What could be causing low water pressure in cold line in only part of the house? I have great water pressure (both hot and cold) in the front of my house (1st floor and 2nd floor bathrooms). In the back of my house (1st floor kitchen and 2nd floor laundry room) the hot water pressure is great but the cold water pressure is very low. I just replaced an old valve on the cold water line to see if that was the problem but the pressure is still low . This is a new problem (about a year) as I've had no pressure problems in the past. Any ideas?

Somewhere between the good pressure and bad pressure there's a partial clog in the cold water line. Finding it will be tedious. You don't mention pipe material, which makes speculating about what it is difficult - if it's only happened in the past year and no work was done about the time it started, you'll just have to hunt. If plumbing work was done about that time, start there. If you happen to have galvanized iron pipe, think hard about total replacement, IMHO.

Possible clogs include - excessive pipe seal tape on threaded joints getting loose in the pipes - lumps of corrosion breaking loose and jamming downstream - could be corrosion from a waterline outside your house - Sand from a well running low... dissolved materials coming out of solution in the pipes, suspended materials settling in the pipes.

My personal most annoying was a soldered copper elbow that was almost, but not quite, full of solder on the inside (and evidently had been for years.) Great pressure for half a second, followed by a trickle. I just disassembled the pipe until I found it, when I finally faced the agony of fixing it.


Why would power go off and on after replacing an electrical panel? I replaced an old 109 amp panel, with a new 100 amp main breaker EATON with 20 spaces. Now my wife says the electric goes off and comes on. Can anyone think what could be the problem?

A loose connection could explain the problem, and could also cause a fire. You should have the installation inspected by a professional.


How do I remove my tub diverter? I replaced my cold and hot water valves a while back and now it seems like it's time to replace the diverter. When running the water to the tub, some water comes out of the shower head. I've tried to disassemble the diverter valve as much as I can but I can't get the stem out. I've tried spraying some penetrating oil in but nothing seems to budge.

So I guess my question is: what next? Does the stem just pull out at this point or is this large nut (~1 1/8") supposed to be removed first? I can't make either budge.

Here are some pictures.

Before:

With cover removed:

Retaining piece:

Stem with retaining piece removed:

Click for full size image

Just got the diverter out of the wall. It turns out the diverter was threaded in and needed to be removed. Here's a picture of the full diverter. The piece on the upper-right was what needed to be un-threaded. A pair of vice grips and a hammer did the trick:


Circuit split within panel In my main panel I have a circuit where the hot wire is split within the panel.

I was investigating this circuit because I am getting a hum from any speaker plugged into an outlet on the circuit. I saw this and I thought it looked odd. I'm wondering two things:

Is the circuit, as shown, safe/recommended
Could this be causing interference for devices on the circuit

The circuit is 9 receptacles and one single switched light, and the breaker is a twin (two 15amp in a horizontal configuration).

Check that the receptacles are wired correctly and that the hot and neutrals aren't crossed. As far as diagram the only this I see odd about this is that right circuit the neutral and ground are connected to the same bus. They should be connected like that the circuit on the left. Since the two busses are eventually connected its not dangerous but it may cause a small ground loop and maybe causing the audio hum.

Also I assume you're plugging in a powered speaker. If the audio source is plugged into a different circuit especially if the circuit is the other phase improper grounding can cause a hum.

Let us know what resolved the problem for you.


What is the difference between the various types of particle boards? I hear these terms being used interchangeably in casual conversation and I'm not sure whether they are equivalent, trademarks or just different products:

Pressed wood
Particle board
OSB
MDF
Masonite

I also often hear "presswood", but I think it's a language issue and a deformation of "pressed wood", as a cursory search doesn't reveal anything.

Pressed Wood is a broad category that includes Particle Board, OSB, MDF, and the trademarked Masonite [edit: Masonite is a type of "hardboard], as well as, engineered wood (think: engineered flooring), particle board, and plywood as these all require the product to be pressed (compressed).

Particle Board is a pressed wood that includes OSB and, maybe, Masonite as both are made of wood particles/fibers that are not made of thin sheets of wood, paper, or pulp.  Usually, when people say, "particle board" they're referring to the type used on ready-to-assemble (RTA) furniture.  It can be identified by looking at the cut ends where one can see wood particles, as well as, voids.  This product is almost always laminated.

OSB (Oriented Strand Board) looks like a patchwork of thin scraps of wood and is used for house underlayment (though I prefer plywood for this).  It is never recommended for applications where it would get wet frequently as it will come apart after a while (of continuous wetness).

Masonite is smooth on one side and a pattern of diamonds or squares on the other.  It is most often used as the backing of ready-to-assemble (RTA) cabinets and the backing of factory made furniture (ie. end tables, etc.).  Older clip-boards are also made of it.  Peg-board is the same/similar material.

MDF is made of several sheets of paper that have been pressed together (get it wet and these layers will separate from each other....permanently).  MDF is a favourite for chair rails and crown molding and the like.


Should concrete footers be separated from a concrete slab? I am going to build a pavilion over a concrete slab and I am wondering what would be the best way to set up the footings.  I was planning on using steel column bases set in 12 inch sonotubes.  There will also be a concrete slab under the pavilion.

I am exploring three options.
The first option would be to first pour the footings (12 inch sonotube, 4 ft deep) at the final height of the slab. Expansion joint material would be placed around the footings before the slab (4 inch thick) is poured around them so they are independent of each other.
The second option would be to bury the sonotubes (4 ft deep) and pour the concrete for the tubes and the slab (4 inch thick) at the same time with no separation.
The third option would be to pour a thicker slab (5 to 6 inches thick) with no footings and set in the steel column bases when the slab is poured.
The second and third options would require less work but to me it seems like the first option would yield the best result.

I am not going to comment on the sonotube piers, since I don't know where the project is located, and the loadings the structure is subjected to. But I do want you to make sure the bottom is set below the local frost depth, and the soil bearing is adequate with applicable safety factor.
The next important thing is the subgrade preparation. The subgrade shall have a layer of well-graded, compacted, coarse gravelly material. In humid and wet locations, a layer of sand can be added to form the bedding for the vapor barrier, or retarder.
Now to the slab. I suggest the second approach with a 6" thick slab. The first approach is undesirable because it is prone to having an uneven settlement problem, as the piers and the slab will settle at a different rate. The third approach is simple and cheap but the most problematic. Your structure will experience horizontal force from the wind, which can cause lateral movement of the unsupported slab, and tilting due to the overturning effect. The remedy will be costly.
For strength and durability, I suggest the piers and the slab shall be reinforced. Also, unless you want to use post-installed anchors to fasten the columns, don't forget to set the anchor bolts securely before pouring the concrete.
Your project involves quite a few engineering uncertainties - loadings (dead, live, seismic, and environmental loads), soil strength and capacity (that affects pier sizing and length), and the building structure; also the permitting requirement. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to consult with a structural engineer, so you won't have any regret later. Good luck.
Another approach you may consider is to have a slab-on-grade with turndowns at the perimeter. But it may not be cheaper than the pier approach though.


(How) Can I match new 3/4" T&G oak flooring with old 7/8" flooring? I've got two air return vent holes in my floor that I'm patching, and I made the classic mistake of mis-measuring the flooring (the guy at the flooring store did, too, so I don't feel too bad) before purchasing a small bundle of 3/4" solid oak flooring planks (tongue & groove). Come to find out, our flooring (1951 home; it's the original flooring) is actually 7/8" thick, not 3/4". I was more than a little surprised to find that 7/8" thickness was even a thing... I've seen 1" thick stuff before, but only in novelty situations like This Old House episodes. Searching online doesn't seem to give any results for 7/8" thick flooring of any kind... I've only found one website that even mentions it as a possible thickness.
Even if I used two layers of felt underlayment, the new flooring would still sit below the height of the existing flooring, and if we stick with what we've got, we'll likely have to cut off the tongues and bottom groove of each new piece to even fit it in, let alone get it to sit flush/level with the existing flooring. I certainly don't want to sand down ~1/8" of the old floor of an entire room just to get it to sit level with two 2sqft patches...
The current idea (I've thought through several) is gluing 1/8" strips of wood to the bottom of each piece after it's been cut to length, and the tongue & bottom groove cut away as well, so that each board can be placed in flush with the existing flooring.
Is this matching project possible/feasible? Or should I just try to find 7/8" solid red oak T&G flooring somewhere?
Here are some photos for comparison; Old flooring:

New:

Side-by-side:

Unfortunately I don't have any closets or inconspicuous areas I could steal old flooring from to patch these holes with matching/original stuff.

If you cut all the tongues off then the floor will likely squeak... And good luck with that...
Get a shop to make the replacement flooring or buy 7/8 timber and a router and sort it yourself. If you think they will charge too much (after doing it yourself you might think they made a good offer :) )


do i need a vent for my new home basement plumbing rough-ins I have a new home with rough-in plumbing in basement and I was wondering if I need a vent down there. I do plan on putting in bathroom

if you mean a vent in the plumbing, then yes.  wet or dry, the plumbing must be vented.  if you mean an air exchange vent to pull moist or smelly air out of the room, then it may or may not be code in your area, but do yourself a favour and just put one in.  its always a good idea.


How often should ducts / furnaces be cleaned? Asking for a house with a dog located in Canada but any general answers would be welcomed.

I rely on keeping the inlet filters clean ( change every month or two) ,so very little dirt gets into the ducts. When replacing the AC evaporator coil ( and the rest of the furnace after 25 years) I did not notice anything on it , although did not examine it.


impact resistant windows We have been looking for replacement windows. Our area requires hurricane impact resistant windows, We are getting a quote from Storm Tight Windows, Inc. their top of line vinyl. What is your opinion of them and what should we expect for cost 15 windows 36x60 DH

Whomever told you that hurricane windows are "required" wasn't being exactly truthful. The only requirement is that the window opening must be hurricane compliant which can be achieved through a combination of windows and shutters and will eliminate window breakage.

The biggest drawback of hurricane impact windows (besides price) is that they will not survive a large missile impact and will have to be replaced. I have yet to understand why they are even allowed to use the term "impact" in their name - it's the one thing that they don't do well at all. To prove this do an internet video search for "impact window test" and you will see what happens to impact windows when they are struck. They do a superb job of withstand high wind loads and keeping the hurricane winds from entering the building. They are also good at reducing noise and therefore work great at elevations of the 3 floor and up. However when it comes to using them on the 2 lower floors, it is recommended that they be shuttered to stop impact damage and the ensuing costs and inconvenience. They are fragile and are easy targets for vandals.

Some window folks like to entice you with energy savings figures but those claims are erroneous and the payback has been estimated by independent, non-window replacement industry laboratories of at least 40 years. A little internet research goes a long way in helping you see through most of these falsehoods.

You may want to opt for a good quality energy saving non-impact window and cover them with a fabric or mesh type of impact system. If you want better protection there are roll-down shutters or accordion types, too. If you want the top of the line there are the flat, crystal clear, flat polycarbonate style.

Two simple rules to remember:
1. If it's made from glass it's going to break.
2. Aluminum frames are stronger and last longer that plastic frames.

Whatever you choose do your research, ask questions and get the answers in writing. Some salespeople will tell you anything to close the deal. Good luck!


Are lumber prices now high enough that building with brick/concrete is more price efficient in the US? I’m looking at purchasing a piece of land and building my own home within Washington state. Traditionally, single family homes around here are built with lumber rather than brick or concrete due to the costs involved.
But given the surging prices on lumber in the past year, is this really the case anymore? How can I estimate the end-to-end cost of each material given purchase, labor and long term maintenance costs?

You'd never go with brick in seismic zones.  Concrete and rebar construction is way more expensive than wood.  Even if wood is up 200% concrete is 10x more than wood.  Cost is not the biggest factor.  Wood is easier to work with, requires less skilled labor, can be reconfigured later, and is a better insulator than brick/steel.  Material cost is a factor but not "the" factor.
I have heard people are switching to steel studs.  You might want to look at SIPs ( structurally insulated panels ) that have wood members 4' oc and use ~1/3 of the wood - still probably not going to be cheaper but will perform better.  Really unless your labor is free - people won't have had the time / experience to effectively make using a different material more cost effective ( except possibly steel studs ).
Really how you cost compare depends a lot on how you are going to have your house built.  If you are acting as the general then you'd get bids from people based on your plans.  If you want to compare cost in wood vs cost in steel, again it will depend on who you are getting to do the work.  Some subs will include material others will have the general order the material and the subs just do the labor.  In some cases you have a structural engineer who could do the plans with steel or wood.  The lumber yards then sometimes have their structural then do plans and take offs.  Steel I imagine would be similar.
Given the lower availability of people who work with anything but lumber I can't see a cost savings.


Non-dimmable LED on dimmer. Fire hazard? I just moved into a new home where some of the electrical appears to have been recently re-done.  Nearly every light in the house has a dimmer on it, which is fine with me because I prefer to keep light dim.  However, most of the lights are cheap Ikea, non dimmable LED's.  I initially noticed some lights in my bathroom ocassionally flickering when I tried to dim them, and discovered they were not dimmable.  After replacing them with dimmable LED's, everything is fine.  Last night I turned on the living room recessed lighting and dimmed it, for the first time and two lights started flickering, as well as smoking. When I turn the dimmer all the way up there doesn't appear to be any issue.  Those two lights were gone but the others are fine.

So, that being said, this scares the hell out of me.  Had my son turned it on and not noticed the smoke, it probably would have caught fire within seconds.  Is this a symptom of the LED's or something else? Not that I have allowed other lights to flicker, but why haven't I seen this in other rooms.

A little more background information: The seller just had an electrician do a $4000 inspection and overhaul of the electrical as a contingency for the purchase.  The 200A panel and breakers are brand new and all the wiring is 12ga or less.

LED lights are made up of two parts the LED itself and a driver which transforms the house power to the operating power of the LED. The smoke is more than likely coming from the driver of the LED if it is non dimmable. The obvious is it was not designed for dimming and that would cause it to burn up. So if you have LED's that are non dimmable then you need to take them off of the dimmers or replace the LED's with dimmable drivers.

Stay safe and good luck


What kind of screw for rawlplug uno? I have this kind of anchors (plugs): rawlplug uno

Despite googling hard, I couldn't understand what type of screws they should go with: wood screws? sheet metal screws? machine screws? coarse thread? fine thread?

Every source seems to only specify the diameter and length of the screw to use with a particular size of the plug, nothing else!

Also, if there is any other feature of a screw relevant to their coupling with a given anchor, I'd be interested to hear about that.

Thanks

Normally a wood screw, but a sheet metal screw would also work. a national course /fine thread won’t grab the plastic and will easily pull out. The type of head matters in some cases like a flat head that sits in a beveled or counter sunk hole, a button head more common. Hope that helps


Do I have studs on my plaster and lath wall around/above fireplace? my home was built in 1892.  The fireplace was a coal burner that has since been replaced by a propane fireplace insert.  I want to mount a TV above the fireplace but am uncertain as to what is behind the wall.  The floor dimensions of the fireplace are about 60"x 30" and the coal burning hearth is much smaller and shallower than this structure built around the chimney.  Having had a picture mounted, it revealed horsehair plaster for certain and I am sure I hit a lath slat as the nail was springy in my first hole.  When I run a stud finder over it, I get some strange arrangement for supposed studs.  From the corner, I read about 9" to first "stud" then 15" then 12" then 15" then 9" to other edge... it is 60" wide... stranger still that the center span is only 12" and not wider given the chimney behind.

Does this make sense for studs or is it some kind of thin strapping to attach the lath to?

I haven't started drilling pilot holes but that's my next step.  I guess I am looking for some guidance before embarking on this project.

It sounds like you have some arrangement of thin furring strips that has been adhered to the original fireplace in order to install some sort of backer board or drywall. If so, these furring strips might be enough to hold your TV but would be safer to take a look. It's unlikely there are studs around a fireplace in a house that old. I'd assume the original brick is still behind all of that.


Diverter valve in Glacier Bay two handle kitchen faucet My kitchen sprayer works fine, but I now only get a trickle from the spout.  Still only a trickle after removing the spout.  I'm assuming the diverter valve either needs to be cleaned or replaced, but I'm not sure how to remove it, and I'm worried about breaking it if I try the wrong thing.  Assistance identifying this faucet would also be appreciated.  Thank you.

After removing the spout:

Just above the upper threads is a black cap.  Insert a flat screwdriver slightly between the upper treads and the cap and pry it up.  Then use a coin to unscrew the diverter.  Replacement part number is A66G391, which comes with a removal/installation tool.


Why won't the bulbs light up brightly in my European chandelier? I bought a European chandelier not knowing there were light bulb size differences. I ordered 12 European to Candelabra Reducers (E14 to E12). I was so happy when I received them, and couldn't wait to install them on my new candelabra. I installed all 12 bulbs and reducers, but to my surprise only 2 really light up and the other 10 only glow.

Can you help me and tell me what's wrong and what I need to do?

If your bulbs ARE 120 volt and some are half lit then some are wired wrong.

They will be in series not in parallel.

To test this switch the light on and remove one bulb that is 1/2 lit. Another will go off- they are in series. Maybe even 2 will go off. They need to be re-wired in parallel.


What is the name of the retracting part of a dog lead? I want to build a retracting insect screen having two of the retracting “bearings” holding a rod between, and having the mesh on the rod. I’ve spent hours of research to get the name of the part responsible for retraction, but no success. Bought a dog lead, but it’s a pain to get out the part. I’m pretty sure it’s been used in a wide range of applications, so I should be able to buy it alone. Any ideas?

Another example of a mechanism that you may be able to access or modify to your usage idea is contained in a tape measure. There a coiled flat spring steel material is simply anchored to central hub on one end and the other to the tape measure rule itself. These coil springs are setup to work almost the same as the flat coil spring on the inside of a retractable dog leash. In both cases the coil spring is able to provide return pull when the tape rule or leash is pulled out even as much as 25 feet or more.
The coil springs are actually a material that on its own really wants to extend out flat. When coiled inside a confined circular space it strives to straighten which in effect makes it try to expand to the greatest diameter allowed. When the tape rule or leash is extended the coil of this flat spring steel material becomes wound tighter and tighter to the center hub creating more pull and resulting in a smaller diameter to the coil.
The springs like discussed elsewhere here in shades and on garage doors are a different type of spring that is called a torsion spring. These are formed in a tubular manner and when under tension will desire to turn and return to their relaxed position.


1" x 2" Furring Strips for Drywall Ceiling In my basement, there's currently a tile ceiling that's installed on furring strips attached to the joists. The furring strips are 1"x2", attached to the joists by nails. We're currently replacing the wood paneling with drywall, and would like to replace the ceiling tiles as well. Would these 1x2" furring strips be strong enough to support drywall hung from the ceiling? Generally, I've seen references to using 1x3" furring strips, so I wanted to see about the weight issue.

Weight isn't going to be your issue here. 2 inch furring strips may be pretty hard to hit with the drywall screws. The screws need to be in good solid wood and not going through an edge etc.  If You are careful, caulk some good lines, the 1X2's might work for ya.  The other consideration is if the spacing is good and you have enough surface to butt pieces of drywall together and still have wood to screw into.  I'd probably plan on adding some extra 1X3's to the mix to be sure you have good wood to catch a screw.


Alternative equipment(s) to drill a few holes on a 0.5 cm plastic beside using a small drill Are there other alternatives beside a small drill (shown below) to drill a few holes on a 0.5 cm plastic? (Looking for something that is inexpensive, save energy, portable and can drill a decent hole on a 0.5 cm plastic. The maximum hole diameter should be around 0.5cm or smaller.)

You could go with a hand drill for such small holes if you wanted.

They work reasonably well and as long as your not too unco they are easy to use.


why won't my shower regulate water temperature a couple days ago this started. no matter what position I turn the handle towards the left it's always very hot. and the same if I turn it to the right. very cold. I'm assuming there must be some sort of regulator. this doesn't happen with any other of my taps. nor does it happen when the bath is run.

Your shower mixing valve probably has an anti-scald feature with either pressure balancing or thermostatic control. These can get out of adjustment.


How can I attach cabinets and shelves to an Insulating Concrete Form wall? So my house and garage have been built with Insulating Concrete Forms (Perform wall to be exact) and I want to attach shelves and cabinets in my garage.  Pictures and other lighter stuff have been easy to do with some special plugs and standard picture hangers.  But I am unclear about how to attach heavy items.  There are no studs to attach to.

Anyone have some ideas on this?

For heavy loads you can use masonry screws (Tapcon).  It is imperative that you drill to the proper depth and clear the dust from the drill hole.  I highly recommend the hex head Tapcon over the Phillips.

ICF usually has these layers from inside to out:
1. Drywall
2. ICF polystyrene foam form with composite anchor strips at 8" centers for drywall and lightweight mounting
3. Concrete wall
4. ICF polystyrene foam form with composite anchor strips at 8" centers for stucco lath and lightweight mounting
5. Stucco

The strips can be used for light mounts using multiple anchor points but loads should anchor to concrete.  You will have to know the depth from your anchor point to the concrete and then add at least 1" to drill and embed the Tapcon.  In my application: 1/2" drywall + 3" foam = 3 1/2" to concrete + 1 1/2" Tapcon embed = 5" Tapcon using 6" Tapcon drill bit on cordless hammer drill.

Again it is imperative to clear the borehole of concrete dust or you will snap the head off the anchor.  If you do it right these anchors have 10X the load capacity of studs.


motion sensor light with a three way switch I want to put a motion sensor light in my breezeway.  Right now the light is controlled by a three way switch.  Will I ab able to do this installation.

Sure. The three way just allows two switches to turn a light on and off. The motion sensor limits the controlled light, if it is set to go on, only when it senses motion.

Effectively, the three way switches prime the light to go on and the motion triggers it. The switches determine if there is power to the light socket.
The motion detector (which controls power after the switches) then either turns the light on or off based on motion.

The problem is that it will be difficult to determine when the light is primed to go on. Regular switches (single pole, one way) are on when up and off when down.  However, for three ways, up on a given switch an be on or off depending on the orientation of the other switch.

How do you know if the motion sensor controlled device is ready to go? If you can see both three way switches at the same time, a practical way to do this is to set up the switches so that they are on when both are up or down and off when they are not in the same position.

UPDATE: If you can't see both switches at the same time, you cannot know the motion controlled device is ready (ON) unless you set up some sort of pilot light. There are three way switches that are illuminated when off, such as this one.

 Images and links are for illustration only, not an endorsement of goods or sources


old interior door knob can't turn We have a closet door knob that it very hard to turn.
I have tried taking it apart and using WD-40 but that is only good for about 3 weeks then it becomes hard again.
Is there other way I can get this to turn better?
Would a Carb and Choke Cleaner be better and sould it be the Aerosol Can type of the Chem Dip Parts Cleaner?

WD-40 is not a lubricant which is why it's only lasting a short time.
Use something to clean it out, carb and choke cleaner is reasonable and follow that with some compressed air.
Then apply some graphite-based lock lube to the moving parts.  These are also often called "dry" lube and they don't hold dust like oil-based lubes can.
Once it all moves freely with the new lube, you should be good to go.


Why all daisy chained gfci circuits in house randomly trip? Stand alone gfci no problem All of the gfci outlets in the house are daisy chained and they all have the same problem. They will trip randomly more than one time a day, actually it has gotten worse recently and it is several times a day for all gfci circuits.  There is not one set of circumstance that cause them to trip.  Plugging something in will cause it to trip.  Other times nothing is plugged into any of the plugs on the circuit and I hear the pop when it trips.  Could they have used the wrong amperage 15 instead of 20?  I haven’t tested this yet, but it seems like they don’t trip when something is plugged in and being used. One stand alone gfci for the wate3r softener doesn’t trip.

When I see "random tripping" I think "nuisance tripping". The easiest way to fix this is to remove the daisy chain receptacles off of the feed through GFCI and replace each one with a individual GFCI receptacle. Don't forget you still have a problem but now you can isolate it to one particular point and that will help you in your troubleshooting.

Some may comment that it's expensive but a contractor always measures time over material and whether replacing the receptacles will cost more than the hours you will be charged trying to find a "random" trip.

Hope this helps good luck.


Glue underlayment to concrete: how long does it take to cure? This question is related to another question I posted earlier.

I glued FloorMuffler underlayment to concrete using Roberts Engineered Wood Flooring Adhesive. The instructions say "open time up to 20 minutes" and "install hardwood while the glue is still fresh, do not allow it to skin-over". I do realize that underlayment material is non-porous and installation method may differ from hardwood flooring, but since there were no specific instructions, I proceeded according to the instructions on the can of glue. I probably gave it 10 minutes of open time before I rolled underlayment on top of freshly applied glue. There was a lot of trapped air that caused bubbles. I pierced them and pressed the air out. Next morning I was ready to install the floor, but I noticed the glue under the underlayment is still fresh. It cured around the edges, but it is completely fresh otherwise. What did I do wrong? What are my options now?

Update:
The underlayment was installed on Wednesday. Sunday night I checked, and there are still some pockets of uncured glue. I am worried that the glue might never set at all. Still looking for a solution.

On its website it says 8-10 hours.  However it is not for the application you used it for.  It is for gluing wood to things.  Not for gluing foam/felt/whatever to concrete.  Your underlayment has basically formed a bubble underneath.  The wood glue needs a lot of air to dry - hence wood glue there will usually be a lot of air available.  Now that the outside have dried quicker of course, now the inside is in the trapped little bubble with no chance at getting good air.  It will eventually dry but this depends on the material and how dense/thick the concrete is.  Also you may want to just remove and use the right glue - which will probably last longer - but that is up to you.  This could take 2-5 days to dry and since the glue was made for wood it may not bond right.


Dual kitchen sink disposal causes water to shoot up in non-disposal side, drain connection is horizontal I have a dual bowl kitchen sink.  The nondisposal side drain sits higher than the disposal side.  The disposal drain connects to the nondisposal drain horizontally via a tee pipe.  Sometimes when there is a lot to grind in the disposal the ground contents will shoot up into the nondisposal side then recede on down the pipe.  My old house did not do this but the disposal was connected vertically to the nondispsoal drain.  Can this be fixed (no shooting up of ground stuff in the nondisposal sink) with a horizontal tee joint?  See attached image of my configuration.

Thanks,
m

The cause of the water shooting up through the other sink is not caused by the disposal being on the lower sink. It is because the plumbing is not set up correctly.

When using a disposal you need to have slip joint baffle tee with tail piece. The baffle is inside the tee and it directs the water, that is being ejected from the disposal with force, downward.

With out the baffle the pressure is to great and the water will shoot the wrong way.

In the photo below the water comes from the disposal on the right, the baffle is in the tee. When the water hits the baffle in the tee it is directed downwards.


HVAC making sound even when off At Thermostat

Fan was on Auto
Cooling was On

Outside Unit was making noise.
Outside Unit Fan not coming on at all

Next to the compressor on the Wall there was On Off Switch, I turned off power from the outside unit but it still kept making that noise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYYfuzDp5DU&feature=share

I went inside turned off the Cooling and noise went away

It has two capacitors
30uf and another small one 5uF

Unit is Lennox

Is the issue with my capacitors?
Can i replace these two capacitors with a single 35uf one ?
Or i am thinking it completely wrong and it's something else?

Sounds like contactor chatter. Could be a bad contactor, or not enough power on the coil.

Basically, the contactor is closing and opening really quickly.  This happens when the coil doesn't create a strong enough magnetic field to hold the contactor closed.

Depending on the cost of a new contactor, I'd probably just pop in a new one. If it doesn't fix the problem, you'll have to troubleshoot further. If you have (or can find) the manufacturer's specifications for the contactor, you could measure the contactor coil resistance and compare it to the spec.

You can also check the voltage of the control wiring going to the contactor coil.

Remove the low voltage wires from the contactor, and position them so they do not come into contact with each other or anything else.
Set the thermostat so that it's calling for cooling.
Use a voltmeter to check the voltage between the two low voltage wires.

You should measure about 24 volts (assuming it's a 24 volt control system).


Would a replacement condenser capacitor of differing specs reduce cooling? My outside condenser fan quit running, so I tested the capacitor, and got nothing on the meter.  The cap that was in there was a 35/7.5.  The closest one I could find at the time was a 50/7.5.  Now that the new capacitor is installed the fan runs, but it is taking a very long time for it to cool down the house.  It will not get below 75 even though the thermostat is set to 68, for testing.
I was thinking that it may be low on refrigerant, but it cooled fine before the capacitor went bad.  I don't have any gauges to check pressures.
Would the difference in the capacitor cause this, and is it safe to continue to run the condenser with that capacitor?
Update
Installed the new correct capacitor, and cleaned out the condenser coils. Also had an HVAC person check the charge, which was fine. Now the unit is working perfect.
Thank you to everyone that has helped.

I would not run it like that! the 50/7.5 is making the fan run great because that is the correct number it's calling for. putting 50 on a 35 compressor will overload it and potentially cause a bigger issue. they sell universal capacitors that are perfect for situations like this.


Setting fence post in gravel/backfill? I am attempting to build a privacy fence that will sit just behind a retaining wall (as in, on the ground behind the wall and not on the wall itself).

While digging today I realized that while the ground behind the retaining wall does have ~10" of soil on top, underneath the thin layer of soil seems to be gravel.

I assume that the retaining wall looks almost exactly like this underneath https://imgur.com/cYi6Jf4.

The good news is I only need to set two posts into this gravel, but I am a bit of a loss on how to create the hole for the post. A few questions for anyone who may have some knowledgeable advice

First and foremost, will setting two posts in concrete behind this wall create any structural risk to the wall?

How should I dig 2 foots deep holes into straight gravel? Will a rented auger even work through it? Will a post hole digger and a digging bar work any better?

Thanks in advance!

I watched my fence installers and there where some areas that had a lot of stone. They would take a pointed metal rod and jam it into the hole to loosen up the rock and then use the post hole digger to get the loosened rock out.  He alternated between the pointed rod and the post hole digger. Two men dug 9 holes by hand and finished the fence in one day.


Repair Hole in Concrete Foundation The previous owner of my house had a sprinkler system installed and had it run off the main water supply in the house instead of a separate meter.  I had a new meter installed, so I do not have to pay sewage on my irrigation water.  Now I have a pipe sticking through my foundation that has been cut off and capped on each end.  It is not needed any more.  If I remove this pipe, what is the best material and process to use to fill the hole in the foundation?

If it's not a huge pipe, hydraulic cement would probably do the trick. Hydraulic cement is designed to expand as it cures and is used for reparing foundation cracks.


Are there any issues with using deicing salt on sand stone paving? We are thinking of getting some sand stone paving installed, however we have to be able to use lots of deicing salt in a bad winter.

Will the salt stain the sand stone?

Any other issues we should be aware of?

Salt on stone can cause pitting, but it should be okay as long as you don't over-do it.  If you still have visible salt crystals after the ice has gone, you're using too much.  If you have trouble both avoiding visible crystals and clearing enough ice for safety, try using a sand/salt mix.


Why is one switch hot wire black and another white? I have two lights currently controlled by two switches (on the same wall plate), which I wanted to combine into a single switch. However, the wiring on the inside isn't what I was expecting, and wanted to check to make sure I understand what's going on.

The wires look like this:

The wire labeled "north" is for the light receptical on the north side of the room, and south for south. However, what I wasn't expecting was for the white wire on the south side to be hot. Is this simply a case of the wires being mistakenly reversed, or is this something that was likely intentional? If the later, what's going on, and which wires would I need to combine in order to use one single pole switch instead of the previous two?

Edit:

Here is the original switch, labeled with how the wires were before I removed the switch

Getting switch loop wires mixed up isn't any big deal.  They are both hot, just one is always hot and one is switched hot.  Since they are both hots,   the whites should be marked with tape at both ends.

It appears both switches are on the far end of switch loops, and may even be derived from different circuits, possibly on different poles (notice how the installer broke off the common tab on the old duplex switch).   So the easiest way to control them with one switch handle is a double-pole switch.  Fortunately these do exist in household form factors, such as this Leviton CAB2-20W, which is rated for 277V so it's good for opposite poles (240V).  AB goes on one pole, CD on the other.


Waterproof concrete bird bath basin I want to pour a concrete basin for a bird bath. First I thought to use hydraulic cement so it is waterproof. But this stuff sets really fast and seems to be only for patching. So I bought a concrete sealer from Home depot: Silkagard ProSelect Natural Look Clear Sealer. Is it safe to use for drinking water or will it outgas or release otherwise some toxic substances? I don't want to harm the birds.

If you're worried about the toxicity of the sealer, there are numerous options that are food-grade (for humans, no clue about how that applies to birds).  These are primarily used for sealing poured concrete counter-tops. A quick Google search should turn up some options, or you can just ask at your local big-box for a food-grade concrete counter-top sealer.


How can I safely cut the cable on a broken garage door? Late last summer, a tree fell on our garage. The garage being made of corrugated aluminum, it was pretty well crumpled. Before winter hit, we were able to get everything off the frame but the garage door, and now I'm wondering how to get that off safely.

Here's what I'm facing:

The garage door is a fairly typical roll-up door with a torsion spring.
The cable on one side of the door snapped when the garage was crumpled, but the other appears to be intact.
Because of the state of the frame, I can't roll the door up, or really move it in any way.

I want to finish tearing down the garage, but I don't want to do anything stupid or dangerous. Is there a safe way for me to cut the intact cable?

Unless you know how to unload the tension on the torsion spring, this is not safe for you to do yourself. There are plenty of videos on the internet that show you how to do it, but be aware that the consequences ofusing the wrong tools or doing it wrong will likely result in serious injury, such as broken bones or amputated limbs, or death.

You should probably hire a pro to unload the torsion spring.


How can I go back to a gas water heater? I recently got a condo unit (low rise condo) on the 4th (top) floor. The unit previously had a gas water heater but was replaced with an electric unit after the gas one broke down I suppose. This was before I got it.

I didn't realize the issues I'd be facing. The electric bills are too high. I thought of going back to gas water heater and asked the heater vendor to do an analysis. But, they refused saying that vent has a black pipe which needs to be changed to White PVC pipe and vent cannot be run through the unit.

Now, I am not sure what to do and the management is not willing to fix it for me. What can I do?

Thanks Jimmy, Zhentar and Comintern for your answers,

The hot water tank is also used to heat the unit during the winter times, this is what raising the electricity bills. And one more thing hurting is the Gas cost is covered by the maintenance bill and i am not using gas in this unit as the water heater is electricity, so i end up paying both the gas bill and electricity. And the other units in the building are having gas water heater.

Only "power-vent" type gas water heaters can be vented with plastic pipe. These are gas water heaters with a fan on top which blows the flue gas (and cools it by mixing surrounding cool air with it, hence plastic vent is OK) out of the house. Most can be vented with 3" PVC (white), ABS (black), or CPVC (kinda tan colored). These vents can be run horizontally and can have 90 degree bends (limits on that though, see instructions/local code). So if the black pipe in question is plastic, it is probably ABS, and the vendor might be wrong.

Not sure if you know what you are getting into, direct-vent heaters are significantly more $$ than regular natural draft gas heaters (which require metal vent pipes that go more or less UP only). Some of these direct-vent heaters now require a fresh air supply from outside because they have sealed burners, you may not be equipped for that. You would need to be 100% sure of the condition, length, and route of the existing vent if you use it. Then there is the piping for water and gas and such, labor...

It might not be worth the trouble and expense to change back. Amortize the cost of the new heater over time and I am not sure it would pay off.


Find Hidden Problems with Coax Cable in Walls I am not sure if this is the correct site for this question, so let me know if it needs to be moved.

Through the coax network I have set up in my house I can't seem to propagate antenna signals for any channel above 21. I am a little clueless as to what my main issue is, so here are the steps I took:

The previous owner of my house dry-walled everything, so I have no idea what's hidden in the walls/ceilings. I have successfully determined that in 3 rooms of my house I have 2 coax outlets each. One outlet in each room runs to the output of a 3-out splitter in my basement that was historically connected to cable TV. The other outlet runs to 1 of 3 random locations outside of my house, annoyingly.

I have since discontinued my old cable service (I was tuning using the QAM tuners of the TVs as set-top-boxes annoy me).

I have a reasonably good, 4-bay antenna in an upper room (Room 1) in my house. It gets a good number of channels, a fairly thick sprinkling between channel 2 through 62. I wanted to try routing the signal from that antenna to my other 2 TVs. So... I temporarily disconnected my antenna from the TV, and instead plugged the antenna into the wall outlet. I routed the Room 1 cable to the input of the splitter, which splits the antenna to Rooms 2 and 3. The following bad diagram explains what I did.

See bad diagram below:

The result of this in Room 2 and 3 is that all the channels above 20 are cut completely, but I get no losses of any of the channels from 2 to 20.

The splitter should not be purposely stripping any channels, as it is the same splitter that was being used with analog and digital QAM cable TV, and I don't believe there is any directional filtering on my [Room 1 to Splitter] cable run.

Could cable run length alone be perfectly cutting channels above 20, but none of the channels below?

EDIT

Here are some specifics.
Before going through the wall I have channel 20 (506MHz) and channel 30 (566MHz).
After the wall I still have 20, but not 30.
So, I would say (as do the comments) that it is frequency related, as I get no channels above 506-ish MHz.

Having said that, could it be that 30 and 32 are just weak channels for me, and 56, 62 are being especially attenuated by my cabling? Would a signal booster do anything for me?

Could my wall cabling possibly be limiting the frequency like this? VHF cuts off at 215-ish MHz, so I would expect that if I had the wrong type of coax I would not have channel 20.

You might try replacing the splitters.  I had one outside a condo failing in such a way that it caused low frequency signals (<50 MHz) to be severely attenuated but higher frequency signals passed quite well.  The result was that analog U.S. television channels 2 through 4 were garbage, 5 and 6 were snowy, and the cable modem worked very poorly.  In this case, I think the splitters were degraded by flooding (high river levels submerged them for a couple days).


How to access Honeywell wireless door/window sensor data? I recently moved and our new home has several home security sensors, on most doors as well a motion sensor in the home. The sensors were part of an ADP security system which is not currently enabled.

I would like to access the sensor data so that I can make use of them outside of the ADP system. I assume they're still functioning (wireless, battery operated) despite the ADP system being offline. My end goal is to have the sensors report to some kind of receiver system of my own design so that I can make use of the information in a programatic way (I'm a software engineer by trade).

How do I access and/or receive the sensor information? They appear to be the Honeywell 5816 line of door/window sensors. Thanks!

use the honeywell receiver perhaps?

https://www.security.honeywell.com/product-repository/5881enhc


What does the watt rating on stove top coil burners mean? I've been searching high and low for standard replacement burners for this Amana electric stvove I have. The large coils are 8" and the small coils are 6". 4 turn and 3 turn respectively. I ordered a replacement kit on Amazon that claimed it was standard replacement for most makes and models, but I'm not so sure comparing the two.
The original 6" coils have this etched on the bracket:
3W6-212
1250W-240V
840W-208V
The new 6" coil have this
4W6-215
1500W-240V
1130W-208V
I have been searching all over trying to figure out what the difference in these numbers mean and if it's safe to plug in these new coils or not.
The first red flag was the element plugs being different colors. The 6" original coils are red and white and the new ones are blue and green. The 8" coils both match colors. The turn count and etching on the sides are different.
Also the new coils are +1 coil turns compared to the old ones.

The old coils are 1250W if your supply is 240Volts (normal USA/Canada single-phase), and 840W if your supply is 208Volts (usually from 3-phase power.)
The new coils are not the same power rating - they are 1500W on 240V and 1130W on 208V, so 120% - 134% more powerful on 240 & 208V, respectively. That may be a problem if the range controls and wiring are designed only for the lower wattage elements it came with. Or it may not be a problem if the range has the capacity to run them safely (I recall getting a "heavy duty canning element" for an 8" burner that both had a stronger coil support, more elevation from the stove surface, and more wattage, which the appliance store listed as being a compatible upgrade for my range.)


Splitting a Water Heater Gas Line to Connect Gas Dryer I have studied the following thread which gave me a lot of answers to my question.

Split Gas Line to Gas Water Heater for Gas Dryer

I still have some follow-up questions and would appreciate if someone could help me with these. I currently have a water heater connected to a gas valve in the wall. I need to split this line to connect to a gas dryer as well.

I am thinking of doing the following using standard connectors. Is there a better way of doing this? Also, is it OK to use Teflon sealing tape to seal the connections.

You need to check with local code enforcement. I suspect they will want you to explain how you know your gas line will supply enough gas flow (in BTU/h) to supply both appliances simultaneously.

Then I think the code will require you to use black iron gas pipe in separate lines to individual cut off valves for each appliance. Probably you could leave the existing valve in place, use an adaptor, and place a black iron Tee there leading to two individual valves. Then at those point connect the light, flexible corrugated supply lines.

I don't think code enforcement will allow the light corrugated supply lines to have a Tee in them.

There is a special type of (yellow colored and thicker) Teflon tape for gas connections. Also there is pipe dope designed for gas connections.


How to fix this storm door hinge? The jamb bracket was always loose, so I had to keep using longer and longer screws to make it stronger. Over time the wood completely got eroded, left with a gaping hole and no place to insert a screw. How do fix this? I have a young handyman who is painting my house and I was going to have him fix this, but I don't think he knows how. If someone can explain clearly I'm sure he can do it.

Go to your home store and pick up a package of dowel pins or just get one big dowel rod and a drill bit to match.They come in many sizes depending on the hole you're trying to repair.

Drill out the eroded wood, squirt some wood glue in the hole and tap in the dowel pin and let the glue dry.

If you are going to use one long rod and cut it to the size you need, cut a small grove length wise in your pin to allow excess glue to escape. This isn't needed if you buy a package of dowel pins because they are already grooved. After the glue dries, sand and paint the area and then you can reinstall the jab bracket.


Could stepping down from 220V/50Hz to 110V/60Hz cause issues with household electronics? I have a USA market Yamaha stereo receiver RX-V563 which is 110V/60Hz.  I have moved to China and have a 220V/110V stepdown transformer but I can not get my receiver to work.  The lights come on but I can not get sound out.  Could the 50Hz frequency be keeping the system from working?

That is very likely the problem.  The stepdown transformers step down the voltage, but do not increase the frequency - that is why a hair dryer, for example, will operate slower on 220V/50Hz when it stepped down to 110/50hz.  The audio processing components of the receiver are likely depending on the correct input frequency.  Its also possible that you might have damaged the receiver from doing this.


Is it OK to pull Category (Cat5e, Cat6 a, Cat 6a) internet cable around a corner constructed of threaded rod/ All-Thread? Is there a reason an electrical inspector or building inspector could fail an inspection?  One of my co-workers thinks it's acceptable to use All-Thread holding up HVAC and electrical equipment in the ceiling as a pull point for AV and data cable at 90-degrees.  I think it's an egregious practice, but can't think of why specifically off the top of my head.  Prefer references and inspector experiences.

Manufacturer's Minimum bend radius?
Likelihood of damage the cable sheathing, internal insulation and copper wire from sharp edges?
NFPA 70 National Electric Code (NEC)
Building Industry Consulting Service International, Inc. (BICSI) Telecommunications Distribution Methods Manual (TDMM)?
ANSI/TIA-568.1-D  Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard?
National Electrical Contractors Association NECA 1 Standard for Good Workmanship in Electrical Construction?

This is a bad idea right off the bat because the threads on threaded rod are usually pretty sharp and could very well damage the cable.

Pulling around a fixed object rather than a pully or sheave that rotates is never a good idea.

The TIA/EIA standards specify bend radii, and sharp bends violate telecom standards, manufacturer's recommendations, etc., but usually does not violate the NEC which is what the inspector enforces.  In most cases the inspector and the NEC don't care if you compromise the performance of your cable as long as you don't create a safety hazard. The other standards may be good practices, and may be contractual obligations, but they are not the inspector's concern.


How can I prevent my Mirra chair from creaking when reclining? I have a new Herman Miller Mirra chair. I love it and do not want to return it, but it makes irritatingly loud creaking noises when I shift my weight or recline.

The source of the noise is the loose plastic shell that covers the recline assembly and is gently secured with S-clips. Any force against this hollow shell makes it deform slightly and produces the sound. Attempting to damp the noise by padding the loose areas of the shell to resist deforming does not help.

After some experimentation, I found that the underlying problem was from overtightening the bolts that connect the chair back to the seat assembly. Doing so puts excess pressure on the plastic shell and causes the creaking sounds. By loosening the bolts and refastening them without heavy torque, the problem is resolved and the chair reclines and moves silently.


How do I widen a hole in wood for flex tube? I bought some 1" smurf tube so that I could run coax, ethernet, and speaker cable to various low voltage outlets in my house. I used a 1-1/4" speedbor bit to make a hole in the floor from my crawl space but discovered that the smurf tube was 1" inner diameter and 1-1/4" outer diameter. Oops. It turns out it is very difficult if not impossible to force the flex tube through the approximately 6" deep hole.

I tried using a file to widen the hole but it had little effect. Should I try widening the hole with a 1-3/8" auger bit, a 1-3/8" spade bit, a sanding drum bit, or something else? There's not a lot of room in the crawl space so I'm hoping to hit upon the solution the next time I go under.

Now you've learned the hard way, the same way the rest of us learned, why they say "measure twice."

A spade bit may work for this trick, but an auger bit may be easier to control. First, use the bit to cut a hole in center of some scrap wood. A piece of plywood that's 4"x6" would work well, and a 2x4 that's 6-8" long would also work. You need a few inches on each side of the hole, and enough so that it doesn't shatter apart when the drill bit is vibrating inside, but thickness isn't that important. Since you're working in a crawl space, start a few screws on each side of the hole that you drilled.

In the crawl space, line up the hole in the scrap wood with your existing hole and screw it into place so it doesn't move. This wood is now your guide to keep the drill bit from running all over the place. Put your drill bit inside this guide, make sure you're aligned, and drill your larger hole.


Why are the white and orange wires both connected to my thermostat's W terminal? I wanted to get a programmable thermostat, but when I look at the wiring of the existing thermostat I’m not sure why the white and orange wires are both going to the W terminal.

Other thermostat wiring, located downstairs

At the zone board there are 3 orange wires plugged into it and one that isn’t plugged into anything. There is an orange wire in the first terminal of the HP and Duct area under the sensors section. There is also an orange wire plugged into the O terminal under equipment. I made a black mark on this diagram to show where orange wires are connected.

Your Existing Thermostat may not have been the proper thermostat for your unit. However it was made to work - utilizing a wiring trick.

The below is a rough guide for AC thermostat wiring.

Orange wire and Blue wire are usually a reversing valve.

RED, RED[c], RED[h] is 24VAC where c stands for cool and h stands for Heat.

W or W1 White (Heat Stage 1) , W2 [color can vary] (Heat Stage 2)

Y or Y1 Yellow (Cool Stage 1), Y2 [color can vary] (Cool Stage 2)

G Green - Indoor Fan (Evaporator Fan - Blower inside house)

E - Emergency Heat

EDIT 12/05/2017

I am guessing that the outside units are different model units - but it does not matter.

I am thinking that the orange wire might be the loose one on the other side. To know for sure - we already know that the orange and white are tied together on the thermostat side - so it forms a continuous run of wire (continuity) - measuring on the other end of those wires for continuity - we should see it as ONE wire and not two. So on our zone board side we take a continuity tester or better an Ohm Meter; you can get a cheap one for about $5-$10 . With your Circuit breaker off perform the following.

At your Zone Controller where the white wire from your thermostat unit should come in as W1 (disconnect it ) and Measure ohms between that white wire and each of the orange wires - one of them should show continuity if that Orange wire is any of those that feed to the zone board. This is how you can determine which Orange Wire is the wire form that thermostat - your meter should read less than about 3 ohms. You can then LABEL that Orange wire as Your Thermostat #1 or #2 which ever one it  is and then report your findings back here.


Adding a "C" wire for a wireless theromstat I have a heat only system with two wires leading to the thermostat - red and white - and am wanting to add a wireless thermostat.  The new thermostat however requires a "C" wire.  Can I add a C wire?

Yes, you can definitely add a C wire.  How you do it, and how difficult it is completely depends on your equipment.


CFL Fixtures: one lamp stays constant, the other cycles on an off My daughter just had extensive remodeling in her house. Both children's bedrooms now have cfl two bulb ceiling fixtures.  Both fixtures, when switched on, start out with one bulb lit.  After a few seconds the second bulb comes one for a few seconds and then goes off.  This pattern continues while the fixture is on - one bulb constant, the other rhythmically cycling on.  What might be causing this?

Continual cycling of fluorescent lamps on and off was once a symptom of a bad thermal starter switch or a dying fluorescent tube, but if your daughter's house was recently remodeled, it's very unlikely an ethical contractor would have installed such a lamp.

If this is truly a CFL (compact fluorescent lamp), designed to fit an incandescent lamp socket (Edison base, e.g. E26 in USA), just replace both lamps with modern LED lamps, which are more efficient, longer lasting and less expensive, and come in a variety of colors such as this "warm white" (2700 K) model.


How can I drill through concrete blocks to allow drainage from my backyard? My back yard has a brick floor and is surrounded by a concrete block wall. In heavy rains, the yard pools with rain water. How do I go about cutting drain holes in the wall or floor?

Pictures might change the answer but...

Is the terrain outside the block wall your property?  Is the elevation lower than your backyard?  If you answered yes to both of those questions I'd say strategically and carefully, maybe hire someone, remove blocks or pieces of block. Drilling holes does not sound like adequate drainage but if they were big enough it might work.

I would probably remove a section of brick at the lowest point in the yard and dig a large pit.  Line the pit with some type of filter fabric that will keep fine soil particles from passing through and then almost fill the hole with large gravel. (Here in this part of the US we would use what is called blue stone)  Cover with the same fabric.  Install a porous grate or cover of some sort over it.  You could even cover it with soil and plant grass or something else if you liked.  Figuring out what survives there might take trial and error. This will give the water somewhere to escape to while it slowly drains out of your yard.


How to connect wifi thermostat with a boiler after cable upgrade? I have an old battery operated thermostat right now with two wires (18/2) attached to it running to a boiler. No AC, fan, etc.-- just a boiler. I can easily replace the wire with 18/5 one, however I'm unsure how to later attach the wires inside the boiler and to then Honeywell wifi thermostat.

Wires inside the boiler:

The thermosat is a Honeywell RTH8580WF.

Difficult to guess but here's what it looks like:

The top left post 1, Thick yellow wire is boiler
The top middle post 2, labeled G activates both the fan (thin black wire) and the boiler (thin red wire jumping 1 and 2)
The bottom left post 4, Thick white wire is neutral C
The bottom right post 5, Thick black wire is hot R

There is no fan delay control so when the thermostat shorts the red and white, it energises both fan and boiler.

With 18/5 wire you'll connect

White to top center post: Call for heat W
Red to bottom right post: Hot R
Blue to bottom left post: Neutral C
Green unconnected: fan control G
Yellow unconnected: call for cool Y

Important: The RTH8580WF is made for 24VAC systems.  If the boiler is using line voltage (120V) it will destroy the thermostat.


Are rainproof fittings to connect meter box and weather head to rigid steel conduit required? My utility company specifies 2" rigid steel conduit for my exterior-mounted, overhead service drop/service entrance.  Do I need to use special rainproof fittings when coupling the rigid conduit to the meter box, weather head, and any intermediate couplings?  If so, please provide an example.  References to the relevant sections of the NEC are also appreciated.

Given that the overhead service drop is likely run outdoors, which'd put it in a wet location, 314.15 applies:

  314.15 Damp or Wet Locations. In damp or wet locations, boxes, conduit bodies, and fittings shall be placed or equipped so as to prevent moisture  from accumulating within the box, conduit body, or fitting. Boxes, conduit bodies, and fittings installed in wet locations shall be listed for use in wet locations. Approved drainage openings not larger than 6 mm (1/4 in.) shall be permitted to be installed in the field in boxes or conduit bodies listed for use in damp or wet locations. For installation of listed drain
  fittings, larger openings are permitted to be installed in the field in accordance with manufacturer's instructions.

In general, a fitting labeled "raintight" will be listed for wet location service.  Non-raintight, albeit acceptably corrosionproofed, fittings may or may not be -- check with the manufacturer for their suitability.


Is the control wiring for my boiler reversed? I've been diagramming my boiler wiring so that I can understand it before installing a Tekmar 256 external reset. What's been throwing me for a loop is that it looks as if the 24v common is being fed to the thermostat instead of the load. This is reversed right? Should I reverse the blue and green wires going into the transformer?

Note that there are 2 other zones not shown here, but they tie in similarly (thermostat gets the green and the taco 2 is attached to the blue).

Thanks!

Edit -- It turns out that the transformer was mislabeled. What's labeled as R/LOAD on the transformer is actually the common.

Yes, this is backwards -- while leaving it as is is mostly fine, swapping it won't hurt either

This is indeed backwards from the conventional way to wire things -- normally, the switching is all done in the R wire, and C is used as the transformer return.  Putting the switching in the C wire, as the installers of your setup did, works, but has the undesirable side effect that grounding out the wiring from the zone valve to the thermostat or boiler control will cause things to turn on, as the C wire is usually grounded at the transformer secondary.   Oops!

Swapping R and C at the transformer won't hurt anything either, though, and probably is a good idea because it's far harder to tell with electronic controls whether they want to be finicky about which wire is which -- older electromechanical controls never gave a toss, which is why it worked just fine for all these years.  (My suspicion is that your new control won't be particularly picky, but I'm not a tech support guy at Tekmar, so I don't have any insider info.)


Refrigerator Sparks when it touches the water line We bought a brand new refrigerator and connected the water line and plugged it into the wall in a GFCI outlet. When attempting to push the refrigerator back into the space against the wall, the water line touched a plate on the back of the refrigerator and sent sparks flying. The fuse in the main fuse box flipped and the GFCI has to be reset when the fuse was turned back on. The water line is copper pipe entering through the floor from a crawl space. What could possibly cause this spark and how do we fix it? Thanks in advance!

DO NOT USE THAT RECEPTACLE UNTIL IT IS EXAMINED CLOSELY BY QUALIFIED PERSONNEL

What you likely have with that poor, maligned GFCI is a situation called a "reverse polarity bootleg ground", where neutral and ground are both connected to the incoming hot and  hot is connected to the incoming neutral.  This situation is extremely dangerous, even on a GFCI protected circuit, as the miswired ground puts the chassis of whatever's plugged into it at 120V in a way that cannot be disconnected by the GFCI receptacle.

What you can do to test for this is use a non-contact voltage detector -- place its business end next to the receptacle but not in the slots.  If the receptacle ground is live -- this means that the entire receptacle mounting yoke is hot at 120VAC and will set off the voltage detector.  On a normal receptacle, this won't happen -- the only way to get the detector to go off is to stick the tip in the hot slot on the receptacle.

If that's the case, then you'll need to have the bootlegged "ground" removed (it may be upstream of the receptacle and quite hard to find) and the receptacle polarity corrected as well.  If the receptacle comes up clean, then I'd use the non-contact voltage detector to check the copper water pipe -- if that's hot, then there's a bonding problem and an equipment fault, which is a combination you'll want a qualified electrician to fix.  (Not the least because trying to fix that DIY puts you at even more risk of the 60 cycle shuffle than you're already at!)


How can I connect a portable dishwasher to laundry hookups? I just moved into new duplex that has a decent sized laundry room. During my move I brought my portable compact dishwasher (very similar to this one). I don't have counter-top space to position the dishwasher near the sink since it requires the sink faucet hookup by default. I have some extra space in the laundry room and I'm considering splitting the water and drain hookups for the washing machine to accommodate the washing machine and dishwasher.

Is this something that would be possible without too much trouble? If so what would be the best way to go about making this type of modification?

Thank you both for your comments and suggestions! I think I took a similar route to what you did. Here are the parts that made it all happen. This is for the water input.
And this is for the drain hose.

For the water input hose, I used a clothes washer size hose (3/4 inch) and converted it down two steps. First to 1/2 inch. Then to 3/8 inch. Then I put a brass barb converter on the end of the water hose from the dishwasher.

I used a Y splitter at the pipe hookup.

For the drain pipe, I used a regular dishwasher to sink drain pipe, but then left the top open so my washer can drain down the top and the dishwasher drains into the side.

So far I have ran two cycles with no issues. We'll see how it holds up in the long run!

I took more detailed photos each step of the way, so if anyone is interested in them just let me know!

Thanks!


What are the pros and cons on installing a typical garage floodlight kit, inside your garage? I have a few extra kits and a dark garage... and I am like why not inside?  This thing would take 20 minutes to install and would pump out 225W.

Some other things that have come to mind.  Is there a way I could electrically use both the motion sensor of a floodlight and also have the option of having it on via switch?

The immediate issue I see is that a floodlight is not great for lighting a room.  They cast harsh shadows, create a lot of glare if you look anywhere near their direction, and will leave plenty of dark areas in the room.  Of course, a few of those downsides could be fixed by just installing regular light bulbs rather than flood bulbs unless it has integrated LED floods.

Using a switch and the motion detector is possible if you are running new wiring to them.  You could have two switches where one powers the motion detector and the other powers the lights directly.  You could even use a three way switch if you never needed the light to be fully off (you could have always-on, or motion, but never totally off with one three way switch).

The other thing to consider is that some (many?) motion detection lights have a feature where they will stay on if you turn the switch off and on a few times.  This allows people to easily use the light in a passive motion mode or you can "force" it on from your back door by toggling the switch a few times.  Check your instruction manual - I know this used to be a popular feature but haven't had my own lights to try it on in some time.

As far as safety or code are concerned, I'm not aware of any issues that would prevent you from installing the light inside.


Help diagnosing power outlet that sometimes works I have a power outlet in my kitchen that has been impossible for me to figure out what is wrong.

Problem:
The outlet works for seemingly random amount of time, then stops working for a random amount of time.

Background:
My kitchen was remolded a few years ago, and all electrical was replaced. The outlet in question was added to power an under cabinet appliance. This outlet worked without a problem for at least a year. Then, without a known cause, it started intermittently stopped working. The breaker never trips, the outlet stops working for a while, then starts working again for awhile.

Tried so far:

Replaced outlet
Replaced circuit breaker
Had electrician visit (outlet was working during the visit, never stopped working)
Turned off the breaker to see if any other outlet is on the same circuit, none found.
Plugged in night light to watch if there is a pattern to when the outlet works or stops working (none found yet)

Does anyone have any ideas on how I can continue to diagnose the problem?

Thanks in advance.

I find intermittent receptacles quite often are caused by backstabs, you replaced the receptacle but the problem may be from the receptacle feeding this one.

It most likely is a bad backstab but can be a loose connection or broken wire.
When on a chain of receptacles the problem will be in the last working receptacle or first non working one.

You replaced the non working one moving closer to your service panel find the next receptacle if that is working it could be the connection for the wires feeding the problem receptacle. Back stabs are the cause in the very high 90% range but a broken wire loose wire at a wire nut or screw can also be the cause.

It can be either the hot or the neutral.

You did not find an outlet but there is a connection someplace since the breaker, & outlet were replaced other that is a nail or screw driven through breaking the wire. Put a load on the receptacle like a hair dryer it will probably fail quickly. There are circuit tracers that can find broken wires in walls. These are expensive and not all electricians have them.


Help wiring thermostat for heat pump I'm replacing an old thermostat with a slightly newer thermostat. It's connected to a heat pump and the old wiring (picture attached) was:
White = W2
Yellow = Y
Brown = O/B
Red = R
Green = G
Blue = C

The new thermostat doesn't have a C connection (see picture) so I'm not sure what to do with the wire. Note that the heat pump designations are on the outside edge of the thermostat.

How do I wire the new thermostat? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Some of these thermostats do not require and do not give you a place for the common,blue wire.  We call these thermostats power robbing thermostats.  They have the ability to take enough power from the working wires to maintain their own functions without a common lead.  This thermostat will work just fine without the common.  Just cap it off and push it in behind the thermostat. The only drawback for this type of stat is that when you loose power to the house the stat won't work.  Who cares! Nothing else works either.


Are you supposed to put a vapor barrier on both sides of the common garage wall (wall between garage and house)? In my garage, the wall between the house and the garage has visible studs and insulation in it.  This insulation is 50+ years old and I am going to tear it out and put in new insulation.

My question has to do with the vapor barrier.  I have always been told to put the vapor barrier on the "warm" side of the wall.  This garage, however, has the studs, so I could only put the vapor barrier on the "cold" side of the wall (the garage side- not the house side).

For a common wall like this, with studs on the garage side, what should I do?

--

Location: Missouri

If you are insulating the walls with a Kraft Faced insulation then the paper side needs to be against the house wall.  Regardless of any other insulation anywhere else in the garage, paper to the warm side always.  If you are using unfaced insulation, then you probably won't get the vapor barrier you want and need unless you use foam board or closed cell spray foam.  Putting the vapor barrier on the outside will cause condensation in your wall.


Clearance for bathroom vent fan I am looking to add some storage space to my bathrooms by installing some wall-mounted, pre-built upper cabinets.  The bathroom is arranged such that the only reasonable location for a cabinet would be directly behind/above the toilet.  The bathroom's vent fan is directly above the toilet, and installing the cabinet here would mean that the vent fan would be pointing at the top of the cabinet.

I'm concerned that I might be inadvertently blocking the vent fan's airflow and reducing its effectiveness.  How much clearance is required below a vent fan for it to operate normally?  I haven't found any such numbers in product manuals or install instructions, could there be an relevant building code?

I don't know the particular model of my vent fans, but this is a US home around 10 years old.  The bathrooms have 9-foot ceilings.  The fans are mounted near-ish the walls, but have at least 30 inches clearance on the sides and 48 inches in the front.

Typical bathroom fans have a 4” or 6” duct to the exterior. Leaving a similar area between the vent grille opening and the top of the new cabinet should be satisfactory. (6” diameter area is about 28”. Therefore, if the cabinet is about 28” long, then you’d need about 1” clearance between the top of the cabinet and the ceiling.)


Force Furnace Blower to Run on Separate Schedule to Circulate Air Appreciate any and all insights you might provide. I could tamper with this until I figured it out but I'm hoping that your collective expertise will save me some time and keep me safe! I've got an OH3 ThermoPride oil furnace with a blower motor. I'm include photos of the wiring harness on the blower and the wiring schematic. My current thermostat only has R & W wires to turn on the furnace which triggers the blower to run. Cold spots are a real issue especially in bedrooms and I'd love to force the blower to run on a regular schedule that I can control/set with an app. My plan is to have a separate wifi connected thermostat in the utility room that I can control with a scheduling app.
3 Core Questions

how do I wire that thermostat to the blower terminal strip? Do I just add a piggyback onto the C terminal on the blower where the white wire coming from the red primary thermostat wire (per the schematic)?
am I correct that it's not a problem if both tstats call for the blower to run at the same time?
any recommendations of a programmable switch or tstat that I could use to control only the blower?

Thanks so much.
Wiring Schematic

Blower Wiring Harness

Here's what the relay looks like. You can barely make out the C (upper screw terminal) and G (lower terminal).

You should be able to wire a thermostat to R, G, and C on the fan control relay and have it control the fan
According to the wiring diagram on your furnace, the fan relay selects between AUTO operation (where the blower thermostat in the plenum controls the fan) and always-on operation, so you should have no issues wiring your new thermostat to the R, G, and C terminals on the fan relay so that it can "take over" the fan if desired.


Upsizing Gas Line From Tee I need to upsize a short 1/2" run to 3/4" (it splits from the main line using a tee). This is about 4-5ft long and goes into an appliance directly. Would it be OK to remove just the pipe and keep the 1/2" tee? I'm thinking not, since the restriction is still there, but not sure if flow would be actually noticeably impacted. Any suggestions?

Since you have a union right there changing the T should not be that tough. There is a nipple to the right if lengths change. I might try the existing But any time another appliance with no restrictions turns on the new one may starve for fuel. I have seen your plan work but since doing it right would not be much more work and possibly only changing the T, I would do that so I would not have to go back and do it over with all the new pipe in place needing to be removed to upgrade the T if it doesn’t work.


How can I upgrade a 3 wire appliance receptacle to a 4 wire receptacle? I have a cabin, wired for 220 and even has a sub-breaker near the outlet.  There are 3 wires to the connector (two hots and the neutral).  The range-top that I want to hook up is a 4-wire model (2 hots, neutral and ground.)
When I put a tester's negative to the neutral, of course either of the hots shows 120v.  When I touch the negative to the metal box, the same result with each of the hots (though I can't see any ground wire adapter on that metal box.  Touching wallboard with the negative does NOT ground it; when I touch the negative to drywall and the positive to either of the hots, I get nothing.
Questions:

does this mean that the metal box is itself grounded somewhere/how (so I can just attach the ground wire to it?)

Is there any cause for concern about wiring these directly, without a plug?

Both of the previous answers are completely accurate. New ranges all come with the new four wire plug, however you can convert to a three wire configuration if your box is grounded (in this case your's is) by connecting the ground lug to the box in the female plug. Although this would not meet current code requirements, it is perfectly safe and this three wire configuration has been used for over 50 years before the new 4 wire config was established. This method is a "common sense fix", but the totally proper way would be to run a new 8/3WG Cu or 6/3WG Alu wire to the panel, assuming a 50 Amp breaker is being used.


LED strip lighting joining cuts? I bought some LED strip lighting and it just arrived:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00LXZKPWY/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza

It's 5m but I only need about a metre so need to cut it to size. There are cut marks on it but how do I join the cuts?

I now noticed further down the page it shows other items and connectors, is that what I need? Apparently they'll take a month to deliver if I order which is awful, so is there any other way? Are these kind of things at electrical stores?

Edit

For some LED strips once you cut the strip that's it.

That particular brand is linkable once it has been cut. It appears to be DC as opposed to AC so the link would require the correct polarity.

Looking at the product page it does not appear to show any link connectors, rather just the live ends (the part that feeds from the transformer).  But that is not to say it may or may not come with a couple of linkable connectors.

Some hardware stores stock basic LED strips like this but chances are they won't sell individual parts. And there is  a high probability it may be slightly off in size if you did find one that was a similar match. With the sensitivity of LEDs that could lead to the LED working part of the time or not working at all after it has been installed.


Epoxy to bond smooth aluminium to chipboard? Is there a glue / epoxy that's viscous enough to be absorbed by chipboard and can also bond metal?
I have a project where I want to figure out how to secure a metal part to chipboard without using nails etc. I've tried a two part epoxy called ergo 1309 that is good for bonding metals and wood, but because it doesn't flow and is more like a gel, it doesn't absorb into the wood, and so the metal can be torn off the board because the wood chips are easily torn off from each other.

Glue doesn't work by "being absorbed into the wood" as you say.  It forms a bond to the wood surface.
The problem here is your choice of material, chipboard.  This s simply a compressed mass of wood chips held together with some glue.  As you have discovered, those particles are not held together all that strongly.
It's not clear why you can't use some other means of fastening to this board but perhaps you might consider changing to something that has more going for it than chipboard.
If you must use the chipboard, you should consider using some thru-bolts with washers to spread out the load on the chipboard side.  Alternatively some screws which are designed to hold well in such materials.
Particle Board Screws


3 way switch bathroom wiring to code I am remodeling my basement and have a bedroom connected to a bathroom. Between them is a walk-in closet. A door leads from the bedroom to the closet, and another door from the bathroom to the closet. I'd like to have a 3 way at each door, one inside the bedroom and the other inside the bathroom. It's easiest for me to wire them to a 15 amp lighting circuit. However, I'm unclear as to what the code requirements are in this situation as current codes for fixtures and outlets in bathrooms have to be on a 20 amp circuit. Would the attached configuration pass a code inspection, or would I have to put this on a 20 amp circuit because one of the switches is in the bathroom? (I understand the 20 amp circuit would be the safest way to go - I just don't want to do the extra work if I don't have to).  Thanks for the help.

Current Code has very particular requirements for bathroom receptacles i.e. dedicated and 20A.  This does not apply to bathroom hardwired loads.  So we can avoid diving into that complexity.
The word "outlet" is ambiguous because NEC refers to everything as an outlet lol.
A hardwired load can be 15A or 20A if that's suitable for the loads. It can be on any circuit (except for certain circuits which are required to be dedicated to a different task, such as kitchen receptacles, garage receptacles, laundry room receptacles, bathroom receptacles, furnace, water heater, etc.)
This is also true of bathroom hardwired loads. They can be on any circuit not dedicated to something else. (and the above complexity that we're ignoring relates to putting them on bathroom recep circuits, which is useless here).
I imagine that for simplicity, you want to have the bathroom light/fan and the closet light on the same circuit. That is fine, as long as it is NOT a bathroom receptacle circuit.
It doesn't matter if the switches are in the bathroom.


mantel mount with only 2 studs available I bought a new home where the TV was mounted directly above the fireplace.  The gap between the TV and fireplace was a scant 3 inches.  I've since raised the TV to the specs provided by the fireplace manufacturer.
I'm mounting a non-combustible mantel above the fireplace to shield the TV even more.
It's 6" high, will protrude 9" from the wall, and is 72" long.  It weighs 43 pounds.
The kicker is there aren't any studs above the fireplace where the mantel needs to go.  The only two studs available are 68" apart, 6" from each side of the fireplace.  The mantel came with three tiny lag screws.  They're only 1/8" diameter.
Since I can only use two bolts, I was thinking 1/4" or even 5/16" diameter lag bolts, screwed in 2.5" into each stud?
Will this work?

You will be fine as long as your screws are long enough to bite into the studs. 43lbs isn't that much.
For peace in mind, I would put a third screw in the center. I would push a "hollow wall anchor" into the drywall.  There are many styles for different weight ratings. Even the plastic ones that look very brittle are surprisingly strong.
I use them for my closet shelves and had no issues. The boxes on my top shelf is definitely over 50lbs.


AFCI breakers in a Main Panel installed and tripping immediately with neutral pigtail connected Finishing my basement and had some help with our electrical install.  I'm located in NJ btw, being that we installed new branched circuits (about 18 outlets and 16 LED lights), I had to use 3 breakers.  For the new circuits, I used 3 AFCI (Eaton, CH, 15A, 120v) breakers, the pigtails connected to my neutral bar.  However, each existing neutral is wired into each lug-hole with a ground, all other breakers in the box are standard, non AFCI.
When I test with it hooked up and turn the light switch on (with only 4 LEDs connected, for now), it trips right away.  Which to me means a ground fault.  Our home is from ~1997, all inspections passed then as the sticker on the panel indicates this.  The panel actually looks really well done inside, no corrosion either.  Note this is not a sub-panel, it's the one and only.
Here is the breaker:
All is well if I leave the pigtail disconnected, the breaker stays on, but the test functions do not work and it will probably not pass an inspection, which I require for our permit.  Any thoughts?  The only thing I can think of is the following:
Get an AFCI Type CH breaker without the pigtail
Get a 2-Pole AFCI Type CH Breaker
Thanks!

You need to move the neutrals for those circuits onto the breaker neutral lugs
Many AFCI breakers, yours included, have a ground-fault trip in them, set at around 30mA, in order to catch arcs and other firestartingly hazardous leakages to ground.  As a result, these AFCIs not only need their neutral pigtails connected to the neutral bus, they need the circuit neutrals connected to their neutral lugs, or else they will remind you of that requirement by instatripping on startup due to what appears to be an absolutely colossal ground fault (all the current going out through the breaker, yet none of it returning via the breaker neutral path).  (This is also required if you ever want to install a GFCI or DFCI breaker into your panel, by the way.)


Too many things on one breaker? So recently, my mother purchased a new house. Upon inspection, it was deemed that some electrical work needed to be done. The work happened and everything is all hunky dory till the other day when a breaker was tripped. That breaker controls half of the entire house. This includes the upstairs living room and bedrooms (2x) and then the downstairs living area and two more bedrooms. They are all on the same breaker. Is this up to code? It seems completely ridiculous to me and the electrical worker said everything was all good. Thoughts?

The NEC doesn't have and actual limit for number of receptacles per circuit in dwelling units. It gives a complicated calculation initially based on watts per square foot, then says [NEC 210.11(B)] that the loads are to be "evenly proportioned among multioutlet branch circuits".
There is a specific rule for other than dwelling units of 180 watts per yoke which works out to 10 to 13 receptacles per circuit. Some people misapply that to dwelling units. In some installations that calculation works acceptably, but not always. Rules for receptacle placement in wall sections 24" or wider and distances between receptacles not crossing doorways can sometimes add up to more receptacles per square foot than is proportional.
That being said it sounds like maybe the house was out of compliance to begin with, and without knowing what the instructions to your electrician were it does sound like you may have is a breach of contract or at very least a misunderstanding by the electrician of your intensions. It is also possible he didn't understand the the full impact of the work he performed, and a larger scope and bill would be necessary to meet your needs.


Hanging large TV and media cabinet on cement block covered with drywall I'm planning on hang a 75" TV and a media center on my wall.
It is cement block covered with drywall.
Drywall is installed using some sort of metal furring strips so there are no studs.

I believe all I need is the right hardware, isn't it?
This should help explain the scenario:

The best I could come up with are sleeve anchors like this one:
Dynabolt Sleeve Anchors, but I'm really concerned about the gap between the drywall and the cement blocks though.

Also, in order to determine the right length for the sleeve anchor I will need to know the thickness of the cement block wall itself (between it's exterior and it's core), which I don't.

TV is around 80 lb according to website (Samsung QLED 75") and will be mounted with a TV bracket.

Media center is 70 inches wide and it has 6 holes that I can use to basically hang it. It is between 80 to 100 lb (give or take): IKEA Media Center.

To summarize:

Is sleeve anchor the best (safest) approach here? If yes:

How long they need to be to make sure they don't go "through the block's core"
How thick they need to be to support this weight?

If no, what it is then? How are people approaching this challenge?

EDITED 10/21/2018 - Snaptoggles

I attempted to use Snaptoggle but it didn't work well.
After making 4 x 1/2 inch holes for the tv mount and put the Snaptoggles in place, I can't get the bolt in not matter what I do.

My best guess is that the track/anchor is angled.
For the bolt to go smooth the little track/anchor that goes inside the block needs to be in a perfect 90 degrees angle with the plastic part that holds it together and also guides the bolt.

This illustration should help explain it:

EDITED 12/14/2018 - Done

So here is what I did (based on some feedback):

I opened the wall just enough.
Used plywood to close the gap between the drywall and cement blocks (tapcons were use to secure the plywood into the blocks). This should prevent the TV mount screws from bending.
Used tapcons to secure the TV mount.

Here is a Tapcon performance table

Based on performance table for 1/4" tapcons and what you see in these pictures, do you believe it is safe to hang an 80 pounds TV in there?

The walls of standard 8" concrete block is only about 1-1/4" thick, which is not much depth for embedment for expansion type anchors.  For this reason I think it's safer to use a toggle of some kind in block.

I find this type of toggle is easiest to use and will work fine even with drywall and hat track on top of the block:

The one in the picture is branded "Snaptoggle" but there are many brands.

Although 1/4" toggles would probably have enough strength to mount the bracket right on the block, I'd bump up to 3/8" toggles to compensate for the gap.


Total Amperage and Electical Box Availability Good Afternoon Everyone,

I have a few question about amperage sizing. I am looking to install a tankless water heater in our home because its a small home and the current tank water heater is placed right next to the kitchen and upgrading to a tankless water heater would allow the addition of a very much needed pantry to the already small kitchen. Well in preparation to the project I wanted to make sure I had the amperage availability to do so and thus the research started and I have a few questions I couldn't find answers to.

One post a read (I cannot find the link) said that modern houses can have a "dual pole" incoming electrical service, so the home actually can have double total available amperage than what is listed. I think the poster was either misleading in his explanation or I am not using the right search terms to find more information on this. Is this a possibility?

I did information gathering and found the rated amperage of all of the major devices in the home and they totaled 176.8 AMPs which is about 88% of the total 200 AMPS my home is currently rated for. Is the AMPs listed in the the maximum amount the devices can pull (such as when the device is first turned on) or is this the average running amperage?

The tankless water heater I want to get is the ECOSMART ECO 24, which has an amperage draw of 100 AMPS.

That is very likely the "average running" current rating, not the peak inrush current when you first turn something on. However, you figure of 176A seems very high for an average home.  If that is really what you are currently using then your power charges will be quite high every month, AND you have NO EXTRA CAPACITY to add a very-high current device like a tankless water heater.

To really know how much current is being drawn from any branch circuit (breaker) or even from the total load (via the incoming service lines), you would use a "clamp on" AC ammeter.  You don't need great precision, so an inexpensive meter like https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NWGZ4XC would give you ACTUAL numbers to work with.

You did not reveal how much current your tankless water heater needs. But they are typically VERY HIGH current devices and demand heavy wiring and separate branch circuits.


How can I dry out and reseal this corroding railing to prevent further damage? This railing on our deck is exposed to the elements (in Chicago, so rain and snow), and has corroded through. The railing is hollow, and it seems to be completely full of water. It's swollen near the corrosion site, and I assume it'll get worse quickly now that it's in this condition.
I'd like to drain out the water and seal the top, but I can't imagine successfully wicking all the water out, and don't know how to go about perforating the bottom, for it to drain completely. How might an experienced DIY-er deal with this problem?

Edit: Thank you all so much for the awesome responses - I'm going to talk through the options with my spouse and we'll figure out which to try!

That's pretty far gone, basically that split is beyond economical repair.
But since you asked:
To drain it, it can be drilled from below the deck using a long drill bit, or a slot can be cut using a hacksaw with the blade sideways or reversed, or you could remove rail unit from the house and just use a regular drill.
To dry it you can heat it with a propane torch or heat gun until it stops steaming.
You can then cover the split with duct tape, might be good for a year or two, a better repair of that split seems pointless
Basically to fix this properly you need to replace that bottom rail.  That means removing the unit from the house, cutting out the old rail and welding a new one in.  After that consider having the whole thing hot dip galvanized before  re-coating it and fitting it back onto the house.  The person doing the welding probably knows a place that can do the galvanizing.