Understanding wires inside junction box I installed four 4-ft. LED shop lights on the ceiling of my garage and linked them together. Currently, they receive power by plugging in one of the shop lights into the duplex electrical outlet where the garage door opener also plugs into. The problem with that is that the outlet is not switched.

There is currently a light fixture by the garage door opener, in the middle of the ceiling. It has switched power, controlled by a switch near the entry door to the garage. I would like to convert that light fixture into a duplex GFCI outlet. When I removed the light fixture from the ceiling box, I saw this:

and this:

I used a Fluke non-contact voltage tester. The black wires are always hot, whether the the door switch is on or off. The red wire is only hot when the door switch is on. The white wires are neutrals (unless I am mistaken).

I am wondering why I see a red wire here. I was only expecting black, white, and ground. Now, being that the garage door opener is nearby, and that duplex outlet is always hot, might these black wires be providing power to that duplex outlet that the garage door opener plugs into? Did the electrician use 14-3 wire here so the red wire can provide switched power while the black wire would provided constant power for the garage door in the adjacent duplex outlet?

When I install this GFCI outlet, I assume I should treat the red wire as if it were a black wire, connecting it to the LINE (brass) terminal, then connect both white wires to white (silver) terminal, and finally pigtail a ground strap and connect it to the ground terminal on the GFCI outlet?

You cannot use a GFCI here.  Fullstop.

It doesn't matter if you want to, nor if you think Code tells you that you must. (I don't think it does).  A GFCI is absolutely not allowed on the ceiling, because you would have no way to TEST or RESET it. Which means it wouldn't ever get tested.  Which defeats the purpose.

Further, the wiring here is fairly complicated, and putting GFCI at an accessible location that would serve this location is a trick. You would have to resort either to a GFCI switch or breaker, depending on how your wiring is laid out.  (note below I talk about XXX and YYY and not caring which is which; with GFCI that would matter.)  It would also exclude the garage door opener, and those things pop GFCIs quite often, and that would send you into a vicious cycle of replacing GDO's until you find one that does not.

As an installer:

Lamps take switched-hot and neutral. That's all you want. Do Not Mess with anything else, or you will have a nightmare on your hands.

The whites are neutral.  They are using it both as service to the lamp and also a splicing block to carry neutral somewhere else.  Just keep them together and attach your lamp also, e.g. with a pigtail.

The red wire is your switched-hot supply to the lamp.  And just so you know, red is the "conventional" color for switched-hot, where colors are possible.  If you're used to seeing black, it's because common /2 cables are made in black and white, but better electricians who color-code wires will tend to use red for switched-hot.

As an electrician:

It's really common for wires to enter a box, and then continue onward to other locations. For instance, if you have multiple lamps, they all need switched-hot and neutral, so you might carry those onward to the other lamps.  Or if you have other always-hot circuits, you might care always-hot onward (which would have nothing to do with the lamp, obviously).

The latter is exactly what happened here.  When the person originally wired it, they probably came from XXX to the switch to the lamp to YYY.   XXX and YYY are either supply, or onward always-hot power to other stuff, and it doesn't matter which is which (the wiring would work out the same either way).

So they ran neutral all the way through; on white because that's required.
They ran always-hot all the way through; on black because that's the convention.
They ran switched-hot from the switch to the lamp, on red because they had a red wire available, and that was a good fit because that's the convention.

I would encourage you to start thinking about using colored tape to mark wires by their function.  When you're able to think that way, instead of just blindly following recipes you find on Google, electrical gets a lot easier and you become able to do more stuff.

Here is how you mount a receptacle on a 4" octagon box.

By the way, don't trip about online prices.  In-store they'll cost about a dollar.

You mount the receptacle to the plate using the center screw.  THEN, you attach the wires (including ground) to the receptacle, and button it up.  The slant is specifically designed to keep the recep from hitting the screw towers.


How should I prepare a wall painted with sandpaint and construction adhesive? I have a section of wall that was painted with sand paint.  It also had paneling halfway up the wall that was adhered with construction adhesive.  My goal is to have a smooth, flat wall, and paint it.  I also want to move an electrical switch and add an electrical outlet.

How can I best prepare the wall?

Remove the existing drywall or go over the existing drywall with new drywall.  Depending how much electrical work you want to do or if there's any insulation work to be done.


Load Bearing wall running parallel to floor joists above? So I have a wall I would like to remove in my house (see picture 1-3). I did some exploratory surgery (aka cut holes) in the drywall to see what I was dealing with. This wall is running parallel to the floor joists above (see picture 4): score +1 for being non-load bearing.

However there is a large double 2X10 header above the entry way (see picture 4) in this wall supported by a jack stud on either end (see picture 5): score +1 for being load bearing.

I thought long and hard at what this might possibly be supporting. The house is  two stories resting on a concrete block foundation (so three floors if you count the basement). The floor in question is on the middle/first/ground floor. Above this wall I want to remove, is another wall on the second floor offset by ~4 inches from the joist directly above the wall I would like to remove on the first floor. The wall above on the second floor is definitely supporting a portion of an A-frame (not truss) roof above (see picture 6). So is it possible that the wall I want to remove with the header on the first floor is also helping support the roof through the wall on the second floor?

To simplify: my question has two parts:

1) Is this a load bearing wall?

2) If the wall is load bearing, how would I temporarily support the joist above (to install a longer spanned header) since it is running parallel to the floor joists above?

Thanks for your input!

*Update 8/7/18 I ended up knocking this wall out with no issues. I dont believe the wall was load bearing because there were 2 sistered 2X10 above this wall with a span of 9 feet between supports I put in a LAM beam adjacent the overhead joists just to be safe.  Now there's two sistered 2X10s with another 2 sistered 2X10 Lams up there. I'm sure this was overkill.

Picture 2 clearly shows the relation of front door to “wall I want to remove”.  The wall you want to remove is a bearing wall ... supporting the roof as shown in last Picture #7, from the exterior.

That one small opening you’ve cut in the ceiling in Pictures #1 and #3 shows something spanning the opposite direction you’re indicating the joists run. You’d better check that again, as I suspect you’re wrong on the direction the second floor joists span too.

Also, when you start removing walls (bearing or otherwise) you’d better make sure you’re not removing a shear wall.  Just because it doesn’t have plywood on it, doesn’t mean it’s not a shear wall. Gypsum board is rated as shear panels too and this is a main wall, so I suspect this is a shear wall...depending on what seismic zone you live in.

I like your opening comment, “...before hiring a structural engineer/ architect...”. Now make sure you do it...

By the way, I’d recommend a STRUCTURAL engineer, not a CIVIL engineer...or an architect with a structural background.


Why do my pot lights flicker randomly when not at full brightness? They're connected to a 1000W dimmer and I think (hope) it's that. In total there are 12 pot lights connection (600W total) and at full dim or at certain levels they're fine but between a certain range they randomly flicker. Is this a dimmer issue or a fixture/bulb issue? I do have a random selection of bulbs from halogen, incandescent to LED.

Could this also be why we lose a light bulb a month?

Dimmers have to be compatible with the types of lights in use. The bog standard dimmers that have been in use for years generally work fine for incandescent type bulbs and the halogens that work at direct line voltage.

With the advent of CFLs (compact florescent lamps), low voltage halogens and LED types it talks special types of dimmers for these to be used in a variable brightness mode. Do note that not all items are even dimmable and you can get into serious overheating issues in either the dimmer switch or in the light module if you try to operate with a dimmer. Similar issues can happen when a non-compatible type of dimmer is in use.

My suggestion for you, if you need to keep the mix of light source types, is to convert over to simply using a switched on-off control instead of dimming. If dimming is desired then switch all of the light sources on the circuit to the same type and then select a dimmer that is compatible with that type of lamp. Modern dimmers should show on their box what types of lamps they should work with. In the realm of the light sources themselves you may need to do some additional research to determine if a particular low voltage halogen, CFL or LED lamp assembly is actually dimmable. It may come down to specifically only purchasing items that are marked as dimmable on the box or product information sheet.


HVAC started whistling after changing filter I recently changed my HVAC filter and followed the same airflow direction (pointed arrow direction) as was on the previous filter.  Almost immediately after replacing it, I keep hearing a whistling sound come from the HVAC whenever it's on.  Is it because I chose a too-small pore size?  I put in filters with MERV 11, which is much smaller than was there before, but we have a baby at home and I want clean air!
Picture below if that helps.

Yes changing to a finer filter can cause serious damage to your system. I try to always mention this. Each system is set up for a fairly narrow range of back-pressure.
By putting in a a filter that takes smaller particles out it increases the back pressure on the system and can even cause motor failure.
How can this cause motor failure motors cool themselves with internal fans if the load it out of range the motor will star overheating once the motor gets to about 180 external temp the internal temps are much higher and they usually start shorting out 1 coil to the next more heat and soon you see and smell the magic smoke that is escaping.
The other thing that can happen is overheating the fire box lucky there is a safety to prevent a meltdown but it can shorten the furnace life if used for heat while the higher rated filter is in place.
Last the air exchanges are reduced so less air is getting filtered, so not only is size important but also what the system was designed for. High MERV filters require a little more beefy baffle to hold the filter securely or they buckle and air goes around them.


What should I do about mold until the leak feeding it gets fixed? About three weeks ago I noticed a leak on the ceiling of my studio apartment. When it began it was just a leak, a few days later it began to get dark-stained all around it and now it's covered in a black thing that I suppose is some kind of mould. I reported this to my landlord as soon as it began bit I still have one more week to wait until someone comes to fix it.

It looks so disgusting, it's on the kitchen area and I would like to know what to do until it gets fixed, is there anything I can do?

Today I took this cardboard box and put it over the leak to cover it. I fixed it to the ceiling around the stain of mould with a bit of sellotape. Now at least I don't see it but I don't know if maybe this is going to make things worse.

If the wet area dries out faster than the leak, the mold will not grow.  Drill a hole to drain the water quicker.  Set up a fan to blow air over the area to dry it.  Don't cover it, that will just keep it wetter and accelerate the mold.


Can a cracked toilet be permanently repaired? So I broke the entire corner (top to bottom) off of the tank on my toilet.  The toilet was inherited by me in house, which was a foreclosure.  It is a one-piece that is valued at $1450.      I was able to purchase the exact same toilet in the two-piece version for $300.  Would I be able to repair the broken toilet to use in another bathroom?

I am wondering if some sort of marine or aquarium glue would work to waterproof, then maybe strip the glaze off and sand the patch smooth, then buy a kit to re-glaze?  Is this possible?

It is probably not worth the risk to fix it.  If you do manage to find an adhesive there is a risk of the repair cracking and leaking causing significant damage.


What kind of timer socket is this and how can I get it working? This is on an outdoor power receptacle that looks like it should be some kind of timer for switching power on/off.  I'd love to use this for Christmas lights, but I can't seem to get it's little display to light up regardless of what I press.  Does anyone know what this is so I can find a manual online?

This is a GE device, though I think a Leutron or Leviton also make a pretty similar unit.  Here's a link to it on Home Depot's website.

My experience with these units is that they fail very rapidly - I went through 3 of them in a year before I switched brands.  You can see the comments on Home Depot echo this. They also can fail closed so that with a dead switch, everything is still powered and you have no way of turning it off - quite annoying if you ask me!

I would recommend that you replace it with another brand. They are not serviceable.


How to install crown molding or valance board around a cabinet? I am replacing the cabinets in my kitchen and am going to be installing some crown molding (actually a valance board and then crown molding) around the top of the cabinets, as in this picture.

The front part of the wall cabinet sticks out a fraction of an inch (about 1/4) from the side of the cabinet. It appears in this picture they just left a gap and installed the crown molding at an angle across the side of the cabinet. Is this the 'standard' way to handle the fact that the cabinet is not perfectly square/rectangle, or is there a better way to handle the fact that the front sticks out a little further then the sides?

If the gap bothers you that much, you have a few options.
Fill the gap
You could fill the gap with wood putty, or color matched caulk. You'll still have a gap, but it will be difficult to see.
Remove material from the molding
You could remove a bit of the material from the back of the molding, to allow it to lay flat over the lip of the cabinet. This will likely make the mitered joint between the two pieces of molding look odd, as the bottom of the pieces will not mate.
Remove material from the cabinet
You could remove a bit of the material from the cabinet, to allow the molding to lay flush with the side of the cabinet. Depending on how far out the cabinet overhangs, this might also look a bit strange.
Learn to live with it
The easiest approach, is to simply learn to ignore it. Not many folks will notice it, and after some time you probably won't either.


What do I need to do to repair the plaster ceiling of my garage (on metal lath)? Recently, I had some contractors come in and replace my garage lintel. Afterwards, I found that they'd had to break some of the white material that makes up the ceiling of the garage. It looks to me kind of like plaster on top of drywall with some sort of wire substrate.
 (click to enlarge)
I'd like to just patch this up to make it look nicer, and to ensure there's not damage from general moisture, etc. Does this look like something I could just plaster over?

I don't see the drywall you mention. It looks like conventional plaster, possibly in two layers.
You can certainly re-plaster right over that metal lath. It seems to be solid and flat yet. I'd watch some videos for technique and be sure you have a good quality, compatible product so it holds up over time.


Flame retartdant nonconductive panel cover Note the service entrance has only two hot wires and no ground.

Update: Some suggest metal cover but the reason I can't use metal is the grills or all the iron and enclosure are not grounded. We only use the United States two hot wires and don't use any neutral or ground. None of our appliances have any EGC. This is the reason I prefer flame retardant nonconductive panel cover. Is there any non flame retardant plastic?

In our compound we have 5 townhouses with each meter serving a house.

The panel is rusted and the cover gone. It would take us 3 weeks of power interruption to replace the whole thing because we have to apply for permit and it involves costs too and neighbors not willing. I initially thought of use cardboard to cover the breakers, but I suddenly thought what if someone would lit it with a match consindering it's outside in the street. Please suggest what kind of flame retardant nonconductive material to cover the open panel housing the breakers. Thank you.

Sheet Metal
That's really the only choice. That was almost certainly what was there before.
Conductive is actually NOT a problem. If it is designed and implemented correctly, the metal will not be in contact with ANY wires under normal conditions. There is, obviously, a concern if somehow the metal is in contact with one of the hot wires and then someone touches it. The solution to that problem is related to the other concern about a panel cover - access. Basically, you want access to be possible (a) without tools and (b) without contact should that be a concern. An ordinary breaker panel will have a door that on hinges that can be opened/closed easily - that is essentially what you want to build here. If it is done right, you will, if needed, be able to open/close with an insulated item (e.g., a dry wooden pole) to access the breakers. But the cover itself metal. Probably some sort of steel, though aluminum may be more corrosion resistant.


Wooden shelf with flat brackets? What is the name of bracket type where a shelf sits in a closet or space between two walls but only flat wooden bars screwed into the wall on each side are holding it up rather than brackets? And what is the trick to doing these? A certain type of wood? A ratio of weight to thickness?
Thanks for any help. I don't even know what to call these when I search.

I've got an alcove with a door and I'd like to put a shelf above the door and in another part of the alcove. Walls are pretty close together, maybe 75cm - 1m.

They probably have a few names, but I've always called them shelf cleats.

There's no real trick to them...they are exactly as you describe: strips of wood attached to the wall for a board (the shelf) to rest upon.

You typically want them on 3 walls, though (sides and back). Without the back cleat, your shelf will likely sag with any weight on it.

Make sure they are anchored through wall into the studs.

I will often add a piece to the front of the shelf the same depth as the cleats to give the front of the shelf a finished look and also strengthen the shelf.


Why is my heat pump blowing cold air? Two days ago our heat pump start putting out cold air and it's 30 degrees outside. We changed to emergency heat, but we don't know what is wrong. On regular heat it blows cold air.

On emergency heat it keeps the house warm, but it has the aux heat on also, which I think is more expensive.

I believe it's easiest to say that you need to get an HVAC maintenance company to come check on it. The auxiliary heat is entirely separate from the heat pump, that is why it's also used as an emergency system.

However, how cold has it been recently? A heat pump will only work to around 34 degrees or so outside and then it should switch off and allow the auxiliary to heat the home alone. Without going into too many details about the various possibilities, it could be that it's too cold outside for the heat pump, but the auxiliary isn't taking over (an issue with the thermostat and it's wiring to the system.) In regular heating mode, your heat pumps runs until it's too cold outside, and then the auxiliary takes over. In emergency heating, the auxiliary runs only. However, if it's been below say 34 degrees for those last two days, then your auxiliary would have been running entirely anyway and you wouldn't be saving any.

Again though, it's an advanced system and this could be caused by multiple issues - have someone come look at it.


Does Polyurethane foam also stabilize soil? I purchased a house last year and discovered over several months that I live in an area with highly expansive dark clay soil. This has caused cracks in my floating slab foundation, drywall, and of course affected doors.

I'm looking at solutions to this problem. Neighbors have had piering and mudjacking done with some less than ideally successful outcomes.

I see it as two problems. One the soil, and one the existing damage.

I've been trying to get a company that uses Ionic Clay Stabilizers to give me a quote, but have had challenges getting someone that serves Kansas.

In my research a lot of the advertising on Polyjacking seems to suggest that foams/and or resins provide soil stabilization under the house, however my intuition is a bit questioning of this as the expansion and contraction of the soil seems like it would still cause issues unless the resins and foam cause the entire subsurface to be more resilient to expansion.

I found this article which also seems to suggest poly improves soil stabilization.

Can anyone enlighten me to if polyjacking simply fills voids and corrects damage or additionally mitigates on going damage of expansive soils?.

Related guidance, experiences, and info/advice are also appreciated. I've currently gotten a quote for piering (16 piers) and polyjacking, but I want to make sure I understand my options and have the best chance of a good solution.

All buildings settle as they are constructed. What we attempt to do is minimize the settlement and have the building settle uniformly.

Unfortunately you live where the soil moves (expands) due to moisture. This movement is caused by the wetting AND drying of the soil. As the soil gets wet, it expands...and vice versa. Using a “filler” in the soil, will not solve this problem.

Polyurethane foam in soil works if you have “weak” soil conditions. It will not work in expansive soils. I live where the soil is “mush”.  When we want to stabilize the soil we’ll use something like poly foam. When we’re done the soil is stabilized (no movement).

You can inject poly foam into the soil, but the soil will still be expansive. As soon as it rains or the soil dries out, it will expand or contract and cause movement in your house.

You should use drill piers or drive piling through the expansive soil. Then, when the soil starts moving, it won’t matter.

For new construction, we’ll often over excavate the site and then install a gravel base 6-7’ deep and extending 4-5’ past all the footings. This is expensive, but gives a “uniform” base so the house settles uniformly and we can calculate the amount of settlement based on the size (height and loads) of the house. Obviously you don’t have this option and I don’t think it would work where you live anyway because the soil under the new base could expand and cause problems up through the new gravel fill.


How should I attach the cable of a cable-supported shelf? I'm planning to build a shelf in the garage, 22" deep and about 16' long. The back edge and one side will be supported by wall cleats, with 2x3s under the other edges. I'd like to support the front edge using steel cable from eye bolts in the shelf to eye bolts in the ceiling (truss framed) spaced every four feet other than the edge against the wall. (I like the idea of using cables because I think they'll create less obstruction when getting bins on or off the shelf.)

This shelf will hold about 16 of the large plastic totes, and I'd assume they'll be pretty full and heavy. I want to make this nice and sturdy, but I don't really have any sense of what size bolts and cable would be reasonable. I also want to make sure I'm not compromising the roof trusses with whatever I'm screwing into them or bolting through them. Any suggestions on sizes or attachment methods?

Shelf construction

If the shelf has its front open edge positioned such that at each four feet the cable would go up to a separate roof truss than I think that you have a workable system. Make sure that your 2x3's under the outer shelf edges are placed to that the nominal "3" inch dimension is vertical.

Hardware

Note that the lowest cost eyebolts, known as the "bent type eye bolt" are generally not recommended for lift and continuous tension applications. For this application it may be suggested to search out the drop forged type eye bolts as shown on the right below. These will cost more but they are actually specified for "lift" type applications.

If you do use the bent type, orient them so that the split end of the eye is up, as show above. Definitely use through-bolts rather than any type of screw-in eye.

I would use 5/16" diameter eye bolts or larger.

Connection points

Put the upper end of the cable through a threaded eye bolt that goes all the way through the side of the rafter truss and is secured in the far side with a washer and nut. Avoid the use of a screw eye type fastener. The eye bolt should be attached to the upper rafter part of the truss instead of the lower cross tie. When drilling the hole for the eye bolt position it in the upper part of the rafter as opposed to the lower portion.

Put the bottom end of the cable through an eye bolt that is long enough to go through the shelf material and the 2x3 and secure on the bottom with a washer and a nut.

Note that the orientation of the cable clamps is important, and it is always advisable to use two cable clamps for securing the cable.

Cable sizing

The size of cable is really dependent on the amount of load that you expect for the shelf. I would think that 3/16" diameter cable would be adequate for this application. The chart below will help to explain why I recommended 3/16" (assuming you use the 1x19 type of "stainless steel aircraft cable").


How do I tighten an out-of-reach PVC pipe fitting? A PVC pipe got pulled out of its fitting under my shower (don't ask!). It's been pushed back into position, but is out of reach by hand and not tight (causing a slow-drip). Above the pipe is a shower tray and below is a ceiling of our lounge.
I'd like to tighten the fitting, but would need to extend my arm length by about 1-2ft to do it without tools :)
I have thought about fudging together a tool to attempt this - perhaps a metal grip with a length of copper piping on each arm to give me that extra reach. However I'm not sure if the grips will end up ruining the PVC compression fitting or if I'll even get enough purchase.
Last resorts seem to be to remove the shower tray above or cut a hole in the ceiling below for access; the first is a pain, the second would be unsightly and I'd like to avoid either if possible.
There must be a tool to give me that extra reach, does anyone have any ideas?
Image below - you can see the white PVC fitting that needs tightening at the back with the drip tray underneath it.
Many thanks!

put a wall access panel in the ceiling below the shower

http://loftsandladders.co.uk/plastic-loft-hatches.html


How to treat the edge of OSB in a piece of furniture There are lots of nice pictures on the internet of untreated OSB CNC-cut into chairs/tables/benches.

What can be done to the edge of the cut to have a clean surface with no strands and splinters? Other than gluing PVC edge banding (which ruins raw aesthetics and is often unpractical for non-linear cuts)

I'd tend to fall in the "OSB furniture sounds like a terrible idea" camp, but anyway...

Two steps come to mind - one is to seal the cut edges thoroughly using either a thin epoxy or a varnish/polyurethane type of product, to both bind small slivers and prevent or at least slow moisture intake and resultant edge swelling. The other is to sand the edges (you want to seal first, then sand so that sanding doesn't turn into peeling off slivers) - and you may want to seal again after sanding.


Is it acceptable, or to code, to splice electrical wire outside of a junction box behind drywall? I'm planning to add a set of recessed lights to an existing circuit in my home.  The existing circuit is fairly simple: one light, controlled by one switch, and there is no insulation in the wall or ceiling.

My dilemma is in adding the fixtures into the circuit between the existing fixture and the switch.  I will need to splice additional wire into the circuit, but I'm certain there isn't enough slack to draw the existing line into the fixture's junction box to make the connections.

Should I run new line from the existing fixture to ensure that the connections happen inside the box?  Otherwise, can I splice a short segment into the existing line to get the slack I need?

It is generally not acceptable to have wire junctions be inaccessible.  The rule of thumb is:  All junctions must be in a box, but that box must be accessible - you cannot legally close a box up behind drywall.

There are some limited exceptions, as noted here.

You should run a new line if you don't have the slack.


Three way switch with common terminal hard-wired to traveller I live in a house built in the early 1980s. I am replacing all of the switches and outlets. There are no neutrals in the boxes.

At the bottom of the stairwell, there is a three way switch (A) that has the common terminal hard-wire connected to the traveller.  At the top hallway there is an old switch/auto timer (B).

I cannot find any reference to this wiring online. I'm not sure I should be re-wiring the new switch in this way.

Any ideas?

We're going to need a picture of the other switch but my guess is that the top hallway auto timer needed an always hot line and that box had the fixture load wire so someone jumped the bottom switch hot to a traveler. This isn't a common wiring practice for three way switched and should be corrected. They used the backstabs which we don't like but made a real nice jumper.


How long will metal pipe last in earth and concrete I'm building a fort for my kids out of wood, 8 foot by 8 foot and trying to work out how to make it last. I can't get treated wood, and apparently untreated wood rots within a year of ground contact even if painted.

Can I make a base out of 3 inch pipe, with 2 foot legs concreted into the ground and then build my fort on it? Perhaps have the base raised a couple of inches off ground? How long could I expect it to last. I don't want to (can't afford to) build a proper foundation, just concrete in the legs so it's solid.

We get a LOT of rain here, like a monsoon season and cyclone prone, so I need it solid as it will be 15 foot tall on an 8 foot square base. Although in the event of a cyclone I'd probably unbolt it from the base and lay it down.

You could build big concrete posts, maybe 12" in diameter, up about 12" above ground level, and use metal post bases to keep the wood off the concrete.  Be sure to treat the end grain and base of the post with the best preservative you have available, and it ought to hold up pretty well.

In the comments you mention you're in the mid Pacific.  Without pressure treated available, keep in mind that some species are far more rot resistant than others.  The people selling lumber may be able to help suggest what will work best.  Farmers usually know, too.  Some of the most rot resistant woods are tropicals that would be very expensive exotics where I am, but they may be affordable where you are.

Sometimes small utility poles are at a decent price, they are treated for direct embedment in post holes.  Setting a pole is doable with nothing more than a shovel if you can hand dig the necessary depth.


Is turning off a power strip adequate? When using power strips, is it OK leave all the electronics, such as TV etc. plugged in and just turn the power off when leaving on vacation?

Yes, that's fine. If yearning for extra certainty or lightning resistance, unplug the strip (leaving everything plugged into it.)


What is the best way to install insulation batts in an attic? As far as we can tell, the attic is laid out like so - first is the 2nd floor ceiling, then whatever material is right above that, then the attic joists, then there is plywood nailed to the joists, creating a storage area in the attic.  There are a couple of cut throughs in the plywood for recessed lights in the bedroom upstairs, and from what I can tell, there is a minimal amount of insulation between the joists (between the plywood decking and the ceiling of the 2nd floor.  It is definitely not completely filled with insulation, there is also a large amount of air space between the joists.  I would estimate the joists maybe being about 6 inches high.

Is it effective to roll out batts on top of the plywood?  I was most likely going to go for R-19 batts, and do it in two layers, at right angles to each other.  Will this help, or is there a more effective way to do this that does not involve taking out all the plywood?

Since you are in zone 4, R-38 is a reasonable insulation level. That doesn't tell us how much an issue a lack of vapor barrier is. It is less of an issue in dry climates. What a barrier does for you is prevent moisture from condensing inside the insulation, significantly reducing it's insulating value. Ever notice how hypothermia victims have invariably gotten themselves wet? Unfortunately, properly installing one can be very difficult (read: expensive). As it happens, plywood acts somewhat as a barrier, depending on it's construction. Thus, you may need to just focus on gaps and openings.

Another possible make-do vapor barrier is a good heavy coating of latex paint on the ceiling. You may already have this! Truth be told, the best way to insulate would be to remove the plywood and blow in the needed insulation. This gets sealed around all the joists and other ins and outs nicely and makes effective use of what little insulation is already there. However, it may not be worth the effort.

You can still get a good insulation job by layering it on top as you suggest. The draw back is the dead space under the plywood effectively becomes part of your conditioned space, greatly diminishing the value of what's there. Even a plaster ceiling alone is worth something. And you've increased the top story volume you're heating 5-6%. Another issue with this approach is the plywood becomes your vapor barrier. What are the ramifications of moisture condensing on the under side? There's poor air circulation, so it will not dry easily. It could be the cause of a mold colony gaining a foothold, which can have serious health consequences. Or it may not be an issue if you're in a dry climate.

Whichever way you go, try to ensure what ever passes as a vapor barrier is a complete as possible. Ensure any recessed light fixtures are not insulated over, and that no insulation contacts the cans. It may seem more efficient to cover them, but you greatly increase the chance of them overheating and starting a fire. Insulation is little good if your house burns down! A truly efficient ceiling has no recessed light fixtures for this very reason. Note that there are supposedly fixtures rated to be covered, but I don't think I've ever seen one.


Is my dimmable LED tape compatible with any 12V/2A driver? I bought a fairly cheap LED tape kit that comes with a driver and dimmer. The dimmer is a small inline module that sits between the driver and the LED tape.

The driver has 12V/2A output and is integrated into a horrible, black moulded plug. I want to replace this with a standalone driver and implement some nicer cabling. I don't see anything on the driver unit that indicates any kind of "dimmable" compatibility.

My question is whether the dimming compatibility is handled purely between the dimmer and the LEDs? Can I swap out the driver with any 12V/2A replacement?

When you say “any” driver I would be cautious but it will probably work.  A while back I had some led retrofit lights fail I figured out the needed voltage and it was 58v I thought what the heck I wonder if I put 2 in series and fed it with a simple full wave bridge that cost under a dollar if they would work (had a dozen of these cheap lights and all the drivers failed) I hooked them up on my work bench and except for the wire breaking off 1 time they have been running on rectified line voltage for over 6 months making my work bench quite bright.

The trick with leds is not to provide two much voltage, in the old days all the junctions were 1.2-1.7v and most burned up over 30-50 ma  today the voltage range depends so your driver requires the proper voltage then to fully drive at max brightness the driver needs to be able to provide enough current.

Two low of a voltage and there will be no light no matter how much current the driver can provide.

Two high a voltage may fry the junction even if the current is below the max value so you get 1 flash.

If the voltage is right but the current is below the required value they may glow but not be bright.

Once you have the proper voltage a driver that can provide more power won’t be a problem as my example of the 2 lamps in series.  However if I have a voltage spike on the line my lights will go up in smoke as I have no regulation just rectification. But they have been working for 1/2 a year 24/7 at a mill I did not expect them to last as I have up to 1200 hp motor and many +100 hp motors starting and stopping throughout the day.

So if your new driver has the correct voltage the amperage can be higher but peak life is achieved with the correct voltage and constant current.


Can a smart switch work as a conventional switch? Sorry for a silly question but I am very limited in my electrical knowledge. We have recently moved into a new house in Australia equipped with a control system for the lighting and heating. All the light switches are of the smart type of course but I doubt long term I will want to persist with the smart system.

So my question comes in two parts:

1) If the control box is eventually removed would the smart switches continue to operate OK if used as normal manual switches? I realise things like timing and programming would not work -- but I just want to be able to turn the lights on and off!

2) If the answer to 1 is 'no' could I then replace the smart switches by standard conventional switches thereby making my house "non smart"?

Any help gratefully received

Thank you
Andrew

Unfortunately, the answers to both of your questions are almost certainly "No".

As far as I can see, that system (like many other similar ones) does not run the power wiring for your lights to the switches.
The power for the lights runs to the control box(es) and from there runs to the lights themselves.

The switches are wired to the control box(es) using much smaller signalling/communication wiring - so the switches themselves do not see or handle the 'real' switching of the power to your lights.

Removing the control boxes leaves you with no power to your lights, and the only option you'd have is to simply bridge across where the control boxes were - resulting in your lights being always on.

You can't replace the smart switches with dumb switches because the switches and control boxes have a communication protocol which they use to talk to each other. The control box wouldn't know what the dumb switch is trying to tell it with a simple on/off signal when it's expecting to see a complex 'language' over the wire.

Unless you want to go through with the exercise of completely re-wiring the switches (replacing the small-gauge signal cables with larger power wires) you're stuck with this (or another similar) 'smart' system.

FWIW I design & program commercial smart lighting systems like this for my day-job...


how can I access the electrical panel box Can you access the electrical panel box via the sides and/or bottom of the box rather than enter via the top where it appears congested and close to the main terminals.

Yes, you can use sides, bottom, back, or even make your own hole (within reason).
All of them have knockouts (though the back tends to be fairly sparse).
If you come through a joist, you may have trouble attaching a cable clamp.  I would install a metal box (say: 6x6) on the other side of the joist, use a Rigid short pipe (conduit nipple) through the joist with about 1/2" of thread exposed on both sides, and clamp it down hard with conduit nuts. Then I'd bring a ground wire through to ground the metal box, and bring my cables into that box. Tie the grounds to the box, and tie the hot-neutral to THHN wires to extend into the panel.


How do I wire a replacement ceiling fan? We replaced an existing ceiling fan and light with another ceiling fan and light.  Neither the new nor the old fan and light have a remote.   The old fan and light could be controlled by 2 wall switches - one for the fan and one for the light; and also could be controlled by the pull chains on the fan.

Wires from the ceiling are black, white, green, and bare copper.  The new fan has black, white, green/yellow, and blue.  We connected black and blue to black, white to white, green/yellow to green and bare copper.  However, with this connection nothing works at all.

We tried connecting the blue to the bare copper.  The fan and light works but not at the same time.

What do we need to do to fix this?

Look at the switches that control the fan/light... What color wires are connected to them? How was the previous fixture connected? Why didn't you simply connect the new device in the exact same manner?

If the fan and light used to be controlled independently by separate switches, I'd assume the previous wiring used the green wire as an ungrounded (hot) conductor. This would be confirmed by seeing the black wire connected to one of the switches, and the green connected to the other. This is an uncommon use of the green wire, and as you've found can be confusing.  If this is the case, you should mark the wire in some way to indicate that it is not a grounding conductor.

If you've confirmed that the green wire is indeed used as an ungrounded (hot) conductor, then the wiring will be as follows.

Black from ceiling to black from fixture.
White from ceiling to white from fixture.
Bare copper from the ceiling to green/yellow from fixture.
Green from ceiling to blue from fixture.

If the green wire is not used as an ungrounded (hot) conductor, contact a local licensed Electrician and have them install the fixture.


Kohler One Piece Toilet plumbing I have a Kohler one piece, low-profile toilet - not sure of model (came with house which we have owned for 18 yrs).  While investigating why there is always a faint urine smell coming from the bowl, I discovered that no water was running from under the bowl rim during flushing, so the top of the bowl essentially was never getting cleaned. When I pulled off the top of the toilet to investigate, I found that there is a thick hose that leads to the area that feeds the rim but it was above the water level in the tank.  Problem is, if I adjust the valve float to raise the water above the hose, the tank fills, the water overflows into the rim and cleans the bowl, but of course the level then drops and the valve starts to refill the tank again. For the life of me I can't see how the rim flushing is supposed to work. Insights anybody?

After doing some more research, I answered my own question. Fluidmaster is very deceptive in its claim that their 400A valve "fits" both 1-piece and 2 piece toilets. Yes, it "fits" BUT IT DOES NOT WORK THE WAY IT IS SUPPOSED TO! One piece, low-profile toilets have the tank water level below the rim of the bowl and require a special diverter valve that initially directs water to the rim when the flapper is open and then switches to filling the bowl when it is closed. If anyone is interested, I just ordered one (the LASCO 04-4165 Coast 1B1X) for $22.50 from Amazon.


Should I use Kerdi membrane or cement backerboard? I have to redo my tub surround due to moisture leaks and failing grout.

One of the company says they are going to apply kerdi membrane on the drywall, then tiles onto the kerdi membrane, and as such as cement backboard would not be required.

Just wondering how effective is the tile on kerdi membrane vs the traditional cement backboard where tiles are glued directly to the drywall?

First Kerdi can be installed on drywall or cement board.  However if installed on drywall it is only protecting one side.  The back side of the drywall fails and it is just as bad or worse than if it had an issue on the tile side.

All shower/tub areas should have concrete board (I prefer hardiboard).  Whether or not you need a Kerdi membrane is a factor of use.  In normal residential use I wouldn't worry about it.  Backerboard plus a waterproofing membrane like Redgard is all that is needed for tub surrounds with thinset then tile.  Kerdi really offers very little advantage over hardiboard plus membrane.


Cutting Wall Tile with Oscillating tool? Installing a bathroom vanity cabinet.  It fits fine, but I need to cut a half inch of the base board tile (tile along the wall, where it meets floor tile) to have the cabinet flush to the wall.  I recently bought a Bosch 2608661757 Grout and Mortar Remover for my Oscillating tool to remove a layer of grout to regrout floor.  Will I be able to use this accessory to cut this tile on the wall?  Trying not to go buy another saw.  I also have other saw bits, but would like some advice.

That should cut through the tile fairly well (assuming ceramic and not porcelain), but it may not leave a clean edge against the cabinet. In particular, you'll have trouble getting through the surface glazing.

I'd set the cabinet in place, trace it on the tile with a permanent marker, pop the tile off the wall, and take it to a big box or tile shop and ask them to cut it with their wet saw.


Where do I connect the drain for my new sink in this layout and why is it better in that point specifically? Which of the points 1,2,3 is the best to connect the drain of the new sink in the below picture?
The green pipe you see in the wall is a dry vent (it will replace the vertical grey vent you see in the picture)
The white pipes are 1.5" ABS and for the common section I would assume it is 2" (for now it is under the slab, I can't see it)
To avoid breaking more floor I could run the drain for the new sink through the wall and land near the shower drain end and add a common dry vent there. Is that a viable option?

In the end it will look like this

I would use a wye fitting on pipe # 3, run pipe coming off wye (45 degree angle) and use and 45 degree fitting to line up with center line of new sink,use a medium sweep to turn up  clean out tee and then 2x2x11/2 santee at proper height   Approximately 20” from floor of bathroom . Run vent up wall ,over and above finished ceiling and tie into new dry vent of same size or bigger


How to connect a new thermostat with different terminals than the old one? I have bought two new thermostats to replace my old worn out ones. We have a oil burner furnace with hot water radiators around the house. No cooling. The problem is that the two thermostats have different terminals. Especially the lack of the "RH" terminal on the new one is confusing. I have attached pictures of the old and new thermostats. The old is still connected as it was. The black cable stump connected to "RC" on the old thermostat goes nowhere it's just there. I have one thermostat on each floor in my house. They are both wired the exact same way. My question is how do I connect the the wires to the new thermostat that doesn't have the RH terminal. It has G, O/B, Y, W, RC and R terminals. See pictures below. The old thermostat on top connected as it was. Maybe the new thermostats aren't compatible with my system?

R = RH for you

Simply connect the wire that connected to RH on the old thermostat to the R terminal on the new thermostat, and then connect the wire that connected to W on the old thermostat to W on the new thermostat, and you should be good to go.


Does washroom silicone caulk turn into goo after time? I found this tube of clear washroom GE caulk in the closet that hasn't been used in over a year.  When I tried to apply it yesterday, it was like goo even after drying it for 24 hours.  I want to know if caulk is supposed to be gooey after being unused for a long time or I simply need to wait longer for it to dry (even though the instruction I need to wait 3 hours before exposing the caulk to water).  I am used GE Premium Waterproof Silicone Clear - 3 Hr Shower ready.

Yes. Silicone caulk has a surprisingly short expiry date.  My nonprofit has loads of the stuff all over the shop; people love to donate it when it's expired. Into the trash it goes.

It is degraded and will not work. It won't take longer to cure; it won't work at all.

If the stuff is not behaving as you expect, don't chance it.  Bad caulk is like bad paint: It will ruin your project and make you spend hours cleaning it off for good product to stick.

The caulk tube certainly has an expiration date stated on it. If it's not obvious, try rotating the tube in the caulk gun.  This date is valid if it's stored at room temperature - if it's stored in a hot attic or cold garage, all bets are off.

If it's so old that no expiry date is stated, then it's way too old.


Dual-flush Toilet Not Filling Up Properly Here is the video I recorded of my toilet: Toilet Problems

So about a month ago our dual-flush toilet suddenly stopped filling up properly. It takes forever to fill up and it doesn't even fill up properly anyway. What I have seen is that if I flush and I turn off the water supply, wait about five seconds, and turn it back on, the toilet fills up like normal and properly. If I flush again, then the water just fills up slowly again. So I'm not sure if someone could help me figure out what the problem could be. This is the first time having a dual-flush toilet and I'm not really sure what to do...

Here is the video I recorded of my toilet: Toilet Problems

Don't worry, dual flush toilets aren't any different. It sounds like your Fill Valve (the tall thing on the left) is on its way out. You can do a new one with just big pliers & you'll need to replace the water hose from the wall to the toilet. $30 & 30-minutes, at the most, should get you back to normal. Or, call Roto Rooter if you don't do that stuff. It's common but not too predictable, every 10-years is a good preventative rule.


Electrical outlet clearance from a hot water panel radiator What is the clearance of an electrical outlet from a hot water panel radiator? So facing the wall with a window and having a panel radiator down below hanged/fixed on the wall, how far away left and right can you place an outlet? BY THE CODE.

By the code, any wall has to have an outlet. The spacing between receptacles, according to the NEC, it is 12 feet with no point along a wall being more than 6 feet from a receptacle.

So, how do I handle this? The bedroom is 10 by 13.5 feet and the wall in case is 10 feet with 5.3 feet window opening. The radiator below is 47 inches wide.

Credits for the second image for houseneeds

I am not familiar with the NEC, but the CEC refers to usable wall space when calculating distances between receptacles; do not count the space behind an open bedroom door or under a window sill; these areas are not considered 'usable' wall space. I have found receptacles to be most usable when located closest to corners of rooms, where possible. The CEC says receptacles shall not be located above radiators; it says nothing about locating receptacles beside rads. I supose you could install them as close as practicle to the sides of the rads, but why bother? Adding an extra plug may solve your headache; they're inexpensive. I would put one in each of the three corners and one on each wall.


How to remove smell from exposed plywood Bathroom cabinets Recently purchased an older home and the cabinets in the bathroom have an off smell that transfers into the towels as they sit in there.

There is exposed, unfinished plywood and I’m assuming it’s due to the moisture exposure over the years. No visible mold but just has a smell of old house in it.

What I’m wondering is if putting a layer of paint would block the smell or is there something more that would have to be done to get rid of it?

The best option if you're going with paint is a synthetic shellac primer, which provides an odor barrier without the cost of natural shellac. Shellac is widely used in refinishing furniture to prevent nasty odors like pets and cigarette smoke.


Can I use a tandem 20A breaker for two kitchen circuits? I am in the process of renovating the kitchen in my 100+ year old home, including cleaning up the electrical “situation” the previously owner attempted and bringing up to code.

NEC requires that there be two 20A dedicated small appliance circuits in the kitchen. My current breaker box, which was completely replaced by an licensed electrician, when we purchase the home last summer, has a tandem 20A-20A breaker labeled for the kitchen outlets.

Does a tandem breaker satisfy the code requirements as two circuits, given I run one set of outlets on one of the tandem breakers and the remaining on the other tandem breaker?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Tandem breakers are totally legit and are two totally separate circuits. In fact they can ONLY be two totally separate circuits. The error that people sometimes make is in thinking that they can use the two poles of a tandem breaker as a 240V circuit, and THAT will not work.


What size bulb replaces these in a Harbor Beeze ceiling fan? My house has several Harbor Breeze ceiling fans.  Two bulbs have burned out but I can't seem to find what size bulbs should replace them.  Here's a picture of one of the burned bulbs (right) and a generic ceiling fan bulb with an intermediate A15 base (left).

I've searched around Home Depot and Amazon but haven't found what size this is.  There's also no model number on the outside of the fan that I can find to look up the manual.  Any ideas?

A refers to the shape of the glass part. 15 is the diameter of the base.  So A stands for arbitrary, E stands for edison, T stands for tubular and so on. The confusion is usually the base measurements. Typical bulbs are E, size of base. The small base size is known as an E12 Candelabra base.
Anything with that size, screw-in base should fit in the socket, but it has to be A15 to fit within the shade.
Also, watch out for the rating or brightness of the bulb. The Harbor Breeze model ceiling fans usually say MAX 60W. So that's around 14W for CFL type bulbs and 6W LED - which will cost the most, but are the cheapest to run in the long term.


How to fix gap at the bottom of a door after installing new door bottom Last season I picked up these vinyl slide-on door bottoms that you slide onto the bottom of the door and screw in.  They worked great on all of my doors except this one that has about a half inch of space between the door bottom and the threshold.

Here you can see that a children's book fits under the door:

I would like to fix this problem without purchasing a new door.  It looks like the door is possibly not tall enough?

Either replace the vinyl slide on bottom with a brass one that is taller, or

unhang the door by taking it off of its hinges.
Put a 1/2" strip of wood on the bottom (glue works nicely)
Repaint the door
Install the door bottom
Re-hang the door


Framing a door ON stairs, 3 steps to landing? I have to build a door frame on a staircase.

Problem is, at the bottom of the staircase are already 3 doors on all the walls, so putting another door right at the bottom of the stairs (on the landing) would make the new door totally overlap one of the existing doors at the bottom.

So, I'm thinking to build the frame 3 steps up the stairs, so the door can swing open and not overlap the other doors. But then it wouldn't open on a landing, it would open on 3 steps of stairs THEN a landing.

Somebody mentionned that there's a safety hazard because the door wouldn't open on a landing, but then again if you're coming down the stairs, you've been up the stairs before so you know there's no immediate landing??

Is the code against this, or is it up to me to decide?

EDIT:
About putting the door at the top of staircase, the top floor is big, open "loft" type of room and the staircase leading up to it has no ceiling. It would be hugely impractical to frame a door at the top because..there is no wall or ceilings around the top of the staircase, just a guard rail :)

The main reason for putting the door at the bottom was to block public access to the stairs (the bottom floor of the building is a restaurant, the top floor residential -- very old building)

In every town that I have done building you would have to provide a landing area to put this door and the landing would need to be at minimum 36".  I do not know how that would work on an existing staircase so I would say the answer is simply no for most towns.

However your best bet is to call local inspector and ask them if they will allow anything or offer any alternatives.


Furnace C wire connected to condenser. Can it be used for thermostat? I have a 20+ year old Lennox furnace and AC unit. I opened up the back of the furnace since I had a disconnected C wire.
Basically, it looks like the C wire from furnace is connected to to one of the wires going out to condenser outside the house. The other wire being the Y wire.
Question is can I still use this same C wire terminal for thermostat? Currently the C(blue) wire to thermostat is disconnected and I can connect it to the wire going to the condenser.
Update 11/22 - Looks like I messed up something. I realized today that I had connected the thermostat C wire to the Y wire.
There are 2 wire in the Y screw and one of them goes to the thermostat and other goes to the air-handler. The C wire from thermostat also goes out to the air handler with my non-smart thermostat. Accidentally I had connected the thermostat C wire to the Y wire-nut.
Now I connected it back to the C wire-nut and at some point the outside-condenser came on.
Did I screw up something or is this setup not compatible with C wire?

Yes.  I assume you are trying to replace the regular thermostat with a smart one.


How to seal sump pit with removable cover Just moved into a new house and bought new sump pump with battery backup.

The old pit liner is about 4" below floor level and the pit is 16" wide. the top is a mess as you can see from pix.

I want a rim/dome that seals to the concrete and a removable lid. Only needs one pipe coming out (y for backup and main are in pit (zoeller propack)

My problem is, the out diameter of the entire assembly cannot be more than 20 inches because of two stud walls.

Attached are a few pix (with the old pump still installed.

Any suggestions/recommended products?

Thanks

Mark

I am currently doing the same thing; while sealing it for a radon system.  The radon pipe will be through the slab in a separate spot in the basement.  I am using a piece of clear Lexan with rubber foam rope insulation underneath it.

Here is my finished cover.  It works fantastically.  Access hole with removable seal.  Uniseals for the cords and pipe.


Wire in breaker panel is dead The left side of my kitchen stopped working recently. I replaced the breaker with no avail. I then took off the breaker and tested the black wire itself. It reads 0v how do I replace this wire?

Now we know the power is good at the breaker.
Trace the black wire back to where it comes in the panel.
Follow the white wire that the black comes in with to the grounded buss make sure the wire is not broken and is connected to the buss.
Next go to the first receptacle pull it out. Check for voltage, that wire splice looks small to me like 14 awg if back stabs were used the failure is at the last working receptacle or first non working (once the splice is put together).
If that is the first receptacle between the panel and that receptacle the wire is broken and needs to be replaced.
Remember to check the other side of the wall I have been called many times to fix circuits where the problem was a GFCI in another room almost exactly opposite from the dead receptacle.


How do I remove textured paint from my patio floor? My patio flooring has a paint-like texture on it that is chipping off. The base is concrete. I have tried scraping, but it's incredibly tedious to get up and is taking hours of work. Is there some sort of chemical or solution I can use to help the paint/texture lift easier?

You say "paint-like" texture. Are you sure it's paint?
If it's paint, any sort of chemical paint stripper should do the trick. There are quite a number of more "friendly" "citrus" or "orange" based paint strippers that don't have the smell and toxic concerns of paint strippers of the past.
I presume a patio is outdoors, so a pressure washer may do the trick. Aim the blast at the currently chipped edges to allow the water to get underneath them and lift. You may need to shoot the water almost horizontally for the more stubborn bits. Aiming at a fairly well covered area is unlikely to get a hole started. If you've got enough pressure to do that, though, you've got a non-zero chance of actually damaging the concrete underneath, too, so turn down the pressure.
It's possible that you've got an epoxy coating instead of paint.  I'm not certain if the "friendly" strippers will work on that, you'll probably have to get one that's specifically for epoxy coating. Also, the pressure washer may not work so well on epoxy - it tends to grip pretty well.
If you're not sure what you've got, try taking a few flakes (the bigger the better) to a local paint store to see if the can ID it for you and make a recommendation.


What options are available for insulating interior walls myself with minimal damage to the wall? United State | California

I'd like to insulate the interior walls in my house using a minimally invasive method.

My understanding that is that "blown-in insulation" requires specialized equipment and  licensed professionals to do it.  Are there alternative insulation solutions I can install myself that are cost-effective and won't require me to tear down the wall?

Retrofitting walls with insulation as a DIY project isn't really viable if you don't want to tear open the walls.

The options that I am aware of:

blown in cellulose (they come in, drill 1 small hole in each stud bay, and then fill the bays with insulation)
spray in foam (same general technique as the one above)
exterior foam boards (they remove the siding, insulate with foam panels, add new siding)

Alas, none of them are really DIY.

The only DIY method I can think of would be to take down the sheetrock and insulate yourself, but that would be a huge amount of work and likely not save you much much money in the long run.


New lighting fixtures to old wiring So I bought a house built in 1957. And all of a sudden after plugging a laptop into a bedroom on the other side of the house, all the overhead fixtures on the opposite side of the house stopped working.

So I went out and bought a new overhead took the old one down and was left with a mount which had a black wire and a white wire.

I figured it would be easy, I went out and bought a new fixture and hey! All I had was a black wire and a white wire. So I put them together and nothing happened.

I'll note that I used an electrical tester on both the switch which had roughly 110 going to it, turned it off tested the fixture had nothing going to it, turned it back on tested the fixture and there was the right amount of power there.

So I thought perhaps there was a ground wire I had missed or maybe the connections weren't tight or what have you and would I still couldn't get it to work.

But then accidentally I touched the white wire to the metal of the mount, one of the screws as a matter of fact and now it works perfectly.

This can't possibly be safe can it? The new fixture had a skinny copper ground while the old fixture had no ground wire coming from the ceiling nevertheless I hooked up the ground but with that hooked up it still didn't work.

So for my lite fixture to work I need to have black to black, white to metal mounting bracket and copper ground to wherever. Why is this happening? Is it going to burn my house down? What's the deal? Please and thank you

The fixture needs black to black, white to white  and  ground to the mount or electrical box.  If this doesn't work, then you have an open neutral somewhere in the line and you need to find out where it is. You'll have to check everything on the circuit to determine where the open neutral is.  Do not keep the white wire connected to the mounting bracket (which is probably grounded),because you're completing the circuit through the ground path, This is dangerous, it could kill you.


Septic system in soil with clay layer Is a layer of clay at appx 24" down going pose a significant problem installing a septic system? It seems to be appx 24" to 30" thick. Or should we look for better conditions upslope on a 10ac lot in eastern OK.

the idea with a modern septic system is that the evapotranspiration bed uses up all the waste water so that none goes into the ground water. so deep clay will not be a problem, the water is supposed to ultimately go into the atmosphere, not into the ground.


Is there a "standard" height for towel bars in bathrooms? I'm hanging a towel bar on a wall in a newly-built bathroom (part of a major remodel). I would like to avoid placing the bar at an "awkward" height, but I'm not sure what the proper height would be. Is there a "standard" height?

I believe it's 48" for a bath towel.

I just put up new towel bars in my bathroom, and my method was to hold the bar up with a towel on it and have my wife tell me if it looked right. Just to be sure, she even acted like she was drying her hands to see if it felt right too. If I remember correctly, it came out to 46". (We're both short - the next owners can either complain about it or raise it themselves.)


How can I rewire a three-wire ceiling fan installation where there is a two-wire set up? I installed a 3 speed ceiling fan with a dimmable light in the bedroom where a standard 2-wire light fixture used to be. After months of unsatisfied performance of these battery operated wall switches, I would rather have a full functioning wall switch. I have access to the junction box and all wiring for the fixture since the attic is above the ceiling. Is there a way for me to add a 3rd wire or change the wiring from the switch to the fan/light so I can install a 3 wire wall switch?

pull the third wire (same gauge) through the same conduit from the fan to the switch. It possible that the conduit isn't large enough for another wire and you'll need to upgrade it. Use either red or black but make sure you can distinguish the 2 lives (like if you end up with 2 blacks you label that wire at both ends).

You then either need a second switch so one controls the light and the other the fan. Or if it is pullcord operated then the new wire will need to always live; just hook it up before the switch.


replacing 20 amp breaker which is the test breaker I need to replace the 20 amp circuit breaker on my cutler hammer 200 amp breaker box. this happens to be the TEST breaker. what is the difference in the test breaker and a any other breaker  if I purchase one?

If the breaker is over 5 years old it is a GFCI breaker and it protects outlets at wet locations whether they are outside or at a sink in the kitchen or bath. Make sure you replace it with the same style (GFCI) Also make sure it is bad to begin with by pressing the test button and if the reset button pops out, it is good, press the reset button to turn the breaker back on. This confirms it is good. OR it might already be tripped and just needs to be reset. If pressing the test or reset does nothing, then the breaker needs replacing. If you have never been inside a breaker box, it is a scary proposition for a newbie, I would not recommend it. Please test it to see if it is bad by the instructions above, and get somebody who has done it before to replace it while you watch perhaps....


Find The Other End of Service Conduit On our property we have a main house and an 800 sqr foot detached "guest house". To the right of the entrance to the guest house is the electrical service / meter. The wires for the electrical service go into conduit in the concrete slab that is around the door, and off underground to where the power comes down the utility pole on the corner of our property. Right next to the electrical service in the concrete is another piece of conduit that also goes into the concrete. Stuck out of that are cut off, thick electrical wires (The size of electrical service). I would like to know where this conduit goes, does anyone have any ideas/techniques to determine this?

First and foremost I want to clean-up the electrical wires that look kind of scary and out-of-place just sticking out of that conduit. Knowing where the "other end" is should make it easier to pull out the cable since there is barely enough to tug on sticking out now. Second of all, I'm wondering if the conduit goes to the main house (e.g. I'm thinking the guest house was powered from the main house before it had its own service). If it does, I may be able to use this conduit to help run an ethernet line I want to run to the guest house. To do this though, I really need to know where the other end is.

Any ideas?

This is what a wire tracer does. One part clips to the accessible wiring. The other part gives an audible tone when you hold it near any connected wires. I've used them plenty for Ethernet and phone cables but they work on any electrical wiring.


Concrete over Asphalt? Would you do it? Typically the gut reaction seems to be, No way! Rip out the asphalt and start from scratch! But I have seen some reports from people who seem to know the process well that having an asphalt base actually is not a bad idea at all.

To explain better what I am doing: my 40 year old home has a garage where the asphalt floor is badly misshapen and bowed and especially sunken around the concrete foundations. It is in bad need of a resurfacing. I am just trying to figure out how I can remedy the situation without having to spend more than necessary.

So what are the issues with just pouring over top of the asphalt? It might be safe to assume that any settling has had many years to sort itself out. But I know very little about either asphalt or concrete.

Concrete isn't for resurfacing. It's a structure unto itself. So you need to likely pour at least a 4-5" slab for it to work as new garage flooring.

So that means your current flooring would have had to sink 4-5" already. The catch with that is that for it to sink (at all, really) it means it had a poor base to begin with (or no base).

As such, I'd say this is a bad idea.

I think the arguments for pouring on asphalt would be that if the asphalt has remained in good condition, it's likely in no small part due to the good base it had.


How can I get my upper level to be as cool as the lower level? new homeowner, attempting to fix the upstairs before it gets too hot without getting a second HVAC. Right now, it will be 72 downstairs, but 84 upstairs. We've got a new ecobee thermostat with a sensor upstairs and one downstairs (the thermostat). it attempts to balance the two and has helped some. We had an entire new HVAC and ductwork installed our first week as the existing system died and ducts were full of mold. Looking for any suggestions on how to keep it cooler.

I am about to replace the insulation on the walls as i have attic access to some of them. (current is yellow and damaged from a rodent). After i finish my electrical work i plan on adding a few more inches of blow in. I've also closed about half the dampers downstairs to push more air upstairs.

other than having a second HVAC unit installed dedicated to upstairs is there any other suggestions one can think of? I have a 16 SEER monster unit. 2400 sq foot home, told the unit can cool 3000. upstairs is only 2 bedrooms and a bath- 4 registers. The house originally had attic fans that had live wires going to nothing in the attic i just removed (aluminum wiring...) should i consider adding new fans? This is not my area of expertise, thanks for any suggestions!

not opposed to an upstairs HVAC, but i will be paying off the downstairs one for a bit so adding another is not doable for a while...

Here are my generic suggestions based on a few decades of home ownership in a climate that routinely ranges from -30F to 100F with dew points approaching 70:

Fix up your insulation. Cooling is usually more expensive than heating, and while hot air rises, heat does not. A hot attic with poor insulation means a hot ceiling, which means radiant and conductive heating of your living space.
Be sure you have appropriate window treatments. Dark-colored blinds or curtains absorb radiant solar heat and conduct it to your living space's air, as well as re-radiating into the room.
Balance your system seasonally. In the summer, your lower-level supply vents should be mostly closed. Your returns will draw air from throughout the home and keep things circulating, and cool air will naturally drop from the upper level. You don't need much (or any) conditioned air feeding to the lower level.
Use ceiling and portable fans to augment HVAC airflow and improve human comfort. Moving air evaporates sweat much more effectively.
Have reasonable expectations. You may not have been trying to achieve 72 degrees as an indoor temperature, but that's quite cool. 76-78 is much more attainable on very hot days, and generally feels comfortable with adequate airflow.


What are the pros and cons of paint vs epoxy for concrete floors? We will be finishing our basement in our new house - over the next two years or so.  Eventually, we will put down flooring in most of the basement (although some parts will remain unfinished).  Originally, we were going to put down two part epoxy but also considering paint to save money. Are there advantages of using epoxy over paint?  We will be using the unfinished basement as a gym and craft room until it is finished.

This completely depends on your expectations.  I paint my room every 5-6 years with the basic grey basement paint.  It scratches, you mop with hot water or bleach, it peels.  Not too bad but after a few years it doesn't look perfect, but certainly better than the dirty, rusty concrete that was there before it.

And I have a full squat rack and 800 pounds of weights.  So moving that stuff might scuff or scratch the paint too.

Choices:

Epoxy garage floor kits (2 parts).  The good... they look nice and feel nice.  The bad... they are made to go on smooth concrete.  Basement floors are a bit rough, meaning harder to clean and get a solid bond.  I have had these peel just like paint.
latex paint - cheap, easy, not messy at all, but I have mentioned before it will peel for sure.
drylok type paint (concrete moisture paint) - same as latex, handles water better on cleanups but bleach/cleaners not so much.
oil based paints - have had great results with these in rentals.  People will say they aren't environmentally friendly... but it works.  Throw down oil based paint on a basement floor it will far outlast any other type of paint including epoxy.  It is just an absolute mess to put down and does not clean up off of things so you really have to do a clear out.
concrete stain - will last forever, might require a lot of prep so the stain takes, and unless you do a lot of grinding and smoothing floor won't be that much nicer to walk on.  Also very costly to do right.
"rubber" coating.  Friend just bought the roll on rubber to redo a front porch.  Comes with the rubber plus scrappy top coat - it is basically what you see being used in playgrounds.  He had a ton left over so did the laundry room in the basement.  Looked great, pretty costly, like walking on a fluffy sponge... Time will tell on the clean up and how it works.  Not sure I would ever suggest this but an option.
And if you are finishing it and want something dynamic, might I suggest fully vinyl click lock flooring.  Sold at HD, Menards and tons of places online for 2.5+ a sq/ft.  These things can sit in water, be washed top to bottom and you can cut them after/as you put up walls.  Or just pull them apart and reuse.  You could lay down a 1000 sq/ft basement in couple hours with 3-4 people and it bends so don't have to level everything... just an option.


One fixture with 2 switching locations I have  a fixture that switches from 2 locations.  I am installing dual dimmers on this fixture.  the dimmers are a master / slave dimmer setup.  I have found the traveler wires (red and black)  the other wires available from the old switches are black and ground (bare) wires.  The whites are all tied together.  Do i need to open the white wires and bring out a white lead to the new dimmers?  the master dimmer has 7 wires (Leviton (bluetooth) DD710-BD).  Will I need all seven leads?

Will I need all seven leads?

Yes, for a three-way setup you need all seven.

  Do I need to open the white wires and bring out a white lead to the new dimmers?

Yes


how long should I let latex paint dry before installing outlet covers and other fixtures? I've recently painted a room with latex paint.  To finish the room I need to reinstall outlet covers, as well as some other fixtures that screw to the wall.  I was wondering how long I should let the paint dry/cure before putting these on so that I minimize the chances of them sticking to the paint and peeling it up when they're removed in the future.  Any tips/tricks to minimize their adhesion to the paint?

Give it at least 24 hours to be safe.  The best way to minimize adhesion is to just let it dry.  If you need to get the covers on sooner (say you have children crawling around) then just loosely tighten the screws, then go back after 24 hours and fully tighten the wall plates.


Can I accelerate caulk drying by using a fan or heater on it? From what I've found online, caulking takes 24-48 hours to dry. For my purposes, I need to apply caulking to my kitchen sink.

However, I am in a time crunch, so I would like to know how caulking dries. Specifically, can the dry time be sped up to less than 24 hours if I direct some fans at the caulking? Can apply a heat fan help too?

The tube of caulk should include drying and curing times.  It will vary based on the product so you definitely want to go by the manufacturer's recommendation and not some general guideline on the web somewhere.

You are not the only person who does not want to have to wait a day or two before using their sink and bathtub and the caulk manufacturers know this. It should be easy to find caulks that dry much faster than this.  Bathroom caulks are frequently advertising their "shower ready" time which is how long before it can get wet.  It may take a day or two to fully cure but many caulks will be able to get wet after a few hours.

Like many "fast drying" products the downside is that you have less time to work with the product before it starts setting up.  The last time I caulked my bathtub I used a very fast drying product that claimed it was "shower ready in 1 hour".  I am not a perfect caulker so I kept adding more and smoothing it out; unfortunately it started "clumping up" after maybe 20 minutes so I ended up with lumps.  If I had used a product that took longer to dry I would have had more time to smooth it without it starting to dry and get a skin over the top.


Refinishing wood: Should I use wood conditioner after light sanding before staining an old desk? I bought an old desk at a garage sale, and I want to restain it.  I've already sanded the whole desk and am ready to clean it up with tack cloth and restain.  Should I use wood conditioner on it?

It is unclear to me as to whether wood conditioner is only for totally unfinished wood or if it is good to use on old finished wood that has been sanded and is ready to restain.

I have found that wood conditioner is unnecessary for harder wood species. The primary purpose is to help reduce blotchy spots due to uneven stain penetration, which in my experience is prevalent with soft woods.

Previously finished woods may be less susceptible to blotchiness, depending on how thoroughly the wood was sanded. Conversely, less than complete removal of existing finishes can itself cause uneven stain penetration.


Mini Whirlpool Refrigerator I unplugged my refrigerator without turning it off.  Now it won't come back on.  The light works however, the compressor does not.  Will it ever come back on or should I just throw it out.  I've only had it for about 18 months purchased new.
Thanks for you help.

Refrigerators turn on / off based on the internal temperature, check your thermostat dial and make sure it is set properly - perhaps initially to coldest. If it has a power switch as you said - model number not listed, cycle the power switch.

Some of these units have a trip on the back side of the unit to protect the compressor - check that it is not tripped (might be a red or black push pin style), light will work but cooling will not, it protects the compressor it is an overload, unplugging and plugging while running may have caused this to trip.


Replacing chandelier, how many lights can it support? I want to replace a chandelier that currently has 2 bulbs, and I want to replace it with one that has at least 5 bulbs if possible. We live in an older building (built in 1912), and a friend warned me about doing this.

What do I have to watch out for? How many bulbs can a new chandelier and the current wiring support?

It's not the total number of bulbs you need to worry about but the total load caused by all the bulbs in the chandelier.

If you have 2 60W bulbs (for example) and a 240V power supply, then the current will be:

(2 * 60W) / 240V = 120W / 240V = 0.5A

So you could use a 5 bulb chandelier and fit 24W bulbs (assuming they exist) and draw the same current. To find the maximum size bulb you can use, you need to know the current of the circuit. Light circuits (in the UK) are typically 10A, so you could theoretically fit a single 2400W bulb or 5 * 480W bulbs if this were the only light fitting in the circuit.

However, a) these would be incredibly bright and b) there are other lights on the circuit you need to take into account.

A 5 bulb chandelier shouldn't be a problem as long as you fit smaller power bulbs.


Identifying unspliced pass-through wires in a receptacle box I have existing 1/2" emt conduit servicing 20 amp receptacles connected to a single pole 20 amp breaker.  So there are 3 12G wires, 1 black, 1 white and 1 green in the existing conduit.

I'd like to add a single 240V 20 amp receptacle in a separate box at the end of this conduit run, by running  black and red 12g wires back to a separate 20 amp double pole breaker.  These wires will pass through unbroken through each box.  Can I just mark the 2nd black wire with say, brown tape to keep it identified?  Or does the 2nd black wire need to be a different color, say brown?  Thanks!

You don't have to do anything to identify the conductors. However, you'll have to worry about box fill, as these conductors will have to be counted in the fill calculation.

  National Electrical Code 2014

  Chapter 3 Wiring Methods

  Article 314 Outlet, Device, Pull, and Junction Boxes; Conduit Bodies; Fittings, and Handhole Enclosures

  314.16 Number of Conductors in Outlet, Device, and
  Junction Boxes, and Conduit Bodies.

  (B) Box Fill Calculations.

  (1) Conductor Fill. Each conductor that originates outside
  the box and terminates or is spliced within the box shall be
  counted once, and each conductor that passes through the
  box without splice or termination shall be counted once.
  Each loop or coil of unbroken conductor not less than twice
  the minimum length required for free conductors in 300.14
  shall be counted twice. The conductor fill shall be calculated
  using Table 314.16(B). A conductor, no part of which
  leaves the box, shall not be counted.


Floating floor invisible transition Can caulk or similar be used to create invisible transition between floating wood flooring and vinyl floor tiling - the floor under the tiling has been built up to match level of floating wood floor) Thanks for any advice.

You are not supposed to secure a floating floor in any fashion, and caulking an edge may just do that. If it is a small section of floor, like a small 3X5 ft. powder room, you may get by, (not that I would put a floating floor in a powder room, this is just for example) but a larger floor, you need to use the transition or cap strip made for the laminate floor.


How should I approach red oak crown molding? I have turned my middle bedroom into a floor to ceiling red oak library.  Thus far I've been able to buy everything locally, but I want to wrap the top in crown molding.  The cheap laminate molding does not look right (not even close) so I must use real red oak to do this.  This scares me.  Do I order this precut? can I use my router to cut this? Can a big box special order this for me?  FYI: I have a great miter saw and a great router, but no table saw.

Your crown molding is going to have to be special cut.  You could do it yourself, however there is a certain pattern that crown mold is cut in to give it its shape (As I am sure you know).  One thing to think about in trying to cut it yourself, is that you are going to need a table saw to make your top and bottom cuts.  The top and bottom edges are angles either at a 45 degree on both sides, or the more standared 38 degree and 52 degree angles.  Without a table saw, you are not going to be able to cut this right, so it will not sit against your wall properly.  Also, if you happen to slip you are going to have a noticable spot in your crown molding (and solid wood molding is not cheap).

There are lumber stores that will cut it for you, or you can find one that has this type of crown molding availible for you to order.  Just Googole it I am sure it will not be hard to find one that will do it for you, or have the material you need.  The machines that are used to cut crown molding get it done with one pass though.  the machine also acts as a planer in case there are some thicker spots that need to be evened out.  If you need any advise on how to mount your molding look at my answer linked here on How to install crown molding .


How to fix roof shingles that has paint splattered on them? Our painter got paint on our roof shingles when he was spraying our chimney.

The paint is splattered across a 3’ x 3’ area. It is visible from street level.

What is the easiest way to fix this? (We will probably replace the roof in a year or so)

Should we get some matching shingles and nail them over the existing ones?

Should we just paint the shingles to mask the splattered paint?

Should we replace the shingles?

I’m looking for the most economical way and still have the roof look okay.

Properly speaking, this is something the painter should make right.

Since we live in an imperfect world, I'd suggest you get a spray can of somewhat matching paint and give the overspray a bit of overspray. It's not terrible for the shingles and will improve the look from the street.


Bunch of insulation questions I have the following situation. I have a raised ranch and we're having drain tiles installed. I wanted to use this time to install some additional insulation while we've got wood paneling down.

The basement has 4 feet of wall below grade and then above grade cinder blocks are moved two inches toward the exterior and start going up. Studs go against the bottom section and then above the 4 foot mark, these studs are separated 2 inches from the wall. I made some ASCII art below where the X's are the wall and floor and the S represents the stud. Note the gap between the stud and the wall near the top.

X  SS
X  SS        - Cinder block above grade wall
X  SS
X  SS
XXXSS
  XSS        - Poured basement wall
  XSS
  XSS
  XXXXXXXX   - Floor

We have a vapor barrier (plastic sheeting) stapled directly onto the 2x4s (the exterior side). Snug in between each pair of 2x4s we have R-13 fiberglass batts.

As for my questions...

1) Would it be okay for me to put some rigid foam insulation into that gap? I figure I could take down a 2x4 and start sliding insulation against the wall.

2) If I do that, should the vapor barrier be on the exterior side of the rigid panel or the interior?

3) Upstairs we have drywall attached to 1x2s which are then attached to cinder block. This situation sucks because barely any insulation fits in that tiny gap between the cinder block and drywall. This house is in Chicago too.  I'm looking at my options here.

A) Rip off all the drywall and little 1x2s and put in some real 2x4s in there w/ some batt insulation. Fix all the power outlets, window sills, etc.

B) Attach foam board insulation directly onto the drywall. Then put new drywall on that. Of course fix all the power outlets, window sills, etc.

C) ???

What would you guys/gals do in this situation?

Thanks,

mj

Well... THAT's an expensive house to heat, what with Lake Effect and all!

I think it'd be fine to slip some styrene (pink) foam board into the gap. You could also use polyisocyanurate, but you wouldn't get the benefit of the foil facing because you wouldn't have any air gap.

If you add foamboard, or even if you DON'T, the vapor barrier should ALWAYS be on the HEATED side of the insulated wall in cold climates. That means on the LIVING SPACE side of those studs. Right now, your vapor barrier is gathering moisture (frost) between it and the fiberglass, and when it melts your fiberglass gets wet. On the CORRECT side, it stops any moisture from getting into the fiberglass in the first place, trapping it within the living space where it belongs.

Upstairs... I'd leave the existing fiberglass in place, but strip off the drywall. I'd span the "studs" with heavy (2" thick) horizontal furring strips, and I'd fill the gaps with 1-3/8" polyisocynanurate foam board (foil faced) snug against the existing "studs". I'd seal all joints with aluminum tape. Then new drywall can be added to the horizontal strapping, leaving a 5/8" air gap between the foil-faced foam and the drywall.

In fact, that's exactly what I DID in this house - it's a transitional-timberframe 5/4 cape in Vermont, and we now burn just over two tons of wood pellets (about $500US total) per year, just about 1/3 as much as we burned the first winter, before we did that foamboard job. It was interesting to get the switches & outlets out to the new surface, but I accomplished it by cutting pieces of plywood with box-shaped openings & stitching them into place across the studs. I screwed the boxes into the plywood carriers (mounting ears reversed), so the boxes are just less than flush with the new drywall.

Funny to run a studfinder on these walls, though - studfinder only finds HORIZONTAL studs.    8)


One 4-way switch and two 3-way switches I decided to be handy and change all of my receptacles in the house. Everything went well until the garage. There are 3 light switches in the garage that go to 1 light source that has me stumped. Two light switches are 3-ways and one is a 4-way switch. I messed something up because the 4-way has to be in the on position in order for the 2 other switches to work. The 4-way has 2 black and 2 purple wires, while the 3-ways are all black because it is 1950"s wiring. Thoughts?

Just to clarify, the travelers on a 4 way are connected to the top terminals from one three way and the bottom terminals from the other.

NOT from side to side.

Google 4 way switch and check the wiring diagrams against what you have done. Like here.

Good luck!


How can I split a shower head with this fitting? I want to add a second shower head that splits off at the fitting for the current shower head (because my ceiling is low so I have to sit, and I want a shower head that sprays my lower body at the same time).

I can't do the easy thing, which would be to split it at the base and run two hoses from there, because the hose has to go through that hole (see photos).

How can I attach a second flexible-hose shower head?

Most hand held shower hose/sprayer units utilize 1/2" pipe thread, aka 1/2"NPT (not all, some have a proprietary thread). You should be able to rig a tee to that mounting bracket (somehow, using hose clamps, velcro, ingenuity, etc.) using 1/2" PCV fittings.

You could make it so the hose supplies the fixed tee, then use an additional hose or other fixed mount to locate two heads wherever you want.

Be advised, PVC pipe fittings use a tapered thread, which seals by taper along with thread compound and/or teflon tape. Those shower hoses and heads that would have the same thread (1/2"NPT) would utilize a non-tapered thread which seals by use of a flat rubber or vinyl washer/gasket. Does this mean that they will not work with PVC fittings? No, it means they will seem to not thread in very far perhaps, and to get a seal you made need some combination of teflon tape and gaskets. It's an open-ended system so it should not be under any real pressure anyway. Good luck.


Maytag top loading washing machine full of water at end of cycle The machine begins to agitate but I never stick around the whole time.  All I know is that at the end of the cycle it's sometimes filled with water.  But most of the time it's not.  This happened a few times in a row a month ago and then didn't happen again until today.  When this happens I typically turn the wash dial back to the middle of a wash cycle and it begins to spin.  Any idea what might cause this?

Is the washer particularly full when this happens, or are you setting it correctly for the load size?  If the clothes can't move freely in the water, they can clump together on one side of the drum, causing it to be unbalanced when it starts to spin.  Your washing machine is then stopping at that point in its cycle to prevent it from damaging itself, or from walking across your laundry room floor.


Does the Baco Code require double 5/8 on the ceiling in a garage when there is living space above? Does the Baco code require double 5/8" 0n the garage ceiling when there is a living space above ?

In residential construction up through duplexes, 1-hour Fire rating (1 layer) is required on the garage side of the ceiling and walls when there is a living space on the other side.

When you have 3 units or more, then you MAY need 2 layers, depending on the size of the complex and type of construction.

For ceilings in 1 and 2 unit residential units: 1 layer installed on 2x lumber and/or I-joists correctly gives you “1-hour” construction. In order to obtain the “1-hour” designation 5/8” type-X gypsum board must be installed on joists at 24” on center (max.) fastened with Type W or S drywall screws at 12” on center along all supports, and then “rough” taped. (See ICC Table 721.1(3), item 21.)


Mixing PVC Conduit Schedules I grabbed sched 80 heavy wall PVC conduit for my run to the shed, but later noticed the elbows are sched 40.  Is it legal to use them together (mixed in the same conduit run) in the trench or anywhere else (eg thru the garage)

You can mix them, as long as the places where you have schedule 40 elbows are places where schedule 40 is permitted.

It never came up but I'd be surprised if you had any issues.  You ought to make sure that the fittings match, for example if you use a coupling between the schedule 80 and the schedule 40 elbows, it must be rated for both types.  Similarly, if you use the bell ends built into the conduit or elbows you would want to check with the manufacturer to make sure it's listed for mating with the other type.


Filling void under asphalt driveway We recently moved into a new to us house. There are a couple of depressions in the asphalt driveway that I thought I should try to level with some bagged asphalt patch.
Maybe unsurprisingly, when I swept the dirt and loose debris out of one of them, I found that there was a hole straight through the asphalt and into a void in the soil below. I am thinking this is an animal burrow, since I have found another void just under the soil surface nearby which I was able to confirm is a burrow.
My thought is that I could break away an opening in the asphalt large enough to gain greater access, fill the cavity to the best of my ability with crushed stone and then cover with and tamp the patch material.
I realize of course that if there is a burrow that close to the surface, it may manifest in other locations over time which I'll have to address too.
Otherwise, does this seem like an okay plan? Or should I be looking to do something else? (Short of tearing up the driveway, re-grading and repaving..)

Possible causes: (not all of them equally likely)

Burrowing.
Poor compacting prior to paving.
Wood e.g roots, logs, garbage left under the gravel now decomposing.
Could be water erosion, perhaps a burst pipe.  That would probably be obvious though.

I'd make a small effort to determine what's causing it, but at this stage I wouldn't make too much effort at that, and jump quickly to exactly what you are planning to do.   If the situation returns I'd then dig it up and figure out what's causing it.
I wouldn't assume it's burrowing just because there is burrowing somewhere else.
It's a clue.  I have chipmunks, rabbits, groundhogs, voles, and hornets digging up my lawn constantly but I've never seen any of them burrow all the way under a paved driveway for no reason.   Might be a question of Outdoors SE.