Can I connect the neutral wire ends via a single switch terminal (without a pigtail)? I installed a smart dimmer switch that requires a neutral wire. It was in the junction box with the two ends wire-capped together.
My switch didn't come with pigtail wires and I didn't have any extra wire lying around, so I couldn't do the recommended approach (install a third pigtail wire coming out of the neutral wirecap, and connect that to my switch's neutral terminal).
Instead, I just connected the two ends of the neutral wire by putting them into the same neutral terminal on the switch, under the same screw (see photo). The switch appears to work normally.

But some quick Googling around says I should never put two wires into the same terminal. Why is this? Is there anything dangerous about my approach? To me it seems logically equivalent to the pigtail approach, i.e. the current still has the same paths to flow through. What am I missing?
EDIT: adding two photos of the back of my junction box since some people asked. I know it's a little hard to see, but there are two bundles of cords entering from two ports at the top of the junction box. The bundle on the left has three wires: black, white, and unshielded copper. The bundle on the right has four wires: black, red, white, and unshielded copper. Before I installed my new smart switch, the two white (neutral) wires were connected together with a wirecap. Thank you for the help!

"Never" is a bit strong.
This is not a plain "screw terminal" where that would be true. This is a "screw and clamp" and appears to be designed to correctly hold 2 wires, so you are good. That extra bit of brass between the screw-head and the back plate is what makes the difference, along with the two grooves to hold wires in place.


How do I bring a recessed wall outlet flush with newly installed paneling? I paneled a wall with three quarter inch thick paneling and now the two wall plugs are recessed in. Do any of you know if the have specialty plugs that would plug into the wall outlet to bring it to the surface and be used as an outlet.

There are box extenders which can be screwed onto the existing box.  They can be screwed directly on top of the old box.

Just do a search for "electrical box extenders" and you will find plenty.


What kind of latch can I use to hang temporary wall panels on a 270 degree angle? I am building a few temporary wall panels for a little nook in my basement. I would like to be able to put them up and take them down frequently. To do that, I would like to install latches that connect them to the beam running near the ceiling. The panels will be resting on the floor, so the latches don't have to support any weight (aside from preventing them from falling over).

Here is a diagram that shows the structure of the beams I would like to fasten them to.

Please ask if anything needs clarifying. Thank you!

If you were to attach a filler strip along the beam that matched the thickness of your wall panels ... see below:

You could use any one of a number of types of catches. One example is this standard type of window casement latch:


Is there any reason to not tape this vent over? I just want to make sure this wont hurt anything.

Right before I bought this house, it got a new AC and furnace but they did not replace much of the duct work. This vent is right above the AC unit and is the first vent the cold air passes. It was bleeding cold air into the basement so I covered it.

Whether you tape it or otherwise block it, the effect will be the same and it will not cause any damage to your system; it would be no different than if there was a standard register there that was closed.
The only thing I'll note is that duct tape will eventually dry up and fall off.  Ideally you would use foil HVAC tape

(source: homedepot.ca)
Unlike duct tape, this will not dry up and will hold the seal.


Best tools for woodwork project I'm starting a project where I need to cut a 114mm diameter, 33mm deep hole into a piece of wood. My plan is to keep the circular piece, then to sand it. My question is, what would be the best piece of equipment to use in order to make a clean. straight cut?

This can probably be done with 4.5" hole saw which is pretty close to your dimensions.

I assume what you want is the disk, not the hole.

A circular disk can also be cut with a scroll saw.

Another tool is an adjustable circle cutter or fly cutter of which there are few different types.

A circle can also be cut using a mill (or lathe) with a milling cutter in combination with a rotary table (or divider).


Should I bother with this 10-20 plug or replace it? I have a water pump, it works fine. Motor is rated for 115/230 and draws 9.6 or 4.8 full-load amps depending on voltage. Its cord has a plug that appears to be vintage NEMA 10-20, but I'm not certain as I've never seen one before. The receptacle is on its own 30-amp dual-pole breaker, and I verified that the wiring is two hots and a ground.
I want to run this pump from my generator, which is an older 5000 watt Troy-Bilt with standard 240v L14-30 and 120v 5-15/20 receptacles.
The problem: I can't find any adapters for 10-20 plugs anywhere. Is this just because they're obsolete? Or because they're ungrounded and super-dangerous?
Main question: Should I bother making a custom adapter cord for this setup or just upgrade the plug and receptacle to something newer? Is one option obviously better/safer/easier?
Pump motor is a 1986 Dayton 5K658B 3/4HP 115/230 3450 rpm. I found this tech sheet but I'm not 100% sure it's the same model.

Conclusion:
Based on the discussion in the comments, this whole situation is more complex and sketchy than I had anticipated. I have other electrical work I need done so I'm going to add this plug/receptacle to the list and seek professional help.

Is that plug safe, yes when properly wired there is no issue with that plug.
What would a best practice be when setting up a direct connection to a generator.
Change the plug to the appropriate 3 wire twist lock. The old plug will work but with motor loads vibrations can allow the plug to work out of the receptacle moving the plug from one source to another increases the chance the plug can vibrate out because of the stress on the wire being different.
The only real difference in today’s plug / receptacles is the ground lug each voltage hi / low has the ground lug pointing in or pointing out on twist locks.
a 120v 5-15 standard receptacle and plug 120v would work
Or a 6-15 240v 15a would also work but there is a higher chance for this plug to fall out, this is why I would suggest twist locks.
If you want to get fancy you could pay more and go to a 4 wire plug that is 120/240 rated but that is a waste because you won’t be changing your motor configuration but some folks have asked me to do this.
Last you are using a 5000w 240v generator, to power a pump with a book value 1657w (book values not nameplate is used for load calculations).
I would suggest to put in a simple interlock kit on your panel and an inlet to the panel and you could run your pump, refrigerator, Freezer and some lights off of that generator (my small backup generator is a 5000w welder and it runs all these loads) I turn the other breakers in the panel off and have had this setup for years. The issue I see with that large of a generator is fuel usage when not pumping.


Clicking noise in wall, every 23 seconds I have a 2-story colonial house (with a basement) in Michigan.  I have forced-air heating.  The house was built in 2001.  On the upper floor, my daughter noticed that a clicking sound (similar to an old light-switch) started which sounds like it's coming from within the wall.  The wall is between two bedrooms.  It is made of drywall.  The heating register for her bedroom is on that wall, but is about 5-6 feet away from where the clicking sound seems to be coming.  We timed the clicks.  They are occurring every 23 seconds, like clockwork.  Lastly, they seem to be coming from the upper area of the wall.  I have not yet looked into the rafters of the house.  I will do that as soon as I can.  I can barely hear the click when I stand in the living room below the bedrooms.  It's definitely emanating from the upper floor area.

Any ideas as to what could be causing this?  I'm the original owner of the house and this is a new thing.

UPDATE:  As I was looking for appropriate tags for this question, the clicking started coming pretty fast for about a minute or so.  Now it's back down to a regular interval of about 10-15 seconds.  Also, I looked in the rafters and was not able to see much beyond a lot of blown-in insulation.

Typically a main stack vent that is rubbing against a structural stud, sill plate, or drywall.  I have fixed this ticking/clicking noise in two houses by cutting out the offending piece of 3/4" drywall and replacing with 1/2" on top of furring strips to give the pipe some room to expand.


What type of cleaner should I use to remove a puke stain from concrete? My cat puked on the basement floor in a couple places, but I can't seem to clean the stain.  So far I've tried simply mopping with Pine-Sol®, which didn't work. Then I tried scrubbing/mopping with OxiClean™, which also didn't work.

Should I try a cleaner that is specifically designed for concrete?

It's a typical poured concrete basement, that doesn't appear to be sealed. Also keep in mind that it is a basement, so it's indoors and doesn't have great ventilation.

Stain after cleaning

Muriatic acid in a weak solution with water (10% acid) will clean almost any stain on cement.
Remember to use gloves and if going any stronger than 10% it can make an unpleasant smell.
All swimming pool stores have it and most Home Depot, lows, Jerry’s stores also carry it.
When mixing add the acid to the water (when you open the bottle it will be quite strong so you want to have fresh air).
Put the mix on the area, let sit for a few minutes then mop up and rinse 3 times with water, caution it may make a very clean spot like new cement.


Generator supply not working with Automatic Changeover I am using Havells Changeover. There are three input,

Main
Gen
Load

Main has two Neutral wire, Gen has one, but Load has no Neutral wire

when system is on Main power, it works fine. but when Generator is started i don't get electricity in house.

lights blinks a little whole time.

is it due to missing neutral wire in Load?

should i remove one wire from Main and put in the Load? all are neutral wires same, or there is some difference

Neutrals are not the same!   The factory certainly would not have wasted money on separate neutral terminals if they were not necessary.

It needs to be hooked up according to the instructions for that unit.  In my country that is the law.  Why? Because the unit is only safety tested/certified for correct configuration. A wrong configuration could be dangerous.

It sounds like whoever hooked it up did not follow basic instructions.  Don't let them do any more work on your house!


How can I tell what dimmer switch to use with LED lights? I replaced the halogen GU10 bulbs in my kitchen with LED bulbs... I'm really pleased with the results but as  the bulbs I bought are dimmable, how do I know what dimmer switch I can use?

I did try them with a dimmer switch but they were flickering very noticeably so it must have been the wrong type of dimmer switch

You will need to check the product packaging or manufacture website to see what types it is listed for.  All of the Leviton and Lutron products I see at Home Depot lately have clear markings on the packaging.

Lutron marks them as C-L and Leviton calls them "Universal Dimmers".

If your lights are 12V then you need a magnetic dimmers for low voltage lighting.


Change switched outlet location I recently moved to an apartment with no ceiling lights. All wall switches are wired to a specific outlet in each room. Unfortunately, the switch each one controls is in the worst possible location and I can't do any re-wiring.

Is there ANYTHING like what I'm about to describe?

I would like to plug a device to the outlet controlled by the switch and plug a second device to a better located outlet of my choosing. A lamp will be connected to the second device. When I turn the switch on, the first device will send an "ON" signal to the second device which will in turn power up the lamp hooked to it.

You need a wireless switch/outlet combination.

There are three basic approaches:

switch in electric box (powered by line voltage - requires some wiring)
switch with battery on mounting bracket or loose on table
smart phone/tablet controlled outlet (no separate switch)

In each case, there is an outlet module that plugs into a standard, always on outlet of your choice. The module is powered or not, depending on the signal received from the remote switch or smart device.

These are available in a number of configurations from numerous sources and are fairly cheap. Search wireless switch outlet. An example of a battery operated switch is illustrated below.

The latter two choices will not use the existing switch or switched outlet. You could use a restricted cover plate to avoid having people try the unused old switch and mount the new wireless switch nearby.

While there may be a transmitter/receiver pair that both plug into outlets, this seems like an unusual configuration, will be harder to find and will likely cost a good bit more

 Images and links are illustrative only, not an endorsement of goods or sources.


How to tighten a carriage bolt? I'm trying to assemble a glider patio chair which I ordered. The main pieces (seat, back, sides, etc) are assembled and I'm supposed to just screw the pieces together. How are you supposed to tighten these things? There's nowhere to use a screwdriver to hold it in place when tightening the nuts. The holes aren't big enough for the bolts to go in flush, and they're tight enough that I'm having to screw the bolts to get them to go all the way in. Last time I used carriage bolts on something I built myself, I think the holes were loose enough that I could just push the bolts through and then tighten them with nuts. I don't remember how I held the bolts in place while tightening them on that last project.

Am I supposed to re-drill the holes bigger so I can just slip the bolts in flush?

There is is a good picture of a carriage bolt here.

Do not drill the holes bigger in the wood parts. The idea with carriage bolts is that you pound them in with a hammer so that the square part under the head of the bolt is forced down into the tight hole in the wood. This provides the hold to a) keep the bolt in place during assembly and b) to keep the bolt from turning while using a wrench or socket to tighten the nut from the end of the bolt.

Carriage bolts are designed so that on one side of an assembly that there are no protruding bits for things to catch on. The rounded head will provide that as opposed to there being a hex or square head sticking out. In your case with a chair kit the general idea is that the heads of the carriage bolts should face toward the side of the chair where the user will be. As such the threaded bolt ends will want to be down underneath or toward a generally non used surface of the chair.


How to use an air conditioner port to bring in fresh air from the outside? My condo building has AC ports (essentially a round hole that goes outside) in every unit, to which you can connect an air conditioner. However my unit doesn't get too warm so I want to use the AC port to bring in fresh air from the outside instead, possibly warming it up first during winter months.

Is there a fan/heater combination I can use for this purpose? Or perhaps regular portable air conditioners can work in this mode?

I assume you can just stick any appropriately-sized fan in front of the hole. For heating purposes, an air exchanger is designed to recover heat/cool from interior air before exhausting it to the outside, but it's annoyingly expensive for what it is. You can get air conditioners that have heating as well, (a heat pump is just an AC run in reverse) but it requires a bit of extra mechanics, so you won't find this feature on the cheapest ACs. You can look for, say, "Air Conditioner With Heat Pump", or "Air Conditioner With Heat", and get a good selection at the few hundred dollar range.

Efficiency of a heat pump is above resistive heat, but still not great, especially for a portable unit. You should absolutely insulate the hose if you plan to use this long-term.


Run humidifier while furnace is not heating but fan is running? I've got a bypass humidifier mounted on my gas furnace, and an ecobee 3 thermostat driving both furnace and humidifier.  What I like about having the ecobee drive the humidifier, is that it knows the outside temperature and so is able to adjust the target humidity level to avoid condensation on my windows.
The problem is that here in Colorado, the air is so amazingly dry that even with the humidifier running 100% of the time that the furnace is running, it can't get the humidity over about 28% - even when target humidity (based on outdoor temperature) is over 40%.
The ecobee has a setting for "type of humidifier" where the options are "steam" or "evaporative".  Right now it's set to "evaporative" but according to their tech support, setting it to "steam" would allow the humidifier to run while the fan is running, even if the furnace isn't (and I have my system set to run the fan 75% of the time, to try to keep the different parts of my house at the same temperature).
Does running the humidifier when the furnace isn't heating have any risks?  Does the humidifier somehow depend on the fact that the air flow it's dumping into is recently heated?

I have had to replace ductwork on systems that allowed the humidification while the fan was not running. In one case the duct work buckled and collected enough water to come through the Sheetrock, several others the ductwork rusted out. There needs to be water sensors and if moisture is detected below the humidifier it needs to be shut down as the water is collecting there, if the air is not circulating a in duct humidifier will only cause problems if on with no flow in my experience.


Using 3" (or 4") recessed lights with GU10 bulbs for ambient (not accent) lighting I am currently finishing my unfinished basement. I would like to create a look similar to this basement.

From the looks of it they are using 3 or 4" recessed lights with GU10 bulbs. I am planning to do the same. I found these (and many like them) 4" cans with GU10 bulbs.

I plan to use replace the halogen GU10 bulbs with 50W equivalent LEDs (probably the ones linked). I have just under 8' ceilings. I am thinking the bulbs should be 3' apart from what I've read so far, but I'm open to suggestions/corrections.

I know this bulb is typically used for accent lighting, but I want to use it for ambient lighting (in a basement recreation room/laundry). The picture looks like it provides enough lighting, but I can only tell so much from the picture. I realize its a subjective question in some respects, but I'm hoping somebody can weigh in with knowledge on how much light I can expect to get with said setup (vs say a typical setup with 6" cans 6' apart), and suggestions on how I can improve on the design (i.e. should I go with 2.5' spacing? a wider aperture then 38 degrees? etc.)

The light fixture you are showing are for retrofit installed through a hole. If the basement is unfinished you can just use 4" can lights for new construction. Then you don't have to throw away the halogens and can choose the color of your LED light kits from 3000K to 5000K whatever pleases you.

As far as the spacing, the picture you show looks like way overkill to me. You could use half that many lights for ambient lighting in a basement, especially with the newer 12 watt LED's at 650 lumens. A Google of halogens shows 50 watt lamps produce 430 lumens at 2750K so they are yellower and dimmer and use much more electricity.

The spacing doesn't look right by the rule of thumb. It looks symmetrical but the rule is to space the fixtures in the middle of the room double the distance the first fixture is from the wall. More to the point, if the first fixture is 2 feet from the wall the next fixture is 4 feet away from the first. Since there is no light at the wall the first one needs to be closer to the wall. From there you are always between two lights so they can be further apart since they light the room from both directions.

Good luck with your project!


Repair a table after an accident with a candle We had a little accident with a candle on our table, so I have to fix the following problems:

Burned hole about 5x5 centimeters (top left in the photo)
Scratch, about 1 millimeter deep, and one square centimeter large
Dark/dirty spot that can not be cleaned (middle)

I think the best solution would be to use sandpaper and then to "repaint" the table.

What I wonder: Which kind of paint/finish to I use to achieve the same color as it has currently? The table does not seem to be actually painted, it feels quite "natural". But as I see in the scratch, it has a different color "inside" than on the top.

(I'm not a native english speaker, so I hope that I used the right words to describe the problem.)

This table top can be sanded down to fresh wood surface to accept a new finish. That is unless the burn mark is quite deep. Sanding out a deep burn mark could end up leaving a depression in that part of the table surface unless you would aggressively sand most the rest of the surface the same amount.

Refinishing to still show the wood grain as present would not mean painting the surface. Instead it would mean some type of natural oil type finish to attain the current look. After careful sanding down to a smooth surface an oil finish can be installed simply by wiping it on and then buffing it out. Such finish would want to be renewed from time to time.

Any type of more durable finish would leave a glossy surface such as would come with something like a polyurethane finish.


Attach New Brace to Joists for Ceiling Fan I am installing a ceiling fan in a room over which I have attic access. There is an existing light fixture where I will be putting the fan, but the box it is mounted to is not rated for ceiling fans.

Rather than using the spreader-bar type kit often shown in tutorials, I was planning to simply use a length of 2x8 to span the ceiling joists where the new electrical box will go. I would really like to avoid having a ceiling fan fall on my head (or anyone else’s for that matter) and want to know the best way to attach the 2x8. I would like to make sure that however I end up attaching it, that it is safe and meets code .

Hardware and materials:

4” Ceiling Fan rated box
Ceiling fan (20 lbs)
2x8
GRK R4 #9 x 3-1/8” screws

My question is, what is the correct way to attach the new 2x8 to the ceiling joists? Should I:

Toenail the screws in from a 45 degree angle (see “A” on diagram)
End nail (screw?) in from the ends at a 90 degree angle (see “B” on diagram)

Either way, I was planning to use four screws on either end, for a total of eight screws between the joist and the new 2x8.

When I have attic access and need to add an electrical box for a fan or light I use two pieces of wood. One is made long enough so that it lays flat across the tops of the ceiling joists. The second piece is made to mount under the first piece but be on edge. Typically this second piece needs to be cut for width so that its bottom edge comes right at the level where the top of the electrical box needs to be located. Both pieces are cut from 1.5 inch thick framing lumber. The top flat piece is screwed down through the top ends into the tops of the ceiling joists. The other "on edge" piece is screwed to the top piece down from the top of the flat piece. The screws that hold these pieces in place should be respectable size and length screws installed through clearance holes and into pilot holes. For 1.5 inch thick lumber I typically use 3.5" #10 size screws.

This makes for a very sturdy mount for an electrical box even for fan mounts.

There is another significant advantage to this approach. It does not put sidewise pressure or pounding on to the ceiling joists. Such pounding and pressure can cause blistering of drywall finish on the ceiling where screws or nails are holding up the ceiling drywall.


Replacing electrical wiring Can existing electrical wiring in a 35-year-old house be easily replaced to carry more amps by a Journeymen electrician? or will drywalls need to be opened for access?

This is not an answer, but it's too long for a comment:

Consider the cost. A 4x8 sheet of Sheetrock ~$11. A contractor who has an electrical license is $75-150 per hour in my area.
If you can find one who needs work.
Some use small jobs as fillers but I find that a small job of updating a room can turn into a can of worms and take all day so it will usually be quoted T & M (Time and materials).

I find it easier to replace a panel than update old wiring, and the panel pays better, no crawling, + usually decent work area. (I don’t go under most houses - that is for the apprentices.)

Just trying to give you an idea of what to expect. Electricians are in short supply in the Pacific Northwest, and if the job is a PITA you might have trouble getting it done. Without opening the walls the job may cost 5×, but open the walls and the PITA factor drops and the price also along with the unknown factor.

You may find a hungry electrician out there but use caution & have a contract! Understand sometimes the cheapest quote up front may be the most expensive in the long run. Try to find someone with references, not just online stars.

And since this is a DIY site it may be a chance for you to learn and  save a few bucks. Going from a 15 to 20 amp circuit is quite simple: you are just installing #12 wiring. Take photos of each connection prior to taking it apart.  Mark wires with numbers if you think you will get things mixed up. After upgrading the wire size on the circuit snap in a 20 amp breaker and you have done it.

(In my state repair of a circuit - in this case just replacing individual components - doesn’t require a permit and can be done by a homeowner. Check your local regulations as from what I have read some states require an electrician for simple “device” outlet or switch  changes).


Garbage disposal hums but won't spin I moved in to a new house a few months ago and the other day I noticed my garbage disposal stopped working. The unit is an Insinkerator Badger 1 with 1/3 HP. When I flip the switch I can hear the unit humming, but nothing happens. The reset button is not out (although I did try pressing it anyway just for fun). The unit plugs in to an outlet under the sink, so I did plug something else in just to confirm that the outlet itself works.

I tried using an Allen wrench to turn the motor from under the sink but no amount of my (admittedly weak) strength was able to get it to move. I can stick something down the sink and rotate both of the things freely, so I don't think there's anything stuck down there.

At this point I'm starting to think the unit just decided to die on me, but I'm not sure if there's something left I should try.

Try inserting a broom stick into the disposal and try to pry the round plate connected to the motor..... this will give you more leverage that the Allen wrench.


Bathroom light switch, fan switch & GFI outlet under same wall cover plate Bathroom light switch and a fan switch and GFI test/reset outlet are located together under one wall cover plate. Hairdryer trips circuit breaker and we have to reset from main breaker panel. Shouldn't we be able to reset from GFI outlet in bathroom?

Somehow the wall cover plate broke and light switch became loose causing a safety hazard. I want to replace the GFI test and reset outlet too, what kind should I get?

First replace your GFCI outlet. It is definitely malfunctioning. (As a side, I would also recommend that you replace both switches, especially if they are more than 10 years old.
Check to see if your hair dryer still causes the breaker to fail. If not, then you are good to go. If the breaker does fail then a) it is overloaded or b) it needs to be replaced.
Determine all the "loads," i.e. things plugged in or turned on that are controlled by the breaker. You do this by adding all the watt ratings and dividing the sum by the voltage in the circuit. (If you don't understand what I'm saying here, then you should really call an electrician.)
If your load answer is greater than the rating of the breaker, then you have too many things connected to that breaker's circuit. See if you can plug some of those items into outlets on another circuit breaker. If not, can you turn some off while you use your hair dryer?
If the load is less than the breaker rating then you need to replace the breaker. This may be something you would want a professional to do.
Disclaimer: I am a home repair specialist with an engineering degree. I have a good amount of experience with home electrical systems. However, I am not a licensed electrician and do not claim to be.


parquet flooring cutting I am confused with the types of blades for my chop saw

I am looking at mitring the joints on my new oat parquet floor and have read that crosscut is better however they are expensive and can get a much cheaper non cross cut blade,

So do I need a cross cut blade if I get an 80tooth non crosscut?

Thank you

Iain

Hmmm... not sure where you heard this, but as a general rule, the more teeth there are in a saw blade, the finer the cut will be, meaning the edges of the cut will be cleaner, less splintering. So 80 teeth is a "Fine Cut" blade and would be BETTER than a standard crosscut blade, which typically have 40 teeth. But this technically IS actually still a "crosscut" blade. There are really just two types of blades in that regard, crosscut and "ripping" blades. Ripping blades have even FEWER teeth (16-24), because they are meant for hand-held or table saws where you are going to cut ALONG the grain and the higher tooth count would clog up with chips and dust, resulting in burning of the work. Crosscutting is going ACROSS the grain, either perpendicular or at an angle (miter). Within crosscutting blades there are various degrees of fineness in terms of the finish of the cut edges. But with the fineness comes more contact and more heat, so the higher the tooth count, the slower you can cut without burning the wood. The lower count crosscut blades then offer a faster cut, like when doing framing work and the higher tooth counts are for finish work where the looks will matter.

For parquet flooring, you WANT a high tooth count. A step above that are what are called "hollow ground" crosscut blades. They are made of better steel that is machined to be thinner toward the center of the blade so that less of the actual blade makes contact with the wood and deforms the cut edges. Blades with carbide tips will do the same thing because the tips of the teeth, the cutting surfaces, are slightly wider than the blade itself. With each of these improvements in cut quality, the cost goes up so you have to decide where to compromise between cost and performance. If this is a one-shot project, I would opt for the 80-100 tooth standard fine cut blade. But I've also noticed that carbide tipped blades have become so cheap that in many places that is all you can buy, and that's fine, they are good blades.


Is it OK to remove some 2x4 bracing in my attic? I have a four year old house in North Carolina.  I would like to remove some 2x4 braces to facilitate room for  better storage.

The boards appear to be temporary from construction.

What do you think?

Consult a structural engineer.

Bracing generally does look 'temporarily' built. It can, however, cause your roof to twist sideways if it isn't in place.


Fix a copper pipe leak I have a copper T joint that is leaking on one side, what is the best way to repair this joint that does not involve cutting the joint out and starting over?

-- Update --

The pipe in question is for hot water and is soldered together.

If this is soldered copper slip joint fittings there really is no other choice other than cutting out the faulty parts and starting over.

Sometimes when undertaking a repair like this it can be advantageous to incorporate a UNION fitting into the line to permit the last connections to be joined together. A union fitting looks like this.

When assembling the union into the piping system do not forget to slide the brass nut part onto the pipe before soldering the unthreaded coupling part onto the pipe end.


How do I clean mold off my bathroom ceiling? So I live in an apartment and there are black spots all over my bathroom ceiling. I assume it's mold. I've kind of avoided dealing with it because it's on the ceiling which makes it harder to clean. However, inspections are coming up so I gotta deal with it.

Anyone have any suggestions?

White distilled vinegar works great. Just put it in a spray bottle and spray on to the moldy surface. Wait an hour and then wipe down surface with water. I used to use bleach but it only really works on non porous surfaces.

Does your bathroom vent well? Try to determine the cause of the mold and fix it. Also, don't let it build up until the next inspections. good luck.


How do I clean backsplash tiles to reuse them? I'm repairing a damaged bathroom due to a flood and I want to reuse the backsplash tile. I have the grout removed from the tile, but how do I get the old mastic off or is that necessary?

For porcelain and ceramic tiles, a weak vinegar solution will often loosen mastic (and/or grout) to the point that it can be scraped off pretty easily. Do not use this on a limestone tile. Other natural materials might necessitate a test with a broken tile, just to check. If you see bubbles from anything other than the mastic, don't use vinegar.


Can IKEA FRAMTID built-in microwave be installed in a 24"-wide cabinet? The FRAMTID microwave is listed as 30" but its' body is 21.8" wide. It looks like it would physically fit into a 24"-wide IKEA cabinet, and appears to be front/top- (not side-) vented. I even saw it installed in a 24" cabinet at an IKEA store (w/o being powered on). Yet installation instructions from Whirlpool call for a 28"+ cabinet width - implying 3"(!) air gap on each side.

So, can I install it in a 24"-wide cabinet? Or would that setup not allow for enough venting?

NO, you cannot install in a 24" cabinet. Minimum clearances stated in the installation instructions need to be followed or the manufacturer safety certifications will be null and void. If a fire starts because of improper installation, your insurance will not cover your claim either.

The "30" designation does not refer to cabinet size, it refers to the finished width across the front with the included trim pieces installed to cover the required 3" clearance on either side. The installation instructions will tell you to center the unit in the over-sized opening.


Puzzled on which Door Jamb to order My existing door jamb is  5 9/16      i m ordering pre hung interior doors      my cut  choices  are   5 1/2 ( 5 8/16 )        or  5 5/8  ( 5 10/16 )

What would you do  and why   or  why  not  on  either
thanks !

If it is a split jamb it will not matter it will gauge itself to the wall thickness. If it is not, and you have an older home with 3 5/8" studs circa 1950-60's with 1/2 sheetrock, you will need the wider jamb. If it is a newer home, you may be able to go with the narrower jamb.

The biggest downside to a smaller jamb, is there may be a gap that can occur at the point where the trim meets the jamb. It can be caulked is it happens. This is still unlikely though since the trim has a relief to allow it to bridge over some unevenness in the assembly.

The biggest downside of the wider jamb is the reverse, a gap at the wall to the trim, but it will only happen at the corners, unless you force it back, which will then open the joint.

I would go with the wider jamb without seeing the conditions, if the walls are out of plumb a little you can use the extra width to tweak the jamb into plumb without going too far behind the face of the wall on either of the four corners. If the wall is too far out, use a plane to get the jamb edge closer to the wall face can be done too.


Dangers of connecting ground to neutral? In my living situation, there is no ground wire at the building. There is a ground AND neutral bus in the breaker box, but it doesn't extend to this separate building, which I'm living in. I've got all my stuff plugged in, including my computer and monitors, heaters, soldering station, etc. Recently I noticed that when my socked-foot is on the concrete and I touch any bare metal on my computer case, I get a tingle in my finger. I also just noticed the same thing while soldering and holding the piece of solder. I know what this means, and I'm curious if it would be super dangerous to bridge the ground and neutral posts in the outlets together. I know they're linked in the breaker box, and all the receptacles in this building are on a single circuit breaker. I know it's not advised, but since modifications like adding a ground post or running a new wire to the main building aren't possible, would this solve the tingly-finger issue? I live in the US and there is only single-phase 120VAC out to this building.

Based on further conversation.... this is an emergent condition that is trying to kill you.  It hasn't succeeded only because the shock path to source is high-impedance and limiting current flow to below 10ma.  (if you can feel it, it's at least 1ma).  Naturally occurring impedances can change dramatically, so it could turn and kill you tomorrow.

You say your garage already has a ground wire that you've tied into.  However since it is not tied back to the house, it is a "fake ground". It makes things more dangerous.

If a grounded device has a ground fault, that current is harmlessly shunted back to the main panel.
If an ungrounded device has a ground fault, it electrifies the chassis of that device only.
If a device plugged into a fake ground has a ground fault, it electrifies its chassis and every other device also plugged into that fake ground.

You have the latter situation and it's Very Bad.   Any device in the garage could be the origin of the ground fault that is giving you these problems.

The right solution is twofold:

Disconnect the fake ground from your receptacle(s).  This will protect you from any rogue ground faults in other devices in the buildings.  In this situation you are better off with no ground than fake ground.  Beware: metal junction boxes and conduit can deliver "ground" to the yoke (bracket) of a device, make sure that can't happen!
Replace that receptacle with a GFCI receptacle.  This will assure any ground faults don't kill you and confine any ground faults to just what's plugged into it.  So if only your devices are plugged into it, it's gotta be safe!   Connect only hot and neutral to the GFCI.  Mark the receptacle "no equipment ground"; it should come with some stickers.  Don't hook anything to the LOAD side of the GFCI.

Let's go into the details in my original answer.

Tying neutral to ground makes things much worse!

Under ideal conditions, modern electrical wiring is done as an isolated system, with a safety shield.  Without grounds, it should be the same, only without the safety shield obviously.

What's the deal with the neutral-ground bond in the main panel?  That is only to bond the isolated system to protect it from ESD, lightning and ground faults.  Never bond neutral to ground anywhere else - if the neutral wire breaks, neutral will float up to 120V, and that means, so will ground!  We see people fry themselves this way on a regular basis.

No appliance anywhere should be leaking any conductor to its case.  Not even neutral (as you propose) - because if you flip the plug over, or lose neutral, neutral becomes hot.  The ground shield would help if it was there.  A GFCI/RCD device would help a lot.

Get a GFCI

A GFCI receptacle or breaker will detect ground faults for you and shut off the power.  Mostly it's useful as a diagnostic aid, "when I touch X, the GFCI trips" which tells you X has a ground fault.  The GFCI doesn't care whether your building has grounding; it is comparing hot and neutral current flows and looking for current that has gone astray (e.g. through you).

Write yourself a get-out-of-jail-free card

Since you are leaving this behind, make sure you write a letter to the landlord advising him of defects in the garage wiring and the fact that you experienced tingling, shocks, whatever you did in fact experience, and that you did make an effort to reduce the hazard but that fixing it properly was impossible for you.  Keep a copy of the letter, it is your get-out-of-jail-free card if anyone is hurt in the future.

If someone is hurt, the landlord's best defense is "I didn't know" and to pin it on anyone but himself. His lawyer will force him to viciously deny receiving the letter; he will claim you created the hazard.  You want as much "paper trail" as possible to prove you sent it: at the very least a certified mail receipt, better sending a CC of the letter to the city's electrical inspector, and best having your own lawyer send it.

The rest of this advice applies to people able to modify the home at will.

Retrofit that ground!

Many people refuse to add grounds because they think they need to replace all their wiring. Now let's pause for a moment.  Wires that carry your power ordinarily (hot and neutral) need to run together.  That assures their magnetic fields cancel out and don't cause heating that starts a fire.  However, this does not apply to ground wires.

So in the 2014 NEC, Code was revised to give you wide freedom to retrofit grounds.  So you can just run the ground wire you need any way that is reasonable - including between buildings - and you don't need to follow the same route.  The book says "Git r done"!   And hardware stores sell bare ground wire, or you can take the insulation off Romex.

Don't parallel wires

Noting that you converted a pair of 3-way switches into non-switches, you should not have tied the two messengers together on both ends.  Paralleling wires causes a lot of subtle problems.  You should use one messenger or the other.   The other wire should be capped off as a spare.

Gee, what would you do with that spare?  Hum de dum...  I can't suggest using it as a ground wire because we follow Code here and there's a Code requirement that ground wires under 6 AWG be natively green or bare, and not just taped green.

A ground rod to the building is not enough.

The grounding system has at least two purposes:  One is returning natural electricity sources (ESD, lightning) to earth.  A local ground rod on your building will do that fine.

The other is returning fault current to source (which is where artificial electricity wants to go).  A ground rod in a remote building will not do that because dirt doesn't conduct electricity well enough to reach the ground rods in the main building.  That is why you need to have a ground wired between buildings.

If you really need a lot of power out there

Since I assume the 3-way is a 120V circuit, you could really bump up the power out there and solve your grounding problem by putting a transformer in your outbuilding and creating a separately derived service.  A transformer's isolation moots the ground wire back to the house, and requires a local grounding system (since this would then become a main panel).

However, this requires more education and a lot more respect for electricity than I have seen in OP. This stuff can kill you, and it's already trying.


Grounding my dishwasher The dishwasher's junction box needs a ground, and I currently only have white and black.

Can the flexible conduit be used as a ground?  If I can securely rejoin the flex to the solid conduit (using the clamp seen in the photo), I would still need a wire at the other end, from the flex to the screw.  Maybe I just wrap a solid wire around the outside, sort of like this?

Or, could I run a new ground wire from the solid conduit, and into the flex?  Not sure how that would work...

The junction box is the same as the one in this question.  It's plastic, and has 3 screw-down connectors.

The printing on the wires indicates THHN style wire, and suggests pretty strongly that this is using the EMT conduit wiring method.  As such, the EMT is the ground, and we have several ways to tap it.

First, if the geometry lines up, you can install a junction box at that point.  You use a standard EMT connector (e.g. this) to enter the junction box.  On the other side you enter with the standard "BX into junction box" connector.    For the ground wire, you land that on the ground screw on the junction box.  The box itself carries ground via the EMT connector to the EMT.

Another way is to put a ground clamp around the EMT.  That will remove the necessity of a junction box.  I would run this ground wire outside the BX, because I don't see a way to exit the BX without a junction box.

Now I agree with ThreePhaseEel that it's a mistake to go "straight-in" to the EMT. You should probably make a 90 degree turn into the BX.  A junction box can cover that, but another option is a 90 degree EMT elbow. They come either with side access or top-bevel access. Use ones with female threads on both sides, so you can screw in both of the above adapter types.

I am not familiar enough with the question of whether you can use the BX flexible metal conduit as the grounding path, so I will leave that question to others.


How to unscrew this vacuum cleaner's motor axis? How can I unscrew the central axis from my vacuum cleaner's motor. It appears it is sealed with some sort of green substance and it doesn't move at all. I already tried dissolving it with acetone and WD-40 and had no luck. Thank you.

Heat is a common method to make threadlockers let go - some specifically require it. Odds are excellent that it's Loctite Green or a knock-off of that. That specifically mentions "heat and hand tools" implying that it should not need high impact to remove once you heat it up.


What is the difference between a rivet setter and rivet header? What is the difference between a rivet setter and rivet header? What sort of rivets are they used for? Do they require the use of an anvil?

The setter seats the rivet into the workpiece. The header rounds the rivet shank over to lock the workpiece in place.

Whether an anvil is required probably depends on the particular project.


Bathroom vent terminates to attic not outside. Bathroom vents terminates to attic. The Inspector recommended that it terminates to the outside. What is the best way to do this. Should I just place the bathroom vent next to the roof vent opening.

You could vent out the wall with one of these guys

(Louvered Exhaust Vent)

Or out the roof with one of these

(Roof vent cap)

Either way, your inspector is correct. Blowing warm moist air into the attic is probably not the best idea.

It's also not a good idea to vent out the wall too close to the soffit vents, as the exhaust will just be sucked back into the attic through the soffit.


Can I lay an attic floor over electrical wires? I've been told that the electrical wires in the roof can heat up and potentially start fires if you cover them up. How can I get around this to lay the floor for an attic?
The type of floor is just chip-wood since I'm just using the space for storage.

Any other help in putting this project together is welcome!

Cheers

If you have wires/cables that run across the top of the attic floor joists, you could build up the joist with ripped 2x4's that would provide another 1-1/2 inch clearance above the joists for the wires.  You would have to provide a gap between the added sections of wood to provide a channel for the wires to lay in.  Or lay 2x4's flat perpendicular to the joists, running parallel to the wires.  Then lay your attic floor down on the new 2x4's.

EDIT1:

One other thing to consider is you probably want to provide protection for any of the wires that end up under the flooring.  Might want to put nailing plates over the wires so that an errant nail doesn't find its way into a wire.


Do I need a pressure tank for my irrigation system? I've got  2000 liters of stored water off caught off the roof of my shed (2 x IBC containers).  These containers are situated about 0.5 meters off the ground but unfortunately the ground slopes upwards.

I intend to put in a small (350 watt / 0.5hp pump) with included adjustable water pressure regulator/dry run protection.  (Link to pump I am considering) below the tanks.

Initially I intend to connect this to a hosepipe with the intention of putting in a simple irrigation system (which will probably have flow control valves for each feeder).    I expect this system to water 2-4 times per day for a fixed amount of time.

I am somewhat price conscious as I'm doing this on a budget.

Do I need a pressure tank in this setup?   (and also, do you see any problems with what I'm proposing to do)?

The key is the pressure regulator. Are you hoping to get a specific pressure of water to the irrigation system, with the regulator turning on and off as necessary? For example, might this pump supply a hose bibb that you can turn off? If so, then you will have to have some storage (a pressure tank) in the pressurized system or the pump will rapidly turn on and off as the pressure oscillates up and down.

If instead you can have the pump turn on and stay on for the duration, with the irrigation system set up so that it accepts whatever the pump gives it, then you need neither the regulator nor the pressure tank. You may actually want to disable the pressure regulator, because if the irrigation system stops accepting water (e.g. you turn off that bibb) and the pressure goes high enough to turn the pump off you'll get that rapid on/off/on/off again.

An alternative would be a pressure relief valve that would allow any excess water to dump back into the source tank. If you did have a relief valve, then you could still have a hose bibb, and turning off the bibb while the pump was on would merely waste some electricity.


What is the cause for new swamp cooler's fan stopping after 15 seconds I had a brand new Breezair LXH 170 installed last week.  Four days later, it is failing.  The fan starts, then about 15 seconds in, it stops.  While I await service, does anyone have insight into what might cause such behavior?

I can't now find it but I thought I previously read something about variable speed electric motors having something like a start mode and a run mode and that sometimes an issue arises where once it attempts to switch to normal running, it fails.  Did I imagine that?

15 minutes sounds like a control system issue. Being that it's a swamp cooler, my initial guess would be that there is a problem with the water flow or return. The system will let the fan run without water flow for 15 minutes, but no longer.

Could also be heat related; your motor is overheating and tripping a protection device intended to keep it from catching on fire. it takes 15 minutes for the temperature to rise to that point. The proof of that would be if you IMMEDIATELY restart it after it shuts down, it runs for LESS than 15 minutes the second time, meaning it took less time to over heat because it was already hot. If it still shuts down in 15 minutes, it's a timer of some sort.


Shutting off broiler pilot completely I have a 1972 Kenmore,  the broiler is at the top of the inside of stove.  Can I completely shut off the pilot light to the broiler?  It has a screw that adjusts they flame.

You can just blow out the pilot light and once it cools down (a few minutes at worst), the pilot light assembly will shut off the gas. A pilot light for a stove has a safety device called a thermocouple that is tied to a valve as a safety precaution against accidentally losing the pilot flame.

Relighting it will not be simple however. When you want to re-light it, you have to hold a reset button down while applying a flame to that device long enough to get it to open the valve again. That is not something for the faint of heart and is not something you want to do every time you want to use the oven...

Here's a video of the typical procedure (yours may vary slightly) if you want to assess your desire to go down this road.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glX70JM-aFY


Duplex Circuit Breaker Still Providing Power I'm in the process of installing a new dishwasher. I uninstalled the old one tonight in anticipation of the new one arriving tomorrow. I got everything unhooked and left the electric for last. I pulled off the cover and there before me are two wires and a ground attached to the old dishwasher. I went out to the garage and popped the circuit breaker which is one half of a duplex. The other half goes to the garbage disposal. These two breakers are rated at 15A each. I went back into the house and pulled the wire nuts off of the connections. I grabbed my trusty multimeter and test the circuit and it was reading 121vac ... hmmmm ... what could be going on?? I checked the garbage disposal by flipping the wall switch and sure enough, it's dead. I thought, "No big deal, just mislabeled." I go back out to the garage and flip the (now known as the garbage disposal) circuit breaker back on and turn the dishwasher off. I go back into the house and test the circuit again. It now reads ~40vac! I'm thinking "WHAT THE HECK??" I'm really confused. I now went back out to the garage and flipped the garbage disposal back off and go in again and test the circuit. It now reads ~1.45vac.

My question is: Is this normal behavior for a duplex? Or should I consider getting it changed out?

The breaker panel was a new install with the house 12 years ago when we had it built. Here is what the panel looks like as I don't know specifics about what panel (brand) it is or the breakers. Nothing is sticking out on them as to who makes either. The breaker in question is at position 27 with both breakers off.

I believe you've accidentally discovered a pressing and immediate safety problem you need to fix ASAP. You have a miswired MWBC (multi-wire branch circuit) which overloads the neutral wire.

It is very common to wire the disposal and dishwasher as an MWBC - each gets an opposing pole of "hot" and they share the neutral.  Since they are opposite poles, if both loads are at max, they "cancel each other out" and the neutral handles nothing at all.  Very slick.  But if they're on the same pole, the neutral handles twice its capacity - danger!

As ArchonOSX points out, that residual voltage is just induced from parallel wires.  The 1.45 volts is from being parallel to other wires for a short distance. The 40V indicates a much longer distance - suggesting it's an MWBC run in the same Romex.

How do I know the danger condition exists?  Look at your breakers.  You have a Square D "Homelite" (HOM) panel - it's the consumer-grade Square D product.  You have oddball breakers and this confused your electrician.  Let's start at the beginning.

Here is what a normal 1-pole breaker looks like. Note it has 1 switch and operates 1 circuit.  It is bulky and takes a lot of space.  Actually it takes one space in the panel.

Now here's what a 2-pole breaker looks like.  It's twice the width - and that's very important! As you know, USA electricity is 240V across its 2 poles, with "neutral" in the middle - 120V from pole to neutral.  Panels are designed with a "zigzag" so every other space is on an opposite pole.  A 2-pole breaker like this is guaranteed to be on opposite poles, so 240v across them.  Works for stoves and dryers, and it's exactly what you need for an MWBC.

OK, but with big houses, panels fill up fast.  As a workaround to that problem, they make "tandem" circuit breakers like this which cram 2 circuits into one space.  You have a panel full of these.  This is legit, but since it occupies one space, it only has access to one pole. Both circuits are on the same pole.

Now look at your photo, with the dishwasher and disposal turned off.  They are on a tandem, both on the same pole.  If they are an MWBC sharing a neutral, that's the bad thing!

How to fix this?  First find out if they are an MWBC.  Look and see if they share a neutral - check either in the kitchen (one hot being red and the other black is a major clue) or pull the panel cover off and see if there's a red, black, white and bare heading into the same Romex. You can also measure voltage between the dishwasher "hot" and the disposal "hot" - if the difference is 240 volts, the MWBC is wired correctly, if it's 0 volts, it is dangerous.

If it is defective, you have a bigger problem still.  Your electrician may have made this mistake more than once.  I would search the panel for any other mistakes, particularly with MWBCs.

To fix it, the cheap way is to simply rearrange wires so the MWBC hots are on opposite poles (breakers in adjacent spaces).  The right way is to follow th National Electrical Code, which as of 2008 requires** a 2-pole breaker for MWBCs, which also assures the two hots are on opposite poles, preventing this common mistake. On a busy panel like this, how do you find the room?   Like this.

Here's the product link for that.   Notice it takes 2 spaces, assuring opposite poles, and gives a tied 2-pole circuit (for your MWBC) in the center, and two single circuits on the outside (for whatever else you displaced.)  Like all these breakers, you can get them in a variety of amperages to suit.


What's the best way/tool to cut a strip of drywall out of my window boxes? I'm installing nice new vinyl windows, and in order to maximize the glass area, I've ordered new construction windows to avoid having to set them in the existing window boxes and live with the frames taking up more space than necessary.

However, the new windows are about an inch deeper than my current awful aluminum windows. As a result, I'm going to need to cut back the drywall in the window boxes by about an inch. It's a very cramped area and I'm not sure I'll be able to get my circular saw all the way in there. Since the lumber making up the rough opening is behind the drywall, I can't use any kind of saw that needs to penetrate through the other side by more than half an inch, if even that.

What's the right tool for this job?

The right tool in this case is the good old fashioned razor knife.  (handle with a razor blade in it).  Like this:

I suggest utilizing a strait edge to make sure you cut a good line.  I personally use my 4' aluminum level.


Lowest height accepted for 30A Outdoor Fused Safety Switch for water well? I'm getting a new well drilled and was trying to make everything as least noticeable as possible.  According to the well driller I need a disconnect right by the well head, yet I see many home wells with no visible panel box. Assuming this is a new rule/regulation, what would be the minimum distance from box to ground(soil)? I'm thinking the lower to the ground the less visible distraction.

It will be 30Amp slow blow fuses with a red handle safetyswitch style. Exactly like this: SafetySwitch

If anyone can explain how other well heads don't have an ugly disconnect/safety switch right next to the well head I'd like to know how I can legally do that instead!

Read article 430.102 of the NEC for a description of why some well installations do not require a disconnect within sight of the motor. One of the examples used in describing the exception condition (a) is "submersible motors", which covers a lot of well pump motors. If you have a submersible, you don't need a disconnect at the top of the well, it can be elsewhere. If you have a jet pump or turbine pump where the motor is at the top, you do.

There is no general rule on minimum height, but there are several unrelated rules (mobile home and trailer pedestals, EV chargers, etc.) establishing 2ft from the ground as a minimum, so it's best to use that even though it doesn't apply. But if you are in a flood plain, you should pay attention to the "100 year event" level.


In door ice maker quit working after water was turned off for a few days (Whirlpool) I have a Whirlpool french door refrigerator (model WRX988SIBM) with the ice dispenser in the door of the refrigerator and it quit making ice the other day when I had to cut off my water for a few days to fix a leak (unrelated).  I am not sure if these events are necessarily related but seeing as they happened around the same time I am wondering if it could be part of the problem.

The freezer temperature reads/is set at 0 when I check on the menu and I do not feel any water or any ice at all when I put my hand into the ice maker. I have not disconnected or turned off the water to the refrigerator, only to the house and the water dispenser still works properly. I have confirmed it is not the filter causing the issue.

Could this issue have been caused by the ice maker not having access to water for a few days? I can't think of anything else to try, if there are any other ideas on how I can get this working short of calling a Whirlpool tech please let me know.

I have a GE side by side.  During the Texas deep freeze of 2021 we were very lucky, we never lost power.  However, we did lose water for a day or two.  When the water came back on, the Ice maker no longer made ice.  The problem was the tube which dispenses the water into the ice tray, froze up when water no longer moved through it every so often.  All I had to do was blow a hair dryer on in for a few minutes and the ice plug melted and water could once again flow into the ice tray.


What to do when a toe-kick saw doesn't fit underneath cabinets? I have hardwoods in my kitchen that I want to refinish. The only problem is that there is a plywood layer with laminate tile on top of the wood. The plywood goes all the way to the wall, but we don't have the budget to replace the cabinets.
I bought a 3 3/8ths in toe-kick saw to try to cut the plywood, but it won't fit underneath the cabinets.

What should my next move be?

Get one of the 'sonic tool' saws. That should fit. Buy 3-4 aggresive blades to cut that much floor.

Here's a link to one. There are many out there. Make sure you get a corded model, with the fastest 'rpms'.

https://www.rockwelltools.com/saws-sanders/sanders/sonicrafter-f80-oscillating-tool-rk5151k.html


Is it possible to fix a "knob twist" bath plug without spares? A little while ago the knob fell off my bath plug assembly. It's one of those where there's no chain - the knob sits in front of the overflow and you twist it to pop the plug up.

I couldn't find the correct replacement so I ordered a "universal" one that wasn't - it was too small to fit on the little projection in the middle of the overflow. So I filed the aperture down a bit to try and make it bigger.

It was almost small enough but not quite - and in trying to force it on, the whole assembly seemed to collapse. The little projection disappeared behind the overflow and now the plug won't "pop" anymore at all.

I'd need to take the side of the bath off to take a look, and it's not coming easily. I'm concerned about doing it at this time when I can't just go out to replace it.

I have no idea what the assembly look a like behind there, so I don't know whether it's literally bust and needs spares to fix or whether I've just pushed it out of alignment and a bit of wiggling will get it back.

Does anyone know whether this is likely to be worth attempting?

A coat hanger will usually retrieve it , the “stopper” is a hollow tube that slides up and down to block the flow. I have used a coat hanger to pull the assembly up through the overflow tube many times. You can remove the stopper until you get the correct piece or just use the hanger to pull it up and down until you get the right piece.  I would take the pieces to a specialty plumbing store they probably have parts to fix it.


How do I wire a 4 prong plug into a an old receptacle with only red and black wires with metal conduit into metal box? I am trying to wire for a 4 prong plug into a an old receptacle pre 1972 with only red and black wires with metal conduit into metal box.

It has been used since 1964 hard wired 220B with metal conduit all the way to the box.

Warning: You'll be working around live electrical wires during this procedure. If you don't feel comfortable doing so, please contact a local licensed Electrician.

Okay, going off of what you have, you need at least a 3/4in conduit back to the panel. You are going to need to pull a white and a green from the panel to the receptacle box and install a ground stinger in the metal box to bring it up to code. The wire will need to be sized to the amp draw. If it is not a cost thing I would pull all new wire in using the old wire to pull it in.

You can turn of the main breaker to the panel, but the feeders from the meter will be hot.

  Warning: You'll be working around live electrical wires during this procedure. If you don't feel comfortable doing so, please contact a local licensed Electrician.


Paint texture getting rough at second coat As you see I got this rough finish at a wall after third coat. What is the reason that this happens? I am using wool 1cm ~ 3/8 roller. Also sometimes I get lots of tiny bubbles that do not go away no matter how ligthly I press the roller.
I am using a satin water based paint. I am not sure if the product is bad since I have various issues like foaming.

Your roller seems very small for painting a wall. 1cm - 3/8 would work well for touching-up. Perhaps you should try a 2-3 inch roller, this would be much quicker, be more consistent and you’d be using the same tool as a professional would use. Additionally, if the paint you’ve used is old or been allowed to lose moisture it may be thicker than when new. As your paint is water-based, adding a small amount of water may help (try on a small area first). You also mention about bubbles and being ‘light with the roller’. Emulsioning can create tiny bubbles as the roller passes over the surface but theses will quickly disappear. As for being ‘light’, there shouldn’t be a requirement to be light with the roller to get a good finish. Buy a quality shirt-pile mohair roller for silk emulsion and a medium-pile sheepskin roller for Matt emulsion, avoid spongy foam rollers and you’ll be painting like a professional!


"Island" kitchen sink vent I was told that I needed a 3" drain pipe to self vent the sink. I have searched all over to see how to plumb 1 1/2"  drain pipe into a 3" pipe with no luck. a picture is worth a thousand words. Working with Arkansas code...tnx

You'll use a 3" x 3" x 1-1/2" PVC DWV Sanitary Tee. It's important that you use a sanitary tee, and that you fit it in the proper orientation.

Or a 3" x 1-1/2" PVC DWV Reducer Coupling

Venting island fixtures can be difficult, since you obviously can't simply install a vertical vent pipe.  The Family Handyman has a good article on How to Plumb an Island Sink

You'll notice the article provides two methods, either you provide a separate vent line, or you use an air admittance device (AAV). The AAV method is only going to be accepted in some areas, so check with your building department before going that route.

As for which way to install a tee.  If you're installing a straight tee, there's no wrong way.  If you're installing a sanitary tee, you'll have to pay attention to the direction of water flow.

Let's say you have a sanitary tee like this

If the flow is down like this...

You can have water flow in like this...

If you have the tee like this...

It's upside down, and you can't have water flow in like this...


Double neutral wiring I'm replacing an outlet and came across this wiring, which I had not seen so far in any other outlet in my house. It's not pigtailed, both neutral are just shoved into the same terminal. Should I mimic this in my replacement or do something different?

It doesn't look like they shoved 2 ends under the screw - that would be very shoddy indeed.  It looks like they stripped insulation off about 1" of the wire mid-run, and looped it around the screw.  That's legit.

If you need to cut that for some reason, either pigtail or cut it dead in the middle and get a "screw-and-clamp" type recep, which allows 2 wires per screw. Easy peasy.


Is it ok to screw those red utility hooks into wall studs, or should I use a crossbar between two studs? So, I'm hanging my tools in my garage, the wall is unfinished so I have direct access to studs. I'm using red utility hooks very much like the one pictured below to hang shovels, rakes, a few electric yard tools, etc. The screw end of the hook is probably between a quarter to half an inch wide, so drilling holes and screwing it in takes about 1/3 out of the stud material. Should I instead be installing cross beams between the vertical studs (Make something like an H between the studs) and screw the hook into that?

The hook is going to be inserted horizontally, so the load is mostly shear (downward) on the hook itself. You are in effect compressing the shaft of the hook downward on the bottom of the screw hole.  There is some tension pull outward on the wood, but it is minimal for the types of items you listed. Studs made of 2x lumber can easily handle light loads in this configuration.

I would not try to hang items weighing several hundred pounds in this manner.

Also, I would not drill several holes, closely spaced, one above the other. While this would still probably hold your loads with little difficulty, it might compromise the integrity of the stud overall.


Should I run RMC all the way from panel to sub-panel, or are there cheaper options? I am running a 60 amp circuit to a shed about 100 feet from our main panel.  I'll be running 3 #6 copper wires in a 3/4" rigid metal conduit down a trench with 6 inches of cover (hand dug, and I won't be digging it any deeper).
My question is, once I get inside the walls and ceiling of a building, do I need to continue to run RMC to the panels or are there other less expensive options?

Think aluminum
Since you are concerned about costs, I would try to nudge you off novices' preconceptions about copper vs aluminum wire.   Novices tend to "stay with what they know" (having worked with copper in 15/20A branch circuits), and tend to believe all the scary stories about aluminum wiring in 15/20A branch circuits.  This extrapolates into only ever looking at copper for large feeder, and never even thinking about aluminum feeder.
Actually, aluminum was never a problem with large feeder wires.  Heck, the lugs are usually aluminum (since aluminum lugs are a "universal donor" that plays well with both copper and aluminum wire). So insisting on copper "to avoid dissimilar metal problems" actually has the reverse effect lol.
The normal approach for large feeder is aluminum.  The power company also uses aluminum pretty much exclusively for distribution, and service entrance wiring is typically aluminum as well.
However aluminum is -2 numerical sizes larger, and will often require physically larger conduit. That appears to be the case here.  However the savings on wire will plenty more than pay for the larger conduit.
Marking wires
Code requires that if wire is #6 or smaller, the neutral wire must be natively white color.   If wire is #4 or larger, you are allowed to use electrical tape, sleeving or paint to re-mark a black wire as a neutral.
This gives an advantage to #4 aluminum over #6 copper, since  you only need to buy one color of wire.
Amps
There's actually no such thing as 60A feeder.  In fact since you are in conduit using THHN, your choices are 50A, or 65A breakered at up to 70A.
Your #6 copper wire, since you are using THHN in conduit, is actually good for 65A of actual ampacity.  Noting this means 65A of 240V... or two poles of 120V at 65A each... nominally 130A of 120V loads.
You can only provision 65A/240V of loads, however, since 65A breakers are not made, you "round up" to the next available size breaker, 70A.
If you want that same ampacity (65A) in aluminum, #4 aluminum will suffice.
If you only need 50A, #6 aluminum will do, but you'll need to take care to get a white neutral wire.
Power is not provisioned at breaker trip capacity.  It is perfectly normal to "oversubscribe" a panel, i.e. the individual breakers total to much more than the service or feeder capacity.  Look at your own main panel, for instance!  That's because not all loads are used at maximum at once.
The upshot is that a 65A feed can support a lot more stuff than you might think.  So get a much larger subpanel. Extra breaker spaces are dirt cheap when you're buying the subpanel... chintzing out on the panel and thinking "Oh, I'll just change to a bigger panel later if it comes up" is a whole lot of work.
There is nothing wrong with a 100A or even 200A subpanel on a 50A or 65A feed.
Assemble conduit, then pull
Note that with conduit, you must assemble the entire conduit run and have it complete and finished... before you start pulling any wires into it.  This means you must assemble the conduit in a fashion that is pullable.  While many conduit novices are aghast at this requirement, I assure you, it's much easier to work with overall.  I wouldn't do it the other way even if it was legal!


Do I need to seal the base of a shower and the surrounding tile? The "seal" between my shower base (fiberglass) and the surrounding tile started to crack (it is around 5 years old). It is not regular caulking, it's more like mortar/cement. It cracked a little bit and some areas fell.

Should I re-seal it? If so, what would be the recommendation? Remove the entire mortar seal and replace it with caulking, or just apply caulking on the areas where the mortar cracked?

UPDATE:
Based on the answers and comments, I think there is a lip that won't let water drip into the wall, here's a picture of the corner of the base. There's a "hole" like this in two of the corners of the base:

You can use silicone instead (white should not be ugly) to re-do all the chaulking  around the shower plate.

TIP: to do a nice finish 'soap' your finger with some liquid soap and pass it over the silicone.


Can I cap off a 2" x 3" downspout? I engineered a downspout with a side hole to divert water.  However, I also need to cap off the bottom of the existing 2"x3" original downspout.

I can't find any "caps" anywhere so they might not exist.  Is there a way to cap off the downspout?

If you are  not intending to use the downspout for anything but the one purpose than just eliminate the bottom portion all together otherwise you will end up with water just filling up and stagnating in the capped off portion.

Just divert the downspout with bends, 45 or 90 degree bends, to the to point your are collecting the water so there is not a bottom portion to cap off and collect water.


My generator won't start I've pulled all gas, pulled and cleaned carb. Reassembled and it starts with starting fluid, but continues to shut off. What else could be the problem?

This is actually a common problem today since most gasoline has added ethanol.  The ethanol creates all kinds of problems for small engines, particularly ones that site for long periods of time between uses.  The ethanol tends to attack parts of the carb, and also absorbs water.  Further, the ethanol and water will separate out in the tank over time.  The water, being the most dense, settles at the bottom of the tank where it is pulled out first.  On top of that will be a layer of ethanol, since it is the next most dense. Finally, gasoline will be floating on top of all that.

Since you already flushed the bad gas, I think the carb is fubar and needs a rebuild.


how strong is 4x6 Pressure Treated wood laid flat on top of drain rock? I'm in the process of building a 60'x12' bocce ball court and need to create the borders. I'm debating between using 4x6 PT, stacked two tall on its widest side, or using 6x6.
the layers would be as such: 4" compacted drain rock, drain rock fabric, 4x6 PT with another 4x6 PT over it to have the height be a total of 7" on top of the drain rock. on top of this and on the inside of the bocce ball court would be heart redwood just for cosmetic purposes. the top part would be 2x8 redwood and the inside bumper 2x6 vertically. once finished, i would fill the first inch of the court with base rock, followed by 3" of decomposed granite.
would two 4x6 stacked on top of each other over the length and sides of the court be strong enough to withstand stepping on it, as well as not twist? I plan to secure the two 4x6's to each other with construction adhesive and also Spax or GRK 5 5/8 screws every foot or two. the corners would overlap and  i'd also drive some rebar every 7 feet or so along the entire length to hold it to the ground
i'm concerned with the PT flexing as you step on it and also twisting over time.
thanks!

Where I live this is a standard way of building short retaining walls for small garden plots.  1/2" or 5/8" rebar at least 2 feet into the ground every 3/4 feet.  pack the gravel and if it's deep you may need longer rebar.  Large drain rock can be very hard to pound through.  Usually it's not necessary, but you can put a point on the rebar by cutting it with an angle grinder.  Pre drill the wood ties with an augur bit for a good pressure fit.


Chrome vinyl tape in the UK? I am looking for something like chrome vinyl tape - adhesive, and with a silver, reflective surface:

No matter how hard I look for this in the UK, only US suppliers are available. Could this tape be called something else in the UK? It doesn't have to be vinyl - but being adhesive and harder to tear than metal foil is required.

The plan is to make a reflector for a CFL bulb out of it.

Try Fancy Tapes. They sell a product called mirror tape.


What can I do to keep my shed (or house) free of spiders? I've got an old shed at the end of my garden, this summer I gave it a complete cleanout, but within a few weeks it was back to its cobweb infested state. Being quite an arachnaphobe, it makes getting stuff in/out quite an uncomfortable challenge.

I'm thinking of getting a new shed (old one is falling apart) but I'm concerned about how I can tackle these 8 legged critters. I'm fine with any other bugs, just not spiders.

I've heard that putting conkers (horse chestnuts) around the corners helps, as there is something they don't like about conkers. I've also heard that trying to "seal" up the shed with a caulk gun may work also, but I'm looking for confirmation on these or addition suggestions

Any ideas?

Spiders are predators, they go where the food is.  If spiders are attracted to your shed, it means prey insects are attracted to your shed.  Get rid of the prey.

Remove nearby vegetation and organic matter that provides food/shelter for bugs
Remove any standing water (bird baths, puddles, soil that soaks up moisture)
Remove light sources (bugs fly towards light)
Stain/paint exposed wood to make it less attractive to bugs
Fill gaps in the shed where bugs are getting inside to get out of the elements (caulk)
Regularly apply spray pesticides to the exterior surface of the shed to discourage insects from hanging around.  Also apply it to any crevices in the inside.
Look at more "natural" oils and plants that repel insects.


How to anchor coat hooks and shelving in a rock-lath & plaster wall? I've purchased an older home from an era when they used rock lath and plaster for the walls. I had never heard of this kind of construction, though I've done plenty of electrical wiring in older homes with regular lath and plaster. My question regards putting up shelving and coat hooks in my children's closets so they can reach their things. What is the best way to anchor to this material? I've tried locating the studs with the most sensitive stud-finder I could buy at our local hardware store but had no luck. I know about toggle bolts, but is this my only option? And how thick, generally, did they make these walls with the rock lath and the plaster together?

Use a neodymium magnet to find studs, they're available online (e.g., Amazon). Some can hold up over 100lbs. They will find your studs. I would not use regular anchors, even though there is sheetrock behind your plaster (that's what sheetrock was invented for: replacing lathe, not plaster. Plaster gave way to a thin coat of joint compound and finally nothing but tape). European countries still plaster drywall (blueboard) as the standard.

You may find the magnets themselves can hold up what you want. Great for hanging pictures as well.


Tips on cutting curves with a jigsaw I recently needed to cut a hole in a 3/4 inch pine wood board. The hole was supposed to be about 6 inches in diameter. I drilled a hole near the edge and used my corded Makita jigsaw. I had used the jigsaw before, but only to cut straight. I used a 10 teeth per inch blade that cuts on the up stroke. When I did this and tried to curve, the jigsaw wobbled a lot. It felt like the saw wasn't wanting to do what I wanted it to and I think I must be doing something wrong. I have watched a bunch of videos and it looks so easy to make curved cuts.

I was hoping that someone would be able to give my concrete tips on how to cut curves with a jigsaw. In articular I would like to know how to do this in 3/4 inch thick pinewood (hardwood?). I have looked this up, but I only find very general guides. Do I go fast or slow? What blade is best for curves? What speed setting should the jig saw be set at? etc.

I am a complete noob, so please don't assume that I know much already.

Cutting curves is more difficult because the toothless back of the blade presses against the edge of the cut, forcing the toothed edge to cut sideways. The wider the blade in relation to its thickness, the greater the issue. Of course, a narrow blade is weaker.

To make it easier, there are commercial circle-cutting attachments available for sabre saws and jig saws, or you can make your own attachment.


How can I add more insulation to my finished attic walls without trapping moisture I have a finished attic that has a kneewall insulated with fiberglass batts, insulation facing in. The batts fill the depth of the wall cavity completely to the end of the stud, there's no more room for batts between the studs.
I want to glue rigid foam board (R-10) to the wall studs in a continuous, tight, taped air barrier to add both additional insulation and address air gaps.
However! Foamboard is a vapor barrier, and since the insulation already has the kraft facing on the inner side, doing this would create two vapor barriers, and I'm worried that this would trap moisture in between them and cause serious problems.
Using additional unfaced fiberglass batts would avoid this problem, but it creates three questions for me:

How do I put fiberglass batts on a wall over the studs (again, no more room in the stud bay).
How can I do so in a way that helps with air gaps since there will be major slices between the batts for air to get in?
How can I do this without an insane amount of effort to install?

Using foam board would be so much better and so much easier than more fiberglass for those reasons. But I don't want to ruin my house with moisture.
One thought I had was to flip the batts so that the kraft paper is facing out instead of in... but there would still be an air gap (though much smaller) between the facing and the foam for moisture to get trapped in.

I have done what you asked when I was an insulator for a few years. Unfaced batts were added horizontally. After each run was set and bedded well over the lower insulation, wires were placed at the top of the horizontal run, using screw eyes,    there is a tool that zips these right in that you use on your drill, or staples. Then the next horizontal run was added and wire were added above that run as well. These wires were installed to hold "chicken wire", a light weight, large spaced mesh to keep all the insulation in place. This kept the insulation tight to its surroundings. Using R-19 will help you keep it in place better than R-11 or R-13.


What height to set baseboards before carpet is installed? I am wondering how high I should space my baseboard off the floor before carpet.  I know the tack strip will go next to the base and then carpet goes over it and tucks under the base.

3/8-5/8" but most 1/2"

Reasoning:

you have padding and carpet.  With a plush carpet and pad you might be at almost an inch or even over.
you don't want the tuck to be so tight that it looks like the carpet is being smashed under the baseboards.  The carpet should look like it is just flowing under.
Note that most floors aren't exactly flat.  So make sure you are measuring this gap every few feet so that it doesn't become too big or little.
We actually have little wood blocks that we use when setting the baseboards to keep consistency.  We knock these out after a room has been nailed.
Completely ridiculous to put baseboards in after carpet.  If I am doing a complete gut I want the baseboards in, nailed, spackled, and repainted where needed.  I don't want paint on new carpet or guys walking around on carpet.  We carpet just a day or two before open house.


Can pvc fittings and pvc pipe be used to install tube and shower fixture Can pvc fittings and pipe be used to install tub and shower fixture.

I might be confusing PVC with CPVC.  They're both plastic pipes that are glued together, but they are different products.

PVC can be used only for drain lines (including indoors, despite what the answer below says). If you want to use it for your tub and shower drain, you can.

CPVC can be used for water supply lines, and you can use it for the connection between the shower valve and the shower spout.  However, you should not use CPVC for the connection between the valve and the tub spout.  The reason is that CPVC has a narrow diameter and might restrict flow out of the tub spout, causing some water to leak out of the shower instead.

You'll also want to make sure your valve accepts CPVC connections.  If it has brass or Pex connections, you'll need to use an adapter; you can only glue CPVC to CPVC.


What size SDS drill bit for red rawl plug I've heard that if using an SDS drill I should go a size down for drilling for rawlplugs.

I want to use red rawlplugs which source vary on saying I either need a 5.5 or 6mm hole for. I am based in the UK if there if is any difference in the colours.

What size SDS bit should I use to drill a suitable hole.

Thanks

5.5 or 6mm sounds about right for a red plug, however not all reds are created equal, drill bits also vary and the material you are drilling into makes a difference as well.

If I'm drilling into a softer material like plaster (especially old plaster) I will always start with a slightly smaller bit than called for in the instructions, even 1mm less,  this is because softer materials can sometimes allow the bit to drift and you end up with a larger hole than the bit. Even with harder materials like brick I will also go slightly smaller, .5mm less, than called for just in case my bit takes out more material than expected. I drill, then I try to hammer the plug in, then I will step up a size if needs be. I'd rather have a really snug fit and trim a bit of the plug off at the wall then have one that goes in but is slightly loose.

With SDS bits I would use the same approach, how much depends on the bits and how aggressive the hammer drill is (presuming you are using one). If it's brick or concrete you can start off with a 5mm and work your way up.


Door lock and unlock based on authorized user proximity I want to install an electronic lock on my office/workshop that only a specific individual(s) can unlock. I want it to lock every time the door is closed and the room is empty but I do not want to have to use a key or pin code every time I open it.

So I am thinking of designing a system that detects close proximity to the door for authorized users, and unlocks it. Allowing authorized users to walk up and open the door. The system would also need to know when an authorized user was actually in the room, and keep the door unlocked until they leave. This should be manageable with motion sensors and computer terminal usage (registering that someone is using the computer equals someone is in the room).

What kind of solution would be necessary to accomplish this?

A Bluetooth solution (where the smartphone acts as the key) may be the way to go for you.

You can check out this page, which has a lot of options, although I must make a disclaimer that I have never done this type of thing.


electrical lighting circuit trip Replacing 12 fixture lights with LED pot lights. Took out all of our old lights and installed the first 4 pot lights and they worked. Installed the next 8 and would have a 5 second delay before the lighting circuit would trip after all the lights turned on. Disconnected those 8 lights, so that we had the original 4 that worked and again 5 second delay before they would trip. 11 watt lights which is way less than the bulbs we had in there before so it shouldn't be an overloaded circuit. Switched out the 15 amp breaker with a new one and would still get that 5 second delay before it would trip. Checked all the wiring at the switch and it was all good. Does anybody have any suggestions on what it could be?

First is the breaker GFCI or AFCI? Is it fed off a circuit that also has receptacles? Are any of those GFCI receptacles?  A GFCI or AFCI trip is indicative of that problem not necessarily an overcurrent.

It is almost a cliche that when a protective device trips, people presume it is not exactly the condition the protective device is designed to trip for.  And it usually is.  The belief seems to be "ground faults happen to other people" therefore "any GFCI trip is a defective GFCI".

Circuit breakers have published "trip curves" which indicate how long they take to trip at which currents. I just picked the trip curve for a random breaker I found online.  Following the 5-second line, this breaker would trip between 2.5 and 4 times rated current, so in your case 37 to 60 amps, big arm-waving variance obviously, you didn't have a stopwatch. Or as much heat as a dryer. Something is making some heat, and these trips are preventing your house from burning down.  The heat damage might be visible if you search for it.

Unless the cable run is very long, a dead short would flow more current than that, more in the 100-500 amp range, and that would result in an instant (magnetic) trip.  So we can probably exclude that.

It could be a dead short impeded by the small wires commonly used in fixtures.

It could also be a ground fault, returning through some part of the building not intended to be a ground path.  The way to avoid that is make sure your grounds are tip-top.

Any way you slice it, the answer is to slice it.  Divide and conquer.  Divide the circuit in half, see if the problem goes away, subdivide the culprit section, etc. etc.


Covering peeling lead paint with joint compound? I have some paint on a small wall in the basement staircase that I suspect is lead paint. The house is from 1916, and this is the only layer of paint on a plaster wall. Total area is only ~10-15 sq ft. I don’t really want scrape it, as my wife is pregnant and I have a 2 yr old.

Only a few small sections are peeling. I am thinking about covering the small peeling sections with joint compound, and then using an encapsulating primer to cover all of the paint. Then top coating with some latex paint.

Will that work? Or am setting myself up for some deterioration in a few years?

For what it’s worth, the 10 yr plan involves remodeling this section of the house, so at that time I can just have this section of wall removed.

Any time the paint is pealing it will only make things worse by putting more on top unless covering with something like sheetrock as suggested. I would not use joint compound it will probably cause the loose paint to flake off. Making a divot because of the old paint and joint compound thickness.


What should I do about my rendering & damp-proof course? I have a house that was built around 1890 and is of brick construction with a rendered band running around the base which also forms square edged columns around the front door. Until recently the house had a concrete front garden that met the building at the level of the base of the grille ventilating the ground floor cavity.

I have removed the concrete slab as it was falling toward the building and was, I thought, too high in relation to the ventilation grille. Removing the concrete slab exposed the damp-proof course (DPC) visible at the level of the base of the grille (see images). To be 'belt and braces' I removed the render one course above the DPC and injected Dryzone into the mortar joint.

Click for larger view

My questions are:

If I lower the new front garden level to 150 mm below DPC I'm going to be very nearly on top of the brick tier foundation, is this a problem?
I want to reinstate the render band as all the other houses have them and it also forms part of the elevation detailing around the front door, but have read that the render shouldn't go past the DPC. If i stopped the render above the DPC and dropped the ground 150 mm I'd be left with a band of fairly tatty looking bricks that have been underground for the last 40 years. How could I finish this without compromising the damp proofing?
Should I install a french drain of some kind?

A drop of 150mm would work best if you did it in the summer so that the bricks below the DPC could dry out a bit.  If you did it mid winter and another big freeze happened then these bricks could be subject to freezing and surface cracking / erosion.  In general - if you do drop the garden by 150mm the bricks below the DPC would benefit from some form of localized rain and wind protection because of the age of the building.

If the garden slopes toward the building or the water table is quite high in your area it would be essential to make sure that any moisture in the garden is diverted away from the building via good drainage such as a French Drain.

There are one or two ways in my experience to tidy up the brickwork below the DPC :

1 : brick slips (slices of new brick) on a fascia with an inch or so of breathing space behind it could be painted to match the building without permanently affecting or altering the original bricks below the DPC.  This would still need a bit of venting.

2 : wooden skirting, a bit like an external skirting board (in period with the building) painted to match might be cheaper and easier to install.


How can I connect a T568 cable to a 4p4c jack? Currently living in Netherlands, the phone cable of my apartment is a T568 cable which I cannot confirm is A or B yet (will be checked later this evening). However, my ADSL modem only has a handset jack. So how can I wire the cable to the telephone jack provided in the modem package in order to make the modem work?

Since I only use ADSL and no landline at my apartment, it is not necessary to consider how to split the telephone line.

Phone lines only use a single pair.  As long as the same wire goes to the same pin on both ends of the RJ11 connector, it will work. Standard pair colors are black/yellow and red/green.  A single line uses the two middle pins of the RJ11 connector, but two-line phones will use the inner and outer pairs.

T568A/B only applies to Ethernet connections.


How can I add a second light switch to a 3 gang box with 3 switches in it? I want to add a switch to an existing light in the car port so it can be switched on and off at both ends of the car port.

The existing switch to this light is in a 3 gang box connected to two switches for other lights. There is not much room in the box.

Thanks

Don't bother with a traditional wiring solution.

Get a smart switch that's designed to be "3-way'ed" with a remote switch.   Preferably a remote that communicates with the main switch wirelessly (via Z-Wave etc.) And most preferably, a remote that is powered by batteries.  That way you can just stick it to the wall, and not have to tear up walls or posts and refinish in order to run wiring to the other switch.  If there's already wiring at the other switch location and you can get hot and neutral, you could use an AC powered (but still wireless) remote switch.

In this solution, the only additional wire will be a pigtail from the neutral already in the box, to the smart switch.

If you really want to go traditional, you will need to fish wires and refinish, as needed, to run a cable from the current switch location to the new one.  You can use the usual 3-way switch diagrams, with a twist: you must also carry a neutral wire to the new location. That means you must use 14/4 or 14/2/2 wire instead of the 14/3 all those diagrams call for.  (if the circuit is 20 amps, this must be 12/ wire.)  Also, you may also need to change the circuit breaker on that circuit to GFCI.  You will have 4 additional wires coming into the box (from the 14/4).

You won't need to do that for changing to a smart switch; that counts as "replacing a switch" which is considered a trivial repair.  I've never heard of a municipality requiring a permit to change a switch.

The neutral wire is required as of 2011 by NEC 404.2(C).  An "Exception #2" was added for indoor 3-way circuits, but this is outdoors.

A GFCI is required by NEC 210.8(A)(3) if receptacles (outlets) are on the circuit.  That is likely, since other parts of Code require at least one outdoor outlet.


Best way to divide TV roof antenna to several rooms I am renovating a new house (in the UK).  The roof antenna at present is only connected directly to the main tv socket, I would like to add more tv points to most rooms in the house but am unsure of the best (and cheapest) way to split the single incoming RF signal.

Note: only two or three TVs will be in use at any one time.

Ground floor - 5 TV sockets.  First floor - 6 TV sockets.  Second floor - 4 TV sockets.

Do I take take the main antenna cable into the loft space and split it 15 ways with long cables leading directly to each wall socket.  Or do I split each floor with a feed down to the next, ie Second floor split 4 ways + 1 to the next floor, where it is split 6 ways + 1 to the next, where it is split 5 ways.

Which is the best option to ensure good signal at each output and also in terms of cost of length of cable vs running powered amplifiers?

What type of splitters are best suited for this job?

For that many outlets, you should invest in a "TV distribution amplifier". A search using that phrase brings up many suitable products.

You'll be much happier with the results compared to a "tree" of passive splitters.

Optimizing the cable runs is a separate question that depends strongly on the physical layout of the house. Per-floor amplifiers might make sense in some cases, while per-wing amplifiers might make sense in others.

It might make sense to use one 2- or 3-way passive splitter to send the signal to multiple distribution amplifiers.