was too thin by design).  The plastic is somewhat pliable, waxy.  There is no chasing arrow showing the plastic type, but it is marked ">ABS<".  In the past I've tried "works on plastic" household glue, PVA glue, super glue and/or plastic epoxy with mixed or worse results.  Is there anything that really works on ABS?

See also: How to identify the type of plastic and How do I fix a broken microwave door hook latch?

The surprising (to me) answer may be ABS cement.  You probably won't find this in the hardware store glue isle, instead head over to plumbing:

You'll want the smallest can possible (e.g. 4oz), and after use to seal it in a zipper lock bag and store in a cool dry location.  The stuff goes bad in the can pretty fast.

The ABS cement worked for me far better than any of the other glues mentioned above.  You can also cut out a small piece of ABS drain pipe, or other ABS item, to use as a patch for the repair.

Note that ABS cement is a mix of a solvent and ABS powder: in the end you really end up welding the plastic more than gluing it.  For this reason clamping is recommended.


Is glue failure on garage door critical? The frame of my metal garage door has pulled away from the door. I can see in other images on the web that this frame is not always present. Is the frame for structural integrity or for adding and holding insulation?

Each vertical piece of the frame has a L-shaped piece screwed to it and then glued to the door. This glue had failed at each and every location yet the door operates fine and relatively quietly. Do I need to be concerned about this and/or re-glue?

No, it isn't critical. The adhesive is primarily there to prevent vibration noise during operation and due to wind. The critical structural connections are at the hemmed seams and the screwed points.

That said, I'd raise a warranty claim. Poor quality is poor quality.


How do I build a corner bench for my deck? I am totally new to DIY and wanted to take my first steps with a simple project - a corner bench.

I have decking outside already, and want to use the same decking wood for my bench. Something similar to this

I thought this would be a standard sort of newbie project and was expecting to find loads of plans, drawings, tutorials etc how to make one. Unfortunately an hour spent googling did not show anything useful.

Does anyone have some good resources that can help me learn the basics to allow me to complete this project? I'm not necessarily looking for a complete set of drawings/instruction for a corner bench (although that would help) but some basic instruction on building basic furniture.

For example, how do I attach the legs without the screws showing? How do I complete the corner join of the benches etc.

Any hints or tips for this newbie will be hugely helpful

Simple really assuming you have the proper tools.

Cut your 4x4's to 18 inch length
Build a frame
Attach to the 4x4 posts
Cut wood to fit the surface of the frame
Add lateral support to the 4x4 posts

To join 2 benches at a corner, figure out your corner angle and modify the plans to match.

Wooden Bench Plans Website


What tool should I use to cut memory foam? I need to cut 2x2 ft square pieces from a sheet of memory foam. Not sure what tool is best for this. Any ideas? In the future I'd like to cut circles and eventually sculpt irregular shapes, I don't know what tool can be used for this sort of job.

For thicker pieces you might find you get better results by compressing the foam before cutting it. You could make a simple straight-line clamp out of a couple of 2x4s linked with a door hinge -- just put your foam in between, clamp the open end shut with a C-clamp, and use one edge of the wood as a guide for your cut. For your curved cuts it might make more sense to make a plywood die to match the final shape and press it down by hand or with something heavy before cutting around it.


Cold Temperature Glue The plastic piece that holds together the 2 ice crusher blades in my ice dispenser broke. Is there a glue that could withstand the freezer temperature I can use?

I had to test this myself when 'gluing' an aluminum mounting plate to a stainless steel door. No 'glue' or epoxy that I tried worked under a repeated freeze / heat cycle test. What did work was RTV silicone rubber. Your chioce of colors. If the stress is too much for this application, 2-part epoxies designed for wide temperature range might work. Over-build the RTV or epoxy at the break so it will have a better grip. Give them 2 days to fully set before use I might add that if the torque at this location is very high (it did break there after all) and neither epoxy or RTV will hold then you may need to surf the web based on the make and model of freezer and try to order just the broken part.


What type of control joint is best for my concrete project? I'm looking at getting a lot of concrete work done and am looking to educate myself past the minimal anecdotal information I posses so that I can have a better conversation with prospective contractors.

Expansion joints, saw cut or hand troweled - is this just preference or is there a good reason to go for one over another? From an aesthetic perspective I like hand troweled but I've been told that the saw cut can leave the concrete stronger as you are interacting with the wet concrete less.

Google doesn't seem to provide much info by way of POV on this, just that there are options, so I look to the community here to see if there is a collective wisdom.

For perspective, this is for a standard 4" thick driveway, 6" thick apron, and garage floor.

Cut joints are smaller and straighter, generally speaking. I personally prefer them for that reason. They do require a return visit, however, and therefore may cost more. One possible downside is the sharp edges that are left, which can chip away and degrade appearance depending on the use case.

Tooled joints can be done at finishing time, and if done well don't degrade from the final appearance of the project. They are larger, though, and therefore can collect more debris. They do tend to be more durable due to the rounded corners.

A quick search does return quite a bit of discussion on this.


Outdoor kids playset - type of lumber use/look for I'm looking at getting a wooden playset (one of those with a rock wall, swings, slide, and small clubhouse up top) and I was wondering what type of lumber I should be looking for. Not so much the type of tree it came from but the treatment of the lumber after it was cut up. Should I find a set that is made from pressure treated wood or a non treated wood? I would guess that pressure treated wood would last longer and be less maintenance but is that safe for kids to play on for hours at a time? If I went with the non-treated wood, I'd apply a deck sealant to the pieces as I'd build it.

You won't want to use pressure treated wood in any application where people will be touching the wood often, especially children.  Cedar is a good wood for outdoor applications, and is often used in playhouses and swing sets. If you've got really deep pockets, Teak is a very good choice for outdoor applications. Teak is often used in higher end patio furniture, because is is very low maintenance and stands up well to weather, due to its high oil content much like cedar.

You could probably get away with any type of wood (even pine), but you'd have to seal it yearly and replace pieces if they did start to rot.


Replacing kitchen wall tiles If my kitchen wall tiles start some centimeters below the countertop and the base cabinets, can I replace the tiles without moving the cabinets? For example by cutting the tiles at the countertop line and replacing only from this line and up?
I know it's not the cleanest way but, given that I will never see what's behind the cabinets, does it matter?

Thank you.

You could do it. You'd need a small portable tile saw and would have to very carefully cut the tiles exactly flush with the countertop. This would be very hard to do because you'd have to reach to the back of the countertop to do the cutting and would need perfect control of the saw to avoid scratching the countertop. If you were that skilled, because of past experience, with the saw, you'd probably realize it's not a good idea to do this and you'd unscrew the base cabinets and move them out a bit and do the job right.


What advantages does bending copper pipes have over joining many parts without brazing? These questions are in context of a DIY solar water heater I am planning (another separate question). The copper pipes in question, are supposed to carry around hot water using thermo-siphon mechanism.

Are there some specific reasons why people recommend bending long copper pipes, instead of cutting them into sections and joining them using U-joints, elbow-joints etc. ?

Also, can such joints be made reliable (as in leak-proof, while withstanding water pressure) without brazing them ?

Fewer points of failure
Bending results in fewer high risk failure points.
A continuously bent pipe has 2 high risk failure points. Whereas a similar length of pipe made with a bunch of fittings, has 2 high risk failure points per fitting.
Quieter
Bending a radius will provide less resistance within the pipe, so water will flow smoother. In a pressurized system, this means water flow is quieter.
Thanks @kavisiegel


How Do I Bond My Antenna to Home Electrical Ground? I'm about to install an Over The Air (OTA) antenna as the first phase of cutting the cord.

I understand the antenna and coax cable need to be grounded. I can purchase and drive a grounding rod where the coax enters the house and connect the coax and mast ground lines to that grounding rod no problem.

The thing that's preventing me from going forward with the job is that I'm not sure how to then bond the antenna grounding rod to my home electric ground. I've read that this should be done with a 6 AWG copper wire, but I was planning on routing the coax into my house where my satellite coax currently enters, which is on a different side of the house from my water pipe and my breaker box.

Of course the satellite installer didn't ground the dish or the coax cable, so I can't reuse any of that.

Is it okay to have the jumper from antenna ground to home electric ground just laying on the dirt outside the house? My concern is that I don't want to bring a (probably) unsheathed conductor, whose entire purpose is to carry lightning, into my house. I had read something online about not having the bonding wire within some distance of the soil, but that didn't reference any NEC codes.

I just want to do this right so I don't set my house on fire. Lightning running down a 6 gauge wire routed through my walls seems exactly like how that would happen, but I'm not sure how else to attach the two grounds.

The purpose of an earthen ground is not to direct lightning. It's unlikely that you'll have lightning running down a wire routed through your walls, unless you have other more severe electrical problems in your residence. Your home's electrical wiring should have a current earthen ground "somewhere" and all devices using that electricity are conductive to that ground.

Having an independent earthen ground in the manner you describe ensures that your additional device, in this case, an antenna has the electrical potential set to match the rest of the system. If you did not have an earthen ground for the antenna and received outside electrical impulse (lightning), the charge would then attempt to travel through the signal cable into the electronics attached to the antenna and from there, through your house's electrical ground to the earthen ground. It's unlikely it would travel that far, however, as the electronics would take the brunt of the force and go up in smoke.

An independent earthen ground provides for a safer path for the antenna, the mast of which should be bonded to the ground. You can also bond the coax from the antenna to that ground with a grounding block. If you have satellite coax without a grounding block, install one and bond it to the same ground.

There is no reason to run the ground wire into the house, unless you have devices within that are not grounded to the house ground system.

The primary objective is to have every device at the same electrical-potential-level of the ground rod. The outer conductor of the coax will provide suitable ground connection to the electronics within, for both the satellite equipment and the OTA equipment.

If you were to take a severe enough strike on your antenna mast that the earthen ground could not safely dissipate it, and the "excess" traveled on the coax, it would likely melt the coax and prevent travel into the house. As a former cable television technician in Florida, I found many instances where the house ground was not bonded to the cable tv block ground. The lightning strike/surge that traveled into the residence on the power line exited on the cable tv ground, burning up the electronics in the television. Back in the 80s, it wasn't practice to bond the house and cable tv grounds together. That has since changed and destroyed television are rarer now.

Regarding the ground wire running in the dirt, it's not going to change anything with respect to electrical potential. I don't know NEC codes, but I'd be surprised if there was anything of concern there. If you could drive #6 copper straight down 8 feet, you'd have suitable grounding. It's easier to hammer in a 1/2" rod though.


Reuse nail holes when replacing oak trim I removed some trim boards and I used the technique of pulling the nail through the wood to avoid splintering the finished face (instead of pounding the nails back out).
This resulted in the heads of the nails enlarging the holes slightly.
Since the oak is old, it is as hard as cast iron.  Driving nails into it results in bent nails.   I could predrill holes but that is extra work!
Are there any tricks to reuse the existing holes?

Just two quick things.

Given that your nail heads were covered, I would have just bent them back and broke them off.   But if they came out and you have holes on the other side that's fine.   Honestly every trim/nail-type might have a best method so there isn't anything that someone can categorically say.

To go into existing holes... Get a better quality trim nail and use a gun.   Up the pressure on the gun.   When nailing into existing hole you want to hit the hole at an angle  - maybe 30 degrees - so that your head doesn't shoot straight through.


Can this european sauna heater be installed in the US? I am the proud almost-owner of the Huum Drop 9kw heater.

I purchased a GE 3 pole, 16A breaker and am planning on installing it into my breaker box.

Will this work?

Thanks

Yes you can, provided your AHJ is OK with the unit, but you should be treating it as a single phase unit -- you'll also need to take precautions with wiring methods

The instructions you linked provide for a single phase, 230V, 48A connection as well as the 3-phase, 230/400V, 16A connection you discuss in your post -- the single phase connection is what you want, since the type of 3 phase power this requires (400Y/230V) doesn't exist on this side of the pond.  Thankfully though, mains frequency doesn't matter to heaters, and a sauna heater like this does not need to be listed, just signed off on (approved) by your AHJ -- sauna-type heaters are not included in the NEC 424.6 list of space-heating equipment that requires listing.

The major caveat though is that you'll need to use a wiring method that's rated for both the high temperatures in the sauna room and a damp (at minimum) location.  While the type of cordage the installation instructions call out is not rated for North American usage, an equivalent cordage type is available through some online suppliers or electrical supply houses -- industrial-grade multiconductor type W portable power cable.  You'll want a 4/3 type W cable for this (hot, hot, ground) and to route it from the heater to a weatherproof (NEMA 3R or 4X/12) junction box located in the sauna room somewhere with an appropriately sealed gland/strain-relief where the cord enters it (at the bottom, too).  The use of cordage here is permitted by NEC 400.10(8) due to the equipment in question being identified for flexible cord connection, by the way -- in fact, I suspect we're dealing with the weird case of a fixed piece of equipment that is identified only for flexible cord connection, not for the use of a Chapter 3 wiring method directly to the device. (Which is unfortunate, if you ask me -- the proper way to do this would be a rigid conduit with type SA wire all the way to the device, but that's out of the question as the install instructions don't support that.)

From this box, you'll need to run a rigid metal conduit out of the sauna room, with properly sized individual XHHW-2 (note: NOT THHN/THWN-2 -- PVC wire insulation does not hold up well to extended exposure to wet heat -- XHHW-2 is a bare minimum for this application, but I'd use type SA wire if I can get it as it's fully rated for sauna conditions) conductors inside it.  (The manufacturer's instructions call out the metric equivalent of 6AWG wire, but if you were to apply full NEC derates to the XHHW-2 conductors, you'd need 1AWG copper or 1/0AWG aluminum instead.)  Once the conduit run exits the sauna, you can then transition to a saner wiring method for the homerun, such as 6/3 NM with the neutral capped off at the end of the homerun, at the box for the contactor that controls this thing, based on whatever you are using for a switch or thermostat.

With this, you'll want to use a 60A, 2-pole breaker (48A * 1.25 for a continuous load) of the type that's normally used in your electrical panel.  (The proper application of Eurostyle MCBs in North American electrical systems is a subject far beyond the scope of this question, and a North American panelboard-type breaker can protect a dumb heater just fine, thank you very much.)


Put two more tube lights in fixture? I got a shop-light fixture, leftover from a construction site. The metal boxes with 4 foot tubes. It has wiring for two lights in it - two of the small rectangular connectors on each end that you twist the tube into.  This light is big enough for 4 tubes - it's 4' by 2', and I've seen them that size with four bulbs in the store.  It has a black ballast box in the middle that shows how to wire it for two lamps.

So I also acquired another ballast wiring harness that shows wiring for three bulbs.  Couldn't I install the three-lamp ballast box next to the two lamp one, put in the connectors and only use two of the three extra spaces?  Basically turn the 2 bulb fixture into a 4 bulb fixture? The wiring shows that the three-lamp ballast will provide power "up to" three bulbs, but there's nothing saying I can't install just two of the bulbs and leave the third empty.

Would there be excessive heat build up from two ballast boxes being in there?

If there's a mounting location for a second ballast, yes.  Many 4-lamp fixtures do provide for 2 ballasts, and are built for same.

Try to use modern electronic ballasts.  They are plentiful dirt cheap on eBay and Craigslist now that so many people are doing LED conversion.

I would add to this, some electronic ballasts are actually made to drive 4 lamps.  The wiring can get a little bit knotty and you have to watch your wiring diagrams.


Why is my desk still tacky two weeks after finishing it with a polyurethane clear coat? I've recently built a standing desk out of sandply with a mahogany veneer.

I have stained it, and two weeks ago added a polyurethane clear coat to protect the stain. However, after doing this, the desk is slightly tacky, and things don't slide very well on it.

What can I do to reduce this "stickiness"?

The poly simply needs to cure for a while. Even after it "dries" and is safe to work on, the solvents that keep the polymers in suspension aren't all gone; they'll continue to evaporate, and the clear coat will fully harden in time. Check the can for your particular product; it should have a full cure time. It could take up to a month if you laid on a really thick coat and it's humid in your area.

Contrary to intuition, you can wax furniture that has a poly coat, much like you can wax a car that has a clearcoat. Just pick up a can of Minwax, apply and buff, then let dry overnight. This additional protective coating will be temporary, but hard, water-repellent and slick.


Fixing Incorrect Concrete Leveler Application I have a 400 Square Foot garage that has a lot of gouges in the concrete floor. I purchased some primer and Concrete Leveler in order to fix the gouges. I made a mistake and accidentally mixed 4 times the amount of water in the concrete and applied it anyway. It looks bad, but I was hoping that there would be a way to salvage the application with another bag of the concrete leveler (Properly mixed this time). Is this the correct way to go about doing this?

I tried applying the primer on top of the incorrectly applied concrete leveler, but it seems to be absorbing it.

You really should remove the stuff that was mixed overly wet - that tends to make cement products very weak. As a result, it should be easy to remove - might even come out with a stiff broom, if not, stiff wire brush might well do it.

Check the labelling on your paint - in most cases you should wait at least 30 days before painting (or attempting to paint) any fresh concrete product.


Garden building (UK) 2.5m rule where measured? Please see the image below. I have dug down 250mm from both fences.
In order to comply with the 2.5m height limit for a flat roof structure within 2m of a boundary.
Question: Is that 2.5m measured from the immediate boundary or the actual building itself?
I would prefer to have the building 2.75m in height.

Based on the info in your question;

If the structure is within 2m of the boundary then the height  of that structure is restricted to 2.5m.

That would mean that if your structure is within the 2m of the boundary then you can not have a structure  that is 2.75m in height   as it would violate the code.

Is that 2.5m measured from the immediate boundary or the actual
building itself?

The 2.5m height restriction is measured from grade (the ground), to the the top of the structure. Grade would be the ground at the bottom of the fence, not from the bottom of the hole you dug. Dig the hole deeper.
Again, this is based on how your question is worded.


This is a model for a light bulb that I have never seen. Does somebody recognize this model? I have purchased a lamp time ago. One of the options why I have choose it, is due to has replaceable bulbs and not integrated leds. After purchasing it, I have unmounted to discover the kind of replaceable led bulb that it has.
Seems a rounded led platform with two simple pins for connections in the back area. I attach some images here:

To be honest, is the first time that I see it and I am not able to find the model on internet due to neither I know the common name for this bulb. Obviously is not a GU10 led bulb or a B22 bulb neither.
Do somebody recognize this model?

You're trying to buy into a paradigm that doesn't exist
You've grown up with incandescent bulbs.  They blow out every 750-2000 hours, because they are basically tungsten on fire.  So you go "that's why bulbs have sockets".
Then you learn about fluorescents.  The electrodes suffer spallation and mercury absorption, so they too eventually fail. That's why they have sockets.
You learn about HID, ditto ditto.
Then you learn about LEDs.  And you think "Since incandescent light emitters burn out and need sockets, and fluorescent light emitters burn out and need sockets, and HID light emitters burn out and need sockets... therefore it follows that since an LED is a light emitter, therefore it burns out and LEDs need sockets".
But when you actually stop to think about that thinking... it follows a pattern, but there's not actually any logic to it.  What do LEDs actually have in common with those other obvious bulbs?  Nothing. Except they emit light.
So LEDs are a blank slate as to the question of whether they burn out.   And the answer is, they don't.
Therefore, nobody builds lights with replaceable LED emitters.
Meanwhile, in the real world...
LEDs do die.  And what they die of is driver failure.  The driver is the electronic module that regulates power to the LED emitters to keep them at the correct current.  (it's rather akin to a ballast).  The drivers fail because they are cheaply made Chinese, which was the only way the seller could hit the price-point which the buyer (that's you) insisted on.
Of course you have had failed LEDs, and you have fantasized that if only you could pry up the LED emitters you could replace them with good ones and the light would be back.  In fact, it's a Chinese capacitor in the driver that has taken a powder.  The LED is fine.
In many fixtures, drivers are standardized enough that a spirited search for a replacement driver module can turn up a workable substitute, and you can be back in business.
If you ask me, the darn drivers ought to have sockets and be standardized.
The only cases of LED failure I've seen which weren't that, was where the PC board itself and/or the lead-free RoHS solder failed. This was unrepairable, so into the trash it went. Ironically the FTC sent me a check refunding me the purchase price of that bulb; the company was that disreputable.
There's also a technical reason in the way
Like fluorescent or HID lights, LEDs are dumb and need something external to limit current. You can use a resistor, but you'll sacrifice most of the LED's performance if you do.  So most LEDs rely on an active driver that runs them right on-spec.
Driver specs are a specific exact current (e.g. 350mA) at a range of working voltages (e.g. 30-46 volts). (that voltage will vary depending on the LED temperature, age, manufacturing variations etc.)
The driver must be semi-custom matched to the LED. So if we had pluggable LEDs (or drivers), the plugs would have to be keyed so you couldn't plug a 350mA LED into a 700mA driver. Because that would go "boom"! Also, a 48-70V LED just wouldn't work on a 16-30V driver.  So we're talking dozens of key shapes.
Where that can work is 12V LEDs, because many of them use simple resistor drivers. I suspect that's what you have there.
Cooling is also a big issue.
When LED emitters run at peak performance, they need a good heat-sink. Just like installing a modern CPU, you have to use the heat transfer goop, and bolt it down very soundly onto the heat sink, with no real margin of error.  This is another barrier in the way of field-pluggable LED emitters.


Is it time to replace my 20 year old water heater? My water heater (gas) shows a date of 1991 on it, although the house was built in 1993. There is nothing wrong with it. It is a little slow to heat the water up, sometimes taking almost 5 minutes to provide hot water (early morning, colder nights) but other than that there is no problem.

I hear that one should be replacing the water heaters every 20 years. Is this true? if it breaks, its going to flood the surrounding area.  I dont want to replace it unless I have to. How can I check on this?

UPDATE: Based on the inputs, I have decided to replace the water heater. It may be a $250 for the check/clean/replace the rod/valve/sediments that I can add to the purchase of a new one and not worry about it for the next few years.

The fact that it is taking 5 minutes to deliver hot water to the shower rarely has anything to do with a tanked water heater and is instead because of the distance between the water heater and the shower.  (Also depends on whether or not those pipes are exposed to the elements, as the hot water will have to first heat the cold pipes before it can deliver hot water to the shower.  Raising the temperature setting would help heat the pipes faster, but that would nonetheless be a problem with the setting, not a problem with the water heater that would warrant replacement if it were the only problem.)  That aside, either the water at the top of the tank is hot or the water heater simply isn't working.  (Hot water, like hot air, rises.  If there's one place that hot water should be at, it's the top of the tank, which is where the hot outlet draws from.)

Water heaters typically go bad for two reasons:

(1) Not changing the anode rod, leading to corrosion that eats through the tank.  If you haven't had your water heater's anode rod replaced (typically about every 10 years), then this thing is a ticking time bomb, and it will fail very soon.

(2) Sediment covering the electric elements / gas burner, at which point performance will be reduced.  This will often cause "popping" noises, as the elements get quite hot and then cause water trapped within the sediment to almost instantaneously boil, causing a tiny explosion as the water turns to vapor.   In electric water heaters, this will pretty much cause the lower element to be completely useless, as it becomes buried under more and more sediment, either becoming thermally insulated from the water that it's supposed to be heating or outright failing due to excessive temperatures.  The common symptom of this in electric water heaters is that the hot water will quickly run out, as only the top element is working, and the hot water stays near the top.  I haven't worked with gas water heaters much, but the logic is pretty similar... sediment and scale is going to cover up the surfaces that are transferring heat from the burner to the water, and you're going to lose a lot of efficiency.  (To make matters worse, your water heater probably only had about a 50% AFUE [annual fuel utilization efficiency] rating when it was new, and if it has any sediment problems, it's probably down to 25%.  By contrast, a new gas water heater will have 75-90% AFUE.  Ergo, I would say it's worth it to change the water heater on account of efficiency alone.)

Note: Some of this depends on location -- the harder the water, the worse these problems will be.

If you don't have a water softener, you should immediately replace the unit.

If you have a water softener, the unit might still have problems, and even if it doesn't, I would replace it on AFUE concerns alone.  If you don't want to replace it, though, you MUST at least have a plumber come install a new anode rod and T&P relief valve if you have not had the water heater serviced recently.  (If your T&P relief valve is scaled over or has otherwise failed, flooding should be the least of your concerns.  A failed T&P valve can lead to a BLEVE [a type of explosion], which would pretty much flatten your entire house and possibly kill everyone in it.  See below.)

PS: What you want to use as a temperature setting is up to you, but you should keep it at at least 120-125F, raising the temperature up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit once a month to ward off Legionnaires' disease, which carries a 30% fatality rate.


Why is my bath hot water not so hot now that I have new taps? I have had new taps fitted in my bathroom, both bath and sink. However when I have a bath the hot water is not as hot as it is for the sink or indeed downstairs in the kitchen.
I don't have to use any cold in the bath, and it seemed hotter before I replaced the taps

What can this be?

In general (which is all we can do without specifics of "what new taps") bath and shower controls in the current era include an "anti-scald" feature which deliberately limits how hot the water coming out can be (by some means, which vary, and with more or less effectiveness...)

If replacing older taps, this may well reduce the maximum temperature you can get by a noticeable degree (pun works but not actually intended...)


Could old gate valves be causing low pressure at the faucet? We installed a new sink/faucet last year and the first faucet we had installed had super lower water pressure which we assumed was the faucet. We replaced the faucet and the pressure improved slightly but not even close to what it is in the bathroom sink right next door. Since this was my second install in a couple of weeks we left it but we just opened the place up for the summer and the pressure is horrible so we need a fix.
There are two original (1978) gate valves that are used yearly(since we winterize) and as part of the renovation in the kitchen, I added two additional ball valves under the sink for quicker access. Now as we get ready to replace the faucet again I'm wondering if the old gate valves in the basement could be contributing to the issue or we just got really unlucky and have had two bad faucets?
If it's a hint sometimes it comes out better or starts higher but then quickly drops to a very low rate.
TLDR;

Pressure was okay before the reno(that we can remember, not 100% on this)
Pressure in the bathroom right next door is perfect, same water line.
We're on well if that matters
We're on our second brand new faucet and the pressure is slightly above a dribble.
Both hot and cold lines are the same low pressure
The new valves under the sink are Brass 1/2-in Push-to-Connect x 3/8-in OD Compression Quarter Turn Straight Valve
Old valves are 1/2" brass valves

How should I debug this before replacing another faucet? Should I just remove them and keep the new under the sink vales since I doubt I need two?

First thing to try is take off the faucet altogether, get a bucket by the pipe, and get someone to trn on the ball valves. No pressure there, then look further back. Good pressure there (turn it off again!) then there's something up with the new faucet.


Brick Wall separated from home and collapsed My home's brick wall has fallen down on 2 sides. I'm hoping to clear away the remaining bricks and install insulation and siding. I'm not sure how high of a base of bricks I should leave at the bottom. (so siding doesn't go down to the dirt). I'm also dealing with the outside electrical meter, not sure how I should handle that. Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I would want to repair the wall to the top of the window. It appears the window height is the same as the door. This would eliminate needing to call the power company to drop power to the house when you move the meter base and the need to re do the window and door casements. If you really want the brick gone, the bottom of the window would be the next best location to stop in my opinion.


How can I remove odor of spilled sewage under the sink? My plumber did a really poor job when he replaced a pipe under my kitchen sink because he spilled the remaining sewage in the pipe all over the place. As a result it smells really bad under the sink (like ammonia and butyric acid), even though I have cleaned all surfaces thoroughly three times with various cleaning agents. The remaining smell comes from the surface of a corrugated PVC pipe and from the slits in the wood joints of the sink rack. Any idea how I can eliminate the remaining odor? Thanks.

At pet stores (and many other stores) they sell "enzymatic" cleaners that are made to destroy urine odor.  In my experience, they also work on other stubborn smells that can't be cleaned by ordinary cleaners since they work by actually breaking down the odor causing contaminates.

If that doesn't work, there's also a type of primer that you can purchase at a paint or home improvement store that will help seal in odors.  A shellac-based primer like Zinsser BIN will work well.  I've used it on paneling that reeked of smoke and on sub-floors where an animal died, and it worked well.  It dries very fast, so it's easy to use, but hard to clean up.


Foul smell coming from dishwasher My dishwasher is 10 years old.  It is only used intermittently, but I do try to run it at least once a week. There is an intermittent sewer-like odor, that seems to come and go. It was really bad this time, totally smelling up the house. I can run the washer with baking soda, bleach or white vinegar, and the smell will go away for about 8 hours, then it's back.  It will then go away, not to return for several months.  The drain hose is looped to the top of the cabinet, there is no disposal. There is a open-ended PVC pipe about 18 inches high in between the trap and where the pipe exits the house.  Does that serve as the air gap I have read about on these pages?  I have taken off the sprayer arm and the filter underneath that and there was no standing water, no debris, nothing I could find to account for the smell.  The door also appears to be clean. Anywhere else I should look for food debris? Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Here are a few things worth trying:

I reckon a hot wash would give you a few hours of respite from the smell, and nothing you've tried cleaning it with would do much against congealed grease. A dishwasher cleaning product or even just a full dose of detergent with it empty would be better.
After this, try to figure out where the smell comes from first, to narrow down the problem.
Damage to the drain hose or sump can cause a (slow) leak, and that can smell. In our case a mouse that the cat brought in chewed through the drain hose, and the first clue we had was the smell because the volume of water each time was too small to get right out. Replacing the drain hose is a bit tedious but not expensive or hard. Any leaking water could end up inside the unit so check there as well.
If there's an open pipe above a trap you may need to clean the trap (caustic soda, though the dishwasher cleaner might take care of this). If the trap is full of grease it can cause the outlet pipe to overflow.


How to refill a fire extinguisher How do I refill a fire extinguisher in NYC.
I went to the fire department and they do not refill them.
I bought a new one but if the old one can be refilled, I would use it as a backup.

Look in the phone book under "Fire Extinguishers" or similar. In the NYC / Jersey area there should be hundreds of companies that service hand-held extinguishers - everything from hand-pump water cans to stuff that puts out exotic metal fires.

Note that if it is a very small domestic unit it may be cheaper to replace it.


What's the easiest way for me to cut thin metal? Will someone at Home Depot or Lowe's be able to cut this for me? If not, what tool should I buy and use?

Edit

Thanks for all the help! I ended up buying a Dremel. I went through 6 cut-off wheels in order to finish all my cuts. I was customizing an IKEA drawer to fit under my smaller IKEA table. Here is one of my noob cuts:

And here is the finished product:

Hacksaw

Lots of work. BORING!

Oscillating multi-tool or Rotary tool

You're probably not cutting 1/8" steel with this, but it's useful for cutting very thin metal.

Jigsaw

A little more fun, but still a bit tedious. Make sure you use the proper blade.

Reciprocating saw

More fun, but you may have trouble keeping a straight line.

Angle grinder

Let the sparks fly!  Lots of fun, and it will allow you to plunge cut.

Torch

An Oxy-Acetylene, or Plasma torch will make short work of this job.

Punch press

Finish the job with the press of a button.

Lightsaber

Fast, but requires a bit of Force.

If you're using any of the saws, make sure you use cutting fluid to prevent the blade from overheating.


How can I route a cable around a floor joist over a wall? I had to pull some drywall off because of a leak. I found that this wire was right under the drywall. It didn’t have any metal strap in front or anything. It runs down the side of that 2x4 and crosses the other 2x4. The drywall was installed over that whole section except for the 2x4 on the left. The 2x4 on the left is where the garage door is attached to.

I can see why they did it as the joist is right there and the wire is coming from above. So how would I route it correctly?

The circled section at the top is where the issue is. The bottom Circle is where it goes.

There’s not much slack above but it’s an attic like area, so a junction box could go up there.

I would be drilling from the plate through the header straight up the center , with it centered it will be ok and no nail plate would be required it will not be a problem with strength as the load is on studs at the opening.


Will using a Chimney Balloon to insulate my fireplace block the ventilation of my water heater and furnace? My house was built in 1920 in Providence, RI.

I'm not sure of the design of the entire chimney, but the water heater and furnace vent into the chimney. I am considering using a Chimney Balloon, but it would need to go above the damper since there's not a good surface to install it below the damper. Would it be likely that I'd block the ventilation of the water heater and furnace by installing the Chimney Balloon?

You should check whether there's a single flue for all three utilities, or multiple flues. Generally (and I think this is code, at least in the USA) fireplaces shouldn't share their flues with anything else, including other fireplaces. My (1960 Massachusetts) house has two fireplaces, a furnace and a gas hot water heater; it has one flue for each fireplace and a third shared flue for the heat and hot water. If they're separate, then you don't have a problem.

If indeed a single flue services all three, then you'd need to find out where the furnace and water heater's exhaust join the flue. More importantly, I'd be worried about safety even without the chimney balloon; it would be easy for carbon monoxide from the water heater and furnace to come down into the fireplace and into your living room.


Please help! I don’t know what to do on what to do about my frozen main water supply line to my toilet? The water supply line to my toilet is frozen going on about 24 hours now. It is in the upstairs bathroom along the north wall, the only water line in the house that is frozen. All other pipes/drains/showers/toilets ect seem to be working fine, all are dripping.
The line is in the exterior wall and I am not able to get to the pipes.
Do I call a Plumber now?
I have a heater in the bathroom and the room below that bathroom Is my kitchen so I’ve turned the heat up in my house to 74 degrees hoping it will help to thaw the pipe as well just now. Had it on 69 before the pipe froze then up to 71 until an hour ago.  My pipes are PEX pipe.
It is supposed to be below freezing for about 6 more days then should thaw out. Again, I’d love any suggestions and should I call a Plumber now or wait?
I’m losing sleep worrying. Any suggestions?
Thank you in advance for any and all advice.

Oh. I just realised "the line is in the exterior wall" - you mean buried inside a wall itself, or that it comes in from the outside? How close to it can you get? Can you see any part of it to examine it? I've never seen any building with piping buried in exterior walls (just because of this precise winter scenario), so I'm a bit puzzled.
Late Edit
I might have to reduce this to "if you can see the pipe or get to it to see if it's cracked or may leak and you can switch off the water to this one run without affecting the rest of the house, then warm it now. If not, call the plumber."
What you don't want to end up with is a leak you can't get to & can't switch off without switching everything off, especially if you and a thousand other people are all queuing for the same plumber, who may not be able to make it til Wednesday.

Thawing the pipe is easy enough, a hairdryer or small fan heater & a bit of patience… however…
Ice is 'bigger' than water, so frozen pipes are swollen pipes. Swollen pipes can crack under pressure.
So, before considering your next action - to call a plumber or attempt to DIY - make certain you can see no evidence of swelling or cracking.
If all looks good, then you can gently heat it. If using a hairdryer etc don't get the pipes themselves too warm. Be patient & heat around the area, slow & sure.


What is the best/cheapest solution for poorly plastered walls? My house is about 50 years old and many of the walls are plaster.  If done nicely I would consider this a plus but it looks like my house was plastered/painted by a a 2nd grade art class.  I don't have the money to get it professionally plastered so I ask;  What is the best way to smooth them out?  Can I sand them?  Is it possible to cover them with drywall?

The best solution is to get them replastered. However, this is a messy and expensive job as you need to hack off the old plaster first. The expense comes from hiring a plasterer.

The cheapest solution is to cover them with drywall. This will give you a nice smooth wall.

You can glue the drywall directly to the plaster which will work if the current plaster is not too uneven. A better finish will be obtained if you batten the walls first ensuring that the battens are vertical and level horizontally. However, as @Tester101 points out you'll have to "pull out" all your sockets and light switches and have issues around door and window frames.

A better solution would be to rip the plaster off and then plasterboard, again either gluing or battening depending on the quality of the wall. Battening would allow you to add insulation and/or a void for feeding any cables you might want to add (ethernet, coaxial, power) in the future. This is still messy, but should be cheaper.

Sanding is possible, but it will generate a lot of dust and is a lot of effort for indeterminate results. If the plastering isn't too bad you might get a good finish, but you will have to skim the walls again to get a really smooth finish.


How can I reduce sheen with touched-up wall paint? I touched up some paint spots on my stairway wall. When looking straight at the touch-ups, it looks blended in well with no obvious patch work. However, when looking at the paint at certain angles, it appears shiny/glossy as seen in the picture. How can I fix this issue? Thanks

My 2 cents...

I had the same issue and the painter told me the best course of action was to paint that one entire wall.

His reasoning was he could get the color very close, but never perfect and there was a good chance my eye would see the touch up.  Doing the entire wall fakes your eye into seeing the color as a whole.  In my house, my eye can't tell the difference so it was worth the money.

Caveat:  Obviously you can't paint one side flat the other gloss, etc.


Certain light bulbs not working in fixture I have recessed lighting in my eaves outside, 8 in front 4 in the back.  Most of them were blown and I bought 12 Great Value Led 8W (60W Equivalent) Daylight Color Frosted Light Bulbs to replace them all so they all match in brightness and color.
After replacing 7 of the front ones, the last one didn't work.  I tried 4 different bulbs, none of them worked in the socket.  The incandescent 25W that was there worked fine, and I had an older LED I snagged and that worked fine so I left it there.  I had all the lights on and from the road, the one bulb was noticeably a different color.  I could try to find a similar color and style bulb that is a different brand and try it.
What would cause this particular bulb to not work in this socket?  All of the fixtures appear to be identical, all on the same switch, and now all using less wattage than before using LEDs.  These bulbs are dimmable and the switch is a dimmer switch, which works fine with the alternate bulb put in.

Last time I had this problem it turned out the spring in the fixture that makes contact with the bulb tip had weakened, so it only made contact with some bulbs. That's how I discovered that on some bulbs the tip sticks out a little bit more than on others.

Then right as I was thinking "bad contacts can heat and start fires" the thing started to make "kzzzzt" noises. Apparently contact was really bad.
Fix was to Turn off the breaker to the fixture and test to be sure there is no power at the fixture and then pull the spring in the socket a little bit with needle nose pliers   to make sure it made contact again. Or change the socket.
Could also be a bad contact with the wires, or a loose screw, that happened to make contact after you fiddled with it. That's another fire hazard.


Is it okay to have brick below grade? Is it okay to have brick below grade? My house was built in 1967. The walls are brick and block construction. The soil is graded on top of 3 courses of brick. One of my neighbors said that this is common in the area (Maryland) and it's not a problem. The garage is on a slab and the footings aren't very deep. I think that they are roughly 30 in. with the soil backfilled on the brick. The rest of the house is 2-story over a basement with a block foundation.

Many, many houses have brick foundations, or brick-over-fieldstone as mine does. If it was built properly,  and maintained properly, it's fine; mine (with a real basement, brick down to about 6' below grade) has lasted over 100 years so far.


Snowblower auger spins easily and does not turn impeller I live in the northeastern US which just got pummeled with 3+ feet of snow.
I was out snowblowing all morning using my Cub Cadet and it did a great job. However when I turned it off and started gently knocking the excess snow off the blades/augers, I noticed that although three of them were tough to turn, one of them was spinning loosely.
When I say "tough to turn", I mean they felt normal. With each of the these three augers, trying to turn them manually was difficult but also resulted with the impeller spinning at the same time. This is normal given my experience with snowblowers.
But one of the augers you can spin easily and does not seem to be connected to the impeller at all.
Has something broken or shorn off here?

There are sacrificial bolts (shear pins) that break on purpose if you hit something solid (like a rock). Check for them.
It generally replaces just like a bolt (with a nut on one end, but it might use a cotter pin or similar). But DO NOT USE A BOLT. It needs to be able to shear, so get the right part (they are VERY common - should be no issue). Check the other end of the auger for one that's still intact for a sample.

Here's a close up of the installation of a shear pin/bolt that is designed to break.  Each side of the gearbox will have at least one.  If your snowblower is a three-stage unit, there will be more.

Here's a close-up of a replacement supplied with a Cub Cadet. You can see it uses a clip to install and the notches designed to break are obvious.  They are 1/4" diameter and about 1-1/2" long.  Even though my three-stage snowblower uses four in total, Cub Cadet only gave me three spares.


How do you locate roof leaks? Sometimes the source of a roof leaks is difficult to find.

The best approach that I've found for locating the leak is to have someone watch where the water is coming into the house (may be easiest if this can be done in an attic) and have a second person spray the roof with a hose. Spray first at lower elevations and keep spraying the same spot for at least a minute to give the water a chance to make it inside. If the water doesn't show up inside then work your way along the roof at the same elevation. Then work your way from the bottom to the top until water starts coming in. The source of the leak is likely close to the spot you're spraying or where you sprayed last.

What techniques have you found useful?

I had a leak caused in a sun-room that was hard to identify. It turns out the roof to wall flashing wasn't properly secured under the siding. It only ever leaked when there was enough water weight to push the flashing down causing it to pop out from behind the siding.

Long story short, ensuring that the flashing is properly secured is one of the first things I check.


Is this enough room for undercabinet sink plus disposal? We are remodeling our kitchen and considering an undercabinet sink, and also want a disposal. The drain line is 18" from the underside of the 1.5" thick countertop. The sink is a stainless steel 70/30 model, with the larger side 9" deep and the smaller side 6 5/8" deep.

Is there enough room to mount a disposal under the sink and still have room for the p-trap?

By my calculations, the bottom of the larger bowl will be 9" above the drain pipe and the smaller side will be 10 3/8" above the drain pipe. A basic disposal shows 7 3/16" from the bottom of the sink to the centerline of the disposal pipe (given the 1/2" addition for a stainless steel sink).

That seems like it will be enough room to install a disposal on either side and still have enough room to properly install the p-trap since it will start 2" above the drain pipe.

Is my math and understanding correct?

Note: lowering the drain line would be expensive at this point, so that option is not being considered.

Your math looks good, but you haven't accounted for the tail-piece from the disposal into the trap. The 7 3/16" you calculated is to the center line of the disposal's outlet, and there's a piece attached that fits into the trap. In the linked diagram, that tail piece is shown as 4" high, so in the worst case, measuring from the bottom of the countertop down, you'd need 9" for the sink + 7 3/16" sink to outlet + 4" tailpiece = 20 3/16". So that wouldn't work. But on the shallow bowl of the sink, you're just under 18" and should be OK.

You do have some additional wiggle room in two possible areas:

The tailpiece doesn't need to fully extend down. Your trap can come right up to the part where it curves to join the disposal. This can probably reduce its height from 4" to 3" or maybe even 1.5 to 2".
Hard to tell from the diagram, but the height of the disposal plus drain flange should be measured from the top of the flange not the underside of your sink. The flange drops into your sink from above and is clamped on from below, so whether your sink's made of very thin material or very thick stuff only affects the position of the clamp, not the height of the final assembly. (Unless you use an extra-long flange, which might be necessary in e.g. a thick stone sink.)

You will also need a bit of extra height to allow for proper sloping of the drain lines. 1/4" or 1/2" could be fine. I'm also assuming your 18" is measured to the center of the wall drain.

So in short, I think you will be fine if you're willing to put the disposal on the shallower end of the sink, and you have a chance of making it work on the deeper end too. Good luck!


Install ceiling light with wireless switch I’m looking to install a ceiling fixture where none exists. I believe power is already routed through the joists where I’d like to install. Can I have a contractor open the ceiling and put in a wireless relay for power that can be controlled via wireless switch on the wall? Or do I need new wiring that is controllable via directly wired switch?

The way house wiring is done in practice one cannot simply wrap an insulation piercing tap around a wire and get power. This is done all the time in cars, but not in houses. If a wire in the attic happened to be passing over the center of a room where you wanted a ceiling fixture, code and practice do not allow a simple tap.

Nevertheless, it is easy to get power to a ceiling fixture by cutting a wire and making proper connections. To tap into a circuit this way one usually is required to make two cuts and add some cable in between in order to get enough slack to make all the proper connections.

Hard wired wall switches are still the standard for controlling ceiling fixtures, but no doubt remote switching is possible. Check the electrical inspection where you are to see if what you are contemplating is allowed by the local code.

EDIT

If there is a switched receptacle in the room, then the standard thing to do would be to add a cable from the switched receptacle to a new ceiling box. The cable can always go from the switched receptacle or may from the switch box IF there is a neutral there.

Sometimes the switched receptacle is one of a duplex receptacle and the other receptacle is always powered. If so, then both receptacles can be made always powered. You might not need a switched receptacle, if there is an overhead light which is switched


How can I hang pots on my brick wall with the least amount of drilling? I'd like to hang my pots and pans, but the only exposed wall is brick, and the kitchen is too narrow to hang them from the ceiling.  This is a 100+ year old rental building, so I would like to avoid drilling into the brick as much as possible.  There's one existing anchor in the wall at about the right height, so I could use that and drill one more hole (the other existing anchors are filled in with cement).

I was considering this rack but I realized that would require 4 holes, and if the left and right holes are not spaced exactly right, I'll be drilling into the brick instead of the mortar.

My other main thought is to get some piece of wood and stain it, and mount that with two screws.  Then I could either get a rack like the one above and mount that to the wood, or just put individual hooks in the wood.  Would that work?  What kind of lumber would I need?

Either way, what kind of anchors should I use for this?  There are many options at this page.

you definitely don't want to drill into the brick. Drilling into the mortar isn't too bad though, and easily repairable if ever desired.

I've used Tapcons for anchoring into mortar. They work well:

The box will say what size masonry drill bit you need to pre-drill, then you just screw them in with your driver like any screw. I'd suggest longer is better (though no longer than the width of the brick, as that may be as thick as the brick is.)

Also, make sure this brick you are drilling into isn't a chimney. If it is, make sure it's either not in use, or has a metal flu inside (and don't puncture the flu)

Your idea of installing a wood cross-member into the brick and then hang something from there isn't a bad idea.  I'd suggest 3 screws, then perhaps attach peg board to that, hanging the pots from peg board ala Julia Child


When removing siding with a mildew smell, and then replacing it, should I wrap the house in something airtight first? I have a home built in the late 1960s in Massachusetts. The prior owner covered the house with vinyl, which was not done with care. Water gets behind the vinyl. The cedar wood clapboard and trim is rotted in some places. Also, behind the cedar is missing and or torn tar paper. There is a heavy mildew smell outside in places. Inside there is a dry musty smell as well sometimes mostly on hot days. To fix these problems, we are considering removing the vinyl and replacing the siding with new cedar wood along with putting in a rainscreen. However, my main concern is that everyone wants to wrap the house airtight. I am concerned that wrapping the house airtight will prevent the house from breathing and trap dry musty and mildew smells inside the house more so than it already does. If I put in a rainscreen, however, it seems that I should wrap the house with something. My house does not have central air, which makes an air exchange less practical as an alternative solution.
What do you recommend for my house?

The house wraps are vapor barriers that breathe. They are much better than the old tarpaper for keeping moisture out.


Why are my outlet and switch plates bowing away from the wall? The home is new construction on the beach front in Galveston. The wall is 12' high by 52' long.
From the outside in, it is Hardie lap siding, house wrap, 5/8 plywood, 3" closed cell foam, 5/8" plywood (sheer wall strengthener), and half inch drywall and paint.
On the outside I have calked under each siding board. The foam takes up 3" of the 8" cavity (wall is 2X8) so i have a void of 4 to 5 inches. The wall is blocked every 48". Plate windows take up 3/4 of the wall. The windows are impact triple pane units with a low E.
I don't know if the foam is putting off a chemical that is softening the plastic covers, a heat build up in the wall... I have removed all of the plugs and calked between the drywall and the wall plug. Checked each to see if poly sealed where the wires enter the box and all were sealed.
I have even  had mildew grow under the plate. Some of the plates had moisture on the back side before I re-caulked the outside and repainted. I have put all new plates (plastic) on with a foam gasket behind each. they still are bowing. I have had air specialists (2) inspect the home and they can't figure it out. The A/C units are 19 SIER Heil v speed units that pull the moisture out of the house. The remainder of the house is open cell foam.
That's my story. Any ideas short of pulling the S/R and plywood off the inside wall and filling the remainder of the cavities with foam or bat. I have expensive wood treatments around each window that has already been removed and poly sealed between studs and trim 2 weeks ago. Moisture content in the poly sealed area is high and in the 20's in the wall cavities. Scratching my head.

It appears the wall cannot dry out either to the inside or the outside. I question the use of closed cell foam in the wall and do not think you should add still more without careful consideration.
You built a superinsulated house that was strongly built to resist hurricane force winds in a warm humid climate. You got a wall which traps moisture inside. The blocking every 4 ft is going to make it difficult to dry the inside without removing all the drywall and the sheathing inside. Then you will have to figure out how to insulate the wall in such a way that it can stay dry.


Where should the first I-joist be set parallel to the rim board? I have a question about I-Joist layout in framing.  I know that I-Joists are not strong to resist squishing, so that means rim board must be used to help that vertical load, but when you run all your I-Joists the same way, what do you do about the very first joist? No matter what you need rim-board there on the edge of the sill plate, but then do you move 16" over (if doing 16" oc layout) to start the first I-Joist, or do you actually run rim board, sister an I-Joist right next to it, so technically the first I-Joist is centered 2-5/8" from the start of the floor, and then of course the next joist is 16" O.C. from the start of the floor.

I have seen it done with the i-joist sistered against the rim board that is running parallel to the rest of the joists, but not just using rim-board and skipping over the 16" to start the first joist.

...usually if you read the 20-odd pages of documentation that come with your I-joists they will tell you what to do, and a great deal of what not to do. Or ask the person who punches the numbers into the computer to size & select your specific I-joists what their layout program (based on the same manufacturer's data) expects you to do. The number of I-joists you get will be based on that. It's not common to just sell you I-joists at random - they are an engineered system and the specific series and size need to be chosen to fit your building loads - every place I know that sells them provides that service as part of the pre-sales process.

One issue with "just a rim board" and then going (12/16/24 inches, depending on your layout specifics) is that the wall bearing on the rim board is wider (thicker) than the rim joist, and asking the floor-spanning plywood to carry the inside part of the wall load without direct support might lead to problems. Depending on the thickness of the wall, the first I-joist might want to be set at the inner face of the wall, rather than just sistered to the rim board. For a thin wall that might be the same, for a thick wall it might not.