Will using Redgard over a cement shower pan cause a mold sandwich if there are weep holes underneath? I recently installed a cement shower pan but I had to use two pvc shower pan liners because of the size of the shower. I used the specified pvc cement to "weld" the two liners together at the seam. However, I'm not entirely convinced this will be 100% waterproof at the seams. Unfortunately I completely forgot to test the shower pan liner after I installed it and I already poured the rest of the deck mud on top to the final height.

So my question is, can I use Redgard over the shower pan at this point (over the top deck mud layer) to make sure I won't have any leaks? I already saw a few questions about this on here and they mentioned a "mold sandwich" due to the cement not being able to drain any liquids if there is a leak in the first layer. However, I don't see this as an issue since the drain has weep holes at the pvc liner.

I don't think I'd bother.

pvc glue melts the plastic together.  It is used in plumbing with no leak issues.

If you do red guard it, I would not be concerned about a mold sandwich.  Even if mold did somehow get enough food and water and did grow in the deck mud, how would mold spores get out of this sandwich?

How would mold growing inside deck mud - under tiles - that receives the same food and water be less worse than a mold sandwich?  Is the opinion that it can dry easier make it better?


Extending ground from one circuit to another One of my circuits has a compromised ground wire, by something along the route of its cable ( like a nail or something ) so it's not grounding properly. If it has only one receptacle ( dishwasher + garbage disposal ) and that receptacle has adjacent ones from different circuits that have a functional ground, can I extend their ground to it?

Additionally, I also have a non circuit ground wire nearby that I use to ground my outside cable service box as well as a gas outlet that uses a flexible yellow extension hose ( that somehow requires to be grounded in my area ). If I can't use the ground wire from another circuit, can I connect to that from this receptacle ? I can use a wire that has green insulation going between the receptacle and this independent ground.

Apparently the answer is that it's okay to ground your 20 amp circuit to another 20 amp circuit next to it.

The key is the gauge of the ground you're tying into has to be as large or larger than the original circuit. So your 12 gauge ground on the compromised circuit has to tap into another circuited ground that is at least 12 gauge.


How To Stop A Leak In A Refrigerator Water Line Our original refrigerator had an ice maker.  They installed a white plastic type of water line going from under our kitchen sink, through our kitchen cabinets and behind the refrigerator.

We had to get another refrigerator a year or two ago.  It has no ice maker or water in the door.

When they took out the old fridge and put in the new one, they capped some thing off from under our kitchen sink and then behind the new fridge they put a cuppling or something like that to cap off the end of the water line behind the fridge and it just lays on the floor.

Recently we noticed water behind the fridge.  The plastic water line has a hole or crack in it.  It is leaking out water.

What do we need to do??

There a countless ways that the fridge line could have been installed. A photo of under the sink would greatly help, in particular showing the connection to the water supply.

Can you see where the fridge line connects to the water supply? Is it connected to the same supply that feeds the sink? If so, even with the isolation valves shut under the sink, there will still be pressure in the fridge line. If you open the sink's faucet, you can confirm that water is off, additionally this will relieve the pressure in the fridge's line.

Sometimes a small valve is installed on the fridge line under the sink. It could have been bumped open.

You'll need to determine how it is connected before you can fix it.


How long to wait after tile installation before placing heavy objects on it? I just installed some 12" x 24" large format tiles in my laundry room using Flexbond mortar over concrete that was machined with a diamond cup disk. Its been ~32 hours since I finished the main portion but its clear that that the mortar is still curing. It can take foot traffic at this point but I really need to get my washer/dryer back in there ASAP because I literally have no clean clothes ;)

How long should I wait before hauling these two beasts back in there?

My washer is probably ~300 - 350 lbs (it has huge concrete blocks in it for counter balance) and the dryer is a good ~170 lbs.

It depends on the concrete permeability and the tile permeability  (is it porcelain (essentially zero permeability) or a ceramic bisque (most non-porcelain tiles))?

A sealed concrete floor and a porcelain tile will greatly extend the cure cycle by limiting moisture migration.

It is for this reason that Schluter (a tile membrane manufacturer) specifies a non-modified (no latex added) thinset for its floor membranes and porcelain tiles together (on the tile side of the membrane).  They make the same requirement on the floor side, if the floor is limited in permeability.  Flexbond is VERY modified.

If sealed floor and porcelain, 48-72 hours is safe.  The tiles will cure properly with EVEN compression (the weight of the washer), if spread over several tiles.

Would it be possible to temporarily put down several 1/2" ply feet, that span from front to back, under the washer/dryer feet?


Sudden shots of cold water from shower and sink faucets We have suddenly started experiencing extreme temp variations if someone flushes a toilet while someone else is showering — shower gets extremely cold, new issue after 15 years living here. Also when I run my kitchen faucet, it has more recently begun getting ice cold when first turned on, literally 1 second after turning off after running very hot water and still set to hot. Only new thing is this faucet, a gooseneck no-touch my husband installed. Water heater is pretty new. Ideas on the cause and solution? Thanks!

If it was just the shower, I would look at the shower balancing valve.
But you say this is happening almost identically in the kitchen?  It is possible that the valves for the kitchen are not both opening at the same time.
You could appraoch this as two separate problems, even though they seem related.  I suggest these steps:

contact the manufacturer for the kitchen no-touch, and describe the problem to them.  They will walk you through the diagnosis.
When that issue is resolved then go after the shower.  What happens when running a sink faucet and the toilet is flushed?

A likely area in general is restrictions in hot water heaters, but you get this with flushing the toilet.  What kitchen faucet model, and what kind of shower control do you have?  What kind and style water heater do you have? Tank, on-demand?  Meanwhile chase down the steps above.


sub-panel ground/netural connections If my sub-panel is an extension of my main panel due to insufficient breaker space, then why is it necessary to separate my ground and neutral connections in my sub-panel?

Safety.

First of all, you'll get neutral current on the ground wire back to the main panel, because there are two parallel paths back.

Secondly, if the neutral ever fails, instead of just having no power everything will appear to be working, but you'll have all the current on the ground. This means now you can be electrocuted by touching the panel itself.

Edit: See my other similar answer: Why does a subpanel need separate ground and neutral?


How are equipment grounding conductors counted for determining conduit or junction box fill? Suppose one is doing junction box fill calculations for a typical NM-B installation such as the one shown below for a switch box with one normal and one three-way switch. Which of the wires count towards conductor fill?

Section 314.16(B) of the 2011 NEC states (in part):

  314.16(B)(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 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.

and

  314.16(B)(5) Equipment Grounding Conductor Fill

  Where one or more equipment grounding conductors or equipment bonding jumpers enters a box, a single volume allowance in accordance with Table 314.16(B) shall be made based on the largest equipment grounding conductor or equipment bonding jumper present in the box. Where an additional set of equipment grounding conductors, as permitted by 250.146(D), is present in the box, an additional volume allowance shall be made based on the largest equipment grounding conductor in the additional set.

So how many conductors, and how many equipment grounding conductors are present in the box shown here?

Please see this answer, for more detail. Basically if you have equipment grounding conductors enter the box, you add 1 fill unit.
Example Breakdown
In the example you've provided you have 12 if it's a box without internal clamps, and 13 if it has internal clamps.

Current Carrying Conductors
    Ungrounded (hot)            4
    Grounded (neutral)          3
    ----------------------------------
                                    7

Equipment Grounding Conductor       1

Clamps  (maybe)                     1

Devices                         2
                               x2
    ----------------------------------
                                    4
    ----------------------------------
Total                               13


How so I fix a loose Kwikset deadbolt faceplate? We have a kwikset deadbolt on our main door and the faceplate has come loose.  There are no visible screws on either side of the door, so I am assuming they are under the brass plate on the inside of the door.  I can't seem to get the plate off though.  There is a little rectangle on the bottom of the plate, but it doesn't seem to help pop off the plate.  The locking handle seems too close for the plate to be allowed to moved enough to reach screws anyway.  Does anyone know how to get the plate off?

The Kwikset locks I've replaced had screws on the deadbolt plate, but I've heard that others have a 'snap-on' plate that can be removed with a flathead screwdriver. This forum post seems to concern a case similar to yours.


Ground-level Free-Standing Deck Frame (Feedback Requested) I would like to ask for your feedback on the deck frame illustrated in the image below. It is a ground-level, free-standing deck.

All your feedback is highly appreciated!

Iteration 1

[Edit]
**

Iteration 2

**

Check out this residential wood deck construction guide.

Looks like 2x6 joist lumber is not an option per IRC, and for 8' joist span your 8' beam would need to be 2-2x10s minimum (or other options depending on wood species).

IRC deck framing guide courtesy of prior question by @psaxton


Fixing a wood barrier I have a wood barrier that runs alongside my yard and holds back dirt from the driveway. The wood is starting to rot but is still doing OK. The wall has started to come apart in a few places. I would like to fortify the wall so that it lasts as long as possible before I have to call a professional to fix and replace it. What are the steps I should take? I have basic tools and some basic familiarity with home improvements. Thanks!

One fix is to go to the big box store and buy some short lengths of re-bar (the stuff normally used to reinforce concrete). You can get it in lengths like 2' or 3' or 4'.

The idea is to get the old timbers lined up as much a possible. That may mean having to dig away on one side if dirt has come down behind where you want to push the timber. Once you have things lined up you want to drill a hole in the center of the beam(s) from the top down trough. Then pound the re-bar trough the hole and down into the ground using a heavy maul or hammer. Sink the top end of the re-bar right down to the timber top so it is not sticking out. This will hold the timbers in alignment and in place due to the re-bar going down into the ground.

For best results you would want to keep the hole diameter only slightly larger than the re-bar. It does take a long drill bit to go through two or three timbers at once but you can find them. Look for the 4 or 5 foot flexible type that wiring installers use to drill holes inside walls.


Is there a good way to hunt down AFCI receptacle nuisance tripping causes? So a few weeks after I installed a Leviton AFCI receptacle (NOT a breaker), per this question, I am finding that the receptacle constantly trips at random, usually once or twice a week.  Some characteristics of the branch circuit and receptacle:

Leviton model # is AFTR1-W.
It's the first receptacle downstream of the circuit breaker in the load center.
Load center is a Square-D QO.
The breaker protecting this branch circuit is a two-pole breaker.
NOT a shared neutral, I think.  Both branch circuits serviced by the breaker have two different 14/2 romex strands running out, and both neutrals are connected directly to the neutral busbar.

So far, I've pinned it down to tripping only when my living room/dining room ceiling fans are running (lights on or off), kitchen light on, and the outdoor light is on.  All four were replaced by me when I bought the house, and I've already re-wired the kitchen light, since several trips happened when it was on.  I'll add, the kitchen light is a traditional fluorescent, and uses two T32 4ft bulbs, consuming 64W of power.  The ceiling fans use two CFL bulbs, 13W each, and the outdoor light is also CFL.

I figure it's gotta be a shoddy wiring job I did on one of them, and my next target to re-wire is the outside light, since that and the living room ceiling fan were the first things I wired in (and my wiring skills have gotten better since then).

What I am curious about is if there are any better ways to troubleshoot nuisance tripping on AFCI breakers/receptacles.  I know the receptacle is a fairly new thing, so it might be quirky a bit, but I am not sure.  Or should I just re-wire one device at a time and continue to observe if the problems keeps occurring?

I have read that fluorescent lights (like my kitchen light) can sometimes trip an AFCI breaker.  Don't know how different or more/less sensitive a receptacle version might be.  Is there a way to guard against a fluoescent fixture tripping an AFCI?

Combination-type AFCI (Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter) receptacles (and breakers, too) are generally be designed to trip when any of the following conditions are met:

Series-arc (arcs between hot and neutral/ground)
Parallel arc (arcs where a single wire (hot or neutral) has a defect, or bad connection)
Ground Faults (generally > 40 mA of unbalanced current)

The techniques for diagnosing tripping of receptacles are the same as for diagnosing tripping of AFCI breakers. It is pretty much taking the circuit apart until you find the problem, though there are some special meters that can make the process faster.

Arcs

The AFCI contains a microprocessor that uses proprietary heuristics to determine if an arc has occurred, for example, some number of short high current spikes within some amount of time. Unfortunately, this can also prevent the use of some "desired" loads (I'd posit that spark gap devices like Tesla coils would trip the AFCI, though I don't have any evidence of such). Older AFCIs are more sensitive to various "good" loads and may trip more easily, but the new models are reasonably resistant to false-tripping because of false-positive arcs. Certain motors and lighting (especially dimmers) can also cause tripping, though this often indicates a true problem with the motor/dimmer that should itself be corrected.

Loose connections is the circuit can cause arcs, and thus cause nuisance tripping, too.

Ground Faults

AFCIs are designed to detect ground faults, similar to GFCI receptacles. They trip when the current in the hot wire is not equal to that of the neutral.  While GFCIs are set to trip when the difference of these currents is around 4 mA, AFCIs are set to trip at around 40 mA. Ground faults occur when the neutral and ground wires are connected together downstream of the interrupter.

Troubleshooting

One way to detect ground faults is with an ohmmeter. If a ground fault is occurring, it often can be seen as a low-resistance path between neutral and ground (except for some special loads like motors). You can use an ohmmeter at the circuit breaker panel to measure the resistance between neutral and ground. Be careful about working around electricity, it is dangerous. First turn off the power to your circuit via the branch circuit breaker, or the main breaker. Verify that the power is off on that circuit, preferably by using a non-contact voltage detector on the "hot" and "neutral" wires for the circuit. Next, disconnect the neutral from the neutral terminal block. Measure the resistance between the neutral wire, and ground. It should be >10 Mohm, but if the two are shorted together in your circuit well enough to trip a ground fault device, it will be less than around 30 kohm (120 V/4mA).

After separating the circuit into parts, if the trip is gone, then you know that the parts of the circuit still receiving power are "good", and can be left connected. If the circuit still trips, then the disconnected part is likely "good", and you should leave it disconnected during further troubleshooting.

Another way to detect the ground faults is to put a large load on the circuit. I would use a space heater, but an 100W incandescent light bulb could work too. These are purely resistive loads that won't be detected as arcs. If it trip soon after turning it on, then you have a ground fault, or less likely, a bad connection causing an arc in your circuit. The ground faults could happen only when the circuit is loaded, for example when the wires heat up, and the thermal expansion causes the wires to contact each other. The fault is more likely to be detected by the AFCI when your load is closer to the actual location of the fault, so plugging your load into the AFCI receptacle itself may not cause it to trip, since the fault is too far away....

The ground fault current will be roughly proportional to the load of the circuit, so to cause the fault, you might have to have a large load on the circuit in order to cause the trip.

To correct this, you will need to go to each device (receptacle/lamp, etc), and disconnect the "upstream" from the "downstream" wiring until you find the problem. If the ground fault disappears, then you know that the fault happens in the part of the circuit that was disconnected. Divide an conquer until you have found the location of the ground fault, and fix it. Note that the problem could be inside the wall, perhaps where a nail was sunk through your electrical cable.

If the problem is an arc, the problem should be approached in the same way. Check all of your connections to make sure that they are tight, and divide the circuit until you locate the section of cable that is your problem.

I tend to think that your lights are not causing the issue because you have tried a number of different lights, and they are all causing tripping issues, but causing the tripping by using a 100W light bulb or space heater would confirm that it isn't a problem caused by fluorescent lighting. Normally the problem would be caused by a failing ballast in your fluorescent light, so that should be replaced.... The only way to further diagnose this is to see if the trip ever happens if the fluorescent are turned off. Worst case, your lights could have a little problem and your fan could have a little problem, each of which individually won't trip the breaker, but does when both are on together.

As for a "better way", Siemens has an "Intelli-arc" meter that will report the magnitude of arcing, total current, and unbalanced (ground fault) current. This tool could make your process go faster by helping you differentiate betweenn arcing and ground-fault conditions, and reporting conditions that are below the trip threshold of your receptacle. One option for beakers is to examine their indicators lights. They will report if the trip was caused by an arc, but these indicators are not on the receptacles.


Is this gray fibrous substance above my ceiling tile made of asbestos? This is above my ceiling tile.  Is it asbestos?

It could be.

A few things you've left out where the year of the build of your home and the area you are in. These could help narrow down if this was used in your area at the time of construction.

You have two options:

Pickup a test kit from your local hardware store - or bring a sample to be tested by a lab.
Call a qualified professional for an opinion: Knowledgeable contractors can identify this immediately or you can contact the local authority in your area who deals with asbestos.

Since there is a doubt, stop everything you are doing until you've confirmed what it is.


What are the steps to drain and refill zone for zone valve replacement? I have a hot water baseboard (hydronic) heating system, gas boiler.  Please refer to diagram of my system below.  Ball valves 1 & 2 are supply.  Ball valve 3 is return.  Zone valves are on supply, circulator pump is on return.
I searched the internet and found a video that covers this, but his system was different than mine.  From the information I have gleaned, the steps to drain & repair valve are:

Turn supply off
Turn return off
Open hose bibb to drain pressure/water
Change valve

My questions:  I have two ball valves for supply (1 & 2).  Do I need to turn both off?  The zone valves are normally closed--I will need to open one, or all after step 2, right?  Do I need to open all, or just the one I'm replacing?  Also, he didn't open up the bleeder screw on the registers.  Wouldn't you need to so air can come into the system to replace the water?
Steps to refill after valve change:

Turn supply on
Open supply valve(s)
Open hose bibb to drain water to purge.  Note, may take 10 gallons.  If water doesn't flow, open and close pressure reducing valve quickly--make sure pressure doesn't get too high.  I don't understand this last part--maybe because he's trying to increase pressure to overcome air in the line?
After no more bubbles in water, close hose bibb.
Open return valve
Close zone valve(s)

My questions:  He mentioned monitoring the pressure to make sure it doesn't get too high.  What the heck are ya gonna do if it does--run?  :)

I turned off both valves 1 & 2 figuring it isolated most things and valve 2 didn't seem to close all the way.
The steps I used to drain were:

turn supply off
turn return off
open hose bibb
open bleeder valve on register farthest away.  If you don't do this, it seems to drain very slowly.

When refilling/purging, it seemed to go better/faster if that bleeder screw opened in step 4 was left open until things are flowing well.  However, if you do that, by the time you get back upstairs to close it, there will be water on the floor.  If you want to avoid that, you'll either need two people, or you have to close it before turning on the water supply, go upstairs and then open it up to help bleed the system.
In step 3 of the original post for purging, I do now believe that opening the pressure reducer valve (bypass) is done to overcome the air pressure in the system.  If you don't see water coming out after say 30 seconds, do this as a short burst and it'll get water moving.  I never did come up with an answer about the pressure getting too high.  When I opened it up for a short burst, I didn't notice the pressure go up--probably because I only opened it up a bit and for a quick time.


Cement pool overhang patch or replace I have a pool with an overhanging cement edge that crumbled away. I have one contractor that said we should replace it and another that said we should just patch it. Here are some pictures of it. Which option should I take?

I would chip away everything that is crumbling and patch it. Make sure that you get all the cracks knocked out and patch out from there.

Chances are that the patch won't match the surrounding cement but if you think about it, you'll spend maybe $20 in patch materials (more if you need the trowel tools) and if it fails after a year you are out $20 and no harm done. If it holds, great, but at least you have a year (or more) to save for a larger fix in the future.

As far as leaving the rebar there or removing it, you should be able to leave it there with the proper patch cement. They usually have bonding chemicals in the cement and can bond to the rebar without using a chemical bonding agent. You may need to make a form for the underside or just mix the cement a little dry. Forms can easily be made from foam insulation (the pink sheets) available at any hardware store.

One more thing, when you patch, don't fill the expansion joints with cement, use duct-tape or weather stripping to keep the cement out of the expansion joint.


How can I safely repaint/fix peeling latex paint that was painted over lead paint? The previous owners of our 1948 house painted over ALL the oil based (lead containing) with latex paint without properly priming it?!?! Now 1 yr in, every doorway is peeling paint exposing the green lead based paint beneath. We have 3 young children and I want to get this taken care of. Professionally removing or encapsulating it is not an option financially. What is the best way to take care of it myself? Peel what I can and prime and paint over it?  I know that will leave an unsmooth surface, but scraping and sanding aren’t really an option unless there is a safe way I can do it. This is such a huge project and I don’t even know where to begin.

A great many things will soften or dissolve latex paint without ravaging the underlying layer.

The more fundamental problem is you will need a scuff-sand to get anything to bond  to the old paint.  Paint cannot bond to gloss, it needs to be microscopically rough, or visibly "flat".

Scuff sand with a Scotchbrite "green" pad, same green/yellow sponges you use on pots and pans. You can prevent dust by doing this wet, wash contaminated water down a city sewer, and sponges in the trash.  Don't overdo it - you're not trying to level the surface, just degloss it.

That thing you are thinking makes the new paint bind to the old: that's not what primer does, it's what scuff sanding does.  Normal primers can't do that, they also need a deglossed surface to bite into.  Primer does other stuff.

There is no chemical that can fix the current problem.  I.E. imagine you have 4 coats

topcoat
???
recent paint that isn't sticking
glossy or contaminated old paint

You're imagining a product at #2 that can fix the fact that #3 and #4 are delaminating.  Doesn't exist. Even at "professionals only" paint stores. All that will happen is that 1 2 3 will peel off together.

Now are you 100% sure that top layer is leaden?  Hard to believe it hasn't been painted since lead was banned. If it did last 40 years, that's the power of a good oil (alkyd) paint.  That durability has nothing to do with lead, lead was a pigment.  Luxury homes still use oil paints especially for trim.  If you can't afford top tier painters to come in, then you're the painter and nothing keeps you from doing top tier work.

Unlike latex, super stinky oil paints are normal.  The solvents are somewhat toxic, but they stop being harmful long before they stop offending the nose.  Also they are not bioaccumulators like lead is, so once you stop using them, your body's immune system will flush out any toxins.  Paint them with good ventilation.


How to upgrade generator socket from 20A to 30A? I just replaced a 20A generator with a 30A one, and I need to upgrade the generator socket.
The context is a 100% off-grid cabin with two solar panels, a small battery bank, and a 120VAC inverter feeding a few circuits in the house. The generator is used for backup power and to pump water using a 240VAC well pump. Here's the existing setup:
Generator with 20A breaker => 20A cable => L14-20 socket => 12 AWG cable directly to bus bars on a dedicated 100A-rated 8-position panel (Square-D QO Load Center model QO6-12L100DF/S). This panel has two breakers: 20A 1-pole that feeds inverter-charger, 20A 2-pole that feeds the well pump. When I want to charge the batteries, I turn on the generator and flip the relevant breaker; same when I want to pump water. (This was all installed by a licensed electrician who specializes in off-grid work, and it works well.)
All I think I have to do is adjust as follows:
Generator with 30A breaker => 30A cable => L14-30 socket => 10 AWG cable => existing 8-position panel.
Questions:

Is this correct?
The existing 20A breakers and the downstream wiring to the inverter-charger and well pump can just be left as is, right?
My preference would be to add a 30A 2-pole breaker and feed the wiring from the generator through it instead of connecting directly to the bus bars. That way I would have an interior shutoff (in addition to the 30A breaker on the generator itself). Are there any issues with doing that?

Go ahead and put the 30A breaker in, along with a hold down kit
The good news is that your plan with the 30A breaker is feasible, given that you don't have a utility service, which means you aren't subject to the new 230.85 emergency disconnect requirements, which'd require an outdoor disconnect switch or main breaker.  However, you'll need a PK2MB hold-down kit for your 30A breaker in order to comply with NEC 408.36(D) (and keep someone from accidentally yanking out a live breaker during maintenance); fortunately, these are not hard to come by.
P.S. your panel is only a six-position panel, which means you'll have only one space left for breakers in it after you put the 30A breaker in, unless you resort to "double-stuff" breakers that is.


Kitchen sink drain occasionally clogs at junction 40 feet downstream from disposal It doesn't take all that much for the drain to get backed up. We do OK by letting virtually no food particles down the sink, but invariably it backs up now and again, particularly when we're hosting. The only way to unclog it seems to be to use an outdoor clean-out in conjunction with a ~50 foot snake.

The house was built in 1995 near Dallas, TX; the kitchen is on the first floor and there's no basement.

Are there any good options here? Could an endoscope reveal anything useful? If it is the wrong kind of junction and I wanted to attempt a repair, how would I even find where this particular junction is? (Presumably, I would need to bust up part of the foundation to repair it, which makes finding it trickier) Would it be easier to invest in some kind of super garbage disposal, e.g. one that shreds food particles more than just forcing them down the drain?

If you want to find out whether there is anything special about the point where the clogs seem to happen, hire a plumber with the capability to run a special viewing camera through the drain.  If a repair was judged to be necessary it is possible that it could be done by tunneling under the slab rather than breaking a hole in the slab.

But the easiest thing to do would be to dispense with the disposer. We did away with our disposer more than 25 years ago. We collect food scraps in a bag in a can (10 in diameter x 10 inch deep) on the counter top and put them in the garbage. Many people do this nowadays. The waste water treatment authorities discourage the use of disposers.


What is the black adhesive being applied between the veneer bricks? What is the black stuff being applied in the last photo?

It is just black mortar.  They sell mortar in many different colors along with powdered coloring you can add to make just about any color you want.

Mortar is used between brick and block to seal the joint from the elements, and to lock the bricks together (among other things).  In the picture above, it is not used to lock the bricks together or weatherproof the joints but is used for aesthetics by giving the final product a nice contrast between the red brick and black mortar.


How do you hang something on sheetrock if you have metal wall studs? How do you hang something on sheetrock if you have metal wall studs? The item is a very heavy shelf, so anchors aren't going to cut it.

I think you can use toggle bolts based on my experience with them and on the ratings given here: http://www.powers.com/pdfs/plastic/togglebolt.pdf.


layman terms: Lengths of not more than 6 feet from an outlet Below is an amendment to my village electrical code.

Can someone please help me understand what #2 below means?  Does this mean we can not daisy change can lights using BX?  Can we use use junction boxes to tie it all together, or can we only install can lights using BX when we tie into a wall outlet using 6' or less BX?

I am wondering if I need to hard pipe it all.

Article 333, Armored cable (BX), shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:
 “Armored cable (BX) is not allowed except for the following installations:

Lengths of not more than 2 feet at terminals where flexibility is necessary and installation is approved by the code official.
Lengths of not more than 6 feet from an outlet for connections within an accessible ceiling to lighting fixtures or equipment.”

As the cable flies

Length limits on cables and cords in the NEC are measured in the length of the cable or cord you need to get there by the most direct route.  Keep in mind that instead of type AC (nee BX) cable, you can use type MC cable instead.  (In particular, I'd do some research into what's generically known as a type MCI-A cable -- these are basically a cross between AC and MC that beats both of its parents on most things.)

Outlet != receptacle

An "outlet" in the NEC is any point where the house wiring stops and other wiring (cordage or utilization equipment whips) begins.  Receptacles are simply devices that make outlets convenient to use -- an outlet under the NEC for a hardwired appliance that's not in yet will simply be a junction box with nutted-off wires tucked inside and a cover slapped on.


Septic/Dry Well Question Our graywater drywell, which handles our washing machine and sinks, has come to the end of its life and no longer drains. Our options as presented to us are: dig and install a new drywell (~$5k); run a overflow pipe from the existing drywell over the hill behind our house (~$3k); tie the drywell into our existing septic system (no estimate). The last option is likely the cheapest, but I'm worried about the long term effects on the septic system and leach field if this is done.

Any input or advice would be helpful.

did you check for a clogged pipe? pipes from kitchens laundries and showers build up with grease hair and lint and unfortunately clean outs are not usually added to gray water lines like they are with septics.


Is it a good idea to repair a squeaky floor from above? I have a second floor that squeaks, a lot.

Attempts at using scored screws haven't helped much, and the carpet is due for replacement, so there is little concern about pulling it up.

A contractor has mentioned that approaching the floor from below will be quite expensive, as it would be a sizeable amount of sheetrock to replace on the ceiling below.  Considering the carpet replacement, he recommends cutting up the flooring from above and replacing the plywood decking with new that will be secured to wood screwed in to the existing joists.

Is this a typical approach?  Perhaps there is more that was unsaid, and if so, what might be his concerns?

The room also suffers from a severe lack of sound proofing to the floor below which features the TV.  He feels we can also install sound dampening insulation from above while doing the work.

Assuming that everything goes as well as could be wished, what items should I be looking for to raise or calm my concerns?

I think your contractor is right on the money, it's way easier to approach the problem from above than below, and trying to fix it from below would be very difficult to do properly. Floors generally creak because the floor material isn't strongly connected to the joists, to when you step the joists rub against the subflooring , and the subflooring segments rub against each other. Also, older flooring tends to weaken and bow, adding to the creaking. The right way to attack this is to pull up the old subfloor and put down new subfloor using screws into the joists. This will make a strong floor that is less likely to bow in the future.

If you tried to attack this from below you'd have to pull your perfectly good ceiling down, attempt to fix the creaking (which probably wouldn't work anyway), then put up a new ceiling. You'd have to pull down your light fixtures, repaint the entire room, etc. So you'd spend a lot of money to replace a ceiling that doesn't need fixing, spending more money, and be unlikely to fix the creaking.

Having your floor up gives you an opportunity to do a few things:

Inspect the joists: have them take a good look at the condition and rectify any problems. Don't skimp on this, money spent now prevents a vast amount of money spent later.
Electrical work: While you have your floor up is an ideal time to replace old wiring, add new outlets or switches, and put new lighting in the floor below. Want spotlights in the room below? Do it while the floor is up.

Add insulation and/or soundproofing: It's much easier to lay insulation and soundproofing down into a floor cavity rather than up into a ceiling cavity and you may as well while the space is exposed. Just make sure that whatever materials you have installed have a good fire rating!

I definitely agree with your contractor on this one, don't pull down your ceiling to fix your floor, just fix your floor!


Shave ceramic hole instead of re-cutting I have no earthly idea why the previous orders did this.

For our sink they cut the sides 1.5 inches (left), and the middle 1.25 inch.

Our new faucet comes with these to go into the hole as a bracket. But these are 1.25 inches as well. The sides fit obviously (being 1.5 inches wide) but the middle one doesn't fit.

I mean it barely doesn't fit. If i could shave even 1/16 or 1/8 of inch off the hole it would fit snug. BUT IT WOULD FIT!!!

Any suggestions?

I have taken a diamond blade to a few sinks to get past issues, but only cutting the edge to get better clearance for faucet mounting washers. A carefully wielded abrasive bit on a Dremel or regular variable speed drill may do you.

Do not get it too hot, it will crack.

Vibration will mess you up as well.

Looks like the mounting flange will cover any small chips that may occur.


redirecting some air from outdoor A/C compressor into the attic to cool it down I can't find any info on this question, and this might be a stupid idea... but anyway:
The temperature in the attic is ca. 130F, 3pm, outside temperature 90F. ( Florida, 17y/o house ) Can I direct/force part of the air coming out of the outside A/C compressor via the soffit into the attic to cool it down? The air coming out of the compressor is way colder than the attic temperature. I am thinking about some prove of concept temporary installation to compare the results without doing too many changes, and without regretting that I tried.
But before I even attempt this I want to ask you guys.
Many thanks!
Mike

Directing air from outside compressor into your attic would reduce the air flow from your compressor and probably decrease the cooling ability of it. A better solution would be to install an attic fan that vented to the outside. The problem with that is that you suck in humid air from the outside.  If you've got good insulation on the attic floor why is the attic temp a problem?  I live in S. Florida and my attic temp is really hot but with great insulation it doesn't affect the living space below.


How to improve my air cooler? I recently grabbed a cheap (as in 70€) air cooler to chill a room (45m³).

Expectedly the inner workings of the cooler are quite basic, a pump circulates water from a reservoir through some kind of paper honeycomb structure in a waterfall-like manner. A ventilator sucks the hot air from the room through the honeycomb structure, where the air transfers its heat to the cold water.

The cooler neither has a connection to a water pipe, nor is there an outlet for outgoing air.

Right now I am using cold tab water (around 10°C), but the cooler is not very effective. Leaving it on for three hours in the closed room yielded no change in room temperature, the water only got slightly warmer.

My ideas to improve efficiency:

Add salt to water and cool it down to around 0°C
Replace paper honeycombs with aluminum structure
Replace current pump (Hmax = 0.75m, Qmax = 260l/h) with better one to enhance flow through honeycombs

What else could I try to boost the cooling power of my air cooler?

This type of evaporative cooler is incapable of reducing the temperature of an entire room. None of the interventions you list would improve the performance. Adding salt would corrode the device.

This device might provide some benefit if the air output is directed onto a single person.


Max watt on LED dimmer I have 16 9w (144w total) LED on one switch.  Is it ok to change that switch to a 150w max LED dimmer or should I go to a higher 300w LED dimmer?

Go with the larger dimmer. It will allow you to add higher wattage bulbs down the road. Your 9 watt LED bulb is equivalent to a 60 watt standard bulb. That's a middle of the road wattage so allow for larger bulbs.


Weight a foundation can hold Would a 6" slab with mesh, rebar and fiber hold a 2 story log home made from hemlock logs that are 16" wide? The mesh will be doubled up on the outer edges and rebar will run both ways. It's 32x40.

Log homes are designed to distribute the weight of the house fairly evenly around the perimeter and with the logs being about 16” wide it could easily support about 3,500 lbs. per linear foot, depending on soil conditions in your area.

However, the reason footings (or as @isherwood indicated, thickened slabs at edges) are used is 1) to be installed below frost lines, which could be from 12” down to 48” below ground level, depending where you live, 2) help span across soft spots in the soil, and 3) removes loose topsoil which is easily compressed. Your slab does not do any of those.

In addition, if you have any posts in the middle of your house, that is a “concentrated “ load and will require an extra large footing with extra reinforcement.  A 6” slab will fail, even with rebar installed, as you indicated.


What should I wash my walls with prior to using "peel and stick" tiles except TSP? I am installing peel and stick tiles as a backsplash.  I would like to know what to wash the walls with before installing.  The walls were painted eight years ago.

Borax is a great substitute for TSP. Mixed with water, it is a very good degreaser. Just scrub your walls with it and let it dry completely. Any ammonia-based cleanser will also do the job. With peel and stick tiles read and follow all the manufacturer instructions accurately.


What type of bolt is only threaded at the tip I am trying to fix my son's scooter and need a 2nd one of these:

I've never seen this style of bolt/screw before: only the first 1/4" or so is actually threaded and the rest is just an unthreaded shaft. Hex/allen wrench fitting at the top.
Can someone help me identify what type of bolt/screw this is so I can order another one?

It is called a shoulder bolt. You will probably need to try a specialized hardware supplier. In the US, Fastenal or McMaster-Carr come to mind as far as national outfits.
With this type of hardware, it is sometimes so specialized to the item it came off of, it could be easier to just locate the manufacturer and model of the scooter. You could then first search online for parts diagrams and part numbers for that, or call their support number.


Could these foundation defects cause problems? Attached are the pictures of newly constructed basement wall. I wonder if these defects are going to be a problem in the future? Outside of the walls have water proofing, but I wonder if these defects will lead to problems with water leakage or structural issues.

Picture 1 - Honeycombing type effect - both side of door opening.
Picture 2 - line across the middle of the wall.
picture 3 - line across under the window and in the corner.
picture 4 - line in across the middle area

Are those type defects normal in the concrete walls?

Well, these 'issues' so to speak are rather commonly seen on smaller construction sites (at my area of living) and are result of problems/mistakes while concrete laying. Probably all of them (as far as I can see from these pictures) are made by poor concrete thickening (without or with poor use of concrete vibrators or other devices). These, ideally, shouldn't be made by proffessionals, but they are still being seens here or there.
With proper water insulation these shouldn't cause trouble, unless they are deep cracks (concrete layered with too long interval and not thickened). Even if with cracks, structures are often over-designed for stress, so I doubt that it may cause any harm.
If I were You, I would rather look into proper and precise water insulation making - most often a real problem.
(Correct my english, please, if needed)


Can I use a rotary tool to sharpen knives and other blades? Anybody used Dremel effectively to sharpen knives and things like chisels and scrapers? What kind of bits are good for that application?

Also, what do you call an electromotor that is clamped to a table (like a vise) and has a grinding/sharpening wheel?  I was thinking of getting one of those if Dremel (with an adequate bit) won't do.

First item in sharpening things. When you're sharpening chisels and knives, you don't remove that much metal that you require powered implements. Manual movement on broad, flat stones is sufficient.

Second item in sharpening things. Using a powered grinding implement will destroy any edged tool by heat buildup. A very light touch is needed, once you've exceeded the temper temperature, toss the tool.

A dual sided carborundum water stone will fill the bill for most people. The coarse side takes out the nicks (sign you're maltreating your edged tools) and the fine side puts the honed edge on the implement. Get some polishing compound and a piece of leather to make a strop if you want a really fine edge, it takes the burr off that forms during sharpening.

This is one of those situations where the beauty of having a tool spinning a grinding disk at 10,000 rpm will quickly cause the need for reacquiring everything you attempt to sharpen with it. Any heat buildup takes the temper out of the edge, ruining the tool. Typically, you don't have enough surface area to keep the edge straight either which destroys the straight edge needed on chisels and plane irons. They appreciate the broad, flat surface of any number of sharpening stones.

Same thing with axes, I've seen them destroyed with a common bench grinder, any time the metal turns blue, you've removed the hardness required to keep the edge, at which point, there's no point trying to sharpen it. Best to use a mill file for first sharpening and  one of those Norton Carborundum handled file stones for the sharp edge. These tools work best for axes and soil implements.

Start with the manual methods, learn control and what a properly sharp edge for that tool looks like. Once you've graduated up to where you're sharpening lawn mower blades and other blades (such as brush hog blades) that get driven into media under mechanical power, then start considering using a bench grinder. You need to remove larger amounts of metal to restore the edge, you also need to learn now to take a reasonable amount of material off so you don't overheat the edge and ruin its temper.


What kind of pipe insulation is appropriate for sun exposure? I want to insulate a water line outdoors, where it will be exposed to sun. I expect that UV light will damage many foam pipe insulations over time.

Is there a type of insulation that will tolerate the exposure? Or should I plan to cover the insulation with another material to protect it?

Use a rockwool tube insulation which will withstand exterior conditions. It's sold covered with reflexive aluminium foil and it's usually enough.
Adding more shielding depends on how mechanically 'aggressive' conditions are present (walking by people, animals, traffic etc.).


Can I use a 2x8 for a ceiling joist and rafters on a 16' span? I'm planning an addition which will be 16' wide by 27 feet long overall. the roof will span the 16' dimension. my question is, if there is no plan to use the space above the ceiling for storage or occupancy, can I have a clear span of 16 feet with no supporting beam. Again, this is the roof. My guess is that I would use 2x8's for the rafter ties/ceiling joist, and also 2x8's for the rafters. There would be interior framing inside the addition, but there would be an area of about 15 x 16 that would be clear. The pitch of the roof would be about a 4 pitch.

Edit:

Thanks for the responses,

Yes the ridge will be centered on the 16' span. I don't want to use trusses if I don't have to since I will be doing basically all the work myself, and building them in place is easier for me. Also, I am matching the pitch of a small existing part of the house that will be removed and tying the new addition into the main building. In essence, I want to make the new addition fit the existing house / siding, not have to modify the existing building to fit a truss. I know I could get them close, but I'd rather do it myself. Also trusses would be more expensive.

My real question is can the room I'm building be clear of support beams. The ceiling joist would span the 16', and basically hold only sheetrock/insulation/wire for weight. the raters above would form the tops sides of the triangle and support the roof load. I do live in CT, where we can have a lot of snow (or not). I would assume that if there was a lot of load on the roof, the load would tend to push the ridge down and the walls out (and down), and put the ceiling joist in tension.

The local IRC book would be handy for you. I have a few screen shots that may help, but only as a guide line. A building inspector will have the final say, but this is what they go by.

This does depend on where you live, for it has to do with snow loads. Roof cover factors in a bit too.

Span does not matter if it is  4/12 pitch or a 12/12 pitch. The span is not measured on the slope.


Hang punching bag in finished basement I have a 40lb punching bag that I want to hang for kids but I want to do this in a way that I can upsize the bag as needed.  My basement is finished, and I'm ok with cutting out some ceiling drywall to do this but I'm wondering if it's OK to do it without removing drywall.

What I was thinking was a [2/4]x[4/6] would be bolted to 2 floor joists through the drywall.  I would countersink the top so I can put the bolt through without needing to push into drywall above.

Am I better off just cutting out the drywall or is this sufficient?  Are there modifications I can make to improve this?

If I were to cut out the drywall my plan would be to put a 4x4 between the joists and then another 2x4 bolted to that from underneath, so that it was flush with joists. (please correct me if that's no good either).

In the image, the dark blue are floor joists, brown is a [2/4]x[4/6], light blue are additional 2x4's that I'm not sure are needed.

I wouldn't be bolting the supports over the drywall. You will get movement back and forth from the bag and that movement will start to compact the drywall and eventually loosed the supports.

Think about installing a 4x4 between two joists with joist hangers. Then drill a hole through the 4x4 and install a 1/2" eye bolt and hold it in place with nuts and washers.


Can a motorized damper be installed inside existing ductwork? My HVAC system consists of a fan, furnace, compressor-driven AC, and evaporative cooler. The problem is that there is a large air volume used only by the evaporative cooler that is generating a lot of turbulence as air flows by (think blowing over an open bottle).

I want to install a damper to close off this useless and turbulent air volume when the evaporative cooler is not running.

My question is: Can a (motorized?) damper be installed within the existing ductwork? Does such a device exist? Or does the motor always have to be external to the ductwork, and thus I have to remove some ductwork to install a damper? Is there a non-motorized, manually-operated damper that can be installed within the existing ductwork?

The ductwork is rectangular sheet-metal ductwork, about 2ft by 2ft cross section (not sure on terminology), perhaps 2-3ft high.

I am open to other ideas on how to close off this air volume.

A schematic is shown below:

Before

After installing a damper. Preferably this damper is motorized and electronically-controllable.

Edit: If you are thinking about doing this, I would now suggest trying some stationary "guide vanes" first that allow the air underneath to pass without causing turbulence above. It's likely to have the same effect without need of any moving parts.

Try looking up belimo motorized dampers. They are excellent dampers, hopefully they are available in your area.

This is a Belimo damper actuatorBelimo

This is just an example. They do have less expensive ones. You'll need get a sheet metal shop to make the damper for you. You need to be very specific about the sizes and dimensions. If you don't use the right terminology they may get upset. You will probably need to use whatever damper actuators they stock.


Digging a well, hitting a rock I am digging a well with a hand-powered auger. I am 20 feet down and I am hitting a rock. How can I break up this rock so I can continue digging?

You might want to check with knowledgeable people about drilling in your area.  Perhaps you have dug into bedrock.  Or there is a large monolith buried there. :-)

In the U.S., the USGS has much data available for your perusal.
Perhaps you have neighbors with wells?  Talk to them and see what their experience was.  Even if theirs were drilled 50+ years ago, well digging stories seem to survive the ages.
Your municipality might have well digging advice and experience and can advise on best drilling practices.


Automatically turn off power to home appliances power supply switches to backup generator Scenario at my home: In my home, refrigerator, washing machine etc and other heavy duty appliances(16A current) and lights and fans are connected to the same power line. It was a mistake done during house construction and we realized it much later. Because of this I can't use a backup power supply like Inverter when grid power goes off as the inverter can't supply enough power to run refrigerator or washing machine.

I am looking at options to solve this problem. I want to use an inverter to just run lights/fan when grid power goes off. Refrigerator should not get power during this time.

I thought of getting it rewired so that light/fans and refrigerator are on different power lines. But this is difficult.

So I am looking at options. Any help is appreciated.

You could look into home automation techniques. Appliances can be controlled with WiFi, Bluetooth, powerline communication, or even a wired control connection with low-voltage control wiring routed on wall surfaces. There is a lot of general information available on the internet. Look at this Wikipedia article and follow links to other articles you will find in the article. There is also a lot of home automation product information available on the internet. If you want to design something yourself, search for do-it-yourself (DIY) articles about home automation.


Is there a typical layout to blocking installed for backing in new construction framing? I'm having a home constructed, and my rough inspection walk-through is in a couple of weeks. In order to make hanging shelves, towel bars, etc. easier, I would like blocking installed horizontally between studs.

Is there a typical layout to blocking (certain height above sub-floor, particular locations)?

The information I have seen is that the ADA recommendations for grab bars in bath and shower are placement 33" to 36" above the floor of the shower or tub. So the expected height of the shower floor or tub must be added when placing blocking during framing.

Be sure the blocking is in the plane of the studs so it does not interfere with drywall placement. And if the blocking would be placed behind the plane of the drywall so that there was an air gap between the drywall and the blocking then subsequent installation of grab bars on a tiled finished wall could bend or crack tiles.

(I had a case like that and where I was careful to gingerly tighten the screws holding the grab bars when installing them in a tiled shower. There was an air gap of several millimeters between the backside of the cement board and the blocking. This came about because the bathroom had been renovated down to the studs and although blocking was installed in the plane of the studs, the cement board was less than 1/2" in thickness and shimming was subsequently placed on the studs but not on the blocking.)

It might be wise to use kiln dried lumber K-D 2x8" for tub/shower blocking to avoid problems from warping.

EDIT
Blocking for towel bars might be considered overkill, but in our house the original towel bars loosened and pulled out. What an irritation! I then used a certain type of 24" grab bar for towel bars and screwed them into studs (ours 24" OC). This limits placement.


Honeywell T6 PRO Z-Wave Thermostat (model th6320zw2003) exhibits very erratic behavior after battery replacement Background:

My apartment complex installed Honeywell model th6320zw2003 thermostats in all units about six months or so ago, and it had been working well for all that time.  The only issue was that they'd neglected to connect it to AC power, so it was using batteries which had to be replaced several times during that period.

Problems:

The most recent time that I replaced the batteries (approx 2 weeks ago), the unit began to behave strangely.

First, it activated the A/C automatically when the target temperature was exceeded, but left it cooling continually while I was away at work for twelve. hours.  The target temperature was 68, but I came home to find the temp at 56 (and still cooling).
When this occurred, I tried to set both "Cool" and "Fan" to OFF in the menu, but the fan and A/C remained running (the thermostat display updated as if everything was working properly).  I had to unhook the unit from the wall (as when replacing batteries) to make the A/C stop.
When I put the unit back on the wall, it appeared to operate correctly, but the A/C didn't activate the next time the target temperature was exceeded.  When it got up to over 80 degrees in my apartment, I unhooked the unit from the wall again, toggled the settings off, then plugged it back in and enabled cooling again.  After that, the A/C again appeared to behave normally.
However, as soon as it hits the target temperature once, the A/C disabled and never triggers again.  The thermostat will say "Cool On", and the fans will engage, but the air won't be cold.

Issue #2 above keeps occurring, and the fix each time is a seemly random assortment of Windows-style troubleshooting: disable/enable/unplug/re-plug in seemingly random sequences (the same order of operations has not worked twice, that I can tell).

I've opened maintenance tickets with the apartment complex twice, and each time they've found issues that appeared to be relevant.  Each time, they've fixed the ostensible cause of the issue, and the A/C has worked fine afterward--until it hits the target temperature and problem #2 above repeats yet again.

Summary of the two visits, in case this is relevant:

The first visit focused on the wiring of the Thermostat; the repairman fixed it so that it now uses AC power instead of batteries.  Within a few minutes, it was blowing cold air, and appeared to be working correctly.  The problem recurred after it hit the target temp.
The second visit focused on the outdoor unit.  The repairman (different one than the first visit) noted that the "fuses" (he described them as such first, then later says "they're more like amplifiers") needed to be replaced.  He did so, and the A/C appeared to be working correctly again.  The problem recurred once it hit the target temp.

I've also accessed the "Advanced" menu on the thermostat and activated the "System Test" to turn on the cooling directly, but this also produced no cold air (the fans activated, but that's it).

What else could this be?  On one hand it seems like it might be a logic issue within the thermostat, not sending the signals it's supposed to.  On the other hand, it might be sending the signals, but the actual A/C unit is only randomly receiving them.

I don't want to keep opening maintenance tickets that appear to be resolved temporarily; how can I isolate this further, and verify that the issue is actually solved?

1   Press and hold the menu button

until the Advanced menu opens.

2   Go to "Advanced Reset" using left and right arrows.

3   Press on "Factory"

4   Press on the tick icon to confirm the reset.

This reset tutorial might be helpful


Need to add a sub panel Moved here a few months ago and the heat pump is junk. It has a 100 amp breaker out of the main box. Thought about putting in a sub panel off of this breaker. Looked at the wire and it is a 3 wire (hot hot ground) and not a 4 wire (hot hot neutral ground). Not a pro sorry for the weird wording. Would I just connect the 2 hots to the sub and the ground to the bar and that's it or would this be a problem?

Is it really ground?

Look closer.  Some cables, that wire can be used for either neutral or ground.  If so, ask your AHJ whether they will authorize to re-classify it as neutral and retrofit an actual ground.  The best plan is to ask your local AHJ if they are comfortable with that.  You can't retrofit neutrals, but you can retrofit grounds.

If you don't get AHJ permission, you will get a very, very rude and expensive surprise when you sell the house.

All subpanels must be fed with entirely separate neutrals and grounds.  Avoiding this is out of the question.  But you don't need neutral for 240V-only loads.  All your heat-pump loads are 240V, that's why neutral was never run in the first place!

Is it really 120V/240V?

If it's a subpanel for the heat pump, then it's very likely that every single load is 240V, with no 120V or 120/240V loads present.

In that case, install a 240V-only panel.  Use a subpanel of your preference, get lots of spaces because every breaker will need 2 spaces, install a ground bar, remove the ground-neutral strap since it is a subpanel, and connect nothing to the neutral bar, it will simply float.  Then you install your usual 240V breakers - a 20/30 for the heat pump proper, 30/40/50/70A for the emergency heat, etc.

Label the panel very clearly "240V only" so some future handyman or HVAC tech doesn't lose his mind or do something stupid.

You could make it a 120/240 subpanel later by running a new main cable.

Oh, but I need a little 120V too

First, try changing your loads to 240V.  Motors can be had easily either way. It's easy to get modern lighting that happily runs on 120-277V, 240V being within that range.  Old sodium/mercury/halide lighting often has transformer jumpers for that.

Second, OK, you really need 120V. How much?  For loads up to 1200 watts, obtain a 1.5KVA transformer, or forget that, just bring a branch over from your main panel.  For loads up to 4000 watts, obtain a 5 KVA transformer used on Craigslist, typically $100.  Feed the transformer 240V primary from a 240V dedicated circuit (so you can turn it off).  Feed the 120V secondary to a tiny 30-space* subpanel with both 120V rails jumpered together. Fit your 120V circuits.

If you really need more than 4000 watts of 120V at that location, knuckle down and replace that heavy cable with /3+ground cable.  And get aluminum - the lugs are aluminum and this will reduce corrosion, also it's far cheaper.

* That's an inside joke.  I am one of several here who recommend rather large panels, so you avoid the major hassle of running out of space.  Feeding a 1.5KVA transformer a 2-space panel is plenty, from a 5KVA, a 4-space panel will suffice.


Installing a garden hose to a threaded valve, but not enough space I'm trying to attach a garden hose to a valve with an outer diameter of 1", but there is not enough vertical clearance to attach the hose.
What would be the best way to make a connection in this case?

I believe a kind of "male-to-female" pipe connector with a 90 degree bend is required, but am unsure of the correct terminology / specifications when looking for one.

For clarification, below is a picture of the valve and the hose.

The top part of the hose, when detached, fits into the valve as shown below.

Get yourself an elbow that you can add to the faucet to have better access.

Photo courtesy Home Depot


Where do I cut glued piping to reconnect a new p drain for new sink? I am installing a new sink/vanity and the drain needs to be relocated (closer to wall). The piping is all glued vs a simple "unscrew this nut" operation.  Where do I cut and how do I reconnect? Pic of current piping included.

You've got two choices: right below that threaded piece on the vertical run or the backside of the 45 degree bend close to the wall. the second choice is probably the one you'll need. Cut right at the edge of the bend with a hacksaw and stay as close to the bend as possible, You'll want to save as much of the pipe coming out of the wall as possible for your new connections. You can then use those "screw this nut" connections for the new drain.

With those screw is nut connections, assemble all the pipes and only slightly tighten. Once they're all together, go back and really tighten them up. The directions say only hand tighten but I have always had to give them an extra eighth of a turn with a pair of channellocks.


Why is the load circuit on my GFCI outlet dead? Installed new GFCI in garage box with Line and Load wiring.  Determined which wire pair on old receptacle was Load by removing a black and white wire pair, then restoring power at the circuit breaker.  Old receptacle remained active, and all others now cold.  Therefore wire pair removed should be the Load wires.  Then wired GFCI accordingly and plug tester indicates correct wiring.  Test/Reset works correctly and indicator light comes on when tested according to instructions.  However, all other loads on this circuit breaker are now cold. What's wrong?

My standard advice on hooking up GFCIs (of any type) is leave the warning tape on the LOAD terminals and hook up the GFCI LINE only.   Then, run the GFCI through its paces.  Make sure it tests and resets definitively.  If it has sockets, make sure you can plug in a (non-ground-faulting) load in and have it work.

Your testing of which was LINE side was correct, since you confirmed one side was LINE.  I would hook up only that cable, and nothing else for now.  Then see where you are.

If you do not get a working GFCI able to power things, then attaching anything to LOAD would be counterproductive.  Don't even think about it, it's not worth the brainwave.

Just make sure you are clear on which side is which.  People do get them confused.


How can I test my drill and batteries for faults? Apologies if this is off-topic.

I was given a used standard cordless 12v drill and 2 batteries, without the battery charger. The drill didn't work at all with one battery, and just turned slowly for about 2 seconds with the other, so I assumed the batteries were flat and so ordered a new charger.

However, this didn't seem to work. Having got a replacement charger to eliminate that, I found it still doesn't work. I assume it's the drill that's the issue, but it could conceivably be the batteries.

What do I need to do to test the batteries and drill with a multimeter?

Testing batteries with a multimeter

Charge the batteries for a bit (follow the manufacturers instructions for the recommended charge time).
Set your multimeter to a low DC voltage setting.
Touch the black probe to the negative terminal on the battery, and the red probe to the positive terminal.

If the reading on the multimeter is at or above the voltage listed, the battery is good.  Otherwise, you'll want to replace the battery (Don't forget, many home improvement stores offer battery recycling).


Electrical junction box proximity I am finishing my basement.  Walls and ceiling will be covered entirely.  I need to install junction boxes behind the ceiling (up in the joists) or inside of the wall itself.  From what I understand, the main consideration for this is that the junction boxes need to be accessible after the area is finished.  For this I plan on using a wall panel to open/close access to this area.

What I have not been able to find information on, however, is how many you can put in proximity to each other.  I have provided a picture here of a tentative install (they are nailed in place, but easily removable) of six junction boxes in an area between two wall studs.  I will not be insulating this stud bay.  I will fireblock the above area and ensure to my best ability that it is air tight with expanding foam and fireblock.

Is there any problem with this installation and does it satisfy NEC?  (the yellow Romex here is NOT live by the way)

There is no issue there with crowding too many junction boxes into the space, it's fine.

However, it looks like you have an issue securing the cables close to the boxes.  No trouble for the top box on each side, but how will you route the cables to the middle and bottom?

The thing to do is add something in there to which you can secure the cables.  There are many things you could use, but 2x4 scraps are probably readily available and won't cost you a dime.

You could cut three pieces of two by four to the width of the stud bay and nail it from stud to stud, standing on edge, at the back of the bay.  One would go above the top boxes, one between the top boxes and middle boxes, and one between the middle boxes and the bottom boxes.  (You might want to increase the space between boxes a bit just to make it easier to work around these.)

Now you can route your cables vertically down the middle of the bay, and staple them to each 2x4.


What sorts of appliances will malfunction on a reversed AC outlet? The house I recently acquired had some wiring done in the basement by the previous owner. I've identified 3 outlets (all on the same circuit) where the live and neutral wires are reversed. I've switched off the breaker to that circuit so people don't use those until I've remedied the wiring. The few things that were plugged into those sockets worked fine. Obviously lamps and fans will have no issues, but I'm concerned. What sorts of appliances will malfunction or worse, potentially harm someone, if plugged into an outlet that is wired backwards?

Additional Info:

I apologize for not clarifying my locale and its specifics. Apparently, it does matter.

North American outlets are as shown here:

Many appliances have two equal sized vertical prongs and no ground prong so they can be reversed. Many appliances with a ground prong obviously go in one way only.

But there are also many appliances with two vertical prongs and no ground prong, but one vertical prong is slightly wider than the other and that is supposed to go into the taller slot (on the left in this diagram). Wiring codes, require that side of the plug to be wired to neutral, while the shorter side is to be wired to hot. It seems sensible to me to assume that one prong is wider for a purpose. It is those appliances in particular that I am concerned about. If one prong is intended to be hot, surely it would be a big deal if it is not?

What sorts of appliances will malfunction or worse, potentially harm someone, if plugged into an outlet that is wired backwards?

Badly designed (and thus uncertified) ones.
Wrongly wired ones

In the real world, people do die from this, alas.

______________________

Modern appliances are EITHER double insulated or have a safety ground.

Double insulated is more a level of insulation than two physical layers of insulation. DI means that the appliance is never electrically unsafe under regulatory acceptable conditions of use.  If you eg stand in a puddle while holding it and pour water into it, or use it while in a bath or shower, you may exceed the regulatory conditions of use envelope.

A safety ground is an arrangement that connects accessible or modestly insulated metal parts of the appliance to system (in this case "usually" house) ground. If an electrical path develops between supply "Phase" and the earthed metal parts, ground current will flow and curcuit protection will operate (fuse or circuit breaker). Systems with resdiual current tripping (named variously ELCB/GFI/RCD) devices can detect very small currents to ground (<= 20 mA) and discnnect the circuit in <= 1/2 a mains cycle.

The mains feed consists of two wires - usually termed Phase and Neutral .
Neutral is usually held at ABOUT ground potential but is NOT connected to the ground lead within the appliance. Phase and Neutral can usually be reversed at the appliance feed point without causing immediate hazard. In a DI appliance there is minimal effect. In a grounded appliance there SHOULD be minimal effect.

If neutral and ground are connected within the appliance it will still usually operate but large metal parts connected to ground will now be at neutral potential. This may affect the ability for house fuses or breakers to operate correctly and WILL trip residual current devices.

Any appliance which has the earthed metal parts connected to Neutral (which they should not have) will have the metal parts placed at phase potential  if feed PN are reversed. If the metal parts are a toaster or electric jug or vacuum cleaner or ... body then this may be a very very very bad idea indeed.

If an appliance cord is wired incorrectly, strange things may happen, or it nothing obvious may happen but trhe appliance may become letally dangerous. Long long ago I was asked to investigate a situation where there was a house with an external sleepout. Most appliances worked OK in the house or the sleepiy but a casette recorder would only work in the hpuse but not in the sleepiut. Investigation revealed that

the sleepout had P & N reversed, and
the tape recorder has N & E reversed.
Usually this would be a relatively benign fault.

In this case most appliances saw N-P rather than P-N, E was OK so they worked OK.
However the tape recorder saw N-E on what should be P-N so did not work.
s has Phase on it's earth pin and the whole body was live at 230 VAC. What saved people was probably that the sleepout had no major grounded metal and, as the TR did not work when plugged in, people spent little time touching it.
So close !

Switched conductors:

Swapping phase and neutral may result in the appliance "internals' being live when it is turned off.

I'm in NZ. The mains supply is 230 VAC, 50 Hz. I note informally only that it seems that with 230 VAC people seem to care somewhat more about shock hazards that with 110 VAC. I've seen practices in other countries which would be utterly unallowed on NZ.

An important aspect of swapping phase and neutral is when the appliance has a single pole switch. This can only 'break' ne of the two mains leads and it is invariably designed to disconnect the phase lead. If P & N are swapped the Neutral lead is disconnected and the appliance will not operate BUT the Phase lead is connected to the equipment internal circuitry. The chances of an accident are significantly increased.

Some equipment is required by law to disconnect bot leads when switched off. An excellent example is an electric toaster where, if P & N were reversed, a single pole switch would cause the element assembly to be at phase potential.
Some years ago a batch of Chinese manufactured toasters that allowed a single leadswitching fault to occur were imported to NZ. The fitted two pole switch could have one of its two "fingers" trapped against an insulating mount of not properly assembled. As the toaster still switched off thermally if either lead was broken this fault was missed by the manufacturer and importer. About 5% to 10% of the toasters has phase on the element when turned off. This was brought to my attention when an adult nephew did what I would not have done in my wildest dreams (hopefully). He picked up an "off" but plugged in toaster to move it by inserting fingers down the two slots to grip the middle bar !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! . Shocking!. The importer was somewhat cagey. I lashed up a capacitance based tester that could tell if either witch pole was stuck closed. In such a case the element to body capacitance was far higher than when both poles were opened - plug toaster 3 pin plug into the capacitance tester and voila! A trip through a few showrooms revealed the extent of the problem and an appliance recall resulted.

Caravans, campers ... supplied power via mains lead:

In many countries Caravans require a neutral earth link in their in-van switchboard. This is safe if fuses or breakers are installed in the caravan and will work with fuses or breakers in the feed switchboard. RCDs in the feed switchboard will trip if this link is in place. Removing the link stops remote RCDs tripping but then the caravan MUST have RCDs as well.

SO - If P&N are reversed on a caravan with a van N-E link then the van will now have a P-E link and will blow supply fuses. BUT if the supply ground is faulty the van chassi and metal parts will be at Phase relative to ground. Properly wired appliances will work OK.
Stepping in and out of the van WITHOUT providing a ground to caravan metal bridge with your body will not cause a problem.
But if you bridge van metal to ground with your body you will receive a full mains shock. You may die and people have died in just this situation.

Removing the in-van N-G link will prevent this shock hazard but then the fusing may not work correctly and eg fire may result and [all together] you may die. Or your family.

Added August 2019 - ht Ray Butterworth

"Auto-Transformers":

Ray Butterworth notes another hazard:

Auto-transformers have a single 230 VAC winding with a tap at 115 VAC.
Apply 230 VAC relative to ground across the whole winding and you get 115 VAC relative to ground at the tap.

BUT - Reverse phase and neutral inputs so that you get

230 VAC live at the "ground" input and
ground or neutral at the "live" input.

This results in 110 VAC on top of  a "120 VAC pedestal".
ie

What should be output ground is now at 230 VAC and
What should be 115 VAC relative to ground is still about 115 VAC relative to ground (so measuring the voltage from this point to ground does not reveal the problem!).

Death can easily happen.

Ray says:

"One additional appliance that can be directly dangerous is a step-down transformer (e.g. plug into 230V line and produce 115V output). These often use an auto-transformer to split the voltage. If plugged in correctly, the output will be neutral and 115V. If plugged in backward, the output will be 115V and 230V. Most things plugged into it will still work correctly with the 115V difference, but there is potential for a major shock or fire there. And some high-tech devices rely on neutral being at approximately ground level; they will break."


Are these cracks small enough to paint as gap fill or do I need to caulk? House is ~25 years old and several owners in. Do I need to do any sort of filling of these cracks with a paintable caulk or is thin enough I should just paint over it again? /Cheers

In these cases, the cracks occurred due to seasonal moisture changes or structural movement. I'd be pushing some latex painters caulk into each crack as deeply as reasonably possible. This will reduce both the chance and the effect of recurrence.

Cut the tip of the tube as small as possible and at roughly a 30 degree angle. Press the opening snugly against the crack as you move along the joint. Wipe any squeeze-out away with a finger or cloth. In the case of the crown molding, try to leave virtually no cove in the caulk. It should fill the crack without changing the shape of the assembly.

You can paint within a few minutes. The caulk will skin over rapidly, and since the cracks are very small there shouldn't be much shrinkage.


Unclogging faucet aerator: can I do anything more? I have a faucet that has low flow. When I remove the aerator the flow seems to be good, so I think the aerator is clogged. Following many videos online which discuss how to clean an aerator, I removed the aerator and took it apart into four pieces. I do not seem able to take it apart into more pieces. I cleaned out some gunk from the holes, reassembled the aerator and reattached. The faucet still has low flow with the cleaned aerator in place.

Is there anything else I can do to unclog or fix the aerator? I would rather not buy another one if I don't need to.

Should I be able to take the aerator apart into more pieces? Perhaps there is gunk in an area I can not reach.

Thanks!

Leave out the piece shown in the top right of your picture, it is a restriction device.
Don't tell the government or your tree-hugging neighbors, friends or relatives because the .6 gpm per minute excess flow might dry up all the rest of the fresh water on our planet.


Armstrong S-25 Pump Motor Lubrication? Recently replaced a leaking bearing assembly on my Armstrong S-25 pump. The previous one required oiling, the new one is the permanently lubricated MF/BF model. I look forward to not having to lubricate the bearing assembly, but what about the motor? The original manual that came with the pump indicates that the motor has oil cups that must be lubricated at the start of each season. However I don't see the cups, nor any inlets to add oil to. How would I go about lubricating the motor?

That black plastic circle is where the oil/lubricant should go. Twist to loosen it, then pull it out.


Getting full power from my backup generator to my electrical panel I'll start off by saying that I am familiar enough with the electric code to know that either an interlock or manual transfer switch panel is required so as not to backfeed the electric lines.

I have a portable generator that I would like to connect to my home electrical panel. My generator, as with other generators I have seen, has 2 output plugs, one is a 4 prong twist lock 120/240v rated at 21 amps and the other is a 3 prong twist lock 120v rated at 20 amps. The total output from my generator is 5000 watts continuous or 41 amps total. The surge wattage is higher.

As I understand it I can not connect both output plugs from the generator to my electrical panel to get the full 41 amps due to load sharing not being equal (which could trip one of the generator breakers prematurely) and possible out of phase ac power from the different plugs on the generator.

So my first question is is that correct? It make sense to me.

Second, if I can not connect both gen outputs directly to my panel how do I get the full 5000 watts to my electric panel? I believe I understand the math here. If I only run 120v equipment, which is what I forsee, no need for 240v during a power outage, then 20 amps is 2,400 watts at 120v. So one of the generator plugs will not get the job done. I'll only have half of the gen output available.

Is my math and thinking above correct?

The only way I can see to get the full generator output into the house is by using both a backfeed breaker in my panel with the appropriate manual interlock per the electric code and also installing a manual switch panel.

I would run the generator output from the 120/240v 21 amp plug to a backfeed circuit breaker in my main panel (with appropriate interlock). After a power outage I can turn off all the main electric panel CB's, go off and on with the main and gen breakers via the interlock, power up the generator and have 21 amps (about 2500 watts) available to use as I see fit via the breakers on the main house electric panel.

Now, for the other output from the generator, the 120v 20 amp output I would connect to a 10 circuit manual transfer switch. I would only connect 120v loads to this panel because I would only have 120v coming into it. Now, flipping the rocker switches on the manual transfer switch panel from line to gen would disconnect the chosen circuit from the main panel power (wherever that power is coming from, the line or the other generator plug) and connect it to the second 120v generator output. This would make the other 20 amps (about 2400 watts) from the generator available to the manuel transfer switchs 10 circuits.

So after all is said an done I would have 120/240v with 21 amps from the generator available to all circuits of my main panel (yes I know I would not be able to run all circuits, I plan to install a watt meter so I can see how much power I am pulling on the main panel and I would not be powering the 10 circuits connected to the manual transfer switch once those switches are turned to gen). Second I would have the 120v 20 amp plug connected to a 10 circuit manuel transfer switch panel. During a power outage those 10 circuits would be disconnected from the main and connected to the generator.

Settings things up this way I would have 2 separate plugs from the generator powering two basically separate electrical systems which would in turn power the house. The parts for this setup including the cabling to the generator would be about $700 to $800.

Does anyone see a problem with this setup? Is there anything that would not be to NEC in doing this?

Am I over complicating this? Does anyone know of a better or more efficient way?

Any input on problems with this setup or better ways would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Pete

Ok you wrote a book.  Proposing all manner of third rate hackery. And what does it boil down to?  You want to get 5000W out of your 5000W generator.  Quick question.

What is 240 x 21 ?

By my math, it's 5040.     There's your 5000W.  You do get it out of the big NEMA L14-20 connector.

I have no idea where you got 41A.  I'm pretty sure you made that up, probably by dividing 5000 by 120.  I seriously doubt it was on the generator spec.  There's a way if you really really want that, but as you get educated, you will realize you do not.

What is it you're missing? The odd idiom of North American 2-pole service.   I don't blame you for not getting it... It's weird.

Your house is served by +120V, neutral (0V), and -120V.  I just described an instant in time, they're AC so they will reverse position 120 times a second. The poles are called L1 and L2 and the middle is Neutral.

240V loads grab L1 and L2.  120V loads grab either pole and neutral.  Which pole they grab is nearly random and that's the idea, to make them average out so loads are balanced.

For you, with 21A on each pole, balancing is a big deal.  You'll have a problem if you put 30A of load on one pole.  So you'll need to get into the gory details of what is on which pole, and manage accordingly.

Step 1: Control MWBCs so they don't kill you

I don't recommend rearranging things on a panel because you can break a type of wiring called a multi-wire branch circuit.  Find an electrician and tell him to do exactly this:

  find every multi-wire branch circuit in my home, and make sure both its hot wires are served from the same 2-pole breaker.

Step 2: get rid of double-stuff breakers

If your panel is stuffed, and has lots of breakers that have 2 breakers in 1 space, those will drive you absolutely bat crazy.  ack... You know what, to heck with all that.

Let's just get you a new subpanel with the appropriate interlocks, and move the loads you want the generator to power into this new subpanel.  Make this subpanel quite large (at least 20 space) realizing you'll use 4 spaces just for the interlock.

In a perfect world, your new panel will have ammeters which will tell you how close to 21A each pole is getting.  Even better get one of those new fangled whole house monitoring systems. Ask a new question on how to get one to work in a generator interlocked panel.

Step 3: rearrange your loads in the panel

Now finally, it's time to learn the gory details of how poles are assigned in a panel.  Read my posting here.  Your panel may differ, but probably not by much.

Move your loads into the new panel, and consciously and carefully balance the loads.   For instance if your table saw is on L1, put your dust collector on L2.  Stuff like that.


Shower with very low ceiling, okay? This shower under construction has a low ceiling of around 6.6 feet. Not an accurate measurement, but I'm like 5.7 feet and I can stand fine and can touch the ceiling with my arms slightly bent.  Will it be damaged by moisture since it's hanging low? Should I tear it down to stay on the safe side?  You can just barely fit a high shower head without it hitting the ceiling.

The bricks are new walls to make a room out of open space, no drywalls.

The Code requires a height of 6’-4” from the standing surface of the shower to the ceiling of the shower. (See ICC R305.1, exception #1.) Also, the shower shall be a minimum of 24” x 30” and have a non-previous surface up 6’ from shower floor surface.

Minimum room heights are 7’-0”, unless the ceiling slopes, then it’s complicated, except bathrooms shall have a minimum ceiling height of 6’-8”, unless it slopes. (See ICC R305.1.)


hooking up a humidifier on a carrier infinity furnace Hello I would like to hook up my desert spring rotary disc humidifier to my new carrier infinity model #59MN7 furnace. I see the control board in the furnace has a HUM (humidifier) terminal and a 24VAC screw terminal. Is it really that simply or am I missing something? I have the carrier infinity touch control thermostat hooked up to it. any help would be appreciated.

According to the documentation for your unit.

The HUM terminal is a 24 VAC output, energized when the blower is operating during a call for heat.
Connect an accessory 24 VAC, 0.5 amp. maximum humidifier (if used) to the ¼ in. male quick-connect HUM terminal and COM-24V screw terminal on the control board thermostat strip.
NOTE: If the humidifier has its own 24 VAC power supply, an isolation relay may be required. Connect the 24 VAC coil of the isolation relay to the HUM and COM/24V screw terminal on the control board thermostat strip. (See Fig. 32.)

So if the humidifier is less than 0.5 amperes, then you can simply use the HUM and COM terminals.  Otherwise you'll need an alternate power supply, and an isolation relay.


Position of dryer vent relative to gas meter and furnace intake As part of renovations to our house (built in the early 70s) we are reconfiguring the laundry room and moving appliances to the opposite wall. The laundry appliances will now be to the left of the side entrance door instead of to the right side.

We have a few questions about where to create the new opening for the dryer vent.  On the outside of wall where the dryer will be placed, the gas meter and furnace intake are also located. See attached pictures (showing current location of dryer vent; location of gas meter and furnace intake; likely location shown as red rectangle of where the vent could run inside the inner wall).

Is there any concern with having the dryer vent located close to the gas meter and furnace intake? Are there minimum clearances required that we should be aware of Any other concerns with the furnace intake and vent being located close to each other? What would be the best location on this wall for the vent, if any.
Another possibility could be to run the vent over the door and down to the existing vent opening on right side of the door. Can that work and is it a viable option? We are ok with having a small bulkhead in the laundry room above the door.
For #2 above if we reuse existing vent, is the vent located too close to the floor? Would this pass current code? We are located in Toronto, Canada.

Would highly appreciate any thoughts from forum members. Thanks!

!

Good questions. There are a few requirements for a Dryer Vent, but none that impact your situation. See the International Mechanical Code's pertinent section here in the 2nd answer - https://dryerbox.com/building-code.htm

I'd suggest the new Dryer Vent hole approach and position it at about 1-ft. above either the top gas pipe or top furnace elbow. As, this location appears to be accessible with just a step stool and provides enough separation so heavy lint won't be introduced into your furnace filter.

This location seems to also keep the inside pipe below the top of the dryer and not crud-up the look of the laundry area and, quite importantly, keeps the vent pipe run as short as possible and therefore virtually self-cleaning. Please also use rigid duct pipe and zero flexible stuff for the best longevity and durability.

Concerning the old vent hole, which was horribly done and I completely disagree with a dryer vent that's less than 2-ft. above a horizontal surface. Maybe the doggy door could go there. Or, maybe there's a rear address number requirement that a plaque could remedy. Otherwise, pick up a couple of thin veneer brick tiles and get it looking right after some chiseling.

Don't forget to insulate the old vent hole before patching the inside. Also, to avoid lint getting to the furnace, consider a Louvered Dryer Vent Cap on the outside instead of a Hooded Dryer Vent Cap. The Louvered Cap blows straight out rather than downward.


Frozen Pipe(s) — How to Respond? I woke up this morning to find a trickle of water pressure to my cold bathroom taps, and no water pressure to my hot water bathroom taps.  The water was fine in the rest of the house. Since we're in the middle of an unusual cold snap (20 degrees) in Portland and this bathroom is always the coldest in the house (old, weird insulation), I immediately assumed froze pipes.

So far I shut off the water main because I'd read it's actually the water pressure that will cause a pipe to burst. My plan was to wait it out until tomorrow (the temperature is supposed to climb and stay above freezing)

Is this a sane plan?  Is there anything else I could do to fix this short cutting a hold in the drywall and taking steps to preemptively defrost the pipes? Anything else I should know?

Update: Good information below, adding this illustration I found that cuts through some of the confusing language people use w/r/t the bursting problem.

illustration of bursting problem http://www.portlandoregon.gov/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=338768

The bursting is actually caused by the ice. Ice takes up more room than the amount of water it was made from, ultimately bursting through copper.

If you had a trickle of water, you may have been better off leaving the taps all open in hopes of keeping the water flowing. Flowing water (even a trickle) is less likely to freeze than standing water. One of the ways to prevent frozen pipes is to leave the taps open to a trickle (obviously not a good long-term solution, but can work in a pinch in locations with rare temp drops). The open taps also allow for lateral expansion of the water that may freeze.

At this point, if the pipes are frozen solid, and are behind walls so that you can't get to them, you pretty much have to wait it out and hope they haven't burst. If they have, depending on how many places they burst, you may be able to go in and fix a few patches. But if there's more than a few splits, you may end up wanting to pull the whole thing out and replacing it all (and this time ensuring everything is properly insulated).

Good luck!


Is there a way to find out how often your furnace is running? With winter finally setting in, and being the first year in our new house I would like to put some sort of measurement on how often the furnace is working, before I get the bill.  Are there any known methods of measuring how much fuel furnace is consuming, other than monitoring the gas meter outside the house?  What is the best way?

Some of the more advanced thermostats will track how often they are running.  I have a Filtrete Wifi-Enabled Progammable Thermostat.  It gives you a per-day total of how often the heat and A/C are run.  You can also download an hour-by-hour export of the usage in CSV format.

I am in no way affiliated with this company. It is simply a product I have installed at home

It also gives you an idea, for a given temperature change, what the % change in heating cost will be:


How can I release these drawer slides? I'm trying to remove my cupboard drawers and my own efforts have failed, as have my Google searches.  Here are images of what the rail looks like:

The black plastic part has an arrow pointing towards the right (towards the back of the drawer).  I've tried everything I can think of to get the plastic to move, but it doesn't budge.  Note that I've tried prying on the plastic, but not super forcefully.

I've also tried other tactics, such as looking for levers, catches that can be pulled, screws that can be removed, etc.

Push the piece in the direction of the arrow and try sliding the drawer straight out, only lifting enough to take the load.

Or there is a wheel in the track and it perhaps comes out a hole that is covered by that black plastic piece. Slide the piece in the direction of the arrow and see if it can be lifted out


What's the right way to clear a vent pipe? There have been a number of answers pointing out that draining problems may be a blocked vent pipe rather than a clog in the drain per se. But I don't think there's been a clear answer on whether clearing the vent is something we can DIY (assuming we can get to it safely) or how best to do so.

Could someone give us a quick summary of what's involved and whether it might be better to make a pro deal with it...?

One method used is to snake a garden hose up to the roof to where the vent line protrudes from  the roof. An expanding bladder of the size to fit inside of the vent pipe...

.. is attached to the hose and then pushed down into top of the vent pipe. A helper on the ground then turns on the water to the garden hose. The bladder expands to seal against the inside of the vent pipe and force the water to go down into the vent toward the plug up.

Success of this scheme will depend to large degree if the blockage in the vent is a total closure of the pipe or not. A partial blockage may just let the water run by and not provide much help.