Water Main coming into house - is just super cold and keeps the basement cold Just getting out of the winter, although it keeps snowing here in Chicago. Recently moved into a new home, and have a concern regarding the main water line coming into the building.

The water line enters in the basement, at about 6 feet below the surface. Ever since we moved in, we have been fighting trying to keep the basement warm. But where the water line comes in (small little access space between outside wall and inside wall), is just super cold.

I've had a temperature sensor in there for the last 3 weeks, and even when its been 70+ outside (rare lately) the access area for the water line never went over 57.

I understand that since its below the surface, its going to take a while to warm up. Where my concern is:

1 - How is this going to work in the winter? Its keeping the basement cold now, at that depth under ground, does it get any colder?

2 - We added insulation behind the water pipe between the external wall and the pipe to seal off any drafts as best we can. It helped, we got the temperature up a bit more (54 to 57). Im cautious of putting insulation in front of the pipe between the inside wall and pipe as I feel some of the building heat needs to keep that pipe warm. Or are these main water feed pipes built for the cold?

What are the thoughts of helping keeping the basement warmer and not risking reducing the the heat (if needed) to the water pipe?

This question is about thermal mass/intertia.

Suppose you are doing solar panels.  The solar energy (from the panel's perspective) is exactly the same 1 hour after sunrise versus 1 hour before sunset. So why is the house so darn cold in the morning and hot in the evening?

Because it takes time for temperature to change. Heat energy has to actually move, and that takes time.  And insulation is all about making it take more time.

Because it takes time, a funny thing happens underground.  The deeper you are, the less the swing.

So we just talked about the daily heat cycle, which only affects the top couple inches of earth. There is also a yearly thermal cycle - which you know all about because the ground freezes.   Also that awkward midwest time in the spring when the first inch of soil has thawed out, but below it is frozen - so everything turns to mud!

Anyway, if you go deep enough, the water never freezes.

How deep? In Chicago, less than 6 feet - which is why your water line is down there. Freezing destroys water mains.  It never freezes, but never gets warm either.

Your basement is also down there. Same deal.

The water line is not making your basement cool.  Both are cool for the same reasons.


Should I paint over this wallpaper? I’m having a bit of a decision making battle with myself. I’m looking to paint my living room and as I was laying tape down on the trim I saw a piece of wallpaper coming up in a very tucked away spot. I figured not much harm done in pulling it off.

Underneath is what I’m assuming is both another layer of wallpaper (the lower vertical stripes) and something else entirely that doesn’t appear to go all the way up.

My question for you all is, should I risk removing this for the whole room? I heard it might be a pain to remove and it might damage the wall underneath which could make it become expensive. However you can see seams under the current paint layer in spots so I don’t want this to all peel off over time.

The house was built in 1950 and I’m planning on painting with Sherwin Williams Emerald type Matte finish.

Oh boy!!! You definitely want to remove the wallpaper. Paint over wallpaper just doesn't work. You'll never know when it will just start to bubble up. I just removed all the wallpaper in my living room and used hot water in a spray bottle with some "DAWN" dishwater soap squirted into the bottle. Sprayed the walls, let it soak for 5-10 minutes and peeled it off the walls. I had no damage to the walls. Then had to go over it a few times to get all the paste off the walls. It's a messy job but you really need to do it. You really need to soak down the walls.


Open Riser Stairs / Removing carpeting and converting to hardwood We have a staircase from the first floor to the second floor.  The stairs are open riser, with the treads wrapped in carpet.  The reach a landing and then transition to closed risers.

Some treads are a bit loose.  So, we're already working to remove and repair a single tread.

I noticed the treads appear to be solid wood.  Is this an opportunity to replace the treads with solid hardwood or use plywood with a hardwood veneer + bullnose around the existing treads?
Is the process for refurbishing open stairs similar to closed risers:

Remove carpet
Cover treads with thin hardwood or plywood with hardwood veneer
Add bullnose to the front of the tread

A few basic questions:

Is this a conventional project?  I don't see many examples on the web.  This suggest that it is not common.  Why?  Are there important reasons not to replace the carpet on open riser stairs with wood?
What is the conventional method of covering the underside of the tread (see image below)?  The portion of the tread that faces away from those that are traveling up/down the stairs (e.g. the underside of the tread)?
Is adding 1/2 inch to the top of the tread going to make the first step noticeably rise too high?  Will it make the last step before the landing rise too little?

I'll try to address your questions, though they're still a bit nebulous.
Is this an opportunity to replace the treads with solid hardwood?
Sure. Why not? As far as I'm concerned, a weekend presents such an opportunity.
Is this a conventional project?
No. Why does that matter?
The reason may be that there aren't many open-riser stairs to begin with, and it's not often that stair treads get replaced in general. That doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't.
What is the conventional method of covering the underside of the tread?
I'm not quite sure what this means. If you're installing wood treads they'll be wood on the bottom, too. If you're wondering about the steel brackets, I'd paint them or have them powder-coated, maybe. Stainless might be another option if you want high-class. You'd have to have a machine shop cut sections from angle stock and drill for bolts. I might invert them for an exposed style and so you can fit the treads well to the stringer/skirt. Speaking of, obviously you'll need to strip and refinish that.
Is adding 1/2 inch to the top of the tread going to make the first step noticeably rise too high?
Well, it would, but you're reworking your mounts anyway, so you can set them to the proper height.
A few other thoughts...
Tread options that come to mind:

Solid oak (not really that expensive if you buy them from a big box store)
Bullnosed construction-grade pine/fir lumber (2x10 or 12)--I've built such a set in my own home and it was beautiful

Some general notes:

Wooden treads can be slippery; consider placing silica grit in the upper varnish or wrapping them with a thin runner
Open-riser stairs are actually illegal in many cases nowdays for safety reasons--more than a few broken legs have resulted from slips through the void
Recognize that you have fewer stringers than modern stairs; be aware of how much strength and stiffness you'll need in a tread for safety and a quality feel


Mount pergola post at an angle I want to build a pergola similar to the one below and was wondering what to use to connect the posts to the ground (notice how they are at an angle to the vertical)

Also, what is the connector/connection type used for the top angle, so that there are no visible fasteners?

At the ground, you're mostly concerned with keeping the posts located. You don't want bumps to slide them around. A simple steel pin or bolt in the concrete is adequate. If you like, use a short stack of washers to keep the wood (mostly) out of contact with the concrete to improve longevity.

At the top, I'd use 1/2" lag screws, countersunk and piloted. Two at each joint and penetrating 4-5" into the posts should do. You'll want to cap or plug the bores to prevent water accumulation and rot.

All hardware should be stainless or galvanized, in case it's not obvious.


How to insulate around an electrical panel? I’m insulating and putting sheet rock on my garage walls. This is the outside wall and the back side of the electrical meter panel.

The large wire bundle going out of it runs through my attic to my breaker box on the opposite wall. I was wondering the best way to insulate around the box. I planed on using batt insulation and cutting out the space for the box. Is there a better way? Also is there any safety concern or rules about spacing of insulation near the panel?

If you have some space between the meter box and the face of the sheetrock (I think you do but pictures can be misleading) then a sheet of rigid foam insulation of that thickness may give you a bit more insulation right over the box than you'd get from that much fiberglass, or just leaving a hole in the insulation over the box.

Should be no issue with insulation touching the box.


Is it OK to mount a smoke detector vertically? In my basement I have several lolly columns attached to wooden beams that are supporting the floor joists.  On one of these wooden beams I have attached a smoke detector vertically on the side of the beam instead of at the bottom of it, mainly to avoid someone knocking the smoke detector with their head since there is low clearance.  The detector is next to the lolly, not directly over it.

Here's a 2D picture (not to scale):

I can mount the smoke detector to the joist in the typical horizontal ceiling type of fashion, but is it OK to mount it vertically?  Will its effectiveness be reduced or compromised?

You can mount them vertically, but they have to be installed 4-12 inches (spacing usually on the instructions) from the ceiling.  So it might be better to put in on the column than the beam, depending on how large that beam is.

More information from FEMA


seismic upgrade - verifying foundation integrity We want to do a seismic retrofit on our foundation. House built in 1904. No cripple wall. Mud sill with rim joist. Foundations have a recent skim coat (that we did not do). Concrete slab.

So the question: Is there a way we can test the foundations (without doing irremediable damage) in order to test whether the foundations are reasonably solid (for a 100 year old house). For example, drill a 1/2 inch diameter hole and see if the hole maintains its shape? Install an epoxy anchor bolt and see if it holds?
Thx

The issue with old building foundations is usually settling, which shows up as wall cracks. The underlying culprit is generally inadequate footings, if there are any.  A solid foundation still cracks if it settles. Also, a solid foundation isn’t necessarily congruent with a seismic foundation. An earthquake can break any solid foundation.
Foundations designed for seismic activity include flexibility, and/or the capacity to allow for some building sliding back and forth, to ride out the shock waves of an earthquake.
Compression testing (as Sam Lee mentioned) came to mind when you asked about testing see how “solid” the old foundation is. Core samples of your foundation walls are crushed under a hydraulic press. Then you know the compression strength of your concrete (if that’s what the foundation was constructed with), but I don’t think that information is particularly useful. The foundation has been holding up the house for 120 years. It is probably solid enough.
What you want to know, for seismic activity, is how well the foundation sways sideways and rides up and down – to accommodate an earthquakes P and S waves. The solidness of a foundation doesn’t have much to do with its ability to handle a seismic activity.


humidifier trouble beware Why would a humidifier with whirlpool action be pulling air through the floorboards of the lower flat in a two flat house built in the 20's with no insulation, bring fumes into the flat from the watertank with a constant pilot and make the lower flat 75degrees, when the temp outside is 68?  Help im asthmatic have copd and no one believes this is possible, come here see for yourself!

A humidifier works by drawing air through it, and removing the moisture from the air as it passes through. The air that's pushed through has to come from somewhere, and go somewhere else. If the floors are open to allow air to pass, then air certainly might pass between the floors.

If you believe the air currents are causing exhaust fumes to be drawn to you living space, you should have the air tested for byproducts of burning fuels.  This will prove definitively that there's a problem.


Repairing a gap under a eave. Last night I heard scratching in the wall and upon investigation found that a squirrel had managed to knock loose a piece of wood (I assume as there was no covering to be found) in the eaves where one level of roof (over main house) drops down to a second level of roof (over garage). As a temporary measure, as I had no other readily available supplies, I blocked the hole with some scrap wood and nailed in place until I could create a more permanent fix. My question is what would be the best approach.

The external hole itself is approximately 6"x 6" (I say approximately as it is really an isosceles triangle) and seems to be a no brainer (prep a board that I cut to size, nail in place). My question is really for backing behind it. In my limited examination looking into the gap I could see some posts that I believe was some of the beams from the attic. The total gap size is approximately the size of a toaster (could not think of how else to describe it).

Should I try to use some foam spray, and would that work (space seems a bit large for this to work properly) or otherwise fill in the space in some other way? My concern is less the squirrel as I am sure I could seal it well enough to keep it out, but smaller rodents and/or bugs/wasps finding their way in through such a convenient opening if I leave any space at all.

Any suggestions?

They chew, rather determinedly. Keeping them out when they want in is no small task, indeed. One approach with moderate success is to cover the opening with hardware cloth (heavy wire mesh) molded to fit and nailed carefully in place, and then spray foam. Board over the top if you like for appearances sake. The missing wood may well have been chewed away rather than knocked loose, given their usual mode of operation. Keep an eye out for new holes being chewed elsewhere on the house.


How can I add arc-fault protection to circuits in this panel? In my sub-panel that services the home I have 4 separate 20 amp circuit breakers all strapped together to trip all if one trips. On these individual circuits are the garbage disposal, clothes washer, dishwasher and all GFCI circuits? I want to install arc fault breakers but need more slots or room. I would like to remove the 30 amp and 50 amp breakers and install tandem 30/20 and 50/20 and use the strapped together circuits on those 20 amp tandems; is this possible?

Any electrician who looks at this would consider that subpanel 'maxed out' ... Not necessarily due to the technicalities of the code to squeeze another circuit or two in with complex tandems but because of the amount of wire packed into that small box and the extreme of things taken to extremes - meaning the multitude of tandem breakers. Generally tandems are used for squeezing in 'one more' or properly upgrading a bath or kitchen on a tight panel. While possible to expand this box is a bit fully loaded as it is.

I would suggest getting a larger subpanel and trying to keep as much as possible as single, standard breakers. You can keep the feed wire and originating circuit breaker (in other panel) the same as long as you're not planning on adding more load. But a new metal panel box is going to be a similar price to a number of $20-30 complex tandems and tandem arc fault breakers.

Here's a subpanel for $75


Do I need a stairway for egress from a balcony that's off a second floor bedroom? I have a rental cottage.  It has two stories with a bedroom and bath on the second floor that are accessed by spiral staircase. The bedroom opens onto a 4'x13' balcony which is 16 feet above a courtyard.  Does Massachusetts building code require a stairway from the balcony to the ground?

Spiral staircases are allowed if they meet the specs (780 CMR 5311.5.8.1), but as with any bedroom, you have to have a second means of egress in an emergency (Sec. 5310). This can be a window in the bedroom, provided it meets the requirements. I don't see any requirement that a window be under a certain height from the ground. I recommend calling the local building inspector to be sure--your county or city may have more stringent requirements than the state building code.


Tandem breaker needs both thrown to break circuit. Incorrectly wired? I have a tandem circuit breaker in my main breaker box with two 20 amp breakers. To turn off power my wife's office, I need to throw both breakers. I can throw either one and as long as the other is on, the circuit is still live.

My guess is the electrician who installed this tandem breaker wired it in parallel. In other words, current is flowing through both breakers when closed and both have to be open for it to break the circuit. Does that sound right?

If so, my understanding is that it would take 40 amps of current to flow before this breaker would trip. (20 amps X 2 = 40 amps because it's in parallel)

They used 12 AWG wire on the circuit. That means the wire would basically catch fire before the circuit would actually break. This seems incredibly dangerous.

Are my assumptions correct in this case? I'd like to know so I can get a electrician out to inspect the wiring, since I've spotted a few other oddities in this house.

Intentionally wiring the two breakers together in the breaker box would be a really stupid (borderline malicious) thing to do.

My guess is that there are supposed to be two independent circuits, but someone has somehow unintentionally joined them together in a junction box or outlet box somewhere along the circuit.

This could be pretty complex. I would recommend having an electrician come check out the situation.

If I were solving this, here is what I would do:

Work carefully! It's a dangerous situation when you can't be sure the power is off. Assume every box you encounter is live. You'll want a contact-less voltage sensor.
Open the breaker box and verify that there are two 12/2 cables entering, the black wire of each connected directly to one lug on the tandem breaker.
Start drawing a diagram, including every switch and outlet involved.
Turn off both breakers.
Open a box that's affected, and disconnect the black wires from the device. Cap off the wires. I would start with the box that you think would be closest to the breaker box and first on the circuit.
Turn a breaker on, one at a time, and note which wires/devices still have power. This will help you figure out which wire heads upstream / downstream. Label the wires with numbers or descriptions (if you can write small enough) e.g. "From hall switch"
Repeat until you have the situation mapped out.
Report back here to tell the curious people what you found.


Placing a roof terrace on XPS insulation I have a roof terrace on a flat roof, which I'm planning to take apart to clean the boards themselves and the roof underneath, which is currently full of moss and other junk preventing rainwater from running off. In a builders report it was recommended that the roof be insulated on the outside to prevent the wood from rotting due to condensation coming off the cold roof.

Since the terrace is coming off anyway I figured I'd place some XPS insulation on the roof before putting the terrace back on. As far as I can tell, you are supposed to put the terrace right on top of the XPS tiles, but are those things really strong enough to carry the load of a terrace + furniture + several people? I'm kind of hesitant of putting all that stuff on a block of foam.

The terrace, by the way, consists of boards screwed to three perpendicular beams which rest on some rubber tiles, on the bitumen. So technically the entire load would be upon the areas directly beneath those rubber tiles.

Yes, the tiles will hold.
If you look up the specs, they are even used under concrete in factory floors.
Just make sure the surface is flat. If you lay them on uneven surface, they will bend and break.
Also it would help if you showed a picture..


When I flush my upstairs toilet, the downstairs toilet floods and then slowly drains. What's happening? Like my long title says, downstairs toilet is flooding after either of my upstairs one flush but then it slowly drains. It drains to where there is almost no water in the base, past the normal point. The downstairs' toilet's tank also has bubbles rise up from some black cylinder part. I am obviously not a plumbing expert and just looking for advice. A family member says we have to snake the toilet, is that what we should do?

Tyson's response in comment is spot on. Without knowing your house layout, you can follow the drain from the downstairs toilet to where it meets the pipe for the drain from the upstairs toilet.

Once you identify the drains intersection, look for another drain from any sink anywhere in the home that is PAST the intersection of the two toilets pipes AND closer to the main sewer drain.

If there is a sink, run water in it full, drain it, time it. Do it again, but this time flush the toilet. See if the water drains slow. This is just a simple test if do-able to "guess" whether there is a plug/buildup in the pipe where the toilets meet. Problem areas often will be at bends, turns, or where pipes are joined together. If there is buildup on the outside of the pipe, it could be a sign of buildup inside too.

There is even a possibility your issue is tree roots or broken sewer out to the main - it can be a pricey job and will only get worse.

If you can snake it, and are alright with opening the clean outs, go for it. Otherwise call a plumber. And be aware - if you were to snake haphazardly, you can do more damage than may already exist, especially if the pipes are old/brittle.


Is it alright to run furnace and turn off gas? Is running a furnace with the gas pipe shut can cause any harm to furnace?

I presume you want to do this just to circulate air? Do you have a thermostat connected to the furnace? If you do, you might have an option to turn the blower on manually.

If so, you could set the system "off" (cooling, heating, off), then turn on the blower and let it run without worrying about the furnace continually triggering the igniter or locking out. Or maybe you can put your thermostat in "heat" mode, turn the setting up higher than the actual temperature and turn the blower on. The blower will run, but the furnace won't try to ignite and it won't matter whether the gas is turned on or off.

For example, the Honeywell thermostat pictured below lets you turn the blower on whether the thermostat of set for Heat, Off or Cool.


Is there a way to buy a sink stopper clevis separately? My bathroom sink stopper is broken because of a missing clevis. The rods are there, but nothing connects them. I can obviously replace the whole thing, but I would like to buy only a clevis if possible.

On Amazon and HD/Lowe's web sites they only sell full kits, not parts.

Is there a way to buy a clevis separately? (Not necessarily the sink stopper one -- anything that would solve the problem.)

Home Depot shows Delta #RP12516. It should be a somewhat universal part. Any brand should fit. If they don't stock it they can order it. I would first try a local hardware store they are likely to carry a store brand for less than a Delta part. You will also need the clip that attaches the rod to the pivot lever.


When is priming a wall for painting necessary? Say you just want to freshen up the walls of your apartment using the original paint color - the standard instruction is you need to prime the walls and then apply two coats. All these guides however assume you are painting a different colour.

The walls in my apartment are pretty new, the apartment itself is only 8 years old. The color is a very soft light neutral tone - probably the best way to describe it is a warm off white.

Is it necessary to prime the walls under these circumstances?

And also, how do I determine if more than one coat will be necessary?

There is no reason for priming when freshening up a wall or even changing color for that fact.  If your wall looks in relatively good shape the only area that might need primer are the corners.  Primer will hold better on corners much better than regular paint - as standard latex on metal can basically rub off after curing.


How to wire black and white wires from new light to existing wiring while installing a new light to replace the existing i found that there was only the black wire that was being used from the box. both the red and white wire in the box ran straight thru the box and were not being used. how can i hook up the new light that has black and white wires?

My working theory is that the old light was built without neutral wires, because the builder gained the kindergarten knowledge that equipment safety ground is typically bonded to neutral back in the main panel.  Therefore (neutral) current can be returned on safety ground if you totally disregard the purpose of safety ground and neglect the very serious safety implications of misusing it.

Often in a custom lamp, the lamp is 99% creative inspiration by a master of metalwork or other non-electrical craft, and 1% electrical wiring tossed in as an afterthought with no skill in the domain.


Can an outlet for a dishwasher be located below the floor? I am not a handy person, so I had family members install a new dishwasher. When they finished, I noticed that this was how the electrical was installed. The dishwasher was plugged into a new outlet installed in the garage level below it. The plug runs through a hole in the kitchen subfloor behind the dishwasher and into the garage. I assume this is not to code, but I figured I'd ask. I want to make sure it's done right.

If not acceptable, is the solution to bring the outlet to beneath the sink next to the dishwasher and do it that way?

Thanks in advance.

You are correct, the issue here is the cord and plug for the dishwasher running through the floor.

  400.8 Uses Not Permitted. Unless specifically permitted
  in 400.7, flexible cords and cables shall not be used for the
  following:
  ...
  (2) Where run through holes in walls, structural ceilings,
  suspended ceilings, dropped ceilings, or floors

Running the cord inside the cabinetry does not break this rule.

Contrary to other answers, in my opinion, the cord and plug connection for the dishwasher is perfectly fine and makes it easy to disconnect power.


Can an outlet be installed at a splice? In the bathroom in my new house there is a blank wallplate. When I remove the wallplate, I see the wires in the following photo. When I asked the builder's electrician, he said that this was a Jacuzzi splice. Since I didn't get a jacuzzi/jetted tub, this is just extra wiring that has no purpose and was put in because wiring was done before I made selections.

I was hoping I could put in an extra outlet here, but was told I could do nothing with it. Is that accurate? If this is wired into a circuit/breaker it would be great to make use of electricity in this location.

Can you confirm whether or not I can use this extra wiring for any useful purpose, or indeed, as the electrician said - its only purpose would have been to control the water jets and it can't be used for anything else. Let me know if there is something I can easily check if it's not clear from just looking at the photo.

Nope, because it's a receptacle in a bathroom

Any receptacle you add in any bathroom must be on a circuit that follows one of these rules.

The circuit serves ONLY bathroom receptacles, and nothing else - no receptacles outside bathrooms, no fixed loads of any kind.  These bathroom receptacles can be in any number of bathrooms.
The circuit serves ONLY loads in this bathroom - other receptacles here, light, fan, heat lamp, etc.   But every load this circuit serves must be in this bathroom.

If the circumstances of this circuit qualify it for either one, then you can use it.  Otherwise, the advice you received is correct.


why is there a gap between the carpet tack strip and the wall? This house was built in 1951.   The house was "flipped" and the previous owner put in builder grade carpet with no carpet pad.

When I pulled up the carpet observed this odd gap between the carpet tack strip and the wall.  It looks like someone removed a strip of the concrete foundation.  The strip is about 3/4 inch deep and 1.5 inch wide.

Has anyone ever seen anything like this before?

Usually the tack strips are away from the wall to provide room for the carpet to go over the tacks then under the mouldings. It looks like your mouldings are flush on the wall but that could just be my phone not providing enough resolution.


Kill baseboard pests without killing dog I have baseboard heating that goes all over my house. Since I bought this house nine months ago I've been hearing some noises coming from the baseboards on occasion especially at night. Like pinging, scurrying down there but I never saw anything so I thought maybe it was just the water moving through the pipes.

Well I heard it again and I just saw what's causing it for a half second. Some animal quickly ran from my closet into the heating duck where I can hear it but I can't see it. I think it was probably a mouse but it happened so fast I couldn't really tell.

I would like to immediately go by rat traps and a bunch of poison and stuff but what about my dog? I can't keep her away from the baseboards because they are everywhere. I'm upset with her for not having already caught and killed this thing but I don't want her to get poisoned or mousetrapped.

Do not use poison if you care about your dog. The modern version of Warfarin is deadly to dogs. Even if the dog does not get to the poison baits, it could prey on a mouse or rat which is slowed from being poisoned. In addition wild predators and scavengers can be poisoned by consuming poisoned rodents.

Use snap traps put inside enclosure boxes designed for that purpose. I use these JT Eaton No. 401 snap trap station and I use the TomCat rat snap traps. In Dallas TX we don't have mice, but do have rats. Juvenile rats are small and could be mistaken for mice, but mice are much smaller. My brother in rural MA has mice.

I have very successfully used these devices on rats outside around the perimeter of the house and under bird feeders in the yard. But right now I have a rat roaming the house at night and I have not been able to entice it into a trap in two weeks of trying.

EDIT SUCCESS got up at 2:30 am (30 Jan 2017) to let our elderly dog out into the backyard found an adult rat (140 g brown rat aka Norway rat Rattus norvegicus) dead in the Tomcat black plastic snap trap inside the Eaton box. These traps are much easier to set than the old Victor traps.

But two days ago, frustrated and exasperated with finding rat feces every morning in the den,  I bought two of the old Victor traps and put them in another box placed adjacent to the box that had been there for a least two weeks.

I thought maybe the rat wouldn't recognize the Victor trap. These are very hard to set--I guess one has to get the procedure down. Decades ago I knew how to do it, but in handling them I failed to recognize that I had set one and was handling it set thinking it was not. It did not trip, but could have with consequences to me. If you are distracted handing an old Victor trap you can get nailed. I am sure it could break a finger. I don't want to think about what it would do to a dog's muzzle or to a child's hand.

One critical factor is to deprive an indoor rat of all food sources except what is in the traps. Before catching this rat I unloaded and pulled back a bookshelf with a recess under it. A rat had stashed a pile of dog food there. I cleaned it up and we made sure we had no dog food left in an accessible bowl overnight.


A better USB receptacle I've been waiting for a receptacle equipped with USB to come out that supports adaptive charging. Adaptive charging actually changes the output voltage to like 9 volts when an appropriate devices connected.
These 2 or 3 amp USB outlets take like 10 hours to charge my phone

That amount of time renders them essentially useless. My adaptive charger will charge my phone in about an hour and a half.
I've been unable to source in adaptive charging receptacle at the big box stores or Amazon and the like.
Question
Does anybody, perhaps on the commercial side of things know of any adaptive charging receptacle? Actually it doesn't even have to be a receptacle just in wall adaptive charger would be sufficient.
side note
My automotive adaptive fast charger is made by Samsung
I do have a adaptive fast charger wall adapter from Samsung I have purchased many. My problem is that the kids always take the damn things and they go missing. In light of Harper's answer I think I will stick to the wall adapters and possibly take this question to the Parenting Stack Exchange. LOL.

Stop. Using. USB. Receptacles.

Seriously.

The things are far less reliable than a plain receptacle and a charging block from any reputable vendor.

For instance you may remember the epidemic of 2-socket (car, battery pack, etc.) USB chargers where one socket was 2.1A and the other was 1.0A, not interchangeable, you had to know which one to plug in. Why did this same exact heuristic appear on thousands of brands of the things?   All those devices are simply some commodity hardware wrapped around one specialty IC chip made by Texas Instruments.

Further, they are always way, way, way behind the times. Take the iPad, which is not a new product. It charges at a 2A rate.  I had not seen a 2A-rate receptacle until quite recently, and even it just trotted out that old TI chip with the 2A/1A deal. Why?

Remember our friend "Good. Fast. Cheap. Pick two"?

Not that... but that same sort of balance of limitations of

core competency at getting receptacles to clear UL listing
skill in low-voltage DC design
ability to rapidly innovate and take market risks

USB receptacles have to go through their very own UL listing process.  As such, they get built by people who are good at building receptacles.  That is not necessarily compatible with the other two.  Leviton is a blue-chip company that makes blue-chip items on commodity price margins. They are not out on the bleeding edge innovating like Apple, nor do they have the technology momentum or high profit margin to eat mistakes.

Since the company doesn't have a fortune to risk on this specialty product, they're not going to fast track it through UL listing.  So they'll plod through the process in the usual way, assuring they arrive late to the market.

Further, the company is not going to create anything cutting-edge because it's uncertain that new standard will actually adopt. That's why they were so skittish about 2A charge rate for so long - they didn't even start the development cycle until they were sure the iPad etc. would really take the market.  Now you're talking about some goofball protocol that I've not heard of, that I'm guessing may be proprietary to some brand of phone?

Oh yeah. Licensing.

Because they are retrofits onto the standard USB scheme, they need to be backward compatible. Which means there may be some fairly proprietary tech, not least in making sure you don't accidentally send 9V to an old Kindle and set it on fire. For that you need very good understanding of the advanced standard.

For that you either need direct support of a manufacturer with core competency in the field, or a rather stupendous engineering department of your own whose costs you could not possibly recover selling USB receptacles at a pricepoint that'll compete.

Noting that Very Few USB receptacle buyers even know the difference and your competitor will eat your lunch 95% of the time if his USB socket is $1 less (but only supports 1.0A).  The leading-edge-device USB snob market is just not big enough to support the risk and innovation needed to build what they want as soon as they want it. They are also the most likely to whine, return, and write blistering product reviews online.

Also, the more complex your product, the more returns you must accept because of the moron factor, people misapplying your product and blaming you.

Why don't the technology giants drive this?

Because building a receptacle is also hard.

Apple has never made a receptacle in their life, and would eat development time struggling through blunders like forgetting to make the passthru 20A instead of 15A.  Besides, Apple is a company that achieved greatness by saying "no".  They don't even make a display.

How about our clever friends to the east?

You certainly don't want Sum Ting Wong Import Co. Ltd. selling receptacles on AliBaba. Oh look, speak of the devil. Notice how that junkheap is "Sold by abbotech and fulfilled by Amazon"? That's the mark of Alibaba-tier junk that is dropshipped straight from Shenzhen to the Amazon Fulfillment warehouse, and has faked safety listings.  Amazon considers itself "only an agent" similar to eBay or AliExpress.

Why doesn't Amazon buy it direct and do "Sold By and Ships From Amazon" like this Leviton here? Because then, Amazon would  be the legal importer and would be legally responsible to assure its compliance with UL and all safety regulations.  Same as Home Depot and Target are obliged to assure their goods comply with all safety regs.  That is impossible given that the Cheese cheapie has no chance of ever passing muster at any reputable testing lab. That's why the company fakes it or just slaps on a CE and calls it good.


What is the optimal duty cycle for a furnace? A heat load calculation of my home says it requires ~36K BTU/hr of heat at a normal winter temperature (40°F), and ~52K BTU/hr at the design temperature (24°F).

An HVAC contractor has proposed installing a 95% efficiency two stage furnace that operates at either 60K BTU or 39K BTU. This makes me wonder what the optimal duty cycle is for a furnace. It seems that on a 24°F day, my furnace will be running 82% of the time. I'm unclear how a two stage furnace would split operation between high and low, so I don't know how much it would run on a 40°F outdoor temperature.

How much of an hour should be a furnace be running for optimal comfort or optimal efficiency, if they're different?

100%. Won't happen with most systems (some inverter-drive heat pumps may come close), but the optimal situation would be for the heat delivery to exactly match the load, so the furnace ran all the time, and there were no standby losses.

The furnace your contractor has chosen seems like a reasonable choice IF the heat loss calculations are accurate.

As to why this is the case, one is the standby (non-operating time losses) such as heat going up the flue of a gas furnace (much less so with power-vented furnaces without a "stack") and the other is a comfort issue, best envisioned where you have a vastly oversized system that might run 5% of the time - so 5% of the time it's blowing uncomfortably hot air, and 95% of the time the house is cooling and areas near outside walls may get uncomfortably cold. With a less-oversized system that runs more of the time, heat is delivered more gently and more of the time.


How to mount curtain rails so block-out curtains are closer to the wall? I have installed curtains with 2 curtain rails. The second rail (furthest from window) has blockout curtains, but as you can see from the picture, they are quite far from the wall.

This results in light escaping around the side of the curtains - and the room is not dark at all! (as we would wish, total darkness).
How can I remount the curtain rails?
The bracket is a square shaped "arm" and then 2 pieces shaped like a loop and a small arm with a screw. There are 2 separate "loop" arms affixed to the square bracket arm above them.
Here is the manufacturer drawing (with one "loop" attachment, whereas I use two).

My initial thought is to just flip the loop arms so that they are closer to the wall. This would win me about an inch / 2 cm... but I would like to move the second rail closer than this.
Does anyone have any good advice?
Thanks

Consider adding a small hook to the "outside" of the hanger bracket (the side facing the side wall in the image provided), then pulling the blackout curtain around the corner and hanging the last curtain hook on this new hook. That should pull the whole curtain around the corner and cut out a significant additional light leakage.
If that's still not sufficient, hang small panel straight down from the curtain rod support brackets. Light doesn't travel around corners very well, so these "side blockers" should also cut out a significant amount of light.
You may need to combine both options.


How can I install a Miele Washer and Dryer that use a 240V/15A splitter? I recently purchased a washer/dryer set at auction. I was in need of a new set due to troubles with our current washer and wasn't all that happy with it when it was working. So, I when I found a Miele set available through an auction, I decided that I had to have them. It turns out that this series of Miele washer, the Touchtronic 1119, has a plug identical to the dryer.

Adding another circuit to the breaker panel is not an option, so I figured that I was SOL. However, after doing some research, I learned that Miele used to sell a 240v/30amp splitter, which didn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

I found the manuals online. Each brochure states that the appliances only need 15 amps. Links and excerpts below:

From the dryer manual:

  The dryer comes with a 5 ft long, 12/4
  AWG cord and a NEMA 14-30 P plug.
  It should be connected to a
  120/208-240 V, 15 A, 60 Hz AC power
  supply. A 3 pole-4 wire grounding
  power outlet (NEMA type 14-30 R) is
  necessary.

https://www.mieleusa.com/forms2/us/sa/manuals-125.aspx?mNo=06610660&asDownload=1

From the Washing machine manual:

  The washing machine is supplied with a
  5’ 3" (1.6 m) long, 4 wire cord, ending in
  a NEMA 14-30 P plug, ready for
  connection to a 120/208-240 V, 15 A,
  60 Hz, AC power supply.

https://www.mieleusa.com/forms2/us/sa/manuals-125.aspx?mNo=06523260&asDownload=1

With information collected from the brochure, I was able to find some images of the "splitter" from an old ebay auction. The seller, thankfully, opened the box to show the internals. See below:

Miele 240v, 30 amp splitter:

External:

Internal:

I'm in no way an electrician, but that looks fairly simplistic. If I were to build my own, these are the parts that I would buy.

Replacement dryer cable.
Metal project box.
2 NEMA 14-30R outlets
Screw terminal, twist connectors, or 3 wire connectors.
3AB 15 Amp Fuses and holder!?

Having reviewed the image a few times, I have to ask:

Q1: Are the fuses be necessary with the existing 30 amp breaker?

Q2: And, if they are not necessary, then can I just add a second receptacle to the existing one?

One of the details that I have yet to mention was that the washing machine came with an outlet. It looks like the owner just ripped it out of the wall. I had planned to discard, but after doing all of this research, I wonder:

Q3: Did the previous owners have the same "Just add a second outlet" idea??

As I see it, these are my options:

Add a second receptacle inline with the dedicated dryer outlet.
Build my own splitter.
Wait for another "splitter" to become available, at a reasonable price.
Bite the bullet, add a breaker and run an extra dedicated line.

Q4: What are the issues and risks with the above options? Possibly illegal? (I ordered them from cheapest to most expensive; I'd expect that the order is, also, riskiest to least risky.)

The inside of the dryer receptacle box (it's a 10-30R) is shown below.

First step: receptacle replacement

Your existing receptacle is a 10-30R.  This will need to be replaced with a 14-30R in order to plug either of your new appliances in.  Furthermore, it appears you have aluminum wiring, so this will be a bit trickier than usual, but not impossible for a DIY job.  Of course, if you are more comfortable calling in an electrician to deal with this, they'll be able to take care of it without too much trouble, and may be able to bring better stuff to bear on this job than you can.

For doing this yourself, you'll want:

A NEMA 14-30R receptacle of the flushmount type
Some short lengths of 10AWG copper THHN (black/red/white/bare if you want to insist on color codes, or you can use white as a universal donor with some tape flags for hots and wire stripping for the bare ground) for pigtailing the receptacle.
3 port Al7Cu or Al9Cu insulated screw lugs rated for 8AWG/10AWG wire
Anti-oxidant compound if called for by the connectors used
And a torque screwdriver, as the requirement for it got added in the 2017 NEC (you can get one at the orange borg or online for $60 these days)

Once you have the breaker off, you can undo and pull out the existing receptacle, and also undo the ground from the box lug at this point.  Toss the old receptacle as you won't need any more of it.  Fit the cut and stripped pigtails to the new receptacle, using your torque screwdriver to torque things down to specification.  If called for in the connector instructions, apply anti-oxidant compound to the ends of the existing wires. Then, use the screw lugs to connect the pigtails to the existing wires, matching the pigtails up with the corresponding wires and using the torque screwdriver to torque the terminal screws down to specification. Stuff everything into the box (it may be tight) and screw the new receptacle in before turning the power back on and using a meter to check your work for the correct voltages.

Now: time for two 30A receptacles on one 30A circuit

There is absolutely nothing in the NEC that prohibits placing two 30A receptacles on the same 30A branch circuit.  Neither 210.21(B)(3) nor 210.23(B) forbid this -- in fact, you could say that the Code explicitly provides for this exact case (otherwise there wouldn't be a line for 30A receptacles in Table 210.21(B)(3)).

Unfortunately, I don't know enough about how your house is built or where you want the 2nd receptacle on your wall to be able to instruct you further here.  (This job will likely require you to tear out a bit of drywall, too.)  The instructions above will leave you in a good position to do it or have an electrician do it, though.

Bonus!  Your breaker box should be replaced at the earliest opportunity available!

You have a Zinsco panel -- while they don't quite have the sordid failure history of FPE's line of non-breakers, Zinscos should be replaced at the earliest opportunity available as their track record is poor, relative to something like a CH or a QO.


Rolled vinyl flooring ... on a wall? I'm (slowly) remodelling a bathroom, and have a shower-stall kit that includes thin plastic sheets to glue to the walls.  I'm debating if I want to tear out what I have now and replace it with cement board and fully tile it.

I was thinking that rolled vinyl flooring has come a long way recently, and maybe I could put that up on the walls?  I'm thinking a non-water based contact adhesive like from DAP would give good hold.

Is this a spectacularly bad idea?  Would I need to seal or treat it for this use?  Are there any companies that make a product intended for what I'm planning to do?  (a lighter-weight product that doesn't need to have the wearability of something you'd be walking on; there seem to be plenty of 'direct to stud' type shower walls available, but those are only available in a limited number of sizes and significantly more expensive)

Surrounds are rigid for a reason. You're likely to have bulges and edges coming loose just because vinyl flooring is flexible.

The adhesives designed for vinyl floor are not instant-grab. This means that you'd need to somehow hold the vinyl tight to the wall and perfectly flat for a day or more. You could use panel or contact adhesive, but this means you get one shot to get it right. It's partly for that reason that surround kits are in multiple pieces. I shudder at the thought of installing a three-wall sheet in one motion.

It's not the worst idea ever had, but it's a recipe for a lot of sweating and swearing, and it may not hold up to the test of time as you'd hope.


Can I remove remaining studs below already installed load bearing beam? I recently purchased a two story building that had a load bearing wall removed and a beam installed.  When the beam was installed there was about 3 feet of paneling and studs that was not removed below the beam.  Is there any reason why I wouldn't be able to remove the the paneling and studs to be flush with the bottom of the beam? Thanks for the input.

I don’t understand the pictures, nor do I see where the remaining studs are located (seen in the photo).

However, in general, roof and floor loads are designed to be transferred all the way down through walls, posts, etc. to the foundation (and ultimately to the soil).

Someone removed part of a bearing wall and added a beam in the past, which caused the loads to be transferred differently to the foundation. Removing a few studs and leaving a few studs means that some of the loads are still being transferred through those remaining studs and into the existing foundation. If you remove those studs, you’ll increase loads to the beam and concentrate loads to the posts at the end of the beam and ultimately to the existing slab (which is not a footing).

If the beam, posts, footing, etc. are not adequately sized, they could fail. In order to know if the studs can be removed, someone will need to track the loads and verify each support and connection. Without a drawing or more info about what is above (and below) the studs, it’ll be difficult to make a judgment about removing those studs.

I’d recommend an architect or a structural engineer (not a civil engineer) to review your situation.

(Note: If there’s a refrigerator or waterbeds directly above those studs, I’d guess you cannot remove the remaining studs.)


How do I convert an existing electrical panel to a subpanel? I'm going to upgrade my existing electrical service from 100 amps to 200 amps.  Along with the service upgrade, I'll be moving the location of the service drop (part of a larger home remodel).  I want to keep the existing 100A panel (which mostly serves old K&T and original NM spec wiring) as a subpanel.  I'll add new circuits to the new 200A panel, and over time decommission the circuits fed by the 100A panel.

I'll add a 100A breaker in the new panel.  But my existing panel has a non-removable main breaker (rated at 100A).  Is this allowed?

Are there other considerations?

Main breaker

There's no problem with having a main breaker in a subpanel. It's required if your panel is in a separate building and has more than six breakers, but there's nothing prohibiting it in any other case.

Wire size

You need to ensure the wire between the panels is sufficient size. See What wire gauge do I need for a 100 Amp subpanel at the end of a 60' wire run?

Neutral-ground bond

You need to ensure the only bond between ground and neutral is in the main panel. The subpanel must have separate ground and neutral bus bars. Since your panel is used a main panel now, it will currently have a bond between ground and neutral, so that'll have to be removed.

It's usually a metal bar or connector that screws between the two bus bars, or between the cabinet and neutral bar.
If you currently have neutrals and grounds mixed on both bus bars, you'll have to separate them out
If you have only a single bus bar (with grounds and neutrals mixed) you'll have to add a neutral bar (which is not bonded to the cabinet). Check with manufacturer first to see if they have a documented way of doing this. If not, I'd suggest you check with your AHJ (inspector) first to be sure whatever you do will be acceptable.


What are my options for plugging holes in soffit for security cameras? I've recently installed some security cameras, but due to attic access through the soffit, I ended out having to drill some holes away from where the cameras were actually mounted. What are my options for plugging these holes?

One YouTube video I watched, the guy used some low-profile junction box, but I can't seem to find anything of similar size, for under like $10/each.
Can I just cut a piece of wood, route a channel for the cable, and then screw that to my (wooden) soffit? A 4"x4" piece of wood would be plenty large enough to cover the hole and have room for screws left over. Or is there something besides "junction box" that I should be searching for?

You can plug the hole with exterior silicone caulking. It comes in squeeze tubes or caulking gun tubes. That's probably all you need.
For a more aesthetic finish, and a hard cover to prevent stubborn rodents to bite through (though unlikely needed), you can apply a an exterior cable cover. This is best done in one step, with the caulking still fresh and uncured.


Support for crawlspace beams Bought my house in 2018. The beam in crawlspace is supported with some rusted plates on top of concrete, possibly to fix sagging over the years. My floor feels bouncy and I believe I should have better support to reduce the bounce. Could you please advise what to replace the plates with.

I see no "steel plates" that support the beams. In fact the bottom flat plate is an integral part of the the I-Beam itself.
If you look at the attached enlarged view....

... you can see that the lower flat face of the I-Beam is actually supported on some wooden tapered wedges. These are in turn appearing to be sitting on some whiteish colored bricks. These could be fire bricks or even concrete bricks (it is hard to tell from the pictures).
The floor "bounce" that you are experiencing may very well be very slight deflections of the I-Beam itself. You could experiment with some temporary adjustable support posts under these I-Beams at mid span to see if that offers any significant change in the floor bounce that you experience.


How do I avoid breaking the screwhead with Impact Driver I am a total newbie on DIY woodcraft. I am trying to drill a screw in the wood using impact driver but the screw head breaks up. Do i need to put a hole on the wood first? What I do is directly use my impact driver to drill the screw with the screw.

Thanks

For speed and precision, I do two things.

I pre-drill the hole.  That is especially important on hardwood.  I often use special drill bits made for screws which include the countersink.

I drive with a speed wrench and a bit holder.   This gives speed, control and superb tactile feedback that tells you immediately when you are having some kind of a drive problem.  Once you get the knack, it becomes basically impossible to break a screw.

Also, I don't use drywall screws for anything but drywall.  If you want a screw like that, use deck screws and consider star or square drive.


Bend wooden bedframe back into shape? I have a wooden bed frame, for which one of the sides is very slightly bent out (as shown in the picture). I would like to get it straightened because the slight bending out means that the slats that support the mattress on that side aren't held in place as firmly, so occasionally fall out. The bed is about 7 years old and unfortunately the shop that sold me the bed has gone bust in the meantime - so I don't think there's any reasonable chance of getting a replacement.
Is there any reasonable way to fix this? I don't know that much about DIY, but wood doesn't seem like a good material for simply bending back into shape.
(NB. Picture shows the bottom corner of the bed at the front of the picture not fully in place, with a gap showing. Don't worry about this - the bed was disassembled for room redecoration and I haven't yet fully reassembled it, hence the gap)

A pair of screen door turnbuckles would work well. Mount them from below with stout screws piloted into the wooden rails, one from the headboard and one from the footboard at 45° angles. Start with them just threaded in a few turns, then you can tighten to straighten the side rail.
The centerboard should keep the head and foot boards from bending.

_____________________________________________ _
_____________________________________________| |
  ^-- headboard         ⟍                    | |
                          ⟍                  | |
                            ⟍                | |
                              ⟍              | |<-- sideboard
                                ⟍            | |
                                  ⟍          | |
                                    ⟍        | |
                                      ⟍      | |
                                        ⟍    | |
                                          ⟍  | |
                                            ⟍| |
                                             | |
                                             | |


What Material for Basement Walls? I have a basement that's pretty big and has wood paneling all around. My wife and I hate the paneling since it's dark and has grooves spaced throughout it as part of the texture. So naturally we're thinking about removing it and replacing it with a different material like drywall. The problem comes in that we've had cracks in the basement walls (we have a raised basement and the floor is ~4 ft below the ground) with some seepage. We've had those cracks repaired and everything is fine now. One nice thing about the wood paneling is that the panels are really easy to remove and hang back up which makes crack repair hassle free. Drywall that's been hung nicely will not share this quality.

Are there any other materials that someone can suggest for a wall? Something nice that I can paint white and remove easily if a new crack develops? I had someone suggest cement board but I wanted to get some other suggestions.

If it was me I would just paint the paneling it doesn't look that bad with at least 3 coats of paint. You can even fill in the grooves with wood filler or spackle.

There is several basement systems that use panels but to have it installed is very expensive and I have not been able to find the panels to buy.


Moisture in the bathroom is bubbling lead paint - how do I seal it? I live in a home built in the 1930s. The bathroom has been poorly remodeled at least twice. At the last remodel, before I moved in, the work wasn't finished. Within the shower everything is fine, but the paint on the arched wall on the shower/tub's exterior, which was left exposed at the last remodel, is bubbling away because of moisture. I've recently tested this area and found that it has traces of lead.

I am looking for a solution to seal the exposed section of wall without disturbing the lead paint. I don't have a true HEPA shopvac, which I feel prevents me from dealing with the lead paint and taking this wall down to the surface and starting from scratch. I won't be living in this home more than another year and I don't have a lot of experience doing DIY work. Would using a sealer like Zinsser Gardz work? The aesthetics of the fix don't matter - my only concern is preventing further disturbance or pulverization of the lead paint.

There is a section of this wall that is covered in broken plaster. Would finishing up the wall with some type of plaster repair compound do the trick?

I'm looking for solutions that I could implement myself. If this isn't possible and this is a problem a professional should tackle, I will take that under consideration.

I was researching exactly the same thing and came across a few products that does not require you to scrape the paint off.

EcoBond - you paint the surface and it will react with the lead.


How would I connect several speakers to an amplifier for multi room sound? I would be happy if anyone can help me with the following project I wish to build :

I have an old amplifier 4ohm impedance with A and B zones, support for mono and stereo and playing A and\or B. I would like to connect the followings to that amplifier :

2 speakers for stereo in room A
2 speakers for stereo in room B
1 speaker in room C (mono)
1 speaker in room D (mono)

I would like these speakers to allow me to :

play an input from the amplifier and listen to it in all rooms simultaneously
when playing simultaneously , I would like to have stereo in rooms A and B
when simultaneously, I would like to have full sound in room C and D (mono), and not just left or right sound.

Inputs :

Phono (turntable)
mobile phone \ ipod
tv

How may I accomplish it ? how can I wire the speakers and the amplifier ?
what kind of speakers would I need and would they all have to be the exact same model for this to work ?

You start by having all wires run directly to where the amplifier is. If each room is going to have an impedence-matching volume control knob then you run your speakers to that knob and then from that to the amp.

Do not chain or parallel wire you speakers in wall. Even though 8 Ohm speakers might be ok in parallel for your 4 Ohm amplifier you should make that circuitry outside of the wall at the amp location.

You can't just combine left and right outputs and form mono sound. You'll need a device which can mix the stereo inputs into a mono output. If you want to do this it is likely you will need to have pre-outs on your receiver, and a second amplifier stage for rooms C and D.

My suggestion would be not to bother with mono in rooms C and D. Buy single-location speakers that have dipole coils in them so that you can run stereo sound (four conductors) to the one speaker.

In this configuration, you have four stereo requirements.

I suggest you get a switching splitter designed for this, or a power amp stage designed to power eight channels.


How do I install fire blocking while finishing a basement? In Colorado, the building code asks for a fire block when finishing a basement. I know this goes against the out walls (foundation). I've seen 2x4 and OSB used: which is better? And how does the OSB get installed?

OSB would be easier and faster, it gets installed BEFORE the top plate goes up. If you plan to use 2X4 framing set 1" away from the wall or if you follow the detail provided in another post, you can still use it as fireblocking.

When you layout for your top plate and chalk your line for setting the top plate by, before you do, measure over to sill plate that the joists set on for the dimension to rip the OSB. I would suggest to rip the OSB a little shy of the chalk line. that way you will always have it as a reference. My carpenters had ripped the plywood wide enough to cover the line to supposedly follow it but when the wall was finished framed it had a 1/4" bow in it.

Set the plywood, then the top plate, and build the rest of the wall.


How can I fix my kitchen sink cheaply? We live in a condo.  Our kitchen sink will gurgle a lot.  From time to time, there will be bubbles and even an overflow of bubbles and some sediment coming up from the kitchen drain.  Someone has suggested that the problem is from the previous owner who relocated the kitchen sink and did not include the proper drop from the sink to the drain in the wall.  Because there is a negative slope to the pipe, water cannot drain out of the pipe, the water gurgles and backs up.  He has suggested that I need to re-do the drain system and have the water travel downhill at a sharper angle.  I do not have a lot of money and would like to find another solution if it exists.

Since you already have a suspicion about the cause, the first step would be to confirm that.  The drain should slope at a rate of 1/4" per foot.  So if you had a 4' drain, there should be a difference of 1" in height between the start and end.  If its negative then that's without a doubt the issue. If this is the cause, the only way to fix it is to re-plumb it.  If you are handy, it is certainly doable.

If the slope isn't the issue then you have to start looking elsewhere.  It is probably worth confirming that the trap is clear of obstructions. Remove the trap below the sink and clean it out.

If that fails then while it could still be a clog, its more likely a venting issue as BMitch suggested.

This isn't likely to be a big job for a plumber, so it might be most cost effective just to have one come out and do it right versus buying all the tools and parts needed.


What is this rocky area in my crawl space wall? We see a water line coming down from a strange, rocky section in our crawl space wall.  I will dig down to the foundation outside the house and repair/fill any cracks externally, but am wondering: why is this section of the crawl space wall different than the others?  Is there something that happened here?  Should I be looking out for anything when I patch the wall from the outside?

It's a "rock pocket".  The foundation wall is made of cement (a powder), water and rocks. They are suppose to be mixed throughly before "placing" in the forms. This either didn't get mixed properly or it was the last part of the pour, which often ends up with rocks that didn't get mixed in.

A small rock pocket like this is not a problem. It's more unsightly than a structural defect.

If it shows up on the exterior side of the foundation wall, we'll usually have the contractor apply a "parge coat" (a smooth coat of cement) over the rock pocket in an attempt to make it look like the rest of the wall. Depending on how long it's been there, a parge coat could "stand out" because it will probably be a different color. If you do decide to patch the rock pockets, then I'd test the color and keep the patch as small as possible...less noticeable.

It's somewhat unusual because it's located at a "control joint" in the wall. (Note the "V" groove vertically in the wall.)  if the wall is not leaking, I'd leave it alone.


Is 10/3 @ 240 with ground good enough for a short run from sub panel to sauna heater? I'm no pro, so I'm sorry in advance for doing my own work, but I enjoy the learning and experience. I've run aluminum 4/3 out to a new sauna with a sub-panel, roughly 100', which houses 2x single pole 15A breakers, and a dual pole 50A for my 9Kw sauna heater.  If my math is right, the heater draws 37.5A per pole.  My question is, the sub-panel to the heater is only going to be a short run of < 10', and I have a spool of 10/3 wire leftover from a previous job, is it good enough, or must I use 8/3?
Thanks!

Assuming you are in the US and subject to NEC, 10 gauge copper is strictly limited to 30A. So, no.
I don't think 8 gauge is big enough, either, unless it's THWN in conduit and the connections at both ends are rated for 75C. The breaker protects the wire, so you can't play games with sizing the wire for 37.5A. Given it's a heater, you need to provision for 125% of the load as a continuous load, which is 46.875 amps, which gets to why you have a 50A breaker, not a 40A breaker.
If using cable, which is limited to 60C sizing, you need 6 gauge copper or 4AWG aluminum. Which begs the question of what size breaker you have on the 4/3 aluminum you ran out there, since that's limited to 55A if it's 4/3 cable.


How do you screw in double-ended screws? I have a flat pack shelving unit to put together. It has double ended screws. According to the instructions you just screw them in using your hands. This is impossible: the pre-drilled holes seem way too small for the screws. I am unable to screw a nut on to tighten with a spanner as it is two normal screws stuck together not the usual version.

Suggestions, anyone?

Since the double ended screws are typically for attaching two wood surfaces together, start the screw in one of the pilot holes (just enough to stay put). Then align the other pilot hole and spin one or both pieces of wood together.

For example, if this is the below end cap on a wood pole, you'd put the screw on the end of the pole so that it doesn't fall and then spin the cap on until the screw is embedded in both surfaces and they are tight together. The only time you need to use pliers on the center piece is if you need to remove the screw.


How should I blend floor stain applied to different areas at different times? I bought a house I have stained two of the rooms I was not able to do the floors all at the same time. So I am now ready to stain the other floors. How do I blend the floors from room to room?

I have put a couple of coats on and you can clearly see the line from the old to the new. I am using the same color stain.

I've had pretty good luck feathering in paint, but stain is hard to do. I've never had a perfect job. I've only done homemade furniture and often choose the rustic look so it's not critical to get it perfect. If the seam is at the threshold (hopefully it is) you can stain the rest of the floor as usual getting full coverage without overlapping as most stains will darken when restained. At the seam, stain over an overlapping swath with a heavily diluted solution.

Test First
If possible use a scrap of the wood to test the procedure. If you don't have a scrap of wood buy some of the same wood if you can.

Apply the stain to the scrap let dry. And then try your method. Do multiple tests. And check it in various lighting and angles.

This countertop was blended in. It's hard to see from the image but it is noticeable

It's a pine counter top I made from stuff lying around.


running electric to my detached garage I'm looking to run electric to my garage . It is about 100' from the garage to the main panel in the house I was going to put in a sub panel in the garage . The only I couldn't  find is a 60 amp . I was going to run 10-3 w/bond . I have a table saw lights that I'm looking to use it for . will that work and what size breaker should I use ?

You don't need a 60A panel.  In fact it's a bad idea.

Your panel needs to have a shutoff switch*.  It doesn't need a main breaker.  Although... a main breaker happens to work as a shutoff switch.

Since you're using it only as a shutoff switch and not as a breaker, the breaker size doesn't matter at all.  You can use any panel you please, and in fact, we recommend a large one.  That way you have enough panel spaces for all your needs and on into the future.

There's nothing worse than running out of spaces in your panel, and now is the time to avoid this - before you buy your panel.  Spend a few extra dollars and get one with a lot of spaces.  Most likely, its main breaker will be larger than 60A.  Like I said, that's fine.

Your wiring will be protected by the feed breaker in the main panel.  For 10/3 w/ground cable, you must use a 30A breaker.   That may suit your needs.  However if you run 6/3 w/ ground cable, you can use a 60A breaker.

Remember you must trench direct burial cable to 25", so you have 24" cover over top of the cable, with sand or sifted dirt around it so a rock doesn't dig into the cable.

Also you will need grounding rods at the garage, even though you are running a ground wire.  You must do both.

* It needs a shutoff switch because it's in a detached garage.


Can I use this neutral wire running through the switch box for my smart switch? I'm replacing a light switch with a smart switch that requires a neutral wire.  When I removed the existing light switch, I noticed there is a white wire running through the box.  Assuming this is the neutral wire, can I cut that, splice another wire in, cap it, and use for my smart switch?
There is a GFCI switch about 6 inches away.  Could that white wire be going to the GFCI switch?  If so, can I still use it?
Here's a picture of it.  The white wire is in the box.  Can I use that wire if it is indeed the neutral?

Close up images of inside of box:

Although we can’t see the GFCI it may be the same circuit I would pull the GFCI out and make sure the hot and neutral are for the same circuit.
it looks like you must have conduit make sure to remove the insulator that holds the screw on the switch so the body of the switch has a good ground.


What is the importance of "breathable" home exteriors? I have heard many people say that it's important for a building's exterior materials to be able to "breathe."  In particular, materials like brick are desirable because of their breathe-ability, whereas vinyl siding would be undesirable.

What is the impact of this characteristic on the durability of a home?  What problems would be caused by using materials that don't allow air to penetrate?

Walls don't need to breathe--people do! What these people mean is that it is important for walls to be able to dry out when they get wet; that they should not trap moisture. This is true, but is only orthogonally related to "breathability." In practical terms, what this means is that in reasonably moist climates, you want a wood-framed house's wooden sheathing to be able to dry to either the interior or the exterior if it gets wet. The sheathing would dry to the exterior if it's placed closer to the siding than the interior drywall, and to facilitate this, you would want there to be a ventilated rainscreen gap between the siding and the tar paper or housewrap covering the sheathing. If, on the other hand, the sheathing is covered up with a bunch of rigid foam insulation, it needs to be able to dry to the interior, which is accomplished by not putting any totally impermeable materials between the drywall and the sheathing like plastic sheeting or closed-cell spray foam.

As to how this relates to the siding material: it's irrelevant. Vinyl siding in no way impedes a wall's drying power, and in fact often improves it because it automatically includes a weak form of rainscreen gap in the form of the open channels behind the planks.

On a wood-framed home, you should choose brick as an exterior cladding because you like its look, durability, low maintenance, or acoustic advantages, not because of its moisture-related characteristics. In fact, brick is more dangerous in a cold and rainy climate because the brick will soak up water, which can freeze if the temperature drops far enough before the water has all drained out of the brick. And the brick siding absolutely needs a ventilated rainscreen gap separating it from the tar paper or housewrap covering the sheathing. Otherwise a phenomenon called "inward solar vapor drive" can force any water in the brick into whatever's touching behind it--such as the wooden sheathing!


Why is my mixer tap/faucet slow to switch off? I have a 4-year-old mixer tap/faucet in my kitchen, and until recently the water would stop flowing immediately when the tap was switched off.

Now the water continues to flow for a few seconds when the tap is closed.

I wasn't able to buy the exact cartridge (left image) so I tried a generic spare part (right image), but the behaviour is the same with the new cartridge. The gaps aren't identical, which may be the reason the new cartridge hasn't helped?

The metal filter/aerator at the end of the spout is clean. The tap underneath the bench is fully on, and the pressure is good.

What do I need to change in order for the water to stop flowing immediately when the tap is closed?

This is not really an answer, but .... the problem started spontaneously, and has just as spontaneously resolved itself.

I didn't make any changes, as I re-used the original cartridge, but the tap now behaves normally a few months after the problem started.

Presumably the cause was external to the tap, perhaps related to the water pressure, etc.


Would vinyl plank flooring allow liquids to leak through? I'm looking to replace carpet on an upstairs bedroom and was thinking about going vinyl sheet (12' x whatever I need) to avoid seams. I need to have a hardwood look (requirement from the missus). The vinyl sheet looks pretty good, but the locking vinyl planks look even better.

We have two dogs that occasionally have accidents in that room. I'm concerned that vinyl planks would allow urine to possible get into the joint and then onto the subflooring (where it couldn't be cleaned readily).

So, would vinyl plank flooring allow liquids to leak through?

Other thoughts or comments on the subject would be appreciated.

Vinyl plank will allow the urine to seep underneath, unless you use a sealant on the joints/seams. Even if it is properly installed.

Using sheet vinyl will work perfect for your application. The only way urine or any other liquid could get underneath would be if a hole/tear was made into the vinyl from mistreatment or from a big spill seeping in from under the walls.

Also you can get the room floored cheaper. You can also get some sheet vinyl with wood grain in any tone/shade to match the room decor. If you do need a seam in the room a seam sealer is used - like epoxy, so no leaks

I've been installing for a long time and I have dogs that have accidents. I have sheet vinyl down in their room (12'x18'). No leak throughs. Easy cleanup, no joint lines to scrub.


Can an open junction box be allowed over an enclosed ceiling? I am renovating my basement and there is currently a suspended ceiling. After removing some of the tiles I noticed there are some junction boxes without covers. I want to replace the suspended ceiling with drywall. Do I have to cover up the boxes? Or should I be doing this all differently?

Yes, you should install covers on the boxes.
You should be able to pick up covers at the local hardware or big box, fairly cheap. Just make sure you measure all the boxes, and note their shape, before heading to the store. If the mounting screws are not in the boxes, you'll also have to pick up some of those.

National Electrical Code 2014
Chapter 3 Wiring Methods
Article 314 Outlet, Device, Pull, and Junction Boxes; Conduit Bodies; Fittings; and Handhole Enclosures.
314.25 Covers and Canopies. In completed installations, each box shall have a cover, faceplate, lampholder, or luminaire canopy, except where the installation complies with 410.24(B). Screws used for the purpose of attaching covers, or other equipment to the box, shall be either machine screws matching the thread gage or size that is integral to the box or in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

No, you cannot cover the boxes with drywall.  The boxes must remain accessible.

314.29 Boxes, Conduit Bodies, and Handhole Enclosures to Be Accessible. Boxes, conduit bodies, and handhole enclosures shall be installed so that the wiring contained in them can be rendered accessible without removing any part of the building or structure, or, in underground circuits, without excavating sidewalks, paving, earth, or other substance that is to be used to establish the finished grade.


Attaching toilet flange through tile and uncoupling membrane I understand that the toilet flange should sit on the finished floor.  I've got porcelain tile on top of a Ditra uncoupling membrane for waterproofing. To attach the flange securely to the sub-floor, I would have to screw through both the tile and the waterproofing membrane, which would seem to defeat the purpose of the membrane.  Is there  another method for attaching the toilet flange when using an uncoupling/waterproofing membrane?

You should be fine going through the Ditra and tile into the wood. You don't really need to be concerned about the waterproofing under the toilet as it's open around the closet flange anyway. The uncoupling aspect will not be affected. The process of uncoupling is to allow the subfloor to shift without cracking the tile. A few points fastened down won't hurt. If you are still concerned, use a high grade construction adhesive and hope it's not you who works on it next.


What handle and lock for sliding door with no internal mechanism? My house, built in 1959, has a sliding door with no internal latch or lock mechanism or space for one. I'd like to replace the current "handle" (a bolt with nuts). Are there handles designed for a door like this? The simplest solution I have so far is to take two handles with identical mounting holes and put them on either side of the door, fastened with bolts and nuts. But a handle, and especially a handle with a lock, designed for this type of door would be great.

This is somewhat of a tangent, but 1959 is early enough that it's possible that tempered/safety glass wasn't used in the door. (Internet says 1964 is when that requirement went into place in America.) If it's using normal window glass and someone trips and falls through the door, they could be severely injured or die. With that in mind, I recommend checking the corners of the glass insert for any markings like "tempered". If there are no markings, I would recommend at least considering replacement of the whole door.


how to attach furring strips to drywall (for pegboard installation) I am planning to attach 4'x6' pegboard to drywall in my garage. One vertical end of the frame will be directly screwed into a stud but the other end can't be. I am wondering what kind of screws should be used for the hollow part.

Most drywall anchors or the toggle bolts seem to have a round head which would prevent the pegboard from butting against the frame. Unless the screws attaching the frame to the drywall are completely countersunken, there would be a gap between the pegboard and the frame.

What would be a right way of attaching the furring strip to the drywall?

That's large enough that there's no excuse for trying to hang it from the drywall. Find the studs and drive screws into them.


Should I use a centrifugal or axial fan for server room ventilation? First of all I know this is a strange one.

We have a server room which is small and a few servers in there. We have an AIR CON in there but we also have a ventilation duct which is a follows:

9 Meter Length x 600mm x 200mm

I would like to know which fan would be best for ducting. I have been told that a centrifugal blower would be good but I am not sure.

Please note this is a DIY job the idea is just to get rid of the hot air from the servers to outs side.

Is this a datacenter (raised flooring, proper precision air conditioning, fire suppression, etc.), or a server room (tiny space with heat producing machines that happens to have its own AC unit or duct leg)?

If you're talking about a small server room all you want is a fan that moves the volume of air you need to move through the length of duct work you need to go through, and preferably does it quietly enough not to annoy anyone.

As a general rule direct exhaust (or short straight duct runs) can use either type of fan, but for longer ducts, curved/bent ducts, or anything else that's going to increase resistance to airflow you want the extra force centrifugal fans generate.

Also as some folks mentioned in the comments, make sure you're pulling out hot air and not messing up your airflow -- cool air should be blowing in to the front of the servers, and the exhaust system should be pulling hot air from behind them.
A draft detector (or a cigarette if you're so inclined) can be useful in making sure air is going where you want it to (test with your AC on and off).

If you're talking about a real datacenter with raised floors and precision air conditioning you I beg you not to do this (or at least don't DIY) -- Proper datacenters are usually sealed environments, and adding exhaust systems to blow off hot air has lots of fire suppression and climate control implications.

Codes vary, but most datacenters use clean agent flooding for fire suppression, so exhaust systems have to have integration with the fire alarms (usually electro-mechanical or magnetic drop-dampers). That integration is a job for a licensed and insured HVAC contractor, because if something goes wrong your insurance company is going to want to sue somebody and you don't want it to be you :)


Plug molding rated at 15 amps, for kitchen it should be 20 amps All Legrand plug molding is rated at 15 amps yet kitchen circuits are 20 amp with 12 guage wire.
How do I make this work. Connections inside plug mold need to be "butt type" as there is no room
for wire nuts.

The fact of the sockets being 15A (common) instead of 20A (T-neutral) is nothing to worry about.
15A receptacles are allowed on 20A circuits, per NEC 210.21, provided there are 2 or more sockets. I mean sockets not receptacles: The common-as-dirt 2-socket receptacle is 2 sockets.
Interestingly, a Wiremold outlet strip counts as 1 receptacle even though it has like 20 sockets or something... not relevant to a kitchen, but some places in Code (and for houses in some local Codes) you must provision 180VA per receptacle and/or have an 8- or 12-receptacle limit per circuit.  So those plug strips are a fun "cheat" to get a bunch of sockets.
This only becomes an issue if you are trying to plug in an appliance that has a sideways neutral... and when's the last time you've seen one of those?


Can I replace just the plastic frame around the glass panes on my front door? My dog chewed pieces of the frame molding around the glass panes on my front door in the house I am renting....can I just replace that plastic/fiberglass molding?

If you look on the hinge side of the door you may find a makers tag with a model number. If the door is fairly new the manufacturer may be able to supply a new one. You also might try a glass and window shop. The grid is typically screwed to the door. Small plastic plugs cover the screw heads. Some that I have encountered also have an adhesive applied. Sliding a putty knife under the grid will release the trim.


How do I match this brick? I am trying to find a good match for some 1930 bricks (North West England).  Any ideals on makes and model of bricks that will match well.

What's worked for me in the past (though this was with brick shape rather than style) was to e-mail photos to some reclamation yards.

It might not yield results - after all some yards have 10,000's of bricks on site, but you might get a name for the style of brick or a further contact who might be able to help.


Is having all locks with the same key a bad idea? My partner and I have recently bought a house.

I'm going to get new door lock cylinders for the front and back door. I'm not sure whether to get them keyed alike.

Is it a bad idea to get them so that they use the same key?

If you lose the keys, or need to give them to someone who you later come to distrust, or post a picture of them on the internet then you'll need to change both locks instead of just one.

If this is just two doors, then it's not really a big deal - slightly more inconvenient if things go wrong weighed against slightly more convenience in everyday life.

(Note that a 'lost keys' insurance policy may not pay out to have both locks changed if you lose the keys - it's a conversation you'd need to have with the insurer prior to purchasing the policy.)


In an old NYC apartment building built in the 50s. Would wires catch on fire if using a high powered AC? I live in an old NYC apartment built in the 50s. I currently use a 1500-2000 watt portable AC unit and I feel the power cables are very hot during use. I'm afraid of the wires catching on fire in between the walls due to the old wiring.

I know the new cabling these days have the metal casing around the wires when you run it through the walls, but did they have this type of protection back then in the 50s also?
What is the rated max wattage for 110v wall outlet?

Conduit may serve to contain heat in the event of extreme overload, but that's not its primary purpose (which is to protect the wires). Not all multi-family dwellings have wiring run in conduit even today. If your wiring overheats it's probably not protected with suitable breakers or fuses.
Wiring and associate devices aren't rated for wattage, but voltage and current (amperage). Capacity depends mostly on the wire gauge and the circuit breaker rating. 110v * 20A = 2200 watts, but you can't always max out a circuit due to other usage on the same breaker. You may also have a 15A circuit, which would be overloaded (or nearly so) by your unit.

You should have a conversation with the building superintendent. Your concern goes beyond just this question. If wiring ever gets that hot, something's wrong.


By how much can I trim back the connectors of 1.5" PVC fittings? We're installing the drain plumbing for a newly installed tub, and the drain shoe overshoots the tub drain hole. The tub has been mortared in place and can no longer be moved:

A joist limits how far back the overflow tee can be positioned, and as you can see in the picture, the connectors of the shoe and the tee are already flush against each other.

I only need the shoe drain to move about 1/2" towards the joist. Would it be acceptable to simply trim the connectors of the shoe and tee by 1/4" each to get everything to move back to where I need it?

For reference, the standard depth of the connectors on 1.5" PVC fittings is 3/4". Is there a minimum connection depth that I need to keep to ensure a leakproof connection?

I see that the tee in your drain pipe is already cemented in place, but if you can redo it, you can do what they did in my house (not home right now, so I'll have to remember to get a picture later).

What you can do is turn the tee and drain fitting to the sides and use two elbows and three short pipes to connect them.

The only tool I have to illustrate this right now is MS Paint, but it should be better than nothing. This is the view looking down from the top (or up from the bottom):


What is this strange plumbing on my sump pump drain? From documentation left with our house we know that our sump pump used to empty into the sanitary sewer. In the early 90’s the home owners took advantage of a city grant that paid for moving the drain to the storm sewer. We assume that the pictured drain pipes were installed at that time. We have a receipt that indicates the work was done by a professional plumber and we suspect that it was probably inspected by the city at the time.
In the lower right of the picture, the drain leaves the front of the house toward the storm sewer.  Our front yard slopes downhill, so this level should be comfortably above the level of the storm sewer itself.  From the upper left corner of the picture the pipe continues through the ceiling to the back of the house where it drops fairly directly into the pump.
Question 1 - What is the purpose of the upside-down U bend and the split into two separate pipes which then rejoin halfway down the wall?
Question 2 - If I were to simplify this pipe, is there something that might go wrong?
I've asked two different professional plumbers who were in the house for other reasons and neither had any ideas.

"Professionals" can be idiots too. That serves no purpose and, accordingly, has no code requirement. You can cut it out, move it and all you need to do is ensure you have a check valve near the exit from the sump pump and a long 90 (avoid a hard 90 with a drop like this) to the entrance to the lateral. You should install a clean-out near the exit from the building as well, i can't tell if it's there or not. Make sure all joints are properly glued, and the clean-out threads are taped, when done right you'll be protected from any potential back flow.
I'm certain this was done after the initial install. My guess is that a previous homeowner remodeled the original work with the idea of some kind of a water hammer arrestor or perhaps they had some backflow and didn't know how to actually prevent it... is there a check valve on it now?
I can tell from the various parts, like the different-colored/cheapo-corner-hardware-store wyes, the coupling above the lower wye, the flexed upwards pipe before the upside down trap, and the not to code opposing 90s at the entrance to the lateral, that whoever installed this had no idea what they were doing but apparently had some money to throw away on a little m.c. escher inspired plumbing project. I highly doubt this is original work or the work of a plumbing journeyman... unless they were tripping.
Rip it out, run it straight, level, plumb, and include the components noted above.
You do not need a backflow preventer as long as the joints are correctly sealed, the pipe runs above the level of the highest point in the system serving your area, and there is no reason to suspect backflow forces in excess of the joint strength. For the uninitiated


Replacing a standard 2-gang light switch with an electric dimmer switch I'm looking for a some assistance in fitting a new electric dimmer light switch. I'm in the UK if that makes a difference.

I am trying to replace my existing two-gang light switch with a LightWaveRF two gang dimmer but am not sure where to start as the instructions are telling me to look out for colored cables that aren't present in the existing switch.

Here's my original light switch setup:

grey wire - brown sleeve was in the top right, brown wire in top left

Here's the LightwaveRF:

I have tried many combinations without any luck, all outcomes results in one flickering light?

As mentioned in the linked questions (see the above comments) switches that are designed to only work with incandescent bulbs frequently send a low voltage through the bulb when the switch is in the off position. This is to power some component in the switch, like a night light, a motion sensor, or the receiver for a remote control. With newer energy saving bulbs like CFL's and LED's, this low voltage will cause the light to flicker, while it would have gone unnoticed with an incandescent.

The solution is to get a switch that's designed to work with energy efficient bulbs. This switch is either a standard manual switch, or it can have a dedicated neutral connection to send power over for the switch's components. To wire a switch with a dedicated neutral, either the power source needs to go through the switch's junction box, so you can pigtail off the neutral, or if the power source comes from the light fixture, you need a 3 wire connection from the fixture to the switch (hot, switched, neutral).


Fireplace goes on/off Our fireplace turns on fine, runs for a while and then all of a sudden goes out, then sometimes comes back on. We usually turn it off when it happens. We have had a fireplace company out they replaced the thermocouple and it still continues. We have also had the fireplace cleaned, venting was resealed and it still continues. Our local fireplace company is stumped and we are too! We really enjoy using this and now I have turned it off as we don't know what's going on and don't feel safe using it till we know and fix it.

We have the same issue.  There is a pilot light. Runs on LP.  Pilot does not go out but the flames go out and then in a little bit it comes back on.  No other light switches are being turned on/off and there is no battery in the unit.  We found that when it is turned at a lower setting it happens far more often.  But it will go from flames 8 inches high to off in 1 second and then after about 2-3 minutes it comes back on.
If we turn it to a higher setting the problem goes away and the fireplace stays lit.  Because the pilot doesn't go out we know it's not air in the lines or a main regulator issue.


Salt deposits in health faucets and shower Due to the quality of water (with lots of dissolved salts) the health faucet and the shower gets clogged. I have to either poke with a pin or open it and brush. This happens very frequently (at least once a month). Is there a solution to avoid the problem or an easier remedy....

A water softener is one solution. It filters out the dissolved salts.


How well do whole house humidifiers work? We are moving to an area where it gets cold and snows in the winter. We come from a desert area where it is never very cold except for the dead of winter, and where we use the heater very seldom. We noticed then that the heater made us feel dry and uncomfortable. We are thinking about installing a full house humidifier. The company I am talking to says the kind they recommend is the steam/mist style. Cost w/install: 3000.00. I don't know much about them. He said he would install it in the garage near the hot water heater where the water source is and run the line up into the attic where the furnace is.

Can anybody tell me how well these work and if this price quote is reasonable?

Honeywell humidifiers are really good - with experience with one in last house.  Our heating costs went down by 15% and our house didn't have static everywhere in the winter.  Mine was a steam too and it cost me about $400 total after a couple of quick trips to Lowes.  Took me about 3 hours (counting the 2 trips) to install.

So let's say it takes a whole day for the pro to install (8 hours) - I am not an hvac pro.  Is it worth $300 an hour to get this done in your area?  Also maybe your unit costs more but the unit I got had great reviews and near top of line...

Also I think this should be installed on furnace not garage.  I don't know your whole setup so I don't want to call out the company.  It doesn't make sense to me that a line from humidifier to furnace would be run because that has to diminish the steam going in and may make the humidifier work constantly... But I do understand that you don't want plumbing to freeze - which I am guess it doesn't in your climate being that the water heater is in the garage....

So I would run a water line to furnace and install it there.


Would folded 2" green masking tape protect the foundation covering? Related question: Protecting the bottom of the wall while painting vinyl siding

I have some 2" wide green masking tape.  I am wondering if the following would be enough protection of the white strip that covers the foundation (below the siding): put down about three feet of the tape but without putting pressure along the bottom, then grasp both ends and fold the whole length of tape up, to make an L-shaped profile.

A painter friend convinced me not to protect this thing, which he called "flashing."  The bottom row of siding sticks out more than the flashing, so with a bit of care I can paint the siding without swiping the top of the flashing.  I tried it and it worked well.