First floor of house wobbles! I've seen similar questions but I'm still stuck for an answer, so I hope someone can help...

I've just built what is essentially a two-storey cube, 6m x 6m x 6m. It's a steel construction, a little over-specified (very solid foundations, H-beam for the posts and beams, and box beams for the floor supports). The second floor is cement-wood board, 20mm thick.

When the frame was completed, it all seemed to be a bit too bendy, so I added additional 6" box posts inside at 2m and 4m, as well as triangular steel supports at the corners. That seemed to make the whole structure more stable.

However, now that I've laid down the tiles and have a good solid construction, the floor still wobbles whenever someone walks on it. It's very slight, but if I walk anywhere in the room, each table and everything on it shakes slightly for a good 10 seconds or so. You can feel the wobbling noticeably.

Is there anything that can be (easily) done to make the floor wobble-free?

You are probably quite far from over-specified, if you have significant deflection from walking around. Such are the breaks of self-taught structural engineering, particularly if you don't use the resources of formal structural engineering in your self-teaching.

That which will stand up, and that which will stand up without unacceptable deflection from loading are different things. How this structure behaves in the face of various external loads should also be a concern; you refer to it as a house, and when houses collapse (say, in hurricane force winds) people get hurt or die.

Steel-framed floors are almost always built with a truss structure which has considerable depth, to provide stiffness to the structure. You appear to have a single layer of square tubes.

I would strongly suggest a consultation with a (licensed, professional) structural engineer.


How should I hang a 35 lb pool table light from my ceiling? I recently purchased a used pool table and light from an auction. I didn't realize how heavy the lighting fixture was until after I got it home. There are three glass refraction globes that weight 8 pounds each. The total weight of the lighting is about 35 pounds. There are three metal hanging chains on the main rod to hang from.

I need to hang this above my pool table. The ceiling height shouldn't be an issue, but I'm worried about the weight. I have access to the attic, as it's going in my house. I was thinking about placing some 2x4's across the joists in the ceiling and then using some threaded rods to extend down past the ceiling. I assume I can find some hooks or something to screw onto the ends of the threaded rods. Then I can use the chains on the light to hang on the hooks.

I'm really not sure what the best approach is for hanging this light. If anyone can point me in the right direction, it would be much appreciated. I don't want to make large holes in my ceiling. I also want to damage my ceiling or cause sagging.

EDIT: Adding photo. I should also note that, I already have one electric box mounted in the ceiling (with power), but it is not centered to the pool table. It's about 3 ft away. I was thinking of running the power to the current box. Maybe I should just mount a new fixture and move the existing power to it.

EDIT 2: I may be missing some mounting parts.

You could definitely design and build structure in the attic, get threaded rods, etc., that would support this light fixture, but it would be 10 or 100 times easier to get a proper ceiling fan rated box that would do the job. In this case get one that is rated for 70 lb.

You evidently don't have the instructions for this particular fixture and may not have all the mounting parts. Generic mounting parts would probably work, but would have to be mounting parts rated for a light fixture like this and not just metal brackets that "look like" they would do the job. Go online and get instructions for this particular fixture.

EDIT

If this fixture is designed to be suspended from more than one mounting point, then simpler mountings could be used because weight would be distributed. If the fixture that is 3 ft away is controlled a wall switch and you want to use that switch for the pool table light, then that would be a much easier install. You could run a 14/2 + gnd cable (if this is a 15-A circuit but 12/2 if this is a 20-A circuit) in the attic from the existing light to a new box for the new fixture.

I would imagine that two suspension points would be sufficient and these could be 24 inches apart on adjacent joists. If so, then fairly ordinary hooks could be screwed into the joists to support the fixture and one standard electrical box placed suitably for the wiring connection. In this type of installation the box would not be used for suspension.

EDIT

You use decorative hooks like these if the chain or a carabiner at the end is large enough to go over the hook oil rubbed bronze swag hooks and you wanted a finished look or you could use heavy steel hooks for a more industrial functional look.

EDIT

Some hooks that I like are decorative hooks but there are many choices. You could even drape a wire from the other fixture under the ceiling and have a connection in shallow surface mounted box, a so called "pancake box" which could just be attached to the surface of the ceiling with screws into plastic anchors since in this installation it would not be used to support the fixture but only the chain through which the wire would be intertwined. But honesty it looks a lot better to have the wiring hidden.


Connecting a washing machine and tumble dryer to the same sink drain I'm thinking on using one of these to install a washing machine and a condenser tumble dryer to the sink's drain pipe of my utility room.

Why is one inlet pointing upwards and the other one downwards? do I need to have any special consideration for the height of the appliances, etc?

I know that a washing machine should be plumbed between 60 and 100 cm for example. I'm trying to avoid the water from one appliance or the sink ending in the other.

As indicated by isherwood your air gaps are mandatory. This is to prevent return of waste water into the appliance. In your setup you have an air gap but only one and also only one trap. It is better to construct separate air gaps and traps for each unit and combine both after the traps into the sink.

Construction can be straight forward:
Take 2 traps and combine the outlets. Place some 10 to 12" pipe on top of the trap and put the appliance hose directly inside without a seal. The gap is then formed by means of the space between the hose and the pipe.


How can I repair and level the settled edges of a basement slab? What would be the correct way to level a basement floor that is this much uneven, so that I could build a sublfoor consisting of delta-fl and plywood ?

Thank you for any help !

If you plan on using dri-core then you don't need to level the floor with self-leaving concrete or any similar method.  Instead, you'd just shim the dri-core panels to make them level.

If you are just going to put down standard OSB then you'd want to use self-leaving concrete.

A big advantage to just shimming the dri-core is that most basement floors slope towards a drain and with shims, you'd maintain this slope so any water that gets beneath the dri-core would still drain properly instead of sitting underneath the OSB.  And of course this is why dri-core has a rubber bottom layer.


Cutting out most sink cabinet back panel to access utilities I am curious if there is any reason NOT TO cut out most of a sink cabinet back panel to have easy access to utilities (pipes + electrical) vs tedious stencil gauging where to cut exact holes like you would do with drywall.
Does that 1/8" (or so) panel serve any purpose other than cosmetic?
I was thinking to spare myself the trouble of stenciling where the holes are by just cutting out approx. 50% of it in a rectangle and then maybe fill the gap around the perimeter with smart foam or something for draft and rodent protection.
Is there any advantage to taking the extra effort to leave most of it by cutting holes in precise positions?

If it is only 1/8" and there are some structural pieces (typically near the top and bottom) across the back then the panel is not structural and can be removed. In fact, many times the back panel won't even be installed on a sink cabinet. However, if there are no other structural cross pieces on the back then, depending on how well the cabinet is built, how it is attached to the wall, type of countertop, etc., the panel may be important in keeping the cabinet straight.
The only concern I would have is the increased possibility of unwanted cold air or critters coming in, particularly if this is against an outer wall.


How much condensation is okay on storm windows? I have an old house that has both wooden and aluminum storm windows.  Many of the windows develop condensation and frost on the storm windows when it's cold outside.  I made sure weep holes were clear, and I've tried various approaches to sealing the interior windows to prevent condensation on the storms.  While sealing has reduced the condensation on the storms, it hasn't completely eliminated it, even when following typical winter humidity guidelines.

Is there a certain amount of unavoidable exterior storm window condensation?  Is some condensation okay?  Is there a point at which storm window condensation would become a problem?  Would it indicate that there would be condensation developing in other invisible places in the house, such as wall interiors or attic space?

How much moisture is ok depends on the window frame material and the material that condensation may drip or seep onto. The primary issue is rot. If your storm windows are aluminum or vinyl, some condensation will not likely cause damage. Wood windows will see degradation of their finish and ultimately wood decay.

The only way to completely prevent condensation may be to increase ventilation between the storm windows and the inner windows, but that obviously decreases their thermal effectiveness.

Your best bet, if decay is a concern, might be to forego the old-fashioned storm windows and use plastic sheeting on the inside of your windows. In my experience, you may still see some condensation on your windows in this case, but only as ice when it's extremely cold.


How can I make these concrete columns? I want to make a narrow concrete, decorative column like the ones found in this garden..

What is used as a mold for these types of columns?

What gives the concrete those subtle color changes (the red and/or blue hues)?

You make the pillars using any round type of tube or pre made form. They are made from wood,metal or plastic.

This page (and this one) has an interesting product for making various forms for concrete pillars.

Depending on the finish- if you do not mind the crackled and holey look like in the small pillar on the left then you just pour the concrete into a form and leave it. If you want a smooth finish you need to use a "vibrating poker" which will remove air bubbles and separate the concrete from the aggregate making a smooth finish, like on the tall one on the right.

You can either dye the end product with some concrete stain or use a dye that you mix into the concrete it self. Either will give you various effects and they both last for many years.

Tips

Concrete can be pretty expensive and it is really heavy but also the most durable.  You can also use plaster or hollow columns to make it lighter and cheaper.
When using concrete do not use fast drying concrete as it will be more brittle and be prone to cracking and possibly snapping in half. Use a concrete that is suited for slabs and using aggregate is highly recommended.
Even though concrete columns are solid you should consider putting in atleast some wire frame reinforcement. A single steel re-bar down the middle is the minimum but making a triangular re-bar structure would be ideal. The purpose of this is in the event that the concrete does snap or break the reinforcement will keep it in place .So it wont fall over and hurt/damage anything around it.


What is my dryer's fourth prong for? We just moved and had to change plugs on the dryer from 3 prongs to 4.

What is the fourth prong for? I know about positive, negative and ground, but I can't think of why a fourth would be needed.

Electrical Distribution
In the United States, most residential electrical service is what's known as a split-phase system. Which is a 3 wire, single phase system.  The service entrance cable consists of two ungrounded (hot) conductors, and one grounded (neutral) conductor.  Once at your house the grounded (neutral) conductor is bonded to earth, and a fourth conductor is added to the system.  The fourth conductor is the equipment grounding; or simply grounding, conductor.
But why 4 wires?
A split phase system is aptly named, because the transformers secondary is center tapped (or split). This allows the system to provide different voltages, depending on how devices are connected.
120V
If a device only requires 120 volts it will be supplied using one grounded (neutral) conductor, either one of the ungrounded (hot) conductors, and one equipment grounding conductor.
240V
If a device requires 240 volts it will be supplied with two ungrounded (hot) conductors, and one equipment grounding conductor.  In this case a grounded (neutral) conductor is not required, since the circuit is completed simply by connecting a load between the two ungrounded conductors.
120/240V
Some devices require both 120 volts, and 240 volts.  These devices will be supplied with both ungrounded (hot) conductors, a grounded (neutral) conductor, and an equipment grounding conductor.
But wait... The old one only had 3 prongs?
In the olden days, we didn't care as much about safety (there were fewer lawyers around).  Before houses were wired with the equipment grounding conductor, devices that required both 120 volts and 240 volts would be supplied with both ungrounded (hot) conductors and a grounded (neutral) conductor.  Since there was no equipment grounding conductor, the circuit lacked one.  This is why older homes only have 3 prong dryer (and stove) receptacles.  The old three prong receptacles are NEMA 10 devices, and consist of two ungrounded (hot) conductors and one grounded (neutral) conductor (hot, hot, neutral).


What is the longevity of a three speed ceiling fan switch? I have a three speed ceiling fan that came with my house. It's about 14 years old now. It's never given me problems but right now it won't turn off. The four position wall switch (Off-low-medium-high) still regulates the speed of the fan except for the off position which seems to leave the fan running in low speed.

I'm therefore thinking the fan is probably ok but the switch may need replacement. How long do these wall switches usually last, or is there no known life expectancy on these items?

Also, could I be wrong about the issue and could it be the ceiling fan itself that has a problem?

Ok, I don't have an answer about average multi-position switch longevity, but I went ahead and went on my hunch that this was a switch issue and not a fan issue. I found a replacement switch that was almost identical to my broken one and replaced it, and the problem is now solved. I had to look in envy at the other newer switches that use an analog slider to give finer control over the fan speed. But because they had different switch dimensions and because my current fan switch was already in a wall port with a faceplate featuring three switch slots, I went with the part that matched mine.

So, on a sample size of 1, the duration of a wired four-position ceiling fan switch is 14 years.


Is it possible or feasible to build basement walls without anchoring? I want to finish my basement. All of the basic protocols I have seen is install a sill plate by anchoring it into the conrete. After that, build a wall and put it on top of the sill plate. Attach to sill plate, voila.

This method seems pretty good, and very easy. However, how can this be done without anchoring to concrete?

My issue is that I have asbestos floor tiles which I am covering over and drilling through the stuff could cause a serious hazard, so I would rather not.

You could put down a bead of construction adhesive under the sill plate. That will glue it to the tiles.

You do need the wall secured somehow because you will not want to be seeing it move around as you finish it out and put said wall into deployment.


What is the most common stair tread depth and stair nosing length? I am having my stairs rebuilt and was wondering what the most common stair nosing length is. I have seen code requires nosing overhang be no more than 1.25". Is 1.25" common? Or is 1" more common?

Another question I have is I have seen the most common tread depth is 11". Does that include the nosing overhang?

I would love to hear the tread depth, and nosing length that any builders like to use.

I doubt any of us can provide actual statistics. You'll get personal preference and opinion. Mine is to shoot for 1-1/8", knowing that cutting stair stringers takes precision and still results in a bit of variation after all is said and done.

Tread depth does include the nosing. "Run" is the term for each step's dimension from riser to riser. "Rise" is the dimension from tread to tread.

______________________    __
______________________)    ^
                   ||      |
                   ||      |
                   ||      | rise
                   ||      |
                   _______________________
                   _______________________)
                                       ||
                    |
                    |<--- run ---------->


What causes a heatpump to freeze? A heatpump is used to cool a home in Florida.  A relative noticed that the temperature was 90 degrees and that the evaporator (see photo) was sweating.  She thinks she heard a piece of ice fall break off inside the evaporator.  The unit was installed in 2016.

What causes a heatpump to freeze when used in cooling mode?

Poor airflow from a dirty airfilter?
Low freon pressure?

The power to the heatpump has been disconnected to ensure that any ice melts.

Is the most likely culprit the AC filter?  Any diagnostic instructions are  appreciated.

There are many possible causes but some of the more common ones are:

Clogged drain
Dirty filter
Excess humidity in the house
Blocked air return or outlet duct

Get it thawed out and make sure that the drain is flowing properly.  Check the filter, check the blower for any obstructions.


Lost garage remote control I lost the only remote control I had for my garage box. Normally I should be able to open the garage with a key and a cylinder lock. But when I bought this apartment (with this garage box), the cylinder lock was somehow taken out by the previous owners. I have a small hole now in my garage door where the lock has been previously.
Is there any way I can open my garage from the outside? There is no panel or anything. To program a new remote control, I need the buttons on the motor, which is inside the garage.
Thank you in advance!

If you can tolerate appearing as if you are breaking and entering, you can use Daniel Gricom's solution with a bit of mechanical ingenuity. Many garage doors will have a small gap at the top, where the door meets the framing. If not, a wedge can be forced into the area near the center of the top.
This will allow you to drop a sturdy line from the top of the door, past the cylinder lock hole. The next tool required is an expandable noose or other gripper tool, but it has to fit either under the door or through the cylinder lock hole. The former is more likely but will also require a wedge in that location.
A quick search of the 'net leads me to believe that there is no off-the-shelf tool of this nature. This leaves a section of garden hose or similar tubing of sufficient length to reach from under the door to the internal manual door release. A section of braided cable, perhaps 1/16- 1/8" diameter would be threaded into the hose with both ends free at the outside end of the hose. Stiffer is better as will be seen later.
The first line from the top is used to lift the hose to snare the handle. You'll have to have enough of a loop to extend from the inside surface of the door to the release handle, perhaps 24-30".
Twisting the hose from below the door will swing the loop until the snare can be effected.
The difficult portion of this requires one to see the snare and the handle. Two telephones with facetime or similar video capability is one method, again using the gap created by the wedge. The typical home colonoscopy kit, also known as a digital inspection camera will not have the focal length necessary, although the flexibility aspect is a boon.
Once the snare is around the handle, one should be able to pull the two loose ends and release the door.
One of the related answers in the margin suggests also a YouTube video using only a coat hanger. That particular garage has windows at precisely the level required for an easy open.


Is painted shoe molding more expensive than stained shoe molding? Long story short: contractors did all the shoe molding stained to match the floor when I said I wanted it to match the trim. Now he's telling me that "painted shoe molding is more expensive" - hundreds more - but I have a feeling he's just trying to cover the cost of his mistake.

Is painted shoe molding more expensive?

Well it is about the same unless you are using gold paint.   Both require a couple coats, and my opinion is nail holes easier to cover when painting.

Also you are right in making sure the shoe molding matches trim.   It is ultra awkward when it matches the floor.  (however if it is a new floor you shouldn't have to have shoe molding at all)

My take is get a quote for just the molding from someone local - see if there is a difference.   Take it to your contractor.   He didn't do the job.   So you take that amount off the bill or he does it.   It is that easy.


Is EMT or PVC more durable under a porch that gets rain? I have a 2nd story porch that I want to put lights under.

I'm not sure whether EMT or PVC will be more durable in the long run. It will get both rain and some sun, and I'd like it to last a long time.

What's more long lasting ? Will the EMT rust over time ?

Steel EMT will rust over time in a buried environment with moisture where PVC will last virtually forever unless it's exposed to sunlight.

I'd go with PVC which is also likely to be less expensive.


Why am I getting 60V between the leads of my dryer and the ground? trouble shooting my dryer, i get 240 across the leads, and 120 from either lead to the neutral... but only 60 from either lead to the ground. is this normal?

If the ground is not connected in the panel, you could theoretically read anywhere from 0 to 120V line to ground. The ground is floating, and so is not guaranteed to be 0.

Run an unbroken ground conductor from the panel to the receptacle, and your problem will be solved.


Hot Garage - Do Garage Door Vents Work? My Garage gets hot in the summer!
Outside temp might be 85 degrees Fahrenheit but in the garage it's over 110.
If I leave the door open about 8 inches temperature equals out.

Issues with leaving the door open:

Bugs and critters
Security
Remembering to close it

I've been looking at garage door vents.

Features:

Crank handles adjustable louvered vents (so I can close the vent in the winter)
Rodent / bug screen

This seems like a good way to keep the door closed and have my ventilation too.

Having the door open allows a lot more air flow than these two vents.
Anyone have experience with these? Do they work?

I have found vents like the ones you have in the photo to be basically worthless. I have found that a powered temperature activated vent in the roof is almost as good as an air conditioner. The first one I installed was line voltage driven with a temp switch it was really a huge savings in that home, because it dropped the attic temp by 40-50 degrees, the next couple of homes I used solar powered vents, these were a little more up front unless a new circuit was needed and if a new circuit was needed the solar was cheaper.
In short a passive ventilation system is limited to the area in square feet you have and the height between them. If I were you I would be looking into a powered vent on the roof, it will work much better in my opinion from actual experience with Louvered vents that were 3’ square compared to a single 8 or 10” powered exhaust that actually cooled the entire house.


Is it safe to install a wire nut inside a base board heater? My baseboard heater has its junction box built into it, meaning there are wire nuts in a section of the heater.  However the ground has been broken off more interior / near the heating element.  I need to cause it to reach the junction box so I can ground it.  Is it safe to use a wire nut more inside the heater / nearer to the heating element?  I think wire nuts are rated to 105C and a baseboard heater shouldn't be getting nearly that hot.

I would use a crimp ferrule the reason being the wire nut could melt and then create more problems the crimp is just a metal ring that connects the wires together nothing to melt. Years ago we had to use crimps in all the boxes for the grounds at least in the areas I worked.


Question about end caps on Pex lines for Washer in new house I just purchased a new home and the washer and dryer are in the basement, I plan to learn how to run pex soon although only know a little about it now. I went to go hookup my washer today and there are these two caps that are on the hot and cold washer lines that hang down from the ceiling.

They are not threaded so I can't screw them off so I'm not really sure how to remove them.

Also the lines are 1/2 inch and my washer hoses and connections on my washer are 3/4 inch, I"m assuming once I get them off I can buy a pex 1/2 inch to 34 inch fitting?

If those were crimped-on end-caps you'd have to cut them off - but they look like "sharkbite" fittings, which can be removed. If you lack the special tool, close an adjustable wrench down to the size of the pipe, and use it to push the tan collar into the fitting.

Search for "sharkbite adjustable wrench trick" or "how to remove a sharkbite" if that's unclear. If all else fails, cut them off. Try to be sure the water is shut off first.

99.9% of washer hookups are "garden hose thread" so I suspect 3/4 pipe thread would be the wrong choice.


When to replace respirator filters? I've got a respirator like this one:

I assume with the particulate filters (for dust) you just change them when they get hard to breathe through, but what about the organic vapor or chemical cartridges? How do you know when they need to be replaced?

You are correct regarding the dust filters... in fact the "caking" particles can sometimes improve filtration... so the cartridges only need to be replaced when damaged, soiled or when they unacceptably obstruct breathing.
As for chemical filters... this depends a great deal on the chemicals being dealt with, as each will have different properties.
Each cartridge should have a specified service life or change schedule... nonetheless, for vapors and certain organic compounds 3M™ recommends that they be used for only a single shift exposure

Can chemical cartridges be used for more than one shift?
Organic vapors are removed by the process of adsorption.
Weak physical forces hold the organic vapor on the
activated carbon. Since these forces are weak, the process
can be reversed and the organic vapor can be desorbed.
Desorption during storage or nonuse periods can result in
the migration of the chemical through the cartridge.
Migration is mainly a concern only for organic vapor
cartridges. Organic vapors adsorbed on an organic vapor
cartridge can migrate through the carbon bed without
airflow. Desorption of very volatile contaminants can
occur after a short period (hours) without use (e.g.,
overnight). Partial use of the chemical cartridge and
subsequent reuse could potentially expose the user to the
contaminant. This is most significant for the most volatile
and poorly retained organic vapors (e.g., boiling point < 65°C). For organic vapors with a boiling point less than
65°C, it is recommended that the organic vapor cartridge
never be used longer than one shift even if the estimated
service life is greater than 8 hours and the cartridge is
used for only a short time during the shift.


What is the correct/conventional turning direction for double lever faucet handles in a shower? Possibly this question depends on location.  I'm most interested in the US convention.

I have read here a convincing claim about sink faucet handles: when there are separate hot and cold handles, cross handles (knobs) should always turn on counter-clockwise, but lever handles which are off pointing outward should turn on by pulling them toward you: that's counter-clockwise on for the left, hot handle, but clockwise on for the right, cold handle.

What about a double lever handle for a shower, where the two handles, which are wall-mounted, are pointing outward and might turn either up or down?

Here, you are generally standing looking down at the handles.  Is down on, which would be counter-clockwise for the left/hot handle and clockwise for the right/cold handle, matching the sink configuration?  Or is up on, which has the same feeling of "pull toward you" but is actually opposite in terms of the direction of rotation?

It seems to vary by manufacturer/model/style and perhaps personal preference.

The shower knobs in one of my bathrooms were installed 2-3 years ago and are, by default, "off" when horizontal and "on" when vertical. Cold turns on CW and Hot turns on CCW.

Below is an excerpt from the installation instructions for the faucet set that shows this as the way the handles were designed. This does not strike me as being unusual thinking back to some of the other places I've lived and so forth.

Interestingly, the faucet set is prominently described by the manufacturer as being "ADA Compliant" (compliant with the American Disabilities Act) so it would seem that the on/off direction isn't critical for that designation. Incidentally, ADA compliance isn't required for private residences.

It makes good sense that vertical be "off" and horizontal be "on" for the reasons mentioned in other answers, as well as not having your shower/bathtub water come on if something is dropped on the handles. (I've done it. Rather eye-opening surprise...)

Here's a link to the whole installation manual in case someone wants it.


The vinyl plank click flooring I installed in two rooms develops gaps at the ends between the two rooms. Can I glue the ends together in this area? I installed this click plank flooring product in two rooms, as a continuous run. It is a floating floor. Between the two rooms is a short narrow corridor about 4 feet wide by 3 feet long. The subfloor was properly prepped and perfectly flat.

Whenever the temperature gets low, end gaps appear in this area. I think the planks are shrinking from the temp. Gaps do not appear in the rest of the installation - I'm not sure why they only appear in this corridor.

Twice now I've pulled up the flooring in this area to re-click the ends. I was wondering if I could glue the ends together in this area only to keep them from popping. Just the ends of the adjacent planks.

If so, what type of glue should I use?

here is a pic of what is happening.  Note the planks aren't actually popped up, even though it looks like it in the pic.  They are still flat - just the ends have separated.

When laying this floor you have to lock the ends in properly by tapping it several inches from the end instead of directly on the joints with a rubber mallet. If not in has a better chance of breaking breaking the locking systems


How can I install a Leviton timer switch in this box? So i'm trying to replace the exterior light switch to a timer switch.

On the same switch panel, there are two other switches which control the ceiling lights in the hallway. The dimmer in the center is just a single switch, and the one to the right is a three way switch for another sets of pot lights.

SO the one I'd like to replace is the one on the left.  The image at the bottom is how I connect the timer but does not work ...

any suggestions??

We start by numbering the cables in your diagram from left to right:

is an always-hot feed backstabbed into the single pole switch (it's always hot because it's backstabbed at the same end of the switch as the incoming hot feed).
is another always-hot feed (were I to guess, this is the circuit coming in, but there's an off chance some dunderhead wired it to come in on cable #1 instead).  I can tell because of how it's double-looped at the switch terminal screw then pigtailed off to the rest of the switches.
is the outbound switched hot from the single pole switch to whatever lighting is on it.  (It is connected to the other end of the switch from the hot terminal.)
is the outbound dimmed hot to its corresponding lighting load.
and 6. are the curious cases -- you'd expect both travelers to be in 6. but perhaps the two cables are run together as part of the same circuit in a California 3-way configuration?  (The traveler terminals on a 3-way switch are both at the same end.)  Either way, they're irrelevant to your timer trouble.

From here, we can tell where your error is -- you wired the switched hot on the timer to cable #1's hot, when the original single pole switch was switching cable #3's hot.

So, turn off the power to the circuit, then unnut the hot (black) and switched  (red) wires on the timer, and unwind the switched wire from cable #1's hot and cable #3's hot from the pigtail junction.  Then use new wirenuts to nut cable #1's hot into the pigtail junction and cable #3's hot to the switched wire from the timer.  Put everything back together, turn it back on, and enjoy your new timer!


Paint drying time around doors and windows that have condensation I am currently redecorating the hallway and stairs and at the front door and landing window we get quite a heavy amount of condensation build up around them.

When painting I have noticed that the area's nearest the window and door frames are still wet to the touch. The areas where previously glossed but I sanded them down with 40 grit and after feeling the area they where keyed up and looked to be gloss free.

Is it just taking longer to dry due to the cold/wet air that are around the window and door? Would pointing a blow heater aid in the drying process to speed it up a bit and actually let it dry?

Cheers
Mark

Cool temperatures and moisture will affect dry time of latex (water based) paints. A fan heater should help with that. If you are using alkyd (oil-based) paint, cool temps will have the same effect and the heater will help with that; moisture may ruin the paint as it might curdle or wrinkle.

Due to VOC content restrictions, solvents which aid drying are being minimized in oil-based paints; however, there is an additive product called Japan Dryer that will speed dry time, use as directed.


Can I put 15 amp switches on 12 gauge wire We're finishing our basement and doing the electrical ourselves. We have a bathroom that we ran 20 amps to, 12 gauge wire, but we only have a few lights in there. The lights definitely won't be using any more than one amp, so I'm wondering, can I wire in a 15 amp switch for the lights?

Yes. As long as the switch is rated for the amperage of the load served and the voltage of the circuit. Your instance is an example of this (as long as the switches are rated for the voltage).
Here is the applicable 2011 NEC code reference:

404.14 Snap switches shall be used within their ratings and as indicated in 404.14(A) through (F).
(A) Alternating-Current General-Use Snap Switch. A form of general-use snap switch suitable only for use on ac circuits for controlling the following:
(1) Resistive and inductive loads not exceeding the ampere
rating of the switch at the voltage involved

Good luck!


What could cause a flame sensor to stop working so frequently? Over a year ago after a month in our new house, we came back one evening to a cold home and after some googling, I found out that the flame sensor was dirty and the furnace was starting the flame and then quickly puffing it out. I cleaned the flame sensor and everything was normal again for two weeks. The flame sensor would fail every two weeks and every time I would clean it up and put it back in and everything would be okay.

This made me very frustrated, so I talked to a number of HVAC stores, and none had any idea what was precipitating the situation. Finally, a lady at one HVAC store told me it was the lint from the laundry drier that happens to be too close to the furnace and that there is nothing that can be done about it if the laundry machines share a room with the furnace in the basement which is in fact the case in my house. Nevertheless, I bought a brand new flame sensor and replaced my sensor.

The new sensor held up fine for a month and then failed and needed cleaning and started failing every two weeks after the first cleaning.
I am now very frustrated and concerned about what would happen if I was to go on a prolonged vacation in winter. This would specially be a problem since my spouse is not handy and she would simply have to freeze waiting for an HVAC technician if this ever happened while I am away.

Is anybody else having the same problem?

Is there an easier longer-lasting solution?

I should mention that my furnace is high-E newly installed Goodman furnace running on natural gas in mid-western Canada (3 years).

Have you had a gas technician go over your entire combustion system?

I strongly suspect that something is not adjusted correctly, and you have excess soot production (lint seems like a red herring, frankly) which is making the sensor "dirty." It also means you are not burning your gas as efficiently as should be possible. This is almost certainly a problem with combustion, not the sensor. The sensor fouling is a symptom, not a cause.

I don't really regard this a great area for DIY - without the right tools, which cost more than most homeowners (including me) will spend, and the right training to go with them, screwing up combustion appliances though self-service is more common than tuning them perfectly. There's also "not creating a giant loophole for your insurance company if the house burns down" as a minor factor in that thinking. Having burners professionally serviced on a yearly basis is a minor expense, comparatively.

If (as is commonly the case with high-efficency burners) the furnace has both an air intake from and an exhaust to outside, the dryer lint really can't be the problem. Some sort of blockage of that intake could, however, potentially cause the problem you are having (insufficient air supply causing a rich, sooty flame; soot fouling the sensor.)


How do I connect router-modem to existing central panel? I suddenly realized my house was prewired with Cat5e and found the panel. I'm confused on how to hook up the modem. The modem receives a connection over an RG6 coax cable. The panel looks like this:

Near the bottom is something called a patch module. I'm not sure if I need this.

I know that I can probably take those RJ45s hooked up in the telephone distribution module and hook them into the few spaces I have on the router (I only need a few rooms). However, I have no idea how to hook up the router/modem. Do I unplug the CATV Link and hook it up to the router/modem?

Do I unplug the CATV Link and hook it up to the router/modem?

Going by the installation guide for the distribution panel, the jacks labeled "CATV Link" and "SATV/CCTV" are passthrough ports that go to the back of the panel, meant to be used for satellite. I can't tell from your photos where, if anywhere, they go in your system. The input to the 8-way splitter that feeds the TVs is also on the back of the panel.

The recommended thing to do is to disconnect the cable going to the splitter input, and connect it to a two-way splitter (perhaps you already got one with your modem, and perhaps it says that one side is for the modem and one side is for TV — if so, use it, and follow the instructions). Using short cables, run one output of the splitter back to the distribution panel input and the other to the modem. Possibly you already have such a splitter and one or both of the passthrough ports are connected to its outputs? If so, then you could connect the modem to one of them without re-wiring anything, but I can't say.

If that's not possible (for instance, not enough space or available cable length), you can try connecting the modem to one of the other outputs of the splitter (unplug one of the cables going to a room, connect a short from the panel to the modem, optionally add a splitter to restore service to that room), but the modem may not appreciate being downstream of an 8-way split.

Then there's wiring for Ethernet. I can see that the cables running to the Telephone Distribution Module are Cat5 or similar; are they terminated in RJ-45 (wide, 8-contact), not RJ-11 (narrower, 4-contact) jacks in the rooms? If so, then yes, you should be able to pull them and plug them into the cable modem, and the patch panel wouldn't come into play.

But if there are cables going into the back of the patch panel running to each room — perhaps the rooms have separate "telephone" and "data" ports? — then you're better off getting 6" or 1' Cat5e patch cables, and connecting the LAN ports of the modem to each port of the patch panel, and lighting up the data ports that way. That seems more standard than using "telephone" ports, but I guess who has landlines these days anyway?

Finally, a note about WiFi. Is your cable modem/router also a WiFi access point? If so, you might not get the best signal with it closed up in the wiring closet. If it works there, great. But if it doesn't, then there's another way you can go:

Buy an inexpensive Ethernet switch with as many ports as the number of rooms you want internet in.
Place the cablemodem in a room with coax and ethernet ports, where it will also be in a good place for WiFi reception.
Hook up the coax splitter as before, except instead of running one of the outputs to the cablemodem inside the wiring closet, disconnect the coax for the room with the cablemodem from the 8-way splitter, and connect it directly to the two-way splitter. Or if you had the modem connected to one of the outputs of the 8-way splitter anyway, then just leave the coax the way it was when you got here.
Connect the cable modem to the cable jack in the room where it is, and connect one of its LAN ports to the Ethernet jack in that room (you can use  any other LAN ports on the modem for more devices in that room).
Put the Ethernet switch in the wiring cabinet, and connect the cables for all of the rooms that you want Ethernet in to the switch. If the switch has a special "uplink" port (it probably doesn't), connect the room with the cablemodem to that port. Otherwise, just connect it to any port of the switch.

Last, but not least — you seem to have really nice structured wiring in the house, but your panels don't have any labels on them. As you hook things up and you discover which ports and cables go to which rooms, write them on sticky labels and stick them in the slots provided on the side of the panel. It will be good for your sanity later on.


What do I need to do to prepare this trunk for painting? I've got this trunk. My eventual goal is to paint it red and use it as a combination storage space and coffee table in my (tiny Manhattan) apartment.

It's about fifteen years old. It's covered in a substance that's sort of textured to look faux-leather, but it's very clearly some very plasticky synthetic. It's peeling off on the bottom of the trunk and I can see that the trunk is made of particle board underneath.

The edges (underneath the dots) are another layer of that same faux-leather-y material. The hardware is brass (or more likely some other brass-colored metal). I don't have the patience to cover or paint around all those tiny dots, so I am planning to leave the black-and-brassish trim intact and just paint the flat surfaces red.

The initials on the top of the trunk were done in masking tape fifteen years ago; that torn white thing in the middle is a paper label (like you'd print an address label on), also affixed fifteen years ago.

If I were left to my own devices, here's how I'd go about painting the trunk:

Attempt to scrape off masking tape.
Get bored and give up on scraping off the masking tape. (You can see that's already happened a few times.)
Paint the trunk, masking tape and all.
Forget to flip it over, leaving the bottom black-and-raw-particle-board.

This is not the right way to do this.

So what is the right way? What's the best way to get rid of the fifteen-year-old masking tape and sticker? Do I need to prepare the weird pretend leather surface for paint in some way? Or remove it entirely? Bonus points for suggestions of what kind of paint to use; I'm a total DIY noob.

First you need to remove the masking tape and the label prior to painting, or they will show through on the finished surface. Use Goo Gone or Goof Off as BMitch and Tester suggest. (I've never used Goof Off, so I can't vouch for how well it works, but I have firsthand experience on how well Goo Gone works.)
Next you need to clean the surface, at least with a damp cloth. Let it dry.
If you really want a clean edge for the parts you're not going to paint, you can use blue painter's tape to mask it off.
Next, prime the surfaces that you are going to paint. This will help the paint adhere to the trunk and reduce the chance of the paint peeling on down the road.
Finally, paint. I use latex for most of my projects, since it's easy to clean up. Pay attention to what type of finish you want. A roller will give you a slight orange peel effect, while a brush may leave brush strokes. If you want a smoother finish, you can add some Floetrol to latex paint to minimize any brush strokes. Buying a high quality brush can also help. You may have to do several coats of paint, but I'd do a minimum of two.
If you used painter's tape, carefully pull it up. If you have problems with the paint sticking to the tape, gently score along the edge of the tape with a razor blade.

I wouldn't bother painting the bottom.


making sense of a confusing light switch box I'm trying to install a GE Z-Wave 12724 Smart Dimmer and my light switch box looks nothing like I imagine it's supposed to with wires properly identified. This wouldn't be the first improperly installed thing I've found in this apartment but I'm hopeful it's not too bad.  I've played around with some of it and would love help confirming identity of the wires, and also whether I have enough in here to safely install the switch.

Here's an image of what I'm working with and some labels to help reference different wires. I've got four black wires (labeled 1-4 in red) connected to the two switches (regular, not three way) and 4 white wires soldered together and wrapped up in electrical tape (labeled 5-8 in red). The wire sources are grouped together so I tried to label each wire's source (in orange) as well in case that's helpful.

I opened up the bundle of white wires with the junction box off and then reconnected them in pairs to see what happens. Here's what I got:

5 to 7 : Kitchen light turns on
6 to 7 : Random kitchen outlet turns on
8 to 7 : Dining light turns on

So based on all that and the wire layout, here's my guesses for identifying:

Wire 1 - Load to kitchen light
Wire 2 - Line (because it's composed of two source wires and jumped to provide power to dining switch?)
Wire 3 - Bridge to get line to dining switch
Wire 4 - Load to dining light
Wire 5 - Kitchen neutral connection
Wire 6 - Outlet neutral connection
Wire 7 - Neutral given that it makes everything else work
Wire 8 - Dining neutral connection

And the specific questions assuming I got those correct:

Is the white bundle my neutral or could it be ground?
If it's neutral, should I definitely not connect the switch without a ground?
If it's neutral can I just connect the bundle to the neutral terminal on the switch, or should I uncouple the white bundle and use wire nuts for all those connections instead?
Should I uncouple the two source wires that I think are line so that each switch has it's own line from the wall rather than having it jumped from one to the other?
Is it bad that there's a wire to an outlet in this box, seems odd.

Thanks so much everyone!

I concur with your guesses. (I must say I've never seen anyone conduct a circuit discrimination by manipulating the neutral wires!) The cable with [2,7] supplies power to everything else.

Questionwise:

If the white bundle were ground, where would the neutral be? It looks like you have no fault ground available in that junction box.
There's no fault ground now, so installing the switch without using the fault ground terminal will not make things worse.

Since you can't provide fault grounding without rewiring the apartment, consider replacing the outlet (or all the outlets) with GFCI-protected outlets. They usually come with a "No Equipment Ground" sticky label, which you would use. But that may be a project for another time.

Uncouple the white bundle and use a wire nut to tie them together, including a short pigtail to the neutral connection on the GE 12724.
Yes, you should. Use a wire nut to tie together the line hot, the load to the outlet, and a pigtail to the line terminal of each switch. Don't leave any connections just wrapped in tape; that's very unsafe.

How deep is the junction box? You want to know if you're exceeding the volume capacity of the box.

You have 8 conductors entering the box, and two device yokes which count as 2 conductors each. You have no internal clamps, no support hardware, and no ground screw, so your total conductor count is 12. If you wires are 12-guage, as they appear to be, each conductor requires 2.25 cubic inches. This gives a total requirement of 27 cubic inches.

You can find the capacity of the box with a ruler; just multiply width X height X depth. Two-gang boxes are typically about 4" square, so at 2.5" deep the capacity would be 40 cubic inches. Even if your box is a little smaller, if it's 3.75" X 3.75" X 2.25" that's still big enough at 31.6 cubic inches.

Yes, strictly speaking, it's bad. Electricians really do not like to put outlets and lights on the same circuit. Perhaps a licensed electrician will chime in here and tell us what the NEC has to say about this.


Are there any health concerns with using copper green wood preservative indoors? So we had a roof leak and water was slowly dripping through the exterior wall and drywall. It had been going on for years, but until recently it became noticeably during a heavy rainfall when the water dripped through the drywall.

So my contractor came out and fixed the roof leak and replaced the drywall and insulation. However underneath the drywall my contractor used Copper Green Wood Preservative (contains 10% copper naphthalene), as he claimed would help maintain the wood since it had been getting wet for years.

When he sprayed the Wood Preservative there was a noticeable strong odor, which he said would go away. It has been a three days since he sprayed the internal wall with Wood Preservative.

I researched online that this product is supposed to be only used for exterior use only. Is there any way I can mitigate this issue.

I am thinking about calling my contractor back and having the dry wall removed and re-installing a new one with painting an odor remover primer behind the drywall and adding HVAC tape.

Let me know if it is worth the extra money I put into this? Also just curious if I leave it as it is, is there any concerns I should have like side effects on health issues for using this product indoors?

Your contractor should not have sprayed that stuff inside your wall for a number of reasons:

1) it says on the label that it is for exterior use only.

2) It will not really do any good. That product is similar to many traditional wood preservatives that utilize copper napthenate to treat wood before it is exposed to moisture. Putting it on after the fact is arguably useless. It is commonly used for wood that will be left outside without a protective finish. Pressure-treated lumber is treated with copper napthenate, that's why it is green.

3) The stuff is smelly, and covering it up before it was dry (if that's what he did) will prolong the drying time.

The product "carrier" is mineral spirits (paint thinner); oil-based paints using paint thinner or turpentine as a carrier solvent have been used indoors for a long time. The "danger" to you is likely minimal. The TLV (Threshold Limit Value; which is how much an average worker can be exposed during an 8-hour work day with no respiratory protection and no significant health effect) is 500 PPM (parts per million) for Green Products Co. Copper Green. Without a detection device to measure you can't really assess your exposure level, but opening a window nearby to provide ventilation will significantly reduce the concentration.

You will have to make a "trouble vs. gain" decision on whether to have it ripped out. Opening the wall and providing ventilation to ensure it dries would fix the issue. Once dry, there would be no real reason to further "seal" over it unless irritating odors persist.

Material Safety Data Sheet


Which exterior outlet cover is required by NEC? There are two types of outlet covers used on external outlets. The first type is for damp locations that covers the outlet when it's not in use:

And the second type is for wet locations that allow the outlet to be sealed while in use:

How is wet vs damp defined by NEC to differentiate when one cover is required over another?

  NEC 406.8 Receptacles in Damp or Wet Locations: "A receptacle
  installed outdoors in a location protected from the weather or in
  other damp locations shall have an enclosure for the receptacle that
  is weatherproof when the receptacle is covered (attachment plug cap
  not inserted and receptacle covers closed).". And "receptacles
  installed in a wet location shall have an enclosure that is
  weatherproof whether or not the attachment plug cap is inserted."

NEC 2008
406.8 Receptacles in Damp or Wet Locations.
(A) Damp Locations. ... A receptacle shall be
considered to be in a location protected from the weather where
located under roofed open porches, canopies, marquees, and the like,
and will not be subjected to a beating rain or water runoff. All 15-
and 20-ampere, 125- and 250-volt nonlocking receptacles shall be a
listed weather-resistant type.
NEC 2008
Article 100 Definitions
Location, Damp. Locations protected from weather and not subject to saturation with water or other liquids but subject to moderate
degrees of moisture. Examples of such locations include partially
protected locations under canopies, marquees, roofed open porches, and
like locations, and interior locations subject to moderate degrees of
moisture, such as some basements, some barns, and some coldstorage
warehouses.
Location, Dry. A location not normally subject to dampness or wetness. A location classified as dry may be temporarily subject to
dampness or wetness, as in the case of a building under construction.
Location, Wet. Installations underground or in concrete slabs or masonry in direct contact with the earth; in locations subject to
saturation with water or other liquids, such as vehicle washing areas;
and in unprotected locations exposed to weather.


Mosaic floor polishing- What to use I have a mosaic floor which caught mold from rotten food some time ago. Here is the floor which is ok (with and without flash).

And here is the damaged floor after the "polishing". I tried to do with diamond polishing pads of grits 400,800.

As you can see the result is no good. The polish is insufficient. Even the bulk imperfections and discoloration from the mold damage haven't been taken out although I have polished thoroughly with good pressure. Should I have tried lower grit than 400,or bring a professional to do the whole room?(I'm trying to do only the part which got damaged)

Your first mistake was using the diamond pads. Part of the discoloration is stone dust being embedded in the concrete filler. You had a mold problem or staining from food/drinks being spilled. You should have started out with a non abrasive concrete / grout cleaner. You could have even used a mixture of beach and water. Try doing this and just work on the cement/grout filling. Once that's cleaned up use a buffing pad and polish on the affected stones.


Simpson A-35 (framing angle) suitable for this application? Would an A-35 be suitable for the rafter>top-plate connection shown here? Would I need one on both sides of a rafter, or just on one side? Existing structure (grey) is 12'x 18', 6" CMU block w/rebar, located in Central California (seismic zone). Essentially putting a new "hat" on the building which will be a small sleeping loft, want to make sure everything is to code, particularly hardware connections. General advice as to fastener/connection details is also greatly appreciated. (i.e. Would simply toe-nailing into the top plate be suitable? Are framing-angles even necessary for transferring horizontal loads/preventing shear in this instance?) Thanks All!

Yes, a framing angle such as an A35 is required to transfer the horizontal roof load to the wall and to resist uplift from wind hitting the overhang. (I don’t think an A35n is strong enough.)

I prefer the H1, but one A35 is acceptable. (Two A35 is not required.) Make sure you Install the A35 correctly by bending the tab so the tab can be nailed down into the top plate and sideways into the top plate.

Btw, the top plate on a masonry wall requires a 3” square washer and I’ve never seen then smaller than 5/8” x 10” long spaced a max of 32” oc in your location.


Is this sump pump plumbing correct? We bought our house in 2013. There was a sump pit with a non functioning pump from the day we bought it. The basement was flooded in 2011, which I'm guessing is when the pump stopped working (a considerable amount of water from what I understand).

I finally got around to replacing the pump. I removed the old, rusty pump and replaced it with a new one. I followed the instructions provided by the manufacturer. My issue isn't with the pump or the installation, but rather the existing plumbing to/from the pump. When I added water to the pit, the pump turned on, but instead of discharging the water out into the yard through the discharge pipe (green arrow), it came spouting out of the top of a pipe that drains into the pump (pink arrow).

That particular pipe has a plastic tube feeding into it that runs from the furnace (or ductwork). There is a black valve for that pipe, but if I close it, water comes out the top of the pipe.

Is this setup correct? I don't see how any sump pump would have worked given this setup. I'm way out of my depths here and I need some help.

Plumbing is not correct.

You have a condensate drain that's been piped to the sump drain, and the check valve (black thing) is below it. But it would not work if the check valve was above it, either. (edit - perhaps that's just a coupling, not the common "check valve in a flexible coupling" I took it to be at first - does not change the answer.) The backpressure of the sump exit pipe to the exterior is evidently considerably higher than the small height difference to the top of the open tube getting the condensate.

Does the SUMP DRAIN operate normally if you close the valve? I'm assuming that when you say water runs out the top if you close the valve, you mean condensate from the furnace, not the sump drain water that you get when the sump operates if it's open.

If so, you just need to re-route the condensate to drain into the sump itself, not into the sump's drain line. Leave the valve closed, or cut it off and cap that.

If the sump does not successfully drain to the exterior with the valve closed, perhaps the sump drain to the exterior is clogged, causing more backpressure than when this was set up, and perhaps it worked when the line was clear. Still Not a good setup IMHO, but perhaps it "used to work"...9 years is a long time for things to build nests, or perhaps some trash got jammed in there in 2011 and was never removed.

If you wanted to needlessly overcomplicate things and add more stuff to fail confusingly you could configure an additional check valve so that the condensate drained into the line but the sump discharge did not go into the condensate drain stack. That is not an approach I would suggest, but it COULD be done.

To fix yourself, just replace the small pipe with a pipe that runs from the condensate tube to the sump (with an air gap so it cannot siphon) and close the valve, or cut and cap where the valve was. Possibly clear out the drain if it does not work with the valve closed (perhaps that's why you think you need a plumber now...?)


Should I be concerned about rusty nails just inside an outer wall? Last year I nailed down the linoleum in my pantry with small brads because it was curling badly. This year during spring cleaning I noticed that the nails on the edge near the outer wall of the house are rusty. Does this mean a significant amount of water is seeping in from outside and I have to find and plug leaks or is this normal moisture?

Relevant information:
The house is a Queen Anne (frame). The floor of the pantry is just above where the wood structure meets the cinder block foundation.

You have to gather more information about how often the water gets there. Nails without coating (like zinc or anything else) will get rusty if you just wipe them with damp cloth and leave to dry. So nails being rusty only indicate that there was water at some point of time - it might be anything ranging from one time vapor condensation to washing floors to some major periodic leak.


Non-spray WD-40 equivalent? I spray WD-40 on metal parts in a high moisture area to prevent rust.  But in one particular case, I don't want the oil getting on other things in a tight area, so I'm reluctant to use the spray.  Is there like a non-spray equivalent of WD-40 that I could smear on by hand or coat with a paint brush to the thing I want to protect from rust?  It should ideally protect against rust for several years without requiring any more applications.

Spray onto a cloth or rag and wipe on.
Avoids any overspray if you prepare the cloth/rag away from that area.


Interrupt whole house audio with arbitrary source, post-receiver but pre-amplifier I want to setup my home audio so that I can inject a source of audio (which could be anything from a doorbell to computer audio) more-or-less "in-between" the receiver and the amplifier, so that audio from that in-between-source would take priority over the receiver's output.  Ideally, it would fade down or mute the receiver programming momentarily, too.

In other words, I want a setup similar to how a paging/intercom system might interrupt elevator music in an office building.  Frankly, I don't even know the proper terminology for such a thing.

My long-term vision for this includes being able to assign from sources like an AirPort Express to which I would AirPlay an iPhone, and I would expect to hear the iPhone alerts (SMS texts, phone call rings, etc.) to output OVER any other base audio that might be playing from the stereo receiver.

Is there a ready-made device for something like this? Is this possible? Does this even make sense?

The device you're looking for is a "ducking mixer". Websearch will find public-address hardware that has this feature, and may find a consumer version or circuit diagrams.

It's basically the same idea as automatic volume control, except that rather than reacting to an input becoming louder by fading that input down, it reacts by fading the other signal down. There's usually a bit of delay built into this, so the fading and restoring of the normal/background channel sounds fairly natural rather than having it cut in and out suddenly every time there's a pause in the higher-priority signal (think turning a knob rather than flicking a switch, and waiting to be sure there isn't another word/sound coming a second later before going back to normal operation.

Of course if you want multiple signal sources to be able to interrupt your listening, you either need to mix them before they get to the ducking amplifier or the ducker has to support multiple high-priority sources. The former's probably more common/affordable.

Usually the easiest way to patch effects of this sort into a consumer receiver is to use the "tape loop" outputs and inputs, if your system has them. Switching to tape mode routes the normal signal to the receiver's "tape record out" connection, and routes "tape playback in" to the amplifier. That was originally intended to let folks monitor the signal that was actually being recorded on tape, but it's useful as a general "effects insert" path. (External equalizers also tend to be patched in via the tape loop, for the same reasons.)

Sounds like a fun home-automation project. Shouldn't be too hard to make it work.

("Mr. Smith, please pick up the white courtesy phone. Mr. Smith...")


Bad smell in down stairs bathroom Every once in a while this horrible smell cones out of the bathroom.  Smells like urine.  It will be there for a few days to a week then goes away but it is overwhelming when it's there . The bathroom is clean. And it comes and goes. What could it be?

Do you use that bathroom often? If the sink goes without use for an extended period of time you might get a sewer gas smell. The p-trap in the sink drain can dry out causing sewer gas to leak through the drain. The next time it happens run water in the sink and if you have a tub or shower then there too. See if it helps.


Running Wire in Updated Kitchen and Living Room I'm trying to plan out how to run the wire for my electrical outlets.  I thought I could save wire by branching my hot wire in two different directions.  Is this code?  Is there a drawback?  I would make sure there was enough room in the box.

Electrical wiring must be in a "tree" topology for cables.  Most of the time it is in more of a vine topology, but that is a kind of tree. That is, you can split off branches anywhere that is inside a junction box.  You would then have 1 supply wire and 2+ onward wires for each of hot, neutral, and ground.  Since it's in a junction box, you could put a receptacle or switch there and join its hot and neutral also.

What you're not allowed to do is loop cables back onto other cables: branches of the tree cannot rejoin.  AC power actually kicks out very strong EMFs.  If power went out one branch and came back another, it would throw EMF all around the circle, which would be a serious problem that can cause vibration and inductive heating. But if all the wires in a cable add up to equal and opposite current, the EMFs cancel each other out.  A tree layout for cables ensures that.

Following up on that same rule, every hot needs to return current on a neutral or other wire in that same cable.  So when you branch hot, also branch neutral and ground  as well.  It is less critical for ground to be in a strict tree layout, since current only flows on ground during fault conditions.

Lastly, every branch must be inside a junction box, and those cannot be buried where you would need tools or disassemble the house to access the junction box cover.


Heat transfer to adjacent solder joints behind wall I need to remove a soldered valve from a supply line and there is a soldered elbow only about 2 inches away.
I've read another post about trying to keep the second joint cool but it sounded less than convincing.
It's the first branch in the house so if I mess up I'll have no water until I can fix it.
Am I wasting my time trying to keep it cool or should I just open up the wall so I can deal with the elbow right away?

I don't see any reason why unintentional reflow of the solder on that nearby elbow would inherently be any problem. Try to minimize disturbing it while the solder is molten -- don't pull the pipe out of the elbow, and hold it with pliers so the pipe won't rotate while you're trying to work the other fitting off the same stub of pipe.
It'll probably work out just fine, and if you have the parts and tools on hand you'll be ready to deal with any trouble that might arise.
The biggest thing is to make sure you keep all the water cleared out while trying to solder. Have a dissolvable sponge (such as a slice of white bread) on hand to stuff up into the pipe to hold water at bay, just in case.


why are 120v coming out of my light switch plate screws? While troubleshooting a dead GFCI receptacle in my bathroom I discovered that a nearby light switch plate's screws have 120 volts coming out of them. The GFCI was reading 1.5v from hot to ground on itself, with breaker flipped off and I wanted to see if grounding it somewhere else would change this. I tried the sink faucet, still 1.5v, and then tried the switch plate screw...120v. Was very surprised by this. To be sure, I tried the screw to a sink faucet and a different outlet's ground and still had 120v. What can cause this?

I have never been shocked by the screws, thankfully. I will flip the breaker for the light circuit later and have a look to see what is going on. I imagine the ground and hot wires are crossed behind the switch plate, but thought I'd ask here and see if any warning alarms go off or any bits of advice are given. Thanks.

A bit more information. The 120v is coming from the screws regardless of the switch position and the lights behind the switch have always functioned properly.

My guess, since everything works fine still, is that the ground to this circuit is disconnected somewhere and the hot or possibly a loose "disconnected" hot from another circuit is touching the switch yoke or box.

If your ground were in working order and connected properly to the box or device, the breaker would have long since tripped. I don't know what mess is going on with the hot or some energized wire, but this will be a problem within it.


Why does my GFI keep going off? Is it dangerous? I have a small condo with one bathroom. There is a GFI in the kitchen and bathroom.

The GFI in the bathroom trips off on a regular basis. It started slowly (like 1/week) and now it happens multiple times a day. It happens whenever I go to switch on the light in the bathroom and I can also cause it to go off if I use the receptacle with items like my hair clippers (I think it draws a lot of watts).

The GFI in the kitchen also trips off. This one happens less frequently (like 1/month) but it will also happen completely on it's own. I'll just be sitting there, with nothing plugged in and the GFI will trip.

What could be causing this? Is it dangerous? Is there a way for me to debug some of the problems before I call someone in? Can it cause a fire?

I am not a professional electrician but one possibility is failing component.  If yours are plug in (or if you are happy with mains wiring) then try swapping the two dodgy ones with each other or with non-dodgy ones.  Make sure you swap like with like (current/wattage ratings etc).  Make sure you take all necessary precautions.

If the fault follows the component then it would point to a failed component.

If the fault doesn't follow the component but is on the same circuit then I would say there is something wrong with the install.  My top three issues are: water damage; rodent damage; or deteriorated installation.  Good luck trying to find it!

Water is notoriously nasty for troubleshooting and just because you found some at point B it isn't necessarily coming from point A (the closest source).  It could be coming from point R (a totally random point nowhere near).  It likes to follow the scenic route from source to where it manifests.

Yes it's dangerous! The GFI is there for a reason.  At least you have not said that you have forced it permanently on my taping it in the on position.  And that is not a suggestion.  DON'T DO IT!

Yes it could potentially cause a fire.  Especially if it is a fault in the installation.  It could be sparking unseen and sparks are a good source of fires.


how to patch the wall with multiple layers of paints? I'm patching a hole in a bedroom. There are multiple layers of paints. I use lightweight spackle. Can anyone tell me how to fix the uneven wall? Thanks a lot.

First, make sure any loose or chipping paint is removed.
Second, for an area that large, I would use joint compound instead of spackle. Also, a wide taping knife will help.

One more tip: For a relatively small area such as this in an existing house, in order not to get so much dust in your house, I recommend the following:

Be careful not to apply too much joint compound. Use your knife to eliminate ridges when you apply it.
After the joint compound dries, use the damp sponge "sanding" method to smooth what imperfections remain. After this, actual sanding may not even be necessary.


recharging 18V battery back in parallel So I'm working on a project where I'm wanting to take several 18V ryobi battery packs, put them in parallel to increase the capacity, and then use that to power my project. I think this should be fairly easily done, but my problem is when I want to recharge them, I don't want to disconnect them and charge them individually. Would it be alright to just take a single battery charger, and connect it to all of the battery packs in parallel? I wasn't sure if this would damage anything or not. I'm sure it would take longer to charge, but i'm okay with that.

Anyways, just thought I'd ask people that would know more about this than I would. Thanks!

Checking yonder google tells me that it's difficult and unwise for NiCd: http://www.powerstream.com/NiCd.htm, and unlikely to work for Lithium batteries unless you match the internal cells very carefully: https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/126673/charging-li-ion-batteries-in-parallel.

Either one could be overcome, but not for the minimal expense of just buying a cheap lawn tractor battery from Walmart, and putting a trickle charger on it.


Why doesn't my solar water heater provide enough hot water for a few showers? I bought a Helioakmi compact 200 solar heater. It’s properly installed but even with the electric element on it’s still not heating enough water for a few showers. In the evening the water is cold.
I am thinking of putting a circulation pump with two set of hot water pipes to keep the hot water circulation constant.
Will it work?

If it is properly installed and the auxiliary heater is working, you should have enough hot water for three or four hot showers.  A 200 liter tank is approximately 52 US Gal which is the normal size for a family of 3-4 people.
Adding a circulation pump will not resolve the issue you are having.  The circulation pump will shorten the time it takes for hot water to reach where your shower is located.  It will provided a small amount of addition storage, but since your tank is ~52 gal, the additional storage in the pipes will be minimum.
Before adding a circulation pump, I would validate that the solar heater is working properly.  At a daytime high temp of 24-25C degrees, the water is still cold and needs the electric element to bring the temp to about 52C (125 F) in order to feel like hot water is coming out of the shower.
I would check that the thermostat is set to at least 60C (140F), the factory setting.  About 1 or 2 hrs before sunset, I would turn on the hot water and measure the water temperature.
If the water temp is 60C, then you know the thermostat and electric element is working.
If the water temp is not 60C, then you could have these potential problems:

faulty thermostat
Electric element not working
Electric element is undersized

Do you have the standard 4000 Watt-230 v heater or did you select another heater option?


Install Hive Thermostat - C wire power I am installing a Hive Active thermostat.  My previous thermostat was battery operated and did not use a C wire.  However, I found a 5th, blue wire, behind the thermostat so I used that as the C wire and connected it to the new thermostat and to the c terminal on the furnace(there is also another wire in the c terminal already, not positive what for).  When testing voltage all wires are at 27 volts testing at the furnace.  I also tested at the thermostat and all are at 27 except for the Rh-C which is not getting power.  This needs 24 volts for the thermostat to power on...what am I missing?  Thanks

Loren, it is normal and acceptable for 24-volt controlled appliances to have a transformer that delivers 27-28 volts. Then when the circuit is under load the voltage can drop a couple of points and still deliver the required voltage. The fifth blue wire should work fine as a common and make your new stat work fine. Don't get too hung up on those voltages you are seeing.


How do you sharpen a knife? Just got done sharpening a few knives, and thought it could be useful to post a question about it here.

So lets say I have one of these guys.

With a coarse stone, a medium stone, and a fine stone.

What is the proper way to sharpen a knife with a stone like this?
Do I need any other tools?
Do I need any protective equipment?
Do I have to use some type of oil?
Is it better to go fast, or slow?
Is the procedure different with a knife that has never been sharpened before?
Do I have to do anything different if the blade has rust on it?
How do I know when the knife is sharp?

It is very hard to describe knife sharpening in text.  I'd recommend searching out a few Youtube videos for tips on technique.  That said, I'll add my 2 cents worth.  Everyone has a different idea of the "correct" way to sharpen a knife; below is just how I was taught.

What is the proper way to sharpen a knife with a stone like this?

If the knife is already sharp and you're touching up, start with one of the fine stones.  If not, start with the coarsest.  Work your way from coarser to finer.  Put some oil on the stone, put the edge of the knife on the stone at the angle you want (try to match the existing angle), then stroke the knife along the stone as if you're trying to remove a fine shaving of stone.  Pull the knife as you do it to sharpen the entire edge.

Do I need any other tools?

No.  A jig for keeping the sharpening angle can help, but most likely wouldn't be usable with a stone like this.

Do I need any protective equipment?

No, but be very wary of where your fingers are, and where the edge can go if you slip.  Keep your fingers out of that area.

Do I have to use some type of oil?

Yes, to carry away the swarf, or metal particles.  For cooking knives I use a vegetable oil.  Yes, veggie oil can go rancid, but cooking knives are used and washed often enough that it's not an issue.

Is it better to go fast, or slow?

Slow.  I like to take long strokes along the whole edge, concentrating on keeping my angle consistent.  I use about a 20 degree angle on kitchen knives.

Is the procedure different with a knife that has never been sharpened before?

Only that you would probably start on a coarser stone.

Do I have to do anything different if the blade has rust on it?

Remove the rust first with fine sandpaper.

How do I know when the knife is sharp?

There are many ways to test.  The old newspaper test, where you hold a piece of newsprint in one hand and cut it with the other is a good one.  You can try shaving your arm hair until you run out :)

But really, watch some videos and just practice.


How does a temperature regulator with a single wire work? In my office building we have a heating dial that has a single wire coming out of it. The wire is connected to some simple mechanical gadget that is in turn connected to the radiator. When the dial is turned, the gadget presses a knob on the radiator. The single metal (aluminium?) wire very thin (1mm), I don't think there is air or another wire inside it. I believe there have to be 2 wires to pass electrical current. How does it transfer turn from dial into the gadget?

It's almost certainly capillary tubing with a fluid inside it.


How do I prepare doors to be hung? Changing out interior doors in house.  All of them.  Going from brown crap to white 6 panel.  I have two hinges on each door.  Would like to buy new door with predrilled knob hole, cut it down correctly to size, and then attach hinges to it.  Only issue I have so far is not really sure how I should cut out for the hinges.  I have read use a chisel.  I am fine with that but do see how I can be even going across.

Do you have access to a router?  You'll save yourself a huge amount of time if you buy a hinge mortise template (like this one from HD) and use the router to cut out the mortises:

They attach temporarily onto the edge of the door, and you use the router in the large opening to cut to the correct depth.  Once you're done, take the template off the door and screw in the hinge plates.  Done!


New electric hot water heater, hot water turns luke warm after 12-15minutes of use? Converted my oil burner to a gas burner and added an electric hot water heater. When i use the shower the hot water turns to luke warm in 12-15 minutes. It was installed by a professional plumber and he seems to be baffled by this problem.

That's how tanked water heaters work

Before, you had an oil fired water heater.  There's no such thing directly, so you probably had an powerful oil fired boiler (hydronic) with enough power to heat the whole house, and as a side-feature, it had a water-water heat exchanger providing hot water.   The demands of heating the house are much larger than just hot water, so it had the oomph to provide hot water continuously.

You changed to the cheapest option available, a tanked electric water heater, because the project had to hit a budget number. This is how those work.

Electric tanked water heaters have a tank of water.  Typically 30 gallons sometimes larger, and typically 30 amps of electric.  It takes 20-60 minutes for the tank to initially warm up.   As you use the water, cold water must (law of physics) come in to replace it (the pressure of this water is what provides the flow).  The 30A electric heater is not powerful enough to heat water at the rate a shower uses it.  So the hot water is eventually used up. The heater needs 20-60 minutes to recover.

Getting 10-15 minutes of hot water would be about right for a low flow 2 GPM showerhead and a common 30 gallon tank.

You can go tankless

What you had before, with your hot water heat exchanger, was effectively a tankless heater because the fuel-fired heat source was so very powerful.

Since you converted the house to gas, you can get a gas tankless heater. Those can be plenty powerful and will do what you want.

Your other option is a tankless electric heater.  However fuel is very powerful and it takes a lot of electricity to even compete.  Don't be surprised if a "whole house" electric tankless heater large enough that will satisfy your needs will want 100A or more.  That's just how much electricity it takes to heat water.  It's unfortunately common for people to lowball their tankless electric requirement to either save money or due to electric capacity, and be unhappy with the lukewarm results at high flow. Such people inevitably declare "tankless electrics are junk" and give up, which is a shame.

However with electric, a "whole house" unit isn't necessarily the best plan.  With no flues or drains, a tankless electric can go practically anywhere.  You can site one right at the shower and have instant hot water. And since it's only serving the shower (and presumably the sink) it can be a smaller unit.  Have another one under the kitchen sink to power the faucet, dishwasher etc (with a branch to the washing machine) and you are in good shape.  You still need a lot of power.


Best cover for water main What's the easiest and best solution to cover my main water shut-off valve in the basement?

Cut drywall to the dimensions and put a handle on it, or a plastic cover with the right dimensions, or is there another option?

Easiest solution - hang a picture over it - perhaps something with a water theme.

Arguably "best" solution - use an access panel, it's what they are made for.


Washing machine jumping around I have a frontloader washing machine Whirlpool AWO 6445, about four years old, that runs about twice a week. It is sandwiched into a kitchen with not a single millimeter to spare left and right, but a few centimeters between the lid of the washing machine and the worktop. The floor is uneven, made from old wood, the center of the room being three centimeters or so lower than the corners; but I think the machine is more or less leveled out against the floor.

A month ago, the machine made really loud noises for a few seconds, and jumped around thirty centimeters forward (some five jumps, towards the middle of the room). I stopped the program, pushed the machine back into place and restarted the program - ready to switch it off should it happen again. It didn't.

Today, it did happen again: for the second time the machine jumped. So, what could be the issue? Could this be dangerous or can I safely ignore it?

I asked two friends, one told me this would be a shock absorber issue, I should order a new pair and change it, another one told me I should check the shock sensor. To me as a layman, both answers seem like good guesses, but are there other possible reasons?

(Since I have constricted space in my kitchen, I am just now collecting possible causes, without opening the machine - hoping to be able to order the right parts before I open the machine, and possibly get it repaired on a single weekend afternoon.)

Any machine, including a washing machine, will walk if it has a spinning load which is unbalanced. This effect will be greatly enhanced if the machine is not level. In most cases a washing machine can be prevented from walking by leveling the machine perfectly and making sure that laundry is evenly distributed in the basket.

If the machine walks upstairs to the kitchen, gets a knife and then walks to the second floor into your bedroom, then simply leveling the machine will not solve the problem because it is probably possessed.


How to frame a rough opening on an existing header? I am trying to convert my garage, and the garage door wall has a header on it. I am trying to frame a wall with a rough opening for a window and was wondering how I would fit the king studs, do I build a new header underneath or just have two jack studs?

It depends on the window size to some extent, but typically I'd not add another header. In fact, some carpenters put all headers against the top plate, with pin studs down to the RO.

Just drop your studs in and build down (if necessary) by whatever means is convenient. You always want at least two members along a door or window for rigidity, curtain backing, etc. Tie it all together well with sheathing and be happy.


How to cut wood panel for angled ceiling? I am adding wood paneling to the wall, as you can see above. Starting with the next panel in the coming row I will need to cut the left end to fit the angle of the ceiling. How to I determine the angle I need to set my miter saw to?

Here is how I have done it before without anything more than what I was already using, the material, pencil, a tape measure and a miter box.


Tub drain re-assembly There was moldy caulk around the tub drain. I intended to take it out, clean the drain area, reapply any teflon tape, and re-caulk the area. When I started to turn the drain counterclockwise the top piece popped off.

It appears to be a drain cover. Here's the drain underneath.

We've cleaned the cover and the top of the drain... now I'm trying to figure out how to put this back on. I was going to apply some plumber's putty to the underside of the cover and stick it on... does that sound like enough adhesion? Should I re-add caulk around the cover once it's back down? Since the cover sits up higher than the drain below there's water that pools around the cover (hence the moldy caulk I was removing) so I'm leaning towards not adding more.

You should try to loosen/remove the piece still in there.
it should just unscrew. The cover you removed doesn't appear to be part of the original drain. If you can remove the remaining piece, you can get a whole new piece to screw back in and no water will be pooling around.


Can I power A/C and furanance from two different services? [I combined a duplex (with separate electric service) into a single unit. It still has two electric services and they're small.]

I learned from another question that I should not try to merge two different main services from the power company into one panel.

So I tried to reallocate my AC to the other power panel for the other service. The AC won't turn on after that. Do I need to move the furnace to the same power panel? Any other possible reason the furnace won't turn on? It used to work just fine, before I moved the AC power line to a different power panel.

Usually, air conditioning units are simple things.  They have

a freon hose in and out
240V electric power which runs the compressor
a 24V signal wire which operates a big contactor that turns e A/C unit on.

In this case, the furnace and the A/C unit are connected only by the freon hoses and the 24V thermostat line.  There is no mains AC power connection.  The furnace does not care where the A/C unit gets its power, it could come off a diesel engine and it wouldn't care.

The 24V control power is generated by the furnace using a transformer, from its mains power supply.  However the 24V is its own totally separate service; it doesn't care which service the A/C unit is on.

So... I think your problem is somewhere else.  I think that electricity isn't getting to the A/C unit, you didn't turn a breaker on, you disconnected the thermostat wire, etc.

Or not...

If your air conditioning unit is not like I describe here, then that may be a problem.  There are some modern units that do some more complicated things. Fine then, so what? The fact is, a furnace unit draws fairly little electricity - only a few hundred watts for the fan to blow air around.  So the furnace adds fairly little load to the panel and it doesn't really need to be on a separate service in your case.

Oh wait, your heat is electric? (Or heat pump with aux heat). Yes, electric heat is a very big load indeed. But like the air conditioner is supposed to be, the huge heating elements are contactor controlled, and are electrically very simple, and could be powered from a different service.


Electrical turning off on its own I have a 1938 home which was rewired with cloth covered wires.  We have changed all outlets and switches but one circuit will shut off sometimes repeatedly and sometimes will stay on for 6 hours.  This has T.V. connected to it in living room,  dining room (ceiling fan flickers), bathroom, and another bedroom.  Small house and we were only running T.V. when it does this.  Could it be a bad wire heating and cooling at that one area.  Should I have house rewired? Is this a fire hazard?

A short circuit is a fire hazard, though it may not require rewiring the house to repair. When this happens, identify all affected outlets and lights.

Then, when the circuit is normal, locate section of wire that must contain the fault by separating the line and load at various points to map out the circuit. When you disconnect the hot at one point in the circuit and turn the power back on, everything that doesn't have power is part of the load from that device, and everything still working is part of the line.

With the process of elimination, you can identify the 2 outlets where only the problem outlets are affected when the hot is disconnected, one outlet that has the problem itself, and another that doesn't have the problem. The fault will be at one of these outlets or the line between the two will need to be replaced.


Output load of led strip dimmers There's one thing about led dimmers and controllers that have confused me, were planning to put in over and under cabinet lighting, with both strips on at 100% the system should be running with 72 watts total, however the RGB controllers specs say the max output can be 48 watts. Since i'm only using a single color for the bottom and only RGB at the top, the RGB strip will consume 24 watts, the problem is, if the entire system takes a total of 72 watts, but the top RGB set only takes 24 watts, would anything happen if I used a 48 watt dimmer to control the RGB strip which takes 24 watts in a 72 watt total system? Does it mean 48 watts only on the RGB side or does it matter how much is also going in? I plan on sharing one power supply rated at 12v 7a for this system, where i will split the paths for the upper and under cabinet strips.

The RGB controller's output is only relevant to the 3-color LED section.   Per 60 LEDs, they use 0.4A per channel (1.2A total).  48 watts is 4 amps.

So if your strip is less than 10 feet long you should be within limit of that controller.

If you are near or exceed the limits of that controller, you can add a device called an amplifier in between the controller and the LEDs. The same controller can power several amplifiers if needed. At that point, the controller's output is no longer used for power, but merely as a signal to the amplifiers.  So if the signal has some distance to go, it can travel on thin thermostat cable instead of heavy cable.

You will not be able to use the RGB controller to dim the monochrome strips.   It will not do what a person expects, unless they know a lot about RGB blending, which your guests won't.

Also keep in mind these cheapie LED dimmers are not intended for use as on/off switches, and will leave components energized even in the "full off" position.  Not something you want to do.  Aside from being a fire risk, it will be a considerable vampire load 24x7, which will drive up your energy costs.

The better way to think of dimming is as a fine adjustment after the switch.


What causes taps to make a loud bang sound when quickly closed? When quickly closing a water tap, I've often noticed a loud "bang" sound - this doesn't occur if closing the tap slowly. What causes this banging sound to happen?

As Sheetmetal85 mentioned in the comments, you are hearing "Water Hammer". This is probably happening in one of two ways:

When shutting the water off quickly, the force of all the moving water is banging against your faucet causing a "thunk"
When shutting the water off quickly, the force of the moving water causes your pipes to shake causing some noise not directly next to the faucet (this could be due to unsupported pipes, some pipe straps that have worn down, really anything keeping pipes from remaining stationary)

Start by looking for something that could be shaking, including the sink itself, when the water is shut off quickly, and tying down whatever is doing the shaking. Other than that, the next best solution is a thing called a water hammer arrestor, which basically acts like a cushion to absorb the force of the water and prevent pipes from shaking.


what would cause a bathroom sink connector hose to pop off Around 7 am this morning I woke up to my bathroom sink spewing water from underneath. The hot water feed was disconnected including the water shut off valve and spewing burning hot water into my bathroom. I am curious to know what would cause this to happen, and what I can do to prevent it from happening again? We live in a rental townhome built about 3 years ago, although since it is a college construction I wouldn't doubt that they cut corners with things like plumbing. Never had any problems really with the water, other than the pressure from that sink being fairly low. help? I know I don't know many plumbing technical terms so I am including a (poor) picture of the plumbing.
** update! I remembered that yesterday our power went off for like two minutes. This happens every now and then, and we usually have to go and flip the breaker. Could this ahve somehting ot do with it?

Since those flex connectors are pretty cheap, I'd just buy a new one rather than figure out whether the existing one has lost tension at the spring connection or just got dirty/greasy enough to lose hold.

Of course, make sure the end of the source pipe is clean, and if it looks worn or damaged, cut a half-inch or so off before reconnecting.


How far should I insert downspout into sewer connection pipe? Is there a standard or should I insert it as far as it'll go?

In many places it's not legal to connect a downspout (storm water drainage from a roof) to a sanitary sewer system. The reason is easy to understand: if storm water flows into a sanitary sewer system the sewage treatment plant may easily be overwhelmed by rainfall. What happens when the sewage plant is overwhelmed? Untreated sewage escapes somewhere. Either the plant's output is not treated as it should have been or sewer plumbing upstream overflows.

On the other hand, if you're connecting a downspout to some kind of local storm water holding or drainage system, I suggest there should be a gap between the two near (above) ground level. If the underground drainage system should back up for any reason it's better for the storm water to spill out at ground level than for it to back up into the downspout and gutter system. By "gap" I mean use loose-fitting adapters so that backed up water can easily drain/spill out.

Gutters aren't always secured well; the weight of being filled to the top with water may tear them from the building. The backup may also encourage water to be wicked up into the roofing system. If the weather is cold enough for the standing water to freeze in the downspout and gutter, that brings a whole other raft of problems.